a(nother) question about bst dps/desireability from a returning player!

[Sparfunk]

hi guys! i know that most eq forums are full of 'returning player asking questions' threads, ive spent most of the last week reading them, and have asked a few questions on the soe forums, but amazingly the stuff i have read have still not managed to help answer my questions... though i feel more informed.

anyway, here goes :)

im a returning player, i havent played a bst since... DoN? around about then, i was level 70 before i quit and got rid of my acct. im coming back, and i REALLY wanna play bst. so much so that im going to :) the desicion is made :) but i have a few questions about it really. ive read alot of people saying that bst's suck for dps, and arent too hot at high level soloing anymore. ive also read that bsts CAN do respectable dps but it takes much more gear/skill than most other dps classes. theres also a post on these forums suggesting that slow's are less desireable now, therefore the bst loses his appeal due to that aswell.

im not aiming to be in any high end raiding guild, so im not expecting my lack of dps (if there is still a lack now, posts are often dated) to be a major issue. i was slightly worried about the higher level soloing thing... but from what i gather thats just a case of stop regularly and get AA's and it shouldnt be such a problem? which AA's should be worked on first? (i mean generally, im not looking at an AA list and its been a while, so just 'pet defensive' or 'player defensive' etc would guide me int he right direction :P) and as for grouping... from what i gather, being in a guild and knowing how to play will net more groups than just being uberclass_01?

anyways, cheers in advance for any replies :)

[Hzath]

If you really want to play a beast, play a beast.  The dps discrepancy really only shows up in high end raiding guilds and mostly on short fights.  We're a solid class for grouping with, and yes we can still solo just fine (for experience, more on this later).

Stop and get AAs as you go.  I would personally recommend personal defensive>personal offensive>utility>pet stuff especially since you're looking to solo.  The one exception is focused paragon, buy that as soon as possible once you're high enough level. 

Pickup groups are rare these days, so finding a good guild and/or group of friends to group with will help a ton. 

We're still able to solo for experience at any level without much problem, especially with mercenaries available.  We aren't good at soloing our own gear, so you will need to group for this.  I would imagine most of the "we can't solo" posts are in regards to underfoot.  The most recent expansion is very challenging and is very difficult for any class to solo even with the best gear available.

I also suggest joining serverwide.beastlords:beastlords chat channel.  There aren't many people there at times, but it can help you get feedback or questions answered quickly.

[Grbage]

Hzath pretty much said it. Bst bread and butter solo mobs are still the low con mobs for plowing. Once you hit TBS content it starts getting harder to take on higher con mobs, DB and higher LB con mobs, and really ramps up in SoF due to mob retuning. Luckily with SoF they added the concept of "weak con" mobs for melee to solo. Those you can solo as DB, the caveat is they give less xp and are magic resistant but still worth killing.

The slow thing is it is still nice to have but not required these days. Mobs all mitigate slow between 25%-75%. They did this so mobs could be tuned with it in mind that there was no slower in group instead of having it required (holy trinity). Basically with a strong tank no slower is required at all, with a poor tank you had better have a slower.

One last thing, since the mob retune AC is king for all toons.

[Sparfunk]

Cheers for the fast replies guys :) I'm gonna be downloading the patches through most of tomorrow but when I'm in I'm gonna jump on mayong and make a bst there. But if it turns out there's not much of a gmt scene there then I'll transfer an old char to ab.

[Mazame]

I had stop playing around the time DODH came out and had about 800 aa  I returned 1 week before SoD came out.

with the new defiant gear that drops / is sold in baz  all of my gear was upgraded in no time.
get in a non raiding guild to start that will help to have questions answered as well as maybe give you ppl to play with.
if your in it to solo / enjoy the game then it will be slow but with a merc you can solo most of the old world content with no problem up into your 80's  after that head to SoD and start working on the progression. Rasper repository has a good write up. as you do this progression 2 things will happen all the defiant gear will get huge upgrades and 2nd you will unlock new merc that will let you do more. start at the bottom and work your way up threw SoD. as you complete your gear set you will still be able to solo.

I my self had completed all T5 group gear and was going back to farm augs when I joined a higher end raiding guild to take my char even farther.  SOD  can be done with group gear and a bit of help and there a lot to catch up on clickies to farm old quest to do that it took me 9 month before I even thought about raiding. so as a bst yes you can enjoy the game.

AA  I would aim for about 3k that will be the point when you have most everything that you will want and the rest are mostly fluff.  around 2k you will see the most improvement from aa. so yes if level get hard switch to aa and grind them out a bit.

as a person that want to solo I would go after the following.
CA
CS
AOW
planer power

max these 3 that will let you take the hits and live for the most part

after that

paragon
focus paragon

most of our dps these day comes from spells  these lines will keep you with mana to let you progress

after those are max  spend some time reading the aa and see what lines you want to work on.

Spell damage
Pet line
healing line
melee line
improve stats

bst are wonderful in the fact they can take on many roles and fill many different play styles so you need to turn your bst to fit you the bst so you can get done what you want to. if you fill one line is lacking work on it for a bit. as a non raider you have a lot of freedom to play around with aa and see what works best for your play style or that of a raider that is forced into a role the raid needs.

many ppl for get this is a game and being the best is a lot of work. if you want to just enjoy the game then do so enjoy it take it slow and yes a bst can be a very fun class. you wont be the top of any chart but if you turn your self right you can do more then most classes and have fun doing it.

[jitathab]

no one really solos in UF, not and gets decent XP. RSS is still the best ive found on ease v time.
Raid - we do ok DPS wise
Group - we do ok mana and dps wise.

of course you need a lot of AA, and some good gear.

Play class you want to play or dont bother playing really, forget the shortcomings.

[Sparfunk]

So I made my bst! I made him on mayong and his name is sparfunk if anyone here plays there :)

after spending a couple of hours dying in howling stones, I have to ask where is a hood place I can make some cash (coin or vendor trash) at 51 with no merc? Some decent exp wouldn't go a miss either, but cash is more important atm I think. Any ideas? Cheers :)

[Tamerov]

May not be the best place, but I always go to Gunthak Harbor untill I either level or get 12-1500plat so I can get a Journeyman merc. The mobs on the boats are mostly light blue so exp isn't terrible and one time I had 2 blue diamonds drop off the same boat, so as you say, the loot's the thing here. Everything is pretty easy to solo even without a merc.

[Sharrien]

Also, don't discount the tradeskill stuff (silks, pelts and ores) that drops.  Check the baz for what's for sale and what people are asking for in buyer mode.  A lot of the mid-level stuff is purchased in mass quantities for skilling up.