Simple question

[acei]

Hi,

Just wanting to ask a simple question, i already know the answer myself but wanting to prove to some people ingame...

Which character is better for a caster group:

A ML10 sojourner Minstrel

or

A ML10 banelord Mercenary

?

Also in RvR do people consider minstrels essential for on-the-field battles?

 

[Robin the Brave]

Depends entirely on the group setup/who they are fighting and more importantly the actull player controlling the class, both have pro's and con's, though would prefer a mercenary just to annoy you

 

[Elewyth(TLSOA)]

heh know id prefer a minstrel over a merc anyday... anytime insta stun / mez / abla / speed / pow song / + ML10 sojo.. a merc doesnt really compared when stacked against all those skills... unless hes your best friend ofc.

 

[Sycho]

ML10 banelord merc.

Simply because:

Master lv1=Pbaoe dehaste caster shout, slows their cast speed by a few seconds, nice master level but same timer as master lv6.
Master lv6=Use when grappled, becareful you do not break mezz with it
Master lv8=Deadly master level if you have IP up.
Master lv9=Very useful vs caster fgs, makes their nuke damage variance utter crap.(i have had chanters nuke me 100s after heat debuff when i have used this)
Master lv10=If you got str relics you can do 1k+ damage a swing with this aswell as other melee classes near you, it's a 25% dps buff which makes caps higher too.(seen a rr9 merc hit 1385 dmg with this xE)

Of course this doesn't mean a minstrel ml10 sojourner isn't good, they are if they are played right and interupt often.But i think a good ml10 banelord merc is needed in any alb group usually.(if they got det 5+IP+PF they are nice part of the group)

 

[Ilienwyn]

So, what about ml10 Banelord reaver compared to ml10 Banelord merc?

 

[Alithiel]

ML10 banelord merc.

Simply because:

You also forgot the distracting effect on enemy casters that a charging Det 5 tank has... the risk of being 1-2 shotted tends to make them jumpy!

Also, a Merc provides uninterrupted damage output when the enemy start spamming interrupts, and is much harder to neutralise than a Minstrel. Currently the only effective way to take a Det 5 tank out of a fight is with grapple (we won't go into how lame and boring a tactic this is at the moment ), which effectively takes the grappler out of the fight too... and a Merc can still use their PBAE interrupts while grappled.

So, what about ml10 Banelord reaver compared to ml10 Banelord merc?

Lack of determination is the main issue...
However, having said that, a Battlemaster Reaver has more utility for groups, but you'd take him in place of whatever other BGer your using rather than in place of the Merc. I really can't see the point of taking an ML that gives PBAE interrupts on a Class that already has 3 PBAE interrupting chants on much shorter timers than any Banelord ability.

Also in RvR do people consider minstrels essential for on-the-field battles?

Not in the same way they used to be. Speed is nice, but you have to make sacrifices to put together a good group in Albion, and at the moment damage output is more important than speed.

Personally, I'd say that the best Albion group setup at present consists of:

2 Clerics
Mind Sorc
Fire Wizard
Theurgist
Mercenary
BG (Paladin/Friar/Reaver)

with the last spot being taken up by your choice of the following:

Body Sorc (debuffs and nukes)
Theurgist (1 ice and 1 air is preferable if you have 2 in the group)
BG (Paladin/Friar/Reaver/Scout) (1 Friar is preferable if you have 2 BGs in the group)
Fire Wizard
Cabalist
Mercenary
Minstrel

 

[Draylor]

However, having said that, a Battlemaster Reaver has more utility for groups, but you'd take him in place of whatever other BGer your using rather than in place of the Merc. I really can't see the point of taking an ML that gives PBAE interrupts on a Class that already has 3 PBAE interrupting chants on much shorter timers than any Banelord ability.

Theres no reason as all to take a reaver as battlemaster in preference to either a paladin or friar. Both a paladin & friar can perform their role in the group while BGing - the same cant be said for a reaver.

The reason for taking a banelord reaver is not that the banelord ML abilities give them more interrupt potential but rather that the ML abilities are genuinely useful.

Generally youd choose a merc over a minstrel thesedays, but it depends almost as much on who is playing the char as it does class/ML path. As for reaver: it depends - maybe. But I do know I wouldnt be inviting a battlemaster reaver

 

[Ilienwyn]

Lack of determination is the main issue...
However, having said that, a Battlemaster Reaver has more utility for groups, but you'd take him in place of whatever other BGer your using rather than in place of the Merc. I really can't see the point of taking an ML that gives PBAE interrupts on a Class that already has 3 PBAE interrupting chants on much shorter timers than any Banelord ability.

Problem is if Reaver is Battlemaster they will have to stay back to do BG or even use grapple at some points thus not getting the chance to actually use the interrupting chants on enemies...

And actually if you wanna do real pbaoe interrupting, reaver has 6 chants!! That happens because you keep last 2 versions of each pbaoe chant on your spell list and they are on different timers
Bad thing is that using all 6 of them is bad for your power going oop extremely fast (even faster if reaver is 50soul). In most fights the 2 not breaking mezzes are used and the pbaoe DD is kept for tricky missions like killing all brittle guards of enemy caster before starting to hit him (try do that with merc)

I have been thinking of changing to Battlemaster too for some time which would give some chance for group invites. Personally I prefer Banelord (Banelord is like it was created specifically for reavers tbh!) but don't have problem playing either. At the moment, I am also practicing the reaver bomb thing for NF so I prefer staying like this (I think)

 

[acei]

I'd like to hear more from people that don't have a merc or minstrel that way neither side would be bias towards the argument.

and at the moment damage output is more important than speed.

In some situations, but one of the important issues with caster groups in albion is the lack of instant-CC, minstrel's bring 2 forms of instant-CC to a group, one of which that isn't effected by det/purge (Zephyr). Also minstrel's bring AE-mezz, single target mezz, demezz, SOS, ablative, PS5/Speed5, ML9 - Phase shift (i can take dmg from a entire assist train for 10secs). Not to mention 2xinsta DD's combined with our melee. Our ability to interrupt with AE-mezz is better than a banelord because we can keep on casting, banelord AE abilities are PBAOE and on a timer.

 

[Dweller]

Our ability to interrupt with AE-mezz is better than a banelord because we can keep on casting, banelord AE abilities are PBAOE and on a timer.

Any opposing group that let's you get off more than one aoe mezz without interrupting you needs a slap. Yes it's re-castable, but the spell graphic and casting time don't make for a reliable way to interrupt.

At the moment, both are valid options, and it would depend a lot on the player. Come NF, well, so much changes it's difficult to say

 

[Nerve]

This whole question is mute imo, why are you even comparing the 2 classes ?

 

[acei]

This whole question is mute imo, why are you even comparing the 2 classes ?

Because i've been having a debate about it ingame for a while now and we've still not came up with a decision on which is more suitable for a caster group.

 

[Alithiel]

which is more suitable for a caster group.

The point is moot since pure caster groups should be a thing of the past... as are pure tank groups. Neither works well any more. Even Hibs, who have traditionally been best known for their pure caster groups, have now moved towards hybrid groups with a mix of caster and melee characters. Of course it's easier for them, due to class utility...

Albion is going the same way, and even GoL are using a Merc (and not a Mincer) in what has previously always been a pure caster group.

 

[Kagato]

Best option is to have both in group to be honest But if I had to choose between i'd go with the offensive det tank everytime. For soloing of cause then the minstrel would be best choice.

 

[Filo]

Depends on wich one of the 2 classes is the friend imo.