Class Balance and Combo - Guild Wars Forums

Ugghe · Feb 18, 2005, 07:35 PM // 19:35

Hey guys. I was wondering something

In every MMO there is a "Holy Order" or more often a "Holy Trio" required to make a "good" group.

In EQ it was Tank, Healer, Croud Control. HAD to have those three, then you could have anyone else fill the other three rolls and off you went. Does guild wars have this? The Monk, I beleive, is the healer type. Is it impossible to do high lvl content or heck even low lvl content, without having a monk around? Just wondering what everyons experiance, and I understand the "high lvl content" question is kinda impossible since were only talking Alpha / Beta questions. Thanks for taking the time to help me out ^_^

Spooky · Feb 18, 2005, 08:01 PM // 20:01

Monks are pretty much a necessity for the 'high level' stuff, yes. Basically every party is going to want one, and for the areas that will be in retail (beyond the BWE) it is often a good idea to have at least two.
Beyond that, I wouldn't say that there is an end all, be all group composition that is necessary to be succesful in any situation. Often you'll find that what it takes to excel differs from mission to mission, so while you might need a group heavy on ranged damage here, you might need an anti-caster heavy group elsewheres.

Ugghe · Feb 18, 2005, 08:17 PM // 20:17

Thanks Spooky!

I have a 4 man group of RL friends who all play MMOS and were thinking Guild Wars might be way cool to get.

How does the primary / secondary profession things work? Like FF where the secondary is only 25% as effective as the main job? Could two of us pick Monk secondary and kinda cover the healing? Again just curious, and im at work and bored so looking for conversation ^_^

Spooky · Feb 18, 2005, 08:28 PM // 20:28

For the most part, taking a profession as a secondary can be just as effective (and in a few cases, arguably more effective) as taking it for the Primary. The only thing limiting your secondary profession is that you don't have access to its Primary attribute line (a Mesmer's Fast Casting, or an Elementalist's Energy Storage as examples.)
Using your example of Monk secondary, you could easily cover the healing by going Elementalist / Monk: though it will never be able to put out the raw numbers in healing that a Monk primary does (due to Divine Favor), the Elementalist has a vastly superior Energy base, and as such, can continue to toss out heals for a sustained period of time. E/Mo is one of the most common healer combinations. One could also take Me / Mo as a sort of 'combat medic', using the Mesmer's interrupt/mana drains to keep their Energy up while Fast Casting heals.
However, I wouldn't expect to be able to cover a party if it was a combination like W/Mo - as they simply don't have the Energy base to sustain a party when you get into a tight spot.

Ugghe · Feb 18, 2005, 08:31 PM // 20:31

Your awsome spooky, thanks ^_^

Feb 18, 2005, 07:35 PM // 19:35	#1
Ugghe Pre-Searing Cadet Join Date: Feb 2005	Class Balance and Combo Hey guys. I was wondering something In every MMO there is a "Holy Order" or more often a "Holy Trio" required to make a "good" group. In EQ it was Tank, Healer, Croud Control. HAD to have those three, then you could have anyone else fill the other three rolls and off you went. Does guild wars have this? The Monk, I beleive, is the healer type. Is it impossible to do high lvl content or heck even low lvl content, without having a monk around? Just wondering what everyons experiance, and I understand the "high lvl content" question is kinda impossible since were only talking Alpha / Beta questions. Thanks for taking the time to help me out ^_^

Feb 18, 2005, 08:01 PM // 20:01	#2
Spooky Bokusatsu Tenshi Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Bellevue, WA Guild: KEA Profession: E/Mo	Monks are pretty much a necessity for the 'high level' stuff, yes. Basically every party is going to want one, and for the areas that will be in retail (beyond the BWE) it is often a good idea to have at least two. Beyond that, I wouldn't say that there is an end all, be all group composition that is necessary to be succesful in any situation. Often you'll find that what it takes to excel differs from mission to mission, so while you might need a group heavy on ranged damage here, you might need an anti-caster heavy group elsewheres.

Feb 18, 2005, 08:17 PM // 20:17	#3
Ugghe Pre-Searing Cadet Join Date: Feb 2005	Thanks Spooky! I have a 4 man group of RL friends who all play MMOS and were thinking Guild Wars might be way cool to get. How does the primary / secondary profession things work? Like FF where the secondary is only 25% as effective as the main job? Could two of us pick Monk secondary and kinda cover the healing? Again just curious, and im at work and bored so looking for conversation ^_^

Feb 18, 2005, 08:28 PM // 20:28	#4
Spooky Bokusatsu Tenshi Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Bellevue, WA Guild: KEA Profession: E/Mo	For the most part, taking a profession as a secondary can be just as effective (and in a few cases, arguably more effective) as taking it for the Primary. The only thing limiting your secondary profession is that you don't have access to its Primary attribute line (a Mesmer's Fast Casting, or an Elementalist's Energy Storage as examples.) Using your example of Monk secondary, you could easily cover the healing by going Elementalist / Monk: though it will never be able to put out the raw numbers in healing that a Monk primary does (due to Divine Favor), the Elementalist has a vastly superior Energy base, and as such, can continue to toss out heals for a sustained period of time. E/Mo is one of the most common healer combinations. One could also take Me / Mo as a sort of 'combat medic', using the Mesmer's interrupt/mana drains to keep their Energy up while Fast Casting heals. However, I wouldn't expect to be able to cover a party if it was a combination like W/Mo - as they simply don't have the Energy base to sustain a party when you get into a tight spot.

Feb 18, 2005, 08:31 PM // 20:31	#5
Ugghe Pre-Searing Cadet Join Date: Feb 2005	Your awsome spooky, thanks ^_^