Chapter 1 –
Credits and the Basics

1.0 - The Credits

First and foremost, thanks to everyone that has participated in the
making
of this guide!

Contributors include:

• Okooo of Oggok, author of this guide

• W1eek, for a suggestion on an AQ level
  helm

1.1 - The Basics

Question 1 – What is an Illusionist?

That’s a tough question. The short answer is: Illusionists are the
Qeynos-only subclass of the Enchanter class. It's important to note
that you
must be a citizen of Qeynos to become an Illusionist. The Freeport
path is called Coercer, which despite its evil tinge shares many
similarities
with its Qeynos counterpart.

Illusionists are far different from every other class and fulfill a
unique
roll in any group:

• Are we DPS (Damage per Second)?
  Yes and no, we do have some nice damage spells focusing mainly on DOT’s
  (Damage over Time). I have heard that an Illusionist can do about 60-80
  DPS where an Assassin or Wizard can do 80-100, so we aren’t the best
  suited to a DPS slot.

• Are we a Tank? That’s a
  definite NO, forced with only very light armor as a casting class we
  don’t do well taking damage. We bruise like a peach.

• Are we healers? Of course not,
  we don’t have a single heal spell. But healers tend to just LOVE a good
  enchanter.

By using our mezzing skills (which make a creature stop attacking
and
moving, however if the creature takes any damage the creature returns
to
attacking) tanks will take less damage overall and the team will only
have to
worry about one or two creatures at a time.

So in short, an Illusionist’s / Coercer's primary function is Crowd
Control
(a.k.a. CC). And crowd-control only gets more indispensable as you (and
your group
mates) advance in level.

Question 2 – What race should I be?

Well, that choice is up to you. If you’re looking at only stats,
intelligence is the primary stat for an Illusionist. Well which race
has the
most intelligence Erudite (31) Gnome (27) Dark elf (26) Ratonga (25)
High Elf
(23) Half Elf (21) You can pick any of the above (If you choose Ratonga
or Dark
elf you will have to betray to be an Illusionist) for a class starting
with
high intelligence. However, starting at level 20 you can buy Fluff/Fun
spells
that change what you look like. Throughout your career you will get
Illusions including
Human, Half Elf, Barbarian, Dwarf, and Gnoll. So you can look like
something
you're not to the outside world. The choice is up to you.

Question 3 – What does it take to be a good Illusionist?

In a word, multi-tasking!

The roll of an Illusionist varies greatly depending on how well your
group
works together. Sometimes your group will only be fighting mobs
(creatures) in
single encounters and your mezzing abilities will be useless. The
answer is
DoTs and Stuns (Creature cant move or attack but can take damage, short
duration), Stifles (the creature cant use spells or combat arts, just
auto-attack of swinging whichever weapon they have), and Power drains
(like a
DoT but for the power bar, a creature with no power does very little
damage),
and at Higher levels power transfers where you power drain the mob and
transfer
it back to your group. Also don’t forget pet control, as with the Desert
of Flames expansion
Illusionists
get a pet, your Personae. A clone of yourself that you command and it
fights
for you. It’s the same level as you are and casts the same spells you
are able
to. The better your Clone spell is (ie. Adept 1, Master 1 ect.) the
more
powerful those attacks are.

However, if your group is pulling mobs in groups, your job will be
to
control the crowd and somehow get the group to attack one mob at a
time.
Sometimes this isn’t possible; either lots of fizzles and resists, or a
group
that doesn’t work well with an Illusionist (remember the mez breaks if
they
take any damage- this includes mage class DOT’s as well, and because
DOT’s keep
ticking it is a constant mez breaker). At that point you again turn to
Stuns
and Dots.

The best Illusionists can mez between 2 and 4 mobs in an encounter,
stun the
mob everyone is attacking as well as cast DOT’s on it, and throw in a
few
Direct Damage (DD) spells for good measure. If you like keeping busy,
an
Illusionist could be the class for you! It’s not an easy job, while
everyone
should be assisting the MT (Main Tank), you will be doing the opposite
and
targeting everything they don’t target. Conversely, if you're the type
that
likes to kick back with a cold beverage, flip through the channels, and
talk to
a friend on the phone while in EQ2 combat, Illusionist probably isn't
the way
to go! At least, if you value your character's good reputation.

One final note of introduction: system requirements for an
Illusionist tend
to be quite high. In a tough battle with everyone’s spells flying, you
need to
be nearly lag free and able to target other mobs and group members.
High
graphics aren’t the best for big battles unless you’re running top of
the line
equipment.

Have anything you'd like to add? Some new equipment, armor or perhaps a
quest? Post it in the href="http://eq2.tentonhammer.com/index.php?name=PNphpBB2&file=viewforum&f=41">TTH
Illusionist Forums. Or Email
us.



href="http://eq2.tentonhammer.com/index.php?module=ContentExpress&func=display&ceid=91">Chapter
1 - Credits & The Basics

href="http://eq2.tentonhammer.com/index.php?module=ContentExpress&func=display&ceid=93&meid=136">Chapter
2 - Quests

href="http://eq2.tentonhammer.com/index.php?module=ContentExpress&func=display&ceid=94&meid=136">Chapter
3 - Training Spells & Spell Upgrades

href="http://eq2.tentonhammer.com/index.php?module=ContentExpress&func=display&ceid=97&meid=136">Chapter
4 - Suggested Equipment

href="http://eq2.tentonhammer.com/index.php?module=ContentExpress&func=display&ceid=98&meid=136">Chapter
5 - Spell List & Definitions

href="http://eq2.tentonhammer.com/index.php?module=ContentExpress&func=display&ceid=92&meid=136">Chapter
6 - Methods & Techniques

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7 - Where to Hunt