New to eq2 /wnoobie questions.

[Caerana]

<p>Ok im new to EQ2 im a vet of MMO's spent 5years in DAOC and some time in CoH, tried and disliked vanguard.</p><p> When looking over the forums for each class im having a difficult time understanding what each classes really DO  sony's class info page is pitifull and mots information i see on ten ton hammer and other megasites are 2+ years old.</p><p> Here when i look at class forums and questions  all i ever see are attack chain formula's or how to maximize wich legendary gear you need for this specific role.... its near impossible to find general information on classes of any help.</p><p> In DAOC i played a skald or warden most i loved the ability to fight somewhat like a dps fighter and have buffs/heals/songs to help the group  in MMO's i almost always play these  type classes.... so i looked at the dirge/troubadore here as well as the warden ...</p><p>  And as far as i can tell from the sparse information is that the warden while able to fight  is more of a healer than the warden in DAOC  and i cant get any real information about dirge/troubadore just advice on how to build an uber raid machione or make the ultimate eficient attack chain.</p><p> Ill be honest i love to group and be a benefit of the group but i dont with to be a mindless HEALBOT,DPSBOT,TAUNTBOT playing the game by numbers and macro's  i want to be able to group most of the time but if i must solo due to RL or no groups that day id like to be able to solo ok.</p><p>What is the difference between a dirge and troubadore other than song moods? will i be able to solo ok without having to have the perfect attack chain/macro's gear? and just have fun?  or with a warden/fury how do they play am i to be stuck as a pure healbot or will i be able to help the group in other ways and/or able to solo in a pinch and can i do it without the elaborate attach chains or special twink gear?</p><p>BTW will only be on a pve server not pvp.</p><p>Thank you for your time <img src="/eq2/images/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY<img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" />" width="15" height="15" /></p>

[Kenazeer]

<p>Bards (Troubs and Dirges) are the lowest DPS of scouts. Furies are the highest DPS of the healers. Being you are new to the game, in my opinion you would have a better time with a Fury than with a Bard. Furies are solo friendly whereas Bards aren't as much so. Also, while bards bring a lot to the table, any group can function completetly fine without a bard (save raids) and only some groups can fucntion fine without a healer.</p><p>By the way...the difference between troubs and dirges is that one buffs casters moreso while the other buffs melee moreso.</p><p>Good luck and hope you enjoy the game.</p>

[Caerana]

<p>thanks <img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /> well since im not looking to be tops of the DPS meter but just be helpfull to groups with soloability they all sound handy </p><p>Since the dirge/troubadore is a scout hybrid will i be required to be a sneaky theif type to get anywhere or will i be able to play them like a light tank with songs/spells?</p>

[GorgukGrimmfist]

To expand on K's post some ( and I agree with everything that they said).  Furys are the best dpser of the priests.  They do this primarily with spells.  Where a warden can spec to do some serious melee damage along with their spells.  The fury will put out more damage, but only slightly more so than a well played and specced warden.  Warden's also have slightly more utility than furys.  In raid settings furys are often placed with casters to maximize the benefits of their buffs.  Warden's are often in  melee or MT group.  In eq2 there are not really any TRUE hybrid classes.  They all fall into the 4 traditional catagories.  Fighter, priest, scout, and mage.  EQ2 gave skills that allow each class of a particular type to do the same job, they just do it differently.  As far as the bards go, any class can solo, but the bards do have the lowest dps of the scouts.  That being said, no other class adds more dps to a raid than a bard in a good group.  They enhance others dps rather than dishing it out themselves.

[Birn]

If you are soloing standard solo mobs you will probably just "tank" them <img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" />

[Gladiia]

<cite>Caerana wrote:</cite><blockquote><p>thanks <img src="/eq2/images/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY<img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" />" width="15" height="15" /> well since im not looking to be tops of the DPS meter but just be helpfull to groups with soloability they all sound handy </p><p>Since the dirge/troubadore is a scout hybrid will i be required to be a sneaky theif type to get anywhere or will i be able to play them like a light tank with songs/spells?</p></blockquote><p>I've been playing for a pretty decent amount of time, and I still struggle a little bit when soloing my troub.  Groups love me, but solo is rough.  The DPS is just really low early on. And the buffs, while extremely nice do not outweigh the lack of DPS when you are alone.    They are a bit of a sneaky type as the other scouts are, altho I feel less so with bards then the others.  </p><p>If you want to be this big benefit to groups most of the time, and aren't interested in healer, you might try an Illusionist (also if you don't mind being a caster).  They have very nice buffs as well, but are probably the easiest to solo out of the group buffers.</p>

[Caerana]

<p>i noticed that i had also forgten to speak about the monk/bruiser of the fighter classes what are thier difference between the two and what do they bring to standard or raid groups in PVE? are they magic/mele split like SK/paladins of most game or are they stardats mele machines like guardian/berserkers in most games? or are they different alltogether and how?. </p><p> Thank you once again for your time and info <img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /></p>

[GorgukGrimmfist]

Another class u may want to look into is the shaman.  Shamans are very misunderstood and one of the most powerfull classes in a group or raid setting.  As a defiler I can preward, heal, and DEBUFF.  Defiler debuffs are so strong that they make a huge difference when fighting epics.  Debuffs allows me to solo yellow and orange cons with realative ease.  As a defiler you are always wanted and needed for raids.  They are a tad bit slower at soloing, but they make up for it with durability.  If it wasnt for the inital damage spike and the time it takes me to cast all my debuffs, I could solo heal in the MT group for MOST but not all KoS raids.  Usually after all my debuffs are cast, I can keep the MT at 100% health with no worries.  As a defiler I always parse near 85% of total heals in raids.  In groups the kills happen so fast that the debuffs dont really have a use.  But in raids we are uber.  I mention this because there are a TON of furies and wardens, especially furies.  This means u may have a hard time getting a group sometimes because there is a good chance the group already has one.  They are by far the most common type of healer.  This is with good reason too, they are a blast to play and have a lethal combination of dps and healing.  I have one myself.  Just be prepared to be one of hundreds or thousands on the server.  Think hunter in WoW.

[Finora]

<p>I don't have anything to add to the monk/bruiser dirge/troubador things since I've played those 4 classes very little.</p><p>I will however say that if someone rolled a healer in EQ2 & all you are doing is being a healbot, they are a crappy crappy crappy healer lol =). All priest classes have something to add other than healing.</p>

[Gladiia]

<cite>Caerana wrote:</cite><blockquote><p>i noticed that i had also forgten to speak about the monk/bruiser of the fighter classes what are thier difference between the two and what do they bring to standard or raid groups in PVE? are they magic/mele split like SK/paladins of most game or are they stardats mele machines like guardian/berserkers in most games? or are they different alltogether and how?. </p><p> Thank you once again for your time and info <img src="/eq2/images/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY<img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" />" width="15" height="15" /></p></blockquote><p>Monk/Bruiser are the biggest DPS of the fighters (don't count what raiders say about it - because at the raid level the way group setup goes, the MT is probably going to parse WAY higher than they normally would outside of the raid).  They have awesome survivability, and are extremely good tanks.  BUT they are not raid tanks.  They can do it, but it just doesn't pan out like a zerker or guardian MTing a raid.  </p><p>The main difference between bruiser/monk is that the bruiser does more damage, and the monk is more defensive.  Bruisers get buffs that increase damage from Comba tArts (raid wide buff). Monks get haste buffs which increase both attack and casting speed (also raid wide buff).  </p><p>It has only been recently that the buffs were raid wide, and since then brawlers now at least have a spot in raids - before it was a laughable idea for some people.</p><p>They are not magic melee split - its pure melee.  And lots of it.   Very much fun.</p>