Role of a Sorcerer in PvE

[Kuraia]

Originally Posted by LaJolla

I guess I feel like I'm not doing my job if I'm not adding damage, but from what I'm reading here, it's okay if I just stand and watch and monitor my CCs? Because that is fine with me!

When I'm single CCing, I'd guess I get about 3/4 of my damage rotation in before needing to re-Sleep my CC target, but yes, you need to be monitoring your CC more than DPSing when you're Multi-CCing, at least until you get more comfortable with it. Mostly because you're doubling your chance of getting a resisted CC or a possible mis-tab target from someone breaking one of your CCs. Though I believe that between watching 2 CC cooldowns, I myself am only getting 2, maybe 3 DPS spells off before I need to re-apply CCs, unless I cheat and use Vaziel's Wisdom, then I can get 4-5 off

Originally Posted by LaJolla

My biggest problem so far is that too many melees are hitting my slept mobs. When I re-sleep them, they still hit them... and maybe the problem is the automatic AoE these guys are doing, that u mention here. I have found I almost prefer CoR because at least they SEE that that mob is CCed and they dont hit. They seem to ignore the ZZZZZs coming off the mob's head.

The method I mentioned about starting off with Icechains and pulling the mob back helps a lot with this situation. Or you can simply root the mob first before sleeping, thus still keeping it away from any AoE damage, but of course this only really works with single CCs.

Originally Posted by karn09

Also, maybe you should mention why not to use CoR on ranged. Newbs might go huhwtf? Obviously rooted mobs can still attack, but if you tree then Cool-Down is 10s longer than the duration. Not so good when you need someone locked down.

I think I covered that in the comment about Ranged mobs still being able to cast and possibly kill group members, but I will go back and highlight it as a key point.

Originally Posted by karn09

PS. You should write a guide for PvP strategies too =)

I'll leave that to people like Zot and Socio. At the moment I'm not very pleased with my solo PvP capabilities. . . .then again I've been more focused on trying to level than sharpening my Abyss skills. But I'm betting I just suck at PvP

Originally Posted by Phinyx

- Illusion Storm is unreliable at best, since it seems that elites have super-duper high stun resistance (the same applies for Frozen Shock too, which you may have noticed when the stagger doesn't show up most of the time when you use it). I prefer not to use it in PvE except against regular trash mobs.

- Winter Binding is your best friend on a pull of 4 or more, at least until you get to level 50 (at which point your new best friend is Sleep Storm). Even a 4 pull should be extremely manageable unless your party is made up of nothing but you, a Glad tank, healers and Sins - you simply need to keep CC up on 2 targets while the 3rd is tanked and the 4th is offtanked or kited.

I really can't argue that IS isn't very reliable, and often the chances of having the DP for it when you really need it are probably not favorable. But if you hit a really bad situation and had the DP, I'd say it would be worth the shot to save the group from wiping regardless, probably going to lose the DP to death if you didn't try.

And Winter Binding I'd honestly toss into an "advanced" category for Sorcerers who have learned to watch their surroundings better, given the range of WB. But yes, once they've learned to watch their proximity to other mobs, WB is a great way to give you and your group the time to get a large group of mobs under control.

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Added in an emphasis on switching targets mid-cast in the "Hints and Tweaks" section. Thanks Ooby.

[Hallia]

I just recast sleep the second it's back up... 20s duration, 15s cooldown, just makes sense...

Personally, my server seems to have more issues with glads tossing out aoes like morons and sms overabusing their aoe fear [oh what fun it is to have the mobs all nicely cced, then have the sm charge in, aoe fear, and send them all running into 10 other mobs >_>]

Of course, us poor sorcs get blamed for not being able to cc a players stupidity.

[Twilight Sky]

..Good guide typed by someone with one lovely looking character(Ive been itching to say that for the longest).

Now that I got that out, heres my two cents.


YOU STOLE MY GUIDE YOU..YOU!!!!! <insert your favorite brand of cookies here>

Seriously though, its great.

[Snoozle]

Making a sticky.

[Kuraia]

Originally Posted by Snoozle

Making a sticky.

^.^ thank you

[Luraka]

Thank you for such a well-written guide. I'm new to the style of play sorcerers have in this game - my MMO experience to date has been Guild Wars, which does CC very differently, and Age of Conan, where stun was my best friend (I have a level 80 HoX).

I've been picking up many of the things you mention, but I've also been guilty of the mistakes you point out, notably "where did they come from?" as the party gets ressed. Hopefully I can fix that one.

[LaJolla]

Wow, I didn't realize you can recast sleep before the mob is awakened. In my last game, L2, you couldn't do that, so I've been waiting for the mob to wake up before I do it again, by habit. Great piece of information. Also getting used to how slow the cast is....

[Foxrider]

Very good guide

I was using most of the information already but it's always good to have a reminder !

[Cykasm]

Nice write up.

I must agree, AOE on my cc'd mob has caused a few curses to be uttered

[CowsGoMoo]

Good guide .

[shoseijutsu]

nice guide

but i dont know how to do multiple CC

<-- noob



:x

on topic, u completely forgotten about our 3k DP skill, AoE sleep with unlimited number of targets but small radius (only 5m around the main mob we cc unlike our advanced stigma which is 12m but only 6 monsters, as well as increased resistance which our DP skill does not have)
this skill is always being left out on us sorcs, people saving their DP for the damage dealing ones which can be understandable, but the times i spent poping 4k DP food and doing AoE sleep saved my group *** way more then once

yesterday in SR we had a pull for 10 mobs (that what happens when u go in there in lvl 50 and just wanna get ur advanced stigma slot as soon as u can), my AoE sleep made that pull with minimum deaths (only mine really )

another thing that u can and should use in ur advantaged is range, u know ur about to pull 4 mobs? let the tank get ready to pull, u sleep one, tree one, root one, and let the tank pull back with the mob left, by the time they are released from their CC and start moving to u, it lets u have few more seconds to cool off ur CC, makes it even easier to control them.

having the ZzZ macroed to a key makes CCing super easy as well, we always use the blue arrow and ZzZ sign when we do instances, just by clicking on the key macroed to both of those sign allows me to switch between mobs freely (tab target ftl)

we used to have a sorcerer in our guild in china that for some very odd reason could not CC and DPS the same time, whenever we told her to CC a mob she would have slept it, and just stand and stare on it for 15 seconds until sleep was up again to recast it...
its not as bad as those that only DPS and doesn't CC at all thou :x

another thing that u can do is use ur CC to interrupt monsters abilities (thats of course when u can spare ur CC to do that), any monster that can be CCed, u can use ur sleep / tree to interrupt its spell simply by CCing before it finished casting it, it does wonders in mist mane when u fight those annoying grapplers that heal, or those big damage spells from the spell shifters, all u need to do is learn the mob method of using skills and know when to cast ur CC to stop it (extremely useful as well against the lephars and their mortal blow)

[Kuraia]

Yeah I did kinda skip around our 3k DP skill, mostly because its not something we're going to have readily available very often, and I guess from personal experience I tend to avoid it because I don't find it very reliable. . .(trying to get all the aggroed mobs within 5m of each other when casting before the group panics and runs all over the place is difficult) Other than that it seems to get resisted too often (when I already feel I have a very low chance to be resisted)


About the interrupts, funny you would mention the grapplers in MM, because thats exactly when I've been doing lately, interrupting mob heals whenever possible :P

But I guess I can write up something to add about Illusion Storm and heal interrupts.

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Update: Added AoE CCing section and added another sub-section in the Tips, Tricks and Tweaks section.

[shoseijutsu]

small fix, sleeping storm is 1 sec cast 3 min cd, it used to be 2 and 2 but it was changed

<3

[Kuraia]

Fixed. . .damn you Aionarmory. . . .thanks Shosei ^.^

[SethGod]

Originally Posted by Kuraia

And Winter Binding I'd honestly toss into an "advanced" category for Sorcerers who have learned to watch their surroundings better, given the range of WB.

You also REALLY need to keep some distance from the mobs when doing that because as any rooted target, it will start attacking what's in melee or casting stuff to ppl 5-7m of them and you're going to wonder why you still got stunned/1shotted.

Originally Posted by shoseijutsu

Another thing that u can and should use in ur advantaged is range, u know ur about to pull 4 mobs? let the tank get ready to pull, u sleep one, tree one, root one, and let the tank pull back with the mob left, by the time they are released from their CC and start moving to u, it lets u have few more seconds to cool off ur CC, makes it even easier to control them.

I've done a few times and lately it kinda becomes regular stuff lol, in Alquimia when tank is noobish and doesn't wait for detection of those invis Ambushers thus adding 1-2 extra mobs to the pull....you just keep on moving towards the entrance on that big lane and CC on cd, really cool stuff

Originally Posted by shoseijutsu

having the ZzZ macroed to a key makes CCing super easy as well, we always use the blue arrow and ZzZ sign when we do instances, just by clicking on the key macroed to both of those sign allows me to switch between mobs freely (tab target ftl)

I actually have smth better than that, a macro for
/selectbrand 12
/delay 0.4
/skill sleep I
and also a button that will "/selectbrand 1" for re-targetting the mob for DPS, can be added to the first one but it may become risky in case of resists...