Help with choice for SOLO play.....

[mikeh]

<div>Im someone who isnt going to have time every day for group play though I know I will need to group for certain things. I have played every MMO out and played EQ2 a few years back for a couple months. </div><div>I just bought RoK with the whole 9 and I am wondering what is the best choice for me to level <u>solo</u> for the most part? I was thinking pally maybe? I played a wizard before and that was not easy to solo <i>obviously...</i></div><div>I dont plan on only playing solo and will try and grp when I can but with a kid and wife and tons of other games to play atm Im looking for my best choice to get to lvl 30+ <b>solo for the most part.</b></div><div>Also Im sure it wont be easy to find lowbie grps anyways this long after launch.....</div><div>Thanks!!!</div>

[Pyra Shineflame]

<p>Actually wizzies can solo quite well <b>after level 40</b> =P</p><p>As for soloing, Shadowknights are better at it than the paladin (more dmg, same healing), bruisers are good at it,</p><p>the pet classes of the conjurer and necromancer, the druid healers (fury more so) and the brigand/swashbucklers are the best soloing classes out of the four archetypes and it wouldn't be that hard to get a group with most of the aforementioned classes either should you choose to.</p>

[Araxes]

If you plan to solo most of your way to 80, then you will definitely want to create a character that starts in Kelethin, Neriak, or Timorous Deep.  All three areas have starting zones that go from 1-20, and then lead to Butcherblock Mountains.  From the Butcherblock Mountains you can continue along quest paths designed for solo play from levels 20-70.  At level 45 you can opt to leave Steamfont and head to the Sinking Sands.  There are great quest lines there that you can solo into the mid 50's.  After that, you can head to Tenebrous Tangle, or return to Lesser Faydark.  Around level 70, you can head to Kunark, which has by far the most linear and rewarding solo quest progression.The classes that seem to solo the most effectively are :ShadowknightNecromancerIllusionistFuryMonk

[mikeh]

<div>So ShadowKnight is the best or swash buckler? </div><div>Swash's look kinda fruity....</div>

[Pyra Shineflame]

<p>LOL. Fruity...and you should see the Swashy forums and see the size of their appearance based egos.</p><p>In my experience for good survivability soloing, go Shadowknight or bruiser.</p><p>If you want to know how to play your class to solo really well go swash (or brigand, some people think brigs are better soloers).</p><p>If low survivability (the oh [Removed for Content] factor) but very nice damage and O.O numbers...go wizzy (it gets better....) or necro.</p><p>It depends on what you are looking for out of your solo experience really.</p><p>For best "I don't need a group soloer" I'd vote the necro with SK as second place.</p>

[mikeh]

<div>Great! Thanks for all the help. My lvl 17 Wizard is still there after 3 years!! lol</div><div>But im gonna start all fresh. Im gonna check out Necro and SK for sure and see which I like better. </div><div>Another 45 mins or so and im on for the night..... (and the next day and tomorow night and the next day...)</div>

[Lortet]

another choice - battle cleric build inquisitor - until you get the aa points allocated they are not very good, but as you can get enough before lvl 20 , it doesn't take too long - then you are set.

[Argul]

I've never played a necro, but I think comjuror's solo really well. I'm only level 18 or so, but I've never been able to solo kill nameds so low level.

[Grimdeath]

<span style="color: #cc0033;"><cite>Pyra Shineflame wrote:</cite></span><blockquote><p><span style="color: #cc0033;">LOL. Fruity...and you should see the Swashy forums and see the size of their appearance based egos.</span></p><p><span style="color: #cc0033;">In my experience for good survivability soloing, go Shadowknight or bruiser.</span></p><p><span style="color: #cc0033;">If you want to know how to play your class to solo really well go swash (or brigand, some people think brigs are better soloers).</span></p><p><span style="color: #cc0033;">If low survivability (the oh [I cannot control my vocabulary] factor) but very nice damage and O.O numbers...go wizzy (it gets better....) or necro.</span></p><p><span style="color: #cc0033;">It depends on what you are looking for out of your solo experience really.</span></p><p><span style="color: #cc0033;">For best "I don't need a group soloer" I'd vote the necro with SK as second place.</span></p></blockquote><span style="color: #cc0033;">Your comment about the Swashies made me <img src="/eq2/images/smilies/97ada74b88049a6d50a6ed40898a03d7.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" width="15" height="15" />As an 80 necro, I don't think "low-survivability" is a way I'd describe the class. Like any class, it is not the class itself, but the person playing the class that defines how good it is. Sure, necro's, like any Mage-type are squishy however we have a pet - as compared to a wizard - to take the heat off us. We have tools to keep the mobs on the pet and us out of relative danger.I think for the OP it comes more down to whether the player would like to control a pet or in the case of a wizard, be able to do huge spike damage. However, when it goes all pair shaped, I'd much rather be a necro as I have FD and can get up and fight again if need be, and I don't have to port myself out of the danger to the nearest safe area (which means I have to run, in some cases all the way back to fight again).When it's all said and done, this is one of the great things about EQ2 - there are so many classes that pretty much offer something for everyone. Of course, we or others are going to have different opinions about a class or two (or 24).===To </span><span style="color: #cc0033;" class="name"><b>alexisxo</b>, both the necro and conj can solo heroics; for that matter, so can quite a few other classes at 18. Once you get your conjuror to 70, see how you go against the 70+ heroics. What I'm saying is in T1/T2, heroics I don't really classify as heroics. Sure they are harder mobs with higher hit-points/health but they still aren't that tough if you know your class and have upgraded your combat arts/spells. Whereas, in T7 and T8, heroics are generally nasty. Huge damage, insane debuffs, insane buffs for themselves... If everything was relative, I hope you see what I mean.In saying that, some classes (mystics! LOL.. No!) can solo T7 and T8 heroics with ease. If you have good knowledge of your class and what <b>you're</b> capable of, you can do almost anything in this game.</span>

[Pyra Shineflame]

<p>Sorry, should have clarified that...when I say survivability I tend to mean the ability to pull through when crap hits the fan.</p><p>If your pet dies, necros are usually history.</p><p>String of unlucky root resists and wizzies are history <img src="http://forums.station.sony.com/eq2/images/smilies/e8a506dc4ad763aca51bec4ca7dc8560.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" width="15" height="15" /></p><p>Wizzies are the squishiest though but yea...</p><p>Glad you liked the swashy comment, you know its true <img src="http://forums.station.sony.com/eq2/images/smilies/908627bbe5e9f6a080977db8c365caff.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" width="15" height="15" /></p>

[Zorlin]

I have two characters that I solo up in tandem. Do one 5 levels then the other 5 levels. Keeps me good in Vit. I currently have a lvl 32 Conj and a lvl 31 Fury. Both solo really well. I do find the fury actually is a little better, and that is with App 1 spells. I really need to update them. But the Conj has a bonus of - if I take it slow I can get by with garbage equipment. Over all I enjoy both classes alot and I am toying with the idea of starting a 3rd character - prob a SK if there was an easier way of moving stuff to my Conj who is my seller. Ah well. Maybe just use the mail system.

[Xisi]

I have played a bit more than a month now and I find illusionist is a very unique and capable soloer. . I basically soloed all the way up from a newbie and now I am level 58. I can take a group of heroics with 2 arrow ups and one single heroic with 3 arrow up. I have crappy gear from the beginning since I had no money and all my spells were app 1. Now I am getting better spells. I am also the asset to the group and my guild/group loves me around. I can group mezz if we accidentally pulled 2 groups. I am mana battery and I am very aware of mana management for other classes, with savante, mana cover, mana flow. Also I can save unfortuante wizzy/warlock's life if they pull aggro with my illusory allies. Mezz is a great spell for any soloer in case you aggro huge number of heroics, you can just mezz (first instant  short mezz, then long mezz and run). You wont die if you don't want to. <img src="/eq2/images/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" width="15" height="15" /> 4 different mezz spells, plus stun and stifle, you can just completely stun lock any mob if they don't resist. I think people underestimated the power of illusionist. I am so happy with my first choice. I have a warlock alt and feel my warlock is so gimpy in solo play. Root, nuke, oh crap, root breaks in the middle, I am gonna die, run. But I love warlock in groups with good tank.

[Wargod1968]

<p>Lotta input already, but here's my 2 copper.</p><p>First off, lowbie groups are still easy to get as long as you are on a Medium population server or better and not playing during really off hours. So do not despair.</p><p>Solo classes - here are my thoughts on the ones I find solo well - by that I mean finish quest content, are able to reasonably balance their power/health needs, and will help you level without taking a dog's age.</p><p>Bruiser - my number one choice. Your damage is solid, you can take a beating, and you have feign death when the crap hits the fan, you want to split a group of mobs with rests in between, or you wish to train into a dungeon and feign death your way through places that stealth classes only wish they could go with such ease. You even get a nifty self-heal which you can improve with AAs that is a lifesaver and keeps your downtime low. Just make sure you have good food/drink, especially pre-proc gear at later levels. Bruisers also look great when they fight, so its all eye candy when it comes to laying the smackdown. Feign Death is key to why this class is so wonderful to solo - it is on a 10 second timer, but with AAs you can get it down to about 6 seconds off the top of my head. If you go with the Strength AA line you can forgo using and buying weapons as you level up.</p><p>Shadowknight - as solo-worthy as the Bruiser, but requires more stat management because you really need to keep INT and STA as high as possible. WIS and STR are secondary - important, but not as important as INT and STA. Your reactives and various life taps will keep you standing while you kill your foes. SKs are especially good with group mobs, so adds are never a problem. You get an Evacuation spell and a 5-minute timer Feign Death for when you need it, but there is no way you can duplicate the dungeon running of a bruiser, so you're a bit more reliant on beating into submission mobs who stand in your way. I'd recommend the INT line to the spell criticals, and Reaver line to the end for Soul Reaving. It will up your damage and survivability by a dumpload. </p><p>Swashbuckler / Brigand - some may kill me, but I'll lump 'em together - they are fairly similar in their solo worthiness, though I'm most experienced with my Swashy than Brig, which my friend runs, and we compared notes and they were on par. You are reliant on positionals for a lot of damage (Brig more than Swash), so be prepared to work for your dps, but when you debuff and lay on the smack correctlty, the damage is groovy. The goal is to kill before killed. T6 and higher poisons will help you out with power tap and life tap procs, but before then you may have to rely on some breaks to replenish health and power if a fight goes a bit too long.  Adds can be a problem, the Swashy gets a short mezz, Brig later gets Band of Thugs, but neither are truly great for unplanned enemies. Both are very fun, however, and fairly tough. I'm a fan of the Stamina/shield line, but there are a lot of schools of thought about what's 'best', so you may need to read more to see what suits you.</p><p>Fury - thousands of players can't be wrong, and they're not. The fury is an awesome soloer due to good dps, heals, power regen, invisibility, run speed, buffs, and teleports. It is kind of like a wizard with less dps for a tradeoff on heals. Spec INT line first, then either go for Energy Vortex or the Predator line next, then get the one you didn't do after.</p><p>Illusionist - great class, underplayed, and nice soloer. Since the resist changes for AppI to IV spells you pretty much can ignore buying up spells if you are short on coin and simply use harvested rares when you find them as needed and leave the rest along. You don't get any ports or run speeds, but you have great dps, power regeneration, buffs, and invis, which are helpful, plus you can control adds well enough that dungeon runs are not as hard for you as for other classes. I'd recommend WIS line to get up Submission, then AGY line to the end, then whatever else takes your fancy.</p><p>Warlock - squishy, but if you go Battlemage, you are actually pretty tough pre-Kunark, and you can hunt out group mobs to lay waste to. It will take AAs and good spell upgrades, and advancing into 50s until you see real return for your time, so this may be a class to be more patient with.</p><p>There are plenty of other classes and builds that do and can solo well, but these are my thoughts on some classes I've played and had fun with solo. To be honest, I'd rank Swashy, Fury, Bruiser and SK as the best results in my solo career playbook, but depending on the player you may find other opinons. Try a few out, see what feels good and you enjoy. In the long run, how much fun you get from a class is the best measure of how well it will solo. My coercer can be frustrating at times to solo, but he's so fun, I really don't mind, the challenge keeps me coming back to play him.</p><p>Best of luck</p>

[Rqron]

I play a Wizi (several of them) a Warlock and a Inquisitor and a ranger.Of all I like the wizard best. I spec him as battle mage and even in RoK he is awesome. Nothing better for wizard solo then the battlemage line.The Warlock is also spec as battlemage is in his 40s and i.m.h.o has a a few more plus points at this age than the wiz but only if you want to attack grouped mobs. My judgement is still out on the Inquisitor yes it is nice to be able to heal myself but there are not many offensive combat arts at 25 so I will see how it goes later. I have a lvl 39 wizard I use for lower level guild support and grafting. He is close to the warlock in the damage he can deal but there are pros and cons..the warlock has the better offensive spell set for groups the wizard has single target nukes. The big ability missing on the warlock is evac. If the warlock had evac he would be a awsome character to play.So long story short, for soloing I prefer the wizard ..he is better for single solo mobs then the warlock. For grouping the warlock is a lot better then the wizard.Of course the most important thing for both of them besides a decent set of armor are the spell upgrades..buy the best spell upgrades you can afford or make a sage and craft them yourself. I have all adpt3s and higher and it makes a huge difference in the way you can solo your character. I brought my lvl 73 wizard up the hard way with app4 and adept 1 spells (never had a adept3 or master1 until lvl 60)..it is the pits.J.C.

[Acterna]

<b>Monk </b>can do pretty good at level 31.  Feign Death classes can go wondering into and actually doing stuff where nobody else can go .  I can't remember which level I got it but I have an invis which works great for sneaking past stuff.  Great for collection quests where you have to venture into areas you are not quite leveled up for.FD gets you out of trouble that everyone else has to run for several minutes to get out of or simply die if there isn't a way out.There is also the fact that you get to run around in your pajamas.