the basic setup:

bard
drui (nurture/regrowth -->red d/q)
drui (nurture/regrowth or nature/regrowth)

ench 49mana/22light 179er heat / heat debuff
eld 29mana/45light 209er cold / 179er heat (basenuke)while assisting
menta 10mana/45light/28menta 209er heat/pet /demezz/heal
menta 10mana/45light/28menta 209er heat/pet /demezz/heal

8th slot:
menta -> dps/utility/rupt // 1st choice
warden -> utility/rupt/pbt/resists/twf //2nd choice
vw -> dps/melee stun/ichor //3rd choice

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the basic idea is simple: rupt supporters , kill dps -> kill support (depends on setup)

the enemy:
the setup in general will give the opposing team a couple of hard decisions how to react vs this setup.
a single AT will spell certain doom (too much heal-too much cc- and finally 3/4 free casters will simply take down the AT without the chance to heal against it.
a split at won´t get anything done.
if the opponents find a propper solution anyway - just switch the 8th slot and the game begins again.

stabilizing the situation:
use crowd control while backing up . snare/disease/nearsight helps to get the opposing group out of position. so called "extending".
you split the group and "overextend" a single target (which is out of position - etc a tank near your group).

try to force the enemy into a 8v7/6/5 situation with this kind of play. the fact that there is no cure NS alone can do this really quick. mixed with a well timed root while backing up you just got more people that the enemy can rupt (and has to rupt).

even if the chanter has got a couple people on him he can still throw a qc debuff. as soon as 2 other casters are "free" they can now nuke for 400-600ish and bring any given target down within a couple of seconds.means 800-1200 damage per ~1.3 seconds.
1 caster is usually not rupted due to the nature of the setup , and if the other 2-3 just use a quickcast/moc it won´t even matter if something IS rupting them.
the RA concentration will help in those cases if you cannot afford moc yet.

firstmezz should guarantee at least one "free kill" -> less people to rupt -> doom.

it is essential that we talk about how to react if one of these dangerous situations happen, with a possible backup plan.

-enemy group got the jump on you
-you get firstmezzed
-enemy group charges you with SOS
-another group "adds"
-close quarter situations (keepfights/lordroom)

pros:
-decent rupt ability due to multiple pets (and demezz for pets,ranged pets still cast if rooted, menta/ench can have ranged pets , druid melee versions)
-druid/bard usually free due to the nature of the setup. so it is easier to cc/heal.
-hard to rupt everything / people can help out each other
-great at keep defense
-amazing damage potential . firstmezz should guarantee a first kill
-relative easy to play after a while
-should be able to handle multiple adders

cons:
-fragile setup (if we go with the 3x menta theres no pbt/resists etc)
-vulnerable to mistakes , just a matter of practice
-coordination (got multiple people to heal/demezz , gonna be hard to coordinate)
-practice! (know how grp members will react etc)
-mana is going to be an issue (longer fights)
-will be frustrating during the first couple days - lots of wipes.

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i´d like to discuss this setup here and in conclusion build this group (or a modified version of it) and roam with it at regular times.like a setup-group.

feel free to pm me about a group slot if you

-got a sc´d lvl50 character that fits the setup
-are a active player
-are rvr experienced
-can use TS (at least listen)
-can use IRC
-can speak/write english (pm in german is ok)
-are patient (don´t log after a wipe or two)

no bgs/pve - straight rvr
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please stick to the topic (debuff assist caster setup) , if you wanna talk about hybrid/tankgroups this is not the right place.

Hey that one is read really nice, would be pleased to see that in action.

My druid (red d/q) is at 45 right now, would go for 50 fast if this setup will occur regularly

I could offer a eldritch(50, 5l2), a bm (50, 4l1) and of course my warden, but his strongest group ra is aog3 whcih would be useless in that case. My Valewalker is lvl 46 but i can equip him is finaly tempplate and make is last level anytime if needed. I for myself would prefer the role of the light eldritch in this setup because i dont want to change the ra spec of my warden -g-

could be nice idea if you get some skilled tank because there are many tank groups outside

it`s very rare to see debuff assists on uthgard so if you play well you`ll easy win.

warden -> utility/rupt/pbt/resists/twf //2nd choice

-> Heal (also Fon/VR)
-> Buffs
-> Cure Desease

it´s looking good so far ,but i´m off till monday and won´t be able to reply.
already got some requests per pm/irc .

druid spec combinations and RA´s in general still need some fine tuning.
i´d like to discuss this here.

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my guideline for caster RA´s just for this specific setup:

RR4
dex 4 -> the increased castspeed is very very important for this
mcl 1 -> simply a must have on uth
purge 1 ->to cure root/ns or beeing able to demezz

these RA´s are the basics for the setup.RR4 is highly available. you can do what you want after that. dex 3 just won´t cut it on uthgard.

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druid specs

"buff"
red d/q -> rest heal for druid 1. there is no way around it.
(49buff/22heal) DI
+red buffs
+low mana heals
+aoe shears
-no "big" heals
-no grp instant

personally i have played the cleric equivalent for a while in a alb caster setup and it worked out very well.missing grp insta isn´t that much of a deal.

"nature/heal"
(39nature/35 heal) BOF
+aoe root,rupt pet 75% grp instant
-no shears
-shears gonna hurt him

dunno if the insta-root is implemented , doesn´t matter anyway - the 39cast aoe root lasts a minute and should be able to at least split massive AT´s. root/pet are pretty much the only reason to spec this . a well placed aoe root can outweight this specs weakness imo.

"uth-standard"
(44buff/31heal)
+very versatile

a very solid spec on paper and has proven to be working well.can´t go wrong with this.

i would like to try the "buff"+"nature/heal" combo unless there is a major reason against it (beside the buffshear factor) this would be experimental. my experience with this is very limited so i need some input from others here.

2x standard would be the "safest" choice.where "buff"+"nature" would have the best utility at a price.

i´m not happy with the "nature" thing - maybe somebody could help me out with a more viable spec.

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the 8th slot is gonna be situational till we figure out what works out best most of the time. gonna be a long trial and error process.
it is important that the supporters get used to each other - same thing for the casters obviously.

it depends on the druid specs in my opinion.

offensive choice would be :
ench
eld
menta

defensive choice would be:
vw
warden

it pretty much comes down to warden or a caster. it is a really tough choice that will affect the enemy behavior.
it is more likely to see big assiststrains if a warden is around -> casters have free reign to take down whatever they feel like - aoe root and thats it.
if they split up however it will be harder to heal without a warden.

its pretty much impossible to keep 5 casters rupted - on the other hand a warden would mean so much more safety.
pbt will safe so much healer mana due to the fact that all the casters will have to get rupted.
its gonna be a very tough slot as a warden since you have to keep an eye on everything - back up with the group etc.

5 casters ... hmmm keep in mind you can´t rupt all of em.
you only need 2 free casters to drop stuff and that is going to be very likely to happen. i´m not even sure what would be the "best" 8th slot caster .

ench
+another debuff
+another rupt pet
+another pbaoe
-low nuke dps

don´t underestimate the chaos 2 pbaoer´s can cause , and what that means for the rest of the group . tough slot to play.

menta
+another rupt pet
+utility (heal/demezz)
+strong nuke
-adds nothing else to the group

relative easy 8th slot.doesn´t affect the group dynamic at this point. not sure if it would work out.

eld (mana)
+better snare/disease as additional cc
+pboe
+nice stat debuffs

this is my favorite slot atm since it adds a lot of utlility and will work really well as a "defensive" caster to get others free. will even make the light eld slot easier to play (good thing).

so my current favorite 8th slot would be a mana eld . this slot is gonna be really fun to play. pbaoe others free - disease/snare just to make sure the extend will work . and a very good thing to strengthen the weakness of close quarters. + i simply love the str/con debuff^^


feel free to discuss.

maybe you can find a heal warden? without melee... could be kinda usefull and would help you a lot

My opinion for 8th slot...not ment imo. Warden would be very nice, then slam tank maybe and third druid might work well too, as you have much to heal and enough dps. Just imo.

for the 8th place i agree mana eldricht can make the kiting much more easy. and can help alot when there are more than 8 enemies.

other choice could be a second bard that will be a good rupter, nice heals and on suport for mezz.

(how can you buff 8 people with red buffs with only one druid? you'll have to use st/con charges?)

panachier wrote:(how can you buff 8 people with red buffs with only one druid? you'll have to use st/con charges?)

knew i forgot something:lol:
you are right.unless we get a buffbot the 2nd druid slot has to be the standard 44/31.

druid
druid
bard

ench
menta
menta

eld(light)

eld(mana) / warden

2nd Manaench is important. Because if the first one is dead or has perma rupt/add the whole setup lost his advantage.
Why is a VW better than a Hero with 50 shields ?

Hero with 50 shield and DD maxed is win.

VW has high defensive utility. With side and back stun, snare, ichor he is able to stop many attackers at one time. You can ask Jonty how good VW works with Light Eld.

50 shield Hero should work fine as Enchi defender. The other thing is if you prefer det4-5 or mob 4+ tank.

2nd choice warden would be better i think.
Lesser CC, and the warden can heal disease and so on...
Well, respect - good setup ;)

still looking for active mentas