what inspired your main's race/class combination?

[Albertine842]

<p><span style="color: #996600"><u>I'm jumpin' from toe to toe</u> trying to decide on a race/class that gets me through the game...how did you decide on yours?  what sparked it?  RP value?  Kickass value?  Run speed value?  Group mentality?  Livid stay-at-home lifestyle?  DPS value? </span></p><p><span style="color: #996600">I've tried a bunch up to 15-20...they just get stale after a while...maybe I should have the doctor check me for ADD, and pay a vagrant to throw a yellow ball until I get tired.<img src="/smilies/69934afc394145350659cd7add244ca9.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /></span></p><p><span style="color: #996600"> (i'd like to know mostly from casual gamers who don't play all the time, <b>what class did you find worked the best to get through all aspects of the game with the most fun/progression ratio.... with mainly solo characters</b>, not guild alts or anything....but anybody's story is welcome!)</span></p><p><span style="color: #996600">thanks, keep that old fire burnin'</span></p>

[Thrashercat]

I am sorry you are having issues finding the niche that you like. Anymore, racial traits are null and void when it comes to end game content. I picked a high elf fury for the INT factor and a wood elf troub for the agi factor and gosh darn it, they were cute to look at! Being a female, playing a female doesn't mean I don't care what my toon looks like<img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /> Both of those toons, I played to 70. My fury was the most fun to play as far as soloing content. They have excellent heals and wicked nukes to make things go quickly. My troub is a fun, but underpowered class to play. We don't solo nearly as well as furies. We make other people more spectacular with our buffs. I am not sure what classes that you have been playing, but I suggest that you try to play one past level 20 or so. There is so much content out there to explore. Plus, join a pickup group or two, you might find some regular friends to group with! Good luck and I hope that you find what you are looking for!

[Forsaken1]

<p>I wanted to play a Bruiser, and decided on a half elf for the spiked mohawk and piercings  <img src="/smilies/8a80c6485cd926be453217d59a84a888.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /></p><p>As for my Fae assassin, its just too much fun...</p>

[Didi]

<cite>Albertine842 wrote:</cite><blockquote><p><span style="color: #996600"><u>I'm jumpin' from toe to toe</u> trying to decide on a race/class that gets me through the game...how did you decide on yours?  what sparked it?  RP value?  Kickass value?  Run speed value?  Group mentality?  Livid stay-at-home lifestyle?  DPS value? </span></p><p><span style="color: #996600">I've tried a bunch up to 15-20...they just get stale after a while...maybe I should have the doctor check me for ADD, and pay a vagrant to throw a yellow ball until I get tired.<img src="/smilies/69934afc394145350659cd7add244ca9.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /></span></p><p><span style="color: #996600"> (i'd like to know mostly from casual gamers who don't play all the time, <b>what class did you find worked the best to get through all aspects of the game with the most fun/progression ratio.... with mainly solo characters</b>, not guild alts or anything....but anybody's story is welcome!)</span></p></blockquote><p>I tried quite a few classes (monk, warden, berserker, conjuror, templar, necromancer) but just couldn't get much past 20, or 30 at the very most, and they either got rerolled or switched to strictly tradeskilling.  Race-wise I generally pick the less common ones - gnomes is a particular favorite, especially because the Baubbleshire is my favorite starting zone, it's so pretty.  Ratongas are cute and get to talk funny, ogres and trolls are definitely under-represented too.  I like to pick unusual race/class combinations most of the time, it's nice being fairly unique instead of one of the 50,000,000 elf rangers.</p><p>Wizard was the first class that actually held my interest up to level 70, I really liked the ability to do massive AE damage and the satisfying graphics of huge ice spikes falling from the sky never fails to amuse me.  Wizards are very soloable so that certainly helped, and they're also usually welcome in groups so I had a pretty easy time getting pick up groups.  My wizard is an Erudite, and I picked Erudite just because they're so ugly and I wanted to see if I could make one that I could stand to look at; and also because the Erudite racial vision is pretty neat and I wanted to try it.  I decided my wizard was quite a scholarly collector of books, so she set out to do all the book quests I could find, and went through all the <a href="http://www.eq2i.com/articles/Soloing_Timeline" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">solo quest lines</a> which was great for getting XP and achievements.</p><p>After wizard, I tried a halfling illusionist.  Halfling because again, I'd never liked the look of the race, so I spent hours trying to make one that actually looked OK and not like some hideous cabbage patch kid doll.  I hadn't tried illusionist before as I'd figured (from my experiences with an enchanter in EQ1) that they'd be bad at soloing, but I discovered they're actually fantastic at soloing, better in some ways than wizards even.  My illusionist soloed even more than my wizard did and is now 70 also.</p><p>My latest alt and current main is a ratonga dirge.  I've always liked ratongas and had intended to play one since beta, and in fact the warden and necromancer I rerolled were ratongas, I just hadn't managed to make a ratonga of a class I enjoyed.  I hadn't tried any scouts before but I chose a dirge because (a) my guild seemed desperately in need of them, and (b) they seemed like a class that would be extremely useful to both groups and raids, while still having the ability to be very lazy.  By which I mean, a large part of the dirge's value is in their passive abilities; even an AFK dirge is still a great help to a group.  I have a short attention span and hate playing a class where I have to be totally 100% concentrating all the time (like a healer) so a dirge seemed ideal, since even if my attention drifted elsewhere, I'd still be benefitting the group and it wouldn't harm anybody at all.  I soloed my dirge into the 50s easily enough doing the solo quest lines, and the higher I got in levels, the more in demand I become in both groups and raids (people fight over me in raids).  Currently I'm a 70 dirge with 97 achievements and still enjoying it.  This is also the first evil character I've got to any significantly high level (the necromancer only reached about 24 before rerolling).</p><p>I alternate my time between these three characters at the moment.  The dirge is always, almost without exception, the one that groups and raids usually want me to bring.  The illusionist I mainly tradeskill with now, and on rare occasions go adventuring where a mezzer is required (rare).  And the wizard I still have fun playing now and then when I'm tired of the dirge's lower dps and want to just go blow things up.  <img src="/smilies/283a16da79f3aa23fe1025c96295f04f.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" />  There's no requirement to stick to just one character after all -- if you like variety, play a variety!  Fun is the point of the game, after all.  And I think it makes you a better player to learn a variety of different classes, as it helps you understand better what everyone contributes to a group. </p>

[ZUES]

<p>Gnome Conjuror. Confusing Babble (2500ish deagro spell) and all the INT options. Gnome also gets invis for you no invis classes. A cheesy one but at least its invis.</p><p>I researched it quite a bit before choosing. Erudites and gnomes make the best conjurors for their racial traits.</p><p>I wish fae was out when I made it but still would be a tough call between a fae and gnome for any of my caster alts if I made another.</p><p>By the way, somewhere in the old forums was a complete list of every racial trait and what level they get their upgrades. Not sure if anyone saved it but maybe try a google or something for that list.</p>

[DwarvesR]

<p>I've been through a ton of race/class combos, making and deleting characters all over the place.  I've finally settled on my "permanent stable of toons" though, and here's what we have:</p><ul><li>High Elf Inquisitor</li><li>High Elf Fury</li><li>High Elf Dirge</li><li>High Elf Shadowknight</li><li>High Elf Defiler</li><li>High Elf Necromancer</li><li>High Elf Coercer</li><li>Dark Elf Warlock</li><li>Ogre Monk</li></ul><p>Obviously, I have a propensity toward high elves.  The method to the madness is that I made the SK really early on, intending it to be a cleric that would go templar, but after the boat ride taking me to level 3 and time to pick, I decided I wanted to go non-traditional instead, so I made it a fighter.  I still wanted to take advantage of the high starting WIS of a high elf, but didn't want to be a paladin, so that left betrayal to SK.  SK's have changed to be INT based instead of WIS based since then, but gear makes all the differences up.</p><p>Once I got that SK betrayed, I discovered that the Dark Elf npc's in FP cheered as I walk by.  That tickled me no end for some reason, so I moved the SK from Big Bend to Longshadow Alley and I started making and betraying high elves to betray too.  At first I made up an RP reason, that it was an entire family of high elves that went evil at the same time, so I even gave them all the same last name.  Only real reason for the high elf is for the cheering dark elves in Longshadow, and the classes becuz they were fun to play.  And yes, all 7 of those high elves are Freeport citizens, even the "neutral" Fury and Dirge.</p><p>The warlock was created solely with the intention of being a sales toon.  I wanted it to be level 20 so it could have a last name that would be appropriate for a "nuker" and it had to be a wizard or warlock to be a nuker, so. . . I picked warlock solely becuz the poison/disease damage type matched the SK.  This was pre-LU13, when warlocks were the undisputed dps kings, but nobody really knew it, so it was a rare class, and was a lot of fun to play.  Warlock actually ended up being my main for a while, was my 1st toon to 50 back when that meant something.  And my defiler became my sales too when it was a mystic and I wanted to sell from Qeynos, and now my inquisitor is my sales toon instead, while the poor neglected warlock still languishes at 54.</p><p>And finally the ogre monk.  I figured it'd be a pretty rare combo.  Even an ogre bruiser I thought would be fairly uncommon, but I took it to the next step and betrayed him to Qeynos.  And after EoF came out moved him to Kelethin.  He likes the Fae.  They're very tasty with pasta and a nice red sauc. . . er, I mean. . he likes living AMONG the Fae, since he can work his safe fall skill up when he leaves the city.  (Yes, that's my RP story, and I'm sticking to it!)  I don't think he's ever taken an elevator out of town, actually.  So far as I know, he was the 1st ogre to become a Kelethin citizen on my server.  And for all I know, he might still be the only one <img src="/smilies/8a80c6485cd926be453217d59a84a888.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /></p><p>And there you have my motivations for what inspired my race/class combos.</p>

[mellowknees72]

<p>What inspired me was this: I loved playing halflings, and I had always wanted to play a Monk, but couldn't be a halfling monk in EQ1.  I *could* in EQ2, so I did!  Same goes for my halfling conjurer.  <img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /></p><p>90% of my characters are halflings, as a matter of fact. <img src="/smilies/8a80c6485cd926be453217d59a84a888.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" />  Pick a race that suits you and then be whatever class(es) interest you.  Racial traits really don't have that much of a bearing on things.  Sure, some make a small difference, but it's not so much that you can't play a certain class of a certain race.</p>

[Kraven Coldblade]

<p>I'm an Erudite Necromancer. Now when trying to start this toon I was having the greatest difficulty deciding between a gnome and dark elf ..... after 2 hours of hard thinking I decided to go to the bar and have a drink. After having several drinks I came back and all the while saying to myself I'm going to create a Gnome. While trying to click on the gnome I clicked on the Erudite and hit next without realizing. </p><p>Five minutes later I fall asleep on my keyboard and my forehead picks the name Simren and the server Butcherblock. When I woke up I was lvl 10 and an ugly Erudite. </p><p>I think that's how it went. I still don't have a clear recollection to this day.</p>

[Spyderbite]

Ratonga Brigand. With the eye patch and all.. its the most fun I've had RP'n a character in any game I've ever played!

[Bozidar]

I thought that the gnomes appeared unthreatening and unassuming.  So an assassin would be a good choice <img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" />

[SlythieToves]

It's all about the name or the look... For my Fury I picked the Half -elf with the Mohawk. His name is Mosher Piticus. Short for Mosh Pit. He looked like a Punker anyway. My Guardian has the name Panthera and I believe you can guess the race. I have a Fae Wizard named Torien and he's got some brothers and sisters. Fae Paladin named Forien, Fae Troub named Morien, and Fae Fury named Corien. All played by RL Friends) I also have a Human Inquis named Zend, probably the only toon that doesn't have a rhyme or reason. I have an Necro Iksar named Slythie Toves. That just sounded like an Iksar name. Lastly, my human monk named Kidkrugo. So named for my grandfather who passed away in '05. He was a golden glove boxer in the mid 40's and they called him The Kid Krugo back then. I made him a Bruiser to begin with but didn't want to start in Freeport.

[Kellin]

I had a gnome enchanter in EQL, so the gnome illusionist was a no-brainer.  I love gnomes, I love crowd control...what can I say? My main, however, is a wood elf mystic. I started the day before official server up - they opened up a day early, and if you managed to get a copy of the game, you could log in.  My guildies from EQL, most especially the ones I played with every day, weren't going to be able to get the game for a few weeks after launch.  I made the illusionist and the mystic immediately.  We had pretty much decided what archetypes we were going to play, and I had chosen healer.  I chose mystic because of the wards - enchanters in EQL used runes, which were essentially the same thing, so it was familiar.  We were going to be good, because one of the guys was going to be a pally.  I chose wood elf because, um, well, because it was the prettiest one.  I played the illusionist until the guys got the game, then swapped to the mystic. I was a bit worried about playing a healer at first.  I had a cleric alt in EQL, and it was boring, boring, boring.  Sit on the horse and hit heal.  Med.  Heal.  Med.  Heal.  ARRRRGH!  For someone used to playing an enchanter, it was torture.  But the devs did a really good job making healing fun, with utility above and beyond simply healing.  DPS sucks, and wards were broken for a long time, but I can honestly say that I really enjoy playing my mystic. Mystic is now 70/96, illusionist is 62/65/70, and I have several other alts that I have mixed feelings about.  High elf berserker girl, because it was silly.  Ratonga coercer on PvP server, and while I like some of the spells and abilities of the coercer over the illusionist, I don't miss charming.  Hated that in EQL.  (Made me an awful soloer, but every group I was in loved me.)  Gnome conjuror, ratonga necro, and a few others under level 10 that probably won't go further. Overall, my feeling is, for race, you only need one thing.  What do you want to look at every day?  Good/evil is not much of an issue as long as you're prepared to do a betrayal if necessary. For class, think about every character you have played.  What about that class did you enjoy?  What did you dislike?  Do you like beating the snot out of a mob, or do you prefer making a gesture and having the heavens come down and squash 'em like a pancake?  Do you like to heal?  Cast?  Melee?  Self heal?  Buff?  Debuff?  AoE?  Pets?  Solo?  Group?  Raid? Think about what is most important to you in playstyle, check out the class descriptions posted at the top of this board and on the class forums, and see if that doesn't narrow your selection considerably.

[Allisia]

My first EQ2 character was a dwarven paladin. He was basically a remake of the last EQ1 character I played, which, although wasn't my main, did get the greatest share of my attention the last few weeks I played. I was using the dwarf as a test to see if I was going to like EQ2 knowing that if I did I would have to start another main to play with my wife (who was waiting to see what I thought about the game). After about two weeks I was certain that we'd enjoy the game and she picked up her own account.When it came time to select my main I decided I wanted a tank to complement my wife's healer. We decided we wanted to stick to the basic archtypical warrior-healer duo. She chose hers based entirely on appearance and familiarity (high elf templar).In EQ1 ogre, troll and barbarian tanks were all the rage; they were cliche and dominated the archtype. I wanted to move away from that, but I didn't want to go all the way to anti-cliche (gnome, halfling, etc.).  So I decided to go about as vanilla as you can get, a human guardian. Turns out, though vanilla it may be, it's not very common. I've only met two other human tanks in the last two tiers of the game, one of which is a good friend of mine, and the other could pass as a twin for my character. Thank goodness he's a paladin or there really would be confusion.

[rumblepants]

<p>I RPed an Ogre Beastlord and Human Cleric back on EQ1. Thought I'd try something new in EQ2. <img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /> No stat crunching. No racial feature optimization. </p>