Returning to EQ2? What you might have forgotten - Part 4 : Stances

If you are returning to EverQuest II after several years away, you may remember the broad outlines of your character but have forgotten some of the smaller systems that once formed an important part of everyday combat.

One of those systems is stances.

Stances are combat modes that change the way your character performs. Depending on the class, changing stance can shift your character towards offence, defence or another specialised form of combat.

For a returning player, the important thing to remember is that your character may not always be intended to fight in exactly the same configuration. Choosing the appropriate stance can be part of deciding how you want to approach an encounter.

What Is a Stance?

A stance is an ability that places your character into a particular combat mode.

Unlike a temporary combat ability that you activate for a few seconds, a stance generally remains active until you cancel it or select another stance.

The effects vary by class, but the basic idea is simple: you are choosing which aspect of your character to emphasise.

An offensive stance might improve your ability to deal damage, while a defensive stance might improve your ability to survive attacks or maintain the attention of your enemies.

This means that choosing a stance can be part of preparing for an encounter rather than something you simply ignore once you have selected your character's abilities.

Fighter Stances

Fighters provide perhaps the clearest example of how the system works.

EverQuest II introduced primary offensive and defensive stances for its Fighter subclasses very early in the game's history. The system was subsequently developed further as the game's combat mechanics evolved. :contentReference[oaicite:2]{index=2}

A Fighter who is preparing to tank will generally have very different priorities from one who is concentrating on dealing damage.

Defensive Stance

A defensive stance is designed around survivability and tanking.

Depending on the class, it can improve defensive abilities such as defence, parry, mitigation or avoidance, while also improving the character's ability to generate threat.

The trade-off is that some offensive capabilities can be reduced.

For a Fighter acting as the group's tank, this is usually exactly what you want. Your job is not simply to kill the enemy as quickly as possible. You need to survive the encounter and keep the enemy focused on you rather than on the more vulnerable members of the group.

Modern Fighter abilities continue to demonstrate this distinction. For example, the Berserker's defensive stance increases defensive capabilities and aggression while reducing offensive melee skills. :contentReference[oaicite:3]{index=3}

Offensive Stance

An offensive stance shifts the balance in the other direction.

Instead of concentrating on maximum survivability and threat generation, the stance is designed to improve offensive performance.

This can make an offensive stance useful when playing solo, when another character is performing the tanking role, or when the encounter does not require you to concentrate on maximum defensive capability.

For a Fighter, therefore, the question is not simply “Which stance is best?”

The better question is:

“What am I trying to do in this fight?”

Beastlord Stances

Beastlords provide another interesting example because their stances are closely connected with the distinctive mechanics of the class.

Feral Stance is the Beastlord's offensive stance. It improves offensive combat skills and allows the Beastlord to use Feral abilities, while also interacting with the class's Primal abilities. :contentReference[oaicite:4]{index=4}

This makes Feral Stance particularly appropriate when the Beastlord is concentrating on damage.

The Beastlord also has a contrasting Spiritual Stance, which provides a different set of abilities and is intended for a more supportive style of play.

The important lesson for a returning player is that Beastlord stances are not simply generic versions of Fighter offensive and defensive stances. They are tied more closely to the Beastlord's own class mechanics and the abilities available to the character.

Stances Are Class-Specific

This is an important point to remember.

There is no single universal stance system that works identically for every class.

Fighters, for example, use stances as part of the distinction between offensive and defensive combat roles. Beastlords have their own stance system connected to Feral and Spiritual abilities.

Other classes may have abilities that use the word “stance” without functioning in exactly the same way.

So if you are returning to an old character, the best thing to do is look at the abilities available to your particular class rather than assuming that every class uses stances in the same way.

When Should You Change Stance?

One of the easiest mistakes a returning player can make is to choose a stance and then forget about it.

Your preferred stance should depend on what you are doing.

Situation	General approach
Soloing	An offensive stance may help you defeat enemies more quickly.
Tanking	A defensive stance will generally be more appropriate.
Grouping as DPS	An offensive stance may be preferable when another Fighter is tanking.
Particularly difficult encounters	A defensive or more survivable stance may be more useful.

These are general principles rather than absolute rules. The exact effects depend on your class, abilities and the current state of the game.

Don't Be Afraid to Experiment

If you are returning to EQ2, it is worth taking a few minutes to examine your stance abilities rather than simply accepting whichever one happens to be active.

Read the descriptions.

Look at what statistics and abilities they modify.

Then try them in an ordinary fight.

You may find that the difference is much more significant than you remembered.

The Origins of the System

Stances are also a good reminder of just how old some of EverQuest II's combat concepts are.

The game's September 2005 combat update specifically introduced primary offensive and defensive stances for all Fighter subclasses, with Monks and Bruisers also receiving an additional stance that combined elements of the two. :contentReference[oaicite:5]{index=5}

The system subsequently evolved. Later combat revisions made stances more meaningful by incorporating other buffs and class mechanics into them, particularly for Fighters. :contentReference[oaicite:6]{index=6}

So when you encounter the stance system today, you are seeing the continuation of a combat mechanic that has been part of EverQuest II for most of its history.

Another Thing You Might Have Forgotten

Stances are easy to overlook because they are not necessarily something you use constantly.

You select one, begin fighting and may go for quite some time without thinking about it again.

But when you understand what your stance is doing, it becomes another tool for adapting your character to the situation.

If you are returning to EverQuest II, take a moment to look through your stance abilities. You may discover that your character has considerably more flexibility than you remembered.

And that is another thing you might have forgotten.