[Potus]

Originally Posted by Uteunayr [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Necromancers were a support until around Luclin/PoP era where they condensed DoTs to short duration, removed twitch, removed heals, removed pretty much all our utility (with ST being one to quickly follow), and made us rotate between 12+ DoTs.

Again, no. Necromancers are clearly a DPS class. They do damage. I'm sorry you loved twitching, but that was not even a Necro spell at launch -- it was a cheap gimmick that was put in to negate nerfing Necromancer spells. Screaming Terror was nerfed at launch. It was originally a fear+mem wipe. That was considered way too powerful and it was turned into a 2 tick Mez. It was never a defining characteristic of the class. The heals are fine, they're not going to be useful in raids. Great in Groups and Duo'ing. Terrible for all else.

We never "screamed damage". Rogues, Monks, Rangers, Wizards, these people were always on top of a Necromancer. Necromancers were in the position of being one of the inefficient DPS classes for group and raid fights until Velious when bosses started getting some real meat on them, and DoTs would tick to fruition. Our DDs are terribly inefficient relative to other specialized classes, and they would never match up to MDPS.

No. Necromancers are fantastic damage in a sustained setting like a raid. The problem is that Verant intentionally made Necro spells not land on raid targets. There was a guild on Tarrew Marr called the Necro Death Squad and they killed raid bosses with Necros only. In came the nerf bats. Lifetap was coded to resist on guys like Cazic and Inny. You had the "have to stand directly under the mob" to get it to land gameplay feature added. It was a joke.

Necromancers were not a DPS class in Classic unless you were an idiot that adds to the culture of Necromancers not being seen good in groups. A smart Necromancer knows that is not their role, and they shine in other ways, namely as a support class.

You have no idea what you're talking about which is kind of sad because you have a pretty good user guide. I don't get how you know so much about Necromancers yet don't understand what they are about. Go look at the Necromancer spell list. What gets upgraded over and over. Dots, Lifetaps, Snares, Fears, Pets. These are all used in dealing damage and killing shit.

Again, you're looking at this through the lens of "HOW MUCH DPS DO I DO? HURR DURR.", which is about the last thing a Necromancer should or needs to be concerned with, in classic, or in Kunark. It didn't even get onto the table for intelligent Necromancers until Velious when we had raid mobs with more meat on them to allow DoTs to tick, but also resulting in putting a greater need on our patching and twitching capabilities.

From Classic to Velious most guilds carried one or two necromancers at the most. Forums like EQnecro were full of Necros either quitting their class or using them to twink out new characters because the end game was completely broken for Necromancers.

No one liked twitching, which was the only role for Necromancers on raids besides Corpse Cleanup following wipes.

Here was the Necromancer experience on a raid and in most of Kunark-Velious: Sit far away from the AE (because you can't even lifetap yourself to heal and clerics aren't going to waste a CH on you), buff DMF, twitch.

That's a great class! So much fun! The genius of the Necromancer! You give about as much mana as a bard's song. That's not good gameplay, that's a fucking embarrassment of game design.

What Kunark brought to the many Necromancers who embraced their role as a support included abilities to bring back the dead, a pet that backstabs, quick-casting lifetaps, a fantastic heal (+125 for -60ish for 4 ticks), a self-Succor, a third Fear, tiny coffins, a second DA, and the most mana efficient engine until mid-Luclin.

You really love that rez, don't you? It's sad that it's the one thing you mention over and over again. Seriously, look at what other classes get in Kunark and you're obsessing over Shadowbond and tiny coffins.

I really want to believe you're trolling at this point. This perception is why Necromancers had to fight an uphill battle to group, and even more so now in P1999, because people who blindly believe Necromancer is a DPS class will be slinging DoTs onto mobs that die before 3 ticks get off, and they'll claim that's their job, no matter how inefficient and shitty it is. If you want to make arguments about the efficacy of a class based on DPS, find another class.

Again, you know nothing about a Necro and it's kind of sad. In the right situation we're one of the most efficient damage classes in the game. We're great in groups for a variety of reasons. If you just sit and cast Shadowbond and twitch I'd kick you.