Melee Classes & Crafting [Archive] - EQ2 Forum Archive @ EQ2Wire

Lucifu

07-26-2007, 10:13 PM

First off let me thank everyone in advance, not for replying to my post, but for just being a friendly, informative community! A community like this is very hard to find now-days! I've been browsing these forums for almost 3 hours now and have found so much help compared to other MMO forums. I'm just starting EQII and am having a bit of difficulty understanding how the dynamic of gameplay work. I haven't even logged in yet due to waiting on updates to finish so I came here to decide what class to roll. I have been playing the Necro of WoW (Warlock) for almost 2 years now and I'm just not sure I could stay interested in doing it again even though I like the micro-management aspect of playing a pet class. So with that being said I'm looking for a melee class to roll as my first toon here in EQII. My confusion lies within the descriptions of each class and how other here have posted their thoughts on solo abilities. I will be playing solo the majority of my time here but do hope to group for dungeons and possibly raid later on (I'm assuming raiding is similar to WoW in respect to finding a raiding guild). With this being said what would the community recommend as an overall "fun" melee class to level? I've looked over the tanks and I'm worried they won't hold my interest due to how their descriptions say they are very slow to solo. The assasin looks interesting since I did enjoy a Rogue in WoW, but I'm wondering how the abilities work in combat. Do you stun the target, move behind them, then execute your skill? If so then this sounds very familiar and I may lean towards this class. I know this question gets asked time and time again but after hours of reading I'm still very confused. I was actually hoping to come here to find a shapeshifting class similar to WoW's Druids but I haven't seen any information on anything like this. Crafting. From what I've read crafting is a big part of EQII. I understand the gear you make is actually used instead of just grinding up to the max to craft superb quality items. Is this true? Also is the crafting a long and time consuming process? I'm hoping this answer is yes aswell since this is one of the biggest things I miss from SWG. Thank you in advance for your help!

Finora

07-26-2007, 11:50 PM

<cite>Lucifuge wrote:</cite><blockquote>First off let me thank everyone in advance, not for replying to my post, but for just being a friendly, informative community! A community like this is very hard to find now-days! I've been browsing these forums for almost 3 hours now and have found so much help compared to other MMO forums. I'm just starting EQII and am having a bit of difficulty understanding how the dynamic of gameplay work. I haven't even logged in yet due to waiting on updates to finish so I came here to decide what class to roll. I have been playing the Necro of WoW (Warlock) for almost 2 years now and I'm just not sure I could stay interested in doing it again even though I like the micro-management aspect of playing a pet class. So with that being said I'm looking for a melee class to roll as my first toon here in EQII. My confusion lies within the descriptions of each class and how other here have posted their thoughts on solo abilities. I will be playing solo the majority of my time here but do hope to group for dungeons and possibly raid later on (I'm assuming raiding is similar to WoW in respect to finding a raiding guild). With this being said what would the community recommend as an overall "fun" melee class to level? I've looked over the tanks and I'm worried they won't hold my interest due to how their descriptions say they are very slow to solo. The assasin looks interesting since I did enjoy a Rogue in WoW, but I'm wondering how the abilities work in combat. Do you stun the target, move behind them, then execute your skill? If so then this sounds very familiar and I may lean towards this class. That is pretty much what you do with any of the scout classes when soloing (cept maybe bards, I don't play any of those but I have/have had a ranger, assassin, brigand and a swashbuckler). So one of those four would likely be similar to a rogue in WoW(ranger less so since they do eventually get a lot of ranged attacks). I know this question gets asked time and time again but after hours of reading I'm still very confused. I was actually hoping to come here to find a shapeshifting class similar to WoW's Druids but I haven't seen any information on anything like this.There isn't really any shapeshifting class in Eq2. Many classes get illusions (some with benifits some that are just fluff) though. Furies, wardens, mystics all get animal forms that have some benefit, with fury being a lion, wardens a wolf and mystics a bear. Both druids (fury and warden) also get an achievement ability that gives them 3 more illusions with a buff component (snow wolf,treant and tiger). I think pretty much for everyone else that has an illusion they are for looks only. Crafting. From what I've read crafting is a big part of EQII. I understand the gear you make is actually used instead of just grinding up to the max to craft superb quality items. Is this true? Also is the crafting a long and time consuming process? I'm hoping this answer is yes aswell since this is one of the biggest things I miss from SWG. You can find much more info on tradeskills in the tradeskill forum. =) Some tradeskill classes have it better than others in the useable gear category, however all classes can create things that are useful provided they have the recipes. For some classes, like armorer and weaponsmith the common items, especially at lower levels, are pretty low in quality, however the mastercrafted items can be quite nice. And to prevent confusion, mastercrafted means it was created with a 'rare' component (they aren't really all that rare these days) not that you have to be ultra skilled in the craft.Crafting isn't as one click ultra easy as it is in WoW but from what I've heard of SWG it isn't near as indepth as that. It does take some time and a little thought (at least when you first get started). It can certainly take quite a while to level up to the highest skill level. Thank you in advance for your help! </blockquote>

DarrkElf

07-27-2007, 03:18 AM

<cite>Lucifuge wrote:</cite><blockquote>First off let me thank everyone in advance, not for replying to my post, but for just being a friendly, informative community! A community like this is very hard to find now-days! I've been browsing these forums for almost 3 hours now and have found so much help compared to other MMO forums. Glad you're having fun <img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /> Everquest 2 has a great community of people. My confusion lies within the descriptions of each class and how other here have posted their thoughts on solo abilities. I will be playing solo the majority of my time here but do hope to group for dungeons and possibly raid later on (I'm assuming raiding is similar to WoW in respect to finding a raiding guild). With this being said what would the community recommend as an overall "fun" melee class to level? Most new players find that they only really get a good feel for a class by playing it up to level 20 or so. I'm an alt-aholic and love trying out new classes, and I've been playing for over a year. It took me about 7 re-rolls to find a class that I was really happy to have a my main toon. I recommend rolling your first toon with the main focus of learning the game, and don't worry at all about the 'end game' (raiding).Classes in demand for raids vary between guilds, however generally if you plan to raid casually the fighter classes tend to have more difficulty getting a raid spot. Of melee classes in demand for raids you would want to try rolling a scout, especially a dirge or brigand. Healer classes are always in demand in raids and groups.All classes in Everquest 2 can solo, however some stand out more than others. Of the melee classes Monk/Bruiser, Shadowknight/Paladin, Ranger/Swashbuckler, Dirge/Brigand. Personally I'd recommend a Monk/Bruiser or Shadowknight/Paladin if you plan to mostly solo and want a melee class.Each class in this game has a style that will suit soloing better than others. Generally speaking there are 5 main styles: Race up to the mob and whack em then stay there and continue to hit and get hit (Fighters), Root the mob then nuke 'em (Mage), Cast a heal on yourself either ward, reactive or heal over time and then smack the mob (Healer), Kiting - stun the mob to get in position to do major damage run and repeat (Scout). Send a pet to attack the mob and nuke from the background (Conjurer/Necromancer). Everyone plays their class differently and so will use a different mix of techniques depending on which mob they are up against. I've looked over the tanks and I'm worried they won't hold my interest due to how their descriptions say they are very slow to solo. The assasin looks interesting since I did enjoy a Rogue in WoW, but I'm wondering how the abilities work in combat. Do you stun the target, move behind them, then execute your skill? If so then this sounds very familiar and I may lean towards this class. Assassins do work simularly in combat - scouts get a mix of standard combat arts (medium damage) and positional (back/side) combat arts that do major damage to the mob. Using stuns is the foundation of soloing. I know this question gets asked time and time again but after hours of reading I'm still very confused. I was actually hoping to come here to find a shapeshifting class similar to WoW's Druids but I haven't seen any information on anything like this. There are illusionary forms that can be obtained from totems, various items, buffs and 'fluff spells'. Fury has a self buff that changes them into a lion. You can choose whether or not to see these illusions/shapeshifts in your options. Crafting. From what I've read crafting is a big part of EQII. I understand the gear you make is actually used instead of just grinding up to the max to craft superb quality items. Is this true? Also is the crafting a long and time consuming process? I'm hoping this answer is yes aswell since this is one of the biggest things I miss from SWG. Crafting is not essential, but definitely handy. The 'handcrafted' or common gear is difficult to sell, and does tend to be more of a 'grinding' kind of thing, however 'mastercrafted' items can be made for all tiers, which provide some very nice gear and spell upgrades and usually sell. Crafting is involved and the crafter has to be on their toes if they want to craft pristine (high quality) items. Crafting is also very useful when you are first starting out to get a better understanding of how the game works and make yourself some extra items that you would not be able to afford yet.Have a look on the broker and see that difference in stats between the different qualities (handcrafted, treasured, mastercrafted, leganday, fabled, mystical). Mastercrafted armor tends to be the main stuff used/wanted for toons up to about level 50. Once players hit level 50 they tend to focus more on trying to get Legendary and Fabled gear. </blockquote>

Gralthak

07-27-2007, 10:56 AM

<cite>Lucifuge wrote:</cite><blockquote>First off let me thank everyone in advance, not for replying to my post, but for just being a friendly, informative community! A community like this is very hard to find now-days! I've been browsing these forums for almost 3 hours now and have found so much help compared to other MMO forums. Generally you'll find that most of the EQ2 community is like that. The people left playing are generally the most dedicated to the game since most of the people that just go with the tide are off playing WoW. I'm just starting EQII and am having a bit of difficulty understanding how the dynamic of gameplay work. I haven't even logged in yet due to waiting on updates to finish so I came here to decide what class to roll. I have been playing the Necro of WoW (Warlock) for almost 2 years now and I'm just not sure I could stay interested in doing it again even though I like the micro-management aspect of playing a pet class. So with that being said I'm looking for a melee class to roll as my first toon here in EQII. There is significantly less micromanagement involved in the pet classes in EQ2, but that being said if you want to roll up a melee class that's definitely cool too. There are a lot of options to pick from here. My confusion lies within the descriptions of each class and how other here have posted their thoughts on solo abilities. I will be playing solo the majority of my time here but do hope to group for dungeons and possibly raid later on (I'm assuming raiding is similar to WoW in respect to finding a raiding guild). With this being said what would the community recommend as an overall "fun" melee class to level? There are two basic types of melee character, fighters and scouts. The first take much more of a beating to put down while the second dish out boatloads of damage. But there are big variances in each of the classes that fall into each type. As for what is 'fun', that mostly depends on what you're looking to do. Raiding, however, will mostly be based on what there is a need for on your server or in your guild. In general, however, there isn't as much demand for tanks as damage dealers as you really only need a few tanks at most to cover what is required. I've looked over the tanks and I'm worried they won't hold my interest due to how their descriptions say they are very slow to solo. The assasin looks interesting since I did enjoy a Rogue in WoW, but I'm wondering how the abilities work in combat. Do you stun the target, move behind them, then execute your skill? If so then this sounds very familiar and I may lean towards this class. Don't discount the 'tank' classes. Berserkers, shadowknights, and both the brawler classes (monk/bruiser) are more than capable of dealing a decent amount of damage. While they might not rip through things as fast as a scout they can also survive a lot more than a scout can. Assassins have attacks like you describe that let them move around to flank or get behind a target to execute their highest damage attacks. If you're familiar with WoW I'd say assassins play like backstab spec'd rogues. Brigands on the other hand have more stuns and play more like a stunlock rogue. But don't discount the other scout classes, a lot of people overlook the bards especially. *ANY* scout can do a lot of damage, and while the bards might not do as much as the others they gain huge amounts of utility in exchange. Troubadors and dirges are almost always welcome in groups for the huge (de)buffs they bring. Bards aren't as flashy as the more direct classes because a big part of what they do is make everyone more effective but that also means they are comparitively more rare and therefore more valuable in groups. Remember, also, that you can only be a brigand or assassin if you play as on of the 'evil' factions starting in Neriak or Freeport. Otherwise you're going to be a swashbuckler or ranger. I know this question gets asked time and time again but after hours of reading I'm still very confused. I was actually hoping to come here to find a shapeshifting class similar to WoW's Druids but I haven't seen any information on anything like this. The druid and shaman classes in EQ2 can shift form, but most people choose to disable the graphic representation of this. But they are more than capable of shapeshifting. Crafting. From what I've read crafting is a big part of EQII. I understand the gear you make is actually used instead of just grinding up to the max to craft superb quality items. Is this true? Also is the crafting a long and time consuming process? I'm hoping this answer is yes aswell since this is one of the biggest things I miss from SWG. Crafted items are as good as most any standard loot you'll find. Rare crafted items tend to be as good as or better than comparable items of Legendary of similar levels. Crafting honestly isn't too terribly time consuming, but it's a fairly involved process requiring active participation from the crafter. It's not like WoW where you simply press a button and wait. The crafting system used to be far more complicated, but it's been simplified signifcantly to make it more user friendly. But crafting is VERY useful for most skills. It can also be fairly profitable depending on which artisan class you choose to go with. Carpenters for example don't tend to make too much money, but they are nice to have around and very fun to play with. On the other hand something like a jeweler or armorer can make a decent chunk of change. Thank you in advance for your help! Sure thing! Let us know what server you decide on, I'm sure most of the people posting here generally come from guilds with the same sort of attitude about helping people out. At least that's been my general experience. </blockquote>