Confused by class choices? Look here. [Archive]

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Gralthak

07-30-2007, 02:04 PM

With the influx of new players from Rise of Kunark we're seeing a lot of the same question around here, so I figured a bit of a general guide to help people out with choosing a class couldn't hurt. While this doesn't go into specifics of each class (might do that soon) it is aimed at helping new players deal with the information overload that often comes when they are confronted with such a plethora of choices. If you feel I've missed something or misstated feel free to let me know and I'll correct as needed.Class - Some people got it, some don't...Help choosing a class is probably the single most common topic posted by new folks here in the forum. With twenty four classes and eighteen races to choose from it can be a little overwhelming to someone without any experience in the game. We'll go over each class and what they each bring to the table soon enough, but for now we'll cover some basic information regarding the classes that might help you make your decision. The first thing to know is that all of the twenty four classes all fall into one of four general categories. Any class in this category can perform the basic functions of that type; any ‘Fighter' type class can serve as a tank in a group for example. Continuing with this example while any ‘Fighter' type can tank some of the classes trade some of their effectiveness at tanking for more utility in other areas. Again, this isn't to say that they classes that give up some of their specialization for utility can't fill the core roles of that type of character, it's just that the more ‘pure' a class the better it can do so. The downside is that the more ‘pure' a class is the less it is able to do other things. A good example of this from the ‘Fighter' type would be the Guardian class and the Bruiser class. A Guardian is the most pure of the Fighter role, able to tank extremely well and take huge amounts of punishment but not much past that. A Bruiser on the other hand can still tank, but gives up some of the Guardian's ability to control monster hate and absorb damage for the ability to do far more damage and perform tricks like healing and feigning death.The four basic categories of character classes are thus:- Fighter: Focus primarily on the ability to absorb or avoid damage and control monster hate (who the monster is attacking). Their ability to do damage is usually fairly low but they can absorb far more punishment than any other type giving the Fighter more time to do damage. While a Scout or Mage can put forth huge amounts of damage in short periods of time, the Fighter is the marathon runner to their sprint... slow and steady, enjoying the luxury of being able to survive long enough not to have to hurry.- Scout: Deal large amounts of damage, generally physical and close combat in nature. As a secondary focus many scouts have abilities to hamper the effectiveness of their foes or increase the abilities of the scout's friends. While there moderate armor and high agility allow them avoid some hits and absorb a fair amount of damage in general Scouts are unable to survive damage for any significant period of time. The strength of the Scout lies in being able to kill a foe before it is able to strike back.- Priest: These classes focus on healing and influencing the abilities of friends and foes. The exact method of healing varies greatly, some classes in this category use magical wards that function like damage preventing shields while others might use reactive spells that heal their target every time it takes damage. Regardless of how they do it the primary role of a Priest is to keep themselves and their allies alive. In addition to being able to heal and resurrect their friends the Priest classes also have the ability to significantly improve the abilities of their party or hurt their foes.- Mage: Similar to the Scout the focus of Mage classes is their ability to do huge amounts of damage. While the Scout does so with a dagger or bow the Mage classes do their damage with the power of magic by summoning up great balls of fire, streams of lightning, or clouds of hideous disease. Mages are extremely fragile however, unable to sustain even brief periods of assault from their enemies. To address this the Mage classes have many methods of keeping their foes at arms length so they can rain down ruin with impunity ranging from magically chaining foes to the ground, summoning creatures to guard them, or charming a foe to fight for the Mage.*All* the classes fall into one of these categories, the differences between each just lies in the specifics of how they accomplish these goals. When confronted with choosing your character class these categories are a good place to start if you're confused by the amount of choices. First try to figure out which broad type of character you want to play and you've managed to narrow you choices down to a much more manageable six classes.Subtype - Breaking it down even furtherIn each of the categories we discussed above there are three pairings of two classes each. The two classes in each of these pairing are very similar to each other and usually only vary by their focus on offense or defense. Continuing with the Fighter examples there is a subtype of Fighter called ‘Warrior' which contains the classes of Berserker and Guardian. Both of these classes are very pure examples of the Fighter, able to withstand large amounts of punishment and keep monsters focused on them rather than more fragile members of the players group. But there is a key difference between them despite how similar to each other they are. Guardians focus on defense, taking the core tanking ability of a Fighter to highest levels but forgoing almost any other abilities in exchange for unparalleled defense. Berserks however focus on offense against multiple foes. They are still able to absorb huge amounts of damage, but they give up a bit of the narrow focus of the Guardian in exchange for the ability to do damage to large numbers of foes at once. While this damage isn't near that of any of the Scout or Mage classes the Berserker can stand in the midst of a horde of foes and dish out steady damage to all of them while surviving the wave of attacks.We'll break down these subtypes more detailed below:Fighters subtypes are Warrior, Crusader, and Brawler. Warrior classes, as discussed above, are the most ‘pure' of the Fighter types and are able to absorb the most damage but lack much utility past that. This isn't necessarily a bad thing as the Warrior classes are walking walls, requiring massive amounts of punishment to put down and able to keep the focus of a monster even when it is being pummeled by his allies. The Warrior classes are Guardian and Berserker.Crusaders are a blend of spellcaster and Fighter, while they are able to absorb damage well they are not up to Warrior standards. They make up for this by gaining magical abilities to heal themselves and their allies as well as damage their foes. So while a Crusader might not be able to just stand and take the same amount of beating as a Warrior he can heal himself to counter some of the damage he has taken. The Crusader classes are Shadowknight and Paladin.Brawlers are skilled martial artists and fill the role of ‘tank' much differently from the other Fighter types. While Warriors and Crusaders survive large amounts of punishment by dint of heavy armor and large amounts of hit points the Brawlers take another path. They forgo the heavy armor of the others for lighter leathers that allow them great mobility. The focus of a Brawler isn't being able to take the hit, it instead is avoiding being hit in the first place. Parrying, dodging, riposting, and blocking a Brawler can dance around a foe and return good damage. Their weakness is that with their very low levels of armor if their avoidance fails them they will take large amounts of damage. The Brawler classes are Bruiser and Monk.Scouts have subtypes of Predator, Rogue, and Bard.Predators are masters of stealth and damage. Similar to Warriors discussed above they are probably the most ‘pure' of the Scout classes in that they focus almost solely on filling the core roles of the scout. Able to do horrible damage to an enemy in short periods of time they are often more than capable of slaying lesser foes before they can even return attacks. Predators, however, are fragile and must be careful to use their stealth to their advantage; caught in a straight fight the Predator is unable to weather attacks for long and without the element of stealth lose access to many of their most damaging attacks. The Predator classes are Assassin and Ranger.Rogues waylay their foes with attacks to cripple and disorient them as well as being able to do huge amounts of damage. Able to stun, slow, and otherwise weaken their enemies the Rogues not only inflict damage of their own but leave foes more vulnerable to attacks from the Rogues' allies as well. The Rogue classes are Brigand and Swashbuckler.Bards are radically different from the other two types of Scout. While still able to do significant amounts of damage the Bard can, more than any other character, greatly improve the performance of his allies or devastate the ability of his foes. Given the role of making everyone around him look good the Bard classes are often overlooked in favor of more traditional 'heroic' roles, but they should never be underestimated. The addition of a bard of either type to a group can dramatically improve the strength of everyone. The Bard classes are Dirge and Troubadour.Priests fall into the subtypes of Cleric, Shaman, and Druid.Clerics are holy warriors, able to wear heavy armor and strengthen their allies as well as weaken their foes. They have access to many reactive heals which automatically grant health to an ally whenever they take damage. With their plate armor and heavy weapons they are also capable surviving reasonable damage and putting forth a fairly decent offense when outfitted and specialized properly. The Cleric classes are Inquisitor and Templar.Shamans are tribal priests and have the ability to heal their friends as well as many abilities to increase their and their allies, utility. Increasing defense, health, armor, and speed are just some of the abilities that Shaman have access to. Shamans often heal using powerful wards that prevent a specific amount of damage for a time and heal whatever is left when the spell expires. Limited to lighter armor than the Cleric the Shaman is still a force to be reckoned with. The Shaman classes are Defiler and Mystic.Druids bring the power of nature to the fore. Their healing tends to resemble the growth in nature, healing their targets slowly over time but for large amounts in total. They are also tied into the various circles of standing stones throughout the world and are able to create magical gates for instant travel to distant lands. The Druid classes are Fury and Warden.Mages contain Sorcerers, Enchanters, and Summoners.Sorcerers are engines of magical destruction. They focus almost solely on doing tremendous amounts of damage to their foes with the power of their spells, making them the most ‘pure' of the mage classes. Whether focused on blasting single targets into nothingness or laying waste to large groups of foes they are able to deal unprecedented amounts of damage. The Sorcerer also has the benefit of being able to magically teleport themselves and their party instantly to a small number of locations in the world. They are, however, often the most vulnerable classes in the game with access only to the very lightest of armor, low hit points, and weak defense leaving them unable to survive even brief assaults. The Sorcerer classes are Wizard and Warlock.Enchanters use tricks of the mind to both damage and baffle their foes. They can manipulate enemies into standing slack jawed while their friends are slaughtered or even trick them into fighting as a magically charmed ally for the Enchanter. Enchanters are also masters of energy and are able to drain power from their enemies or increase the power of their allies allowing them to fight even longer. The Enchanter classes are Coercer and Illusionist.Summoners call on magical allies to help them fight. They might create an undead wizard to help the blast foes apart or a sturdy earth elemental warrior to hold foes off of them but in the end when fighting a Summoner one is seldom fighting just one target. With the versatility of their magic minions Summoners are often regarded able to perform alone far better than any other class. The Summoner classes are Necromancer and Conjuror.Good vs. Evil - The Classic QuestionTwo of the three subtypes of each category contain a pair of alignment specific classes. One is available only to evil players based out of Freeport or Neriak, while the other class is similarly only available to good players operating out of Qeynos or Kelethin. Also the classes are, in general, similar in ability but opposed on their focus. To clarify what the means a Warlock and a Wizard are very similar in abilities but the Wizard focuses primarily on doing damage to single targets while the Warlock focuses on doing damage to groups of foes. Similarly Troubadours focus on greatly increasing the abilities of their allies while Dirges focus on greatly diminishing the effectiveness of their foes. The net result is often almost the same, but it allows players a lot of choice in how they choose to go about doing whatever it is they want to do.Regarding good and evil classes, the good classes generally focus on defense, buffing, and healing while evil classes focus on offense, debuffing, and damage. In most cases there is little end difference in the effectiveness of the two options and simply a difference to how they accomplish the end results. Good and Evil class parity is as follows (Good classes listed first, then their Evil version):<ul><li>Paladin - Shadowknight</li><li>Monk - Bruiser</li><li>Ranger - Assassin</li><li>Swashbuckler - Brigand</li><li>Templar - Inquisitor</li><li>Mystic - Defiler</li><li>Illusionist - Coercer</li><li>Conjuror - Necromancer</li></ul>The remaining classes are considered neutral and are available to all alignments and races.The Myth of the ‘Best' ClassIf you spend any time at all on the forums you're also going to see, or maybe even ask the question yourself, the query of ‘which class is the best?' The honest answer is that there is no ‘best' class in the game. For a game of such complexity EQ2 has done a very impressive job of balancing the classes so that there is no obvious stand out that is better than others. While some classes might excel at certain actions better than others remember that the classes that don't do that action as well have gained other abilities in exchange for that lost effectiveness. Don't forget too that any class in the general category of Fighter, Scout, Priest, and Mage can do the basic roles of that type. Try not to concern yourself so much with what the ‘best' class is and instead focus on what is the ‘best class for you'.Narrowing the FieldWith the above information you should be able to narrow you options down greatly. While you might not know the specific class you want to play choosing some of the options I've discussed will allow you a much smaller range to have to think on. For example if you know you want to play in Freeport and that you want to be a Warrior you now only need to look at five classes instead of twenty four; a much more digestible choice to have to make to be sure. If you can choose a subtype you can often remove any further choice from the matter if you know which alignment you want to play.Once you have your options narrowed down to a more manageable amount you have a few options on how to move forward. A good place for information on each class in their official forum, especially given that the nature of the game is constantly changing due to regular updates. Read up a bit on the classes you are thinking of and ask any questions you might have either in the class forum or in the Newbie Yard. If you can reduce your options to a small amount another path is to create each of the classes and play them for a sampling of each ‘flavor' to see which you like the best. The downsides to this are that many classes don't mature until later levels and this method can be time consuming. But remember, you're likely going to be playing your character for a long time to come... a small investment up front to make sure you're happy will pay off greatly in the long runEDITED 7/31: Spelling and clarityEDITED 9/30: Correction to Cleric section, added clarity and info, numerous spelling and grammar errorsEDITED 11/13: Correction to Cleric section, added info on shaman, removed Vanguard reference in lieu of Rise of Kunark

BungFoo

07-30-2007, 02:51 PM

This is a completely awesome post. It should be very helpful to newbies. Thanks for taking the time to write this.

Norrsken

07-30-2007, 02:54 PM

Teh sticky ftw?

roces9

07-30-2007, 03:01 PM

Sticky please. But first (nit-picking here) don't say that Bards can do "impressive damage". In raids, good geared and well played Bards are often out DPSed by equally geared and skilled Berserkers, Clerics and especially Druids. Some bards churm out 1.8kDPS zonewide, but they are a rare minority with the BEST gear in the game. We have awesome utility, but are often out DPS'd by non DPS classes. Not a broken class, just take that line out please.

Norrsken

07-30-2007, 03:02 PM

<cite>roces9 wrote:</cite><blockquote>Sticky please. But first (nit-picking here) don't say that Bards can do "impressive damage". In raids, good geared and well played Bards are often out DPSed by equally geared and skilled Berserkers, Clerics and especially Druids. Some bards churm out 1.8kDPS zonewide, but they are a rare minority with the BEST gear in the game. We have awesome utility, but are often out DPS'd by non DPS classes. Not a broken class, just take that line out please. </blockquote>If you were to credit the bards for the damage that their procs and other stuff do, I'd say they'd be up witht he rest of the scouts in dps.

Crib92

07-30-2007, 03:06 PM

I would change your depiction of Crusader a bit. As Pallies are more Fighter/Healer focused. (Heals/Wards) And SK's are more Fighter/Mage focused. (Damage spells/Lifetaps)

Gralthak

07-30-2007, 03:06 PM

<cite>roces9 wrote:</cite><blockquote>Sticky please. But first (nit-picking here) don't say that Bards can do "impressive damage". In raids, good geared and well played Bards are often out DPSed by equally geared and skilled Berserkers, Clerics and especially Druids. Some bards churm out 1.8kDPS zonewide, but they are a rare minority with the BEST gear in the game. We have awesome utility, but are often out DPS'd by non DPS classes. Not a broken class, just take that line out please. </blockquote>I would agree with end game raids sure, but that's hardly the whole game. Over the course of the game I see bards often do very decent damage, yes they are by far the least damaging of the Scouts but they still are more than able of holding their own. Also as pointed out, their procs and buffs increase the damage of the group greatly... in theory that damage should be credited to the Bard.

mellowknees72

07-30-2007, 03:09 PM

<cite>roces9 wrote:</cite><blockquote>Sticky please. But first (nit-picking here) don't say that Bards can do "impressive damage". In raids, good geared and well played Bards are often out DPSed by equally geared and skilled Berserkers, Clerics and especially Druids. Some bards churm out 1.8kDPS zonewide, but they are a rare minority with the BEST gear in the game. We have awesome utility, but are often out DPS'd by non DPS classes. Not a broken class, just take that line out please. </blockquote> Hey, I'd say bard damage was "impressive", even if there are other classes who can do more damage at times. The OP didn't say "the MOST damage"...it's still pretty darned "impressive" imo.

Argul

07-30-2007, 05:08 PM

This will help a lot of people out, this is great <img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" />Wish I would've had something like this to read when I started playing.. <img src="/smilies/69934afc394145350659cd7add244ca9.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" />

Gladiia

07-31-2007, 01:50 PM

On the whole, great guide! This will certainly help new people make a starting decision. I spent forever looking at each individual class on 24 seperate pages and didn't get as much info as I did from a quick run thru of what you wrote here. Also, the information you provided was quite close to home, if not dead on accurate. Good Job!!

Wrapye

07-31-2007, 02:10 PM

Personally I would remove the reference to power drain from enchanters. Not that enchanters don't power drain, but that it is meaningless in the game. I wouldn't want someone taking the class at least in part because he/she thought that draining power from a mob does anything.

Krystara

07-31-2007, 02:18 PM

That is a really helpful list - I wish I'd read something like it when I got started. Although I think I still would have picked Templar.

Gralthak

07-31-2007, 02:18 PM

Gladiia@The Bazaar wrote: <blockquote>On the whole, great guide! This will certainly help new people make a starting decision. I spent forever looking at each individual class on 24 seperate pages and didn't get as much info as I did from a quick run thru of what you wrote here. Also, the information you provided was quite close to home, if not dead on accurate. Good Job!!</blockquote> Thanks for all the compliments, I was just trying to give a general guide. I think a lot of people get bogged down in heavy specifics when people are just looking for an overview. If they are confused by the huge amount of choices we get in EQ2 I don't think drowning them with all sorts of minutae is going to help things.I've got a couple others I'm working up to cover the most common questions I see referenced here such as:<ul><li>What are AA and how do they work?</li><li>What classes work well solo or together as a duo?</li><li>How the tradeskill system basically works</li></ul>Honestly, those three questions (plus the class thing) come up over and over. If I can get together a bit of general information on all of those it should *hopefully* cut down on the repeat questions and instead let new players focus on more specific questions rather than having to rehash the same answers.

Kritterly

07-31-2007, 03:12 PM

Wow, this is truly fabulous work!!! This is definitely by far the best description of each class that I have found anywhere! This guide has answered so many things I was wondering about and has made it way easier to make a decision. Just one more question... Does the "Rogue sub-type" get the sneak and poison abilities also or is that only for Predators?

Gralthak

07-31-2007, 03:19 PM

<cite>Kritterly wrote:</cite><blockquote>Wow, this is truly fabulous work!!! This is definitely by far the best description of each class that I have found anywhere! This guide has answered so many things I was wondering about and has made it way easier to make a decision. Just one more question... Does the "Rogue sub-type" get the sneak and poison abilities also or is that only for Predators?</blockquote> No, Rogues (Brigand and Swashbuckler) can use those abilities as well.

Felspar

07-31-2007, 04:01 PM

Excellent post, completely deserves a sticky!

Deyaneyra

07-31-2007, 05:42 PM

Great write-up! Thanks for all your work

edenfall

08-01-2007, 07:38 AM

Thanks a lot for this post, it definitely made choosing my class a lot easier!

geldonyetich

09-23-2007, 01:07 AM

<cite>Gralthak@Permafrost wrote:</cite><blockquote>Clerics are holy warriors, able to wear heavy armor and strengthen their foes. They have access to many reactive heals which automatically grant health to an ally whenever they take damage. With their plate armor and heavy weapons they are also capable surviving reasonable damage and putting forth a fairly decent offense when outfitted properly. The Cleric classes are Inquisitor and Templar.</blockquote>Curse those Clerics, always strengthening our foes!Great guide though, it's helped a bit for my deciding on a class. Believe me, that's no easy task.

Gralthak

10-01-2007, 12:38 AM

<cite>geldonyetich wrote:</cite><blockquote><cite>Gralthak@Permafrost wrote:</cite><blockquote>Clerics are holy warriors, able to wear heavy armor and strengthen their foes. They have access to many reactive heals which automatically grant health to an ally whenever they take damage. With their plate armor and heavy weapons they are also capable surviving reasonable damage and putting forth a fairly decent offense when outfitted properly. The Cleric classes are Inquisitor and Templar.</blockquote>Curse those Clerics, always strengthening our foes!</blockquote>Fixed, thanks.Also, I didn't not it in the first post but if there is any information or questions you have feel free to put them in this topic. I check it fairly regularly, and if any of the answers end up being something pertinent I'll likely stick them into the original posting. I'm also in the process of (when time allows between my 50-60 hour a week job, my full time college class load, and my wife) working on a more detailed breakdown of each class.

Vonotar

11-09-2007, 09:21 AM

You should note that Shamans tend to deal a lot with Wards (I notice you mention the healing methods for the other two sub-classes), the class is more about prevention of damage rather than healing it (although our heals are not to be sneezed at either).

Gralthak

11-14-2007, 03:12 AM

<cite>Banedon@Antonia Bayle wrote:</cite><blockquote>You should note that Shamans tend to deal a lot with Wards (I notice you mention the healing methods for the other two sub-classes), the class is more about prevention of damage rather than healing it (although our heals are not to be sneezed at either).</blockquote>Good idea! Post is updated.Wish I had more time to play recently, I unfortunately haven't even had time to log on in the past few weeks <img src="/eq2/images/smilies/c30b4198e0907b23b8246bdd52aa1c3c.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" width="15" height="15" />

CymTyr

02-05-2008, 01:09 PM

Thanks for the informative post, it was really helpful.

Aaron_King_Of_The_World

02-09-2008, 09:44 PM

This just shows you they should have kept the old [Removed for Content] class system it was funner and showed you how to play your class.

xxargylexx

03-07-2008, 05:34 PM

I have seen the websites which list classes, and their starting attributes (str, wis, str, etc..), but when you're actually creating a new toon, is there any "In-Game" way to view this info, that anyone knows of ? (Obviously would help to know that Barbarians start out with low intel, if creating a Wizard...on the other hand, would help to know that a "meatier" race has a surprisingly high Intel, when you may have skipped over choosing it - assuming it did NOT have hi-intel)

DwarvesR

03-10-2008, 12:07 AM

*Classes* don't start with stats, races do. The classes simply make use of the stats, and the differences in starting stats betweeen the races is so low as to be irrelevant. A low intel Barbarian will be every bit as successful a wizard as a high intel Erudite.And no, there's no in-game way to see a race's stats other than creating a new toon, logging it in, and hitting "P." IT would be nice if it was shown at character creation, but since it's so irrelevant, the dev's haven't bothered, and I can't blame them. Frankly I think it would encourage people to try to min/max right at creation, rather than encouraging the diversity of race/class combos we currently have.

evilgamer

04-16-2008, 12:31 PM

<cite>Gralthak@Permafrost wrote:</cite><blockquote>The Myth of the ‘Best' Class If you spend any time at all on the forums you're also going to see, or maybe even ask the question yourself, the query of ‘which class is the best?' The honest answer is that there is no ‘best' class in the game. For a game of such complexity EQ2 has done a very impressive job of balancing the classes so that there is no obvious stand out that is better than others. While some classes might excel at certain actions better than others remember that the classes that don't do that action as well have gained other abilities in exchange for that lost effectiveness. Don't forget too that any class in the general category of Fighter, Scout, Priest, and Mage can do the basic roles of that type. Try not to concern yourself so much with what the ‘best' class is and instead focus on what is the ‘best class for you'.</blockquote>This is a bit misleading, if you want to raid at the end game certain classes should be avoided.Shadowknights and brawlers (monks/bruisers) for one. I am sure there are others but those are the 3 classes I know that are generally excluded from the 24 person raid system as they dont bring anything to raids that other classes cant already do better.In fact most of the non-guardian fighter archtype should be avoided as raids generally only need 2-3 fighters at the most, limiting your ability to get into raids if you choose to play a non-guardian tank.

Spyderbite

04-16-2008, 01:58 PM

Personally, while its great information and all too often overlooked.. I believe the thread should just be changed to a big "Post New Message" button. Sheesh.. sorry bit jaded about the lack of effort from new players to do a bit of research these days before diving in to a game and then running to the forums and posting one of the 100 messages of the day.. "What do I do next?!". <img src="/smilies/69934afc394145350659cd7add244ca9.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" />

evilgamer

04-16-2008, 02:09 PM

Malki

04-16-2008, 06:58 PM

You do seem a little grumpy about everything, like people have said, all classes are in raids..as in any game, never start a char cos its the "needed" class in raids, that changes on a regular basis, play a class you like, and play it well, and you will get into raids.And, as with all games, class forums are off putting for any class, if you read them all, all boards will tell you their class is underpowered / nerfed, not needed in raids.For every 1 post hating their class on the forums, 50 are playing their class in game and loving it.Versatility is one of the good things about EQ2, and, classes are relatively set in their basic function, but, you have a lot more choice not to be pigeonholed.

drunKKKen

04-28-2008, 05:59 PM

<cite>Rita@Splitpaw wrote:</cite><blockquote>And, as with all games, class forums are off putting for any class, if you read them all, all boards will tell you their class is underpowered / nerfed, not needed in raids.</blockquote>And why does this smell like an attempt at discouraging new players picking that specific class? ;P

Devastatia

05-12-2008, 02:49 PM

Wow, this is one of the best post's I've seen in a new game (for me) forum! Thank you so much! In the time it has taken to download all the patches to update the installation disc's I've been reading and now have it down to 3 classes I want to choose from which is much less overwhelming lol. There's even one class I never would have thought to pick before on my list! Thank you again for taking the time to write this up. C:

Overcast42

09-03-2008, 12:00 PM

<cite>Spyderbite@Venekor wrote:</cite><blockquote>Personally, while its great information and all too often overlooked.. I believe the thread should just be changed to a big "Post New Message" button. Sheesh.. sorry bit jaded about the lack of effort from new players to do a bit of research these days before diving in to a game and then running to the forums and posting one of the 100 messages of the day.. "What do I do next?!". <img src="/eq2/images/smilies/69934afc394145350659cd7add244ca9.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /></blockquote>Not all of us <img src="/smilies/69934afc394145350659cd7add244ca9.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" />Of course, I was a long term EQ1 player, then I hated WoW for a while - good game, in ways, in other ways it was just unbearable. So back to EQ..2, this time. So I guess I'm not really a true 'newb' either though. I like the last line you got on the OP's sticky - about a 'little investmment that will pay off' - I couldn't agree more. I have suffered from Alt-o-holica for a long time - EQ1, WoW *sigh*... I really prefer to dump time into a single character, get them well, well polished off then, play a few alts. That's at least, the plan. Wife plays with me - kinda the same way, so I'm just gonna keep playing toons to level 10 or so, until I settle on a choice. I've really been tossing around the Inq/Brigand/Dirge, but have yet to settle 100%. After my time in EQ1, I know well what's not 'needed' now, may well be the most 'in-demand' class after an expansion, etc. (Shaman from EQ1, is a prime example - [Removed for Content] healer prior to PoP - at least that was the perception; and after PoP - they were crucial - Same with the Hybrid tanks). This is really a good guide; after one gets an idea of which way they wany to lean, there are class boards where they can further read flames... errr complaints.... errr opinions on various specific classes <img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" />To be honest, after looking around for a while - there's a lot less info in general on EQ2 than there was on EQ1 and on WoW now. But in a way that's good too; I'm always torn by this, as I'm not a hardcore RP'er, but I like to get biased towards my class and particular character in general and be able to 'identify' with him and get a reputation and a history going. It's what all too often is lost with a lot of alts; you don't really have a 'feel' that you've taken a character through the good and bad times. Once I get to 50+, I want to be able to look back and reflect on some of it; while striving foward. So to that: it is a good investment to really put in some research on which class will suit me and then stick with it.

Grumpy_Warrior_01

09-11-2008, 02:12 PM

Thank you for a very nicely done article. One minor item missing in the priest sections: no mention was made of curing detrimental magical and traumatic effects from allies. For priests, curing ranks right up there with healing and buffing IMHO. You can barely find an encounter in the game where the enemy does not cast at least some kind of curable detrimental, and I can think of many battles that are won/lost based on the priests' ability to cure many of them in rapid succession between heals.Also, I would not gloss over a basic core role of fighters, which is dealing damage. Fighters get big swords and axes for a reason, and it's not just for show. In fact fighters get the widest selection of weaponry in the game. I would hate to leave new players with the impression that picking a fighter class in EQII did not largely mean finding a nice weapon, or pair of weapons, and doing martial damage to the enemy. Allowing this image that fighters do nothing but tank is part of why we see all these bitter 20-page threads of disillusioned players bickering over the tank role. All fighters fight. And a primary focus of fighting, whether tanking or not, is dealing physical damage effectively.