|
|
| A light, rhythmic tapping pervaded the crisp air about the band, as the stocky dwarf Omar fidgeted with his battle-worn axe, and the intricately forged metal rings of his vest clicked and patted against each other and the leather beneath them. He huffed in a visible show of impatience at this waiting game, his own personal jab at the "finger-wrigglers" always wanting to stop and "align the planets" as far as he was concerned. The snow was deep here in the Wastes, at least up to Omar's waist in most areas, not counting the massive gorge he had just been levitated over--much to his complaint. Their scout was off in the distance, looking for the giant captain they came to slay, and there were a few other soldiers and knights among the band. Near the back of the group a paler than normal high elf was kneeling in silent meditation, despite a talkative halfling next to him carrying on a conversation with no one in particular regarding the next meal. His eyes, steeled gray, were open--but blank, as though he were merely a very lifelike statue, rather than the enchanter they had traveled with many days to get here. Omar let another derisive snort go, to little visible effect on the group. As Omar began to feel his limits to this waiting approach, Xornn spoke up, "Yes, Omar, your time is almost here." The gaze of the koada`dal was on him, only not quite looking at his creased and weathered eyes, but more like... his shoulder. He turned as the wind seemed to die behind him, from a strong breeze to a light wind, and then a light breeze seemingly choked out by a growing shadow. As his own bodily mixed battle fury began to take hold, a screaming sense of energy and speed overcame him in a swirl of rippling magic. The giant cresting the hill and blotting away the setting sun seemed to move slower--or perhaps Omar was moving faster. It was all the same in the end--the captain would fall. Xornn quietly knelt back down as the last fighter was hastened, and watched the battle calmly. He shivered, once. You have graduated again, students--to Beguiler. There is one pivotal change that will occur now, that you will notice from this point on--54th weeded out a lot of people. 55th+ is an elite group for the most part, that has pushed the limits of their abilities, and proven they have what it takes to work with a group--and therefore with an enchanter. The levels will get slower with each passing, but the power you wield will begin to rise at nearly an exponential rate now. It's a very good time to be an enchanter, and you are about to see things you never would have imagined possible. For the enchanter is a rare class as you advance this far--so many fall to the wayside as the margin of error gets smaller and smaller, and the risk vs. reward becomes too great. But you made it, didn't you? So you might say it's all downhill from here. Of course, I wouldn't. Spells Gift of Insight - This is the upgrade to Gift of Magic, a spell of somewhat questionable importance. However, make no mistake when assessing the value of this one, for whereas GoM increased your maximum mana pool by 50, this one increases by 100. Not impressed? Good, you shouldn't be--but then couple the increase of mana regen by 1, which stacks with the Clarity line. This is the awesome power of GoI, and why it will be a must cast on any primary mana user. (Hybrids don't need it, but anyone who's primary tactics need mana should receive this buff.) The mana cost is an extreme 300 per cast, but the duration is a long 75 minutes, so after the initial drain this one won't be too bad to keep buffed out. Largarn's Lamentation - This spell actually has no real forerunner, though it acts as a cross between Mana Sieve, and Whirl Till You Hurl. 120 mana to cast, with a 2.5 second casting time, this is a targetted (not AoE) stun that last 8 seconds, and drains 75 mana from the target. It is also bears a fairly low resist rate. 120 mana is very costly, but this can allow for a stun from across the chamber to stop a Gate or Complete Heal, when you have no time to approach and stun, or it's too hazardous to get into melee range. This spell carries a 24 second recast delay, so don't rely on this to aid well in a stunlock situation. Note the spell carries a 1ft knockback effect, which could actually contribute to pushing a mob around. (Note that outside of causing a stun, the next most effective way to interrupt an NPC caster (or any caster actually), is to move them. Everyone standing on the same side of Lady Vox as they attack is the key to interrupting her Complete Heal attempts if the enchanters don't get enough mana drained. Memory Flux - This is the final spell in the Memory Blur line, single target, and very costly at 350 mana. Some small testing has given me the impression it is the most reliable blur we have to date, but for the intense mana cost involved, I would rather use several blurs, or just trust in Root like I did since level 8. Carries a 12 second recast as well--and will probably see little use by any enchanter experienced with blurring reliability in the high end game. Wind of Tashani - The first AoE MR Debuff we receive. While this may initially sound like a death wish, you will find it is often very useful, particularly if you are in an area that tashing is rarely if ever necessary. In a situation that you rarely get resists--the only time they become a concern is during high quantities of saving throws, such as during AoE Mez usage. In this instance an AE Mez followed by AE Tash can reduce all of the MR across the playing field quickly. Also setting up for the shaman's AE Slow to blanket the mobs. 45 mana to cast, with the traditional 1 second cast time of Tash spells. Lowers MR by 23, as a poison effect for removing purposes. Zumaik's Animation - One last animation for the enchanter's bag of tricks, and quite seriously, about the only application it still has involves farming green mobs, or fear kiting--the latter of which doesn't occur much in the 55+ game, though Shadows of Luclin has brought a new set of zones where high level fear kiting is a very real opportunity. Unfortunately it's still a very slow method to level, as kill times get longer and longer, and setup time for fights is extreme. By the way, damage range is from 46 to 54 max--only a one level increase from the last pet. Buffs-Solo - Animation soloing is completely out of the question at this point, unless you manage to find a low hit point mob (probably a caster) that doesn't devour your animation in seconds. If you do find this, then lob on mana regen and ac/hp buffs, because that's all you're going to need. Your pet needs HPs and Haste of course. When charm soloing, lob on your CHA buff if you feel it helps, or just stock up on peridot and make sure Rune V is up all the time. Due to the extreme heavy hitters you are required to work with when charm soloing now, Rune V is about the only acceptable protection now. Buffs-Group - No brainer here, just add GoI to the mix for any healers and casters--hybrids can make due with just C2, unless you're really bored. Don't go crazy trying to land GoI like crazy on a group, C2 is the critical spell, and GoI can wait a bit if needed. Tactics Changes Solo - You gain a new animation, but this isn't really enough to solo--the only chance you really have to maintain a solo with the animation involves frivolous usage of Rune V, and a lot of Dementia casting. If you have the bucks for this, I invite you to continue the practice, but this will hurt your pocket boot fast, and approaches the danger of charm soloing at this point. Your animation is so fragile, trying to solo with it is almost like trying to fight just wizard style. I recommend saving the animation for farming equipment for your twink. Charm soloing is very dangerous now, and if you do choose to fight this way, it's important to consider this factor--if the average charm is 2.5 minutes (reasonable with my experience), can your pet finish the fight with your pull in that time? At one point in charm soloing, about 40 to 50, mobs you charmed could kill two other mobs before charm broke. You will find with the colossal increases in total hit points of the mobs, even the heavy hitting charmed pets have trouble finishing a fight in under three minutes. Dealing with a charm break is practically expected at this point, unless you are able to locate a set of low hit point mobs that will carve each other up quickly. I no longer recommend using slow on the enemy mob, as you will rarely hold a pet that can survive two fights in a row, and losing your pet can often mean zoning because you don't have the mana to nuke finish a mob. Successful charm soloing usually involves a pair of mobs spawning together, rooting one, charming the other and letting them battle it out, doing your best to make sure your pet barely wins, allowing you to break charm and have a fleeing mob left to finish off with nukes. You may even consider hasting your pet, to make for a reliable kill time. If you choose this route, then I suggest slowing the enemy, and going for a two mob kill before charm breaks. A strong haste is often enough to pull this off, but you can go from full health with Rune V up to very dead in seconds in this situation. Partner - Shadows of Luclin has introduced a plethora of new zones crawling with high level mobs that can be fear kited with ease! While this brings back the power of a snare/enchanter duo, the experience gains from this effort are still slow, even for a double-hell level. Mana efficiency is the key, and an excellent spot, free of adds, but without long pulls--and pull time is usually such a factor, that coupled with very long kiting times, it's just not worth the effort. However when you don't have time for a group, and don't want the extreme hazard of soloing, fear-kiting is back as a reliable, and at least active method of leveling. Group - No visible changes to the grouping tactics, outside of a new buff to cast, and lower resist rates due to your level. This will continue all the way to 60th, when encountering a resist is usually just a minor annoyance rather than a common situation. |
|
|
