View Full Forums : Best two-boxing combo in the modern game


Telaman
03-29-2007, 07:11 AM
Ok, so I know this has been a oft-asked question over the years but a search and browse didn't turn up the specific question I have :)

I am going to start playing EQ again after a few years off (with the exception of a short return for progression servers). I am thinking of starting fresh with two boxes as my PC and laptop are both well capable of running EQ now. What do you all think would be the best two-boxing combination for me to play to have the most fun in modern EQ all the way to 75 considering the below?


The friends I have left in EQ are all from the Australasian time zone but I have moved to the UK so they are on nearly a 12 hour time difference and we won't be able to play much except in the weekends (plus they are of course in Umba-raiding guilds so that will take up their time). I will make new friends but I know there aren't that many lowbies about these days and I enjoy being self-sufficient so I would like a combo that I can play by myself effectively and level/AA well.
I would like a combo that can still duo well and be effective at level 75.
I would like them to be able to dungeon crawl.
I would like them to be able to take on boss mobs from lower level content later on once I have leveled/geared them up :D


So, given these points, is there any combo that you think would particularly suit my needs? :shuffle:

Any and all ideas will be much appreciated.
~Tela

trayc
03-29-2007, 08:30 AM
I am doing a Necro/Druid combo. pretty good duo i think.

Durew
03-29-2007, 08:50 AM
Druid/Beast... been boxing the beast ever since it was released and I wouldnt choose any other class to duo with. Its so powerful in what these 2 classes can do together

Riverwinter
03-29-2007, 09:20 AM
I agree with Druid-Necro as a great duo and alternately Druid-Mage is a great duo. I have been the Druid half of both teams and both are powerful combinations. All three of them are great solo classes and a Druid supporting either pet class can be just awesome.

The bad side is all three of those classes have complex tools to use, which can make them a powerful team with two players, but may make them difficult to play well boxed by one player. Your mileage may vary.

Telaman
03-29-2007, 10:11 AM
Thanks for the suggestions so far. Boxability (C) is definately a concern of mine also Riverwinter, I'd like to stear clear of any kiting set-ups.

Do you think Druid will be the best class to go with Beastlord Durew? I already have a high level druid (the original Telaman) so I can always switch in Tela later if that's the case :D

Palarran
03-29-2007, 10:13 AM
The shaman is probably still the king of duoing; shaman plus any other class is a viable combo. While I haven't tried it, I think shaman+shadowknight would be a particularly powerful duo, especially given what shadowknights can already solo these days.

That said, Druid+beastlord should be very effective; druid+necro and to a lesser extent druid+mage should work well too. (Druid+necro has the significant advantage that rez is always available, if a bit expensive.) Druid+enchanter is also a great, if situational, duo, and druid+shadowknight should work well for many of the same reasons that shaman+shadowknight should.

As for myself, I've gone with druid (main)+cleric(alt)+enchanter(alt). Sometimes I throw in a rogue as well. I've been working on a beastlord alt, but he's not ready yet (only level 64).

And yes, I'd say the druid is pretty much the ideal complement to the beastlord class.

Powdwar
03-29-2007, 11:19 AM
I'm building a shadowknight to box with my druid, but it's going to be a while before he is able to outtank me. I really wanted a class that could fd for pulling purposes. The obvious problem of no slows I was able to partially address by picking up a fabled willsapper. If you're set on a druid as your priest a beastlord is a solid option as many have mentioned. Shaman are probably the best priest to box because you get heals and slows in one package. Shaman/SK and Shaman/Monk are both powerful options. I have heard good things about Cleric/Bard also.

Riverwinter
03-29-2007, 12:37 PM
If I was going to choose a straight tank class to have with my Druid (or a shammy), I would choose an SK to have FD, moderate DPS and emergency self heals. Beastlords have the advantage of the pet for DPS and slows for damage mitigation and they also have heals, but SK's get taunt which helps when you steal agro with the healer. I don't particularly like monk tanks yet, been trying build one up with my son but his toon is not much of a tank.

Necro and Mage pets just rock. Mage pets can tank and the air pet stuns, especially good for killing casters. High level necro pets don't tank, they are rogues and do nice DPS. Necros do incredible DPS and also have the FD option for pulling.

The subject of pulling is something that a monk, necro or SK are going to dominate, but with harmony, root, snare, egress, and CoTH you can split just about anything.

I agree with Powdwar on the Shaman and slows, you just have to figure out if you're going to need them. I was successful shrouding my cleric in a warrior shroud and two boxing with my Druid in Grieg's end for a while, so I think that while slows are important, they are only necessary depending on what you're hunting.

Palarran
03-29-2007, 01:18 PM
Another important factor if choosing a "straight" tank: The shadowknight spell Decrepit Skin stacks with Skin of the Reptile. The paladin spell Ward of Tunare does not. Warriors don't have a similar option in the first place.

(The shaman spell Lassitude stacks with both, though.)

Pinepath
04-01-2007, 07:07 AM
I think shaman/SK is probably the best all-around duo, but druid/bl is pretty powerful. Both of those combos have little overlap in abilities, and between the two of the pair, cover most everything you need, aside from real res.

Warrior/cleric obviously have the most focussed pure power, but you'll need procs or clickies for slow, snare, invis, etc. Necro/druid is a decent kiting partner, but you won't be duoing AoW with those two any time soon. The biggest weakness of necro/druid, is that a druid doesn't bring a necro much except ports. They'd probably be better off with necro/necro.

WiLdOnE786
04-01-2007, 08:52 AM
It kind of depends. Which Character is going to be your main? The tank or the healer in question?
If it's the tank going to be your main, then a shaman would be ideal. If it's the healer/caster that is going to be your main, then another caster would probally be best.
Reason I say that is, it's easy to build up an "Okay" healer, but to build up a tank suitable for todays standard, is pretty hard.

Benwin
04-01-2007, 11:10 PM
I am finding Druid and Enchanter are a great combo, I have not tried charming with it as yet, but has heaps of potential.

Just got to manage the aggro.

Fryar
04-02-2007, 08:35 AM
Shaman+ melee for sure. Which melee you use depends on what you want to do. Monks typically have an easy time getting geared from raid rots- easier than a plate class.

Fryar

Lowerth
04-02-2007, 09:42 AM
The ability to take named in OOW forward (ones that will allow your pair to gain spells in the 69-70 range) will require a tank.
Tank/slower(healer) will be required to take named in the expansions beyond OOW.
Tank, Beastlord
Tank, Shaman
The tank, shaman combination is a powerful one as it makes group creation for progression missions much easier.
The best thing to do is think it thru and no matter what have fun.
Good luck to you

Aldier
04-02-2007, 03:27 PM
Druid/monk druid/beast and shaman/sk are all solid duos that I know friends who use. It takes a good bit of time though to truely raise up both characters as often times, one will start to lag behind the other in gear as raid loots are typically only awarded to primary characters.

I have tried two-boxing a little and found that for me, the melee character demanded more of my attention initially as I could cast a heal or nuke with my druid and while the melee was fighting, but my druid is my main and I do not see that changing any time soon so it was kinda of disappointing to not be able to focus on him more.

If I was starting from scratch, I would probably go shaman/sk.

Tenielle
04-04-2007, 10:41 AM
Druid/Beast... been boxing the beast ever since it was released and I wouldnt choose any other class to duo with. Its so powerful in what these 2 classes can do together

I'd have to agree with this one because I've done it. Not to sound elitist but I have the best geared druid and the 10th best geared BL on my server and there's not much short of high end I haven't been able to tackle. I've two boxed Valdeholm.

shakobex
04-18-2007, 09:46 PM
I have boxed a druid + warrior for years and done quite nicely. I'm not a raider just a casual player but at level 75 (druid) with 320aa and level 70 war with 250aa and no raid gear whatsoever (and no TBS gear either) I am able to duo some of the level 75+ named, summoning mobs in Direwind (Creeping Death for instance). Obviously a raid geared duo could do better. Don't really know how that compares to other duos but I find the combination fairly satisfying. For another comparison I was also able to duo Fabled Warden Mekuzh in Ssra. I've been holding my war at 70 to get AA a bit easier but will probably move him on up to 75 this month to see how that goes.

Few tips: do crowd control with root and snare and harmony and such otherwise you're out of luck. Use haste potions or clicky and use Truncheon of Doom to proc slows if needed. MUST use thorns, they do a LOT of your damage for you. In toughest fights druid mostly buffs ahead of time, debuffs during fight (ATK debuffs mainly), and heals heals heals. Wolf form also handy for extra damage output. Fernspur nice since seems to have the low-aggro aspect of other thornshields.

Drawbacks: gotta keep your warrior on target, can be a real pain sometimes. And the whole pulling/crowd control issue comes into play some places, but there is a lot you can do still.

I mainly twobox because I can't take out nasty summoners without the warrior. Increases my capabilities a lot. Plus you have the core of a group and can add pretty much any class and do even better, and hunt most places. Pretty easy to either create or join a group between the two chars. Anyway I've always loved both warriors and druids so it's all good.

Kirikao
05-04-2007, 01:14 PM
I'd have to agree with this one because I've done it. Not to sound elitist but I have the best geared druid and the 10th best geared BL on my server and there's not much short of high end I haven't been able to tackle. I've two boxed Valdeholm.

What are BST/Druid tactics, if you don't mine me asking? Can druid heals keep up on a leather armor tank?

Does it work because the BST has slow, so its like a shaman/monk old skool, having heals and slows, and dps?

Mellen
05-04-2007, 07:36 PM
There'd be a huge difference between being able to exp on even + con mobs vs. blues but shm + zerker should be a nice combo.. especialy if you want to raid later on.

Tenielle
05-04-2007, 09:37 PM
What are BST/Druid tactics, if you don't mine me asking? Can druid heals keep up on a leather armor tank?

Does it work because the BST has slow, so its like a shaman/monk old skool, having heals and slows, and dps?

One word: block

Block is arguably the best defensive skill in the game. My experience is that a bst or monk of the same gear level can easily out-tank any other class short of war/sk/pal. Having block 4 gives them an insane increase in survivability.

And yes, having slow helps quite a bit as well.

As far as tactics, there's not a lot that comes to mind as far as secret techniques, just make sure you can pull singles or CC effectively if you can't and keep the tank up. Having growl of the panther (DoN tier 2 spell) is a huge boon as well.

All that said, I don't go into Valdeholm and grind the two. I did it out of boredom once for about an hour, pulled too many, evaced and never went back. There are a lot easier and safer ways to get experience for both toons.

Netura
05-05-2007, 02:52 AM
I find the druid/monk combo to be great.