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Dynamic Duos: Tank +
Arcane Caster
By Dalmarus
style="font-style: italic;">October
24, 2007
This
week,
we continue our
exploration of which combinations you think make the best
duo. I will divide them into a couple
of categories that I see as the basis for most duos involving a tank
and an arcane caster and offer my take on them. I am focusing only on
tank/arcane caster combos this time. If you don't understand a term
or abbreviation I use here, please check our
href="http://vanguard.tentonhammer.com/index.php?module=ContentExpress&file=index&func=display&ceid=135&meid=109">Game
Terms 101.
The combination of tank + caster is moderately common. The
logic behind it stems from the fact that the tank can take the hits
while
the arcane caster dishes out the damage. Picking this duo also
ensures you have that hard-to-find tank when you get ready to form a
group. Clearly, the shortcoming of this duo is the inability to heal
effectively.
Dread Knight as Tank
This duo is
an attempt to
increase damage. Dread Knights can deal some blast damage via skills
and can just generally weaken mobs with Dreadful Countenance. The duo
gets the safety net of having a true tank, but the tank can also deal
some damage.
Pros:
In long
fights or fights
with adds, Dreadful Countenance weakens tougher mobs
Greater
damage potential from
the tank compared to Paladins
Cons:
Tank has only minimal heals from life taps
Faction grind for being "evil"
Paladin as Tank
A duo featuring a Paladin has a tank that can heal. He can also perform
minor buffs and debuffs. He has a tiny repertoire of spiritual-based
magic, but it's not much.
Pros:
Tank can
heal
Most
defensive based of the tanks
Cons:
Low on magical damage
Paladin does less melee damage than Warrior and less
magical
damage than Dread Knight
Warrior as Tank
Warriors bring a lot of melee damage potential to a duo, but they can
still shift to Defensive Stance to soak up hits and keep aggro.
Warriors have multiple abilities to pull a mob off an overly aggresive
caster.
Pros:
Greatest
melee damage
potential among tanks
Multiple
abilities to regain aggro off spell slinging casters
Cons:
Low on magical damage
Tank has no heals
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hspace="10">Necromancer as Arcane Caster
The benefits of choosing a Necromancer are many. Necromancers can keep
themselves (and at later levels their party to a lesser degree) healed
with various lifetap abilities. They have some crowd
control through a 60 second mez and off-tanking with their
pet.
With feign death and an evac spell, full wipes should be rare while
paired together.
Pros:
Feign
death, evac ability
Personal
heals and a minor party heal
Cons:
Smaller burst DPS numbers than some of the other casters
Necromancers are generally viewed as a solo-only class so
may not have much grouping experience
Psionicist as Arcane Caster
Psionicists are the kings of crowd control among the arcane casters,
but don't let that fool you into thinking they're weak.
They have
an impressive ability to dish out large amounts of damage when the need
arises. They also get a number of various abilities to suit the
situation in the form of Concentrations -
href="http://vanguard.tentonhammer.com/index.php?module=ContentExpress&func=display&ceid=497#KNOWN_CONCENTRATIONS">Psionicist
Concentrations Guide.
Pros:
Master
Crowd Controller
Abilty to
alter personal buffs to match situation
Cons:
Crowd Control abilities seem to wane in the later levels
Difficult class to learn to play well
Druid as Arcane Caster
Druids are the premier healer out of the arcane casters. They also have
a wide range of buffs and abilities that any group would find useful -
from damage shields to speed buffs and everything in between.
Pros:
Highest
healing ability among the arcane casters
More group
friendly buffs and abilities than the other arcane casters
Cons:
Ineffective for crowd control needs
Lacks a specific ability focus unlike the other casters
Sorceror as Arcane Caster
No class in Vanguard can equal the sheer potential for mass destruction
like a sorceror. Controllers of fire and ice, they can rain massive
amounts of damage down on single targets, or groups using a variety of
AoE spells. They also have 2 wards to assist party members - one
negates all spell damage for one attack while the other will reflect an
attack (spell/ability) back at the originator.
Pros:
Can deal
massive amounts of damage in a short period of time
Two wards
to add a bit of protection to the group
Cons:
Must be careful to manage their aggro
Lack of group utility buffs
Now it's your turn.
Tell us which
duo is best!
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IN OUR POLL!
What is the key to making the most powerful tank + arcane caster
combo?
Choose Dread Knight as the tank
Pick Paladin for the tank
Warrior as tank
Use a Necromancer for the arcane caster
Get a Psionicist for the arcane caster
Take the Druid as the arcane caster
Select a Sorceror for the arcane caster
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href="http://forums.tentonhammer.com/showthread.php?t=21310">VOTE
HERE
(this poll is always open)