Oh god. Another AA discussion. Shed some light please!

Mutekki · 11-29-2007, 02:35 PM

I will attempt to cure my boredom at work by continuuing to do research on my new found interest in the EQ2 Inquisitor.

I am currently a level 30 Iksar Inq and trying to get a solid gameplan. Tell me why you do or why you don't think I am a mental case.

Yaulp: 1
STA: 4-4-8-5
INT: 4-4-6-8-2
STR: 4-4-6-8-2

Keep in mind, my goals are group oriented. I am in a committed guild and play with friends very often. I expect to be discussing the AGI line, as currently I simply do not see the use of lending my avoidance to the tank. Please help me understand why AGI is so useful! I also want to know why everyone refers to STR as a solo / PvP focused benefit. Sure it is, but when things go awry in a group setting, I can see steadfast really pulling through.

I don't want to get into the Inq AA's yet; thats another ball game for me right now.

I appreciate the time taken to talk about this subject which I am sure you have all seen countless times.

pagansaint · 11-29-2007, 03:37 PM

Agi4 will only shine once you get to around level 48 I believe, that is the first time you will be able to equip one of the exceedingly rare round shields that are priest/inquis usable. That shield will last you untill around level 63 or 64 when another round shield is available.

The extra avoidance you give the tank you are healing lessens the amount of heals or HPS you have to give out, thus extending his survivability while lowering how much work you have to do to keep him up.

It is a rather god like ability for heroic content and has become a staple skill for the MT/OT group clerics in raids due to avoidance being the most powerful form of long term survivability available.

Agi3 with 8 points into it will increase the effectiveness of your shield by one third its listed protection value, plus this ability will increase your double attack amount, with and without a shield equipped, by 4% perpoint spent.

Agi line is a very potent DPS and support line.

But to get these buffs you will have to sacrifice one of these three other fourth/fifth line abilities: Str with Focus/Uninterruptable, Sta with Heal Crit/Self 10s of Stoneskin, or Int with Fast cast/divine recovery(massive group fast cast/fast recovery for short duration).

Personally for a Tanking group AA spec I would be sacrificing the Strength line, have not encountered any stifles that the Strength End Line blocks and I will not be giving up the Heal crit and my secondary role of DPS. That leaves Int as the only other option to drop than Str, and I personally do not have trouble getting heals or cures off due to interrupts even with Yaulp running with the Fast Cast from Int, Fast Cast from the raid's monk and my current BP, the robe from SoF, with 10% faster casting on it(considering upgrading to a shelter proc BP though at the moment). While the fast cast makes the uninterruptable part of STR line not as attractive it has a dual purpose of making any cast based proc's, proc more often for me.

My tank group AA spec:
Agi: 44882
Sta: 4488
Int: 4447

Mutekki · 11-29-2007, 04:05 PM

Pagan,

Your post has helped immensly and makes sense. Currently I am simply relying on word of mouth / faith regarding the AGI line.

Does a Priest's AGI / Avoidance really come through like that? I just don't see us having much AGI or Avoidance to begin with, though there are other clerics whom I trust who also swear by this AGI line, so it may be a leap of faith for me.

Does this rely heavily on searching for AGI gear? How is my Wis / Power pool or defense going to suffer? I suppose there is gear to support the AGI line that is somewhat frequent, right?

In essence: I never thought agility / avoidance to be a prominent trait / attribute of the cleric. It is hard for me to believe that swapping out a tank's avoidance for a cleric's is all that great... but I will take your word for it and see for myself.

I think your recommendation is something I may actually go with. By the time I fill out my STR and INT per your suggestion, I think it may become more clear to me why AGI is a serious line to go with.

pagansaint · 11-29-2007, 04:13 PM

Your block percentage is going to be the vast majority of the avoidance that goes through due to it being uncontested avoidance. Uncontested avoidance is avoidance that does not scale versus how powerful a mob is.

Sources of uncontested avoidance for inquisitors will almost always be your shield and the agi3 modifier to your shield and +parry% adornments.

That being said there are many people who do not believe this, but the Defense rating(Base Avoidance on the avoidance list) does affect the amount of avoidance you will get/lend from Shield Ally. Have seen higher parsed avoidance with higher defense/agility amounts and have actually noticed a difference.

I do not search for agility and +defense gear as a rule, if there are two similar items, procs/stats/hp/pwr and one has more agility or +defense on it while the other doesn't I will take the +defense/agility item.

As an Inquisitor I would focus mostly on Str/Wis/HP/PWR and once you start seeing the items, items with +heal ammount and heal proc's on them more than str/wis/hp/pwr.

Once you get into raiding +sta and +hp will both be things to take into consideration on every item you equip, but don't focus too heavily on them, just make sure you have enough HP and resist for what you are fighting to survive.

Mutekki · 11-29-2007, 05:05 PM

Makes sense Pagan. Thanks very much.

Malhavok · 11-30-2007, 10:24 AM

You mentioned that you're only in your 30s....which means you have a fair amount of levling to do. I'll tell you, str5 skill for leveling is godlike. Nothing like healing through any beat down. I highly recommend this if you're soloing and refine it as you start to raid/group.

I recently went down the int line for the increased casting speed. I don't have int5 so I can't comment on the group buff, but I think its int4 that gives you 15%ish or so to casting speed...meh...not really impressed with this that much. I might take the advice of the poster above and try the agil line...I had looked at that as well, but wasn't really impressed with our shield selections.

Mutekki · 11-30-2007, 01:45 PM

What is the cooldown on Stadfast agai? (Obviously I am lazy... so flame me!).

There really are a lot of wasted points in the INT line, though raiders swear by it; the sticky Inq Guide post has me leaning away from it, however.

Balthor · 11-30-2007, 02:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mutekki

There really are a lot of wasted points in the INT line, though raiders swear by it; the sticky Inq Guide post has me leaning away from it, however.

Trust me, as a Templar who used the Int line who betrayed to an Inqusitor, you will want the int line. I feel so slow with out it! As soon as I hit 80 I am going back to the int line.

juzam · 11-30-2007, 02:38 PM

[quote=Mutekki;350371]What is the cooldown on Stadfast agai? (Obviously I am lazy... so flame me!).

Steadfast is 'passive'. It check if you are moving every 2 secs, so if you aren't moving while it checks, you won't get interrupted.

Mutekki · 11-30-2007, 03:02 PM

[quote=juzam;350473]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mutekki

What is the cooldown on Stadfast agai? (Obviously I am lazy... so flame me!).

Steadfast is 'passive'. It check if you are moving every 2 secs, so if you aren't moving while it checks, you won't get interrupted.

Thats pretty sick; now I am really torn between STR and INT!