Now I made a SO to lvl 20 last night because i was bored and my vitality was empty on my main. Now I was just wondering for you SE's out there, is it easy to level an SE now days in L2. I just came back after a year break and noticed levelings alot easier. So whats the estimated time in leveling a SE to 7x. Also is Bishop faster then SE in leveling or the same. Also as funny as it sounds I want a pvp healer toon later on and I was wondering if SE are better in pvp then Bishops, or EE's. Although they arent pvp classes im just wondering. Thanks
back in C3/4 I aoe duo'd w/ a sws for all of c grade...took one week. b grade was longer i aoe'd w/ a destroyer and various other toons. a grade...long time...my destro friend left game and i was left to mooch w/ who ever wanted me (which was mages) then the joy of inquisitor came :D and life was good and made it to S grade.
I wouldn't bother with Inquisitor until you get invocation because unless u are lucky on the mp herb drops you'll be out of mp alot. But you can xp as a nuker all the way up if you are so inclined. However duo w/ a mage is much cheaper ^^
As for pvp..se's are very useful in pvp ^^ Usually i'm with the mages..most duties are keeping buffs up, mp levels up, root, erase, manaburn, wind shakle when called for & heal. Or you can inquisit pvp. Slower cast speed than EE's(much slower :( ) but u do more damage cuz u have emp they dont (assuming self only buffs) also DE's higher INT. Bish are tougher they have more hp, more mp, and about the same or a little faster cast speed. But as with any class in pvp all depends how well u can play them.
All buffer/healer classes (Bishop, Elven Elder, Shilen Elder) except for Prophet and Warcrier get inquisitor stance at level 44. Nuke skill power is 4 levels below an equivalent nuker class and inquisitor skills cannot be enchanted (someone correct me if otherwise).
You will get parties as both Bishop and EE. Even as a SE in HB you should get parties since people prefer active buffers instead of boxes there, so so I've heard. For PvP and 75+ groups Bishop is by far the best healer hands down. EE is versatile, can play backup healer, can recharge Bishop, but in terms of raw healing power and sustainability, nothing beats a Bishop with a SE/EE recharger.
The difference between them for solo leveling using inquisitor stance is that Bishops can be recharged by a SE, but an EE cannot be. Since you're thinking about playing an active SE, I'm assuming an SE box is out of question for you and so this point is moot.
You can solo effectively till 6-7x when you should start to get parties, no matter what you pick - so go with whatever you would enjoy. As a SE you'll need to chat up and make friends with a few nukers on your server once you hit 5x-6x to party, as a EE you could do archer groups (not sure if this is still true or the level for this), as a Bishop you'll need clan help till ~6x-7x to party. Play what you want to. =)
Remember, any class that is not your main will probably level slower due to lack of focus on that toon.
My first main was an SE. I still have him, though he is my buffer/healer/recharger. Back in C2-C4? I leveled very fast with a BD friend of the same level. I would buff/heal/sleep/root and also DD with dual swords while the BD would augment us both with dances and by being the main tank. I would DD while wearing robes. Granted, this was back when VR healed a lot more than it currently did, but back then we didn't have VR4 from the newbie helper at level 1-60? etc.. My 2nd main, I rolled a Sorc, and kept my SE as a two box. I also leveled very fast like that. (my bd friend quit around that time). Nowadays, I would suggest doing your kama daily, and try to get into aoe parties until you get 44+. Look for mages that want a recharger, etc..
As for the other classes, this is mostly my opinion:
EE: If I could afford another account, I would have an EE as well, not to replace, but to augment my boxes. They cast fast which is very handy, and get their 70% rez around 56, which is much better than the 20% rez for a SE. Evasion (/combobuff) and +weight limit are nice... but you are primarily a healer/recharger rather than buffer. Party return is cool when not used accidentally ^^.
PP: Good, but getting shafted at higher levels due to the time it takes to individually buff people. I like my PP- I can see the usefulness and efficiency of a WC, but a PP is better for me since I have small parties, and they have a wider range of buffs.
Bishops: Bishops are great healers and rezzers... when played correctly. This goes for any class, but mainly bishops- many just don't know how to manage their mp/understand their role in the party. Bishops have a tendency to overheal simply because their heals are effective.. and it's what they do. Many people will heal a DD when they're low when they should wait / not/ because VR will heal that DD back up on the next mob. I like bishops, but they're definitely only for healing.
All that being said, I find the usefulness of my SE to be the best. I can augment a DD class of any type decently, with the rest being able to be fulfilled with a pot usually (such as GSAP or GMHP). VR for the melees, emp/wm for the mages allows me to fit in anywhere really. But I wouldn't say no to adding an EE if I could afford it - 70% rez is good enough for me, and the alternative usefulness of an EE would make it worth it over a Bishop to me.
Now I made a SO to lvl 20 last night because i was bored and my vitality was empty on my main. Now I was just wondering for you SE's out there, is it easy to level an SE now days in L2. I just came back after a year break and noticed levelings alot easier. So whats the estimated time in leveling a SE to 7x. Also is Bishop faster then SE in leveling or the same. Also as funny as it sounds I want a pvp healer toon later on and I was wondering if SE are better in pvp then Bishops, or EE's. Although they arent pvp classes im just wondering. Thanks
All I can say about leveling a SE, be aware they are one of hte least wanted party members, most will opt for an EE over an SE, live SEs are few and far between. And those who are live SEs have a hard time leveling, the only real bonus now is that they added inquisitor to the class as of level 44, the grey cloud to this is you cannot recharge a recharger, so you will spend a LOT of time sitting if you solo the SE using inquisitor.
So if you are looking for an easy class.... dont pick this one.
I solo'ed with inquisitor ever since that skill came out, and that plus vitality ROCKETED my levels up. I am also always requested in parties. It depends on who's playing the SE...if you can play your class well, manage your mana well, and heal when you need to heal (no heal spamming and no massive afk-ness) then you're good to go. Just get out there and show people what you have to offer!
Inquisitor is an AWESOME skill. If you level in the right areas (no multi-hp or group mobs) you will do amazingly well. Utilize the mp talismans and elixers, and sitting for mp regen takes a very short amount of time if you have any sort of mp/MEN on your robes. Casting weapons are good for inquisitor soloing since SE's cast relatively slow. It all worked really well for me. I can solo almost anywhere as long as I can one or two-shot the mobs.
Give it a try and don't give up! You can do it. ;)
I went out duoing on my 74 SE today (Inquisitor Stance) in FoTD, taking my PP along with me. I was wearing tallum and using a common BoTM and Absps. For the first ~hour I had lv4 malaria and casted at around 878... it didn't matter, Divine Punishment casts so fast anyway. I only had to sit one time for 5 minutes because I didn't get any herb drops. Also there was an EE that gave me clarity, so that helped.
Long story short, with self + pp buffs, I 2 shot 95% of the mobs, 1 shotting on crits.. 3 shotting tops on some resisting mobs. The xp was ~20k in party, 40k not.. and I made a good amount of cash (cost: 700a-1000a to kill, gained 2-2.5k).
Anyway, and when I play my SE as SE, I can trio in DO and manage MP very well by casting Bless the Blood rather than heals most of the time (half the mp cost). I can almost always find groups.
Leveling isn't hard if you know what you are doing. Get a party w/ a nuker and u are good to go (gets boring tho) You can easily heal a cata party w/ btblood while maintaining mp for buffs and occassional debuffs. Whatever you are doing it's all about mp management, learn how to manage mp and you are all set.
I disagree that SE's are least wanted, if there are mages they want an se...they are only 'least wanted' cuz everyone and thier cousin has a boxed se, however I've never known a party to choose a boxed SE over a live one.
I solo fotd all the time w/ my pp too, vamp circle...i never need mp breaks. IOP too..tho that requires mp breaks cuz mp pots don't drop enough..but it's not too bad if you walk and have maj. I used to solo BS and rarely had to take mp breaks (was in BS from 65 or so to S grade). You can easily solo in inquisitor..even w/out a prophet just stock up on magic haste pots and you are good to bo. My EE clannie and I have tried to duo inquisitor HS but we just burn through mp too fast there. Ideally you want to inquisitor someplace where you can 2-3 shot mobs and they drop herbs. However, I have heard that inproved kookaburra's will recharge you in inquisitor so i'm planning on leveling one up to see how that works.
I have been using my maj (+3/+4 w/ pvp) & +11 sov, tho sometimes go with my dc (+3/+4)...however most my leveling was done with my +3 spiritual eye or +3daspairion hail.
I disagree that SE's are least wanted, if there are mages they want an se...they are only 'least wanted' cuz everyone and thier cousin has a boxed se, however I've never known a party to choose a boxed SE over a live one.
Oh my goodness I agree with all of the above, especially the bolded text. Seriously, it was a huge deterrent for me wanting to work on my SE. It still is sometimes. But I can do so much as far as heals, buffs, solo'ing, nuking, recharging, etc. etc. AND that bless the blood skill is golden. I use that more than I use heals, to be honest.
As for kookaburras, yes they recharge. I've had it confirmed to me by more than one person. The trick is you'd have to be in inquisitor and THEN summon the kooka. It won't let you change to inquisitor if you have a pet out first. Also, the baby/improved pets try to heal you whenever you take damage, and if you're not watching for it, it can take aggro pretty quickly because of it. I plan on levelling a kooka myself though. ;)
Anyway back on topic...I reiterate what you said...SE's are NOT the least wanted. Might depend on who your friends are, though. If they know your worth and how valuable you actually are, they will pull you into party. ;)
I'm one of those evil people who use my SE as a boxed buffer/recharger.
I had no problem getting parties before the availability of newbie buffs past 40. Everyone wanted an SE in cat parties for VR and heals. SE is not as effective a healer as EE or Bish, but is ok.
Once the newbie buff became available up to 62, she was disregarded, and got few parties, and remained at mid 50's for a long time. And I simply did not have the patience to level her using inquisitor mode. I did sometime party her with my Glad, but the Glad was quite often used in other parties, with a live SE, so she was not needed too often, unless I played her only, and not the Glad (which was my main at the time).
Then I decided to change my main from Glad to Spellhowler ( for personal reasons ). Once the SH was in the late 50's, I partied her with the SE, created a few macros for recharge/heal/autofollow, and haven't looked back. SE is now at 65, SH at 68, and I actually get party requests for SE, as she now works at levels that no longer get newbie buffs, and want the VR/EMP buffs again.
If you're levelling your SE using inquisitor mode, you have my respect - it's not easy, nor fast, but the few times I did it, it was FUN!.