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Aion News - Looking at the Chanter
Posted by Jon Wood on Oct 29, 2009 | 6 comments in our forums
MMORPG.com Aion Correspondent Joshua Price writes this look at the Chanter class in NCsoft's newest MMORPG.
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As you no doubt already know if you've been at least following Aion a little bit, the MMORPG uses a more traditional class system as opposed to a more dynamic method of determining your role.
When you start, you can pick between four basic, archetypical classes: the Scout, the Warrior, the Mage, and the Priest. Upon reaching level nine and completing a mandatory quest that will be automatically given to you, each of those classes will have the option to go one of two paths. The class of interest today is the Chanter, a Priest who'd rather get in the thick of things as opposed to watching the combat from afar.
Read Looking at the Chanter.
Well Between 30-40 unless you’re in a good group pvp pretty much sucks, 1 on 1 your fine.
I am hoping that after 40 it gets much better. Also finding groups that want you as a Chanter between 30-40 is defeating. You can lfg for what seems like hours. Also I am seeing the server cool down people have stopped logging on. I know that 10 of the people I started with I am the only one still logging in on a regular basis. When I questioned them the number one answer was OMG that game is just far too grindy. Also the choppy quest line is disappointing.
Well I hope things get better here is hoping that 40 is the answer,
Old
My "main" is a lv.25 Chanter, and I think the above line would be fine if Mantras were worth being masters of. My biggest problem with the class, so far, is that mantras are pretty negligible. They don't add anything to group members that slightly better equipment wouldn't achieve, or some food buffs.
I feel like my versatility is decent for solo PvE, but I don't bring as much to a group as I'd hoped. My weak heals tend to be much more needed than my mantras, and it goes without saying, that if I'm just going to be healing, the group would be better off with a cleric.
As for PvP, my experience is extremely limited so far, but it seems my versatility doesn't do me much good 1v1, and in groups, much like PvE, I just end up spamming heals, without the tools to do it as well as a cleric.
When I first joined my guild around level 26, I was one of about, 12 Chanters. It was pretty disheartening seeing all those other folks after "my" loot, but as I started to level, I noticed that number dwindle, and at 40, I am one of three Chanters who've made it past 35 without nerd raging and rerolling to Ranger or Sorcerer.
We do not have a glamorous job in PVE or PVP, and we will never be the star of the show healing, tanking or DPSing. And while it may seem that our Mantras aren't adding much, Physical DPS definitely notice more crits/damage, CC's love our Magic Boost and Accuracy for more challenging mobs, Clerics appreciate our off heals and HoTs (because those selfless bastards often forget to/can't heal themselves in the heat of battle), and most of all, everyone loves that extra speed boost we get for travel. I am rarely without a group, and there seems, at least on my server, much love for what we do.
As for PVP, one on one, I'm pretty sad to be honest, especially against flying casters/rangers and urrr, everything except maybe other Chanters (?), but we're definitely handy with our Boost Elemental Defenses and mutli-role abilities in a group setting. I've been spamming Word of Protection to help increase my group's Parry/Dodge/Block, I help with keeping Casters quiet by stunning/knocking 'em down, Word of the Wind if I have the 3K DP to spare, and once I get Invincibility Mantra at 50, it can only get better as I can stack chants to that as the situation calls.
Yeah, I might not get a lot of, "Wow! Awesome DPS!" or "Wow! Awesome Healing!" type comments, but if my party's good and well, then that's all I need to know.
Hope you guys stick to your Chanters! (Unless you're on Israphel ~ Asmo side...because that be my loot!)
I'm not looking for glamor or notoriety, I'd just like to know that what I'm doing is worth doing. That my character isn't just a third wheel. Although, maybe an "Awesome Mantras!" might be nice once in a while :)
You say people do notice an improvement with mantras, but when I look at the numbers, it makes me wonder if it's more like a placebo effect.
Mantras indeed do have an effect. It's a subtle one and you won't really notice it while solo, but it's there. Mantras are a free (in terms of MP usage) force multiplication skill. They aren't a huge multiplier since the only cost to running a Mantra is using up one of your three "mantra slots". So, it's not like a 2x performance multiplier, but rather more like a 1.2 1.2 of 1 is going to be a mere 1.2 and not do much. 1.2 * 6, however, is 7.2. Of course, I can't objectively say three Mantras running on a six man team is equal to 7.2 players, but if you're running the right ones, they make a difference.
However, if you want something with serious, immediate, and noticeable impact, go after abilities like Word of Protection. That sucker alone can briefly turn a fatal situation survivable, but it's extremely expensive to keep it "perma". But you will certainly notice it and so will your teammates.
As for getting comments like "Nice Mantras", they're very unlikely for the same reasons you don't see "nice buffs", "nice damage", "nice pet control", "nice critical backstab", etc. People don't actively think and notice stuff like that is keeping them alive, whereas a big heal that sent them from empty to full at the last moment will certainly not fly under the radar. The only people who usually get praise are the healer, the tank, occasionally the person locking stuff down, and that guy who somehow managed to survive the wipe and kill what killed the party (though that doesn't seem like that'll be that common in Aion). Not to mention, a lot of times, players aren't paying attention to what's keeping them alive anyway. Back on City of Heroes, I had a Force Field Defender who kept the team alive not through heals (FF doesn't even get any), but by giving them very high levels of defense. After the first mission, guess what compliment I got? "Great heals!"
Just stick with it. Chanters get some excellent, tide turning abilities that you will be able to tell are working. Most of them just come rather late.
Im lvl 43 chanter in Triniel, and gotta say Im always wanted in a group.
Ive never found a group that said "chanters its of no use" or naything like that. We improve the overall performance of a group, and thats better than a second dps.
Hey, Ive been solo healing Kaidan HQ as well, though it was quite boring, I mean, just pressing one hot key is no fun at all :P
But, later in, with WoI, well, that adds a lot of dps, and I mean a lot.
+45 Phy Crit is a lot worth it, just make some calculations on how much that will cost in Manastone. Or +40 MB and MA, that will help those nasty "resist".
Our HoTs are always better then the clerics one, and we bring benefits even without doing nothing (mantras) xD