I think you GUYS dont understand...
FULL TANKER!
so NO caster. no sorc no caba no theurg.
Friar/cleric 2x minstrel (like 2x BARD and i am SURE!!!! THE bards STRONGER in same setup in hib for example) +4 tanks.
You can play this setup, it works and it is viable, but it is not easy to be played well with a pug, you need a set grp for this - however it lacks disease and ichor for chase/catch, so it relies on minstrels catching and it needs minstrels to demezz, who cast as slow as bards or healers demezzing, which is why we see so much more success if groups add a sm/menta/sorc for the fast caster demezzes + quickcast demezz.
Also it lacks pbt = your tanks can be peeled much easier.
Also it lacks the incredible utility a sorc brings to the group (aoe d/q and str/c debuff, 2300 range amnesia, boltrange mezz).
The main reason why noone plays double minstrel is not the lack of aoemezz, but the power of sorc and theurg.
If you want to see alb fulltankers sorc and theurg would have to be drastically nerfed - a bad idea imo.
- albs no disease like mids/hibs
on Phoenix only mid has reliable disease for a fulltanker - hib has a 15% procchance for a 30s disease on vw, what a joke
even if you go allin on aboreal you get a 20% chance for 30s disease and then have abyssmal parry to be easily destroyed by any tank train.
- albs no root like mids/hibs
true, but would you rly want to root anyone if you run 7 grpmembers with melee snares?
- no instant aoe/single mezz
true
- no bubble like hibs
Well yes, but mid also has to bring a rm to have pbt in a melee grp - and theurg is the pbt source all 3 realms would choose if they could.
maybe anyone can explain me why the setup in alb then is more OP as in Hib/mid..
Because of theurg/sorc mostly. - Sorc is the highest utility cc class in the game and can do significant dps - theurg is the strongest pbt class that can do significant dps.
Theurg also currently has a balancing flaw: Earthpets can not be resisted, but they have a resistrate vs enemy spells = it takes more effort to kill, than to summon them.
The earthpets also often have slightly more HP than a basenuke does dmg = even more effort to kill them - and they often take more than 1 2h/spear hit to die = even more effort to kill them vs the summoning cost.
Alb tanker has 3 main win conditions, where they outshine most or all other setups:
1) overwhelming rupt pressure (earthpets+sorc+tanks+minst and sorc pet)
2) alb has the easiest remezz wincondition with the sorcs range for both mezz and demezz (from amnesia range it is easy to stay save)
3) outlasting the enemy grp with the passive healing of their healprocs and the general studiness of the grp
Its still worse setup as hibs/mids because the utility from supporter in midgard/hibernia is completle totaly op.
No class in daoc reaches the utility of a sorc. The closest to it is the healer, but he lacks castspeed and quickcast to come even with sorc.
Druid is almost as low in utility as cleric. Bard and minst, while being slightly different in their role are both very strong ruptmachines and very comparable in power for a melee group.
Having all the utility on a few classes like alb/mid holds the advantage that you only need 2-3 exceptional players to make a group work well, while the spread utility in hib makes it so you need decent to good players on almost every role (probably the main reason, why alb and mid have a lot better 8man pug scene than hib).
It also holds the disadvantage that you are not very flexible in building lineups.
- All that said i would be ok with the minstrel aoemezz going down to 3.0 casttime at the current duration, so it is a viable play with a upside (landing cc that lasts 30s-resist = enough for a play vs enemy suporters/casters) and a downside (= being shorter than main CC mezz and being something you don't rly want to land on det tanks) same as eld or sm mezz.
However regarding the powerlevel of alb tanker theurg sorc i think it should be probably looked at earthpets in the same patch.
My suggestion here is: at least -10% earthpet HP and resistrate vs spells to 0%.