Focus Effects?

In article <7wy7gmzy0e.fsf RemoveThis @ca.icynic.com>,
Don Woods <don-ns RemoveThis @iCynic.com> wrote:
>> I have a 65 Iksar necro and was thinking of finally getting some equipment
>> for it. I've been using hand-me-downs I've had for seven years on other
>
>Never played a necro but some of the obvious foci that come to mind
>are Spell Haste and Mana Preservation for general stuff, Affliction
>Efficiency and Burning Affliction for DOTs, perhaps Improved Damage

IMHO the two most important for a necro at that level are affliction
effiency and affliction haste. Niether are terribly hard to get and can
be gotten from tribute. Next in line is burning affliction, which has
become easy up to level IV but harder to find after that, and then the
affliction extension focii which are generally only available from higher-end
missions or other events.

Summoning focii are basically useless, and spell haste doesn't
stack with affliction haste. Mana pres is nice while you're buffing or if
you need to heal your pet. It's also useful if you tap tank.
 >> Stay informed about: Focus Effects? 

On Aug 7, 5:41 pm, w....DeleteThis@panix.com (the wharf rat) wrote:
> IMHO the two most important for a necro at that level are affliction
> effiency and affliction haste. Niether are terribly hard to get and can
> be gotten from tribute. Next in line is burning affliction, which has
> become easy up to level IV but harder to find after that, and then the
> affliction extension focii which are generally only available from higher-end
> missions or other events.
>
> Summoning focii are basically useless, and spell haste doesn't
> stack with affliction haste. Mana pres is nice while you're buffing or if
> you need to heal your pet. It's also useful if you tap tank.

My main is a beastlord, so I'm curious what life is like for another
major pet class. How high of a priority would you recommend a pet
focus item for a necromancer? As a mainly bazaar-geared level 68 BST,
Binky still deals a sizable fraction of my total DPS and can briefly
offtank, if needed. Gaining a pet focus (Minion of Eternity) from
having none was a noticeable boost. I would put a pet focus as easily
competitive with any of my other offensive foci (e.g. Improved
Damage). Is a necromancer's pet significant as DPS/offtank or merely
a DoT with a graphic/speedbump? Was the rogue pet (backstabbing while
you kite; you'd delete his taunt skill, if you could) the best thing
to ever happen to necros, or do you typically lay down the pain from
afar while Jabober tanks?

I would tend to agree that Summoning Efficiency/Haste are not worth
seeking. I never re-summon unless something goes horribly wrong and
Binky has to take one for the team. I can't imagine having to absorb
the mana cost of chain summoning (and buffing!) pets. Are these foci
something that just sounded good to SOE over too much late night
Mountain Dew, or are there situations where they actually matter?

- Prelgor
 >> Stay informed about: Focus Effects? 

"mgarvie" <mgarvie.TakeThisOut@insightbb.com> writes:
> I have a 65 Iksar necro and was thinking of finally getting some equipment
> for it. I've been using hand-me-downs I've had for seven years on other
> toons. I was going to try and max my mana regen and maybe HP also and
> wanted to add some focus effect gear. What effects would anyone recomend
> that I try to get?

Never played a necro but some of the obvious foci that come to mind
are Spell Haste and Mana Preservation for general stuff, Affliction
Efficiency and Burning Affliction for DOTs, perhaps Improved Damage
(if you do nukes as well as dots) and Extended Range. Oh, and I
gather necros don't have a lot of buffs for others (besides DMF),
but for self-buffage you might want Extended Enhancement.

There are foci that reduce the mana/time for summoning pets, but I've
never seen the point to investing in those since I don't spend a lot
of my time resummoning pets. Of course, druid and SK pets aren't all
that powerful anyway so resummoning them in the middle of battle if
they die isn't a high priority; maybe necros need to worry more about
the cost or speed of getting up a fresh pet in an emergency?

One other general remark is that many foci can be obtained via augments
bought using DON crystals.

-- Don.

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 >> Stay informed about: Focus Effects? 

In article <1186556612.849499.198670 DeleteThis @m37g2000prh.googlegroups.com>,
Prelgor <prelgor DeleteThis @aol.com> wrote:
>
>My main is a beastlord, so I'm curious what life is like for another
>major pet class. How high of a priority would you recommend a pet
>focus item for a necromancer? As a mainly bazaar-geared level 68 BST,

People seem to have widely differing opinions... The necro
pet really isn't much of a tank. Properly geared and buffed and with
some help from AAs he can be a significant source of DPS, but almost any
dot spell outpaces him 2-3 to one. He _can_ interrupt casters, though.
And I use him to pull mobs from under water.

Frankly, I sometimes don't even bother with a pet (if I know
I'm likely to get adds or have to root a mob, for instance, or if the
mobs have an AOE like the ones in the sand elf missions).

>Are these foci
>something that just sounded good to SOE over too much late night
>Mountain Dew, or are there situations where they actually matter?
>

If you're in a group situation and you NEED the pet for some
reason summoning haste makes it possible to actually make a new one before
the fight's over... Last time I cared was an LDON mission I think.
 >> Stay informed about: Focus Effects?