Friday, July 9, 2010

Question for FL: So what's your favorite class to play?

I get asked this from time to time and most people assume they know the answer being that my main character and most well known identity is a mage (FatalLace of Bijou), but that's not really the case anymore.
I really do enjoy playing all 4 classes under the right circumstances.  I'm well aware of each classes' strengths, limitations, and challenges so I'm not expecting the unreasonable when I sit down and start playing.
There are some somewhat ironic facets to each character class and my respective style of play that maybe gets some people shaking their heads a bit, but it's how I've learned to best enjoy the game for myself.



Mage (Warlock), currently level 100:  I do enjoy playing the mage character, but not as most normal players do.  I tend to solo or duo with my fighter husband (IsseyWhiteRain Knight Class) rather than look for full-scale grinding parties, having a cleric around is about as rare as godly Tear's Marsh drops.  Reason I enjoy the solo or duo is simply that I get bored easily.  AOE soloing is a real challenge and can be equally frustrating and rewarding if done correctly.  If I start grinding again, maybe I'll post a video or something, at the moment it would be difficult since I no longer have an active HP/SP extender on that character.  I would AOE Phouches solo in AR, duo those same mobs with my hubby, or we would double pull the main boss room in TOS.  Those double pulls are really intense and require the mage (and Knight for that matter) to keep focus.  A miscast here or being slow to pot there could easily mean the party is overrun.  Five person black bear or phouch parties are okay, but I am extremely bored within about 15 minutes even if i'm acting as the main mage.  It's just not something that interests me.

Fighter, currently level 90:  Although my fighter is a DD build (Str/Dex), I actually play her more like a tank.  Honestly, I prefer the sword and shield to the axe although I do carry both weapons with me at all times, although the SP consumption when using the one-hander is pretty significant.  I would prefer to play the tank role in a party than solo, so a flip-flop of my role when I play mage.  Strange, isn't it?  I absolutely LOVE tanking in Dragon's Tomb provided the party I'm with also understand their roles.

Cleric, currently level 90:  Clericing can be fun at times, but this is still my least favorite class to play.  It can be a frustrating experience when I see my party mates getting into situations that they shouldn't be in and putting the entire party in jeopardy.  It's rare that I ever actually die on my cleric, but having the rest of the party get wiped out isn't much fun either.  I know I'm definitely most critical of other players when I'm on my cleric just because I can observe a bit more.  I watch the other players placements, see what they're targeting and not targeting, etc.  I get most critical of self-proclaimed "tanks" that don't watch out for the rest of their party.  They think a mock and a devastate is good enough.  They don't run out and kick the ranged mobs or even just give them a demoralizing hit to boost their aggression towards himself.  Meanwhile, I'm healing the tank and getting pelted by those ranged mobs that he failed to attract.  Of course I can, and do, pull those mobs into the rest of the pile by retreating a bit.  Pseudo-genius tank then decides to mock them all now that they are in range again.  Go figure.

Archer, (Sharpshooter), currently level 101:  I absolutely LOVE playing the archer class.  Yes, they are limited in PvP, yes they have troubles finding parties, but regardless I enjoy them immensely.  But here's the kicker... I hate kiting.  This is one of those moments where you're allowed to shake your head in confusion.  Don't worry, I get that a lot.  I completely see the value in kiting and I do do it, so don't think that I don't.  I would rather gather on my mover and then do a stationary AOE on the mobs, but depending on the strength of the mob, that's not always possible.  I guess it's a lazier way for an archer to get by.  Having decent defense, great evasion definitely helps.  Some fellow archers, like R_Z_A, consider me blasphemous for grinding like that, hahaah.  I actually like playing in a party as an archer, I wouldn't call it relaxing, but it kind of is.  You launch your AOEs over and over while keeping an eye on the surroundings for other mobs that may attack the party.  Archers should always target ranged mobs, especially those that heal, as well as smaller regular mobs before adding concentrated damage to the boss.  I'm always trying to steal aggro from the fighters and mages just to keep myself entertained.

So what's the verdict?  If I had to choose right now, a single class to play, it would be the SharpShooter.  Revisit this again in a month though, and I'll probably have changed my mind yet again.  =)

4 comments:

  1. Let me start off by saying that I came to see the constellation weapon skins but continued to read other entries and fell in love with this blog xD. It's so well written and I'm totally bookmarking it.

    Secondly I know how you feel about kiting. In my guild on Apoline the majority of our older players play archers or have alt archer they have at a higher level and most say that kiting is extremely boring and if there was another way to grind they'd do it in a heartbeat. A lot of them would rather grind in parties as well because soloing is boring and we're used to an active chat. I, myself, stopped playing my archer after I got it to 60. At first kiting was a new experience that I really did enjoy but by 60 it really did start to annoy me. Before starting an archer kiting seemed like the fastest way to level and now I know that's not exactly the case. A guildie of mine recently went SharpShooter and I must say the class intrigues me immensely. I love pvping him on my Wizard and just watching how he really masters the skills they get at prestige. I always thought ranger would be the way for me if I ever got my archer to prestige but seeing the class firsthand really made me rethink my decision. Anyway, awesome blog can't wait for your next entry. ^^

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  2. Arca-

    Thanks so much for the comment and for taking the time to read my blog. I hope you do visit often and lend your own insight to my postings. Thanks again, hope to hear from you soon.

    ~ Fatal

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  3. hey fatal I love you blog soo much I love reading it... im currently a lvl 95 mage and i do love that class the most since they can easily solo if they wanted to (saw your solo'ing technique... now using it myself) I am also a fighter person as well... I dont have a very high lvl fighter as of yet but im trying to get him lvled and raised to new hieghts. I'm going wizard on my mage since ive always been a person to like staffs and i love grinding so much. I think i could live without pvp skills since i dont do much in that area as it is. Fighter, i love the sword and shield but i think that gladiator gives more skills that could be usefull.. Yes knight does come with its perks with its mocks and dmg taking skills... but i have no clue how it will affect things in the future. I'll see if the cap raise changes my mind... I'll keep tuning in :) Bumps on the blog <3 i love it bye
    --Luke

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