My 2 cents:

Allround 8vs8

Cleric (Heal, buff)
Cleric (Buff, Heal)
Minstrel (songs, melee)
Pally (50 Shield)
Sorc (44 mind, 31 body)
Theurg (42 ice, 35 earth - bt, aoe root, ice and earth pets for melee and ranged rupt)
Merc (blades)
Merc (blunt - melee stun)

Mercs with det 5 and charge, hard to stop and reasonable dps. Theurg and sorc as good rupt and kite duo, minstrel for single target rupt or melee assist train

Caster Setup
Cleric
Cleric
Minstrel
Sorc (Mind, Body)
Sorc (Body, Mind)
cabba
cabba
Theurg

Theurg could be Wind but personally I would go for Ice/Earth for bt, two types of pets and utility. Unless someone debuffs spirit...

One sorc or cabby could be replaced with a pally for endu and guard/slam (kiting usually works better with endu, me thinks^) [/b]

Why 41 heal for a cleric? I played cleric in a guild group on live classic. the 41 spec heal consumes too much mana, you are oom after 2-3 heals with that spec heal. Even on live classic, where you got Balbans Ring & Champ Weapon Charge. Here you got only MCL (and cannot even use it while rupted), Raging Power and pots.
I tested 41 heal only for a few days, then respeced to 40 Heal 35 Buff (yes, not 36, more points in smite for 2nd pbaoe-rupt).
How are your Clerics specced for 8 grp?

Anyway, our setup was:

Cleric (Heal/Buff)
Cleric (Buff/Heal)
Minstrel (SoS3!)
Mind-Sorc
Pala
Merc
Merc
Arms

Somethings even without sorc and another tank. I know, sounds retarded, but was going better then we expected.

Greetings,

Geib-myEnglishsucks-rasch

Well, I suppose it also depends on the group setup and the individual players and what kind of PvP you play.

We used to have a 42 heal cleric for the large group instant and because putting anything into buffs beyond the yellow str/con was simply not necessary with a 42 enh cleric.

We played with theurgist and sorcerer, so two chars that are excellent rupters but very intense on the healing personal The only rupting that us clerics did was single smite and, in rare occasions, a stun (aoe smite in an 8vs8 situation is probably not very clever anyway).

Then again, haven't played on this server @ 50 yet, so maybe I will re-think that a bit. But I definitely think a theurgist should be in every alb group (if you can find a good one, that is) - for rupt (pets), root, haste, dmg add, bt. Too much utility to ignore imho.

best setup hands down if you can play with skillz.

3 caba 2 sorc 2 cleric pala

gl winning vs. that if they kite you.

Solid - but I would consider putting in a minstrel for sos and speed 5/6 - just so you dont get jumped by groups at full speed + insta mezz. Likewise, having SOS rdy infight can be quite useful depending on the situation.

Minst is not always needed, could replace one with a paladin and run on caster speed + sprint. A paladin can also peel quite effective, twist endo/resists in combat and take part in a tank assist train if the group is running melee DPs. Other than SoS (which counts for a lot), a pally is an obvious better choice. =)

everyone belives alb has 2 setup in common yet it was 3 (2 caster based 1 tank based)

body debuf group
cleric
cleric
sorc(44mind/rest body)
sorc(47body/26 mind)
cabalist(trispec)
thergist/ministrel
paladin(slam-chants)/friar(at least 48ench 15 rej spec)
mercenary/armsmen (for determination stoicisim char)

wiz debuf group(ice or fire)
wiz
wiz
thergist
sorc(yelow mez yelow debuf)
cleric
paladin(for endu kite slam bot)
cabalist(trispec for ns snare diese spam)
cleric

and tank setup
paladin (yelow endu -2hander slamer for assit train endu bot)
armsmen for deefnsive and semi ofensive peak damge
merce
cleric
friar(at least 48 ench 28 rej(28+rr4+5 fom items generaly caps base heals healing cap)
sorcerer(red str con debuf spec 44mind ithnk)
ministrel(for sos aom)/thergist(yelow bt ice spec)/or cleric for agsint havy assit train groups
cabalist(for ns diese spam)

and yes no reaver couse i dont like si clases

Well, for the 3 realms thhe best RvR grp are, imho:
Hib:
Druid
2 Bards
1 Warden
4 melee

Mid:
Skald
2 Healer (sometime 3)
Shaman
rest in melee

Alb:
Cleric
Friar (heal or balanced)
Sorceror (for mezz)
Paladin
Theurgist (hearth for PBT or Ice for root)
Minstrel (music specced) for speed and single/AoE mezz (but... don't overwrite Sorc mezz)
Melee (Arms, Pally, Reaver or Mercy)

Other realm use as mezzer an healing class (Bard and Healer), Alb the main mezzer is a clother. Mincer can mezz, but is not good as sorceror.
There are other setups (mostly based on AoE damage), Albs one can be
2 ice wizzy
1 reaver
cleric
sorceror
pally
friar (balanced or staff) or mercy
minstrel

My last grp on Midgard, on live servers, was: 5 AoE casters, 1 healer, 1 shaman and a skald and was very funny. We won mostly, AoE damage is cool

2 cleric
2 sorc
2 cabby
1 theurg/sorc/cabby
1 scout

Use kite tactic and enjoy

flyhunter wrote:2 cleric
2 sorc
2 cabby
1 theurg/sorc/cabby
1 scout

Use kite tactic and enjoy

id rather have a pally for the end to make it easyer kiting, even though the interrupts from a scout is nice

I think pally is useless in caster group since endu pot+lw2 = endless sprint

First to directly answer some of your questions:
1) That group setup is workable.
2) Mincer definitely has its merits, 2nd demezer, strong rupter primarily, consider the group with the mincer compared to what you would cut or run instead.
3) Notes on specs below.
4) Dropping a cleric is a bad idea, and friar is useless anyways - pala can twist in cold or heat if its really needed. Friar is even more useless with recent melee self-rupt timer addition.
5) Caster group possible, not necessarily common, not all that much keep attack/defense either - but don't run a scout.
6) For ranged setup still good to have 1 melee for slam, usually pala, could sub a mincer in but low stun vs det tanks. Merc or reaver would be workable.
7) Run 2 clerics period.
8) See below.
9) Absolutely vital to keep the 2nd cleric alive, so they would have heal priority. Other than that it would depend on the situation but everyone else is pretty even priority, maybe the sorc a little more important esp if not running a mincer (sorc demezes clerics, nuff said.)
10) Initial mez/cc lets your group position better (and theirs worse) as well as possibly forcing them to burn a purge on an early mez opposed to something else (casted CC immunity is 1min - early CC means 2nd CC comes sooner) as well as making it more difficult for them to CC your group.
11) Paladin is a def tank-utility class. Sort of plays midfield, helps keep support/casters safe/free, provides useful utility via chants/mid fight rezing. Can also follow enemy AT around and guard their targets (including guarding for friendly melees). Pala in a caster setup still provides resists/slam/guard/rez even if sprint can be done with lw2+pots, pala is more easily accessible - unreasonable to roam perma sprint with pots and casters should be popping power pots pretty early in fights anyways.

I would strongly recommend a hybrid setup over a full tank or full caster as hybrid groups are flexible/versatile in all kinds of situations.

Pretty much every group runs this as the core, I'll include suggested specs:
Cleric (42e/33r)
Cleric (40e/35r)
Sorc (37m/39b)
Pala (not too important, minimum 48 chants/ 42 shield, ideally slash for side hinder)

I would highly recommend also running:
Merc (50dw/39wep/42shld)
Theurg (Earth/x or Ice/Earth) (possibly Air in heavy caster setup)

Then its prettymuch:
Caba or Mincer or Sorc#2
x1 dps class (probably merc#2 or reaver)

~Clerics: Having 2 buffers means either can rebuff mid fight, and 1750 range shears for low-med power rupt is good. Plus higher rej isn't necessarily a good thing, the 36 spec gheal would rarely be used if at all, and a higher spreadheal is frontloading power too much.

~Sorc: I'd recommend a split spec sorc 37mind/39 body, he can do it all - especially good if you run a caba, but mind is still an option (44m/31b). Body sorc shouldn't be used except for sorc #2, even then can still run 2 split sorcs opposed to 1 mind 1 body, flexibility vs power respectively.

~Merc: The merits of running 50 weapon over 39 weapon/42shield are really insubstantial, having multiple slams is not a bad thing nor redundant. The particular weapon type doesn't matter too much.

If you have any follow up questions or want some RA suggestions feel free to PM me, hope it was helpful.

KXT wrote:5) Caster group possible, not necessarily common, not all that much keep attack/defense either - but don't run a scout.

May i ask why?
I 'd rather have a scout in a caster group than a pala/merc...
Scout has :
1) slam and best guard
2) can deal important dmg in a short period ( volley )
3) you get rps bonus from stealthers :>
4) high ranged attack

flyhunter wrote:

KXT wrote:5) Caster group possible, not necessarily common, not all that much keep attack/defense either - but don't run a scout.

May i ask why?
I 'd rather have a scout in a caster group than a pala/merc...
Scout has :
1) slam and best guard
2) can deal important dmg in a short period ( volley )
3) you get rps bonus from stealthers :>
4) high ranged attack

5) excelent interupting, with rapidfire he can interrupt 3 enemy-casters at same time. requires a lot of targetswitching..but worth it

As only deftank I really doubt your scout has a lot of time to play with his bow.