Question regarding third box

[Sentien]

Hey all, I've been reading these forums for the past few months but this is my first post.

A little bit about my current set-up. I box a Shaman (67) and a Bard (69) while my friend plays a SK (65). I used to box the shaman, bard, a monk (60), and a cleric (60). We were playing together for some time and stopped a little bit before SoD due to time constraints. We didn't get to see mercs in action because of that. I just currently started playing again and have to say the mercs are pretty sweet.

The question is which would make a better 3rd box. A rogue or a wizard? The plus of the wizard was evac and ports. While the rogue has less upkeep (just backstabbing every few seconds) correct me if I am wrong here. Though I guess switching over to the rogue to backstab every so often is the equivalent of switching over to the wizard and dropping some nukes. On my 3rd account I already have a 60 rogue (in really bad gear because i was plvling), a level 40 wizard and a 60 cleric (used it for buffing and 2nd healer). As you can see I had already been thinking about which dps to use for the 3rd box. The level situation doesn't matter, getting from 40 - 65 is a cakewalk.

Any input would be very much appreciated. Thanks in advanced.

*Edit: I guess an optional 3rd toon would be a mage for ds, pet, coth. My assumption would be Mage > Rogue. But what about Mage vs Wiz in terms of more overall utility/ease of boxing?

[Kruzar]

I almost don't want to post this.. but I guess in fairness I have to.. If it was me.. I would go with some sort of caster that requires almost no upkeep for your 3rd box. My main is a Rogue and there is a lot more to getting the most out of them than flipping over and hitting backstab every once in awhile. You will need to adjust positioning, click off discs, other abilities, clickies, backstab, and do all sorts of other things to really get the most bang for your buck. Rogues are a true powerhouse when it comes to DPS, but it does require a little more love to get them to work out properly. With the other toons you are already running you will probably see more benefit from either adding a mage or necro to the mix. Personally, with the choices already there I would go necro, since you have a toon that you can basically sick pet in.. DoT the heck out of the mob, and then flop till the next pull. With a mage.. you get the backup tank in the pet as well and there is all the free gear you will be seeing. Both toons of course require far less in gear than a rogue will, and you get pretty good DPS by just sending in the pets. The other thing to think about is with a mage you get all the pet toys that you could handle and pass those out to the shammy and the SK for the extra pet DPS.

Good Luck out there...

[Cromagnon]

Of course when giving this type of advice, its strictly based on opinion, but if I was in your position I wouldn't be looking at a rogue, as IMO they require alot of upkeep for a few reasons. Firstly you are going to be having to constantly adjusting to stay in melee range (New expansions mob push is alot more noticeable and requires position tweaking to remain in melee range) and having to switch over to keep hitting backstab every couple seconds would drive me bonkers, and that's not counting any other hotkey type abilities that need to be thrown into the mix.

Personally if it were me, I'd be looking at as you said wizard vs mage.

A wizard tends to work well in a dps situation since they are easy to set up a nuke macro (within eq, no haxor crap) that will cast X spells in Y order. And they don't need to worry about positioning except to stay in range. Even without the macro you can tend to use the wizard in the second half of the fight for the burn once the pull has stabilized. They are nice to have for evacs, and also for porting, and especially in the group game they are a very big source of dps, especially in the burst department.

A mage will give you way more utility than the wizard. Call of the Hero is invaluable for a boxer, as both a pulling tool, and for moving your group around quickly. Mage Damage Shield is very nice, and improves kill rates dramatically. Mage summoned pet items to make the shammy's doggie hit harder, and also provides an additional target for your panther proc buff from the shammy. The mage pet as well is a decent offtank for when you need to crowd control (throw pet at the add pending mez from bard?) and also the pet provides great sustained DPS, while your mage's spells will help in the burst DPS deparment.

In my opinion it comes down to do you want a box that brings the most to your group then you would prolly want the mage, if you want a toon that still brings alot to your group, but needs minimal attention/upkeep go with the wizard. Either way you won't go wrong, just look at how much time you have to devote to your 3rd box, and what you need out of that slot in your group.

Hope that helps,
Crom

[Veril]

Casters need no attention, press 1 hotkey per mob to do 3 nukes (and a pet). rogue has to move all the time.

I'd go mage, then wiz.

[Sentien]

Thanks a ton for the posts, especially kruzar about the rogue info. I guess I'll be going mage for the pet toys/ds/coth/back-up tank. seems like a solid group set-up.

[Bigcat Daddy-o]

[Kriyn Nutzforcatnip]

I box a warrior and a rogue, and don't have the problems some of you are mentioning about having to move around constantly. If you have a corner available your tank won't be pushed back, and a horse solves that problem when you don't have a corner. The warrior can establish enough hate to keep the mob focused on him, which allows me to be on the rogue more often and use his abilities more effectively. You have to also realize that with mercs your focus on healing is reduced even more, which also allows you to use more dots/dd on the shaman.

This group setup does however require you to do some switching around occasionaly to keep agro on warrior. The dps can be really nice if both the warrior and rogue are well equipped, and have a decent amount of AA. I do agree though that a mage is a nice addition in a 3 box setup. My fourth character is a mage, but is on same account as the warrior so I don't use him much. If I was able to four box I would definately add him to the mix.

[HawklordXegony]

I'd go for the wizard. If you want maximum DPS it's not as easy as some have said, though. If you get a Gift of Mana you'll want to cast the big nuke next. Also, Thricewoven Energy (or its predecessors) can proc a damage-boosting effect. I cast the big nuke in that case, too. Audio triggers are a big help here.

[Valdemar]

Too bad I came to this thread after the OP decided to go with a MAG. I would've suggested a DRU instead. You'd get stackable AC/HP buffs that include a nice mana regen component, Druid root and snare, powerful DOTs - making all three characters enabled for DOT camps, ports, evac, more than double the healing power, and powerful nukes. Aren't DRUs the third most powerful nuking class in the game?

Anyway, you'd loose lots of fire-and-forget DPS if you switch a MAG for a DRU, but you'd gain all sorts of survivability. Level one of each! That way you can switch out to meet the specific needs of your intended camp or quest. BRD + SHM + DRU for the win.

Regards,
Valdemar