Brigand
From EQ2-Daily.com EQ2 Wiki
| The Brigand class is part of the Scout archetype. Rogues (swashbucklers and brigands) generate high amounts of sustained damage during a fight and have many utility skills to make the group function better. |
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Overview
This section was posted without the knowledge or permission of the original author.
Damage Capability
We get a few Combat abilities that offer up decent damage to any NPC and will often help destroy or soften up any mob within a decent level range. Our DPS is stunted in comparison to other scouts but don't let that fool you we can still hold our own.
A great line to have Adept or better is Flurry, it's a double hit damage that does decent damage quickly, it does however have a long recast for quick fights you will only use this once.
In our 20's we get a stun damage Combat ability Black Jack this does a decent amount of damage quickly with a substantial recast time but it also is a decent stun/interrupt and helps with an extra Backstab when our cheap shot is in wait for recast. This is a great choice for Master 2 at level 24.
Brigands have what I like to call a blessed curse, we receive a lot of positional abilities. Not only do we have a few back attacks we get flank attacks as well as front/flank and behind/flank attacks. If you want to have decent overall DPS you will be moving around a mob in circles just to get all of your combat abilities off in a single fight.
In the upper teens we receive Gouge which is a frontal/flank attack that takes off a decent set amount of damage and has a fair reasonable recast time. Use this often
Of course we have one ability that does low damage has a high recast and can be used from any angle of attack but we are a Utility scout.
Utility
First and foremost own a shield and 1h of your choice along with your normal Dual wields. This is a scout class but if you're pureblood DPS then Brigand isn't for you. We receive a single target taunt Cuss that works exactly the same as a Fighters taunt we also have Ruse but this ability has to be used with care. You will use Cuss a lot if you're a Back up tank or saving your Healer/priests from certain death. If at anytime you find yourself tanking or know your the new MT Hot key your shield and 1h quickly. This is easy open your bags grab your shield/1h and drag the box icon down to your hotbars and place in open slot. Remember any healer that is gonna have to heal a low mitigation tank will thank you so it's best to own a shield. It will quite possibly be the best thing you chose to do because we all know scouts should only tank in needed situations. With AAXP Stamina line you can also tank very well if you know what your doing.
As mentioned in the Overview we debuff, and when I say debuff we do it all and have some of the best in the game. Your a wizards best friend, a Rangers best friend... hell your debuffs are everyones best friend.
Pulling is another strong point to any Brigand or even a Swashy. We get 2 invisibility CA that can be used at different times if you use this to you advantage and are smart about your surroundings you can pull large distances with out excessive adds. We get ability that is ranged and uses throwing ammo. Don't let this mislead you it is a powerful tool when doing this said tactic. First start off with Smuggle (since you can't use this in combat mode). Track NPC wanted, use your Range CA, and tie them quickly. run until you know you might get hate or quickly invis yourself to camp spot. Not only did you stun your NPC, you snared him so you should be able to get back in one piece. Next as soon as the NPC is close you should evade then lie low, by this time the tank should have hate easy. After a little bit let lose your barrage of DPS. If you end up getting our Safehouse AAXP in the brigand line you can make all this work even easier to social mobs. Safehouse a groupmate or the local area, sneak to mob you wish to pull, unsneak gain aggro with body pull, then Safehouse. If it's not to far for the NPC run he will run strait to your group.
If everything fails and you know there is only trouble by staying in a fight pull your group out in a jiff with your level 25 evac. This ability is quite possibly the best utility we have and can even be used when mentoring under level 25.
PVP
There are many other things about being a Brigand that make it fun but nothing is more exciting then that of the art of fighting another human for lack of a better term PVP. This is where all our Utility and DPS come into real play, there are tactics to ploy but sadly not everything is 100%. However, if you pace yourself and know exactly what your doing or which Combat ability does what; you will be stronger for it. Alot belive Brigands are Easy mode and to a degree we are though there are and will always be good players. These are the people you will deploy your true nature aginst.
This info is from Personal experience of those even or approx 2 plus or minus levels in the 20 and 30's.
First we are not DPS in a PVP fight even a one on one, the only DPS we can do quickly is really on a Mage. Priest can heal faster then we can damage and fighters more often can end up tearing you up if your in DPS mode. Other scouts are debatable but you're an easy target for a Kiting Ranger or Bard if especially in DPS mode. We get a few different buffs but the main buff and items you need when in Solo mode PVP is Dexterity. It helps your Avoidance, Mitigation and agression for Taunts, this will help off set while not hindering any CA only Auto attack damage and a proc that only helps marginaly. If you use your DPS buffs in a One on One fair level fight your mitigation is quite a lot lower and that will severely open you to a lot of Melee damage so choose wisely which buff you use.
If your going up against a Fighter you must have a great 1h with a good shield (of your level). Or be Wisdom spec for greater DPS. You are assured a decent success rate depending on if he has help or if he can run from you and get away.(Snares work great here) Fighters are known to move with you because they need to be in close and don't need to stop to cast CA's so you will need to stun and Backstab as often as possible. Their HP's and Mitigation are the only real factors that play in battles which is easily debuffed in the later game, though Monks and Pallys have abilities to heal. Monks/Brusiers only have a mend that will only play a part once a battle however, Pallys can heal and ward themselves these throw the fight for you all the time. The pallys ward is easy to get rid of for us, it's Divine in nature and lets our Cuss/upbraid/vaunt do another job other then taunt. It's strips Divine % more depending on level of the spell line. These spell usually dispels Spirit of wolf and some other buffs depending on how many times you use Cuss/Upbraid in battle. As far as a pally healing, this is where your Stuns and interrupts play a key roll. This is all about your focus on what they are doing so be wise. All other Fighters such as Berserkers, Guardians, Monk it's about their avoidance, mitigation and Hp's. Which on even terms isn't usually good enough to out do our abilities if done in a smart manner.
Scouts are a tough match to kill for a brigand. Scout fights are the most difficult to predict and if they have their Evac up it's a safe bet you're only gonna make them go away. First watch out for ranger's they will run shoot and run, (with the upcoming perma root this might even hurt more) these guys will kite you. However, Rangers are easy for us because if you can get in on them they can't do damage. Don't ever chase after a ranger or a bard. They can slowly take your life away kiting and in the end all you ever did was throw a few daggers and burnt all your power sprinting. As far as our Swashy brother well it's a toss up, if you're going against a mirror of yourself anything could happen. Though if any of these scouts are in DPS mode and not focusing on their mitigation then they will more then likely be an easy kill. (Once again if don't wisely)
Taking on a Mage? You better have your sneaky shoes on, most can kill you in two or three good nukes. Likewise you can kill a mage just by using Blackjack/Sap and Flurry if they are properly upgraded and maybe one follow on CA. Best bet on these guys is to sneak up and let them have it and even if they are resisted a lot of mages are known to sit there to cast. Some may root and run away to finish you off. Depending on if you can dispel the root or it fades fast this is their only ability to beat us with. What better way then to save your stuns only to interrupt? These should be well placed, know which you should stun with and which you should interrupt with. Stuns only work once every 30 seconds so you should use them wisely. With that in mind it's fairly easy to get behind mages and use your Flank/behind abilities also like Ranger's don't let a Conjurer kite you. A lot of times Conj will have fire pets up, if they are smart they will run from the start while the pet is Nuking you down. If your smart you'll kill their pet quickly and then follow. If you decide to just chase down the Conj while his pet is nuking you on the way you will more then likely lose. All Conj play by different rules so you need to be careful on how to approach them. Though as with any Mage it usually only takes a few hits and they will be dead so be sure you get up on them quickly.
If you plan to take a Priest you better have Heal potions made by Alch. Mental breach works well here in later lvls because it can drain the priest power quickly. These guys have slow DPS but can outlast your damage especially furys because they do have some DPS. Some will even slow your DPS and depending on which Priest your fighting they may even have root. (root is our bane carry all Trama,arcane,elemental,noxtious cures) Even if you think your about to have the upper hand they will be able to heal before your recasts. Our best bet is to use CA situationally if you see him cast stun/interrupt him don't just try to blast them down. If they run chase them with Auto attack or range on, use range Combat ability to stun stop them. When you get up close again Snare and Blackjack, cheap shot, or low blow can some times stun/root again. Slow and steady will win this fight once they are out of power by healing or by running away from you.. Let them have it Blast all your CA ability as fast as you can mash them. Like mages, a lot will just sit there to cast, this makes them easy prey get up behind them and let them have it. During these battles be sure you use your Cuss a lot, just like pallys their abilities are Divine in nature. Cuss will stop their (Regen, Reactive, Wards) from doing the job they were meant to do.
Granted these are just basic overview's on how fights can take place sadly you will rarely ever run into someone solo. If your in group encounters and you feel your group can hold it's own then it's best to have your Dot and Debuff posion going along with your Duel wielding and DPS buff and have at it. (Dot and Debuff and imparments should always be applied) We have a few abilities that guide people away from our healers and mages and these should be used at all cost. A great tactic is to taunt/evade so you will throw off someones game.
In a group I find it easier to win vs another group if you take out their mages. As a former priest I can say that it's difficult to keep your mages alive if they are the primary target. Priest recast timers and casting timers take to long for a priest to outlast a full group barrage. Take them out first and their DPS will drop. Then everyone assert their efforts in taking down the priest, scouts and fighters are weak all alone in a group fight.
A good tactic that I use on the beginning of any fight is debuff stun DPS. When your running up on your foe, use your Range CA. This has a probability to stun, meaning they cant move or cast. Quickly cast tie, then get behind them and Blackjack/Sap this also in turn takes off a chunk of Hit points and roots them in place. Lie low and Backstab then Flurry them works well. After that the fight will take it's course. They will either quickly die or will soon have their HP replenished, usually if it's a mage they are dead. In the later levels alot do Stun get behind Debilitate, dispatch, Malisious assault, dlb up. This severly debuffs and damages your oppoent.
Mentoring~ If you mentor your a sitting duck.
Overall we are great to have in a PVP party and if you know your grounds, who your fighting, and what your fighting with you'll do well. Track, track, track then kill kill kill.
Achievements
In addition to the Brigand Combat Abilities, you have access to a number more abilities from the Rogue Tree of the Achievement System. You may acquire these by earning achievement points and spending them on specific abilities.
Final Thoughts
Brigands are without a doubt a fun and exciting class to play. We have our strengths and weakness though, any Pirate would tell you "all weakness can be turned in your favor to make it a strength". We are a Jack of all trades with master to only ourselves. We are mean, ruthless and should take what is rightfully ours. Show no mercy to those that are weak but, commence parle' to those that are strong of will.
If you like to show off your tanking abilities or DPS with the best of them while debuffing the hell out of mobs. Then I suggest you join the league of men here on Brigand ship.
Created by Quylein
