03-02-2005, 11:41 PM
I believe the druid's Entangling Roots skill works against most monsters, albeit only outside, which rules out most instances (Zul'Farrak being an exception).
Fear spells are rarely the first choice for crowd control, but they can be useful when Things Go Wrong. Warlocks have Fear and Howl of Terror. Priests have Psychic Scream.
Most of my experience has been playing a warlock, and I haven't reached the endgame yet. But I agree with the niche-filler comments - they provide a bunch of useful features which are usually welcome in groups.
Pets: You can change pets to fit the needs of the group and the situation. Imps have firepower and the Stamina buff (you can also leave them Phase Shifted as a mana battery with Dark Pact). Succbus is useful for Seduction. Use a Void Walker when the group needs an additional body on the front lines. Felhunters are great against casters.
To the list of ways of removing Debuffs, you can add the Felhunter's Devour Magic ability. It will also remove buffs from enemy targets.
Utility skills: Eye of Killrog for scouting. Ritual of Summoning for gathering a group. Unending Breath. The essential Soul Stone which is welcomed by any party. Health Stones.
Combat: In the instances I've done, my first task is to keep out of harm's way to make the healer's life easier. The warlock's DoT spells are fairly mana efficient, and generate aggro slowly. While Curse of Agony gets the most use in solo play, in groups other curses may be more useful: Curse of Tongues for casters, Curse of Recklessnss on runners, Curse of Shadow or Curse of the Elements if your party does a lot of spell damage.
You're also in a good position for back-up crowd control. Pets can be redirected if monsters threaten your casters. Warlocks also have some very good CC skills against the right monsters (I think Banish is one of the best in the game because it can't be broken by enthusiastic party members).
Chris
Fear spells are rarely the first choice for crowd control, but they can be useful when Things Go Wrong. Warlocks have Fear and Howl of Terror. Priests have Psychic Scream.
Most of my experience has been playing a warlock, and I haven't reached the endgame yet. But I agree with the niche-filler comments - they provide a bunch of useful features which are usually welcome in groups.
Pets: You can change pets to fit the needs of the group and the situation. Imps have firepower and the Stamina buff (you can also leave them Phase Shifted as a mana battery with Dark Pact). Succbus is useful for Seduction. Use a Void Walker when the group needs an additional body on the front lines. Felhunters are great against casters.
To the list of ways of removing Debuffs, you can add the Felhunter's Devour Magic ability. It will also remove buffs from enemy targets.
Utility skills: Eye of Killrog for scouting. Ritual of Summoning for gathering a group. Unending Breath. The essential Soul Stone which is welcomed by any party. Health Stones.
Combat: In the instances I've done, my first task is to keep out of harm's way to make the healer's life easier. The warlock's DoT spells are fairly mana efficient, and generate aggro slowly. While Curse of Agony gets the most use in solo play, in groups other curses may be more useful: Curse of Tongues for casters, Curse of Recklessnss on runners, Curse of Shadow or Curse of the Elements if your party does a lot of spell damage.
You're also in a good position for back-up crowd control. Pets can be redirected if monsters threaten your casters. Warlocks also have some very good CC skills against the right monsters (I think Banish is one of the best in the game because it can't be broken by enthusiastic party members).
Chris