Wife and I want to play eq2

[shrekndonkey03]

My wife and I are thinking of playing this game and we would like some input before we invest any time and money.  I have read the Newbie FAQ: What Class/Race should I pick?? And I am left with a few questions/comments and I'd like some ideas.  We are coming off a long stint of City of Heroes and my wife loved playing scrappers (melee damage) and defenders (Buff/Debuff/Heal).  I think she will like playing a priest the most, but I am also thinking a bard that can buff and do good melee damage would be a good match to.  I have read that Bards have the lowest DPS of the scout class, but how does it compare in general to all other classes.  Would it be considered tier 2 or 3….  As far as priests go, she thought the Fury sounded good, healing ability with the highest priest dps. How do those classes compare? As I liked playing Tankers in COH, as you can probably guess a melee class that can take a lot of punishment.  I like the appeal of a rogue but the idea of positioning my self around baddies to backstab is new to me, but I like the thought of a musketeer type character duel wielding and looking very sexy while doing so.  Can anyone in the fighter class achieve this..want about the monk...? And finally a general question about the fighter class vs the scout class.  In COH the scrapper and the tanker could both stand in the fight and take some hits, the scrapper was not super frail.  Is that that case in EQ2?  Is the scout a glass cannon or can they take hits (or avoid them) and stand there ground? Any ideas, suggestions, or input would be great, thanks!

[Norrsken]

<cite>shrekndonkey03 wrote:</cite><blockquote>My wife and I are thinking of playing this game and we would like some input before we invest any time and money.  I have read the Newbie FAQ: What Class/Race should I pick?? And I am left with a few questions/comments and I'd like some ideas.  We are coming off a long stint of City of Heroes and my wife loved playing scrappers (melee damage) and defenders (Buff/Debuff/Heal).  I think she will like playing a priest the most, but I am also thinking a bard that can buff and do good melee damage would be a good match to.  I have read that Bards have the lowest DPS of the scout class, but how does it compare in general to all other classes.  Would it be considered tier 2 or 3….  As far as priests go, she thought the Fury sounded good, healing ability with the highest priest dps. How do those classes compare? As I liked playing Tankers in COH, as you can probably guess a melee class that can take a lot of punishment.  I like the appeal of a rogue but the idea of positioning my self around baddies to backstab is new to me, but I like the thought of a musketeer type character duel wielding and looking very sexy while doing so.  Can anyone in the fighter class achieve this..want about the monk...? And finally a general question about the fighter class vs the scout class.  In COH the scrapper and the tanker could both stand in the fight and take some hits, the scrapper was not super frail.  Is that that case in EQ2?  Is the scout a glass cannon or can they take hits (or avoid them) and stand there ground? Any ideas, suggestions, or input would be great, thanks! </blockquote>If you go with a rogue, the "scrapper" isnt as frail, they are basically half a tank and take the beating as half a tank as well. the bards dps is really at the bottom of the food chain. they have some lovely buffs though. As for monk, they do it budo style, not rogue style, bare fists, or clubs is their way. As far as her playing a healer and de/buffer, and liking to do melee, check out the warden or the inquisitor. Prolly the inqy, they can spec for melee dps, and arent too far behind the fury anyways. Plus, as an inqy, you are in plate armor. Take punches like a tank. Hehe.

[Gralthak]

<p>Welcom aboard, I actually duo with my wife as well (apparently this is fairly common).  I'll try to address some of your questions:</p><p><span style="color: #ff9900">We are coming off a long stint of City of Heroes and my wife loved playing scrappers (melee damage) and defenders (Buff/Debuff/Heal).  I think she will like playing a priest the most, but I am also thinking a bard that can buff and do good melee damage would be a good match to.  I have read that Bards have the lowest DPS of the scout class, but how does it compare in general to all other classes.  Would it be considered tier 2 or 3....  As far as priests go, she thought the Fury sounded good, healing ability with the highest priest dps. How do those classes compare?</span> </p><p><span style="color: #ffffcc">Bards do indeed have the lowest DPS, but they add huge amount of utility to a group.  They make everyone else perform much better, so that shouldn't be overlooked.  As just came up in a similar topic a well equipped Fighter class from the more offense oriented classes can approach that of a Bard in many cases.  But straight parsing of DPS numbers doesn't tell the whole story.  </span></p><p>The Fury class is definitely capable of helping with damage, as are the Templar and Inquisitor with a little tweaking.  </p><p><span style="color: #ff9900">As I liked playing Tankers in COH, as you can probably guess a melee class that can take a lot of punishment.  I like the appeal of a rogue but the idea of positioning my self around baddies to backstab is new to me, but I like the thought of a musketeer type character duel wielding and looking very sexy while doing so.  Can anyone in the fighter class achieve this..want about the monk...?</span></p><p><span style="color: #ffffcc">Any class is capable of dual (not duel... a duel is a fight, dual means two) wielding in EQ2.  Scouts cannot take much of a beating however, they might be able to survive a few hits but seldom can they standup to a sustained beating.  The brigand is probably the closest to being able to tank if you're interested in a Scout.  As for Fighters all of them are able to take a lot of punishment, but be aware that the Monk and Bruiser do it by avoiding hits instead of just having thick armor and a lot of health.  They are, however, definitely the most offensive of the Fighter classes.  I'd say look at a Monk, Bruiser, or Berserker from what you're saying.</span></p><p>For a duo you're honestly best off with a healer/tank combo.  The common suggestions for this is a more offensive tank like I listed above along with a healer that can help with the DPS.  You won't kill things quick, but you'll have much greater survivability than as a DPS class.</p>

[shrekndonkey03]

Good responses , nice to see an interactive community.  I can see my self playing a Zerker, or a monk ( I played avoiding tanker sets in COH and they were my fav) As for my wife playing a Fury, Templar or Inquisitor I will have to read about the other two types and see what she thinks about those.  Keep the good info comming!

[Gralthak]

<p><span style="font-size: x-small">If you choose to go with a Monk or Bruiser be aware that they pair poorly with Templars and Inquisitors; it's not to say they can't work together but it's not the ideal choice.  Let me explain why:</span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-small">The main method of healing for Templars and Inquisitors is what is called a 'reactive heal'.  How this works is that they put a short term buff on the player and whenever that player takes damage the spell triggers and heals them for a specific amount of damage.  With an avoidance based character like a Monk or Bruiser this doesn't always work out well since if they manage to avoid being hit no heals will happen.  Also, these heals often heal a large amount when totalled up but each individual trigger is much smaller.  Since when a Bruiser or Monk *does* take a hit they have such light armor they will take significantly more damage than other Fighter classes but will still only benefit from a single trigger of the reactive heal.</span></p>

[Nahlis]

Monk/Bruiser and a Templar/Inquisitor would be a nice combo I think.  Both can do very significant damage when specced that way eleviating your need for a straight dps class.  Plus you have a tank and a healer so you get your bases covered.  I'd go bruiser/inquisitor myself, but i'm biased, having played both those classes quite a bit.  I'm alos currently duoing a lot with an irl friend who has an S-K to my Inquisitor.  We're both around lvl 43 currently and have found the combination to be quite effective.

[Winterborne]

I might suggest a Bruiser (evil) or Monk (good) for a fun melee type. I prefer the Bruiser because I thought the Monk just hopped around like a bunny too much. My wife however, loves playing her monk class, so I guess she doesn't share the sentiment. All though you're not front of the line group or raid tank, you are a more than adequate duo tank and solo character. Although I never played a Troubador, I have a Dirge and they are an awesome support class. Most of their buffs are melee enhancements, and they do quite a bit of debuffing as well. Throw in some fun utility stuff like tracking, run speed, trap disarm, and you have an excellent support class. They may not top the damage charts, but they do a respectable amount, considering everything else they bring to the table. No heals though (except for a few self only), unfortunately. Though, later in levels they do get a rez. I don't know when, I'm only level 32. If you really want healing, I'd go Warden over Fury. Furies are popular because they can crack off some serious nukes, and they although they can heal, wardens beat them out as they seemed to be more centered on healing. That's not to say Wardens are [Removed for Content]. They are very competent and have some cool melee alternatives to doing spell damage without the casting time. It's really as simple as this: Damage plus healing, Fury; Healing plus damage Warden. You may want to look at the Mystic/Defiler shaman class as far as utility goes also. They have some nice spells to break down the enemy, throw shields on the melee to soak up damage, and some standard healing spells too. I haven't played all the classes, but all these I've enjoyed and thought they might make a good fit.

[shrekndonkey03]

Seritaph@Kithicor wrote: <blockquote>I might suggest a Bruiser (evil) or Monk (good) for a fun melee type. I prefer the Bruiser because I thought the Monk just hopped around like a bunny too much. My wife however, loves playing her monk class, so I guess she doesn't share the sentiment. All though you're not front of the line group or raid tank, you are a more than adequate duo tank and solo character. Although I never played a Troubador, I have a Dirge and they are an awesome support class. Most of their buffs are melee enhancements, and they do quite a bit of debuffing as well. Throw in some fun utility stuff like tracking, run speed, trap disarm, and you have an excellent support class. They may not top the damage charts, but they do a respectable amount, considering everything else they bring to the table. No heals though (except for a few self only), unfortunately. Though, later in levels they do get a rez. I don't know when, I'm only level 32. If you really want healing, I'd go Warden over Fury. Furies are popular because they can crack off some serious nukes, and they although they can heal, wardens beat them out as they seemed to be more centered on healing. That's not to say Wardens are [Removed for Content]. They are very competent and have some cool melee alternatives to doing spell damage without the casting time. It's really as simple as this: Damage plus healing, Fury; Healing plus damage Warden. You may want to look at the Mystic/Defiler shaman class as far as utility goes also. They have some nice spells to break down the enemy, throw shields on the melee to soak up damage, and some standard healing spells too. I haven't played all the classes, but all these I've enjoyed and thought they might make a good fit. </blockquote>So are you saying that Wardens are more melee oriented and Furies are more spell oriented in terms of dealing damage?  Were planning on going on the side of good if that helps.

[Freliant]

<p>First: Welcome to the game.</p><p>Furies can do more damage than a warden, and the fury is the fastest of all the healers, however, wardens can heal for much longer periods of time. EI they have alot of lasting power, while still being able to put out some descent dps, though not as much as a fury.</p><p>Furies can take you out of a scrape quicker than a Warden, but the warden will still be kicking while the fury will be dead and on the floor because of lack of mana. Take that any way you wish ^_^</p><p>Both the Fury and the Warden can be either good or evil.</p>

[Winterborne]

shrekndonkey03 wrote:<blockquote> So are you saying that Wardens are more melee oriented and Furies are more spell oriented in terms of dealing damage?  Were planning on going on the side of good if that helps. </blockquote> Well Wardens by default use spells for damage, but they do have an Achievement line that offers melee based attacks with the same spell effects (fire, cold, etc), so that it behaves like and instant cast spell with the swing of your weapon. It's a nice line and does make them more melee oriented. You still have the spell equivalents should you want to stand back and cast.

[shrekndonkey03]

I have decided I want to roll a monk, and I talked to my wife and she wants a priest of some sort.  All I have read says that fury is the best damage dealing healer, can someone rank the rest of them?  She wants a more melee oriented healer, don't know if that exists in this game. EDIT After I reread that, I feel I need to restate it.  She would be happy with a Cleric type that can wear plate armor so she could melee, as long as they can do some decent damage.  I'v read they can be speced to do damage, but I'm new and I don't know that that means.  I'm still looking for a ranking of potential damage for priests can someone help with that?

[Graywindnz]

<p>Well if you have decided to roll a monk i would suggest your wift looks at a mystic, wthey work with wards (preventing the damage) and when you  have the aa you can make the damage spells of the mystic into combat arts.</p><p>Im suprised that no one has mentioned this yet!! <img src="/smilies/385970365b8ed7503b4294502a458efa.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /> <img src="/smilies/385970365b8ed7503b4294502a458efa.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /> <img src="/smilies/385970365b8ed7503b4294502a458efa.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /></p><p>I think that this is one of the best combos out there. Monk avoids damage and when he does take it the ward takes the brunt of it. I know this works as I have played as the monk in this combo and taken down heroics lvls above us..</p><p>Edit: after reading your edit in regards to you being a monk and looking for the best duo partner it would be, 1:Mystic, 2:fury or warden, I would not bother with Cleric as there heals are not the best for the type of "tank" you want to use.</p>

[nam]

My gf and I  duoed a zerker/fury combo to 70, and were very, very happy with it. I also have a 66 monk. Either zerker or monk duoed with a fury works great, but zerker is a little more durable than a monk end game, and can hold group agro better. Furies have some serious aoe dps and so group agro mngmt is essential. Monk is now retired, the zerker is my main.

[eshokes]

<p>Welcome to Norrath,</p><p> My wife and I have been playing together for about 2 years now.</p><p> Our first combo was a Dirge and Fury, but our favorite combo has been our second set of toons, Fury and Wizard. The Fury/Wizard combo has been more fun for us. We both can root and with that ability we are able to kill monsters many levels above our own. We both have crafters that make, armor, spells, food and jewelry which has saved us a lot of in game coinage and made us both independtly wealthy.</p><p> We are looking forward to the expansion in November to create our 3rd set of toons. We are leaning towards a couple of hybrids that will complement each other. Haven't decided yet on the classes but having fun with them will be our first priority.</p><p>Safe travels and Happy hunting...</p>

[TheSpin]

<p>Mystic +  Monk or Zerker </p><p>I have to suggest you take a look at Mystic for your wifes healer.  They have excellent buffs and very good debuffs.  They also have a melee option for dps help.  Ward heals are preferred by many players and they are my favorite heals to use on an avoidence tank.</p><p>One other side note about mystic....if  your wife chooses to buff her melee line in the Mystic tree the spirit wolf pet she gets will be buffed and not nearly as fragile as the current mystic pet as of today's patch.  The pet appeals to a lot of people, and the two of you might enjoy the companion.</p><p>Wardens don't have as many buffs or debuffs, they are great healers though.</p>

[BoneSmasher]

<p>One thing to consider is if and how you want to play the end game: raiding.  Once you get to 70, which will not that all that long now the way the game is structured, the only thing really left to do is start alts, or do some raiding.  So, if you want your cahracters to have longevity, i.e. be a desired class for raiding and high end instance groups, I would not pick monk, brusier, warden, shadowknight, paladin, wizard, berserker. conjuror, necromancer or fury since most servers are overrun with them.</p><p>The classes most highly recruited by guilds that raid are defiler, inquisitor, mystic, dirge, troubadour, coercer and illusionist.  Those are the classes that we seem to have the most trouble finding and keeping on our roster.</p><p>Those are also the least played classes it seems.</p><p>You can duo to 70 with just about any combination of classes.  Some will be more challenging than others to do so.</p><p>Probably the easiest class combos to duo to 70 would be monk / healer or brigand - swashbuclker / healer or berserker / healer.</p><p>The challenge will be trying to find a way to replace the standard tank + healer + DPS holy trinity.  When it comes to duoing, you want a combination of DPS + Survivalibity.   The more DPS you can put out, the less time you have to survive. lol</p><p>What they don't tell you in the class descriptions:</p><p>Pure Tanks:</p><p>Guardian - Lowest DPS of all tank classes, highest defensive abilities. No utility - not a widely played class due to low dps.  Most desired raiding tank in most cases. Great group tanks. Berserker -  Medium DPS - good survivability.  No utility - The servers are full of them - widely played becuase of the perception of high DPS plus tanking ability.  Probably second most desired raid tank but over populated. Great group tanks.</p><p>Crusaders:</p><p>Paladin - 1/3 tank 1/3 healer 1/3 something else.  The servers are full of them. Good group tanks Shadowknights 1/3 tank 1/3 necro 1/3 somthing else. The servers are full of them. Good group tanks</p><p>Martial Artitsts</p><p>Bruiser - Tons of them on the servers.  Ok group tank.  rarely used in raiding other than to pull.  Best DPS of the Martial Artists. Monk - Tons of them on the servers.  Ok group tank.  Rarely used in raiding other than to pull.  More defensive than the Bruiser.</p><p>For the most part, tanks are defiend by their gear, spell quality and player skill in that order.  However, the best gear in the game won't overcome poor skills in tanking.  Nothing is more frustrating than being in a group with a bad tank.  If you plan to raid, understand that tanks are the fewest needed in a raid force.  Out of 24 people, 2 to 3 tanks is the max desired.</p><p>Healers</p><p>Defiler - Primarily function is warding with some heals.  Slowest heals of all healers.  Primary role is to prevent damage from occuring. Debuffs.  Critical for raiding.  Very low DPS.  Great match for a n avoidance tank. (Martial Artist) - Get Speed Buffs Mystic - Same as above.  Very low DPS. - Get Speed Buffs. Warden - Most mana efficient of all healers.  Primarily uses HoTs (Heals over Time)  Very fast casting.  Excellent melee buffs and good DPS for a healer class.  Gets Evac. Gets Speed buffs. Fury - Fastest cast times of all healers.  Highest DPS of all healers.  Can be played as effectively as a warden.  Has more caster buffs.  Gets Group inivis. Get Speed Buffs. Templar - Biggest heals of all.  Not real fast casting times.  Heals are reactives (they heal when the target gets hit) and big, slow casting direct heals.  No speed buffs, no evac or group invis.  Excellent defensive goup buffs. Inquisitor - Big heals - same as above.  Excellent offensive group buffs.</p><p>That is the two thirds of the holy trinity of mmo groups.</p><p>Scouts Ranger - High DPS, no tanking ability.  Top teir DPS class. No utility. Self buffs only. can be expensive to play since they have to buy arrows and poisions. Assassin - High DPS, no tanking ability. Top tier DPS class. Swelf buffs only.  Single utility spell is hate transfer. Brigand - High DPS.  Tons of debuffs and stuns.  Highly prized raiding class.  Debuffs the target's defensive skills.  Self buffs only. No utility.  Can tank very well.  Very few on the servers it seems. Swashbucker - High DPS.  Debuffs offensive skills.  Lots of area effect damage.  Hate transfer.  Highly prized raiding class.  Very few on the servers reach raiding level it seems.</p><p>Dirge - Low DPS for a scout class.  Awesome utility, especially for melee groups.  Highly prized raiding class. Group power regen. song. Very few on the servers. Troubadour - Low DPS for a scout class.  Awesome utility, expecially for caster groups.  Highly prized raiding class.  Group power regen song.  Very few on the servers. Casters</p><p>Wizard - King of single target DPS.  No utility.  Gets evac.  Root and nuke style of play. Tons of them on the servers. Warlock - King of multi-target DPS. No utility.  Gets evac.  Tons of them on the servers.</p><p>Coercer - Highly prized utility class for raiding.  Mezzes, mem-blurs, group power regen, hate transfer, great DPS buffs.  Not many get played to raid level.  Hard class to play. Excellent group buffs. Illusionist - Highly prized utility class for raiding.  Mezzes, stuns, group power regen, hate transfer, great DPS buffs.  Not many get played to raid level.  Hard class to play. Excellent melee or caster group buffs. Conjuror - Pet class.  Can be very good DPS.  Tons and tons of them on the servers. Necormancer - Per class.  Can be very good DPS. Tons and tons of them on the servers.</p><p>Now the class population is going to be different on each server.  But in general, I think what I have seen is mostly accurate. Classes played in order of lowest population to  highest: Troubadour, Dirge, Coercer, Illusionist, Swashbuckler, Brigand, Inquisitor, Templar,  Guardian - Huge jump here, Berserker, Warlock, Wizard, Paladin, Brusier, Warden, Monk, Shadowknight, Fury, Necromancer, Conjuror.</p><p>The higher the class population, the higher the competition for loot drops and spells.  Meaning that higher level gear and spells cost a lot more for that class to buy.  However, some spells are rare and cost a lot no matter what.</p><p>From a lifetime cost standpoint, plate tanks are the most gear dependant classes so they are very expensive to keep geared up as they progress.  They must have the best gear and spell upgrades they can get to be effective.  Especially at higher levels.  You can offest this by crafting and harvesting for the rares needed to make upgraded items.  It seems that most people depend on tanks to be group leaders, form groups, etc. So unles you want to be in a leadership role in most groups, tanks are not the class to play. If you want fast duoing to 70 and don't care about raiding: 2 Conjurors or 2 Necros can tear it up.  Built in tanking, good DPS. Brigand and Swashy + any healer and you can progress fast. Monk / Bruiser + Defiler or Mystic or Templar or Inquisitor and you can progess well and have godo survivability.</p><p>Berserkers have very good DPS for a plate, but only after level 50.  Up until then, their DPS is pretty low.</p><p>Or you can pick any 2 classes and level to 70 anyway. The main thing to do is to pick classes you REALLY think you will like to play. Now that you get class abilities at the very beginning, I recommend trying some out.  Getting to level 20 takes no time at all and you would need to play a class to level 20 to get a feel for it anyway. I have a 70 raiding guardian, a 70 monk, a 70 wizard, a 52 swashy, a 52 berserker and other alts in the 30s and 40s.  I have played every class in the game.   What it comes down to in the end, is what you like to play based on what fits your playstyle.</p><p>I have been playing since launch and yes all of this is my opinion.  So take it for what it is worth.</p><p>I am on the Everfrost server and will be happy to help out if you decide to roll on that server.  Just send me a tell in game.</p><p>Brand</p>

[Winterborne]

Keep in mind if you go monk, you don't have an area of effect taunt (at least my bruiser hasn't received one yet and I'm level 32). This is important and I feel like I should explain. The purpose of taunt is to keep the attacker focus on you, the tank, and off you wife, the healer. You probably know this already. As a Bruiser (aka evil monk equivalent) I can taunt a single target, and I can taunt an encounter (a group of attackers that fight as a small group), but I cannot mass taunt everything in the nearby area with a single taunt. I would have to switch targets and retaunt around to every attacker. Some classes have an "everything in the nearby area" taunt, which is very useful when tanking. You should be fine in a duo or small group as long as everyone involved is aware that you'll be target hopping on the taunts occasionally.   ..And I did mention mystic, didn't I? This may sound strange because it kind of breaks the Tank / Healer archetype, but your wife may want to explore playing as a Pally. Very melee oriented, single heals, group heals, wears plate. etc.

[shrekndonkey03]

<cite>BoneSmasher wrote:</cite><blockquote><p>One thing to consider is if and how you want to play the end game: raiding.  Once you get to 70, which will not that all that long now the way the game is structured, the only thing really left to do is start alts, or do some raiding.  So, if you want your cahracters to have longevity, i.e. be a desired class for raiding and high end instance groups, I would not pick monk, brusier, warden, shadowknight, paladin, wizard, berserker. conjuror, necromancer or fury since most servers are overrun with them.</p><p>The classes most highly recruited by guilds that raid are defiler, inquisitor, mystic, dirge, troubadour, coercer and illusionist.  Those are the classes that we seem to have the most trouble finding and keeping on our roster.</p><p>Those are also the least played classes it seems.</p><p>You can duo to 70 with just about any combination of classes.  Some will be more challenging than others to do so.</p><p>Probably the easiest class combos to duo to 70 would be monk / healer or brigand - swashbuclker / healer or berserker / healer.</p><p>The challenge will be trying to find a way to replace the standard tank + healer + DPS holy trinity.  When it comes to duoing, you want a combination of DPS + Survivalibity.   The more DPS you can put out, the less time you have to survive. lol</p><p>What they don't tell you in the class descriptions:</p><p>Pure Tanks:</p><p>Guardian - Lowest DPS of all tank classes, highest defensive abilities. No utility - not a widely played class due to low dps.  Most desired raiding tank in most cases. Great group tanks. Berserker -  Medium DPS - good survivability.  No utility - The servers are full of them - widely played becuase of the perception of high DPS plus tanking ability.  Probably second most desired raid tank but over populated. Great group tanks.</p><p>Crusaders:</p><p>Paladin - 1/3 tank 1/3 healer 1/3 something else.  The servers are full of them. Good group tanks Shadowknights 1/3 tank 1/3 necro 1/3 somthing else. The servers are full of them. Good group tanks</p><p>Martial Artitsts</p><p>Bruiser - Tons of them on the servers.  Ok group tank.  rarely used in raiding other than to pull.  Best DPS of the Martial Artists. Monk - Tons of them on the servers.  Ok group tank.  Rarely used in raiding other than to pull.  More defensive than the Bruiser.</p><p>For the most part, tanks are defiend by their gear, spell quality and player skill in that order.  However, the best gear in the game won't overcome poor skills in tanking.  Nothing is more frustrating than being in a group with a bad tank.  If you plan to raid, understand that tanks are the fewest needed in a raid force.  Out of 24 people, 2 to 3 tanks is the max desired.</p><p>Healers</p><p>Defiler - Primarily function is warding with some heals.  Slowest heals of all healers.  Primary role is to prevent damage from occuring. Debuffs.  Critical for raiding.  Very low DPS.  Great match for a n avoidance tank. (Martial Artist) - Get Speed Buffs Mystic - Same as above.  Very low DPS. - Get Speed Buffs. Warden - Most mana efficient of all healers.  Primarily uses HoTs (Heals over Time)  Very fast casting.  Excellent melee buffs and good DPS for a healer class.  Gets Evac. Gets Speed buffs. Fury - Fastest cast times of all healers.  Highest DPS of all healers.  Can be played as effectively as a warden.  Has more caster buffs.  Gets Group inivis. Get Speed Buffs. Templar - Biggest heals of all.  Not real fast casting times.  Heals are reactives (they heal when the target gets hit) and big, slow casting direct heals.  No speed buffs, no evac or group invis.  Excellent defensive goup buffs. Inquisitor - Big heals - same as above.  Excellent offensive group buffs.</p><p>That is the two thirds of the holy trinity of mmo groups.</p><p>Scouts Ranger - High DPS, no tanking ability.  Top teir DPS class. No utility. Self buffs only. can be expensive to play since they have to buy arrows and poisions. Assassin - High DPS, no tanking ability. Top tier DPS class. Swelf buffs only.  Single utility spell is hate transfer. Brigand - High DPS.  Tons of debuffs and stuns.  Highly prized raiding class.  Debuffs the target's defensive skills.  Self buffs only. No utility.  Can tank very well.  Very few on the servers it seems. Swashbucker - High DPS.  Debuffs offensive skills.  Lots of area effect damage.  Hate transfer.  Highly prized raiding class.  Very few on the servers reach raiding level it seems.</p><p>Dirge - Low DPS for a scout class.  Awesome utility, especially for melee groups.  Highly prized raiding class. Group power regen. song. Very few on the servers. Troubadour - Low DPS for a scout class.  Awesome utility, expecially for caster groups.  Highly prized raiding class.  Group power regen song.  Very few on the servers. Casters</p><p>Wizard - King of single target DPS.  No utility.  Gets evac.  Root and nuke style of play. Tons of them on the servers. Warlock - King of multi-target DPS. No utility.  Gets evac.  Tons of them on the servers.</p><p>Coercer - Highly prized utility class for raiding.  Mezzes, mem-blurs, group power regen, hate transfer, great DPS buffs.  Not many get played to raid level.  Hard class to play. Excellent group buffs. Illusionist - Highly prized utility class for raiding.  Mezzes, stuns, group power regen, hate transfer, great DPS buffs.  Not many get played to raid level.  Hard class to play. Excellent melee or caster group buffs. Conjuror - Pet class.  Can be very good DPS.  Tons and tons of them on the servers. Necormancer - Per class.  Can be very good DPS. Tons and tons of them on the servers.</p><p>Now the class population is going to be different on each server.  But in general, I think what I have seen is mostly accurate. Classes played in order of lowest population to  highest: Troubadour, Dirge, Coercer, Illusionist, Swashbuckler, Brigand, Inquisitor, Templar,  Guardian - Huge jump here, Berserker, Warlock, Wizard, Paladin, Brusier, Warden, Monk, Shadowknight, Fury, Necromancer, Conjuror.</p><p>The higher the class population, the higher the competition for loot drops and spells.  Meaning that higher level gear and spells cost a lot more for that class to buy.  However, some spells are rare and cost a lot no matter what.</p><p>From a lifetime cost standpoint, plate tanks are the most gear dependant classes so they are very expensive to keep geared up as they progress.  They must have the best gear and spell upgrades they can get to be effective.  Especially at higher levels.  You can offest this by crafting and harvesting for the rares needed to make upgraded items.  It seems that most people depend on tanks to be group leaders, form groups, etc. So unles you want to be in a leadership role in most groups, tanks are not the class to play. If you want fast duoing to 70 and don't care about raiding: 2 Conjurors or 2 Necros can tear it up.  Built in tanking, good DPS. Brigand and Swashy + any healer and you can progress fast. Monk / Bruiser + Defiler or Mystic or Templar or Inquisitor and you can progess well and have godo survivability.</p><p>Berserkers have very good DPS for a plate, but only after level 50.  Up until then, their DPS is pretty low.</p><p>Or you can pick any 2 classes and level to 70 anyway. The main thing to do is to pick classes you REALLY think you will like to play. Now that you get class abilities at the very beginning, I recommend trying some out.  Getting to level 20 takes no time at all and you would need to play a class to level 20 to get a feel for it anyway. I have a 70 raiding guardian, a 70 monk, a 70 wizard, a 52 swashy, a 52 berserker and other alts in the 30s and 40s.  I have played every class in the game.   What it comes down to in the end, is what you like to play based on what fits your playstyle.</p><p>I have been playing since launch and yes all of this is my opinion.  So take it for what it is worth.</p><p>I am on the Everfrost server and will be happy to help out if you decide to roll on that server.  Just send me a tell in game.</p><p>Brand</p></blockquote> Are swashbuckers as tough as bigands or do brigands out last them because of there stuns?

[BoneSmasher]

<p>They are about the same, but different methods.  Depends on how you set them up.  AA choices can make a big difference.  As does gear.  Brigs and Swashys can tank about 75% as well as a plate tank. Only issue is holding agro since they don't get the taunts a plate tank gets.</p>

[Azzikai]

<p>I play the Warden half of a Warden/Bruiser combo and it works out well for us. Ignoring the nuts and bolts that others have gotten into, it is the utility of the Warden that made me pick one over a Shaman class. I like being able to travel and travel fast. Ports and evac save a lot of time (as does 45% SoW, Mystics have that option as well though). When you are a bit of a heritage quest junkie, like I am, being able to move around quickly is a blessing. </p><p>I am spec'd as a melee Warden and I love it. I do enjoy healing but it is a lot of fun to smack mobs around too, particularly when hitting them procs a heal <img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /> There are times when we are doing quests and whatnot that I don't actually cast a heal due to the AA heal proc, the heal proc on my weapon and the heal over time from my Spores buff taking care of any damage. Downside to that is that I think I've gone mad from the sound all of those procs make <img src="/smilies/283a16da79f3aa23fe1025c96295f04f.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /></p><p>Regarding the post about who is wanted for raiding and whatnot, I think it really varies (with the exception of the Brawler class). My guild, for example, has more active Dirges than Wizards and most of our regularly playing healers are of the plate variety. We have like one active Fury and two Wardens (of which I am one). We are not, though, a pure raiding guild. If you want to join a raiding guild (as opposed to a guild that raids) then I would definitely go with one of the lesser played classes. If you don't think that raiding healivy is in your future then I'd pick someting that fits you as opposed to trying to fit yourself into a role that gets you into raids.</p>

[Gralthak]

<p>Let me second that by saying what the higher end raiding guilds are looking for varies by guild and server so take the advice given on what classes you shouldn't roll with a grain of salt.  </p><p>Also, my personal advice is to play what you want to play.  Since you're both new it still takes a decent amount of time to get to level 70 and there are plenty of things to do along the way.  I'd rather enjoy the first sixty nine levels and have a little more trouble finding a group at the endgame than force myself to play something I don't really want to for the entire game just so I can raid (again with a character I didn't really want to play in the first place).  If you get to the endgame and you decide you want to focus on raiding you can always use your high level characters to finance a new character that you can, with your newfound experience, rush up rather quickly to the endgame.</p>

[TheSpin]

<cite>BoneSmasher wrote:</cite><blockquote><p>They are about the same, but different methods.  Depends on how you set them up.  AA choices can make a big difference.  As does gear.  Brigs and Swashys can tank about 75% as well as a plate tank. Only issue is holding agro since they don't get the taunts a plate tank gets.</p></blockquote><p> Brigands and swashies are not the same when it comes to tanking.  Brigands are awesome against single targets, whether tanking or not.  Swashbucklers are great against groups due to much better aoe abilities.</p><p>An example of the differences between swashbuckler and brigand....On my brigand I would often use walk the plank on an add that was beating on the tank when I knew it was one add too many for the tank to manage....I can then continue to keep the mob stunned or otherwise facing away from the tank (therefore doing no damage) for 12ish seconds.  A Swashbuckler couldn't do that.  Swashbucklers do excell at reducing the damage output of their targets however, while a brigand is better at increasing the damage their targets take.</p><p>And to an earlier post above....Mystics are not the horrible dps they used to be and i think they'd make a great choice as a class to put in any duo.  It just requires quite a few AA before the mystic dps is really seen.</p>

[SageGaspar]

Brawler as the fighter character without hesitation. They wear leather armor -- mastercrafted leather is much, much cheaper than the equivalent metal armor. They do DPS, which you want in a duo. They work fine as group tanks, but especially should have no problem as the tank in a duo. They have feign death, which is a very valuable tool: you can FD off if you have a bad pull, or if it looks like you're going to die you can feign and then revive your wife's priest when the mobs are gone. One of their hugest advantages for a new player especially is that you can take the STR line of AAs and not only improve your defense, but improve your bare-handed attack power to the point where you won't need to worry about tracking down a weapon until very late in the game. A shaman is a good pairing for keeping you alive in battle, and I think you'll enjoy that duo. One thing to keep in mind is that the warden will be able to evac you and port you around the world, which are both very handy utilities for travel. The fury will also be able to open up ports, though their secondary utility of group invis is far less useful than the ports.

[Winterborne]

<cite>SageGaspar wrote:</cite><blockquote>One of their hugest advantages for a new player especially is that you can take the STR line of AAs and not only improve your defense, but improve your bare-handed attack power to the point where you won't need to worry about tracking down a weapon until very late in the game. </blockquote> This is a very good line. It's what I chose for my Bruiser. I think Monks have the same. Highly recommended for duo/solo and small groups.

[Raiina]

<p>Hubby and I have also decided to give it a try, coming from WoW and prior to that EQ for a few years.  I really like WoW, very fun but miss the depth of EQ and a more adult community.</p><p>I have to say, so far I am disappointed.  Hubby has tried it before and so far seems to like it, but I find the UI somewhat clunky and the animations frankly awful.  The half-elves look like children.  I can't tell when I'm in combat (I know, black bar around the button, but I don't <i>feel</i> it) and it's kind of dreary.  </p><p>Mind you I haven't gotten past the starting area, but what can motivate me to stick with it?  There are things I do like, such as player housing and the fact that it's very much quest based, but it's just not grabbing me.</p>