Phil7
07-17-2017, 03:24 PM
Something interesting happened to me lately... something which made me think, what if debuffing bosses is actually viable?
I was running an EE LoD farming tokens and some dude was in Divine Crusader using Purification. He stood next to the drow boss who at first hit me for 100+ dmg and then after some seconds he kept dealing 0 damage to me. At first I was like "Huh?" but then I Z'd the boss and saw he had 25 stacks of Purification.
Which means -25 damage and -50 spell power.
That is interesting because if he was dealing let's say 130 dmg per hit, he should be dealing 105 dmg per hit after the debuff. But it seems that bosses are also affected from Melee/Ranged Power and dungeon scaling and that means lowering their base damage is very effective. So how would this affect reaper bosses who have insane damage scaling?
After that I did a bit of research and found most of the useful player-available debuffs for bosses in the game. They are few unfortunately but it turns out that the best theoritical Debuffer would be the... warlock.
So here is my list of noticable debuffs that we can use (I propably forgot something):
DEBUFFS
Aura of Purification: Active Ability: (Cooldown 3 seconds) Toggle: Every 3 Seconds While Active: Nearby enemies gain a stack of Purification. Purification: -1 Attack Damage, -2 Spell Power, stacks up to 25 times.
*Could this be effective enough to help your fellow tank in high reaper?
Bound Fate: (Active Cooldown: 4mins) A single target must make a Will save with a DC modified by the caster's Charisma modifier. On a failed save, the target is bound briefly to the spot, and for one minute is also [6/10/12]% more vulnerable to magical damage, and has -[6/10/12] Spell Resistance. In addition, the creature deals -[4/6/8] damage on attacks. Duration 45 seconds.
Grim Fate: Your Bound Fate now inflicts creatures with an additional [6%/10%/12%] vulnerability to Physical attacks. Grim Fate may take effect even if Bound Fate does not. Duration 1 minute.
*Another -8 damage to stack and extra physical/magic damage for the group. Does this stack with Vulnerability? Well examining a boss with both effects applied shows both icons on the Examine Window so I would assume it stacks.
Cooldown of 4 mins with 1min duration is not bad, it basically screams "boss fights!", but Fatesinger has so far been a completely neglected Destiny and would net a huge DPS loss for most builds, except for the healer or the CC/instakill caster.
Ok after further testing it seems that the Bound/Grim Fate will always work on everything. The Will save is only for the immobilization effect.
So which Destiny should the healer and the CC caster choose? Odysseus2011 already showed us that you can play a CC/insta-kills caster in R10 in Unyielding Sentinel (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F9WSOa9vrpw). That means we don't need to be in Magister/Exalted Angel to play in R10 as a DC caster.
WARLOCK DEBUFFER
Now I said the best Debuffer imo would be the Warlock. That is because of his Soul Eater tree and his Eldritch Burst which during boss-fights provide free empowered dots, free damage from safety and a lot of debuffs. Let's see:
Devour the Soul: apart from the free death-spell you get a 6 second debuff for -20PRR/MRR.
If this works on bosses you basically have more DPS for your group. With a 15 second cooldown
Stricken: reduce HAMP by -120 with a high saving throw. A lot of bosses regen so that's a nice one.
Taint the Aura: Debuff your target for -10 PRR/MRR = more group DPS.
Strickened Soul: Against targets marked by your Stricken attack: Your Eldritch Blast, Melee and Ranged attacks reduce the target's MP/RP/SP by -20 for 10 seconds.
More damage debuff on bosses. Theoritically more survivability for your group.
Strickened Form Against targets marked by your Stricken attack: Your melee, ranged and Eldritch Blast attacks inflict Vulnerability.
*With this you can cap 20 stacks of Vulnerability in less than 30 seconds. Imo this is op and needs to be nerfed using internal cooldown like most similar effects, but atm people can abuse it. And a single party member can keep up Vulnerability on bosses with this. Your DPSers can now use other weapons during boss fights, although LGS Vacuums are still strong for trash.
But there is more... and some might realize now why I claimed before that Wizards are unfortunately dead in high reaper. Because look at the video. The wizard is totally inactive during the boss fight. If he starts dotting he can kiss goodbye to his Spell Points. Sorcerers are in a bit better position due to much more Spell Points and half the cooldowns/casting speed, but imo Warlock is still the #1 CC/insta-killer in high reaper. And Debuffer on top of that.
EXALTED ANGEL
Now which Destiny should our warlock use? Exalted Angel for the increased DCs right? Yes, but not only for the DCs.
Rebuke foe: this is insane! +25% physical and light damage (Consume, Stricken, Eldritch Burst) is incredible.
Shadows Upon You: I don't remember if this works on bosses, but if it does then you can most likely apply Stricken,
Jade Strike and Prismatic Strike on bosses without fear of low DCs. Just combine this with the Wizard Active Past Life feat (magic missiles) and instantly stack it to 10.
GEAR
*Now how can we add even more debuffs to a Debuffer build? Through gear of course. Normally a DC caster at cap would use a Legendary Mutilator of Minds and a LGS Affirmation. Vacuum is no longer needed because of Strickened Form and your DPSers also applying Vulnerability most of the time. But Legendary Mutilator of Minds is kind of useless on boss fights when the trash is dead.
So dual wield Affirmation & Vacuum you say? Or triple acid? Well this is debatable. I have not seen results from all the LGS weapon effects, like LGS Water or Magma, but don't forget this thread is all about group composition and teamwork.
So why not focus even more on debuffing? After all you will have 3 DPSers and yourself to enjoy more damage.
Legendary Dust: -35 PRR and -100 hamp at full stack. 11 seconds duration each stack. Even more damage for you and your group, even less self-healing for the boss!
Legendary Ooze: wiki says 100% proc for -10PRR/MRR, not sure if it stacks + free Ooze for you. Eldritch Burst attack speed is slow so don't expect much here, especially if the debuff doesn't stack. Also legendary oozes seem to have been nerfed and now hit for 50 damage at r10. RIP LGS Ooze...
Legendary Ash: -MRR and SP, I don't know if it stacks or not. MRR is not that significant compared to PRR because of melees/ranged having better DPS than casters and boss spells are not that dangerous compared to physical attacks. Still it's a debuff and it can prove useful.
*So using the above one can achieve a theoritical -75 PRR or -55 PRR if the SE capstone doesn't debuff bosses. According to the wiki, 75 PRR is around 42-43% Damage Reduction.
Assuming a boss has 75 PRR and we reduce it to 0, then every melee/ranged member of your group will be dealing 42-43% MORE DAMAGE.
For 55 PRR on a 55 PRR boss that is around 35% MORE DAMAGE for your melee/ranged DPSers. And all of this with a minimal damage loss for your DC caster!
edit: the numbers can go higher using Ooze Flask (-8 PRR)! Thanks to Tlorrd for mentioning it.
MONK
*So let's also add Monk to the group. Monks have very strong melee single target dps and good burst-AoE damage.
They also bring with them Knock on the Sky. Stack this 5 times for a -20% damage debuff.
Monks also have Jade Strike which gives a +10% physical damage debuff on a high Will save. Another reason to have a monk in your group.
And of course Focus for a stacking group buff of +5MP/RP and +10 SP.
HEALER
Very nice now I've also mentioned a Healer. What, should he just stand there and heal? That's boring come on. How about a bit of buffing and debuffing? Why don't we give him a bit of love with Aura of Purification for mob debuffing? I don't expect him to stand next to the boss for 25 seconds to cap the debuff on him. No no, Divine Crusader has a lot of tricks for stacking Purification. That will not be an issue.
And let's not forget Crusade for +10% group damage.
No Remorse for free ally healing too.
One can also twist in Sigil of Battering Spellcraft from Magister for the SP boost, but caster dps is lagging behind melee and ranged dps so it's not that significant.
Summer Smoke is also a decent passive DPS boost to your group, but situational due to fire immune mobs and Autumn Harvest can be useful during trash fights.
Cleric: after the upcoming pass a Cleric using Earthquake for increased CC and playing in Divine Crusader is a great option for the healer role.
Take Divine Vitality for your fellow caster and Reactive Heal for everyone in the group along with Positive Aura for group regeneration.
*Earthquake is imo one of the best CC spells in the game by far, along with Otto's Sphere of Dancing and Evard's Tentacles. Long duration AoE spells which reapply their CC effect every few seconds. Evard's Tentacles sacrifice duration for the helpless damage, something which Earthquake and Otto's Sphere don't have, but would be op if they did.
I've seen a number of people and guildies playing healer/cleric at R10 and I noticed the lack of activity from the class. At times it could be extremely demanding tho if your group was getting wrecked. You have to be very fast at healing/ressing and also avoid mobs and notice the chat or hear your teammates screaming to see who is ressable or not. The above mentioned abilities add a lot of passive healing and safety to help against situations like these. It also makes the role more enjoyable and makes you feel that you are contributing more to fights.
Favored Soul: you can play this build in Exalted Angel using insta-kills in addition to healing.
Purification can still be stacked from you and your party members using Interrogation and Purge the Wicked. This can speed up boss fights through faster Rebuke Foe stacking and allow for more insta-kills, but will overall apply less stacks of Purification to trash mobs as opposed to a Divine Crusader healer and you lose Earthquake. It sacrifices safety for speed. Read HERE for more info.
*If playing as a FVS/Cleric insta-kill build with maxed Necro DC then you can also use Symbol of Weakness on bosses for a maximum 3d6 STR penalty.
According to the wiki (http://ddowiki.com/page/Named_monster#Red_-_Powerful_Named_Enemy) the abilities of Red Named bosses can only be reduced by 10 (max -5 damage) and Purple Named bosses are immune to ability damage.
Bard: I was looking for ways to add the Fatesinger destiny in the group composition without hurting the overall group DPS. I had already considered the Bard as a main group Healer, but the benefits of a FVS or a Cleric looked better in theory... until I decided to sum up all the possible buffs/debuffs the Bard can bring in a fight :)
So let me give you a quick glimpse of how a Warchanter Bard in Fatesinger can contribute:
+2 abilities, competence - group buff (Inspire Excellence)
+12 dmg/+12 to-hit, moral - group buffs (improved Inspired Courage with Warchanter & Fatesinger - Echoes: Martial - LD)
+5 dmg/to-hit, +15 prr/resists, music - on 1 ally for 2 mins (Inspire Heroics + Warchanter capstone)
+6 Spell Power/DBstrike/DBshot, music - group buff (Warchanter)
+3 dmg, +1 CHA, untyped - group buff (Fascinate + Sharp Note/Masked Ball)
+1dmg/to-hit (Enchant Weapon)
+1 spell DCs, +10% (morale) SP discount, group buff (Spellsinger)
+3 Spell Penetration, on 1 ally for 4mins (Spellsinger)
+6% melee/ranged dmg/spell crit chance, music - group buff (Warchanter T5)
-3 to a specific Saving Throw, debuff (Insults, Swashbuckler T1)
+3% melee atk speed, competence - group buff (Fragment of the Song: Valor)
2% chance to cause 5% electric/light/sonic Vulnerability debuff, group buff (stacks 3 times) (Fragment of the Song: Valor)
No to-hit penalties when moving, group buff (Fragment of the Song: Valor)
+12% Physical & Magical dmg, -8 enemy dmg, -12 Spell Resistance, no save debuffs, 1min duration, 4min cooldown (Bound & Grim Fate)
And on top of that you have Otto's Sphere of Dancing and Mass-Charms! Seriously I'm surprised I've been so ignorant of the build's buffing potential.
For one of your DPS members this would be a rough +22 dmg/to-hit, +6% DBstrike/shot, +3% melee atk speed, +6 MP/RP and +12% more damage on boss fights for 1 minute every 4 minutes.
This is a huge buffing potential right here and imo a well-geared Bard with the proper past lives is the best class to choose for the Healer role in terms of speed in high-reaper dungeons. Note that the Bard's contribution to group DPS through buffs drops significantly when you have fewer melee/ranged DPS members. To stack Purification basically use the same method as the above FVS build and twist in Crusade for the +10% group damage boost.
*Please do not forget the entire purpose of this thread... to maximize efficiency and speed in end-game R10 dungeons. This is only a reminder before anyone says "You have just invalidated all the other healer builds out there because of Bards". No, all the other healer builds are still viable, are easier to play and can also heal better than the Bard. The Bard is only imo the best at playing the Healer role, while simultaneously adding a great deal of group DPS through buffs. Not to mention that playing a Bard alone requires much more concentration due to all the buffs and debuffs which you have to constantly reapply.
Well that's it mostly for Buffers/Debuffers and Healers. Don't forget this all depends on team effort and grouping for maximum efficiency. This is my theoritical best "approach" or 6-man group composition for r10 quests in terms of speed and increased group safety. This does not mean that you are not allowed to play different builds in r10. You can always add more casters or more healers in your group, but sacrifice speed and DPS for safety.
After all this is a game and I can't tell you what to play, I can only show you how to improve.
But the most important of all, epics are dead right now so first we need SSG fixing epic rxp and then... we'll see. Perhaps I'll bump this thread again then ;)
And let's not forget...
TANK & DPS
My notes on the Tank and the DPSers, just to fill the whole group composition:
Tank builds are still not very clear, in terms of efficiency. Imo the pure fighter Dwarf tank is the best IF the character has a lot of displacement and radiant forcefield clickies. Otherwise Pally and Sorc/Wiz splashes are also great.
DPS builds: My opinion is that sustained DPS will triumph over burst dps in high reaper. Mobs have tons of HP and we have terrible damage. Fights take much longer and sustained DPS almost always wins in longer fights.
Now with the Wolf fix (no more Dance of Death or lose SWF) pure Tempests are propably the #1 melee situational sustained-AoE DPS and with insane single target sustained DPS. Yep they do pretty much everything.
Mechanics are propably the #1 ranged option for their best ranged sustained DPS, especially now with the AA imbue fix. Sneak Damage which Mechanics have plenty of is not reduced by the scaling DR that some bosses and mobs have therefore giving the class even more of an advantage. They also obviously do traps which are killer for non-evasioners in R10.
Monk: One unarmed Monk is great to have in an organized group due to Knock on the Sky, Jade Strike, Focus and of course its great melee dps.
MORE DPS OPTIONS
Monkchers are still very good in some situations like Shroud part 2 to burst down the crystal. The AA T5 active ability fix really hurt their burst damage with shurikens, but you can always save Bow & Manyshot for bosses/crystal.
Artificer can be a great replacement for a Mechanic, bringing not only buffs for your teammates like Radiant Forcefield and Weapon DR breakers, but also strong trash CC through Endless Fusilade and specific gear/twists. The DPS of a pure Arti is imo less than that of a pure rogue Mechanic, but Arties also bring with them Prismatic Strike for a -25% damabe debuff! You can read my original post regarding Artificers HERE
Assassin: the class has very strong single-target DPS especially when you maximize your Sneak Damage and can also insta-kill, but the AoE damage requires Cleaves and assassins are not exactly the best at cleaving. Assassins also have Weakening Strikes which reduce enemy MP/RP by 20 (many thanks to Qezuzu for mentioning this!) and Poison Strikes to reduce enemy Fort or Reflex or Will saves by 5. Basically a lesser version of Shadows Upon You.
I'm still skeptical about their DPS output but you can read HERE for some more info.
Of course there are many other options for DPS builds out there like Barbarian, Fighter, Swashbuckler and more, but I do not include these builds here because of their lack of viable Debuffs and their lower sustained DPS (twitching excluded). Everyone is free to play whatever they want, I only showcase my theoritical top builds in terms of speed and increased group safety.
So that would be it, I welcome all comments, criticism and feedback. Let me know what you think and I hope our friends in Ghallanda who are still raiding and running R10 might actually find some use out of this.
I was running an EE LoD farming tokens and some dude was in Divine Crusader using Purification. He stood next to the drow boss who at first hit me for 100+ dmg and then after some seconds he kept dealing 0 damage to me. At first I was like "Huh?" but then I Z'd the boss and saw he had 25 stacks of Purification.
Which means -25 damage and -50 spell power.
That is interesting because if he was dealing let's say 130 dmg per hit, he should be dealing 105 dmg per hit after the debuff. But it seems that bosses are also affected from Melee/Ranged Power and dungeon scaling and that means lowering their base damage is very effective. So how would this affect reaper bosses who have insane damage scaling?
After that I did a bit of research and found most of the useful player-available debuffs for bosses in the game. They are few unfortunately but it turns out that the best theoritical Debuffer would be the... warlock.
So here is my list of noticable debuffs that we can use (I propably forgot something):
DEBUFFS
Aura of Purification: Active Ability: (Cooldown 3 seconds) Toggle: Every 3 Seconds While Active: Nearby enemies gain a stack of Purification. Purification: -1 Attack Damage, -2 Spell Power, stacks up to 25 times.
*Could this be effective enough to help your fellow tank in high reaper?
Bound Fate: (Active Cooldown: 4mins) A single target must make a Will save with a DC modified by the caster's Charisma modifier. On a failed save, the target is bound briefly to the spot, and for one minute is also [6/10/12]% more vulnerable to magical damage, and has -[6/10/12] Spell Resistance. In addition, the creature deals -[4/6/8] damage on attacks. Duration 45 seconds.
Grim Fate: Your Bound Fate now inflicts creatures with an additional [6%/10%/12%] vulnerability to Physical attacks. Grim Fate may take effect even if Bound Fate does not. Duration 1 minute.
*Another -8 damage to stack and extra physical/magic damage for the group. Does this stack with Vulnerability? Well examining a boss with both effects applied shows both icons on the Examine Window so I would assume it stacks.
Cooldown of 4 mins with 1min duration is not bad, it basically screams "boss fights!", but Fatesinger has so far been a completely neglected Destiny and would net a huge DPS loss for most builds, except for the healer or the CC/instakill caster.
Ok after further testing it seems that the Bound/Grim Fate will always work on everything. The Will save is only for the immobilization effect.
So which Destiny should the healer and the CC caster choose? Odysseus2011 already showed us that you can play a CC/insta-kills caster in R10 in Unyielding Sentinel (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F9WSOa9vrpw). That means we don't need to be in Magister/Exalted Angel to play in R10 as a DC caster.
WARLOCK DEBUFFER
Now I said the best Debuffer imo would be the Warlock. That is because of his Soul Eater tree and his Eldritch Burst which during boss-fights provide free empowered dots, free damage from safety and a lot of debuffs. Let's see:
Devour the Soul: apart from the free death-spell you get a 6 second debuff for -20PRR/MRR.
If this works on bosses you basically have more DPS for your group. With a 15 second cooldown
Stricken: reduce HAMP by -120 with a high saving throw. A lot of bosses regen so that's a nice one.
Taint the Aura: Debuff your target for -10 PRR/MRR = more group DPS.
Strickened Soul: Against targets marked by your Stricken attack: Your Eldritch Blast, Melee and Ranged attacks reduce the target's MP/RP/SP by -20 for 10 seconds.
More damage debuff on bosses. Theoritically more survivability for your group.
Strickened Form Against targets marked by your Stricken attack: Your melee, ranged and Eldritch Blast attacks inflict Vulnerability.
*With this you can cap 20 stacks of Vulnerability in less than 30 seconds. Imo this is op and needs to be nerfed using internal cooldown like most similar effects, but atm people can abuse it. And a single party member can keep up Vulnerability on bosses with this. Your DPSers can now use other weapons during boss fights, although LGS Vacuums are still strong for trash.
But there is more... and some might realize now why I claimed before that Wizards are unfortunately dead in high reaper. Because look at the video. The wizard is totally inactive during the boss fight. If he starts dotting he can kiss goodbye to his Spell Points. Sorcerers are in a bit better position due to much more Spell Points and half the cooldowns/casting speed, but imo Warlock is still the #1 CC/insta-killer in high reaper. And Debuffer on top of that.
EXALTED ANGEL
Now which Destiny should our warlock use? Exalted Angel for the increased DCs right? Yes, but not only for the DCs.
Rebuke foe: this is insane! +25% physical and light damage (Consume, Stricken, Eldritch Burst) is incredible.
Shadows Upon You: I don't remember if this works on bosses, but if it does then you can most likely apply Stricken,
Jade Strike and Prismatic Strike on bosses without fear of low DCs. Just combine this with the Wizard Active Past Life feat (magic missiles) and instantly stack it to 10.
GEAR
*Now how can we add even more debuffs to a Debuffer build? Through gear of course. Normally a DC caster at cap would use a Legendary Mutilator of Minds and a LGS Affirmation. Vacuum is no longer needed because of Strickened Form and your DPSers also applying Vulnerability most of the time. But Legendary Mutilator of Minds is kind of useless on boss fights when the trash is dead.
So dual wield Affirmation & Vacuum you say? Or triple acid? Well this is debatable. I have not seen results from all the LGS weapon effects, like LGS Water or Magma, but don't forget this thread is all about group composition and teamwork.
So why not focus even more on debuffing? After all you will have 3 DPSers and yourself to enjoy more damage.
Legendary Dust: -35 PRR and -100 hamp at full stack. 11 seconds duration each stack. Even more damage for you and your group, even less self-healing for the boss!
Legendary Ooze: wiki says 100% proc for -10PRR/MRR, not sure if it stacks + free Ooze for you. Eldritch Burst attack speed is slow so don't expect much here, especially if the debuff doesn't stack. Also legendary oozes seem to have been nerfed and now hit for 50 damage at r10. RIP LGS Ooze...
Legendary Ash: -MRR and SP, I don't know if it stacks or not. MRR is not that significant compared to PRR because of melees/ranged having better DPS than casters and boss spells are not that dangerous compared to physical attacks. Still it's a debuff and it can prove useful.
*So using the above one can achieve a theoritical -75 PRR or -55 PRR if the SE capstone doesn't debuff bosses. According to the wiki, 75 PRR is around 42-43% Damage Reduction.
Assuming a boss has 75 PRR and we reduce it to 0, then every melee/ranged member of your group will be dealing 42-43% MORE DAMAGE.
For 55 PRR on a 55 PRR boss that is around 35% MORE DAMAGE for your melee/ranged DPSers. And all of this with a minimal damage loss for your DC caster!
edit: the numbers can go higher using Ooze Flask (-8 PRR)! Thanks to Tlorrd for mentioning it.
MONK
*So let's also add Monk to the group. Monks have very strong melee single target dps and good burst-AoE damage.
They also bring with them Knock on the Sky. Stack this 5 times for a -20% damage debuff.
Monks also have Jade Strike which gives a +10% physical damage debuff on a high Will save. Another reason to have a monk in your group.
And of course Focus for a stacking group buff of +5MP/RP and +10 SP.
HEALER
Very nice now I've also mentioned a Healer. What, should he just stand there and heal? That's boring come on. How about a bit of buffing and debuffing? Why don't we give him a bit of love with Aura of Purification for mob debuffing? I don't expect him to stand next to the boss for 25 seconds to cap the debuff on him. No no, Divine Crusader has a lot of tricks for stacking Purification. That will not be an issue.
And let's not forget Crusade for +10% group damage.
No Remorse for free ally healing too.
One can also twist in Sigil of Battering Spellcraft from Magister for the SP boost, but caster dps is lagging behind melee and ranged dps so it's not that significant.
Summer Smoke is also a decent passive DPS boost to your group, but situational due to fire immune mobs and Autumn Harvest can be useful during trash fights.
Cleric: after the upcoming pass a Cleric using Earthquake for increased CC and playing in Divine Crusader is a great option for the healer role.
Take Divine Vitality for your fellow caster and Reactive Heal for everyone in the group along with Positive Aura for group regeneration.
*Earthquake is imo one of the best CC spells in the game by far, along with Otto's Sphere of Dancing and Evard's Tentacles. Long duration AoE spells which reapply their CC effect every few seconds. Evard's Tentacles sacrifice duration for the helpless damage, something which Earthquake and Otto's Sphere don't have, but would be op if they did.
I've seen a number of people and guildies playing healer/cleric at R10 and I noticed the lack of activity from the class. At times it could be extremely demanding tho if your group was getting wrecked. You have to be very fast at healing/ressing and also avoid mobs and notice the chat or hear your teammates screaming to see who is ressable or not. The above mentioned abilities add a lot of passive healing and safety to help against situations like these. It also makes the role more enjoyable and makes you feel that you are contributing more to fights.
Favored Soul: you can play this build in Exalted Angel using insta-kills in addition to healing.
Purification can still be stacked from you and your party members using Interrogation and Purge the Wicked. This can speed up boss fights through faster Rebuke Foe stacking and allow for more insta-kills, but will overall apply less stacks of Purification to trash mobs as opposed to a Divine Crusader healer and you lose Earthquake. It sacrifices safety for speed. Read HERE for more info.
*If playing as a FVS/Cleric insta-kill build with maxed Necro DC then you can also use Symbol of Weakness on bosses for a maximum 3d6 STR penalty.
According to the wiki (http://ddowiki.com/page/Named_monster#Red_-_Powerful_Named_Enemy) the abilities of Red Named bosses can only be reduced by 10 (max -5 damage) and Purple Named bosses are immune to ability damage.
Bard: I was looking for ways to add the Fatesinger destiny in the group composition without hurting the overall group DPS. I had already considered the Bard as a main group Healer, but the benefits of a FVS or a Cleric looked better in theory... until I decided to sum up all the possible buffs/debuffs the Bard can bring in a fight :)
So let me give you a quick glimpse of how a Warchanter Bard in Fatesinger can contribute:
+2 abilities, competence - group buff (Inspire Excellence)
+12 dmg/+12 to-hit, moral - group buffs (improved Inspired Courage with Warchanter & Fatesinger - Echoes: Martial - LD)
+5 dmg/to-hit, +15 prr/resists, music - on 1 ally for 2 mins (Inspire Heroics + Warchanter capstone)
+6 Spell Power/DBstrike/DBshot, music - group buff (Warchanter)
+3 dmg, +1 CHA, untyped - group buff (Fascinate + Sharp Note/Masked Ball)
+1dmg/to-hit (Enchant Weapon)
+1 spell DCs, +10% (morale) SP discount, group buff (Spellsinger)
+3 Spell Penetration, on 1 ally for 4mins (Spellsinger)
+6% melee/ranged dmg/spell crit chance, music - group buff (Warchanter T5)
-3 to a specific Saving Throw, debuff (Insults, Swashbuckler T1)
+3% melee atk speed, competence - group buff (Fragment of the Song: Valor)
2% chance to cause 5% electric/light/sonic Vulnerability debuff, group buff (stacks 3 times) (Fragment of the Song: Valor)
No to-hit penalties when moving, group buff (Fragment of the Song: Valor)
+12% Physical & Magical dmg, -8 enemy dmg, -12 Spell Resistance, no save debuffs, 1min duration, 4min cooldown (Bound & Grim Fate)
And on top of that you have Otto's Sphere of Dancing and Mass-Charms! Seriously I'm surprised I've been so ignorant of the build's buffing potential.
For one of your DPS members this would be a rough +22 dmg/to-hit, +6% DBstrike/shot, +3% melee atk speed, +6 MP/RP and +12% more damage on boss fights for 1 minute every 4 minutes.
This is a huge buffing potential right here and imo a well-geared Bard with the proper past lives is the best class to choose for the Healer role in terms of speed in high-reaper dungeons. Note that the Bard's contribution to group DPS through buffs drops significantly when you have fewer melee/ranged DPS members. To stack Purification basically use the same method as the above FVS build and twist in Crusade for the +10% group damage boost.
*Please do not forget the entire purpose of this thread... to maximize efficiency and speed in end-game R10 dungeons. This is only a reminder before anyone says "You have just invalidated all the other healer builds out there because of Bards". No, all the other healer builds are still viable, are easier to play and can also heal better than the Bard. The Bard is only imo the best at playing the Healer role, while simultaneously adding a great deal of group DPS through buffs. Not to mention that playing a Bard alone requires much more concentration due to all the buffs and debuffs which you have to constantly reapply.
Well that's it mostly for Buffers/Debuffers and Healers. Don't forget this all depends on team effort and grouping for maximum efficiency. This is my theoritical best "approach" or 6-man group composition for r10 quests in terms of speed and increased group safety. This does not mean that you are not allowed to play different builds in r10. You can always add more casters or more healers in your group, but sacrifice speed and DPS for safety.
After all this is a game and I can't tell you what to play, I can only show you how to improve.
But the most important of all, epics are dead right now so first we need SSG fixing epic rxp and then... we'll see. Perhaps I'll bump this thread again then ;)
And let's not forget...
TANK & DPS
My notes on the Tank and the DPSers, just to fill the whole group composition:
Tank builds are still not very clear, in terms of efficiency. Imo the pure fighter Dwarf tank is the best IF the character has a lot of displacement and radiant forcefield clickies. Otherwise Pally and Sorc/Wiz splashes are also great.
DPS builds: My opinion is that sustained DPS will triumph over burst dps in high reaper. Mobs have tons of HP and we have terrible damage. Fights take much longer and sustained DPS almost always wins in longer fights.
Now with the Wolf fix (no more Dance of Death or lose SWF) pure Tempests are propably the #1 melee situational sustained-AoE DPS and with insane single target sustained DPS. Yep they do pretty much everything.
Mechanics are propably the #1 ranged option for their best ranged sustained DPS, especially now with the AA imbue fix. Sneak Damage which Mechanics have plenty of is not reduced by the scaling DR that some bosses and mobs have therefore giving the class even more of an advantage. They also obviously do traps which are killer for non-evasioners in R10.
Monk: One unarmed Monk is great to have in an organized group due to Knock on the Sky, Jade Strike, Focus and of course its great melee dps.
MORE DPS OPTIONS
Monkchers are still very good in some situations like Shroud part 2 to burst down the crystal. The AA T5 active ability fix really hurt their burst damage with shurikens, but you can always save Bow & Manyshot for bosses/crystal.
Artificer can be a great replacement for a Mechanic, bringing not only buffs for your teammates like Radiant Forcefield and Weapon DR breakers, but also strong trash CC through Endless Fusilade and specific gear/twists. The DPS of a pure Arti is imo less than that of a pure rogue Mechanic, but Arties also bring with them Prismatic Strike for a -25% damabe debuff! You can read my original post regarding Artificers HERE
Assassin: the class has very strong single-target DPS especially when you maximize your Sneak Damage and can also insta-kill, but the AoE damage requires Cleaves and assassins are not exactly the best at cleaving. Assassins also have Weakening Strikes which reduce enemy MP/RP by 20 (many thanks to Qezuzu for mentioning this!) and Poison Strikes to reduce enemy Fort or Reflex or Will saves by 5. Basically a lesser version of Shadows Upon You.
I'm still skeptical about their DPS output but you can read HERE for some more info.
Of course there are many other options for DPS builds out there like Barbarian, Fighter, Swashbuckler and more, but I do not include these builds here because of their lack of viable Debuffs and their lower sustained DPS (twitching excluded). Everyone is free to play whatever they want, I only showcase my theoritical top builds in terms of speed and increased group safety.
So that would be it, I welcome all comments, criticism and feedback. Let me know what you think and I hope our friends in Ghallanda who are still raiding and running R10 might actually find some use out of this.