Giving spark to who and when?

First priority should always be Cleric IF using Blue Bubble (Regeneration Aura) fortunately an easy enough skill to notice; characteristic sound, blue swirling lines around your char if in range and, of course, a large blue bubble shaped force field type effect around the Cleric.

Second priority should be the main tanker, usually a Barb, with spark eruption being the most conspicuous sign they will be needing chi. You can always assume the Barb will be using Ream on bosses (you'll see the tiger pounce with both paws and a golden light effect, can be hard to miss but the tell-tale sign is a bleed symbol on the mob) although good Barbs should be able to sustain their own use of chi it is considered good form to spark them so they can use other skills. Most commonly this will be Devour (white flash, phys def debuff). Other important skills to look for would be Sunder (tiger AoE with a white/red light effect as an expansion wave, don't mistake with Roar which is characterized by swords of light stabbing mobs) and Armageddon (humanoid AoE, golden explossion effect not to be mistaken with Slam which knocks mobs back).

I know it can sound a bit confusing at first but remember, when in doubt ask, in all likelyhood most players will be pleased to demonstrate their skills so you can better understand their class. Fortunately most skills for other classes consuming large amounts of chi are easy to distinguish, such as BM's Heaven's Flame (two red swirling dragons of energy surrounding the BM), Archer's Barrage of Arrows (a rain of large arrows of blue light falling upon the target) or Wizzie's Black Ice Dragon Strike (dragon of blue energy striking down on the target). Sparking is something you should do at your discretion through the whole run, not just at bosses, although bear in mind you shouldn't allow yourself to be treated as a spark dispenser, this is mostly a situational skill which you can use to ehance the performance of who you believe will be the most effective squad member at any given moment, which of course includes you.

On boss fights i usually like to give a spark as early as i can (usually try to wait for whoever's tanking to open with a couple of big hits) which should allow me to maximize the number of times i'll be using them in a fight. Always try to manage your own chi consumption however, as you'll need enough that you can frequently use Ironwood Scarab as well as being able to use your own chi skills should you need them. Not all tanks require sparking (usually melees and Archers just using regular hits) and DDs can on ocassion be a better use for the spark.

Finally, i would advice use not to abuse Parasitic Nova and to try never to be too much chi away from using Bramble Hood. I appalud your embracing the support role which is very important for the class, but don't forget you're also DD and that your damage output does benefit the squad as well. As for Beffudling Mist i take it your precission about only using it on some bosses to mean you wouldn't use it along with Bramble... I'm curious if you could tell me when you find it most useful, i may be missing something important myself.

When in doubt ask in squad chat as well. I've found lower lvl barbs or BM tanks need more chi more often. The higher lvl ones usually build chi easily and will only ask if they need it. BMs that are using fists/claws usually build chi so fast you never have to worry about it. Some BMs will change out to fists/claws just to build chi faster then revert to axes for aoe skills.

MagicHamsta - Lost City wrote: »

Never pass chi to a DD unless you be sure the cleric and tank doesn't need it then pass it to the BM or something for dragons.

Just in case anyone doesn't know what BM dragons is yet, it's Heaven's Flame, a two-spark axe skill which has the rather distinctive swirling gold dragons graphic. The reason you want your BM using it as much as possible is because it has a 6 sec 100% AOE Amplify damage effect, 9 sec if they have the Demon version.

It's got a 30 sec cooldown so a decent BM should be able to build up 2 sparks on their own without your help. But if they ask for chi to use the skill, by all means give it to them.

In addition to what everyone else said, spamming venomous isn't always a bad thing. I find it's a great skill in between having to amp and such, and that goes for the other skills too. Your also a DD, not just a support member.

Also, if you want to go really support type, get a fast pet with debuffs and such. Helps when the cleric has to spam IH and can't debuff.

First priority should always be Cleric

**** the cleric if they want to BB constantly. There are bad venos and there are bad clerics. Some put BB right where we're trying to lure mobs, some heal while we're luring. If Cleric is over using BB: cut off their chi supply!

Second priority should be the main tanker

There are tanks out there that can hold aggro w/o outside chi and BM's heaven's flame can make things go faster.

In regards to your support role:

If you're luring and BB is up remember to get out of BB range unless you want the entire group of mobs to join you. I've seen this happen in BH79 at Brig/Linus as well as Warsong (although in warsong we will on occasion purposely use it for this reason)

Anyone that is luring/pulling using pet or genie earthflame MUST be out of BB range. Not all classes realize you must be out of this range to pull, so it's good to pass that information along.

tweakz wrote: »

I should clarify as I was in a mood when posting that.

Learn how much chi others actually need and what that chi does for the squad rather than trust that they need it. There are many lazy clerics that will drop bb every chance they get, when your chi would go farther if given to a BM providing they're using it for Heaven's Flame. Then if the BM is slow, like in FF for example: I'll use the Chi for Nova on the bishops and solo them if I must. There isn't really good rules for dispensing. Knowing your team and what they can do helps to make judgment calls.

I agree, other than some basic guidellines this comes down to your expertise.