Utility class?

Sunahara

Is there one particular class or set of skills that beats out the others when it comes to the number of utility/not combat related abilities available? This probably applies a lot less to Lusternia than it does to other IRE games, but I'm still curious. I heart utility forever.

Shaddus

Some guilds can take Healing, and generally the same subset can take Astrology. Both are useful and have a lot of non-combat buffs.

Xenthos

Bards tend to be good at utility too; a large number of passive effects.  Dramaturgy is neat for RP purposes. 

Also, illusions adds a huge amount of flexibility if you want to be a Mage.

Everiine

Hunting/Tracking is also pretty utility-based. Hunting I don't think has any combat-worthy abilities (Ambush, maybe?). Tracking is a mix of traps, which can be useful in some circumstances, and abilities related to your hunting companion which is a big source of utility.

Cyndarin

Healer, and to a lesser extent Astrology.

 

Astrology buffs kind of suck post dmp and stat scaling change but they have their moments.

Healing is universally amazing. Can farcure anything in the same area, can sacrifice to instacure people of starving/being drunk/afflicted to death, temporary regen buff, cure small bit of insanity, can cure the plague during those super random (and rare) times it's roaming the basin.

I will also plug SD because Penumbra, and everyone always wants a Penumbra. Always.

Sunahara

How difficult is it to figure out Astrology? I've heard it's pretty complicated, but that was back who knows how long ago.

Neos

Celina said:

I will also plug SD because Penumbra, and everyone always wants bigger boobs. Always.

ftfy

Cyndarin

Sunahara said:

How difficult is it to figure out Astrology? I've heard it's pretty complicated, but that was back who knows how long ago.

There are free scripts floating around for it. It's a little unwieldy and clunky without them.

Karlach

Healer Shadowdancers have the mix of two of the best utility skillsets in the game, penumbra/gloomtide/longnight/brumetower/bonds are all brilliant for support and battlefield control, add in the healing skillset and they're mobile support units.

Cyndarin

Excuse Morkarion, he's a little touched in the head but, gosh darn it, we love him.

"NOT COMBAT"

If you are talking about combat, then all the SD's utility is crap next to a melder. Melders rule all things group combat.

Karlach

I take "not combat" as "not offensive abilities that are used against a singular person or group of people to debuff or directly hinder."

Kaimanahi

He just likes to not so subtly plug Glomdoring. 

I'd generally agree that the Guardian class has the most utility-type abilities. I'd probably say Tarot over Astrology or Healing, because I'd consider the transportation skills (hermit, catacombs) to be more in the spirit of "utility" than buffs and curing. But if you're talking more "support" than "utility", the other two might be better options.

And while we're plugging our orgs, I'd say that Celestine Sacraments is even better for the number of healing abilities associated with it. Take that, @Morkarion. But really, I think all of the Rituals specializations have their utility upsides.

Cyndarin

Tarot is great utility. Has both healing and travel skills. Sacraments also has good group healing and curing stuff. And OP trueheal.

But if you're talking ridiculous curing/healing, Researchers beat Celestines. Aeros/aquas has demesne only group curing/healing. Aeros are a lot better than aquas though. Specifically because the new melders are just better than the old ones, and the old ones never got updates. (Geos don't count.)

But they don't have a leprechaun so put that in your pipe and smoke it.

Tarkenton

Leprechaun OP since he turned into a gold only acquisitio enchant.  Or a free avarice horn, I guess.  Whatever, running on my second energy drink of the day and I can't be bothered to go to Xiel's and double check enchants.

But, to be helpful and not marked off topic, I've found Shadowdancer Healer to be pretty fun and have some awesome support qualities.  Like Mork has said, everyone will you for Penumbras (+ charisma), Gloomtide (removes people from enemy lists) and a few other nifty things that Night has.  Healing just has so much awesomeness, especially if you have @Vadi's healer plugin for m&m (or write something similar yourself).  I have a habit of shifting auras (cures that tic every...4 seconds at an ego cost for yourself) to cure things that enemy combatants typically try to stick on higher priority targets.

Cyndarin

I AND if you ever decide to get into PK, healer SD is still viable at the higher tiers, where as healer Celestine and moondancer are pretty awful. Healer Researcher is stupid powerful.

 

But leprechauns.

Sunahara

Sheesh. Making me question my org choice. I'm glad I was right in thinking guardian was the way to go. In terms of pure utility (meaning stuff I can do that aren't buffs or attacks), is Tarot more ideal than Astrology?

Silvanus

Yes.

Although with Rituals you'll get utility that skills that heal you (puella for health, laetitia for ego), you also have them in tarot in Healer and Magician (health/mana)

You also get movement skills like Hermit and Catacombs. Catacombs brings up a map that you can go to any village from. Hermit remembers your location.

Starleaper is a one-off that will move you one room if damaged by another player.

Empress you can instantly summon allies (or lusted). Emperor you can force someone to follow you. (Rituals has that as well, conjuctio).

I think teacher gives you a stat increase once a month (random).

Tarkenton

I think Teacher is a skill increase, iirc.

Lavinya

Teacher gives a random skill increase to another player, you can't use it on yourself.

Lerad

Masquerade, deepcover and veil. Enough said.

No other skillset has more quest utility than stealth. There are probably no quests in the entire game that a stealth user cannot complete. Well, maybe except the epics. I have no idea what will happen if a stealth user tries to complete another org's epic while masked. I should try that out sometime.

Karlach

Kelly said:

He just likes to not so subtly plug Glomdoring. 

And while we're plugging our orgs, I'd say that Celestine Sacraments is even better for the number of healing abilities associated with it. Take that, @Morkarion. But really, I think all of the Rituals specializations have their utility upsides.

Glomdoring sells itself.

Totems doesn't have as many group utility skills as rituals, but there's only so many times you need :a healing skill: that puella/healing/sacraments cancel each other out. It's not really about having a multitude of X ability, but having a wider variety of abilities gives you flexibility and the adaptation in various scenarios.

Also worth mentioning Illuminati have reimagine, which is probably one of my favourite skills to abuse ever.


Edit: *Sigh* Quotebox fail.

Siam

I'm plugging Ecology Bards here. We have pathfind for travelling across the Basin, even to areas where you normally have to quest to get to. We also have charms, which are quite flexible for damage resistances. Then there's Transmigration with familiars that rezzes you. There's also milestones for travelling to key points across the Prime Material Plane. The specs also have utility skills that vary across the orgs.

Karlach

Are we talking personal utility here, or group utility, because a fair number of things listed only affect the individual.

I assumed OP was wondering about playing a support class role.

Lerad

Utility is utility. Hmph!

In all seriousness, there's no real "support" class role in Lusternia anyway. Even healers provide better combat "utility" by being in the room and laying down aurawarps than farhealing. My understanding, however, is that the OP is more concerned about utility abilities that don't have a combat application.

Sunahara

I was actually referring to personal utility without a combat application, but I do plan on participating in group combat - so the other stuff is also relevant.

Cyndarin

Personal utility is probably going to be tarot. It's just got a little bit of everything.

Edit: Specifically tarot as a city bard. Multiple ways to get around quickly (hermit, catacombs, milestones), songs for various things (too many to name and too guild specific), self healing (healer, princess), etc etc.

 

Tarot bards aren't all that great at PK. Group combat is a whole different monster.

Irillia

I would still say wiccans and guardians are your best bet for personal utility (though mages aren't bad either), considering how many enchantments, and a few artifacts, exist to just duplicate their normal class skills. Especially scent, for wiccans, or waterwalk and acquisitio, for guardians.