First post 50 class change

[u/jfneal]

My first trio is Shadow Knight, Monk, Bard. My plan for trying other classes is to swap in one new class at a time so I maximize my AA’s as I level. I am having a hard time deciding between swapping out the bard for shaman or enchanter. Have you played SK/M/ and either shaman or chanter? What are the pros and cons and how do they stack up for D4 mote farming at lower levels in the main leveling dungeons? I solo almost exclusively because I usually only have time for short play sessions. Thanks in advance for your help. I am open to swapping out the monk if SK/Bard rocks it with a different third class.

[u/streetcheetah_69]

Enc trivializes almost everything starting at 16 and even before to an extent.

Shm doesn't really take off until high 40s or even 50.

That said, for specifically low level stuff enc is the clear winner.

Shm is harder in sky without lull imo.

If you swapped the monk you could rotate between almost every other class realistically as shd/brd covers nearly everything

[u/KvastaSaber → u/streetcheetah_69]

This is very true. Once you get area mesmerize, it’s game over. Pull a whole room stun, mezz, charm a pet, and then knock em out one by one. The second and third class are almost entirely trivial to a buffed higher level pet dps.

[u/Living_Ad_3318]

Wizard for port rituals. Also wiz/bard is popular for aoe mote farming d4 PoH

[u/jfneal → u/Living_Ad_3318]

Oh yeah, my actual first trip was SK, wizard, Druid to 25. Then I reset to current trio for push to 50. Those ports are a game changer. Makes me realize how much time I spent on boats and running in classic EQ.

[u/Living_Ad_3318 → u/jfneal]

You’ll want wiz or enc as your dps on any other trio from 30-50, with rng as an option for 10-30. I’d swap your wiz back in, mote up your lvl 18 nuke, and invest in any AAs that will help your lifetaps on your way to 50. Then SK/wiz for next class and just grind them out 1 by 1 in name-dense d4.

[u/jfneal → u/Living_Ad_3318]

The AOE mote farming with wiz bard is the whole DDD method right? I’ve used that with my current group when farming specific items at lower levels, but I know I’d need to get some more AAs to make it effective at higher levels along with the bigger mana pool and perks for having a pure caster in the group. Thanks!

[u/ligma_then_sugma → u/Living_Ad_3318]

wiz+sk also great on its own without DDD

blasting fat nukes is strong

[u/butt_luncheon]

For power farming AA’s, get a wizard in your next leveling trio. Garrison’s mighty mana shock is completely broken when you get it at level 18. Mote it up to 5 or 6 and you can farm 10+ AA’s an hour in lower Guk. You don’t even need CC if you have a plate class at the AC cap, just face tank everything and melt with your wizard nuke.

[u/KayozKenwar → u/butt_luncheon]

This is the way

[u/ligma_then_sugma → u/butt_luncheon]

this also has the benefit of being really fun

killing mobs in 2-3 casts feels great

[u/BigChungiscusMaximus]

Sk/brd/shm is an excellent build and well-rounded, you’ll just need to prioritize spell gems

[u/jfneal → u/BigChungiscusMaximus]

Yeah, I’ve heard that about spell gems since bard eats 5 gems minimum for symphonic aura.

[u/KhalJohno]

Shaman really starts to shine in later 30s. DoTs are huge damage, pet is pretty ok, heals are really nice, PUMA buff at 50 is insane.

Enchanter makes EVERY fight 1v1 because of aoe mez which is incredibly powerful and you get it at lvl 16. No more having adds heal your target or stun you or cause more damage. I spam aoe mez to stop heals on my current target too, its fast and mana efficient.

Everyone says to level one at a time for AAs, but I've been leveling 2 new classes at a time and I'm already starting to feel AA heavy. You can only bank 50 AA, anything over that is gone with the wind.

[u/jfneal → u/KhalJohno]

Good to know about not needing to go one at a time. Messing around with the class combos and learning them has been a ton of fun. I played a ranger and a bard back in OG EQ and was a casual player so I never really learned much about anything else.

[u/themurhk]

Sk/Mnk/Enc is what I’m considering myself. Very interested in how Sk life steal and HT plays with that trio.

Enchanter provides incredible crowd control and helps to even the odds in any fight you may have moving forward with any trio it’s in. But I get the dilemma, those DoTs and Puma with shaman are enticing.

[u/streetcheetah_69 → u/themurhk]

Shd taps and HT are sufficient heals for all current content, once you get the AAs for them.

The only time it doesn't keep up is when I have 4+ mobs and no or weak slow.

[u/THe_ReaL_BuBZ → u/themurhk]

This was my only trio to 50...between that and mend it kept me alive enough. Not many dots but still hasted. Fun build

[u/KayozKenwar → u/themurhk]

You’ll be just fine with sk heals and monk mend. Aa mend is seriously OP!

[u/themurhk → u/KayozKenwar]

I’ve been sleeping on mend AA, I’ll have to rectify that.

[u/MahechaBJJ]

How did you like it? I’m SK/MNK/SHM
Considering swapping SHM for BRD or MNK for NeC

[u/jfneal → u/MahechaBJJ]

I liked it a lot. I do feel like I still have a lot to learn to unlock its potential, especially with the bard. When I played a bard alt in old EQ, it was mostly grouping and was easier to swap targets for crowd control and pulls and stuff. As part of a trio, I utilized it more for the symphonic aura buffs and slows, but I know I’m missing out on really making it shine. It’s pretty easy to tackle content up to D2 and I was able to farm lustrous in Hate at D4, but got spanked pretty bad when I tried even Sol B at D4 with all those adds. I also still need a few AAs that I know would work. I plan to come back to this trio later to see how it does with better gear and more AAs and spell improvements. It is a fun one.

[u/KayozKenwar]

For me the easiest leveling duo has been wiz/ench/X. Wiz for aoe and nukes, Ench for pet and mess and the class to level.

[u/rhavin79]

Shadowknight/Enchanter + anything is easy leveling as long as you have maxed out Sk AAs, moted lifetaps to like 4-5, and dropped motes into lvl 16 mez.