Better duo clr/pal or clr/bst ???

meph · August 26, 2004, 03:50:47 AM

So I haven't played EQ since just before Luclin came out and am thinking of coming back and trying it out again. I have 2-boxed in the past with my 56 cleric and a rogue (got him to 40). If I come back I either want to try and duo a Paladin or Beastlord with my cleric. I am sort of anti-social when it comes to playing EQ, I would always rather solo than group up, especially since many times I only have an hour or two to play.

My question is once you get to high levels (60+) is 2-boxing a cleric/beastlord much better/more viable than 2-boxing a cleric/paladin? I ask this because I always hear talk of how beastlords can slow which neither a paladin or cleric can; people also tell me that paladins completely own undead once you get them their special AA's against undead. I have never played the game (especially not a tank) past level 56 so I am very curious which one of these two would be better for me to play if I intend to only duo up to level 60 and beyond.

I am hoping for an impartial answer but beggers cant be choosers lol :P

thanks in advance

-meph

Tastian · August 26, 2004, 03:56:24 AM

With a cleric I'd definitely run a bst instead of a paladin. The addition of slow is huge. Plus the extra mana regen and stacking buffs is very nice. The beastlord is an acceptable tank in many places with the right gear/aa's and a cleric healer. I always enjoyed duo'n my bst/clr and can't imagine trying to do some of the things I do with that duo if I were using my pal instead of the bst.

The paladin has a lot of merit and I enjoy playing/raiding/grouping with them. Since you mention being anti-social though and mostly duo'n I think the beastlord is just a better fit for you.

Jaeren · August 26, 2004, 04:33:47 AM

I two box a beastlord & a cleric and it works very well for me. Only thing I miss is having a true snare.

Can't really help you with the comparison to pal/clr though as I haven't played a pal over lvl 26 or so. I would assuem as well that a beast would give you the best option with slows, mana regen, pet for offtanking, etc. But, play whatever you think you'd like :)

Hereki · August 26, 2004, 07:47:07 AM

In the current game, slow > all. There also aren't a lot of exp worthy undead; at 65, you are limited to HoH basements, really. There's also Chardok B, but less experience, and Crypt of Decay is mixed live/undead. Nothing worth mentioning in GoD.

Another point worth making is that against live mobs, beastlord dps is much greater than paladin, and it's dps that determines your kill and exp rates.

A paladin would let you group up with a slower and kill tougher mobs, but that isn't what you say you want.

Incite · August 26, 2004, 09:40:26 AM

Paladin for sure. Go with pally. Sun > all.

Savrik-Karana · August 26, 2004, 09:49:35 AM

It's going to be a very different experience two boxing a pal/clr and a bst/clr. They're both good choices, the real decisionmaker is how active you want to be.

With a clr/pal, you're going to be sitting at the cleric's box and keeping the pally healthy or bouncing back and forth so you can throw some pally spells into the mix (Which is probably the best way to keep the mob from jumping to the cleric).

With clr/bst, you're gonna be sitting at the bst's box constantly. I have a cleric friend I duo with now and again, and she tells me she feels more like a security blanket since I'm usually using tank solo methods with her around. And with my DPoC pet, he takes care of himself.

danaconda · August 26, 2004, 02:42:36 PM

Beast offers better DPS and slow. Pally offers superior tanking and stuns. Also, pally can paci pull most of the time so you wouldnt have to switch to the cleric bot.

As far as switching between bots goes.... I would think no matter which combo that you would be mainly using the tank with a few heals thrown in from the cleric from time to time.

It's definitely a tough choice, and if I were you I'd go with option 3.... Shadowknight!!!! Tanks similar to pally, good aggro control, feign death, and snare! Plus, if your cleric is a dark elf you can make a very nice evil team! And who doesn't like a skeleton pet following them around, even if it is gimp (pet pulling is fun with SK also).

Go Shadowknight! You won't regret it :lol:

Savrik-Karana · August 26, 2004, 02:49:33 PM

I was actually gonna suggest SK, but thought he was pretty set on pally or BL

meph · August 26, 2004, 05:41:12 PM

Wow thanks everyone for all the input :) , I am most definitely leaning towards a beastlord at this point. I never considered a SK; I assumed they were very similar to a paladin when it comes to duoing at high levels... ie: not as efficient/viable and a clr/bst duo

Dhantes · August 27, 2004, 01:56:37 AM

Cleric/Bst easily add SK and your golden though... Paladins best combo is umm Shaman/Paladin.

a_moss_snake_001 · August 27, 2004, 05:51:16 PM

Depends what your gonna duo really. Personally I'd say you'll get more mileage out of the bst/clr than the pal/clr.

65% slow + pet stuns + more dps from the Beastlord more than counteracts the extra defense, healing and stuns from the Paladin. If you don't believe me put a L65 Paladin with 370 AA's (max offense/defense) dressed in VT/GoD Trials gear up against a Beastlord with 370 AA's (max offense/defense) dressed in VT/GoD Trials gear in a zone like PoStorms and have each solo 10 desert critters and count the amount of heals you cast.

I did this for fun (we were bored) a while back with a guildie/friend of mine (he actually had over 410 AA's while I had 363 at the time) while farming Diaku Medallions for his girlfriend (who plays a Cleric) and on average I killed those critters around 50% faster than he did and took less damage doing so (he was fighting unslowed mobs and using stun)

Araden · August 29, 2004, 08:28:51 AM

SK do more dps than paladins except on undead where pally slay aa's up their dps. SK would make a pretty good combo with a cleric.

BST would also make a good combo but you would lack snare and have to use cleric root on runners. would have slow n haste though.

I wouldn't advise pally n cleric at all. too much stacking of abilities and still lack snare or haste or slow.

Personally I would pick BST / CLR over SK / CLR because you gain a lot more abilities with the BST, slow is really uber. SK's do tank better and give back mana.. but clerics aren't exactly uber nukers.

Kreseth · August 30, 2004, 05:07:45 PM

Having done both, go beastlord/cleric. That's my current combo. Paladin tanks well & cleric will easily keep it alive, but kills are just too damn slow. My beastlord tanks most things that you are likely to duo & does a hell of a lot more damage than my paladin.

--Kreseth

kattana · September 01, 2004, 08:35:29 PM

I am currently levleing up my cleric 42 and my BL at 54. I find that the two complement each other very well. It took me a little while in harder areas to understand how to use the two the correct way but I am feeling very confident that these two are going to kick butt together. I really like the mana regan compared to the buffs the Cleric offered. Also some HP spells stack with the Cleric HP buffs giving you even more bang for your buck.