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Thread: Guide to Professions

  1. #1

    Guide to Professions

    Nyel's AO Guide to Professions

    My background in AO: I have played this game since Feb 2003, I have multiple 220 toons, and I have played every toon in the game.

    General note: Any breed can be any profession. Each has advantages depending on your goals and play style. I have simply suggested breeds which are easy to play for new players and are solid choices for the profession. At the request of others, I added the following generalizations about breeds:

    Atrox get more life, but have lower nano skills. (Tanks and Damage Dealers)
    Nano mages get higher nano skills, but lower life. (Buffing Toons and Healers)
    Opifex get higher evades, but lower life. (Damage Dealers and Tanks)
    Solitus are just average at everything, which is both good and bad. (All Categories)

    The professions in AO can be roughly divided into the following categories: buffers, tanks, healers, tradeskillers, and damage toons. (A toon is a character you create and play in the game.)

    The BUFFING TOONS:

    Meta-Physicist

    Casts nanos which increase the nano skills of all players in the game and controls pets which heal, mezz, and kill.

    PROS: Nano skills are essential to playing the game. Everyone needs them and will search out an MP sooner or later. MP's can even charge for buffing other toons because they are so much in demand. The MP has pets which heal, kill, and mezz for him. MPs can warp themselves and others to the gardens in Shadow Lands. Composite nanos are incredible. Lost Eden has given MPs some nice player debuff nanos.

    CONS: MPs are subject to buff begging from everyone in the game. It gets annoying after level 100 when you can easily cast CI (composite infuse). MPs also die within a few hits from high level mobs.

    Suggested Breeds: Nano Mage, Solitus

    Trader
    Sell items to the specialty shop for 25% more credits than anyone else. They cast wrangles that buff the weapon and nano skills of other toons. Good tradeskillers.

    PROS: Wrangles are in high demand by others and you can even charge for casting them. Selling loot from missions to the trader shop is a great way to make credits for your very first toon. Ransack and deprive skills make them very good at killing monsters and other players. They become good mezzers late in the game. Traders are also excellent at making items (tradeskills) and get nanos to increase their skills. Barter armor is very nice. Lost Eden has given traders some nice player debuff nanos and better end game shot guns.

    CONS: Traders are also plagued by buff beggars. They did not get a good weapon from the Shadow Lands expansion and the Alien Invasion weapons are not a real option until late in the game.

    Suggested Breeds: All have advantages depending on your goals

    Bureaucrat
    Walking XP buffs who can turn monsters into pets with high damage and a master of crowd control.

    PROS: They XP buffs and insurance claim perk makes them sought after by teams. Crats can mezz and root mobs very well, making them excellent at crowd control. They get droids that attack for them and can charm monsters into pets which also attack for them. Ability to charm high level mobs give crats excellent damage output which is often overlooked by players. Special crat only gear that increases XP. Some crats earn credits charging for Psychology trade skill. Lost Eden introduced nice pistols into the game. Lost Eden has given crats incredible evades for a short time making them hard to kill.

    CONS: XP buffs do not help with Alien Experience. Charmed pets will attack the crat as soon as the charm ends. A dead crat often results in a loose pet which kills the rest of the team.

    Suggested Breeds: Solitus, Nano Mage

    Agent (Feline Grace & Enhanced Senses) See Damage Dealers

    Nano Technician (Neuronal Stimulator) See Damage Dealers

    Doctors (Superior First Aid and Iron Circle) See Healers

    Enforcers (Essence line and Prodigious Strength) See Tanks


    The TANKS:

    Enforcer
    Mongo nano line draws and holds aggro to make mobs attack you instead of your team or the healer.

    PROS: Mongo nanos are the best aggro holding nanos in the game. Lots of life and designed to take punishment. Enforcers are the leaders of large raids like Alien Play Field. It is hard to kill a good enforcer. Crypt of Home weapons are great ways to bridge the gap between stygians and frost bound reapers. Essence line is highly sought after as a buff.

    CONS: Depend on others to heal you. Enforcers job is to stand there and die if needed so that the rest of the team will live. Mongo takes effort to learn how to use, it can draw more monsters than your team can handle. A patch added with Lost Eden nerfed the cocoon perk.


    Suggested Breeds: Atrox


    Soldier See Damage Dealers

    Shade See Damage Dealers

    Fixer See Damage Dealers

    Adventurer See Healers



    The HEALERS:

    Doctor
    Best healer in the game who can always find a team.

    PROS: Teams beg you to join. A high level doctor is hard to kill. Doctors make lots of friends in the game. Leaders of teams in many situations. Superior First Aid and Iron Circle are highly sought after as a buff.

    CONS: Learning to heal is difficult. When toons die, they blame the doctor. Really needs a team to level in the early stages (becomes a good solo toon late in the game). Complete heal draws more aggro than the enforcer's mongo.

    Suggested Breeds: Nano Mage, Solitus, Opifex

    Adventurer
    Good heals, good damage, decent tank, and the ability to turn into animals.

    PROS: Advs can do it all: heal, tank, and deal damage (but none of it as well as the specialized professions). Late in the game they become a very high damage dealer. Second best healer in the game. (A good Adv will out heal a bad doc.) Also have map nanos for Shadow Lands, one even buffs XP.

    CONS: Not specialized = docs heal better, enforcers tank better, and many other professions do more damage. In a team adventures are expected to do it all = heal others, tank, and deal damage depending on the situation. A patch added with Lost Eden nerfed the cocoon perk.

    Suggested Breeds: Solitus, Atrox, Opifex

    Martial Artist See Damage Toons

    Keeper See Damage Toons

    Meta Physicist See Buffing Toons

    The TRADESKILLERS:

    Engineer
    Robot pets to attack things and the ability to make almost everything that can be made in the game.

    PROS: Robot pets do not time out, they live until killed or terminated by the Engy. Tradeskill nanos help the Engy create items for themselves and others. Engies can charge for tradeskills and make lots of credits. Bots will auto attack so an engy can be AFK without the team ever knowing it. Bots do high damage compared with Crat Droids and MP Demons. Engineers seem to do very well in PvP on the Lost Eden Battle Stations.

    CONS: Have to manage IP to invest in tradeskills. When Bots lose aggro, monsters attack the squishy Engy. Players will expect Engies to have every tradeskill they want, which is not possible at low levels if the Engy is designed for damage output. A patch added with Lost Eden nerfed the cocoon perk.

    Suggested Breeds: Nano Mage, Solitus,

    Trader See Buffing Toons

    The DAMAGE DEALERS:

    Shade
    High damage output but low health. Wear tattoos and spirits.

    PROS: Possibly the highest damage out put in the game. No need for treatment skill. Get to wear tattoos instead of clothes (see CONS) which looks cool. Very good at killing other players.

    CONS: High damage draws more aggro than a Shade's squishy body can handle and often results in death. No implants or symbiants for the shade. Shades are not allowed to use many items in the game. Shades must buy or camp spirits often as they level. Very expensive toon to start. At high levels Shades become great evade tanks and are rarely out damaged. Tattoos look cool but do not provide much armor class protection so they are mainly worn for looks while in town and are rarely seen in battle.

    Suggested Breeds: Opifex, Solitus

    Soldier
    Great damage out put and shields make it an easy toon to learn. Tab Q is all you have to do while you learn to play the game, making soldiers a very good first toon.

    PROS: Shadow Lands and Alien Invasion gave soldiers incredible guns that do high damage. Total Mirror Shield makes the solider a great tank. Taunt lines help draw and hold aggro. Full Auto hits for up to 15,000 points of damage, the current maximum damage cap. Very easy toon to learn. Good at killing other players. Lost Eden added additional PvP in the form of Battle Stations and soldiers do very well there. LE also gave soldiers a few nice guns to replace the outdated SL ones (AI assault rilfes were not very effective).

    CONS: Buying new gun frequently gets expensive. May have to change gun choices to ensure maximum damage output as you level. Soldiers are so easy to play that they can become boring eventually. Rumor has it that an upcoming patch might reduce the maximum damage a toon can inflict on another player in the Battle Stations.

    Suggested Breeds: Atrox, Solitus, Opifex

    Agent
    Can become any profession able to cast most nanos and use most of the items in the game.

    PROS: Agents can sneak thru missions allowing them to blitz items very well earning them lots of credits. Shadow Lands gave Agents a good gun. Agents deal high damage and can become any profession a team needs. They often become doctors for healing and Crats for XP buffing in teams. Very good at killing other players. Feline Grace and Enhanced Senses are highly sought after buffs. Lost Eden added additional PvP in the form of Battle Stations and agents do very well there. LE also gave agents a nice gun to replace the outdated SL ones (AI rilfes were not very effective).

    CONS: High damage out put and a squishy body often get the Agent killed. Other players will beg Agent to become Traders, Crats, and MPs for buffing. False Profession line is a timed nano which prevents the Agent from changing professions as often as they might like. Rumor has it that an upcoming patch might reduce the maximum damage a toon can inflict on another player in the Battle Stations.

    Suggested Breeds: Opifex

    Nano Technician
    Kill 20 monsters at the same time with area of effect damage nanos and cast personal notum harvester to fill up your nano pool.

    PROS: Best AoE damage dealer in the game. Become very good mezzers (calm/root/blind) at high levels especailly in ShadowLands mission teams where NTs are used for crowd control. Personal Notum Harvester replenishes nano pool and is sought by many. The ability to kite (running around in circles casting AoE nanos on monsters as they chase you) makes NTs very good at soloing large groups of mobs. Kiting also earns NTs credits by selling the loot. Neural Stimulator is also highly sought after as a buff. Good NTs are some of the best PvP toons on the Lost Eden Battle Station.

    CONS: High damage out put and a squishy body often gets the NT killed. Lag can kill NTs in a second during a kite. A bad kite will make everyone in the area mad at you.

    Suggested Breeds: Nano Mage, Solitus

    Fixer
    Meep to the grid, become a smurf, blitz missions, and out run everyone else.

    PROS: Shadow Lands and Alien Invasion gave fixers excellent weapons. Fixers can warp themselves and others into the grid or the special fixer grid (quest reward) which has short cuts to remote areas of the planet. Fixers speed passed mobs in missions allowing them to blitz items for others. Click saver helps fixers earn lots of credits. Very good at killing other players. Grid armor gives tons of evades and turns you blue (looks cool), but cannot be used in ShadowLands and is classified as social armor. Some fixers earn credits charging for Breaking and Entering Tradeskill.

    CONS: A patch to the game reduced the effectiveness of grid armor. GA is expensive and also requires nano skills which are not needed making it a waste of IP and credits if most of your time will be spent in ShadowLands. Bursting at the wrong time (when the doc and the tank are out of nano) often results in death. Blue nano skills are hard on IP.

    Suggested Breeds: Opifex, Solitus

    Keeper
    No one begs you for buffs and tier 3 looks like a knight in shining armor.

    PROS: Healing and nano regeneration auras are helpful. High damage output, especially late in the game. Keepers have no nanos to cast on other toons, so no one pesters them for buffs. Very efficient on IP use and often end up with a surplus. Auras stack with other buffs and last a long time. Lost Eden gave keepers decent swords and removed the "after stygian gap".

    CONS: Keepers look like Enforcers, but lack the mongo line which makes Enforcers great tanks. Have to choose between nano regeneration and healing auras. Long casting time on several nanos with huge nano pool requirements. A patch added with Lost Eden nerfed the cocoon perk.

    Suggested Breeds: Atrox, Solitus

    Martial Artist
    Weak heals and good damage without spending tons of credits on weapons.

    PROS: No weapons to buy. High evades keep them from getting hit so often. Good damage at all levels of the game. Lost Eden gave MAs a nice stick to beat things with -- possibly as good as the BoB from the AI expansion.

    CONS: Heals have a long recharge time. Weapon users often out damage MA's. Blue nano skills use lots of IP.
    Suggested Breeds: Opifex

    Engineers See Tradeskillers

    Adventurer See Healers

    Last edited by Nyel; May 11th, 2007 at 20:45:30. Reason: added text features such as bold and center to make it easier to read
    Going Froob!
    If I have been playing since 2003, does that make me a newbie?

  2. #2

    Maybe it will get a sticky

    Hope it helps a few people make wise decisions and learn to love this game as much as I do.
    Going Froob!
    If I have been playing since 2003, does that make me a newbie?

  3. #3

    Muuuahhahhaha

    A dead crat often results in a loose pet which kills the rest of the team.
    ..how true

    Reminds me of the thread Love/Hate: How to REALLY Tell Which Profession You Should Be Playing!

    Anyway, it's excellent. Bump!
    "The bureaucratic mentality is the only constant in the universe." Dr. Leonard 'Bones' McCoy

  4. #4
    You left out one of the advantages adentureers have.

    All maps of the shadowlands are nanoprograms, and beyond the first two playfields of Shadowlands (Nascense and Elysium) only adventurers can execute those nanoprograms.

  5. #5
    Also a pro for Keepers, Most if not all auras stack with other professions buffs. Also buffs last an extremely long time, so buffing time is limited, we have no combat nanos

    Con for keepers, Beneficial Aura's are in the same nanoline, so you must choose to use one or the other. Also nanos take FOREVER to cast.
    Last edited by SirNegs; Apr 1st, 2006 at 01:30:08.
    "If you say 'plz' because it's shorter than 'please', I'll say 'no' because it's shorter than 'yes'."


    SirNegs - Neutral Keeper
    Negs - Neutral MP
    Lode - Neutral Doctor

  6. #6
    Nice guide. The only thing I'd add is character creation based on playstyle. If you like to solo a lot, as I do, think long and hard about rolling a Nanomage. Not impossible, but not exactly user friendly for those "oh crap" moments.

  7. #7
    You might want to take out the "Suggested breed" part, most of those seems to follow narrow stereotypes and aren't really very informative.

    You include NT's in the damage dealers, but leave out engineers? You don't seem to count/rate soldiers as tanks very much.

    Although there is a lot of good information here, a lot of it seems rather misleading and non-representative of the reality of that profession.

    Enjoying RK4

    STATUS OF SKY: Not Falling


    Gimp is a state of mind, nerfest is a state of being.

  8. #8

    Reply to Kyai

    "You might want to take out the "Suggested breed" part, most of those seems to follow narrow stereotypes and aren't really very informative.

    You include NT's in the damage dealers, but leave out engineers? You don't seem to count/rate soldiers as tanks very much."


    First Engineers are the best tradeskillers in the game, so I put them in that category. I do agree that Engys are good damage dealers and will try to add them under that category as well. Also, where else could I put NTs but as damage dealers since they are about the only class in the game that can kill 30 hecklers in less than 2 minutes. I also think that soldiers are in the top 3 best tanks, but they are without question one of the best damage dealers in the game. Even shades are hard pressed to beat the Jobe Pistol/ AI SMG combo soldiers at dealing damage at the present time.

    My suggestions about breed are just that suggestions. Feel free to make a nano mage enforcer if you want, but be prepare to visit the reclaim often. Although I have seen 220 nano mage enforcers who are excellent tanks and get the job done very well. However, that takes a considerable degree of skill which takes time to develop and this guide was created to help new players who still have to develop that level of skill. I tried to be open minded about breeds instead of telling everyone what I do when I create alts. I visit the IPS store in Jobe Harbor and look at the toons for each profession who sell you the Jobe armor. It is easy to figure out which professions FunCom feels should be Atrox. I also check out the stats on Tier 3 armor or AI armor I want to use end-game and pick the breed best equipped to wear it. However, that is a truly narrow minded view which I did not share in this guide until now.
    Going Froob!
    If I have been playing since 2003, does that make me a newbie?

  9. #9
    Quote Originally Posted by Nyel
    My suggestions about breed are just that suggestions. Feel free to make a nano mage enforcer if you want, but be prepare to visit the reclaim often. Although I have seen 220 nano mage enforcers who are excellent tanks and get the job done very well. However, that takes a considerable degree of skill which takes time to develop and this guide was created to help new players who still have to develop that level of skill.
    In the late levels, as an enforcer HP disadvantage becomes redundant - the nanomage in question has acquired way too many HP perks, HP items, and other enfo goodies to even care about their 2-3k HP disadvantage.

    I was once teamed with a Nanomage Enforcer on my doctor. He did take harder hits than an Atrox would but I still had no problems keeping him alive, and Challenger/Mongo was no problem to him.

    Excellent guide, by the way. If you could color-code it somehow, somehow make it more organized (it's quite organized already, but some nice way of labeling other than size 2 Verdana) that would be excellent

    If you go to Knowledge Database, Alienchild has written a thread calling for people like you. Your guide sounds like a good applicant for his little site

    - Saetos
    [[ RYUAHN | 220/21 Opifex Trader
    == Proud Member of Core ==
    [[ ALASTROPHE | 220/15 Solitus Martial-Artist

    Quote Originally Posted by Raggy View Post
    There is literally nothing wrong with {Shutdown Skills} in it's current incarnation. What should be being looked at is the reason why it's needed so much. E.g, the incredible amount of Alpha being thrown around and the fickleness of Evade profs.
    Quote Originally Posted by Cratertina View Post
    I walk in to BS... could not perk people... with 3704 AR and 300 AAD drain... NT facerolled me, shade instagibbed me, after a few minutes I just decided not gonna bother.

  10. #10
    I would suggest you solicit a decription from each of the Professional reps.

  11. #11
    Add opifex to engi breed. Its a rather nice choice.

  12. #12
    Bureacrats: I do not like that "Walking XP buff" stuff. That is not what crats are about at all. Crats are about crowd control. One of the best soloing professions and depending on what is available for charming, one of the professions with the biggest damage output. Just because so many crats wear xp pistols and go on /follow does not mean this is what they are about. I know a few crats (below lvl220) that do not have a single +xp perk. And breeds... I guess just about every breed works well, depending on what you like to do. Have seen Atrox crats around lvl200 with hammers calming in pande raids. I guess all breed work out for crats. If you have less nano but more hp, you nuke less and shoot/hit more.

    Engies: "Players will expect Engies to have every tradeskill they want, which is not possible if the Engy is designed for damage output." is wrong. At lower levels (below 150 or so) an engie can OD whole teams because of the pet. Does not even need to attack himself. After that, you have the IP to tradeskill AND do damage. Only thing that does not work is weapon with 2 specials plus all tradeskills plus pvp weapon with AS plus all evades. So, for most higher level engies it is either pvp or tradeskilling, or both but not-so-high pvm damage.

    Shade: Tattoos are more for looks and twinking. Not really good for wearing them in combat. Highest damage and very good in pvp might be true, but later in game (190+?). Early on, damage is not that great and the only thing a shade can hope to kill in pvp is a NT, prolly.

    Generally, I have to disagree about most of the suggested breeds. For shade and MA you suggest Opifex. That is a nice breed, especially for the higher evades, but solitus has some clear advantages as well: much earlier access to endgame armor and the ability to wear higher symbs (only MA ofc) lets them get even, I'd say. If you read the forums, this is a hotly debated topic. I'd at least list soli as well. And atrox, since right now, if you want endgame pvp, atrox is the way to go. Both MA and shade are easier to start with as atrox as well. The additional HP comes in very handy before evades get so high that you can start to rely on them.
    Luuv lvl220/19/67 NM engie equip
    Spamheal lvl205/23 NM doc equip
    You might not believe it possible, but not all my toons are in my signature! *gasp*
    And yes, I always edit my posts.

  13. #13
    Quote Originally Posted by Nyel
    Also, where else could I put NTs but as damage dealers since they are about the only class in the game that can kill 30 hecklers in less than 2 minutes.
    Revelator: There is no FC love that will fix gimpness of the mind

    Warning! If you ever see my use "lol" in any of my posts, I'm not serious!

  14. #14
    ick, NM shouldnt be on the top of ANY list for breed choice, there is absolutely no point in going NM unless your a fr00b. and even then Id think twice abou going NM. there is absolutley no advantage to having green int/psy anymore with SL/AIperks and items. Is it nice? yes, will you have higher ql nanos in then other peopls? well, you will have then about 40% of the other people, but the other 60% will have figured out how to imp something and have the same skills as you. Then you get to endgame and find out that everyone has oodles more Nanoskills needed to cast your best buff twice over (ok exageration but still). I'd rather go Soli/Opi, and maybe in a rare instance Trox for any profession.

    Plus NM just looks fugly. ><



    (on a side note, I might roll a NM toon for a fixed-lvl towerdefense one for the shades and sleeves, but still.......)
    Quote Originally Posted by Chrys View Post
    Halp halp a prof i used too kill with 12345 just pwned me halp

    You hit Bbyron for 1337 points of poison damage.Critical hit!
    Ninjamancer: 215/17 Neutral Opi Agent. (the ubermain) Equip
    Lightwielder: 190/9 Neutral Soli Keeper. (the uberalt)
    Kitsunekid: 60/6 Omni Soli Soldier. (the wtfuberalt) Equip
    Faefighter:Testserver Omni Opi MA. (Crit, Crit, Evade, Splat! )

  15. #15
    Since the aim of your (very nice) guide is to keep things up to date, I'd take out the references to 'Reclaim' since it isn't in the game anymore.

    Apart from that, very cool...

    Bullvine 205 (11) Meta-Physicist
    Fantastical 180 (8) Enforcer
    Medicool 139 (12) Doctor

    Proud Member of Rubi-Ka Bounty Hunters - Join us!

  16. #16
    Quote Originally Posted by Nyel

    Soldiers
    Tab Q is all you have to do. Great damage out put and shields make it an easy toon to learn. Very good first toon.

    PROS: Shadow Lands and Alien Invasion gave soldiers incredible guns that do high damage. Total Mirror Shield makes the solider a great tank for a short time. Very easy toon to learn. Good at killing other players.

    CONS: May have to change gun choices to ensure maximum damage output as you level. Soldiers are so easy to play that they can become boring eventually.
    *cough cough* there is ALOT more to being a good soldier than pressing Q.And I wouldnt recommend a soldier as a first toon.Why? Because soldier weapons are very expensive and the top end nanos are ,too.You will need cash and lots of it to Equip a soldier.
    Tank for a short time? No. A good soldier that knows what he is doing can tank almost as well as an Enfo, and at least as well as an ADV.I use taunts, perks, and tools to manage aggro onto me. Saying just press Q is nowwhere near correct.
    Last edited by Clespert; Apr 4th, 2006 at 17:16:01.
    220/18 Soldier
    Proud member of Peace $ Love, Inc.
    First male solitus soldier to solo 219-220 on Inf med missions
    Retired until FC realizes that Assault rifles with full auto capacity do WAY more damage than pistols

  17. #17
    I agree. Nyel's description of a soldier is a description of a really bad soldier.
    (\_/)
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  18. #18
    Quote Originally Posted by Deunanknute
    I agree. Nyel's description of a soldier is a description of a really bad soldier.
    I wonder what level his soldier is...
    220/18 Soldier
    Proud member of Peace $ Love, Inc.
    First male solitus soldier to solo 219-220 on Inf med missions
    Retired until FC realizes that Assault rifles with full auto capacity do WAY more damage than pistols

  19. #19
    Quote Originally Posted by Clespert
    I wonder what level his soldier is...
    Don't his other profession descriptions sum it up?

    Quote Originally Posted by Nyel
    Bureaucrats
    Walking XP buffs who can turn monsters into pets.
    Nano Technician
    Run around in circles killing 20 monsters at the same time with area of effect damage nanos.

  20. #20
    Quote Originally Posted by Clespert
    Saying just press Q is nowwhere near correct.
    No, you also have to hit Full Auto now and then. And it can be quite easy to get them mixed up...

    Quote Originally Posted by Clespert
    And I wouldn't recommend a soldier as a first toon. Why? Because soldier weapons are very expensive and the top end nanos are, too.
    Seriously though, name me a prof that doesn't have the potential to be a huge money sink... I could replace 'soldier' in that quote with almost any profession, and it would still hold true.

    Bullvine 205 (11) Meta-Physicist
    Fantastical 180 (8) Enforcer
    Medicool 139 (12) Doctor

    Proud Member of Rubi-Ka Bounty Hunters - Join us!

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