Hello all, I am a long time lurker of the original boards and now these and had my Beastlord for quite some while now :D This for the introduction and now to my topic.
Buffs. Now that I got some time away from my main and finally hit 65 (yay me) I started grouping more and more. Since we are often taken as main slow on groups, we end up grouping withtout shamans. And here it starts, single buff everyone with IoS, Kragg, Stamina at least, some even ask for Dex / Str / SOW. Good I think, I am contributing, but for the love of god, SoE, please allow us to use a few lower lvl group buffs shammies get. Spirit of Bih Li (however its typed) would be awesome for example and well in line with out +atk spells. Maybe a HoS. Something in that line. I am truly enjoying my BL and I am happy where he is in terms of power / group / raid role. But giving us those lower lvl shaman group spells would be the icing on top. Not a rant, just an observation :wink:
Quote from: RomulosHello all, I am a long time lurker of the original boards and now these and had my Beastlord for quite some while now :D
Welcome 8)
Quote from: RomulosSoE, please allow us to use Spirit of Bih Li (however its typed) would be awesome for example and well in line with out +atk spells.
I agree casting "Bin Laden"(however its typed) would be nice but doubt SOE would alow it.
It'd be nice. There is also no reason whatsoever for Beastlords to have HoS/Focus/Bih'Li/Diaku or any other shaman buffs we don't have.
Beastlords are balanced. Why do you want more power? So that we go through the endless nerf/improve cycle? No thanks, that's not what I nor any other sane Beastlord wants.
Billy would be awesome I've wanted that for awhile. However, bst originally got an HoS like buff (almost exactly that). Infusion doesn't stack with Focus line. Most shaman I know throw out infusion of spirit, kragg, they get to group buff str/dex if they have or use group focus + diaku later, but really it's just the way things are. I'm happy with how much a bst can buff and don't mind putting the little extra time/effort into it. Later on most won't have room for lots of buffs anyways or need as many. I usually group sv/sd and then fero people, kragg some, infusion if asked. I actually don't remember last time I furious strengthed someone or stamina or dex'd them though. I understand what you are saying though and welcome. 8)
With GoD we get a group version of IoS that is going to help but I agree Spirit of Bi'Lih would be very nice and also fit our role without being overpowering.
Maybe, instead f giving us Shaman group spells, they could give us group versions of the spells we already have and call them by a new name. Make them Beastlord only.
Even at 56, i get sick of single buffing all members of my group, with what they want, if we don't have a Shaman. A few group spells would be nice.
Make it an AA. Any single target beneficial spell becomes a group buff. Give it several levels, each level allowing spells of a certain level and below to be effected. So at aa level 1 you can only group buff spells that are 45 and under, level 2 gets spells 50 and under, and so on. Make it cost extra mana, relatively short reuse timer.
Not particularly overpowering, it isn't a new line of spells, just saves us targetting and clicking some. Hell I'd love it just for shrink...
I agree that single-buffing can be extremely onerous. I can easily blow an entire manabar and 10 minutes buffing my group (if you add Kragg's). I made a half-joking hotkey "Please be patient with the BST while he casts his 24 setup buffs".
However, I think this pain is just one of the things we live with as hybrids. I want to have a list of inconveniences that Shaman don't have. I want to cast 18 times where a Shaman could cast 3. This helps balance out the things we can do that Shaman's can't.
SOE tends to overcompensate badly, and while too little power is annoying, too much is frightening.
while we can buff close to a shaman, it takes us significantly more time and mana to do so. Personally, however annoying it is, i think its part of the balance between the 2 classes.
I still want shaman in my groups for difficult hunting spots. I prefer not to have to buff, and i prefer not to be the only slow in a tough hunting spot. I can concentrate on dps etc, rather than buffing.
I like (love actually) the fact we CAN fill that role, but imho it should be more painful for us to fill that role than a shaman... currently it is, and thats balanced imho.
I certainly wouldnt turn down group kragg if they gave it to us, however.
Particularly with the 65% slow I find myself in groups without a shammy. I have high wise and more mana then HP but I still manage my buffing. SD I cast without being asked. SV I often will cast unless the group contains a known pissy pally or rangur. I'll shrink people that want it. I give the melees and anyone grabbing aggro IoS, Kragg, Sta. Myself and one other good dps get fero as mana permits. Mobs get slow and incapacitate if slow fails.
Paragon I do at my discression which sometimes means ignoring the clerics requests to twitch for them every two seconds :-)
I will do haste for melees if mine is the best the group has. Bsts that like to be the slower but absolutely refuse to haste seem perverse to me....don't they see the two achieve the same goal from different ends?
I dont offer or give anything else like AC, str, or dex.
I did spell casting reinforcement AA very early on and have an extended enchancement IV item. I recommend both.
I don't bother buffing most of the group. I give everyone who wants it IOS, I'm the only one that gets Kragg (warrior has a clickie buff that doesn't stack and so does cleric and anyone else I dont care about), SV/SD to all, haste to melee, Fero to me and if I remember and have mana and feel like it I'll toss it on a dps person or two. Tank has max stats unbuffed and everyone else is close enough that bothering to stat buff is a waste of time for the reward.
It depends on where we're going, but generally, and especially in LDoN since all my buffs last for a whole adventure (assuming no shaman):
everyone gets IoS, Kragg, Sta, SV, SD
Anyone who asks for it can also get Dex or Str
Fero goes to myself, tank (if there is one), tertiary melee, and fourth if I'm feeling up to it (otherwise not).
If there's no chanter also, all melees get haste, and cleric too if there's not too many melees around and they are fighting (it makes them feel good ;) )
A lot of clerics don't fully realise it, but once they get their proc hammer (level 56), haste isn't worth it for them. Proc rate is exactly the same with and without haste, of course, so it makes about 1% or less difference to actual melee damage.
Unfortunatly there's a lot of things some people don't realise hehe. Usually just much easier to buff um and let it go. Usually I'll try explaining things to people, but certain things and certain people it's just pointless hehe.
Quotesingle buff everyone with IoS, Kragg, Stamina at least, some even ask for Dex / Str / SOW. Good
easy answer..
Can i have ____?
no
Can i have ___ NO
You get ios, kragg, sd, sv, and stam.
OOO You want sow../e sits and meds up Pack of shrew HERE YOU GO! amazingly I dont get asked often to sow :)
More often than not I'm puller/slower/halfass tank/dps. No I dont cast fero much on them, too lazy and I like my dps just fine without casting on people every 2 mins. I'm in the battle to kill things.
I didn't choose to make a shaman because we have enough buffho's in EQ :) Want group buffing...make a shaman. Personally I enjoy the fact that people dont beg me for buffs every 3 seconds. With scr3 and shield, I buff once every 2 ldon's. Unless the wizard tries to tank..but that's a whole other pet peeve.
But dont make me learn group buffs, means one less damage slot.
Haste? as mana permits, But usually we have a parked chanter (NPC Enchanter classes are GOOD)