LDoN / Grouping Strategies

[Cthulha]

Okay, I have never ever grouped with my necro, but I'm really wanting to try it out. However, I'm kind of nervous because I'm not sure what to do in a group situation (especially an LDoN group). Could I get some suggestions for tactics, spells, etc? And, um, please try to avoid using complicated acronyms and abbreviations.. I don't know them all yet!! Thanks so much! :)

[Otirbyt_X]

Well I did my first LDoN group yesterday with my Necro. I would suggest being a being a Mana Battery for your healer(s). Make sure they have Mana when they need it. So if you have Lich make sure your using it to maintain your mana. Bond of death to get your health back so the Clerics aren't healing you. Also if you are taking undead mobs try to pull with Shackle of Bone to slow the mobs and sick pet before you get hit that way the main tank will take less damage. I hope that help. But I'm not much of a pro but that is what I tried to do yesterday.

[Jovhato]

Ater the pull, I snare with darkness and send pet it. I also keep the mana going to the healer when needed.

[Death's Servent]

I have been the pac'fier of the undead, mana battery, and a sucky chanter. Butcherblock Camp is where most of our spells are abtained like Dark Soul for 48pts.

[Jebasiz]

Darkness and send pet...Be in lich the whole adventure, use lifetaps and a fast dot (if you find doing so is efficient). Root adds and make an "FU or some other form of telling the people asking for mana to please go die" hotkey when they ask for mana.

Jeb

[Kilulisi]

It really depends on the group you are in. mostly, i will darkness and send pet in. you can use some DOTs if your melees are not killing the mobs too fast, I use debuffs like heartflutter series (and darkness). I have served as a mana battery as well, but not too often. screaming terror is great in a pinch to mezz a bad pull for a sec, if there is no chanter. Lifetap to heal, so have the healer focus on the tanks.

[Slitherclaw]

Nice. We are not mana batteries. We can do so much more with our mana we can do crowd control, we can nuke, we can heal, not to mention pet and some great dps. To think people believe us to be mana batteries in a group is a shame. Personally I refuse to be reduced to such. Just my 2 coppers.

Slitherclaw

51 Iksar Necromancer

http://www.magelo.com/eq_view_profile.html?num=897846

[Kilulisi]

While I agree with you that we are not mana batteries and do not volunteer to be one, it beats sitting around with FM waiting on the healer to med. I have found that the meleers kill the mobs too quick for DOTs and even lifetap/other DD to work sometimes.

[Schaeffer]

In BB Adventures you can slow, you can ghetto mezz with ST, you can cast group taps which work really well in LDoN, you can Nuke, and as always, you can throw a twitch or two on the healer, unless it's a lazy shaman cause we all know they're soo Uber thanks to Mr. Deathtognomes!!!

[Ahura Mazda]

PLEASE dont listen to anyone suggesting you become a MANA battery for an LDoN group. Dont give up your mana just because the healers dont know how to manage their own mana pool.

If you have competent enough healers you shoould only need to feed if you have a death during the Adventure.

With that said, LDoN is all about DPS (Damage.Per.Second) How much dmg can u do in the shortest time. Look at your spells for you level and evaluate the cast time/mana/dmg each one does and figure out based on how long your group is taking to kill mobs which ones will work best.

Again PLEASE dont give in to becoming a MANA BATTERY, this is a huge waste of our mana and takes away one of the biggest DPS members in your group...YOU!

[Aneastin]

Cthula,
After Casting and Buffing your pet mem the following spells if you have.

Shock of Poison
Dismiss Undead
Dooming Darkness
Shadow Compact/Rapacious Subversion
Spirit tap
Shackle of Bone
Screaming Terror
Feign Death

There are two different techniques that I use.
1. After mob is pulled send pet and wait until mob at 90% cast Dooming Darkness. Wait until mob's health is at 80 or 75% before attempting to sit (snares are major aggro producers). Med until mob is between 40% and 30% health. Pop up and cast Shock of poison/Dismiss undead/lifetap depending on whether the mob is undead and your health.
Rinse and repeat with each mob.

2. As soon as mob is pulled cast Shadow compact on the main tank and send pet. Med and pop up to lifetap as needed. This technique (for me) costs less mana then #1, keeps Clers FM, and I end up doing more dmg to the mob with 2 lifetaps then I do with 1 Dot and a DD spell.
Rinse and repeat.

3. Use Shackle of bone and Screaming Terror in situations that require it (i.e. No Chanters are avail so you get asked to play CC).

4. Warning the following is my personal opinion:
When people discuss mana batteries politely explain that you'll be more then happy to during down time or between mobs. Necros mana is better for the entire group when it is spent killing the mob. Once the Mob is dead and you have a Cler or Enc that is Oom, then you can twitch them and get everyone back up and running. If played right Necros can twitch Enc/Clers until the necro is at 30%m and get back to 80% within 2-3 pulls (while still casting your usual spells).

[glandeen]

I have been on countless LDon adventrues and i have given mana out a total of ZERO times. I do not feed nor is it even an option for me.. when asked i tell people i do not feed mana when im below 99% mana myself. Most LDON groups i've been in not only did the cleric have more than enough mana he/she usually is meeleeing the whole time getting that nice hammer to proc about 20 times a fight.

[Aneastin]

The fact of the matter is that if anyone twitches in LDON it is a very minor part of their role. The original poster was looking for info on techniques or strategies to use in LDON not an indepth discussion on Twitching.

[Tsulle]

The spell types I use during adventures are:

1- HP/Mana Conversion (Call of Bones)
2- Pet Buff- (Augment Death)
3- Twitch Spells (Covetous Subversion)
4- Feign Death
5- DoT (Dark Soul)
6- Healing Type Spell (HoT usually)
7- Life Tap
8- Snare Type (Dooming Darkness)

I set up a hotkey for /assist {MA's name}
I hit it. Cast Snare and have another hotkey for Pet attack and send pet in.
If we're lacking in healers or healing abilities I cast my HoT.
I tap the mob if it isn't killed too fast.
Also keep your HP/Mana conversion spell on... Lich, Call of bones etc.

(I'm amazed at how many healers in mid-40s only have a mana pool of 1k or so, and refuse to CH because of it and waste mana on Clelstial Healing and partial heals...)
Because I play a cleric (who never asks to be twitched =P)and I'm impatient when it comes to downtime I do twitch when necessary... ONLY the healer or chanter.

I usually go in with a chanter, bard or 2 tanks, so rarely use Ghetto mez... but occasionaly I do and I'll switch that into spell slot 6

Good luck when you do your first adventure. You'll have fun =)

Tsulle Demented
Necromancer of the 47th Season

[Jebasiz]

The thing I find(and it's most annoying IMO) is that if people know that they have a crutch, they take full advantage of it. The crutch in this case is, the ability for us to give them mana quickly. If people don't have to manage their mana, they won't.

I don't think it's in bad taste to tell the cleric who's asking you for mana to stop melee'ing and sit the hell down and med. I also don't have a problem with telling a chanter to stop wasting his mana on his nuke with a 3:1 ratio. I don't know how many times I've joined groups and within 10mins they're saying oom, and can I have some mana, then when I ask what they did before I got there.... not one of them will answer, or asked again. If someone dies and the cleric just blew 1k mana rebuffing them after a rez, sure toss some mana to get back to pulling quicker...the rest of the time, at the absolute most, mind wrack the casters, that should be more then enough mana, even for the careless(noobish) casters. In MM and Guk theme I'm usually the only form of crowd controll, the only slower, and counted on for a decent amount dps as well...we're not designed to "dump mana on people" it's incredibly inefficient, and I can't think of a grouping situation where someone can make my mana go twice as far(used twice as well) then I can myself.
Death piece and shackle are very good spells in undead themes, charming the mummies and then buffing them is fun(at first) and is a great way to augment dmg in MM theme dungeons...I'd highly suggest doing that, just get a tash/malo before you charm(it'll last longer).

Jeb
enjoy

[Schaeffer]

I had to teach a cleric with Time gear about necro twitching. My mana pool is about 4.5 k His is significantly higher. He kept asking me to twitch him. I had to tell him that I was twitching him and that when i twitched my whole mana bar (including saving 10% with MP III) the most i could give him was about 1800 mana. and that it cost me 4400 mana to do that, and if he wanted me to twitch faster he should let me sac him so I could burn EE's in Infusion!!! I told him to pick a tank and make sure that they kept aggro. He didn't need a twitch again after that. It all comes down to mana management. No one should abuse they're mana because you can twitch them, but when it's necessary yes you should twitch to help with down time after a rezz rebuff or during/after a bad pull that drained everyone.

[Slitherclaw]

Your right its not a disscusion on whethere twitching is evil or not. I apologise. Just feel pretty strongly about the subject.

Slitherclaw

51 Iksar Necromancer


http://www.magelo.com/eq_view_profile.html?num=897846