As a guardian I really love Minstrels. Honestly, trying to tank with out a minstrel is significantly harder than most non-guardians might think. We're tough, but have very little in the way of regeneration. Minstrels, and captains to a lesser degree, compliment a guardian's abilities very well with their healing.

Truth is, when I really think about it, I really like getting most classes for different reasons. LMs for mezzing and power-regeneration; I don't need the power, but that minstrel always does! :) Burgs for FMs, for obvious reasons. Caps are reliable in everything, but "In Defence of Middle-Earth" takes the cake.

Different classes are sometimes better in different circumstances. Sometimes you really want a Burglar, sometimes a Champion, etc., for their specific capabilities. But all classes are useful in a fellowship in one way or another.

However, the one class that seems to always make a big difference in any circumstance is the Captain, without whom a fellowship is just not going to reach its full potential.

I'm often surprised by how many people think captains aren't that useful because--quote--"they suck at DPS" or some such funny thing that has nothing to do with a captain's true abilities. Captains rule at making every class rule, and people are selling their FS's short if they believe a captain shouldn't be a staple in every Fellowship. :)

As a dedicated loremaster, guardian and minstrel player I have very different opinions depending on what I am playing currently.

For instance when I'm playing a guardian I like a minstrel with me. Prefereably one that's good at it's job. With a minstrell backing my guardian we can keep going till we run out of power. When you add a small pinch of loremaster to the mix, we upgrade from going till out of power to going till we die of old age. That is offcourse dependend on the rest of the fellowship and what they are doing. No sence in having endless power and healing if the hunter takes away the aggro from my guardian.

For my loremaster top of the list being weirdly another Loremaster. If off course we both have that trait "tactically adept" equipped. The Power loss is then less then the power gained from the skill share the power. we can keep each other at max power that way. Just chain cast it on each other when both power get's low and we'll be powered up in no time. It's a great way to power up a party after a tough fight too. One loremaster gives all his power to the party. While the other one tops him up again. Off course one of them has to remember to keep at least a bit of power to charge up each other or you'll both be out off power. And let's not forget having 2 blinding flashes available.

As last with my minstrel I prefer a Guardian and a captain. Both of them because they are shiny standing in the front line screaming "Here I am. Try to kill me. and not that weak cloth wearing minstrel in the back". Meat/steel shields to hide behind are GOOOOOD.
The captain I also like for his complementary heals to my skill. He focusses on anyone that get's clipped by an AOE or a loose ADD. While I'm just focussing on keeping the tank alive. Also his independence appeals to me. When there are adds he's the one going after them and cutting them to ribbons while still being able to heal himself for any damage he might take. So I don't have to worry about him much. Last but not least a favourite with my minstrel is a loremaster. The power supply is very handy as is the Rez they get. Handy when you get wacked and are in need of some pipeweed blown into your face. My minstrel is now in the proces of inventing some kind of power cable to plug the loremaster straight into him.

All in all I have several favourites and all have pretty specific uses. DPS wise I'm not too bothered. If they go *SLAM* or *pew pew* and in result the enemy goes *auwie* all's good to me.

One last thing I look for in a party are members that take it easy and don't rush through instance hoping everyone can keep up. Nothing more annoying then the group rushing in a new battle while you are still recovering from the moral loss or power spent in the last effort to keep the party alive after a headlong rush into enemies.
If this last condition is met I don't really care what classes I have with me. Even if it's an all minstrel party.

Anyway that's my two cents.

greetings

LOL. That's great. When I'm up-front taking, I tend to be yelling something more like "Crunchy Dwarf Snacks! New and improved! You know want a bite of it instead of that nasty minstrel flavored stuff!" Every Guardian has got his/her own style, but all aspire to attain the skill and finesse in taunts and insults of the french soldier from Monty Python and the Holy Grail; No one can taunt like that.

My guardian just moons them.

Ok, here's my 2 copper on the Fellowship Formations...

I strongly agree with NM's stance on having a Captain... As a squishy class (LM), I enjoy the ability to cast with little concern when I have a Captain. Also, pairing up with another LM has been very handy at times. My arithmetic is a little rusty, but I always thought that:

Squishy + Squishy = More Squishy

But it turns out that:

Squishy + Squishy = Less Squishy

Probably due to the fact that both players are much more aware of their weaknesses and tend to help each other out much more often than "squishy + smasher".

My biggest concern in any pick-up Fellowship is the group attitude. I can go with an entire party of Minstrels and Lore-Masters if the pace is right. Having a bunch of Cowboy Guardians and Captains running ahead killing things usually doesn't end well - primarily because they forget that the only reason they CAN run ahead is because the squishy classes were healing and mezzing "behind the scenes". That sort of dynamic usually ends in a party wipe fairly quickly. Slow and Steady is always the best way, with a balanced set of classes.

People often say that the support classes are there to back up the front lines, but it really is cyclical. If the tanks go rampaging blindly, or never look behind them, only focusing on bashing, then it can be a quick wipe if some adds come trotting in from the rear or flank.

I've found hunters to be quite handy to hang back with the squishies as well, or as a flank, watching front and back, in case of aggro on the squishies (which of course should not really happen, but let's face it - it does occasionally) and just as an extra sentinel for the rest of the party. As a LM, it's not to easy to type "HEY, I'VE GOT THE AGGRO OVER HERE!!! HELP!!!!" when you're running away from 5 wights, 3 spiders and an elite while the Champion is 20 yards away bashing on three nasties. Then the LM dies, the hunter gets whooped, the minstrel dies from behind, the Captain ends up with 10 monsters on him, screaming "Come on you guys, use some CC back there!!! Guys? Hello? Oh, snap!"

The other option for the AGGRO'd LM is to go running, hands flailing, past the front lines so the blind tank can actually see what's going on. (picture that) ;)

Isn't the correct procedure for a quishy when aggroed to "STOP DROP and ROLL"?

Anyway when you get aggro you should stay in place and just yell out Aggro. If you have a good tank with you he should keep an eye out for the chat pannel. When he sees this normally he turns around and taunts them off you. Running around and away only makes it harder on a tank.

Believe me. As a tank I have been called all kinds of name by hunters because they dragged away aggro by using "heartstopper" or some sort of skill like that they then proceeded to run around like madmen yelling AGGRO. So I went after them but they just ran away from me and eventually died. And they were mad at me?

Just to point out. If you are squishy and get aggro. stay still. Type aggro. The healer will notice it and focus on you as well as the tank that will send a taunt to take the monsters way.

Anyway common sence is the number one on everyones list I think in choosing party members.

I think you hit the nail on the head there. As I mention in my guardian as well, tanks have a really difficult time taking aggro when the squishy is running about, the best thing a squishy can do when they get aggro is to call out "aggro" then sit still and take like a Dwarf, until the tank can taunt it off; That is assuming, of course, that the guardian does know that his job is the protect the squishies and not to PWNz0r the mobs. I've run into a few guardians that think they're champions. Go figure.

*laugh*

rofl. Make that sdrofl, being a lore-master myself.

Well squishy is as squishy does. Having both a lore-master and a captain as my mains, I can say it's hopeful you'll be noticed as a squishy when you find you've become the main course. . . In the best of all worlds.

Sometimes there is so much going on, it's hard for the tank (doesn't apply to our brilliant guard, of course ;)) to tell when the mini or LM is in trouble, and between trying to mez or fear something away while getting repeatedly interrupted and typing AG--ARG--AOGR--AGGRO1!!1! all at the same time, its nice to simply have voice chat to much more theatrically yell out "Get this thing off me!"

Invest in a mic/headset. You might just save yourself from all that rolling about. ;)

...to a trip through the Chetwood, back in the days of pick-up fellowships and trial accounts and people who've never really played MMOs or understand that a mage is not built for tanking. Since we're talking about common sense and proper mix and class-playing, I thought I would share one of my early (somewhat embellished) experiences with a Fellowship.

Now, let's join the brave party en route to slay some evil foes...

-----------------
Heavy RP Guardian: "Aye, yonder brigands face defeat at an Epic level now that we have a Noble Fellowship! Grrrrr!"

Non RP female Burglar: "When do we get to kill Jagger Jack? I've been waiting foreverz to complete that quest! He's gonna B pwnzed!"

Self-absorbed Minstrel: "Does this lute make me look fat? It's not the same colour as my hat."

N00b LM Linathor: "Umm, what's a Fellowship Maneuver? How do I start one?" [types /fellowshipmaneuver, /start fsm, /go fellowshipmanuever and /fellowship startmaneuver before giving up]

Burglar: "What?"

11-year old Captain: "Hey, there's a spider, let's kill it!" [*runs into the woods*]

-----------------
...28 minutes, 2 wipes, 8 failed fellowship manuevers and 5 bandit camps later... our victorious (but very scathed) party enters the ruins where Jagger Jack and some other nasties make their homes...Shhhh... let's listen in as they approach their final destination...
-----------------

Non-RP-Female-Burglar: "ok, it's blue, blue, green, green, GREEN, got it? No red!"

Minstrel [*heals self*]: "Hey, wasn't it Need THEN greed? No? Sorry about that. Hey, check out my muscles" [/flexes, then plays AC/DC on his lute]

N00b LM Linathor: "ok, got it, sorry. Hey guys, let's form up for the final encounter, is anyone watching the rear for patrols? I think we can hop over this little piece of ruins and attack Jagger Jack from this angle" [hops up, raven flies away, Linathor is perplexed]

Non-RP female burglar: "Yeah, I'm watching your rear. Pretty nice from here. *snicker*" [hops up and /laughs]

11-year old Captain: "Do we have a Priest? I only have 250 of my green bar left." [hops up and starts /dance]

Linathor: "Anyone seen my raven??" [checks mini map and finds raven going the long way around the ruins] "umm.. never mind" [dismisses raven, still perplexed]

Guardian: "There he is! Jagger Jack, the foul brigand himself! CHARGE!! Follow me, to Victory!" [runs in, aggros two camps and the elites]

Non-RP Burglar: "What? I'm not ready, just a... oh forget it" [runs away, but not before mining the nearest copper ore]

11-year old Captain: "My mom says I need to go for supper. See you all later." [maps out]

Linathor: "Umm... just so you guys know, there's some extra guys coming" [fights the adds that his raven aggro'd and dies horribly]

Heavy RP Guardian: "ach, ugh, For the Honour of - ouch, By the Valar I command thee to perish! , smash, My comrades, I have failed thee! *gasp*" [dies]

Minstrel: "What do you think of my new tune. Hey, what the...*slash* *smack* CRUNCH [elite breaks lute]" [dies]

Fellowship:[Linathor] Well thanks for the group guys, I'm umm.. going to pick flowers in Archet for all the graves. Bye for now.

Captain: "My mom says I can stay on for another 20 mins, can we go again?"

Linathor: [groans, Leaves Fellowship]

God man. That made me laugh so hard I had to go drink a bottle of water to rehydrate from the loss water from my tears while laughing.
Frigging hilarious.

But OOOOOOOOH so familiar.
PUGs are FUN.

Thanks Hirunath... I wish I could say that my part was exaggerated, but if anything it was probably understated a bit, especially since I didn't know anything about healing or pets at that point, and my primary concern was to find a cool name for my Raven, like "DeathByFeathers". ;)

Haha. That's classic Linathor. ;)

It should make the rounds on the interwebs.

It's funny because true. . .

*recomposes himself*

I think you have managed to summarize all the the bad PuG experiences ever experienced in all of MMO existence with that simple anecdote. Bravo.

Oh, and that Minstrel reminds of a certain feathered someone who we all know and love/hate

I saw the resemblance, Urich. ;)