Adding a 4th box to mage/mage/bard..

[Zelyn]

I am considering adding another to the mage/mage/bard I currently box. I want a different class but cannot decide which. I would like either a wizard (for ports and more dps) or druid (ports and healing, aura+little extra dps) or possibly even shaman, though again, I would prefer something with ports.

[Sillaen]

With your choice already narrowed down to 2, I'd go druid over wizard. You have the DPS already covered, the ports are a wash, so I'd go with the emergency/group healing of the druid.

[Miphon]

Do you use mercs? I have my old druid main as a partner for my mage. The druid can dish out respectable DPS with the right feats and focus. You already know the benefits. Epic 1.5/2 clicky is handy for a little extra also. You can add a caster DPS merc to the druid for some extra burst DPS during crunch battles. Druids fire and attack debuffs stack well with your bard slows and help power those bolts and other fire DDs.

I thought long and hard about switching my druid out for a different alt to the mage but the utility of the druid and having options to switch between healer and caster DPS mercs as need arises.

[keasi]

Actually since f2p started I've been boxing 4 mages, a bard and a wizard. Bards slows are enough for most day-to-day stuff but a shaman or chanter is needed for taking down some of the tougher names you will want to try. I have several older toons I bring in to support/PL my new group and my shaman is probably the one that helps me out the most with his slows.

[Goranothos]

I am very happy that I went with a Shammy box, but now I am considering a third box, but I just don't know what class to pick. I suppose I have the DPS already covered as I usually use a wizzy merc along with a healer merc. Pulling is probably my weak point. I have never in my eleven years of EQ played a bard or a chanter, so I would be facing a steep learning curve, but it seems one of those would make a good choice. Any advice?

[karantal]

I play a Druid Lvl 86/Mage 80/Bard 83 trio and it works pretty well.

The druid has a merc tank being the highest level and my only gold account at the moment. The other 2 have melee dps mercs.

I'm working through pellicud quests and killing named mobs in there without too much trouble. The named mobs are a bit of a challenge with only the druid healer, but not impossible. With the bard buffs the mage pet and merc melee dps deal some pretty good damage.

As I level up the mage I may swap to using the mage pet as a tank and change to caster DPS. That does mean loosing the bard melee dps which might be a problem, ill just have to see how it goes at that point. The merc isnt too hard to heal at the moment.

Bard's are great fun to play, if you are doing quests while you xp there are so many places the bard can do things you couldn't do with another class. Getting to hard to reach hand-ins or ground spawns etc without spending time clearing.

I always played a druid main, but it wasnt that hard to get the basics right for a bard, 90% of the time pulling usually means taging 1 mob with snare/mez or lull and taking the add back to camp and fading off aggro. Then in camp its /melody 1 2 3 and auto attack (keep behind mobs, non-raid bards really can't tank), I use slow, melee haste and spell haste in those slots as I dont have a shammy/enc.

[Sillaen]

Bards were really fun back in the day when I played one, but I liked the challenge. I retired mine shortly after they invented /melody so no clue anymore. I still box the good old mage/cleric combo when I do box. I don't too much care for mercs.

[Goranothos]

Thanks for the info Karantal. Bard sounds good, but the downside for me is I use pet tank so, like you mentioned, I would lose Bard melee dps. I suppose, with a third toon, I could use a tank merc, but in my experience my pet is a better tank than a T5 merc of my level.

Again, thanks. I'll keep thinking about it.

[Fleiss]

Bards is great for auras and such but wont do a ton of DPS. Great puller once you learn the ends and out but I see more people play bard poorly than great, so some difficulties in there. Bard is the better puller overall but I think you want something that blends best with your group. Adding bard still forces your mage do a large portion of the DPS needed to kill the mobs (though augmented by bard).

Personally if choosing a puller and sticking with Pet tank, go with ranger. Ranger can pull most things and where its abilities are limited, you can always coh pull. Ranger you will gain more passive dps via autofire than the auras the bard is running to increase your DPS. You also gain killshot capability for low health mobs. Ranger primary DPS disc is also ranged (shammy epic during this!). You also gain auspice and grp forest for other boosts during burns. Headshot is cool for older content as well. Buff wise you gain a hp buff (if you dont have brells or SV) and cloak for more AC/DS. Bard can add some of these things but you have to sing it and you are limited by what all you can sing.

If you use a merc tank, Ranger will give you more melee DPS over bard too.

Just my two cents. I think pulling has been dumbed down for the most part last few expansions. Anytime they add too many SI or mobs stacked too close, people gripe and it gets changed to everyone is a puller. Why I weigh bard pulling skills as a minor thing in what to choose.

[Goranothos]

Good answer, Fleiss. Ranger would definitely be a consideration.