What rotation should I use? Leveling!

[xPrescriptionX]

I am leveling a Mistrel and not really sure how to use her spells as she levels.. could someone explain how to fight with them while questing.. ?

=x

[Mines_of_Moria]

If you've gotten to level 20, start out by using Ballad of Resonance (increased tactical damage) then use TEoB (for the -resist rating). Then use your WS skills/Piercing Cry followed by ballads until your WS skills are back up or the mob is dead.

Pre-20, use Resonance and EoB first, followed by Piercing Cry and the other ballads.

[romoen]

Here's some tips I wrote in another thread for a new minstrel and explains a bit about your Ballads:

Best advice for you is going to be just take 5-10 minutes and read in depth each of your skills. Minstrels skills function slightly different than other classes as our damaging attacks tend to have a lot more to do with the buff they provide us instead of the base damage. We have 4 tiers, which you can see visually with the number of music notes on the icon. You need a tier 1 skill to be used before opening a 2, etc.

At your level, I would recommend using all your skills as you have traits to work toward. However, the most crutial for the actual fight you'll find to be Ballad of Resonance, Ballad of Steel and Ballad of War. But remember, as you don't have that many skills to choose from currently and you'll want to work up all your traits, just hit them all.

Breakdown of your Ballads at Level 10:
Ballad of Vigour (1 - Tier 1): Increases your vitality.
Ballad of Swiftness (1 - Tier 2): Increases your attack speed.
Ballad of Steel (4 - Tier 1): Increases your armour.
Ballad of Resonance (8 - Tier 1): Increases your tactical damage.

Ballad of War (6 - Tier 3): Increases your melee damage.
Ballad of Unshakeable Will (8 - Tier 3): Increases your fear resistance.

Focus for Level 1 - 20:
By the time you reach level 8, you've gotten all your basic staple Ballads (save for 1), the most important for a solo Minstrel being Ballad of Resonance due to the fact it increases your damage output by 10%.

Generally speaking I would recommend starting with a Piercing Cry (long cooldown) and then alternating Ballad 1, then 2, then 1 then 2 going back to the Piercing Cry every time it's available. Your melee skills aren't going to be that strong, but Herald's Strike can hit rather hard should you crit.

At level 10 you can increase your damage output a bit more with the Drum Use ability. Once you're level 12, you receive a great Minstrel solo tool in Cry of the Valar. Being able to fear a second mob, or just fearing your target so you have some space to breathe and heal yourself up is invaluable. Then lastly, when you're 15, complete your class quest and you'll be rewarded with Medium Armour-use. At that low of level, you have room in your traits for the benefits of this one allowing you to mitigate more damage (take less damage) as well as opens up your options for some really great quest reward items.

[Arrowyx]

Here's some tips I wrote in another thread for a new minstrel and explains a bit about your Ballads:

To add on to what Ophelia wrote. Once you hit 22 you get one of your bread and butter damage skills in Call of Orome. This will be a priority skill, use it every time its off cooldown because the light defense debuff makes all of your skills do more damage on the target. I tend to use this order: Timeless Echoes of Battle, Ballad of Resonance, Call of Orome, Piercing Cry, then tier up to anthems and blast the mob with Anthem of the Valar though you wont get that particular skill until level 40. Anthem of the Valar combined with 4 Warrior-skald traits and the Battle-hymn trait will give you a powerful damage skill that doesn't cost a lot, has an ok recharge (30 seconds), and gives you a pretty large buff to your in-combat morale regen (the same amount as you would get from Anthem of the Free Peoples). That buff combined with your naturally high in-combat regen (due to Fate stacking) means you wont have to worry about healing yourself unless you get in over your head and pull a few too many mobs.

To make this a bit easier to understand I'll post my skillbar setup.


My order would be E, 3, G, 2, 4, 5, R and then go from there. My other ballads are right above the 3 I normally use so they're easy to reach if I get a resist and need to tier up. Clever use of Song of Distraction (8) can turn a 3 mob pull into a single mob pull. Noble Cause (9) used with Herald's Hammer (1) lets you pump out a quick burst of melee damage and heal yourself a bit at the same time.

[Frieja]

Noble's Cause (9) used with Herald's Hammer (1) lets you pump out a quick burst of melee damage and heal yourself at the same time though the heal will be affected by War-speech so I try not to use it unless War-speech is toggled off.

I could've sworn the Noble Cause/Herald's Hammer heal was NOT affected by War-speech. I'll have to check this out later when I have time to play.

[Arrowyx]

I could've sworn the Noble Cause/Herald's Hammer heal was NOT affected by War-speech. I'll have to check this out later when I have time to play.

Seems it's not although its been a while since I played my minstrel. I seem to remember it used to be and that the heal was larger than it is now.

[Graythandor]

I tend to use this order: Timeless Echoes of Battle, Ballad of Resonance, Call of Orome, Piercing Cry, then tier up to anthems and blast the mob with Anthem of the Valar

^^This. Also, though, remember to keep an eye on your deeds list and work in whatever skills you need to execute 10 bazillion times to earn your class traits.

[Linnaeus]

I am leveling a Mistrel and not really sure how to use her spells as she levels.. could someone explain how to fight with them while questing.. ?

=x

Here's mine at higher levels - the order's the same, just take out the skills you don't have.

Skill Rotation:
Ballad of Resonance, Echos of Battle, Piercing Cry, Ballad of Steel, Call to Fate, Call of Orome, Call to the Second Age, Ballad of Resonance, Ballad of Steel, Ballad of Vigour, Ballad of Ballance, Ballad of Swiftness, Ballad of the Stout, Ballad of War, and then Herald's Strike if the mob(s) are even alive by this point.

Honestly I don't use Anthem of the Freeps much, but soemtimes after Call to the Second Age I will jump ahead to a tier 2, then to a tier 3 just to hit either Anthem of the Valar of Anthem of the Wizards depending on what I need.