src="http://media.tentonhammer.com/vanguard/gallery/albums/site_images/NewPollHeader.jpg">

Dynamic Duos:
Offensive Fighter +
Arcane Caster

By Dalmarus

---

style="font-style: italic;">November 30, 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 an
offensive fighter and an arcane caster and offer my take on
them. I am focusing only on offensive fighter/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 offensive fighter + caster is moderately common. The
logic behind it stems from the fact that the offensive fighter can
still dish out some decent punishment and take some hits while the
arcane caster dishes out the heavy damage. Picking this duo
also
ensures you have good dps foundation when you get ready to form a
group. Clearly, the shortcoming of this duo is the inability to heal
effectively.

Bard as Offensive Fighter

The benefits of choosing a Bard are many. Bards give movement buffs in
the form of run speed, levitation, and underwater breathing. They can
craft songs to up resistances or increase damage. They have crowd
control skills, and they take hits fairly well.



Pros:

• Bard can
  customize songs to
  fit the enemy
  
  
• Crowd
  control
  
  

Cons:

• Lower melee damage potential than Ranger (and likely the
  lowest
  among all offensive fighters)
  
• Power of buffs may be diminished without a full group to
  benefit
  

Monk as Offensive Fighter

The Monk has potential for a lot of raw damage. Monks also enjoy
versatility in the three fighting styles (Dragon, Drunken, and
Harmonious). Check out the href="http://vanguard.tentonhammer.com/index.php?module=ContentExpress&file=index&func=display&ceid=350&meid=144">Monk
Class Guide for links to skills for each of the fighting
styles.
Most often, Monks are lauded for their ability to off-tank. This means
adds are not nearly as devastating to a duo.



Pros:

• Monk can
  heal himself
  
  
• High melee
  potential from Monk
  
  

Cons:

• May have difficulty maintaining aggro at times
  
• Lacks the versatility of the Bard
  

Ranger as Offensive Fighter

It was common knowledge during beta that style="font-style: italic;">Vanguard mastermind
Brad McQuaid
heavily favored the Ranger. In fact, his alter ego, Aradune, was a
Ranger. Knowing that, it should be no surprise that the Ranger can mete
out some serious pain. The Ranger can also stalk, making it easier to
drag tombstones.



Pros:

• Highest
  melee potential among
  offensive fighters
  
  
• Stalk to
  recover tombstones
  and scout
  
  

Cons:

• No way to deal with adds
  
• Lacks the versatility of the Bard
  

Rogue as Offensive Fighter

The Rogue is probably a misunderstood class in style="font-style: italic;">Vanguard. Played
correctly, it can
bring the pain, but many players lack the patience to master the
poisons. Rogues are the masters of stealth and stalking, so they are
terrific scouts and corpse retrievers.



 
Pros:

• Creative
  ways to deal damage
  with poisons
  
  
• Stalk to
  recover tombstones
  and scout
  
  

Cons:

• Few people know how to play a Rogue well
  
• Lacks the versatility of the Bard

src="http://media.tentonhammer.com/vanguard/gallery/albums/album35/Necromancer_paperdoll.jpg"
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-offensive fightering
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!


cellpadding="2" cellspacing="2">
style="vertical-align: top; background-color: rgb(160, 184, 216);">
style="text-align: center; background-color: rgb(160, 184, 216);"> style="font-weight: bold;">VOTE
IN OUR POLL!

What is the key to making the most powerful offensive fighter + arcane
caster
combo?

• Choose Bard as the offensive fighter
  
• Pick Monk for the offensive fighter
• Ranger as offensive fighter
• Grab a Rogue for the offensive fighter
• 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
  

style="text-align: center; background-color: rgb(160, 184, 216);"> href="http://forums.tentonhammer.com/showthread.php?t=21571">VOTE
HERE
(this poll is always open)