Main Menu

4 box ?

Started by notabeast, June 04, 2008, 12:17:13 AM

Previous topic - Next topic

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

notabeast

Hello, though i'm not a bst, i've always poked in and out of this forum since i've been boxing.  I've tried quite a few combinations in the past and never really found one that i could stick with.  That being said, I was wondering if i could get some feedback on this new combo i've come up with to see what others think, and possibly stop me from rerolling 3 toons :/.
Bard
Shaman
Mage
Mage

Ive seen some very, very well geared/AA mages do incredible things, but i think i may be overestimating the capability of a so-so geared one. (10k hp, 13k mana or so).  I am curious if one of the mage pets can tank well enough for his mage and the shaman to keep up with heals without being a complete drain on mana.  I figure between the 2 mage pets and the shaman pet firing off cougar procs and stormblades, plus the bard twisting overhaste and some combo of two caster songs for the mages nuking, i'd get some pretty sweet dps.

I have the hardware and accounts to start this, plus the shaman to help PL the new toons, but after rerolling so many times i'm kinda scared to pull the trigger once again and not like the combo.  Any advice or critiques or whatever would be appreciated so i can shit or get off the pot with this :)

Thanks in advance.

Nusa

Remember that "incredible things" category often requires giving more attention to a single toon than a boxer has to give. Equipment isn't the only requirement. Bards can do incredible things too, but usually not when being boxed....it requires massive attention to pull off.

Having two of the same class means a lot of redundant capability, which is mostly wasted.

Personally, I'd suggest a Beastlord instead of one of your mages. Mage pets are better, but beastlord ones aren't bad. And you gain a lot with the rest of the package.

You didn't mention what your current toons were. Easier to talk you out of it if we can point out how good you have it now.

Khauruk

Hmm...I have some comments, but first I am curious about having two mages.  What's your reasoning behind that?
TURNCOAT!!!!!

notabeast

My current toons are war, rog, shm, dru
My reasoning behind the two mages is that it's very easy dps for someone boxing 4 toons on 2 comps.
From the best of my knowledge a great portion of bst dps comes from melee, not pet, and i know the same could be said about a mage's nukes, but for me i think i could get more bang for the buck.  Also playing on FV means i can hand-me-down one mage's loot to the other.  Plus with bard being used only for pulls/songs and no melee his gear won't be that important.

Nusa

Clearly you're bent on having a pet-based group, but I'd even rate the druid well above a second mage.
You gain:
Snares
Ports/evacs
Big heals if needed
Decent spell nukes
buffs (skin, SoE)
instant group fixed invis

You lose:
A decent pet. But they do have one (bear or dire charm).

Another option: run up a Necro instead of a second mage. They can handle the pulling role as well, so you could keep your druid over the bard. Plus you'd gain a rezzer able to pull all the necro tricks of getting a mage to otherwise inaccessible places.

jdpatt

Quote from: Nusa on June 08, 2008, 04:28:36 AM
Clearly you're bent on having a pet-based group, but I'd even rate the druid well above a second mage.
You gain:
Snares
Ports/evacs
Big heals if needed
Decent spell nukes
buffs (skin, SoE)
instant group fixed invis

You lose:
A decent pet. But they do have one (bear or dire charm).

Another option: run up a Necro instead of a second mage. They can handle the pulling role as well, so you could keep your druid over the bard. Plus you'd gain a rezzer able to pull all the necro tricks of getting a mage to otherwise inaccessible places.

I 6-box, and I'd agree on the druid addition (don't know much about necros).  A mage/druid combo in a group can make boxing SO much easier.  Moving the toons around is greatly simplified if you port the group to your desired location, run the invised mage to your camp, and CoH the group to you (makes setting up camp MUCH faster).  Also, I have yet to find a pull I can't handle with the druid/mage...run the druid in and snare the target, pull toward camp and CoH the druid back; then pull snared mob with tank after adds path back.  Unless there are mobs with linked aggro (Tarnuk Farwalker in Icefall, for example), or extremely confined places, you can get single pulls EVERY time.

The druid also adds a lot of utility, as mentioned, with buffs, heals, decent (although not spectacular) dps, debuffs, and invis/succor.  I wouldn't count on the druid pet, since it's level 35 or something, but it is a nice low level dot or good for pet pulling if you don't want to sacrifice your mage pet (buffed and equipped).

Again, not to be redundant, but 2 mages give nothing to a group other than the additional pet/nuke dps.  When multi-boxing, you really need all the utility you can get to compensate for the fact that you're really only focusing on one toon at a time.

Dave

Divedet Ective 85 Rogue
The Rathe server
Tibert McSoulpole 85 Cleric
Winladdar McSoulpole 85 Druid
Divesbl McSoulpole 85 Beastlord
Rieko Likesricecakes 85 Warrior (on long term loan from a friend)
Ronam McSoulpole 85 Magician

notabeast

well i'm officially talked out of that 4box group.  Now i'm leaning towards War, Clr, Bst, and <insert class here> thinking either bard, nec, or dru...
i have no clue what i'm going to do just yet :/

Khauruk

Quote from: jdpatt on June 08, 2008, 01:09:01 PM
or good for pet pulling if you don't want to sacrifice your mage pet (buffed and equipped).

This no longer exists, fyi.

And for your other combo notabeast - I'd probably go w/ necro from those options (drag corpses to far out camp and rez people in...and FD is sweetsauce + great almost gear free dps.  I've been saying it a lot lately, but I'd look at SK, SHM, CLR, MAG as well...it's an insanely powerful combo.
TURNCOAT!!!!!

Jaah

I'd suggest warrior, beast, cleric, bard.  Assuming you can get at least decent gear the DPS won't be terrible and you'll have a lot more "big mob" capability.  Bards are almost a must in any box with 4+ IMO, with the melody command they are just too useful to pass up.  Anyways, play what you want.  Does no good to have the ideal box setup if you don't enjoy playing it ;)

Praxxis

I haven't gotten up to 4-boxing yet, but I've been working my toons up to the point to be able to do it at some point.  Here is my current list:

80 Bst 15khp/12k mana (raid geared w/360aa)
75 Wiz 12khp/13k mana (raid geared w/516aa)
75 Pal 15khp/11k mana (group geared w/1352aa)
65 Clr 10khp/10k mana (bazaar geared w/14aa)

These are all buffed right now.  Nothing extravigant, but been working on defensive AA's on bst & healing aa's on Clr.

ramelorm

I have this combo: BST, Mage, SK, Shaman....works well  :mrgreen:
EQ force multiplier.......BEASTLORDS, the other white meat

Cebak

#11
I use an SK BST Cleric Druid.. not a high dps grp but generally has all the buffs and back up heals if needed// overall a pretty soliid box grp

wildwaters

   I'd like to see magels on the mages shaman and bard before making suggestions >.<
   My friend boxes two mages pretty well. It works out good cause he splits his attention doing massive damage but not over nuking and pulling agro >.<
   He can box decent stuff by himself and when I'm tanking/pulling/helaing with my boxes we blow through everything up to and including BMK.
   I like cebak's combo too. I use same combo minus druid.
   I think the trick to mages tanking is alot of pet aa and healing aa. Imo if you play  a class and get it high its better to start fixing the gaps on one and get it solid rather than reroll.
   Would love to see magelos even if you have rerolled >.<
                                  -wild

AbyssalMage

As some have said and even MOREhave said in other posts, play what allows you to have fun.  You said you play on FV so mabye head to another server that allows 8 toons ot try test out (Imidiatly lvl 30?) in just minutes.

That being said I'll re-hash some old classic combo's...

Account 1:  War, SK, Pally, Ranger, Monk, Beast, Zerker or Mage (Tank account)
Account 2:  Shammy, Cleric, or Druid (Healing account)
Account 3:  Wizzy or Mage (DPS account.  Note: Wizzy is usually picked here if Druid is void in group 2 or 4)
Account 4:  Bard, Wizzy, Druid, Mage, Shaman or Other (Utility account.  Note: Anything can really go here, I've seen 1 person box 6 toons perfectly well using all the classes, just depends on your skill with hotkey set-ups and how fast you can switch to different windows)

Basically speaking as you can see above, anything can work, just depends on what your goals are to go after.

If its cutting edge stuff, Plate Tank(Preference towards SK for pulling/snare/dps), Shaman (Slow/Buff/Champion). Cleric (Heal/Buff/Rez), and Wizzy (DPS/Snare/Port/Quasi-Puller).  Now substitute each class for something you would have more fun with and you have a "winning" combination.

So in the end, mabye visit Test or another server and experiment.  But as everyone mentions, the group you should use is the one you have the most fun with.  It may take a few tries and you may need to figure out what it is you truly want to accomplish with this box, but once you have that narrowed down you will be able to more closely choose your group make-up. (Cutting Edge SoF/SoD stuff<------or------->Beat the snaught out of Flippy in Queynos).  The more you lean one way or another will dictate the kind of gear you will need if you don't have the "Sony preferred classes" (I.E. How Sony "balances" content)
Grimwar
81 Beastlord
Theris-Thule...errr....Prexus

Skraach

Depending upon the capabilities of the cleric, anything besides a plate class tank and a cleric is pretty much interchangeable in your mix.  Slow is mitigated so heavily these days, the mage brings you added dps via the superior dmg shield.  The more accounts you add, the simpler the additional toons should be, if you are wanting to min/max your setup.  That generally means every slot past the first 2 is some sort of int caster who requires little to no oversight, especially if you setup macros.  Pet classes are handy, but how fast would 4 wizzies AE something to smithereens if AE aggroed by the tank?  Bottom line is play what you enjoy, but generally with or without mercs, you need something to tank (melee or pet), and something to heal (cleric has best heals, others provide various utilities), and something else to make the monster die before the healer runs out of mana or the tank out of hps.  I happen to primarily 2-box Beastlord and Mage, but often add in a cleric, war or sk, wiz/rog/zerker/monk/necro, and sometimes a chanter for giggles.  Yes, I have too much free time and discretionary income, sue me.