Which Profession is best suited for all AG tasks?

[Maerit]

I'm curious to see what the community feels is the best profession overall to tackle all types of AG tasks without needing outside assistance (minus gem bounties which don't really involve any character skills to complete).

Considerations like: surviving bandits and group combat, foraging and skinning success rates, disabling powers for escorts and rescues.

[Ashliana]

My vote is Empath. Great at skinning and foraging, sanctuary for escorts, good at combat, healing in the field. Bandits can be tough depending on RNG, but once you get access to 140, probably easier.

[Astray]

Cast my vote for Ranger.

[mgoddess]

I can see both Rangers and Paladins being good at AG tasks.

I only do AG tasks with my 80-something paladin, so I'm biased, but she's good with all the tasks... the only ones I ever turn down are child-fetching tasks and escorts/bandits that would go past the Locksmehr ferry.

[Astray]

Bandits and creature culling is the easiest thing for Paladins.

[elcidcannon]

Ranger or empath

[Astray]

I also feel that Cleric would hold up pretty well. Could be wrong though.

[Fallen]

Without spell tanking, a Paladin. Plate + AoE's is nice.

Skinning/Foraging can be mitigated by any profession with training.

[Candor]

Rogue. Of course.

[0zymandius]

Ranger. Spells to aid skinning and foraging, plus hits hard enough on his own to be self-sufficient. Bandits might be tough for him (though I wouldn't know, not being old enough to get bandit tasks yet).

[Unfortunatley Ridic]

All of them are pretty easy as a warrior. I just hate doing any confluence tasks.

[droit]

It's not really a contest: Ranger all the way. Cull/Dangerous/Heirloom are all a wash because every profession can hunt just fine (though rangers can have 140 for search heirlooms). Bandits are a breeze for rangers. For escorts and children, we have 619/635/616. And is there really any question on skins and foraging? Cheapest survival costs, and 650 adds both enhancive survival bonuses and self-haste for foraging. I think my foraging success record is like a -54 roll.

[Astray]

Bandits might be tough for him (though I wouldn't know, not being old enough to get bandit tasks yet).

635 helps plenty if you have the mana for it. Otherwise it's just about being careful.

[Maerit]

I suppose it also depends greatly on character progression. I imagine that a 25 trained Ranger might be less capable against bandits than say a 25 trained paladin or even warrior? Once you reach cap, the picture is a lot less fuzzy.

Pures might be better off if most of them didn't have such a significant penalty to foraging... Using scroll cast 603, 402, casting 205 (from a scroll) in the room to make it as bright as possible, while kneeling with two empty hands in offensive stance - it still requires like +70 roll for my sorcerer to forage successfully (1x perception, 0x in survival).

[Whirlin]

I suppose it also depends greatly on character progression. I imagine that a 25 trained Ranger might be less capable against bandits than say a 25 trained paladin or even warrior? Once you reach cap, the picture is a lot less fuzzy.

Pures might be better off if most of them didn't have such a significant penalty to foraging... Using scroll cast 603, 402, casting 205 (from a scroll) in the room to make it as bright as possible, while kneeling with two empty hands in offensive stance - it still requires like +70 roll for my sorcerer to forage successfully (1x perception, 0x in survival).

Pures is a broad delineation though for the purposes of this evaluation. Empaths aren't nearly as afraid of bandit CMANs as a sorcerer is. Both Wizards/Sorcerers can't skin worth a damn. Although... it matters if you consider skinning bounties in this evaluation if you don't even have access to them.

I echo that rangers have it best, for all the reasons already listed.

[Astray]

Bards are too busy singing and being sexually ambiguous to bother with bounties.

[Taernath]

Ranger danger.

[Donquix]

depends a little on level, but by mid level+ I'd say ranger, empath, or wizard.

Ranger is the obvious with the foraging/skinning bonuses.

Empath is similar plus they have self-healing in the field which is handy for bandits/escorts.

Wizard, assuming you've picked up sufficient survival/fa training. self-cast haste for foraging (even though they are inherently shit at it) and searching.

[Archigeek]

They're all easy for a warrior. Basically everything should be easy for everyone, except that some pures seem to have trouble with bandit and escort (bandit) tasks. As long as you can 1x survival and first aid, skinning is easy, and the same with foraging, so the ranger advantage doesn't really come into play much. It all comes down to survivability at the end of the day, because everything is easy except for when you get ambushed, and if there's one thing warriors excel at, it's survivability.

[Sonics]

My vote goes towards Bards. Song of Peace and Song of Tonis are both quite useful for different tasks.

[Aganii]

Location factors in as well. As a pure you get shafted when you have a bounty for an anti-magic creature.

[Tgo01]

So wizards didn't get a single vote in this poll even before the nerf to haste? Why exactly was haste nerfed into oblivion for bounty tasks?

[Astray]

Wizards on the same level as Monks, confirmed.

[Warriorbird]

That's hilarious.

[Whirlin]

So wizards didn't get a single vote in this poll even before the nerf to haste? Why exactly was haste nerfed into oblivion for bounty tasks?
We can easily do all of the bounties... we're just not the best at it.

[Archigeek]

Generally speaking, wizards have been the ones who whined the most about not being able to handle bandits, so I just assumed they had a harder time. This was true before the wizard spell changes, so I kind of figured it remained true afterwards.

[Wrathbringer]

Generally speaking, wizards have been the ones who whined the most.

Agreed.

[Whirlin]

Generally speaking, wizards have been the ones who whined the most about not being able to handle bandits, so I just assumed they had a harder time. This was true before the wizard spell changes, so I kind of figured it remained true afterwards.

Nah, wizards have it better than sorcs on bandits. Just keep 919+... I guess now 535 up, and you're relatively safe.

[Archigeek]

Maybe I misremembered. I just know that some pures have a hard time with bandits, mostly because of insta-gank maneuvers. Those happen from time to everyone, but are easier to survive as a square I'm assuming.

[audioserf]

I found bandits super easy on my mage, but that was before Haste got annihilated. It's probably tougher now. I don't go near bandits on my Empath. I don't really see how any pure does them without Haste up, to be honest. The RT lock is tough to overcome.

I voted Ranger on this. They're custom built self sufficient AG monsters.

[Whirlin]

I found bandits super easy on my mage, but that was before Haste got annihilated. It's probably tougher now. I don't go near bandits on my Empath. I don't really see how any pure does them without Haste up, to be honest. The RT lock is tough to overcome.

I voted Ranger on this. They're custom built self sufficient AG monsters.
Well, empaths' 500x physical fitness makes CMANs a joke.

[Luscinia]

Physical Fitness doesn't influence CMAN rolls. (source (http://forums.play.net/forums/GemStone%20IV/Wizards/Wizard%20Spells/view/1930))

[mgoddess]

Physical Fitness doesn't influence CMAN rolls. (source (http://forums.play.net/forums/GemStone%20IV/Wizards/Wizard%20Spells/view/1930))
It doesn't effect player's CMAN rolls, but it does influence resistance against creature maneuvers, and with Stamina SECOND WIND, it can influence offensive cman rolls (assuming a pure has them).

https://gswiki.play.net/mediawiki/index.php/Physical_Fitness

[Kaldonis]

Gotta go with ranger, too. Skinning and foraging are freebies. Decent for bandits. Mass Calm for escorts.

Win.

[Archigeek]

Physical Fitness doesn't influence CMAN rolls. (source (http://forums.play.net/forums/GemStone%20IV/Wizards/Wizard%20Spells/view/1930))

It does help significantly with Standard Maneuver Rolls.

[droit]

Well, empaths' 500x physical fitness makes CMANs a joke.

.

[BigWorm]

Whirlin lied and empaths died

[Malisai]

Dont know about wizards, but bandits for sorcerers really really suck. Unless you have the gear to make the DS pushdown/getting hit a non issue and the CMANs a non-issue, there really isnt anything inherent in the sorcerer's spell list that helps. 712 would be the closest, but that wont really help you much.

[Maerit]

Dont know about wizards, but bandits for sorcerers really really suck. Unless you have the gear to make the DS pushdown/getting hit a non issue and the CMANs a non-issue, there really isnt anything inherent in the sorcerer's spell list that helps. 712 would be the closest, but that wont really help you much.

Sorcerers have a great deal more tools now that the sorcerer spell review is done that make bandits significantly easier to manage.

1. Grasp of the Grave - abuse this spell for bandits (hint it pulls targets from hiding and the arms stay active if you move rooms).
2. 716 and 140 - Keep them up.
3. Everyone can use 730 now! Animate a bandit and give it a lance or a claidhmore. It will destroy other bandits and watch your back.
4. Scroll Infusion - find and maintain scrolls for bandits.

If you know how to properly use the above tools, you can solo bandit tasks fairly easily as a Sorcerer. I would recommend all young pures avoid Bandits if they are not hunting them in a group.