So Jerret asked me to post something up here... And I think it might be good for other classes to do the same.
AA build hasn't really changed since level 70 EoF. Before my break, I was messing around with the extra AA's but I haven't really found a great fit... Have to get back to testing.
Raiding builds are all about building up the Mage Pet. You really shouldn't use any other pet.
Summoner
INT LINE: 4-6-4-8-1
STR LINE: 4-4-4-8
After that, feel free to mess around. I went WIS line, not sure if I'll keep it.
Conjuror Line:
Evocations to Unabate
Abjurations to Bubble
Then with the extras, I took stoneskins. Niftly little thing you can do: Stoneskin and Expire the pet. Get all the bennies of Expire, and your pet lives. Again, still messing around with the extra AA's, but really they are just that... Extras.
You can check the full setup here:
http://eq2players.station.sony.com/characters/character_profile.vm?characterId=614088102
Spell Casting
There is no one casting order for conjy. It's pretty fluid and changes depending on the fight. But there are some common elements...
1. Snapping Mandibles / Crystal Blast (CB) & Fiery Annihilation / Effigy should be #1 and #2 on your exit DPS. If they are not #1, you are not casting them fast enough. These should always be casted the second they are up. With the right AA's, CB can be cast between almost every other cast.
2. Blazing Avatar / Blazing Manifestation (BM) should ALWAYS be pre-casted before pull. The spell takes a while to cast, and is a waste to cast after the pull for the most part. This spell shows up as Blaze on the parse. It should be pretty high in your exit DPS. If it's not in the top 6, then your not casting it enough. This takes some practice, but you really have to cast pre-pull.
3. Elemental Vestment / Elemental Aspect (EA) - Again, a long casting spell, but one that is worth casting during a long fight. This one takes a lot of practice as to "when" to put it in the rotation. When it is up, you want to SPAM all your fast casting spells. DO NOT cast this and then send dumbfires. It's a waste. This spell really debuffs, use it.
4. Dumbfires and Communion. Dumbfires have their own hate list. The aggo does not get sent back to you. These "can" be cast before DPS calls because of that, but I usually don't do it. Pyro, I hardly ever cast it. It's always caused me issue with mezzes and stuff. It's also slower casing than the snakes. I don't cast dumbfires all that much, but I'll throw the snakes and bats out if I'm waiting for some other spell to refresh.
5. Communion. I'm still learning this one, but it is VERY important to get this out early in a fight. It can put out massive DPS on single target. Again, each pet has it's own aggro. Once the target you casted on is dead, the "secondary" pets usually don't attack another mob. Sometimes they do, but hardly ever. I will usually throw this out during the pull. It takes a while to cast. I'll usually cast BM pre-pull. As the tank is running back with the mob, I'll start casting Communion. It takes 2 to 3 seconds to cast... Timing is everything with it.
Here's my usually casting order in raids....
Pre-Pull - BM on the mage pet.
Communion or another dumbfire pet while the tanks is bringing back the mobs.
Wait for DPS call
DPS Call In
CB + Pet Attack (hot key pet attack, and keep your finger on that button)
Winds of Velious
Effigy
Torrent (I have this one AA'ed and it's worth it for me)
CB
Shattered Tectonics
CB
FA
Earthquake
CB
After that spell routine, it depends on where the fight is. If it's still a multi-encounter, Torrent is usually next.
Everytime a mob dies, re-assit MT / MA and spam the pet attack button. Always keep the pet going, do your best not to let it sit idle.
Planeshift... Love and hate it. It has such a long recast timer. But... Couple things with it... It lasts a whole minute, but takes forever to cast. Should be casted pre-pull, THEN cast BM. PS, then BM. You'll get some nice crits if you do it this way. Planeshifted pet really send the DPS out, but early in a fight it can snap Aggro right away. I usually let it cast a couple of times, then magic leash it... And right after, cast Vhement Skin. That way if it does pull aggro, I'm deducing hate and giving it a stone skin or two. It's a waste of a planeshift to have the pet die right away. It's a 15 minutes spell... When casted, you want to do everything to keep the pet alive.
Infernoshield - I never use it in raids.
Magma Seed - If you have melee in group, they get it. If not, I usually cast it on myself.
Pets:
Keep it alive. Whatever you have to do. It's a huge source of DPS for us. Don't forget Vehement Skin / StoneSkins. And don't be afraid to throw a pet heal out if you need too. My pet is usually a little less than 1/2 my overall DPS. But this is only the case if it stays alive. Mage pet managment / raid mgmt does take a little time to learn.
Always make sure your pet is attacking. Sometimes you'll send it in, but it will just sit there... This is usually line of sight. Use "Call Servent" and have to teleport right to you.
Create a macro with /pet ranged on one line /backoff on the other. Put this in your "buff" hot bar. Everytime you cast the pet, click this button. I've seen an auto-protect pet get the whole raid wiped. Get used to clicking on it whenever you bring up a pet.
When a tank is having a problem and DPS is called out, REMEMBER to back the pet off. I used to always forget this. Next thing you know my pet is dead, and all it's hate is dropped on me, and I'm dead. Can't DPS when your dead.
If you do die, know the situation. I typically will NOT bring the pet back up in the middle of a fight. If it's a long fight, then yes I will, but typically I don't. I'll just go though my normal casting rotation, minus the pet. Once the fight is over, then bring it back up. Typically after death: This is where I will cast dumbfires. Soon as I'm up, I'll launch dumbfires, then work on getting power. All the time casting CB in-between power ups.
Shards: I kind of stopped casting this in the middle of fights. The exception is Healers / MT group. I have no problem casting them between fights. And don't be afraid to tell people: Come to me for a shard. If they "really" need one, they should be finding you. You shouldn't have to find them to get in range. If you don't use Profit, I would suggest trying it. The "Quick Raid Buttons" are really wicked.
One last useful thing... Don't forget to use Capture Vigor. Your pet shouldn't be taking much damage, if it does, it probably won't last long anyway. Don't forget to hit the pet for some power early in the fight.
Subject: Raid Conjy 
Sun Mar 16, 2008 9:48 pm
