I've kind of posted about this before, but I would like a few more specific answers this time since I'm re-entertaining the idea of betrayal.
I currently play an Illusionist and I've read all the propaganda that Illusionists are vastly superior to Coercers, but I don't know... there's just something about the whole Coercer thing that takes my fancy. I also wonder how much of this info relates purely to raiding, which I don't do anymore and therefore it doesn't really concern me.
Anyway, like I said, I don't have time to raid anymore so I kindly ask you base your replies around someone who mostly groups and likes to solo heroic content.
1. In my static group, I'm probably the main source of dps. How much dps, if any, would I lose as a Coercer assuming I spec with Volatile magic and Perpetuality?
2. What kind of limits are there on charming? Eg, are there mobs I absolutely can't charm, if so, which zones or instances are the worst for charming?
3. I can currently solo pretty much whatever I like up to an orange ^^^, but it can take some time. I hear Coercers can solo a lot quicker due to charm training. Just how fast are we talking here? Do you have an idea of how long it would take to solo some popular instances?
4. Illusionists have some pretty good EoF AA's. What kind of stuff do Coercers get?
5. Do Coercers really have more fun?![]()
Thanks for your help.
1) Some. Coercer reactives is cast on the mob, and fire when it hits/casts a spell, not cast on a group member and fires when they attack, so there is some loss of dps from that.
2) There are mobs that cannot be charmed. The vast majority of nameds, mobs that are part of ring events, and some that are uncommon and needed for quests. Kaladim and SS are probably the shared zones with the most uncharmable mobs.
3) Coercers can clear into a zone faster using suicide pets, but you don't get XP for that.
4) Illusionist AAs are generally better than Coercer ones
5) More fun? Couldn't tell you, but they can be a lot of fun.
1. In very rough terms I would say you will be doing 2/3 of the damage of your illusionist. However, given the right pet and/or facing the right encounter and you could be find yourself doing a lot more than the illusionist might have. It depends on the difficulty of the mobs you are facing, anything blue con or below and you will be doing very little damage as the mobs cant hit the tanks and your reactives dont fire very often.
Unfortunately, it's very difficult with Coercers to give a straight answer as there are so many variables. That's part of the problem with them atm. In soloing/grouping terms so much depends upon the availability of a decent pet.
2. In addition to what Orodina mentioned, SoE has been slowly but steadily making all the mobs that did exceptional damage immune as well, taking out a lot of the fun and the risk/reward element of charming. There are still good pets out there but many of the ones with the wow factor are no longer available.
3. We kill the mobs in about the same time as an illusionist. Charm training just allows us some more flexibility in getting to where we want to go. Its great for clearing areas relatively quickly, although you wil get no loot or xp.
4. Coercer EoF AA's are average at best. Thought snap sounds useful, it forces the mob to target a fighter in your group, stopping peels and memwipes briefly. The problem is the duration of 7s isnt long enough and the recast is too long.
Tashiana is ok if you are looking for dps, it is like our own personal dispatch for 10 seconds. Good for the tougher nameds, hardly worth casting on the easy stuff.
Manashield is another good in principle but the shield itself protects you for a pathetic 300 or so mana. Which means your group can go from full power to virtually empty in one go despite it being up. Also, the number of power draniing mobs is very limited, especially when you discount raids.
Coercive Healing is one of those nice to have buffs but noone is going to be tearing down your door to get it. Its adds an extra tick to hots, reactives etc. Cast it on a healer without telling them and they wouldn't know they had it on. Cast time compression on a mage and I'm guessing they will notice something is up.
5. The fun in a Coercer (soloing/grouping) is the large risk/reward element that comes from charming. It is fun to have one of those great pets that help mow down enemies, makes your group go "wow", with the added risk element that the charm might break any minute.
Those type of pets are thin on the ground now though so the fun factor for many coercers has gone down as well.
The was (and I think it is being rebuilt) a good thread on the official EQ2 forums in the Coercer section about what the best pets are for each zone. The really notable ones aren't until the upper levels (e.g. corpse candles/flames in Bonemire) but there are good ones in most zones.
The thing to be aware about charm is that it is probably the spell line in the game that is the most sensitive to quality (i.e. app. vs. adept v.s master). The difference between Adept III and Master I is so noticeable that you are better off using the Master I of a lower level version than the Adept III of a higher one. It's not just a matter of how readily the mob will break charm, but that a mob will have its abilities at the quality of the charm. Use an adept III charm on a warlock mob, all its spells are adept III.