Indecision

[izopyn]

Hey Howdy Hey-Hi

I'm having some difficulty in deciding which class to play, and I'd appreciate your input.

Regarding my history playing on Live...

I've played every class past 20, so I have a fairly good knowledge of how they behaved in "the Game".

I played a Chanter to 60 back before PoP, and enjoyed the class.

I recently played a Bard to 54 on the Combine server and enjoyed it, probably my favourite class.

I understand that there are a crap-ton of Bards on SoD... so I'm looking for something else.

I don't like playing healing classes. I don't like Mages or Beastlords. I don't like straight-melee classes. I want to be able to solo, but also want to be valuable in a group.

My understanding of experience gain on this server is as follows... when soloing, light blues give the same xp as whites. When duoing, you get 50% xp from each mob you kill. Am I correct?

If this is true, than I'd rather not 2box, as it does not seem to be very advantageous over soloing and I do not know SoD enough to take full advantage of it.

This brings the choices to.......

- Enchanter (Dark Elf)
- Wizard (Gnome, Froglok or Dark Elf)
- Bard (Half Elf)
- Necro (Gnome or Iksar)
- Ranger (Wood Elf or Halfling)
- Paladin (Froglok or Dwarf)

1) Are there many Chanters? Have they changed from Live? Have you found Charm-soloing to be more or less feasible? Are factions as important as they were in Live? Are there any lucrative quests that require you to use illusions, vis-a-vis the Stein of Moggok? Is the Scaled Wolf illusion in SoD? Are there any new illusions added?
2) Is there any sort of PoK type place or translocation? If not, I might decide to play a Wizard for transportation purposes.
3) In Live, I found Necros to be near-useless for 50-60 grouping... is this the case in SoD? How are they for raiding?

That should be sufficient to make my choice. Thank you for any feedback you may have!

 

[Manluas]

Just a little input I can give you:

Various classes have changed from live so you might want to just test them all out - unless you say you don't like them anyways. Leveling goes quite fast here so it shouldn't take you too long.

When playing an "appropriate" solo class (Necro, druid, ranger, bard for example) you can solo most everything that is dark blue to you and doesn't summon. I wouldn't suggest trying even cons on the upper levels for they're quite hard. Grouping is still a valid option over soloing no matter how good you are unless the group goes to a place where you get less XP (don't bother with it until the very high end).
Sidenote: Wizards can solo quite well when they get there snare, just not as good as the ones I mentioned above.

2boxing isn't the worst solution especially if you're aiming for the the 65+ game - if you box the right classes it will open up a lot of alternatives for farming/soloing where you couldn't got solo.

I don't know too much about enchanters but charm-soloing has been changed so charm pets aren't crazy overpowered - will leave that to TM or so since they know a ton more about it.

We DO have the Mansion of portals which connects 11 (might be 12) zones but traveling isn't too hard even as if you aren't a wizard or a druid for you can accquire gate necks to most cities rather easy (most require simple factioning, some a little more work).


People have ood opinions about necros but they are far away from being useless. They solo pretty good, have some kickass DPS even on raids and are useful Crowd Control and pullers even in the higher end grouping. Definitely not the worst choice - there have been some more Necros on the server lately.



I hope this helps you a bit and gives you a rough idea about what to chose/do.

 

[izopyn]

Thanks so much for the input Manluas,

I think I will end up testing out every class before I get any to 30; I tend to get bored of playing one quickly.

I have a few requests for elaboration from your input, if you're cool with that.

You mentioned Ranger as a powerful solo class... I've only played Ranger pre-PoP so I don't know the class very well. Do they just solo by kiting via snare and arrows? How does this compare to Druidic kiting?

I probably will never make it past 40 or perhaps 50 in SoD; I'm a very casual player and I'm also playing TF2 and LotRO right now, in addition to working and being a full-time University student with an active social life- so the end-game benefits of 2boxing wouldn't apply for me. That being said, I might try out Chanter/Druid and/or Necro/Druid up to 15 or 20, just for a change or with friends.

Could you tell me a little more about Gate Necklaces? What level do you need to be to acquire them? How do they work, and how often can you use them? Can any class equip them? A hybrid class such as a Bard or a Ranger would be a more attractive option for me if they had cheap access to gate.

In regard to the number of people playing whatever classes... I'd greatly appreciate enlightenment on the following criteria from you or anyone else that can provide it.

Let's assume that Bard is the most-played class on SoD, as appears from what I've read. If we said that Bards accounted for 100 parts of SoD players, how many parts would be made up by...

Enchanters?
Necromancers?
Direct Damage? (Wizards, Mages, Rogues, Monks, Rangers)
Clerics?

What advantage, in terms of grouping, do Rangers have over Wizards as DPS/DD?

Thanks again for your input and in advance for any more feedback that you can provide.

Cheers.

 

[Faelus]

Could you tell me a little more about Gate Necklaces? What level do you need to be to acquire them? How do they work, and how often can you use them? Can any class equip them? A hybrid class such as a Bard or a Ranger would be a more attractive option for me if they had cheap access to gate.

In regard to the number of people playing whatever classes... I'd greatly appreciate enlightenment on the following criteria from you or anyone else that can provide it.

Let's assume that Bard is the most-played class on SoD, as appears from what I've read. If we said that Bards accounted for 100 parts of SoD players, how many parts would be made up by...

Enchanters?
Necromancers?
Direct Damage? (Wizards, Mages, Rogues, Monks, Rangers)
Clerics?

What advantage, in terms of grouping, do Rangers have over Wizards as DPS/DD?

Gate necks - Most are obtained by having ally faction with their respective cities. Deity necks to planes (only able to get one, as you cannot swear to more than one deity) only require that you swear. Several of these are not working as the plane they would take you to is not available. And then there are others that are available as rewards for quests. All said, they are fairly obtainable.

As for classes - Monks and Rangers seem to be a pretty heavily played class. Although this is mostly because of their ability to solo, as compared to a Rogue or Warrior. Wiz/Enc/Necro, I cant tell you how many of those are around, but Id have to say enchanters seem to be the least played of the three.

Rangers over Wizards in grouping - They have lower dps than wizards. But they also have far less need for mana. You also have some lesser hp buffs that are ok if you have no clr/dru, and some damage shields and stat buffs. Rangers get several of the same spells as druids as far as heals, and buffs, but they get them at a later level. As for ranger soloing - bow kiting is a very effective soloing tool, more so at higher levels with the Returning Shot aa, so you dont burn through so many arrows.

 

[calaran]

You mentioned Ranger as a powerful solo class... I've only played Ranger pre-PoP so I don't know the class very well. Do they just solo by kiting via snare and arrows? How does this compare to Druidic kiting?

Yep, bow kiting. As far as Druids and the difference... I would say that Druids more often root/DoT or perhaps do charm kiting with animals. I soloed a ranger from like 1-14 in 1 or 2 short play sessions because I could pull anything yellow or if I KNEW it was just 1 level into Red, and I could kill them without them ever touching me. With a SoW-bot, I could even kill things I couldn't stick snare on. Druids will be more dependent upon not getting resisted, but have a lot more utility.

I probably will never make it past 40 or perhaps 50 in SoD; I'm a very casual player and I'm also playing TF2 and LotRO right now, in addition to working and being a full-time University student with an active social life- so the end-game benefits of 2boxing wouldn't apply for me. That being said, I might try out Chanter/Druid and/or Necro/Druid up to 15 or 20, just for a change or with friends.

Could you tell me a little more about Gate Necklaces? What level do you need to be to acquire them? How do they work, and how often can you use them? Can any class equip them? A hybrid class such as a Bard or a Ranger would be a more attractive option for me if they had cheap access to gate.

People have already answered ya about the gate necks like how you can get them. Yes, anyone can use them. I don't know if I would consider it 'cheap' access... monetarily free, but depending upon some other choices, it may take a while to farm the faction. As a Necro, I did a series of quests that can be done by level 20 to get a Gate to the Necro guild in the Newport (Qeynos) sewers. That was very easy, free, etc.

In regard to the number of people playing whatever classes... I'd greatly appreciate enlightenment on the following criteria from you or anyone else that can provide it.

Let's assume that Bard is the most-played class on SoD, as appears from what I've read. If we said that Bards accounted for 100 parts of SoD players, how many parts would be made up by...

Enchanters?
Necromancers?
Direct Damage? (Wizards, Mages, Rogues, Monks, Rangers)
Clerics?

I don't know that Bards are the most-played class... certainly not what I've seen. It has seemed to me that, at least in the lower levels (1-40) monk/healer duos and rogues seem to be a dime a dozen. Necros seem popular too. Maybe I've not seen Bards because they're soloing and not lfg... But I don't really feel that there is a class that REALLY accounts for a much higher % than other classes... My guess would be if Bards = 100, then other classes you listed would mostly be in the 70-130 range.. Enchanters are more rare than others... Main-played Clerics are almost unheard of (and if someone does main play a cleric and only a cleric, they tend to kill themselves shortly after level 65, heh).

For the most part I've run into the soloing classes and the best duos. So that means mnk+shm, mnk+dru, shd+shm, shd+dru, mages, necros and for some reason Rogues.. lots of rogues... that's what I've seen at the low levels at least. I haven't seen many BSTs, only a couple Bards (again, they're prolly off running in circles somewhere), few if any rangers, a couple pallies... etc. This is ONLY talking about what classes I've seen in my level range that have been looking for/joining up in a group. If you are aiming at 40-50 as your end game, I've only made it to 37, so I'm probably a decently accurate measuring stick for what's around and grouping in the 1-40 range.

What advantage, in terms of grouping, do Rangers have over Wizards as DPS/DD?

As someone else said... no mana needed to play a Ranger and do damage. That said, be aware that Ranger is a very unfriendly 2boxing class... You have to button mash your range attack if using ranged to do damage, which as I understand it, you'll want to. So, unless your other class is a VERY no-interaction class (cleric for instance, with a:
/stand
/cast 1
/sit,pause ##

macro, and you just kite circles around him and use him to heal when you take damage, it would be tough to manage another class at all and do decent dps.

 

[GuiardoTuneweaver]

One note about bards that I don't think anyone has brought up... they are VERY different here than they were on live. You can sing up to 2 beneficial songs automatically (no twisting), and one (without twisting) or two (with twisting) detrimental songs at any one time. You can't mix and match the 4 by twisting like you could on live. Bard detrimental aoes are much more limited here (hit a maximum of 3? IIRC), so swarm kiting isn't as effective. For charm kiting (and this applies to all charms, not just bard), when a charmed mob breaks charm, it is fully healed again, so that's not as effective as it was on live.

While the changes make you less likely to get carpal tunnel syndrome, I find they make bards much less challenging to play here, and there's much less of a gap between good bards and bad bards (at both extremes).

 

[calaran]

.... While the changes make you less likely to get carpal tunnel syndrome, I find they make bards much less challenging to play here, and there's much less of a gap between good bards and bad bards (at both extremes).

Yeah, I <hinted> at this but didn't explicitly state it in another thread. My main and only character of substantial size on Live was a Bard... I loved the class. I spent all my time reading EQDiva, practicing the various kiting methods, and prided myself on being able to pull AND do cc while maintaining the requested beneficial songs for my group in the higher level LDoN's. I remember it always being a pride issue when it came to how many songs you could keep constantly twisted and in effect.

I LOVED playing my bard... I loved AE kiting all of Dulak or Gunthak... I loved chant-kiting giants for cash. I LOVED (this is BY FAR my favorite part of barding on live) grouping and raiding... because being a good bard (I'd say I was good, not exceptional) made you well-known on whatever tier you were on for groups. Being an exceptional bard made you well-known server-wide. Where a cleric could be reduced to a button-mash-fest, Bards tortured the player with high-maintenance needs and constant interaction but if you could play it the way it was designed, you could acceptably fill 2-3 roles in a group at the same time which was something no other class could do.

I played a Bard here up to 8. I realized that I was going to be relegated to putting the 2 bene's people wanted into a melody and then basically just meleeing while POTENTIALLY twisting 2 detrimentals... and anyone could do that and keep it going; to me, that sounded not only somewhat boring, but... other than gear, you can't really be a 'good' or 'exceptional' bard here... at least from what I could tell.

 

[Ykari07]

Main-played Clerics are almost unheard of (and if someone does main play a cleric and only a cleric, they tend to kill themselves shortly after level 65, heh).

Lies and slander. Sure, everyone has alts. But I love playing a cleric and I can't box for shit.

Regarding gate necks : If you're a necro, there's 2 gate necks you can probably get with limited effort. The Newport sewers neck and the Grobb gate neck which requires no factioning, just killing 4 particular mobs. That's the instant (sorta) ability to get from one end of the continent to the other. You can also get a Rivervale neck with a compentant mid 40s group at lowest.

Let's assume that Bard is the most-played class on SoD, as appears from what I've read. If we said that Bards accounted for 100 parts of SoD players, how many parts would be made up by...

Enchanters?
Necromancers?
Direct Damage? (Wizards, Mages, Rogues, Monks, Rangers)
Clerics?

Well first of all, I don't think there's that many bards. Second of all, I personally find enchanters to be in rather low numbers. This may be because bards and necros are fully capable of playing the CC in groups, or maybe they just aren't popular. I dont know. I don't play one.

Necro's are popular and fairly common and frankly any idiot can get one to 65. A good necro is well worth it though. They're underrated in raids since you can't see the DPS they do, but they're pretty nasty damage.

Rogues are weirdly uncommon, mages are unpopular, wizards are nice but fairly common, rangers are a dime a dozen, and while monks are rampant, a GOOD monk is totally different story. Clerics aren't very rare or at least not as supremely valuable as they were on Live. A druid can easily fill in the cleric spot in a group, even at higher levels. Being a cleric is no longer a guaranteed way to get a group. It helps though.

 

[Spiritplx]

when a charmed mob breaks charm, it is fully healed again, so that's not as effective as it was on live.

I have never seen this happen. Are you sure it is still like this?

 

[izopyn]

Thank you everyone for the very helpful feedback.

I think that at this point I'm leaning toward Necro or Chanter as my main... and I just have two more questions to come to a more conclusive position.

In regard to Enchanters...

(From the OP) Have they changed from Live? Have you found Charm-soloing to be more or less feasible? Are factions as important as they were in Live? Are there any lucrative quests that require you to use illusions, vis-a-vis the Stein of Moggok? Is the Scaled Wolf illusion in SoD? Are there any new illusions added?

When you say that Bards and Necros are capable of CC... do you mean in raiding, or in general? I think Bards get their first mez around 24 but don't Necros have to wait until 52ish? Has the Necro mez seen improvement from Live? (I remember it being pretty unreliable when playing my Bard).

Thanks again for all your helpful feedback.

 

[Manluas]

When you say that Bards and Necros are capable of CC... do you mean in raiding, or in general? I think Bards get their first mez around 24 but don't Necros have to wait until 52ish? Has the Necro mez seen improvement from Live? (I remember it being pretty unreliable when playing my Bard).

In general - Necros get their first mez at 24 as well, another in their 50ies and the last one at 65. They can do a decent CC job in most grouping situations, even at upper end to high end content.
Necro mezzes are sufficient, even in the lower raid game but they lose this ability completely after a certain tier. Their mainjob is DPS, their CC is just a handy addition that will ease up your grouping a lot.

 

[Tegumiril]

How are plate tanks regarded? Warriors/SK/Paladins?

On Live it varied, sometimes we were in high demand, at other times, we were a dime a dozen and not terribly valued in groups.

 

[Spiritplx]

How are plate tanks regarded? Warriors/SK/Paladins?

On Live it varied, sometimes we were in high demand, at other times, we were a dime a dozen and not terribly valued in groups.

The only reason I solo so much is because I can never find a tank to group with.

 

[Tegumiril]

Well thats hopeful.