Power-gamed party composition

[Odd Hermit]

Here's what I figure is my ideal party. Subject to change obviously, but as of 435 -

 

TANK: Fighter.

Defender Modal. Weapon and Shield style w/War Hammer+Large Shield. Basically, choosing whatever talents are best for deflection. Maxed Per/Res/Con at cost of some might/dex/int. Takes Knock Down for saving others from engagement on occasion.

 

Could take two of this character if I wanted to be super safe(I might).

 

Off-tank/Support: Chanter.

Mid-high might/int/per/res. Uses a big 2h in melee when needing a second melee. Chants for range attack speed and move speed, pierce/slash resist, OR endurance drain depending on situation. Uses Thrice Was She Wronged as much as possible, of course.

 

All-rounder/Caster: Druid.

Max Int and Might with mid Perception/Res at cost of some Dex/Con. Takes Secrets of Rime and Heart of the Storm. Nukes stuff, occasionally support/buffs/heals, fights in melee when needed.

 

Heal/buff bot: Priest.

Same attribute approach as Druid. All talents into Arbalest/Arquebus boosting stuff. Wrecks stuff with a ranged weapon with not casting, since I don't always need priest buffs or heals.

 

Damage/CC: Cipher.

Same attribute approach as Druid. Takes Biting/Draining Whip then focuses on ranged weapon talents(Blunderbuss once I've got it)

 

Damage/CC: A second Cipher or Druid. - If you didn't take two fighters.

 

_____________________________

 

 

All characters use Arbalest, Crossbow, Blunderbuss(Cipher) or Arquebus depending on availability, and other than the tank only entering melee when forced. All characters have decent stealth levels. I often chunk something at the beginning of combat, sometimes even get to gib and re-stealth.

 

I skipped Hearth Orlan's cause they're borked but it would be ideal. I'm a little disappointed in racials overall, with only a few feeling substantial for general combat - many are just way too situational.

 

Some key early spells:

 

Priest: Blessing, Armor of Faith, Divine Mark, Pillar of Faith, Circle of Protection

Druid: Tanglefoot, Icy Wind, Blizzard, Returning Storm, Beetle Shell

Cipher: Soul Shock, Whisper of Treason, Mind Wave, Mental Binding, Psychovampiric Shield, Puppet Master

 

Many fights can be done without much casting from Druid or Priest. Chanter and Cipher pull more weight on easier fights - along with a super high deflection and durable tank of course. Druid and Priest are the big guns for tougher fights, adding a ton of survivability to the group and/or tank and of course Druid is the king of large AoE control and damage.

 

______________________

 

So here's where I ramble about various balance things -

 

 

I am really enjoying the party dynamic overall as I continue to develop more nuanced understanding of the game mechanics and individual abilities. I think it's a better overall combat experience than the old IE games based on what we have access to at least, if forgiving some of the buggy/broken parts of the beta.

 

But I wish more classes felt like a valid choice, at least for a "power-gamer" like myself(I hate the term - I like roleplay elements, but I also just like optimizing things and can't help it!)

 

Barbarians have no place in melee with Fighter/Chanter IMO - they're too gimmicky and one dimensional. They have lackluster class ability options some which are net negatives(I'd never use Frenzy).

 

Paladins can't engage enough targets to be a main tanker from my experiences and also lack good active abilities and are too limited at low level, while Chanter has superior passive buffing on top of strong active abilities making it a better second-melee choice.

 

--- I've only used Goldpact, perhaps the other Paladin Orders have some better options.

 

Monk could have some value in more melee-heavy parties, and is pretty strong, I just find it better to avoid melee with a strong distance/control approach.

 

Rogue is a bit questionable at the moment - can certainly put out damage but I can't justify the fragility and as a ranged class it doesn't offer as much utility as Ciphers. A Cipher boosts damage output substantially for your whole party while putting out a good amount of its own.

 

Wizard is too fragile, and Cipher/Druid cover everything it brings to the table better together.

 

Ranger is just straight up bad.

 

 

Some notes:

 

Constitution sucks for lower Stam/Health classes because it's % based. You can't really save Wizard's durability by giving him Constitution since you're getting a % of already low endurance. This is why I don't even both putting anything in it for non-melee classes, or even dropping it below base. Putting points in might makes up fortitude loss as well. Deflection is just more reliable and superior for survivability, and Resolve has the benefit of resisting interrupts which can be more important than a bit more/less health/stam.

 

High damage/DT penetration > everything else. Slashing sucks, piercing rules. This isn't news on this forum though.

 

Many buffs, leaving a decent chunk of spells rather useless. This plagues the Wizard class the most, but there are some pretty weak spells in the other caster-y classes' arsenals as well. Chants work, spending spells per day trying to buff yourself up mid-combat doesn't. There are some exceptions most of which belong to the priest. Wizard's are mostly caster only, making them pretty terrible. Just can't justify spending several spells of your limited spells/day buffing yourself, only to have them gone after what may only be a single short encounter.

 

Caster longevity could use a small buff, I think they should start to get per encounter spells at reasonable levels. I'd say something like:

Level 3: 1 level 1 spell per encounter

Level 5:  2 level 1 spells per encounter

Level 7: 2 level 1 spells, 1 level 2 spell per encounter

Etc.

Just so that my Druid isn't so bored when clearing easier stuff that aren't worth spending spells/day on. I guess maybe druid was supposed to use shapeshifting for that but eh... heh. It's hard to really conserve spells without this, and in a less power-gamed party it'd be annoying.

 

I also feel like, if I wanted to really play "hardcore" and go for no-deaths, I'd open every fight with tanglefoot - having once per encounter tanglefoot would be so nice. It prevents getting rushed and there are many fights where it's the difference between coming out unscathed vs. getting totally mobbed to death. (I've quicksave/quickloaded some fights to try different strategies). Wizards do bring some alternatives but you know how I feel about wizards at this point.

 

AI has some issues. I can often snipe things from stealth, back out of view, and take individual targets off from a group 1 by 1 with no retaliation. Sometimes I can even pull a group and back up until only one enemy is still coming at my party and the rest have "rubber banded" back into whatever zone they're limited to. This may be abuse, but many encounters really just feel like part of their deal is cautiously pulling them in more limited numbers - such as the spiders which can swarm in large numbers.

 

Many classes may not be durable enough for odd-party compositions to really work or at least work well. The only classes I trust in melee right now are: Fighter, Chanter, Paladin, Monk. Melee Rogues, Ciphers, Wizards, Priests I don't trust as things can go bad for them fast. Trying to build them for it also substantially nerfs the rest of their abilities since you can't afford talents more geared toward offense or casting/support if you're also trying to give them reasonable staying power in melee.

Edited March 6, 2015 by Odd Hermit

[Dr. Hieronymous Alloy]

I haven't played with druids but  apart from that your list isn't too far off from mine. I like having a wizard because it's a fantasy game and wizzzzard but it's hard to argue with your analysis of constitution and the wizard's general fragility. Paladins also suffer from the fact that their modal buffs seem to have a small area / be superseded by superior Chanter or Priest buffs. (Ciphers have the same problem with some of their debuffs, but it can be planned around).

 

DO you really get that much use out of movement speed buffs? I'd basically ignored them.  You know what moves really fast? An arquebus shot.

 

For the Cipher my list is probably Eyestrike, Soul Shock, Mind Wave, Mental Binding, Mind Blades, Puppet Master,  Soul Ignition, Silent Scream, but I'm still debating. I think it's a bit of a waste to take both Whisper of Treason AND Puppet Master. I never got much use out of psychovampiric shield  -- the effect is weak,  it takes too much focus/too long to cast to be useful as a last-ditch defense, and other powers like Eyestrike are stronger debuffs for cheaper. I agree that blunderbuss cipher is superior to melee, they don't have the survivability for melee. 

 

For the Chanter I'd been leaning towards Soft Winds, Dull the Edge, Thick Grew their Tongues, then Hel-hyraf, Thunder Rolled, and Thrice She Was Wronged, BUT TSWR just got nerfed according to Josh Sawyer's twitter (it needed it, let's be fair) so we'll see. At midlevels, Probably Sure Handed Ila, then maybe Lo their Endless Host; for invocations, I think the AoE paralyze.

 

 

As to stats, yeah, Constitution isn't very useful if you aren't a class that gets a good multiplier, especially compared to the benefits  of stacking Might. Perception doesn't seem very useful if you aren't a fast melee fighter. Resolve. . .ehhh? In a lot of ways it feels like there are three truly useful stats (might, int, and (if fixed) Dex) and the other three are also-rans. I'd like to see Perception give some Accuracy and, yeah, now that you mention it, shift some of that fortitude bonus from Might more heavily into Constitution, and give the weaker classes a more improved multiplier. 

Edited March 6, 2015 by Dr. Hieronymous Alloy

[Whipstitch]

I've found in many games that a balanced party typically ends up being be a distraction from the real cheese. Ultimately, the most foolproof tactic is bound to be some goofy edge case the dev team couldn't get around to addressing, like a buttload of tanky chanters who kite things to death and win ranged battles with Sure Handed Ila and lightning spam. 

 

 

Monk could have some value in more melee-heavy parties, and is pretty strong, I just find it better to avoid melee with a strong distance/control approach.

 

This makes me think you're sleeping on monks a wee bit, at least by mid levels. Their tricks sadly take a bit longer to come online than fighters, but Stunning Blow doesn't require wounds and is rather comparable to Knock Down and Force of Anguish is just plain spicy. Seriously man, dat duration.

 

 

And somewhat ironically, I actually think it's in melee heavy groups that monks lose a bit of their shine, since as tanks their best trick is retaliating with Force of Anguish to take the poor dumb bastard who hit them out of the fight for 10+ seconds. As a lead tank or replacement for a second fighter they're pretty sweet but as a third tank they're pretty meh.

Edited March 6, 2015 by Whipstitch

[Bazy]

1. As your comp highlights anything that is in melee that is not a tank = liability. They can be viable, but you have be be very careful with them. 

 

2. Casters are in a strange spot. With the "per rest'' spells either you do TONS OF DAMAGE, or stand around autoattacking. Addtionally, I rarely cast most of my spells. For example, I would never cast a level 3 druid spell that wasn't beetle shell or storm. I really wish everything would be per encounter, cooldown based, or resource based. 

 

3. Tanks literally do nothing except soak damage and knock people down. 90% of combat is proper positioning. Two tanks does seem to be better. Getting your main tank flanked can be absolutely brutal. 

 

4. Attribute wise All of my builds seem to be the same... 1) Max might and 2) Max intellect or attack speed depending on class. Tanks = Max Resolve, Perception and Con. Everything else is a dump. Though it would be hard to make a "bad" build. 

Edited March 6, 2015 by Bazy

[Bazy]

I've found in many games that a balanced party typically ends up being be a distraction from the real cheese. Ultimately, the most foolproof tactic is bound to be some goofy edge case the dev team couldn't get around to addressing, like a buttload of tanky chanters who kite things to death and win ranged battles with Sure Handed Ila and lightning spam. 

I would say right now 1 tank with 5 chanters would be ultimate cheese. Or maybe 2 tanks with 4 chanters to be safe. All you have to do it wait until 3 songs then annihilate everything with "thrice." We'll see after the nerf. 

Edited March 6, 2015 by Bazy

[Odd Hermit]

DO you really get that much use out of movement speed buffs? I'd basically ignored them.  You know what moves really fast? An arquebus shot.

 

For the Cipher my list is probably Eyestrike, Soul Shock, Mind Wave, Mental Binding, Mind Blades, Puppet Master,  Soul Ignition, Silent Scream, but I'm still debating. I think it's a bit of a waste to take both Whisper of Treason AND Puppet Master. I never got much use out of psychovampiric shield  -- the effect is weak,  it takes too much focus/too long to cast to be useful as a last-ditch defense, and other powers like Eyestrike are stronger debuffs for cheaper. I agree that blunderbuss cipher is superior to melee, they don't have the survivability for melee. 

 

For the Chanter I'd been leaning towards Soft Winds, Dull the Edge, Thick Grew their Tongues, then Hel-hyraf, Thunder Rolled, and Thrice She Was Wronged, BUT TSWR just got nerfed according to Josh Sawyer's twitter (it needed it, let's be fair) so we'll see. At midlevels, Probably Sure Handed Ila, then maybe Lo their Endless Host; for invocations, I think the AoE paralyze.

 

 

As to stats, yeah, Constitution isn't very useful if you aren't a class that gets a good multiplier, especially compared to the benefits  of stacking Might. Perception doesn't seem very useful if you aren't a fast melee fighter. Resolve. . .ehhh? In a lot of ways it feels like there are three truly useful stats (might, int, and (if fixed) Dex) and the other three are also-rans. I'd like to see Perception give some Accuracy and, yeah, now that you mention it, shift some of that fortitude bonus from Might more heavily into Constitution, and give the weaker classes a more improved multiplier. 

 

I believe the +move speed is equal to the benefits of dexterity - you do everything faster, not just run faster. I haven't done the math/testing to say for sure though. It's a hard one to gauge.

 

Eyestrike is good, I forgot to mention that one. Whisper of Treason and Puppet Master serve different purpose - Whisper debuffs the enemy, making it easy for other enemies to kill it but weak while fighting for you. Sometimes it's better to get it killed. Puppet Master gives you a full alliance flip without debuffs, so it's better at actually helping you kill stuff. Psychovampiric Shield you're right about now that I read into it. I'd been using at as an occasional -deflection against targets but Eyestrike is better for that.

 

I skipped Thick Grew Their Tongues because on current build interrupts are broken and I wanted to minimize abuse of that. Soft Winds/Dull the Edge are what I use when I've got Chanter in Melee, I use Wengridh and Sure-handed Ila when I just need my one tank and the chanter is hanging back with my casters shooting things.

 

Resolve is hard to judge w/broken interrupts as well, but dex is broken too so... I just kinda filled it in after Might/Int for my casters.

[Odd Hermit]

I've found in many games that a balanced party typically ends up being be a distraction from the real cheese. Ultimately, the most foolproof tactic is bound to be some goofy edge case the dev team couldn't get around to addressing, like a buttload of tanky chanters who kite things to death and win ranged battles with Sure Handed Ila and lightning spam. 

 

 

Monk could have some value in more melee-heavy parties, and is pretty strong, I just find it better to avoid melee with a strong distance/control approach.

 

This makes me think you're sleeping on monks a wee bit, at least by mid levels. Their tricks sadly take a bit longer to come online than fighters, but Stunning Blow doesn't require wounds and is rather comparable to Knock Down and Force of Anguish is just plain spicy. Seriously man, dat duration.

And somewhat ironically, I actually think it's in melee heavy groups that monks lose a bit of their shine, since as tanks their best trick is retaliating with Force of Anguish to take the poor dumb bastard who hit them out of the fight for 10+ seconds. As a lead tank or replacement for a second fighter they're pretty sweet but as a third tank they're pretty meh.

 

Unarmed attacks are just weak(no enchants), and monks aren't great tanks. Force of Anguish is good, but not good enough for me to give the class a spot. They are a decent second tank just for proning stuff, if I swapped them into the party I'd have the chanter be the third tank rather than second.

[Doxy]

Instead of a priest(i think druid END heals are more than enough) id pick a Paladin with his Auras and improved Lay on Hands.

I also think Rogue is very helpful in a party firstly as a dungeon scout because of his class +1Stealth +2Mechanics and second as a ranged backstaber.

[mrmonocle]

don't ignore priest's seals, they all do decent damage and provide limited cc, also, u can boost a priest's accuracy really well if u combine his diety talent with a focus. For example, Wael gives 10 and peasant focus gives another 10 acc for staff.

 

my personal pick would be:

fighter - plate, estoc

druid - plate, staff

priest - plate, staff

chanter - plate, arquebus

rogue - leather, war bow

wizard - scale, sceptre

Edited March 6, 2015 by mrmonocle

[Ark Evensong]

Weapon Focus Talents give +6 accuracy these days, down from +10 in earlier Backer Beta versions.

 

Priest specializations are still +10. That talent brings their accuracy with those two weapons up to Fighter/Rogue levels.

[Odd Hermit]

don't ignore priest's seals, they all do decent damage and provide limited cc, also, u can boost a priest's accuracy really well if u combine his diety talent with a focus. For example, Wael gives 10 and peasant focus gives another 10 acc for staff.

 

my personal pick would be:

fighter - plate, estoc

druid - plate, staff

priest - plate, staff

chanter - plate, arquebus

rogue - leather, war bow

wizard - scale, sceptre

 

This is why Priest of Magran with Arquebus is optimal.

 

Many of the deities only get melee weapons, but you don't want your priest in melee.

 

I wish one got Crossbow or Arbalest. Berath is my favorite thematically but gets junk.

[Whipstitch]

Unarmed attacks are just weak(no enchants), and monks aren't great tanks. Force of Anguish is good, but not good enough for me to give the class a spot. They are a decent second tank just for proning stuff, if I swapped them into the party I'd have the chanter be the third tank rather than second.

 

Who said anything about using the unarmed attacks? Monks abilities work just fine with a shield or two handed weapon.You can fire up Swift Strikes with a pike* just fine and if you take the Lightning Strikes talent you even get the piddly shock damage conversion no problem. Monks also have the same base deflection as fighters and a higher health multiplier. They end up with less total deflection than a Fighter rocking pure defensive abilities does but unlike the poor barbarian they aren't going to be so far behind that they need to pack a shield just to avoid being critted into oblivion by the local livestock. In exchange, monks have more hard cc than fighters do, which is nice when the baddies are stubbornly attacking back liners or don't target deflection in the first place. The emphasis on prone 'n' own also makes their tanking less dependent on pure deflection, which allows 2 hander monks to fit a nice middle ground between sword'n'board fighters and 2 handed fighters. Mind you, adding a monk is still probably not as good as doubling up on Chanters, but hell, I could say the same about Priests or Fighters, which puts monks in pretty good company.

 

*Also, two handed weapons are what make Torment's Reach an interesting alternative to Swift Strikes. A +50% Crush damage Full Attack is mediocre with fists but pretty beefy with an estoc. Oh, and you get the crush bonus damage against nearby enemies too, sorta like having Carnage without the grim reckoning of actually having to be a Barbarian. God, that's kinda sad now that I think about it.

Edited March 6, 2015 by Whipstitch

[Whipstitch]

Ya know, for the record, I thought I'd just emphasize that I recognize how small of a "disagreement" we're having here. You already characterized monks as one of the best of the "other guys" and hell, I'll very likely be playing a setup similar to the one you suggested since I fully intend to be play through with the pre-made companions. It just might be with a PC monk as an off-tank in the name of variety.

[Dr. Hieronymous Alloy]

 

 

I believe the +move speed is equal to the benefits of dexterity - you do everything faster, not just run faster. I haven't done the math/testing to say for sure though. It's a hard one to gauge.

 

Eyestrike is good, I forgot to mention that one. Whisper of Treason and Puppet Master serve different purpose - Whisper debuffs the enemy, making it easy for other enemies to kill it but weak while fighting for you. Sometimes it's better to get it killed. Puppet Master gives you a full alliance flip without debuffs, so it's better at actually helping you kill stuff. Psychovampiric Shield you're right about now that I read into it. I'd been using at as an occasional -deflection against targets but Eyestrike is better for that.

 

I skipped Thick Grew Their Tongues because on current build interrupts are broken and I wanted to minimize abuse of that. Soft Winds/Dull the Edge are what I use when I've got Chanter in Melee, I use Wengridh and Sure-handed Ila when I just need my one tank and the chanter is hanging back with my casters shooting things.

 

Resolve is hard to judge w/broken interrupts as well, but dex is broken too so... I just kinda filled it in after Might/Int for my casters.

 

 

 

Right. I feel like you want a debuff, you use Eyestrike (with it's Foe AoE) or Mindstrike; if you want a charm, use Puppet Master. The more I play Cipher the more I realize that abilities are at a premium -- unlike wizards, you never get more -- so I think it makes sense to prioritize a bit. 

 

I don't think move speed buffs everything else because then the reload rate buff would be redundant. I could be wrong on that easily though. 

[Sensuki]

I believe the +move speed is equal to the benefits of dexterity - you do everything faster, not just run faster. I haven't done the math/testing to say for sure though. It's a hard one to gauge.

Dunno how you made that mistake, but all it does is increase your movement speed in combat. It doesn't make you act any faster.

[Odd Hermit]

 

I believe the +move speed is equal to the benefits of dexterity - you do everything faster, not just run faster. I haven't done the math/testing to say for sure though. It's a hard one to gauge.

Dunno how you made that mistake, but all it does is increase your movement speed in combat. It doesn't make you act any faster.

 

 

Well barnacles, that goes off my list of things to use then. I don't really see the benefits of run speed alone, most combat you've got a formation you stay in/get locked into engagements.

 

 

Right. I feel like you want a debuff, you use Eyestrike (with it's Foe AoE) or Mindstrike; if you want a charm, use Puppet Master. The more I play Cipher the more I realize that abilities are at a premium -- unlike wizards, you never get more -- so I think it makes sense to prioritize a bit. 

 

I don't think move speed buffs everything else because then the reload rate buff would be redundant. I could be wrong on that easily though. 

 

 

Yeah, some of the abilities are just redundant w/imbalanced costs. I rarely feel starved for focus though. Also, one thing worth noting is that not all enemy defenses are the same, so sometimes it pays off using an alternative debuff that targets a different defense. Sometimes it's better to use a less powerful and/or more costly debuff it targets the lowest defense of an enemy.

 

They're a class I haven't played as much as the others since it's not one of the starter BB characters but they've grown on me. I do really like having on-demand CCs that aren't on a per-day basis. I take much less minor damage from smaller encounters due to mine.

Edited March 6, 2015 by Odd Hermit

[Sensuki]

Well barnacles, that goes off my list of things to use then. I don't really see the benefits of run speed alone, most combat you've got a formation you stay in/get locked into engagements.

Yes, it's another thing that is made fairly useless by the engagement system. I don't use anything with increased move speed if I've got something better.

[Namutree]

 

 

Well barnacles, that goes off my list of things to use then. I don't really see the benefits of run speed alone, most combat you've got a formation you stay in/get locked into engagements.

 

Being faster than your foes can make enemies easy to kite. When I solo'ed the beta with a chanter, being faster than all but the speediest of foes couldn't touch me while I built up chants. The few enemies who were fast enough to catch up with me were too weak to matter.

[Sensuki]

It doesn't matter too much in a full party scenario though. You can cheese the game at the moment with a fast paced character because of the bad AI but hopefully they end up fixing that.

[Odd Hermit]

Ya know, for the record, I thought I'd just emphasize that I recognize how small of a "disagreement" we're having here. You already characterized monks as one of the best of the "other guys" and hell, I'll very likely be playing a setup similar to the one you suggested since I fully intend to be play through with the pre-made companions. It just might be with a PC monk as an off-tank in the name of variety.

 

 

If only monk got bonuses to weapons instead of puny fists. I realize they can use weapons and it's a good point with Torment's Reach, but I stand by my other reasons for not using them.

 

 

What really makes it hard to take Monk or Paladin though is their engagement limit. Fighters get +2 along with +5 deflect in a single modal that they can buff further. Other melee have to spend a talent on a single +1 and it doesn't really cut it for me. 

 

My current run through is going super-smoothly w/two fighters in front using defender modal. I opted for more offensive stats on the second one and he wrecks things with a 2h while still being pretty durable. I'm thinking I could double up on that approach. My shield fighter is currently at what seems to be deflection cap or something, I've got 92 and a +10 ring but the ring won't put him over 100. I think skipping shield might be the way to go and just having two more offensive tankers.

Edited March 6, 2015 by Odd Hermit

[Sensuki]

You can use a monk with like two sabres or something though. Coupling that with Vulnerable Attack and Two Weapon Style works pretty well.

[Odd Hermit]

Caster longevity could use a small buff, I think they should start to get per encounter spells at reasonable levels. I'd say something like:

Level 3: 1 level 1 spell per encounter

Level 5:  2 level 1 spells per encounter

Level 7: 2 level 1 spells, 1 level 2 spell per encounter

Etc.

Just so that my Druid isn't so bored when clearing easier stuff that aren't worth spending spells/day on. I guess maybe druid was supposed to use shapeshifting for that but eh... heh. It's hard to really conserve spells without this, and in a less power-gamed party it'd be annoying.

 

I'm thinking that what could be done is the Bonus Spell talents could be per-encounter. They're pretty weak otherwise and very hard to justify taking over talents that make spells or weapons more effective.

[Sensuki]

I'm just starting to think ... if Wizards didn't have Slicken, would they be any good? Probably not.

[mrmonocle]

I'm just starting to think ... if Wizards didn't have Slicken, would they be any good? Probably not.

wizards have a lot of charming and weakening aoes and level 6 aoe petrification is awesome + a wizard will learn everything eventually, unlike cipher.

[Sensuki]

Yeah although their disable isn't as good as a Druids though IMO. I do like their disable spells. There's a good Paralyze one but I forget what it is. Druids kill things a lot faster though.