To DoT or not to DoT

KanariaRose - Archosaur

Ok so im pretty new to PW , but even more so to the psy class..as you can note by my level. Started her two days ago...shhhh lol.

Any who dot aren't to useful for solo grinding...as everything dies before it even gets close enough to me to hit me(sofar anyway, but what do i know, im 29 lol.) Ive heard psy DoT's are basically the best in the game for pvp and bosses and worth a look, i've also heard they are useless in every aspect.

So yeah, should i invest in torrent and sand trap. I mean it seems pretty wise to me in certain situations. Throw on white voodoo, use both DoT, kite around and let their charm tick down. Who knows



Im more into pve and helping other peoples out(hence why my other char is a cleric) but i do enjoy pvp to some degree. I enjoy it as in i'll accept random duels, would help in TW, but im not going to stress over it.

any advice would be greatb:chuckle

Edit* Humm avatar decided not to show...oh well, like i said 29 psy.

Hypnos - Raging Tide

Psy's DoT is by far best in game after pet's bleed which ignore pvp reduction. While it's quite useful in PvP, I have to say it's near useless in PvE (except when you want to watch agro from boss in case incompetent tank involved) and even in Duel it hardly make a different. What I can tell you is lvl it later after you maxed your basic attack, masteries and aoes.

Anemone_ - Harshlands

KanariaRose - Archosaur wrote: »

Ok so im pretty new to PW , but even more so to the psy class..as you can note by my level. Started her two days ago...shhhh lol.

Any who dot aren't to useful for solo grinding...as everything dies before it even gets close enough to me to hit me(sofar anyway, but what do i know, im 29 lol.) Ive heard psy DoT's are basically the best in the game for pvp and bosses and worth a look, i've also heard they are useless in every aspect.

So yeah, should i invest in torrent and sand trap. I mean it seems pretty wise to me in certain situations. Throw on white voodoo, use both DoT, kite around and let their charm tick down. Who knows



Im more into pve and helping other peoples out(hence why my other char is a cleric) but i do enjoy pvp to some degree. I enjoy it as in i'll accept random duels, would help in TW, but im not going to stress over it.

any advice would be greatb:chuckle

Edit* Humm avatar decided not to show...oh well, like i said 29 psy.

Our dots are amazing, but unfortunately only in certain circumstances.

The best thing about the DoTs is that there damage is not reduced while in White Voodoo, which allows you to completely pown most non charmed melee classes.
The skills work best on Sins Barbs and BM's who you may need to play defensively anyway against. I'm always inside rank 10 white voodoo until I'm ready to attack, if I get caught by surprise by a barb/Sin/BM then I just soulburn and dot dot dot until I see a charm tick.
If I see there charm tick I proceed to change my strategy/Voodoo (since this combo will often not be strong enough to out tick a good players charm).
But if it turns out there not charmed I just wait till all of there precious health drips away while they try to beat me through my defensive/healing skills. b:victory


But yes beside certain pvp situations these skills are mostly useless.
Especially for certain PvE and grinding.

Longknife - Harshlands

I use mine for boss fights. Go White voodoo and spam them; prevents you from pulling aggro without cutting into your damage TOO much.

In PVP though, the problem is that your other skills are just too good. They're all quick and deal high damage, so there's really no need to bother with the DoT's. You're a Psy anyways, so any PVP fight you get involved in will end quickly, since both you and your opponent will go down in 2-3 shots.

Red Tide's DoT however, that'll really **** someone over. Red Tide itself will almost kill them. The bleed will finish them off.


Maybe they'd be useful against an assassin, or in a big PK war as support...

ACLucius - Archosaur

Aside from fights with elites/bosses, I just use the DoT's as a MP efficient way to finish off a mob. If the mob has 700 HP or less at your level, I use it, and preserve 60+ instead of needing to use another attack. 45 MP to finish off a mob rather than 100+ is best.

Besides, just stick to leveling Black Voodoo, Spirit, and Aqua, and put spare SP into skills that are useful in PvE (or PvP if you prefer that) such as Landslide.

ryukage

They are useful in both PvP AND PvE. However, it takes an experienced, knowledgeable player to understand why.

Longknife - Harshlands wrote: »

In PVP though, the problem is that your other skills are just too good. They're all quick and deal high damage, so there's really no need to bother with the DoT's. You're a Psy anyways, so any PVP fight you get involved in will end quickly, since both you and your opponent will go down in 2-3 shots.

Spoken like a truly inexperienced player. No offense to you my friend, but there's a major problem with your mindset, and its a part of the reason so many Psychics end up failing when real fights come along, and its a major reason why a lot of Psychics fail endgame.

So to all those who still don't understand, I'll be blunt and just say it.

Not every fight is one on one. Group PvP does exist, and that haphazard "attack till I'm dead" **** will get you killed before you accomplish anything, unless you understand there is a time and a place for it. Not only that, but a purely offensive Psychic isn't too tough for a lot of skilled PvPers to take down. Endgame, you're expected to have a better sense of tactics to be effective at all. And Psychic Will can't save you forever. You pop Psychic Will, the BM uses Roar of the Pride. Bam, 6/8 seconds of your immunity wasted. Or better yet, he'll use Balance, and you'll both be ineffective towards each other. Too bad this is better for him, since you can't kite him forever. Will of the Bohisatva will take Earth Vector out of the equation, btw.

Black Voodoo is not the be-all-end-all Psychic buff. You NEED to be able to swap between Black and White Voodoo to actually be good at playing a Psychic. You NEED to have ways other than just Soulburn to kill a person while White Voodoo is on. Not everyone is stupid enough to spam skills after you burn them, and you can't afford to stand there looking stupid when you do find that smart opponent. You can't just Black Voodoo your way through gang-****, you will be a dead fish. And if you can't DoT, you can't DD reasonably with White Voodoo.

For PvE? Lemme try to say this in a simple way: You are squishy, and not everything you fight will die in 3 shots. And not everything can be kited effectively. If you can't DoT, then your DD with White Voodoo is very ineffective, and in truth, you'll still take in more damage than you'll dish out and eventually resources will run thin.

The reason why you level the DoTs, and yes max them, is because they are essential to White Voodoo strategies, and BOTH Voodoos are essential to being good at this class. But if you just want to be mediocre, then feel free to ignore my advice.

That being said, Black Voodoo DDing is still the higher priority, which is why the DoTs don't get maxed right away.

Borsuc - Raging Tide

I'm confused. You first mentioned group PvP and then gave an example of BM vs Psy 1v1. You are not as squishy in a group provided the group is made of adequate classes, not say, 6 psychics.

ACLucius - Archosaur wrote: »

Aside from fights with elites/bosses, I just use the DoT's as a MP efficient way to finish off a mob. If the mob has 700 HP or less at your level, I use it, and preserve 60+ instead of needing to use another attack. 45 MP to finish off a mob rather than 100+ is best.

Yup same way I use wizard DoTs like pitfall except that it actually does 2-3k dmg right now (base magic atk, not the skill itself which is crapish).

ryukage

Borsuc - Raging Tide wrote: »

I'm confused. You first mentioned group PvP and then gave an example of BM vs Psy 1v1.

What part of it confused you? Obviously, I'm giving examples from multiple scenarios. The original point was that ganks do happen, and you can't just Black Voodoo through them and expect to survive, unless they're all noobs. After that, I was pointing out how even in a 1v1, a mindless Psychic is just walking PK-bait. Maybe I should have put that into its own paragraph, but really, I didn't (and still don't) feel the need to make that wall of text any larger when my points should have been fairly clear already.

Borsuc - Raging Tide wrote: »

You are not as squishy in a group provided the group is made of adequate classes, not say, 6 psychics.

I like how you guys seem to think all fights can be planned out so simply, and that having a theoretically well-rounded party will automatically keep you protected. You could have a squad of 6 and you still might get dismantled by just 2 or 3 smart opponents who know how to pick their spots. Keeping in mind that **** does happen, and that a Psychic's defensive and offensive ability is quite heavily dependent on using the Voodoos appropriately; a Psychic has to be able to adapt to changes in the field very quickly, sometimes much moreso than some other classes. Most Psychic players don't and that is why I see so many of them failing, even at high levels.

Evga - Sanctuary

well said :P there isn't just one way to play the class, it's always situation dependent.