New to the game, question on Fighter viability.

[Vankrooger]

<p>Hey guys, I'm fairly new to EQ2 (played EQ1 for 3 yeard back in '99). </p><p>I was thinking of rolling either a Fighter or a Scout for my first character. I can't decide between Berserker, Monk, Bruiser or Brigand. In EQ1 my main was an Iksar Monk, so I was a little biased towards the Monk at the begining... Until I found out they are sort of overplayed and generally not sought after for raids (compared to other classes).</p><p>So I checked out the Bruiser; I hear they find 5 man groups a little quicker than the Monk, but they're even less sought after in raids.</p><p>I checked in on the Berserker and read that they're very awesome at 5 man tanking, but they're even less useful than the above two classes in raids... I was kind of sad when I read that because I enjoyed playing the Berserker the most to level 8 (I took several classes to level 8 during my 15 day free trial).</p><p>Lastly, I tried the Brigand after hearing that they are in short supply and sought after for raids. I enjoyed playing him, but not as much as I enjoyed playing the fighters. He also has some pretty cool newb-friendly abilities such as track and sneak.</p><p>Anyway, I can't decide between the above four classes.</p><p>I enjoy the Monk because of his moves and it brings me back memories of EQ.</p><p>I enjoy the Bruiser because of the greater possibility to tank 5 mans, but I would also like to raid.</p><p>I enjoyed playing the Berserker the most out of all the classes, but I read that they just arn't necessary or wanted for raids.</p><p>I enjoyed playing the Brigand, but not as much as the above classes, but I read good things about the class and how they are sought after for raids.</p><p>Can anyone help elucidate this problem for me?</p><p>Some questions that might help me decide:</p><p>Out of the above four classes:</p><p>Which one is the easiest to find a PuG for 5 man dungeons/questing?</p><p>List the order in which they excell in single and multiple target DPS (assuming equal gear/player)</p><p>Which one is the best tanking class for single and multiple tarfets (again, assuming equal gear/player)</p><p>List the order of their usefulness in raids currently.</p><p>Any help would be much obliged. I know this is the Guardian's board, but if I posted on their board, I'd probably get a biased answer, so I am seeking an honest answer from a neautral class.</p>

[Brook]

You should pick the one you enjoy the most, as you said the Zerk seemed a good fit its the one I would go with. Zerks are great in raids and many use them as Main assist or off tank. They do very impressive damage for a plate wearer and can lock down multi mob encounter like no other. (not saying a guard cant, it just takes a bit more work)They are also very capable of being Main tank and a number of guilds use a Zerk for it. Cant speak for bruisers or brigands as I have never tried either, I know a monk is lots of fun and solo well but I have trouble holding lots of mobs at the same time with it... its doable.. just not as easy as the Zerk was.I raised a Zerk to 70 and betrayed to a guard because they seem to be better fit for my playstyle and I have never regretted it. Each class has its strengths and weaknesses  it all depends on what fits you the best.

[TuinalOfTheNexus]

<cite>Vankrooger wrote:</cite><blockquote><p>I enjoy the Monk because of his moves and it brings me back memories of EQ.</p><p>I enjoy the Bruiser because of the greater possibility to tank 5 mans, but I would also like to raid.</p><p>I enjoyed playing the Berserker the most out of all the classes, but I read that they just arn't necessary or wanted for raids.</p><p>I enjoyed playing the Brigand, but not as much as the above classes, but I read good things about the class and how they are sought after for raids.</p><p>Can anyone help elucidate this problem for me?</p><p>Some questions that might help me decide:</p><p>Out of the above four classes:</p><p>Which one is the easiest to find a PuG for 5 man dungeons/questing?</p><p><span style="color: #0066ff;">It's generally easier to <i>start</i> a group if you're playing a tank, because all you need to do is find a healer and 4 random DPS classes. It's easier to <i>join</i> a group as a scout, because you're one of those 4 random DPS classes.</span></p><p>List the order in which they excell in single and multiple target DPS (assuming equal gear/player)</p><p><span style="color: #0066ff;">Single target - Brigand, then it's very close between between Berserker, Bruiser and Monk. Bruiser is probably slightly ahead of Monk, particularly on short fights.</span></p><p><span style="color: #0066ff;">Multiple target - Berserker, then very close between Bruiser, Brigand, Monk.</span></p><p>Which one is the best tanking class for single and multiple tarfets (again, assuming equal gear/player)</p><p><span style="color: #0066ff;">Berserker for both situations.</span></p><p>List the order of their usefulness in raids currently.</p><p><span style="color: #0066ff;">Brigand most useful by a large margin. Berserker possibly useful if you can find a guild needing an OT. Notoriously hard to find a raid guild as Monk/Bruiser, although a Bruiser with Drag has some utility and can be a good asset to a raid.</span></p><p>Any help would be much obliged. I know this is the Guardian's board, but if I posted on their board, I'd probably get a biased answer, so I am seeking an honest answer from a neautral class.</p></blockquote>

[seamus]

<p>First I'd like to say, enjoy what you play. <img src="/smilies/283a16da79f3aa23fe1025c96295f04f.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /></p><p>Given the above, if you have any desire to be in a raid guild choosing any tank class will make it harder for you to do so, (not impossible). Raid guilds only need a couple tanks and the preference, atm, is Guardian for MT and Zerker as OT. Some guilds use Zerker's as MT while a scant few will use Paladins or SK's at all. Gotta love the balance SOE has implemented for the tank classes, note I don't even mention the brawlers. I'm not saying they don't get into raid guilds, its just harder for these classes to get into them.</p><p>For 5 mans Zerker will actually work to your advantage, there seems to be a shortage of tanks while leveling, as most people leveling these days are playing new mains to replace their unwanted tanks. <img src="/smilies/283a16da79f3aa23fe1025c96295f04f.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" />  Yeah, its that tough for tanks to get into raid guilds. Many of these folks only want Guardians or Zerkers for this role, the perception of the other tank classes isn't very good. (You'll find it very common to hear several people a day in chat calling the other tank classes useless, of course for instance content this isn't true if the classes are played well, but its the perception.)</p><p>Sooooo, that leaves Brigand. Out of all the classes you listed, you'll probably have a good time leveling, grouping and have a better shot at getting into a raid guild.</p>

[Vankrooger]

Thanks a lot for your insight. I decided to go Brigand with a zerker alt =P.

[knightofround]

If you make a zerker and want to raid, you will find yourself leveling a second character to be your raiding character. It happened to me. Best MT is a guardian, best OT is a paladin, best dps tank is a Bruiser, best utility tank is a Monk. Although to be frank dps tanks and utility tanks are not heavily sought after. Zerkers and Shadowknights get to cry in a corner come raiding time.Don't get me wrong, you *can* raid with Monk/Bruiser/Berserker. But you're going to have a *much* more difficult time finding a guild that will accept you and bring you along.But all of this crap applies to raiding. For single group content, go with whatever you love, they're all very equal including zerkers and shadowknights. EQ2 was designed for single group content after all.If you want to solo oodles though...go with Bruiser/Monk. You'll thank me soon enough. =)However...one thing you asked about was ease of getting a group. The only people that have it easy getting groups are healers. After that its tanks. Out of all the DPS classes, Brigands have the most trouble finding groups because debuffs are fairly useless in most single group situations, and they are heavily a debuffing class. And DPS classes are LFG everywhere; usually its the healer thats the bottleneck, and occasionally/rarely it is the tank.

[Mildavyn]

I would recommend a non-tank class as your first toon. It'll make things alot easier on your group mates when they dont have to tell you where to go. Play a non-tank class as your first toon and learn the dungeons, THEN tank them.