How are these classes doing these days?

Ragnar

I'd like to know how these are doing in both 1v1 situations and being useful to a group. Appreciate all responses.


Predator
Ranger
Outrider
Runeguard
Mage
Druid
Defiler
Diabolist

Assume Collar/Diadem/Sash for the magic damage classes, 1600 artifact for the weapon using classes and defensive artifacts for all.

Iniar

Predator - 1v1: much better after the beta, group: decent
Ranger - 1v1: excellent, group: decent, gtoss to break prismatic, reasonable damage, arrows always welcome
Outrider - 1v1: best or second best class in Imperian, group: good damage output, fast bloodfreeze possible with teams
Runeguard - 1v1: excellent, group: amazing
Mage - 1v1: not sure, group: can't tank
Druid - 1v1: excellent, lacks a non-mana finisher but it's so good you'll hardly notice, weakness to metrazol/clumsiness accentuated by two-handed requirement, group: amazing
Defiler - 1v1: amazing, 60s window to use a finisher that takes most of someone's health away, group: too slow to be considered 'good'
Diabolist - 1v1: amazing, heavy on aff tracking, group: damage is reasonably decent, manakill always dangerous

Khizan

I want to point out that ranger cannot break prismatic barrier from in-room; you have to leave and throw into the room.

Ragnar

Thank you both for the input.

Regarding Druid - Do people go the Int route these days, or the Str route?

Regarding Outrider - I pretty much know nothing about the class other than "RAWR WYRMS" and like. Spears or something. Would you mind telling me what you personally think about the class in regards to it's strengths?

Dicene

Sparrows.

Septus

Outrider is nice because it can be as complicated or simple as you want it to be. You can go full on aff hero if that's your thing for the bloodfreeze route, or stick to damage+limbs. Shatter is an amazing instakill. Your damage is pretty nice in teams (especially if artefacted) and the class meshes well with a lot of the other am professions (all of them, reallistically).

Its pretty tanky (bounty+barkskin+weathering+vitality+cloak), particularly as you're able to play athletic for both routes instead of being forced into fast.

You also get traps and trailblazing plus a lot of small handy things (icewalls, icewall destruction, fast fly) built into wyrmriding. Class is pretty fun.

Its also worth noting if you do want to play the aff route, you probably do not need aff tracking to be highly effective still. You will be suboptimal in that regard compared to someone who does have it, but its probably one of the more forgiving classes in that regard.

Iniar

It's very forgiving. 

02:17:43.088 241[47] 529[92] -- db 49 0 39.38 0 ----+- 0
02:17:43.098 Chani gives a silver-spiked spear a quick flourish before driving it forcefully into your body.
02:17:43.099 Damage Taken: 64 cutting, physical (raw damage: 155)
02:17:43.099 The foul black bile on Chani's spear oozes into your wounds, poisoning your blood.
02:17:43.100 You are afflicted with nausea.
02:17:43.110 Terror takes hold, as a numb sensation overcomes your body.
02:17:43.111 You are afflicted with numbness.
02:17:43.120 177[34] 529[92] -- db 60 0 39.38 0 ----+- 0

The red number is my bleeding, and bloodfreeze is simply bleeding * 5, so without any fancy shindigs, Chani can get me into a situation where I either cannot clot (haemophilia, very easy to track), clot half my life off (dryblood, also relatively easy to track), die to bloodfreeze, or die to her team's priest.

Ragnar

That sounds... really powerful. o.O


What about Druids? Last I played one there were two routes: Strength or Intelligence.  Are either of them considered more dominant and powerful?

And, if you had to choose between a level 3 Quarterstaff and a level 2 with the artifact that lets every root do every ability, which would you pick?

Is the artifact that causes the Earthen Charge/Feather charge last 50% longer worth it, or is it something most people manage without?


Likewise with Outrider. Level 3 Spear, or level 2 spear and the artifact that boosts Wyrmriding cold abilities by 15%?

Iniar

Definitely Nature's Pendant. The rest you have to ask Eldreth.

Ragnar

What do you think @Eldreth?

Dreacor

About having level 2 spear and wyrm bracelets or having level 3 spear, I'd go for level 2 spear and bracelets. I like to go for bleeding and then deal bloodfreeze. Bloodfreeze's damage raises significantly there, while level 3 spear deals more damage per hit and doesn't help with bloodfreeze. As mentioned earlier, the bloodfreeze damage is really nice so I'd try to push that instead of "bashing damage".

Iniar

I guess if you do the math, it works out this way very very approximately:

Level 3 spear: (64/155) * 155 * 1.2 = 77 (raw 186)

Level 2 spear: (64/155) * 155 * 1.15 = 73 (raw 178)

You'll maybe get 2-3 points of bleed with that difference, which translates to about 15 extra overall BFreeze damage (very very approximately).

On the other hand, +15% BFreeze takes you to 5.75 x bleed, which at 40 bleed translates to about +30 damage (very very approximately). (and you're definitely going to bfreeze frequently over 40 bleed)

I guess the only other consideration worth talking about is how much value you place on 'This is a level 3 spear, and it is totally 100% over-the-top kickass, and I'mmabout to beatcha with it.'

Septus

Limb break speed is a very important factor.

Rasca

Somehow Septus always has four limbs of mine broken. The dastard.

Iniar

Very true, forgot about limb break speed.

Aakrin

Strength is more important to most of druid. I think its possible to play as a lightning druid using INT, but if you're ever indoors you're boned.

Iniar

Except that lightning cast takes forever and a day T.T

Ragnar

Confused then on how a Druid works.

Aren't half their skills scaled by Collar and Int? Tornado, Lightning, etc?

Would a Strength based Druid benefit from a Collar? I don't actually know what skills a Strength druid would rely on since my experience with the class is over a year old. Maybe two? Forget when they got changed. Quarterstaff stab was Str based IIRC. So was the earthquake pound thingy.

Eldreth

I'll PM you.