Mage/healer duo - Druid, Shaman or Cleric?

[Troxx]

I'd argue that in general xp will flow in faster/easier with a shaman partner.

Keep in mind that NPCs (pets included) benefit a lot more from agility and armor class buffs than players do (they are not subject to softcaps). When I duo with mages, once you buff the pet up and keep regen on the pet, they never really need heals if you slow early. Even a max summon shaman pet which sucks by comparison will tank slowed mobs like a champion once properly buffed. Higher level pets regen 30/tick. Add +15 from regrowth and you're looking at a pet that takes comparable damage (or less) than a monk and regenerates more than a level 60 fungi iksar monk. With the slows, it becomes more ideal to keep a single max summon and properly buffed pet up which frees the mage to use all mana towards nuking targets down.

It's a frighteningly powerful duo. Shaman slow really negates the need for any substantial healing and shamans have mana regen capabilities that the other priests can't even begin to approach. Properly buffed, a max summon shaman pet will consistently put out 17-20dps.

The only thing you're really lacking compared to a cleric is pacify and the un-necessary complete heal.

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

- Fairly weak pre-34, Torpor not until 60
- Very expensive to gear high-end
- Haste is useless for Mage pet with superior Burnout
- Constant cannidancing/very active playstyle gets annoying (personal opinion)
- Slow significantly decreases effectiveness of Mage DS (reduces kill speed)

-buffs are there from the beginning, regen and first canni come prior to 34, slows are there fairly early, and shaman brings ROOT on demand to the table early (big weakness of mage is the lack of on demand CC). Not really weak pre-34, just weaker compared to 34+
-Meh, I got by very effectively with just an iksar regen bp all the way to level 57, so not that expensive. If you insist on BIS and the high dollar spells, then yes they are very expensive ... but very worth it
-not having to haste the mage pet isn't a liability, it gives YOU extra mana to work with (dots/nukes/CC) and less time spent doing the cannidance
-Cannidancing gets tedious, I'll grant you that
-I'd look at it a different way. Slow negates the need for direct healing and saves the mage the bother of casting the DS to begin with. As far as kill speed goes, the shaman's pet and dot capabilities alone will help this pair slaughter faster than either of the other priests. AFK med time won't be necessary. If mana is a bother, let the pets do the work while the regens do the healing, and med through a few kills while the shaman just slows.

[Nirgon]

snare + flame lick (huge aggro) kite for leveling outdoors with druid

boxing tho a cleric

[Roonskee]

man up, do a monk mage duo

[Daywolf]

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

snare + flame lick (huge aggro) kite for leveling outdoors with druid

boxing tho a cleric

Yep. And if focusing on dungeons, especially those filled with undead, I'd go cleric, or later in general raid content. Cleric can be soloed, but limited to undead (I did it a lot on live but only have a mid-lvl cleric here, yet multi-boxed a leveled cleric on early PEQ). I think the balance between the two is shammy. Though joking aside, if the OP is looking for the ideal class for his own role, I think he should ask himself what is most important in the game, be it leveling or end-game content, or other things.

[bktroost]

If you ever want to raid the cleric will be more sought after, especially paired with a mod rodding mage.