Good Beginning class?

[Blackfirey]

<DIV>Hey fellow Swashies, I'm in need of some advice. I'm just starting to play EQ2 coming from a World of Warcraft background. I was wondering if a Swashbuckler might be a good choice. I'd like a profession that is good or decent in DPS and a meele aspect. Also me and my buddies want to be good so Assassin is out of the way for me.  Swashbuckler is an interesting option for me. Now my question is, do you guys think I would regret it for some reason? Such as mabye DPS that doesn't satisfy me or so. All input is appreciated, thanks!</DIV>

[Rahs]

<P>Well, I can only speak from the perspective of a 40th lvl Swashy. I love the class. It is very fun to play and you never get bored playing it. Some of the highlights for me are:</P> <P>- Your dps is awesome - you don't have the burst dps of an assassin or ranger but over a full fight you should be close. Also, your timers reset quicker than an assassin. BTW Kalypso is also a 63rd lvl Alchemist - which means i make my own poisons and sell fighter spells to pay for my armor and scout spells. As a Swashy you might want to consider becoming an alchemist or a jeweler (scout spells).</P> <P>- You can manipulate aggro well. you have a couple CAs that help you drop aggro and a couple CAs that help you get aggro. This is good if you are going to tank at all - yes I have tanked for a few of groups when we could not find a fighter- we are good light tanks and if you keep your armor and weps to the best you can you will be second in line to classic fighter tanks.</P> <P>-  I rarely have trouble getting groups and if I want to solo my Swashy is very good at soloing.</P> <P>- Group invis, sneak, evac rock. You have utility that groups appreciate and will help you solo and explore more than others (all scouts get evac and sneak).</P> <P>- Our AOE CAs rock - we have two of them and you spin in the air when you perform them. One of them knocks all the mobs down in the group and is an awesome graphic.</P> <P>- Anyway, I really like scouts but my Swashy is my main and is probably the funnest character I've played.</P> <P> </P> <P>You definitely won't regret making and playing a Swashbuckler</P>

[AFBi]

<DIV><FONT size=2> <P>These types of questions can never really be answered by anyone other than yourself. However, let me see what I can tell you, and maybe the others can give you there opinion.</P> <P>First, Swashbuckler is a great class, of course that is coming from one. Your DPS is very good, especially on solo encounters. I can take on some groups of 3 at yellow, but anything more than that I’ll have troubles. </P> <P>Another good thing about swashies is that the combat arts are not as expensive. When I was playing a month I found same level combat training scrolls to be percentage much more expensive. When you are just starting out money can be an issue.</P> <P>I love stealth and tracking skills! Being able to pass the critters you don’t wish to fight is huge! And many quests will tell you to go kill a specific type of critter, so tracking is very handy.</P> <P>We are also one of those classes people would like to have in groups, because of some of our skills that can weaken an opponent and because our DPS is very good.</P> <P>We are not the master of anything, well… other than being just dashing! However, we are very good at many things. </P> <P>I started off as a monk, but I bumped into monks everywhere I turned. Since I liked the dual wield aspect I made a swashbuckler. I was thinking of going ranger, but I like melee more than a bow… thus, my swashy was born. This is the only toon I have over level 18 and I’ve only been playing for 3-4 months.</P> <P>Whatever you decide, good luck!</P></FONT></DIV>

[Foolsfolly]

If you want a melee dps class, scout is definately the way to go. The only question is which one. Since you wish to be good, the choice is between Ranger, Swashbuckler, or Bard. Heres the diffrences.Ranger - High burst damage, average damage over timeSwashbuckler - High damage over time, average burst damageBard - Average burst damage, average damage over time, powerful group buffs which greatly increase the damage of your friends.Now if you intend to spend most of your time soloing or grouping, then I would suggest ranger. Those fights are short and the rangers burst skills have time to refresh between fights.If you plan to raid a lot, I would suggest swashbuckler. Those fights last longer and the swashbuckler can maintain good dps through the whole fight.If you plan to both group and raid, and don't mind sacraficing some dps in order to increase your friends dps, then go with a bard.<div></div>

[Snarks]

Hey, I have played a ranger and I think ranger soloing is much more annoying than swashbuckler soloing. A swashbuckler can solo much better from a ranger, atleast from my own personal experience. For the moment there is real no practical reason to play a ranger - they do equivalent if not less damage than a swashbuckler, and the swashbuckler has much more powerful utility and debuffs. I would definitely choose swashbuckler if you want to solo and group, but if you plan on grouping a lot you might want to consider bard. Keep in mind that bards do not a lot of damage with their weapons, but rather through spells. Whichever playstyle you prefer. <div></div>

[Habita]

the last int aa spell made soloing much more comfortable for me <img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /> and if you use the right potions, the mezz can be a mighty weapon against strong solo mobs and adds. <div></div>

[Belizarius]

<P>I only play a swashy by proxy (it's my wife's character), but all I can say is I envy her.</P> <P>She's not a hardcore gamer, but the class has heaps of potential if you want to squeeze the most out of it.  Definitely one of the better classes in the game imho, in terms of fun and usefulness.</P> <P>They have a pretty good AA lineup as well.  If you like the sound of the class, I don't think you will be disappointed.</P>

[Blackfirey]

Thank you all very much for the responses. I found them all very helpful in my decesions on the Swashbuckler. I already started my career as a Swashie and I can say it's a blast. Again, thank you all.

[ZeppelinJ0]

I came to this game from WoW also and went through Brigand and Assassin before ending up as a Swashbuckler, definitely the best choice I've made.Soloing is fun and fairly efficient, not a lot of classes can solo as well as a Swash.  In groups we bring a lot of debuffs to the table and there have been times when I've had to switch to Defensive stance and pull out a shield to tank.  Swashbucklers are very dynamic and can be tailored to do a lot of different things and that's what makes it so much fun.Just last nite I was in a group and we pulled a group of 4 yellows we thought we could take.  The healer wound up going down when three were left, then the tank went down when two were left of the mobs were left in the group but I was able to switch to Defensive stance Cheap Shot-stun, use my Skeleton Sinister Strike and Viscerate to take down one of the last two, then I tanked the final mob a couple of seconds, used my Deaggro-Restealth to release the mob off of me on to the other player left, Shanghai'd and used my positionals, then used my AE Knockback to give us more time to do damage.  We wound up taking out the rest of the encounter with health to spare and it was doable only because of the utility and skills of the Swashbuckler!  Group was very impressed <img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" />Wouldn't change if I was paid to do it!<div></div>