Hey y'all! Just curious, what are the most needed classes based on your experience when it comes to late game bossing and whatnot? I'm about to create a new character and was curious as to which ones people usually lack during parties and boss runs. Thanks! DISCLAIMER: I'm not asking about the strongest class. Please don't vote based on which class you think deals the highest DPS.
Honestly it comes down to your needs and goals, like when I would make mules on GMS back in the day I always made support classes since it was easy to fulfill many roles, kinda like a jack of all trades and a master of none.
SE is just too broken on an NL. + their hurricane DPS is very respectable. NL is worse than PALADINS in SINGLE TARGET DPS without SE (56% weaker assuming average RNG over time with crits) without SE. I almost voted for hero as their role in hitting 3 ht or zak arms is also very crucial in reducing boss kill time + single target is also decent.
Snipe hits through cancel wep attack, and he said late game AND bossing. MM are infinitely more suited for late game training spots than BM are. Hello freeze and pierce.
unfortunately for MM, the difference between strafe and hurricane is too much for snipes during cancel weap att to catch up to BM.
First of all, we have to define what late game bossing is. Anyone at or above level 135 can join Krex and Zak runs and anyone at or above level 155 can (technically) join HT runs, so I'm assuming that you're thinking of late game in terms of late game funding. Having a perfect weapon, 22+ att glove, 15+ att cape, 10+ att shoe, HP washed, and so on. I'm terming this late game, having about 50 att in cape, glove, and shoe. But there's also very late game funding, where people have 60 or more att in cape, glove and shoe. Do make note that I only play bishop. I do not have an attacker myself. My knowledge comes from playing the bishop role in various boss runs and also just talking to friends and acquaintances. But, with that said, here are my thoughts. Solo gameplay classes are IL AMs, FP AMs, shadowers, and paladins. You will not be taken on a boss run unless friends want to take you just to have fun together. These classes are not viable bossing characters. It's possible you may get taken on Krex and Zak runs, but you will virtually never be taken on a HT run. For all bosses, the most needed class is bishop. HS is always needed. But many people at late game have HS mules or their own bishops they can dual client to fulfill the bishop role. The people I know never ask for a bishop for their Krex and Zak runs. They or their bossing partner(s) have HS mules or bishops to bring with them. I have only been asked to come to Krex to loot the ring by my friends, and I have never been asked to come to Zak. As far as HT, bishop is an essential role. It's very unlikely you will go to HT as a bishop unless you're experienced and you learn how to do it well. You must keep the sed mule alive, HS all party members when body parts are about to die (VERY hard now without ~bosshp I imagine), and that's only at the bare minimum. Next up is SE. BM are preferred over MM because BM have higher DPS. Contrary to popular opinion, BM and MM are not just SE mules. A very strong BM can outdamage above average NLs. I remember a certain BM, probably at or just below 9k range, whiting a very good NL who was probably a 7.5k range or so at the time. So don't write off BMs and MMs as just SE mules. They are indeed attackers and they are expected to use apples when the other attackers are using them. HP washing is recommended, but SE is so essential that people may be willing to organize HB for you. Then there's NLs. The highest DPS class and the main attackers of any boss run. To HT, you really should wash to at least 9.1k HP clean. HB is rarely available, and people would rather take a hero over a DrK on a HT run. Boss run organizers are also highly discriminatory in selecting NLs for runs. The strongest will always be preferred. It's a highly competitive class. Having 6k range as a NL at late game isn't going to cut it. Sairs actually have higher DPS than NLs with SE and SI against a brick wall. But they fall to the second highest DPS ranking when up against actual bosses due to their low avoidability and low mobility. There are very few good sairs around, and they're rarely asked for for that reason. But sairs are just fine in place of NLs. They do have lower DPS than NLs because of their hit rate, but they are comparable. You should know how to manage your ship effectively and wash to at least 9.1k HP for HT. Next are heroes. Having the multiple target hits with Brandish help significantly at Zak during the Zak arms and at HT during wings. In fact, the ideal HT party has one hero (assuming the hero is the sed mule) to DPS at main body. Heroes are also preferred over DrKs at HT because heroes have Power Guard which reduces incoming damage, including 1/1s, and can therefore be sed mules with far more effectiveness. DrKs also have multiple target hits for Zak arms and HT wings, but they're far less effective sed mules at HT. In general, DrKs are less desirable than heroes at HT runs, but DrKs have higher DPS than heroes, as explained in my post here: https://royals.ms/forum/threads/hero-vs-drk.93473/#post-504302. HB is desirable but not strictly necessary for bossing runs. It's also very rare to find a good DrK. A DrK comparable to a good hero would have a perfect Sky Ski (with some variance because perfect Sky Skis are just so rare), and know how to manage their Zerking HP, which usually means having 30k HP with HB. Finally, we have buccs. A slow but heavy hitting class whose selling point is SI. Sairs, heroes, and DrKs have much higher DPS with SI, but buccs themselves aren't much desired for their own damage output. You will be expected to apple when other attackers apple even though your role is unfortunately more akin to that of a mule. You are still an attacker though, and you still count! Buccs aren't wanted much on boss runs though. The standard for their att gear is higher than other classes, because of their inherently lower damage output. Even so, their gameplay is unique and fun to the ones I know, so it's worth consideration for maining. Now it's important to note that people can and do multiclient SE and SI like they do for HS. People having party buff mules becomes more and more common with later and later gameplay. And the criteria for organizing boss runs becomes who has the highest damage, who can multiclient on needed roles. By the end of last year, the very strongest players were trio HTing. Three people DPSing on three NLs, with multiclienting bishop, SE, hero for the sed mule, and even HB. And on my buddy list, I just see people asking if people want to Krex and Zak without much regard at all for what classes people want to play on the run since roles can be multicliented without any problem. The point is that it's not really about what class you play at late game bossing. It's about what you contribute to the boss run in terms of DPS and multiclienting needed roles, but, above all, who you know. To boss and have fun in this game in general, you need friends. To me and I venture to say to many if not most of the people I know, at this stage in the game, it's more about having fun with people we enjoy spending time with since we can all carry our own weight just fine. It's genuinely more fun to carry a noob friend in a boss run and help them out rather than take a random pro. So, in conclusion, what is always needed at late game for boss runs is just... friends. Sounds cheesy, but it's very true. That is the most valuable information I could have given you.
Imagine trying to kill Horntail without SE - All of your NLs immediately become useless. Based on my experience in every boss run, the worst situation that could happen if the BM/MM Died/DCED. In a case where one of your attackers are gone (one of your NLs/Corsairs), you still have the others. Therefore it won't affect as much. The Bishop is gone, meh, less EXP but it's still alright cause at least you can finish the boss in a reasonable time and take the money. One of your warriors die, Yeah it might take significantly more time during HT body, but at any other phase of the other bosses, it's still not as bad. Buccaneer dies (assuming you have one), you could still manage to kill any boss since SI is not as significant unless your run is warrior based (Or in case your primary damage dealer is the warrior, which doesn't happen too often). SE however, affects your kill time so much. It doesn't matter on which phase of the run the SE disappeared; it will increase the kill time from that point on by about x2 or more. Exposing you to dangers like running out of pots, dcing because of a very long kill time, or dying because of it therefore not being able to finish the boss run.
The worst situation on a HT run is if the bishop dies or dcs. Completing a HT run without the bishop is entirely dependent on luck. Sed can and will kill even 30k HP heroes with PG. Once the warriors have died or dced, every other class can easily be 1/1'd and hit, resulting in instant death. And SE increases NL DPS by 1.5x, and the DPS of other classes by a lesser percentage I cannot recall.
What you are saying tho, only applies to HT, while we are talking about bossing in general here. Bishops are not as crucial in other bosses.
