Stop Playing!!!

[Mooni]

looky hurr Frosty,
I want to play but can't, too. That's only because I've slept 15 hours in the past 5 days and have work tomorrow.
Wowwww what a game! Got a warden up to 30, got no less than 6 alts up to 10 (mostly tanky types trying to feel out a good multibox setup), bought 3 more copies of the game, now they're all pushing 20 or so. I've got 2 singleboxer friends who play too so we'll all be linking up soon since their new alts are mid-20s now

Shadowknight(Arasai so did most of the citizenship quest for Qeynos and Kelethin - everything but be forced to become a pally), Warden (HoTs hoooooooo) and Warlock (Rare delicacy of PBAoE and AoE damage)

@#$% dies quick.

[Frosty]

That's only because I've slept 15 hours in the past 5 days

That sounds like my normal sleep schedule. :P



I got to play a little last night because the kids fell asleep early and the wife wanted me to stop working on our bathroom (yay!).

I'm pretty sure I'll have to make up for it the rest of the week though. :S

[asgradth]

when you say 'heavier on dps' - what classes you thinking of combining? sk/lock maybe brig/fury/def/dir/coer???

I've put together a number of teams, but found heavy Melee just doesn't work. Way too much positioning going on (other than MT) to make it all effective. I settled on the following group of Erudites: Shadowknight, Illusionist, Warden, Troubadour, Conjuror Wizard. I wanted to go Pally, but I really can't get around my utter disgust for all things Paladin, so SK won.

I configured the toons across my accounts so I can swap out the Conjuror and bring in my Epic'd Templar and get the gloriousness of 2 healers when needed. I also put the SK on the same account as my Warlock, so I can pull out the SK, bring in the warlock and have an optimal Magic DPS group (Warden, Illusionist, Troubador, Conjuror, Wizard, Warlcok) when I decide to start raiding again.

One of my 6-box buddies has an MT Group similar to yours (200aa, T2 armor, half mythic)... So once I get my DPS team settled down (2-3 mos), we can start tackling the 2x raids... Although the elemental 2x raid boss who's in the windy room, that just plain sucks, doubt we'll ever win that one as two 6-boxers... /sigh

I miss the staying power of my old MT group, but my new team is soo dps heavy, fights take almost half the time as before, but I really have to pay attention to the SK's health.

I've pondered a Melee DPS Group, something like: Bezerker, Inquis, Mystic, Dirge, Swashbuckler, Assassin... but the thought of re-configuring my entire boxing setup to keep the other toons in melee range is about the least exciting thing i've ever thought of

[Noxxy]

Although the elemental 2x raid boss who's in the windy room, that just plain sucks, doubt we'll ever win that one as two 6-boxers

I hear ya Asg - that place is the suxz0r for a pure boxed team - but - it does seem to be the way EQ2 is going (well TBTH was always scripted it's just now it seems to be going totally overboard), i.e., fully scripted raid encounters requiring a whole lot of running around and 1 stuff-up = raid-wipe

I've pondered a Melee DPS Group, something like: ...Assassin...

- created an assassin 3 times now and the positionals are a pure killer as are the attacks from stealth - I personally find it very hard to squeeze the dps out of it resulting in pretty poor performance - BUT - rogues are a totally different story and are a permanent fixture in any of my groups

I settled on the following group of Erudites: ...Wizard...

- how do you find the wiz? I have a very old wiz which I swing in on the odd occasion (full T2 blahblahblah) and I personally find it hard to keep up consistent DPS due to the long cast times (even with AA spend) - sure, some of the temp-buffs are nice - and when it procs , it procs big-time but...the variance reported on ACT is massive
- you plan on having seperate key strokes to keep the wiz going or is it part of your normal spell cast sequence (i.e., mixed in with commands sent to other chars)?

[Mooni]

For Burnout-related issues, I just read 341 issues of a manga called "History's Greatest Disciple: Kenichi".
I also turn to designing cute art when I get that way ([spoiler]http://ferdynna.deviantart.com - started learning to draw a year ago and have so far to go![/spoiler]
As for EQ2 and its awesomeness, I got my group up to about 30 (SK/Warden/Templar/Warlock) but now I'm not feeling it and am waiting to take the next step of rerolling one or all of them.
3 betrayals was kinda a pain, but not an experience I regret at all. Of course you guys talk about stuff like betrayals with a shrug, because you've done it 10,000 times, but for me it was an ordeal! Hard to let go of characters sometimes.
As a 4-boxer I feel kinda limited at my level to only doing instances where 90% of the enemies con green, and only a few con blue. I did figure out how to put in my old setup where I can use the numpad for healing and the other number keys for fighting, but it feels like even with a templar and warden focusing on someone they can't always keep them up. No, I don't just mean when I accidentally pull all of the downstairs in blackburrow (thank you warlock), I'm talking about when a blue ^ ^ elite starts beating on the warden or warlock. It shouldn't be a big deal, and maybe when I get to a "real" level it won't be, but my group gets torn up! The SK and Warlock die the most, but all SKs and warlocks are destined to die. (Whereas my warden, my first character ever when singleboxing, got to level 18 before her first death)
I want more DPS! I want more survivability! I just might ditch the warden because I've heard good things about defiler. Gotta finish selling her cute arasai dresses and stuff first though.
Want some good news from Mooni's corner? I think the way melee works in EQ2 is ASTOUNDING and would not trade that for 32 free lifetime WoW accounts. Being able to melee through autoassist and also having it work as a godlike /face command, I could see a full-melee group working like Asgradth was talking about really working. Just have the tank run past the mob, turning it in the process, then turning everyones' attack on. At a bare minimum you'd need one movement key bound to the tank that's not bound to anyone else.

TL;DR : People get burnt out sometimes. I am currently accepting suggestions for a cool 4-boxing team, because I'm less than 2 weeks into EQ2 and have a lot to learn.

Oh how I wish there was an EQ2 analog of Paladin/3 elemental shamans/1 resto shaman. Then I'd feel like the heals meant something.

[Noxxy]

Hey Mooni,

About the only group I have troubles with assembling the 'perfect' team is a 4 man

A really simple guide I use is -
- 3 man - tank, healer dps - we all know that one
- 4 man - tank, heal, dps either bard or cc - I actually find a 4 man difficult as it's the hard choose between bard/cc - really have to consider what each brings to the team before making a decision and what you plan to do
-- why not tank, heal, bard ,cc? IMHO you give up way too much dps vs having a dedicated dpsr
- 5 man - tank, heal, dps, bard, cc - have to make sure you pick up a little extra healing if going heavy (i.e., dirges have heals as does a tanking paladin, etc)
- 6 man - for boxing in a heavy dungeon, tank, 2 heal, 3 dps (where #1 = dps, #2 = bard, #3 = cc) [if in a light dungeon or farming could prob drop the extra healer for an extra dpsr]

IMHO I 'think' you are not having as much fun you can be mainly because 2 of your 4man team are healers - this makes for some sloooowww grinding

So the question comes down to how to give yourself a better combo -
- tank - you've already got the sk so stick with that
- healer - defiler OR fury - really depends on what you plan on doing (i.e., more dps or more defensive)
- dps - brig if you like melee - lock for caster - prob stick with the lock as you have 1 already
- and the last spot I'd lean towards - bard - if you like the brig idea = dirge, or if going lock = troub

Whilst a cc (a coer in your case) is a very good char to have I 'think', as a 4man, you'd get extra benefit out of a bard (evac, run speed, mana regen, massive buffs/debuffs)

...90% of the enemies con green, and only a few con blue...

- something sounds off TBH Mooni - and I think it keeps going back to that fact you have 2 healers in your 4 man therefore very low dps --> more healing or more chance the lock will proc --> casters (healers mainly) going OOM or grabbing aggro --> deathspam

...At a bare minimum you'd need one movement key bound to the tank that's not bound to anyone else

- exactly how I melee all the time
- tank on awsd
- all slaves on up/down/left/right
- tanks body pulls or 'whatever', drags mob through your team, spins mob 180 degrees - mob perfectly in between your tank and your team plus everyone in melee range
- if I misjudge I can shuffle the slaves forward with a quick tap of the up arrow and as they have naturally 'autofaced' the mob they move in the right direction

What I'd honestly suggest to yourself and anyone else just starting is this - have a look at everything because it's so easy to say get to 20 - so why not make 1 of 'everything' you think might be interesting?
- WARNING: what might be an uber char at 20 may well and truly suck at level cap so still do your research
- as your just in 'test' mode I'd totally forget about betrayals and all that cr@pola - just grab a 'good' throw away char for 'good' classes and a bad for bad
- remember - you will prob throw these chars away so just use 'n abuse

So a simple list of things to try are:
- both crusaders (sk / pally) on the 'tank' account
- both shamans (def/mystic) + warden on the 'healer' account
- lock and both rogues (swash/brig) on the dps account
- both bards (dirge/troub) on the utility account

Then if you get a 5th account
- both cc (coer/illi) on the cc acount

Then 6th
- both clerics + fury

I'd put the fury with the clerics as then you get to match a fury + defiler or a warden + cleric if you go 6man

IMHO, the classes to avoid whilst boxing are:
- sorry to say - wiz - I honestly think more dps can be gotten out of a well handled rogue over a wizzy anyday BUT there are teams on here that have used a wizzy well so do your research (or try yourself!)
- any predator - range, positionals, stealth = boxers nightmare - very hard to micro-manage
- as a main tank - any brawler - imho too 'light'
- and IMHO - and ONLY my personal preference - I avoid summoners (but some of the gang on here do use these classes very successfully - just my personal preference as I tend to go deep TSO and the less squishies the better)

If you get more than the 4 accounts I'd then have a look at wardens, warriors and clerics

[Noxxy]

O M Y G A W D!!!

...History's Greatest Disciple: Kenichi...

Found here

HAHAHAHAH already racing through the chapters - great larf

...and seriously, where do guys meet girls like Miu?!?!?!?!?! /holds up hand whilst jumping from foot to foot on the spot - PICK MEEEEEE!!!!

[Frosty]

I bet you all thought you got rid of me!!!!



But I'm oh so very close to playing again. Hope I remember how! :P

[asgradth]

Noxxy - Thanks for the info on Assassin... I figured as much but wasn't sure. Now i know, and knowing's half the battle, GI Joe! As for my Wizard... I only went Wizard cause I already have a T1 Epic Warlock and i like the Burst dps the Wizard adds. Yes, cast times are slower than the Warlock, however nearly every toon in this group (sk, illy, warden, troub, conj, wizard) either adds a dps proc to spell casts or speeds up cast time. Add to the fact that they're all Erudites and i'm already expecting cast times to be 50% of normal once I hit 80 w/ 100+ AA's and such.

At level 24, I have to fight lvl 28+ mobs to get any kind of real data out of ACT and it's usually all over the place. The problem is, the burst DPS of this team is HUGE, while overall dps is average. I can fight the same mob three times. The first time it takes 3s to kill. The 2nd time is an insta-kill (hit one key and the mob dies) and the 3rd time is an average fight w/ healing and such. Once I start my Varsoon rounds (lvl 28 or so), I should have a better Idea of Wizard DPS.

Mooni - I beta tested eq2 by iron man dual-boxing, took a break, came back and started quad-boxing and ran into the same issues as you. It's like, no matter what team I tried, I always felt... weak. Once I put my 6-man team together, EVERYTHING changed. I'm not suggesting you switch, but it's amazing what 1 more toon can bring to a boxing team... and two more make all the difference in the world. But if you plan on quad-boxing for the forseeable future, stick with Noxxy's advice. His thoughts, ideas and musings helped me to become the uber boxer I am now :thumbup:

As for how I control my team... I use Ideazon's Merc keyboard and have effectively fully customized every key on the keyboard (the software lets you change all keys to ... well, anything) and a Logitech MX Revolution. The mouse effectively has 6 buttons (one button is a 3way switch), so each button heals a different toon. I then configured keys 1 - 0 across each toon like so:
1: pull/debuff/snare/no_dmg_spells
2: stuns/knockback/stifle/no_dots/some_dps
3: dots/dots/dots
4: pure normal dps (not ice comet)
5: special dps (ice comet like spells)
6: Mezz/Root/Snare
7: Macro commands all bots to 'stopfollow', 'stopattack', 'pet backoff'
8: Healer heals current target, all other toons use Encounter Based Spells
9: Normal AOE Spells (not the uber ones like the warlock has that pulls mobs from every room within distance)
0: Uber AOE Spells, like the warlock one
-: My macro key that stops attack, stops follow, targets tank, stands up, and then follows tank

I then configured pretty much every key used by my right hand on the keyboard for all the special abilities that each toon has. When people watch me play, they say it looks like i'm playing a piano or something... It's taken me over a year to come up with this setup and i'm still tweaking it every night and everytime i change toons/teams. I also use 5-8 hotbars on each toon (depending) and use shift/ctrl/alt every number key for specials (like shift-2 is 'oh shit mode', tank puts up Sanctuary, erudites cast wards, healer casts special heal, etc).

Training your fingers, mind and eyes to take it all in and do the right thing at the right time will take a Long Time. I already type 110+ wpm and have gamed on a pc for 20+ years (counting Amiga & commodore), and I still screw up magnificently and wipe in ways that would disband a normal PUG... But if you keep going, keep trying different things and don't get discourage, you'll get it.

It's going to take time and patience for you to find creative solutions to all the one-off unusual problems, spells, or skills you come across. Patience is key. Know and understand that eventually you'll figure it out and maybe even discover something new... When you do, please let us know what it is

g'luck!

[Herc130]

I got burned out on EQ2 as well and I only got to lvl29 lol. Leveling up via quest is not my thing...especially when all the quest are pretty much the same thing over and over. I especially hate the easter egg hunt type quest. Found questing in EQ1 much better....and I liked grinding to get experience. Just been not playing any video games for the past 8 or 12 months ( I don't track time well) , but now I think I will come back to boxing an MMO again, however I think I will go back to EQ1 most likely. Get my rogue which I have been playing since 1999 capped on everything and work on my box accounts as well. I think this time I will just not join a guild as it always makes me feel obligated to play at certain times when I really shouldn't...which eventually leads me to think EQ1 takes too much of my time and I end up quitting in order to avoid real trouble in the real world. Still thinkng it over...cause man it is going to be a pain switching all my x-keys back to EQ1 icons and doing all the hotkeys again.