How does a disciples DPS compare to that of a DK/Warrior/Paladin at the later levels in their offensive tiger stance? Also, can a Disciple get by tanking in group content (non-raid) lateron? Planning to group with a Bear Shaman friend and another friend who is still deciding on whether to roll a bard or ranger. Thanks
No hard numbers but if hate generation is anything to go by, on a lark I tried an encounter or two with some tanks while on my disciple without Inner Light on (so no heal procs for extra hate) and managed to pull aggro a few times. This is totally anecdotal of course and doesn't cover what a real parse would. As far as tanking, well it can be done but you'll be lacking a lot of tools. You can survive but your team will be hampered (more so as you progress the game). Eventually you'll want those taunts and invulns available. That said, I did a lot of my higher level playing in a duo with a Rakurr Shaman and we did very well together (though admittedly we do quite well with any combination we play, a lot of it comes down to knowing how to work well together), able to take down bosses with just the two of us (I actually ended up tanking the Itchy Queen for some new guildies at the time).
Disciples can hold aggro reasonably well through their dps at later levels but they do take a lot bigger hits than a standard tank would, which can limit their tanking usefulness.
Its completly depending on gear, playstyle and weather you use macro's (good ones at that). Clickies and civics are great factors too. I'f you're grouping with a bear shm i'd recomend bard or psi, oculd prolly duo through most content up to griff quest and pota.
My experience with Disciple class was Love at first, second, and hynde sight lol! Loved it! I was able to tank virtually any encounter in the game, however holding agro was based on my group. healing was fun, dps was good, but not awesome. A well played Disciple can be nearly unstoppable, even in trash encounters in some raid zones. Look my toon up if you would like. "Tinkertonus" Raki-Disciple.
In my opinion, you may be asking the wrong questions here. Think of a disciple as three empty one gallon jugs, one marked Healer, one marked Tank, and one marked DPS. You have 1.5 gallons of water to pour into these jugs as you see fit, but no more. Some would pour 0.5 gallons in each of the three jugs. Some would pour a full gallon into the healer jug, and the remaining half into the tanking jug thus having clericlike DPS. A lot of Disciples go 3/4ths of a gallon in the healer, and 3/4ths in the DPS.... and die because of agro management. At first you'll find your gear will dictate where your water is. As you have more and more to choose from, you'll start mixing and matching to get the combination you were looking for.
I do feel Takamor does have a very good point here. Let me further explain my posting. I played vanguard from Closed Beta into Live. Equipment has changed tons since my early lvl days. Disciple was not my first choice out of beta, however it took over later for me. Crafting Is an absolute Key to Success as a disciple. You can craft yourself and Tanking, DPS, and Healer suits. The methods you utilize to craft these suits will result in fantastic stat changes, and assists! Such as Plus to Avoidance of damage, Plus to Healing, Plus to burst damage ect.... Crafting will make it so your not relying on armor from quests to determine your role! My Disciple spent much of his life in the +Avoidance & +Healing Flawless crafted gear. This resulted in lower DMG to deal with, and insane return of health to both self and Group. Another key component is knowing your class, and understanding how to light off your specials!! These specials will change everything! Combo A = Large free, Self heal Combo B = Great health buff Combo C = Fantastic group regen Combo D = Awsome Debuffs When you learn how to weave your abilities, you can stand toe to toe with almost anything @ lvl, and you can go all night (if your hands let you!) As a member of the TPO raiding guild for some time, I can attest to a disciple being incredibly flexible in almost everything they do. I have never in 15 yrs of playing MMO's played a class as fun, and flexible as a disciple! (make sure to do the easter egg scavenger hunt just outside of Targors castle down along the cliffs and bellow, an amazing disciple weapon drops that will treat you well for many lvl's! think it was a wind blade)
correct me if i am wrong, but discs only have three combos now. 1) kick, kick, punch which gives 1k or so hp (and heals for that amount but the +hp portion can only be maintained on one target at a time 2) endowment of mastery which lowers endurance and energy cost by 10% (which is inferior to the bear and bird shaman buffs, but still stacks with them). and 3) endowment of enmity which adds % damage to the disc attacks. The debuffs are not combos but rather casted abilities and the only group regen comes from inner light and pains in comparison to bear, bird and psi buffs... but it does stack with the prior.
You are very much correct most likely, I have been retired out of the game for the better part of a couple of years. I pop in from time to time to see whats going on. Loved this game, it's community, and the mechanics. It's to bad that Brad screwed up, and then Sony took over and let it sit and rot for so long before anything was done to help it ;-(
