RvR tactics

[Babylon]

Next time you wanna head to do RvR - spend just a little bit of time and prepare. If you are in a group you know you are going to be in on the other side, this works MUCH better, as buffs can be on/tested before you go.

Pick up a few stacks of arrows for a friendly neighborhood Ranger - when we are out there for long battles, we run out FAST... and if EVERYONE carried 1 stack of 40.... thats a lotta backup arrows. (2 stacks of 40 is even better in my opinion, but that's a Ranger for ya)

Alright... so now you have some arrows for the shootin friends... what else do we need on the frontier that is not in easy/great supply...

WOOD! Pick up some wood!

I'll have to post my studies on wood/upgrades here... and I'll put into it about seige weapons...

Basically, here are my quicky thoughts: Rowan is without a shadow of a doubt, the most cost-effective way to upgrade/repair doors. It is also the most wasteful weight method of accomplishing the goal. Add to that that Elm is used in the cheapest (worst) seigecraft, buying Elm might be the best wood to carry with you. Oak is good, and Ironwood is used for the BEST seigecraft. It's also getting on the rather expensive side.

Now, don't carry (wood and arrows, or anything else (seige parts)) too much and encumber yourself - that's why if you have pre-formed groups it works out better. If you don't have pre-formed groups, don't assume you will get buffs, just get what you can.

Basically, I look at it this way. You guys are going out there ANYWAY... and we ALWAYS end up needing this stuff... and no one is prepared. You got the room, USE IT! :)

Oh, quick advice about upgrading: it is cheaper in units (and therefore wood, gold, and weight) to upgrade from 1 to 2, 2 to 3, 3 to 4, etc, then it is to go straight from 1 to x.

[Canidae]

One thing for people to consider when you have a group going out to RVR. DONT ask for the double buffs from your friendly druid/bard/whomever else can buff. Double buffs don't give as much as the singles and cost twice as much. Also... never ask a healer type to take buffs off of themselves to put it on you. Very very bad idea. Once a healer is spotted in combat we become target alpha. Our buffs help us stay alive so that we can pick up the fallen and keep going. And always remember to try and protect your healer as much as possible. I know in the heat of battle you can get excited and run off. Just remember if your healer dies, chances are you will too!

[Boom]

Omg, so true! I will give up my strength buf and my dex buf and my melee speed buf and whatever to more bufs on fighters, but I'm not giving up my Const and AF bufs. When we took back Crunchy last night we all started dying as we broke down the second wall. Once us rezers died, the battle was just over. It was only a matter of of time before everyone else died. Then we all had to release and make the long walk back to finish the job.

Another thing that would help would be if rezers made a point of rezing other rezers. I'm lying dead on the ground with a pile of hibs. I see a rezer come by. I'm high enough level now that I can rez just about anyone, and I can rez people at my level one after the other. So I expect the rezer to rez me (or another druid/warden/bard) first. But for some reason he rezes a tank or spellcaster (maybe a friend or guildmate, who knows?) Then he goes on to rez more people and gets killed. Soon after that the people he rezed get killed. This kept happening till there were no more rezers alive and we had to release. When we rushed the second time a bunch of us died right away again. I was afraid that we would all die again, but luckily someone rezed me. I immediatley rezed Alli. She takes no power to rez and with her powersong I can rez other people twice as fast (at least). She turned her powersong on as soon as she popped up. I started looking for bards/wardens/druids among the piles of dead hibernians. It was tempting to rez Malk and Beav and Y5 right away, they were all in my party and stuff, and they are mah boys! But I knew a guard could pop at any second and bap me, mah boys ain't gonna be able to defend me from a guard right after a rez. Another rezer might be able to hide, and come back and rez me. Anyway with Alli's powersong, and the help of the other druid/bards/wardens I rezed, pretty soon everyone was alive again and healing up for the final push against the keep lord.

[BubbaRed]

i gotta disagree with Muri's post, while the buffs do keep the healer alive only about 3 of the many really provide a essentional part to it. The tanks should be getting the majority of the buffs IMHO. The healer keeps the tanks alive and the tanks keep the healer alive and with the tanks taking the damage and the healer having protect, guard, taunting blade, intercept, and pets, plus more in the way of stun/mez etc. to help protect them the tanks need the majority.

Now this doesnt apply to the way we have been grouping, our grouping has been with a few high lvls, some low lvls, and then some REALLy low lvls. And Muri with her DMG add puts out a major portion of the damage to the stuff we fight. But in any other group i have been in where we fight stuff that a full group of high lvls (high lvls meaning my lvl) the druid always wastes all there conc giving hunters, str/con, and stuff to the melee while the bards and wardens pass out the normal buffs.

The way ive done and seen is this--->
The melee get AF, Con, Str == Casters get Dex and Con == and Druids/Wardens/Bards get AF and Con Any extra conc i have goes to the melee who need dex buff

Those buffs are usually all passed out by Warden and Bards while the druid passes out Hunters n' stuff. 'Course this doesnt always apply since those classes might not always be in group :D

-Brayl

[Allison]

I have 4 buffs: CON, STR, DEX, and AF. Right now I think I can cast 12 before running out.

When I'm in a group, I give myself AF and CON, so maybe I can stay alive a little longer, but I don't waste the STR or DEX on myself.

But I have a question: Everytime I ask who wants a buf, everyone says, "I'm ok." But it seems a waste not to use them. So should I just pass them out to whoever I want? If so, who gets what? (I still don't know what's best for each of the classes.) Also, if I give player x my little baby STR buff, for example, and then player y tries to give player x a bigger STR buff, will it say that player x already has this effect? Because I don't want people to miss out on bigger buffs because they have my smaller one.

thanks :)

[Boom]

Well, I don't Mur was saying that she wants to have every single buf. I think she was just saying that someone shouldn't ask her to take off her af or con buf so that she can buf up someone else.

I always give myself my af and my con buf. Those 2 bufs help keep me alive and leave me with plenty of con to give out, usually enough to buf up several players effectively. I'm not giving those two up without a fight. If a tank who I know can kick butt and will make the best use of my bufs is in my group, he gets bufed out the wazzoo. Shirk has never failed to pull a mob off me. If shirk is in my group, the only way I am going to die is if I run out of heal juice and let shirk die, or something really weird happens. So a buffed up shirk means I stay alive, which means the group stays alive.

So first I get my two buffs, Con and af, then Shirk gets his five, Con, strength, af, melee speed, damage shield. If Gork is in the group, he gets the same five that Shirk got (yes, I have enough conc to give those 5 buffs to two tanks, give myself my two buffs, and have some left over). Then I look to the rest of the group. Cobey gets dex, because he says it helps him hit, but no con because he says he figures he is dead if he gets hit anyway. Aas gets con because he wants to survive a few hits, but no dex because he says he doesnt need it. Rangers get a little dex/con if I got any left. If its a small group, or other druids have spread out some buffs and I have con left, I drop it on Shirk/Gork/tanks. I love to be able to give them the dual strength/const buff on top of the single stren and singl const buff (if I have the conc left over to do it) and I figure giving these guys some dex will lower their chance of missing. When its just me and shirk, he gets every single buf I have. If I am tanking in a group, then I give myself the melee speed in addition to the Const and AF buf.

Alli, imma answer your second question first. If you are in a group with a higher level buffer, just wait till they cast all their buffs, then spread yours around. If you have already buffed and a high level buffer joins, just ask them "Should I take my low level buffs off these guys so you can put yours on first?" I probably never would have thought of it, but its a really good idea. So if I join a group you are in, you can just wipe out all your buffs, then Ill cast mine, then you recast yours. Or I might just say, "Naw, dont worry about it, your buffs are fine where they are, I give them other bufs."

You also asked what to do when people say they don't need your buffs and you have extra conc. Well, conc sitting in your backpack (or where ever we keep it) doesn't do anyone any good. If my tanks are fully buffed and a ranger says "Im ok, I dont need any buffs." I'll blast him with some dex anyway and just say, "Everyone else is buffed, just take it." I always try to use up all my conc.

The hardest part for me is debuffing people, but if its for the good of the group, I gotta do it and just get over it. If Im in a small group and I gave out extra buffs to people (just to use up all my conc) and a high level tank joins, I'm sorry, but someone is losing some buffs so that tank can get some const/af/meleespeed. I'm not going to save up conc just in case someone joins. I always want to use it all up. Its a waste to have conc lying around when people could be getting buffed. So if I give you an extra buff you don't really need, just take it, because if someone joins who can use it better, believe me, I will take it back from you without even asking. :D

[Rooster]

Thing is Brayl - Muri doesn't wanna be relegated to a pure healer, it's not a fun way to play.

She wants to mix it up with the rest of us - and she's perfectly capable of doing so when she has her buffs on (Str, Con, Dex, Hunter's Attack, Armor)

She puts Str, Con, Dex, Str+Con, Dex+Qui, Armor, Hunter's Attack, Thorns on me.

Without her buffs, when I solo a yellow (done it twice now); I end up with 1/4 health and no endurance.

With her buffs, I can solo an orange and never go below half health.

Her effectiveness scales the same way. She can out-damage me when she has those buffs on. I think having another member of the party that can beat down on mobs as well as I can - then step back and heal when needed is a HUGE benefit.

Some people don't like sitting on their tail just healing. It's boring. At least a bard gets to mix it up a bit, shouts, messes, healing, swapping songs, etc... A mage, well, they're basically a fighter that HAS to use endurance (that does a LOT more damage).

Yes, a lot of it has to do with the group you're in. Obviously when there's level disparity there's two schools of thought.

1) The higher levels need it to stay effective since you have to fight oranges or reds.

2) The lower levels need it to even make a difference in the fight.

I think both are true, and if we knew exactly how each buff affects certain skills, then we would be able to decide more clearly.

The double buffs really aren't worth it if there's a shortage of buffs. They cost twice as much but don't give as much as 2x a single.

I do notice that without Muri's Dex+Qui buff, I only get 3 styles after a block - with it on, I get 4 off (Horizon, Dancing, Horizon, Dancing) {Each style does an extra 75-100% damage over my normal swing -- so this adds up to a considerable amount}.

Given another character of close level (mobs are same color) - certainly it's better to toss 4 singles on them rather than the two doubles on me. But to give them to a considerably lower level character pulls down the efficiency of the group - endangering everyone.

I know I take my job as a Hero very seriously (tanking 3 mobs for the entire party if need-be!) and get mad at Muri if she doesn't let me die for her. :D

[Babylon]

not 100% how your guys work with each other, but I think it's similar to how mine interact with your guy's spells.

If I buff myself, then someone comes along, and buffs me, if their buffs are stronger, it overrides mine. If mine is stronger, theirs fail.

So I say, Cast away, Alli! If yours sticks, great! If it doesn't, cast it on the next yahoo! Can't hurt, right?

[Canidae]

Con said alot of what I was thinking as I was reading the replies. When I started making Mur (before I knew the pets where screwed), my whole idea was to spec in Nature (pets/dot/and now ae root). I wanted to be able to get up into the fight. I don't know how Jobius or Boomy feel, but I get extremely bored real fast if all I am doing is standing around healing. I don't mind throwing heals where they are needed, however I want to be able to whack something when it gets in my face.


As for my previous post, that was STRICTLY dealing with RVR. When we are out there fighting other PC's, I am going to keep my normal set of buffs on myself. Healers are targeted very fast and we need to be able to not only take a few hits but to be able to throw a few too when those guys get in our faces. PC's have the wonderful ability to choose their targets. Sure you might be able to get them off temporarily with taunts and spells... but guess who they will go after as soon as those are over? The healer. Con would willing die for me, I know, but its not always his decision in RVR. I am less experinced then most of you, but I have been out enough to see my dead body on the ground while Con is still fighting. If I die, so goes my heals, my ress, and the same buffs people want so much of. :cheese:

[BubbaRed]

ok... kinda frustrating..

stacking buffs on 2 ppl = bad --working with others who can buff and getting all the buffs on ppl who need = good

i can't explain it any easier...


Muri can play her class anyway she wants to.. but gimping out an entire party just so she can hit a little harder dont work...

[Jobius]

Aili yes just as Babs sugested if there is a higher buffer let them buff away then see what's left over. Casters can use all but shield (casters is better then ours), Rangers if there higher then you and using there own buffs just give them dex and con buffs unless they ask for the other two. Other then that Buff away if they don't want it they can shift+right click to get rid of it. :)

In group I only have AF and Con buff on myself if buffs are needed elseware and that includes making sure everyone has con buff even casters. Giving anyone the ability to take one more hit makes a difference. As for the rest of the post, no comment.

[Rooster]

(Neither Muri nor I read each other's post before posting)

Brayl said: "stacking buffs on 2 ppl = bad --working with others who can buff and getting all the buffs on ppl who need = good"

It's not a matter of working with others - it's a matter of folks that CAN buff, not buffing because they need to be recast.

Brayl said: "i can't explain it any easier... "

Not needed and quite antagonistic. Save the flames for other forums.

Brayl said: "Muri can play her class anyway she wants to.. but gimping out an entire party just so she can hit a little harder dont work..."

Yes, she can. Gimping an entire party? I hardly think so. If Muri and I are with folks 4+ levels lower than us, making me able (buffing me out) to single handedly hold off 2 mobs while a 3rd gets beat on hardly counts as gimping a group. As well, when she's buffed, she can dish out as much damage as me.. and I don't care how many buffs she puts on someone else, they're not going to do as much damage as her (cause of the level disparity).

We can continue to discuss this rationally, or we can take it to e-mail - or we can take it outside. But it's too damn cold outside, so let's keep this civil, shall we?
:sigh:

[Canidae]

"Muri can play her class anyway she wants to.. but gimping out an entire party just so she can hit a little harder dont work..."


I didn't start playing to make everyone else happy. If a druid was meant to just stand in the back and do nothing but buff and heal, they wouldn't have bothered giving us the Nature line. My highest spec is Nature. I choose to go that path and try to play accordingly, which includes buffing myself so I can be a semi-affective fighter. When buffed and using my poison i can out-damage Congiis. You take the buffs away and I am only an average healer since it is my second highest. But ask Con, I have willingly given up all my buffs and stood around in a large group because that is what everyone wanted. No one here seems to be reading what I am saying at all.

When in small groups out hunting normal creatures, I will buff Con first since he is normally the highest tank. Then I will give myself buffs and others buffs. If I am the next highest I take as many buffs as I can since I am obviously the next most effective on what we will hunt. In larger groups with similiar levels I give the hard hitters most of the buffs. If there are other buffers around we share the load and I take what buffs I can still afford for myself.

Now... totaly different situation in RVR. In a large group I will NOT give out double-buffs for the simple fact that they cost TOO MUCH. I try to give as many people con buffs as I can, with Congiis usually getting the most buffs (He is my hubby afterall) and myself getting the next highest amount. If some one has a problem with a healer buffing themself in RVR, then they need to join a different group. I am not going to be out there high-and-dry as a major target just to please others. Its as simple as that. :(

[~Cobra~]

wow some really long replies heheh....

just one question... what role does an eld play in RvR besides nuking the front door in keep defense?

also another one... i'm assuming alb and middie spellcasters have virtually the same spells as me, i think that's the case from reading around... so in keep defense they're doing the same thing i'm doing... now what's the best way to break that? i'm assuming throwing all your tanks at the door and hopefully get a mez so someone like me can ae nuke them back... i know there has to be something better than that... like maybe involving a ram or something or other... i'm curious :D

[BubbaRed]

i am reading your post exactly.. you said dont ask your friendly bard/druid/warden for double buffs... that is where i dont agree with you.. you play your druid totally different then what most druids are played so in your case, sure, dont ask ya... but in any with any other case the druid stays back along with the nukers and roots, heals, and sends pets to attack the healers and nukers in the enemy's rears.

That is why i am arguing your post.. because you applied it to all buffing classes when really it should just apply only to you

see now i dont think your reading MY POST exactly.. im talkin in a normal group with appropriate lvl mobs Congiis.. i completely agreed to the way we have dont it before..

this post is about RvR tactics and the druid up front doin melee is not a RvR tactic... in Muri's case yes becuase thats the way her char is spec'd and she wants to play but to the majority of the players it dont apply that way which is what im trying to point out.. you two do whatever you want.. all im arguing with is that your views on how it should work dont apply to the majority.

[Aasimon]

Arboc,

The little bit of RvR experience i have had (219 rp) and the variety of groups i have had in RvR all state how valuable an eld is for keep defense, especially the doors. BUT, a few groups begged me to slip in and out of combat casting AE damage spells to hit as many targets as possible. The general belief is that this method is the fastest way for a group to get realm points. For example.. I sneak into combat, and see 3 groups of 8 mids charging our forces. I hang around long enough to AE each group once, doing 50-150dmg per hit. When and if all those invaders die then I will earn RP's for each death and therefore my group will gain those as well.

This tactic is kinda fun if your out for RP's.. and makes you quite popular in groups. I myself kinda see it as a bit flaky, reducing an eld to a point whore. I prefer to out range my oppenents and bolt enemy casters to death.. cause enemy casters cause all sorts of woahs. I find one or 2 bolts on an enemy caster or an enemy yellow/orange is sufficient for a quick, clean, kill. Use your quickcast ability at the start of the fight too. ya never know if you'll have time to even get the first spell off before your dead.

Well thats all I know.. about anything.

Aasimon (lvl 28 Alllllmmost 29 Eld)
Porno Pokemon.

[Canidae]

Again misunderstood. I DO STAND BACK IN RVR! And you know what happens everytime??? I get rushed when they see who is back there doing the healing. I am sorry if I want to be more effective when they decide to take me out. I prefer not to run away, but to stand there and fight back. DRUIDS ARE NOT JUST HEALERS!

As for the double buffs... they take 21 points of concentration to put on a person. For every ONE double buff I put on ONE person, I can put TWO on some one else. So you are telling me its more important to give double buffs to you fighters instead of saving that concentration to give Con buffs to the mages and myself???? I am sorry, but I have to strongly disagree with that.

[Babylon]

I really hate to do this, but:

DRUIDS ARE NOT JUST HEALERS!

Actually, they are the best Healers Hibernia has...

However, be that as it may... We've proven we are an RvR force... our Guild RPs speak to that.

My whole point for starting this thread was to point out some rather simple little preparations that could very easily make us that much more effective as an RvR group.

Nothing more, nothing less. :)

[]LoL[Harm]

I may disagree there, but not sure if I have enough facts to convince myself but my mentalist at level 12 could heal for just about as much as a 30th level druid was the other day.

My mentalist hits a heal for 72hp
The druid hit me for a heal for 81hp

And no the druid didn't fully heal me, it took two of those spells to get me to full.

Perhaps he/she was using a lesser heal?
Or perhaps that druid wasn't spec'd properly or something but mentalist can heal like a mother f'n riot.

[Canidae]

"Actually, they are the best Healers Hibernia has... "


Again I say.. If Druids were meant to be nothing but healers, we would have nothing be Regrowth and Nurture. We would be limited to cloth armor since we should never ever be in battle. We would not have a DAMAGE buff. And most of all, we would truly suck in melee.

Instead, I have a spell line that gives me pets, roots, and POISON. I can wear SCALE armor. I can OUTDAMAGE a fighter! Druids are the best healers when they SPEC IN REGROWTH.

My whole point originally was to let people know that buffing your healers was an important part of the process. Obviously I have been doing something right since I have over 1000rp. (and that was done with less trips out then other people)

[Rooster]

Druids have a base line heal that does piddly (piddly @ 30th) amounts (and costs very little power).

A Mentalist of similar level can usually heal as well as a druid - they just can't ressurect.

So what if Druids are the best healers in Hib - that doesn't mean that's the best way to play them. Standing back and healing is just asking to be target alpha. Pets, taunts, styles mean nothing to the enemy that runs right through you to get to the healer. Only thing that got their attention the other night was "paralyze" shield style. It makes them fight me (if for about 6 seconds).

So I prefer her to be an effective fighter that can heal if not being pounded on. Yeah, her pet can harrass mages - but druid pets suck so bad it's almost pointless unless we can find a gray mage.. but then who cares about a gray mage? (I ignore them)

Not to mention they (middies or albs, not sure which) have an AE spell that affects spell casting (healing) - if she's not buffed when that thing hits her, she's TOTALLY worthless.

And next level, Muri gets a 50% PARTY insta-heal usable every 20 minutes - you know how many times she could have used that the other night in the RvR fights? Wow! She already has an insta-heal to save someone's keister - and she knows enough when to stop and heal (1 out of 50 times does it go off too late).

Your perspective on how someone should play the character isn't as valid as someone who's actually playing it. It's easy to sit back and say - we'd be more effective doing "X". I do it all the time. I admit, I'm an armchair quarterback (as it were). But I defer to Muri's judgement on her character.

Last night, when Gork & Malk joined us, no one had double buffs on, and Malk had: Str, Dex, Hunter's Attack; Gork had Str & Hunter's attack. Malk was blocking for me, and I find I block more with a higher dexterity. It worked out really well. We even had a scary fight of about 4 oranges - and we all lived.

[Canidae]

Actually if I remember right, its was 3 oranges and 1 red. :)

[]LoL[Harm]

Yeah whats up with Druids wearing scale. I better be one bad ass mother at doing damage with my piddly little reinforced here.

[Rooster]

2 words for ya Druyn:

TRIPLE WIELD!

:owned:

Increases your damage by 50% for 30 seconds (that's about 11 swings - or 13 if you have hunter's attack on).

So, it's like getting in 4 more hits (assuming you miss twice).

[Boom]

Harm, that druid was using his widdle baby heal. I have only 12 points in regrowth and my big spec heal does 170 life. I have two non-spec heal spells. The little non-spec heal does about 50-60 life and the big non-spec heal does about 130. So a level 30 druid with zero points in regrowth can heal for 130. That is the heal I use 90% of the time because the non-spec heals take 2 seconds to cast and the spec heals take 3 seconds to cast. 1 second seems like an eternity during a battle. So I pretty much could have spent zero points in regrowth and I would be healing the same way, using the bigger non-spec heal all the time. 12 points in regrowth is just totally essential at my level because it gives me the instaheal (don't leave home without it). My next big step is going to be 23 points in regrowth for the group instaheal.

Our double-buffs do kinda suck. I think there is a bit of confusion in this thread. Mur isn't saying she wont give anyone but herself and Cong more than one buff, she is saying she wont use her crappy expensive double-buffs. I agree 100%. My strength buff adds like 70 strength and cost 8 conc. My Const buff adds like 70 constitution and costs 8 conc. My str/con double-buff adds 30str and 30 cons and costs 16 conc. These numbers aren't exact, but pretty close. I am not going to spend 16 conc to give someone 30str and 30 const when I can spend that same 16 conc and give them 70 str and 70 const.

But it all depends on the circumstances. If I'm in a group with level 34 tank Malk, level 30 me, and a bunch of level 24s, I'm going to give Malk the str buff, the const buff, AND the str/const double buff (and the melee speed and damage shield and af). He is going to be doing all the work and should have all the strength and const I can possibly give him. If there is a level 30 ranger in the group, then malk loses the double buff. He still gets the single const and single str for 70 of each, and the melee speed and damage shield and af. But by taking away that expensive double str/const buff, I can give the ranger two good buffs (probably my const and dex bufs).

I think Mur basically plays the way I do. I always give myself the AF and const buffs (the singles). I just have a much better chance of surviving if I have those two buffs. I buf my biggest tank out the wazoo. Then I see who is left in the group and buff accordingly. High level casters and rangers get my good dex and const buf and if they are pulling or getting hit alot maybe the AF as well. Secondary tanks get lots of bufs too, sometimes I can afford to give my secondary tank the same buffs I give my primary tank.

However, sometimes Mur IS the secondary tank. Therefore she has to give herself the bufs she would otherwise give to another secondary tank. If Cong and Mur are tanking, they get the tank Bufs and the rest of the bufs get spread out accordingly. If there are more tanks in the group, Mur gives Cong primary tank bufs, the others get secondary tank bufs and she gives herself the Druid survival bufs (Const and AF). I don't mean to speak for you Mur, but that's the way I read your posts here. Also, thats the way I play it and I am a very similar druid. I love to fight, but am always ready to step back and heal. I am willing to stand back and do nothing but heal, but only when the party circumstances demand it.

That's why I love it when Dape is in the group. He is a healing druid, period. I'm not even sure if he has a weapon. So with him in the group, I can tank and fight and bap away to my heart's delight. But, I have an advantage over other tanks. If we get an extra add and run into trouble, and Dape runs out of heal juice, I can step back and take over the healing. And I am an effective fighter. I can't take as many hits as a real tank, but I can do as much damage. I bap for 20 or so, depending on the monster, my damage add buff adds another 20 or so (damage add buf is only selfcastable, so don't ask for it, sorry :( I would LOVE to give Malk that buf) and my poison does 30 damage every 5 seconds. With my melee speed buff, I hit almost three times in 5 seconds, so basically im doing 150 damage every 5 seconds. If I use my pet to help (when soloing, or a very small group fighting hard monsters) I get a little extra damage from him (admittedly not much). Seems a waste for me to stand around healing. ;) But I am always looking at my party's life bars and always ready to heal, because druid are the best healers.

One point I have to disagree with Mur on. And this isn't a flame or a putdown. Its just something you probably haven't had a lot of experience with since you don't solo alot. Our pets SOOO do not suck. I am level 30, I get a level 22 melee monster that follows me around and casts stun. When I solo yellows, I have very little life left if I dont use the pet, and I have way over half life left if I do use the pet. And I get the same experience either way. I have looked at the numbers again and again and again and again. I don't know where the myth about pets eating up experience came from. Maybe it was worse in beta or something. I know they take some experience based on how much damage they do, but its so negligable that I can't even find it. I wouldn't think a level 22 pet could do enough damage to something that cons yellow to really help me, but somehow it does. Maybe its constant stunning allows me to get in 3 or 4 extra baps. Also, I have gotten good at using the tilde to look over my shoulder as I am running away from an unexpected purple aggro, target it, and sic my pet on it. What can a level 21 pet do to a monster that cons purple to a level 30? It can slow it down for 5-10 seconds. That's more than enough time for me to get away. This isn't a theoretical strategy. I have done this numerous times. Pets save lives.

And thats just killing mobs. Pets are 100 times more valuable in RvR. A sniper unstealths, pops off a shot, and restealths. You will never ever ever find him. But if you targeted him during that unstealthed time, or get close enough to F8 him, sic the pet on him. You may not be able to follow the stealth guy, but its real easy to follow a 10 foot tall tree running through the frontier. When that stealth runs out, he is toast. Also, if you are getting hit by something your spellcasting gets interrupted. Sic your pet on a purple magic dude. While he is smashing his keyboard because your pet (that cons grey to him) won't let him cast, your tanks have time to rush him and take him out. Who cares if he kills the pet? You can recast it. And that is 10-15 seconds he spent dealing with your pet when he could have been nuking your tanks. Read the RvR forums, mids and albs HATE our pets. :D When I'm level 50, kitty will be level 38. I can't see how an extra level 38 fighter won't be useful on the frontier. And if lynx adult casts stun (and whatever else that kitty is casting) who knows what lynx matriarch will cast? I bet its got something pretty cool.

[Babylon]

just to make a small point...

Stealth doesn't "wear out"... it's an on/off ability that can be dropped if you are detected (typically by high level mobs)

What happens is, while you see him, you sic the pet on him... he stealths, and the pet ignores the stealth. He drops the stealth to fight the pet off so he can live. He dies.

With today's patch, tho, when a stealther gets hit, he'll go vis.

[BubbaRed]

ok, im just going to post this then give up cuz its not going where i want to...

a warden of our lvl will have 26 nurture for there bubble chant, a bard will probably have around a 22 nurture for there end, power, speed line. So there buffs are going to be better then yours im sure so why not let them spread the buffs out so you can spread out the double buffs, hunters, etc ? Also that way when one of them does finally die each person will still have SOME buffs to keep them in the fight.


-Brayl

[Rooster]

FYI - single buffs are level based - therefore, her's will be better.

If they're higher spec'd in Nurture than she is -- they're better at the double buffs. (Muri only has a 14 spec in Nurture).

Her double buffs cost 21% - not exactly a good return on investment.

The problem is, while what you say is a good idea - it never works out that way.

Let the highest level druid hand out the single buffs - let the highest spec nurture hand out the double buffs.

[Beav]

Just give me a CON buff, a bubble, and kick the END jam and I'm happier than a pig in s&*t!

[BubbaRed]

Ok, we figured out the confusion and Roo/Muri didnt know that only druids have hte double buffs, hunters, etc..

but also i want to point that spec plays probably more of a roll in lvl buffs then your lvl does.. buffs you get from putting points into the spec work at max lvl or close to max lvl as soon as you get them just like heals (my heals dont max out until i put about 2 more points into them). but buffs you get from lvl'n work just the same way as how like swords do. if your spec is only 1/3 or less of you lvl they can range from 50% to 125% with that range going up higher and higher as your spec becomes closer to your actual lvl.

Lets test it out but im pretty positive my conc buffs should give more then hers (assuming we have the same buffs still)


here is a quote from the specializaton guide on Castersrealm ->

Specialization also impacts on the effectiveness of the base spells you cast. When you gain spells through levelling that spell is of a certain level. For example, at Level 50 Wizards gain a spell called Ice Blast Major. This spell is a Level 50 cold magic spell. Now if the Wizard has put all their points into Cold (i.e. has 50 skill) then they will be very rarely resisted and do maximum damage (125% base) on the majority of spell casts. If however the Wizard has only put 15 points into Cold magic, then the damage dealt will fluxuate between around 30% and 125%. This system only affects spells acquired through levelling, as spells acquired through specialization will already have the full spec points assigned to give them full effectivenes. It is therefore important to try and have at least two specializations reasonably high if you plan on using your base spells often.


this applies to all spells gotten from lvl'n. Also it doesnt just go off of if your at 1/3, 1/2, etc.. every point you have in the spec line is applied to the calculation to determine the spells effectivness. All that is determined by your lvl is what spells you have by lvl'n.

[~Cobra~]

wow brayl... that last post was really informative... didn't know that about spec lvl and base lvl spells....

[~Cobra~]

oh and i know you pet users especially muri will love what the dev team said about fixing pets :D

http://www.camelotherald.com/more/146.php

8) The Pet System will be improved. We are aware of your frustration with the way that magical pets work in the game, and are planning on a reworking of the entire pet system. As above, we should be adding to effectiveness of the little critters not weakening them.

[Boom]

Ahhhh, well that explains why I was confused about +skill items. I was wearing sleeves and a necklace that gave me +4 to regrowth spec. But I couldn't see any difference in my heals. I was just looking at the spec heals. But, according to Brayl's post, my level 10 spec heal is already maxed out when I have 12 spec points in regrowth. Getting items that give me 16 points in regrowth isn't going to change that level 10 spec heal. It's already maxed out. But I never thought to check my base heals. According to Brayl's post, going from 12 spec points in regrowth to 16 should definitely make a difference in my level 28 base heal, which is nowhere near being maxed out.

Well now it all makes sense. :D It was driving me crazy that I couldn't find any advantage to wearing +skill items! Considering the fact that I use my base skills more often then I use my spec skills, I am very excited about +skill items now :D

[Babylon]

Still greek to me.

Point, shoot, hide. :)

[Jobius]

Just quit shooting the scouts. :p

[Babylon]

but, but, we killed the rest! hehe

[Allison]

I just realized this last night. My first spec heal, which says it heals 75 HPs, was healing for 43, 60, 80, 43. Then Boom gave me some Regrowth sleeves, and it was healing for 93 every single time! What a huge difference that made!