Static Group Questions

[Uplift]

Hey all - me and my 4 friends have been playing for a bit and are casually (stress casually) leveling up a in a static group. In general we like the game but haven't really gotten into a ton of the details yet. As we near lvl 11ish, we are starting to see that the game is a bit more complex and we need to take a step back and better understand the in's & out's (we've gotten spanked a few times lol).

So before we got and start digging away in the class forums learning to be better at our classes (which I think is required in most MMOs we've just slacked so far), I just want to make sure we are using the right classes.

Right now we got...

Human Fighter
Dwarf Barbarian
Human Cleric
Human Rogue
Elf Sorc.

Is this a good group to go from 11 to 20 with? I don't really understand what the proper group balance is between melee & casters so any help would be appreciated.

Or goal right now is not really end-game or raids or any of that stuff. We just really want to go from 11 to 20. We'll worry about the rest when/if we get to 20.

Thanks for the help.

[Tobril]

Your party composition is fine and you'll make 20 no problems with some good teamwork.

[Hafeal]

Uplift -

My static group is nearly 2 years old and we are hitting 20 now (we play x1 a week for about 2 hours). It has been great fun. Your group composition seems fine. If you PUG with other characters, the quests may seem to go easier due largely to other players knowledge of the quests.

If you are running things for the first time, you will not know how to conserve your resources or what foes to plan foe unless you look for spoilers on DDO wiki or watch some of Spyder's video walk-thrus.

You are at the levels now where the game will expose flaws in your character builds which may not have come out before. It may be worth looking at your builds at seeing if a feat exchange or an enhancement reset is worth the investment.

Good luck and stick with it!

[Postumus]

Right now we got...

Human Fighter
Dwarf Barbarian
Human Cleric
Human Rogue
Elf Sorc.

Is this a good group to go from 11 to 20 with? I don't really understand what the proper group balance is between melee & casters so any help would be appreciated.

Or goal right now is not really end-game or raids or any of that stuff. We just really want to go from 11 to 20. We'll worry about the rest when/if we get to 20.

That's a great static group. Really solid at the key positions. Wiz might be more utilitarian as they get many more spells, but sorcs can get the scrolls they need to supplement their spell lists.

You guys will have no problems - class wise - getting to 20.

[Uplift]

Thanks for the feedback all. Helped alot.

Our group has the most experience playing City of Heroes where buffs & debuffs kinda dominate team play. So we were starting to think we may be a little melee heavy as we just had the 2 buffers/casters.

[Janth]

Do you play the quests on normal then hard then elite? Trying them on caual the first time is a great way to learn the ins and outs.

[Uplift]

Do you play the quests on normal then hard then elite? Trying them on caual the first time is a great way to learn the ins and outs.

We play on normal and if it goes well, we repeat on hard. We rarely do elite cause we run out of time or interest in the quest.

From a role perspective, the team is kinda running like this.

Fighter - melee DPS
Barbarian - melee DPS
Rogue - scout, trap support, secondary melee DPS
Cleric - buffs & heals
Sorc - AoE & ST DPS & some buffs

In general neither the fighter or barb can hold aggro one bit. What tends to happen is the Sorc grabs all the aggro, and the melee guys tend to run around like spazzes trying to kill what's chasing the Sorc. We recognize this can't be optimal lol. What role changes do you all recommend and any quick tips and how to approach them?

We are thinking the sorc needs to buff more and AoE less but like I said, we just started talking about it as a group cause up to now it hasn't been too much trouble.

[awolfgang]

In general neither the fighter or barb can hold aggro one bit. What tends to happen is the Sorc grabs all the aggro, and the melee guys tend to run around like spazzes trying to kill what's chasing the Sorc.

The fighter and barb need be using intimidate on trash to keep agro, also the sorc needs to use some diplomacy to lose agro. Enhancements and gear can help with agro too. At end bosses have the barb or fighter get a few seconds head start before the sorc starts bombing. Mostly agro needs to be managed by the sorc using diplomacy and the fighter/barb with intimidate.

[Postumus]

The fighter and barb need be using intimidate on trash to keep agro, also the sorc needs to use some diplomacy to lose agro. Enhancements and gear can help with agro too. At end bosses have the barb or fighter get a few seconds head start before the sorc starts bombing. Mostly agro needs to be managed by the sorc using diplomacy and the fighter/barb with intimidate.

Diplomacy helps and intimidate is very useful as awolf mentions above

Using spells like electric loop to stun groups of monsters and soften them up a bit at the same time allows your melees to close and finish them off rather than chase them around after your fleeing sorcerer.

The sorcerer allowing your melees to engage the monsters and get a couple of swings in before he blasts them also helps the melees hold the aggro.

Your cleric can throw out some holds as well.

[Terex]

Wait, you mean I have spells available besides buffs and heals....and blade barrier?

I jest...although I'm not sure which hold spell you're referring to that's good at my level. Sonic Burst was great for at lower level, and I still use that one now sometimes, is that what you meant? I have been focusing much more on buffs than debuffs, primarily due to "save negates" effects. Is that a mistake?

(I'm the cleric in Uplift's group above, although I'm sure you figured that part out...)