At a loss and need help.

[daedme]

I am really at a loss and need help. I have found almost every class I have played very enjoyable up until level 20 where every single one has taken a nose dive. So far I have played an Inquisitor, Brigand and wizard to 20 and all three just fall off of a cliff at that point. Sure I can still have fun soloing but everything takes a drastic turn in terms of time to kill and damage taken. What is a class that can reliably solo 20+? I do not want to try every single one <img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" />. I have tried to get as much information on here as possible but to be honest to a new person most of what people start talking about in solo threads is just plain gibberish to me since I do not know the game all that well. Does every class take this long to kill/rest? I read alot about updating your spells to adept levels but I do not see how that is possible, the prices for these upgrades is well above what someone my level can afford, what are non-twinks to do?Anyway, thanks in advance. I tend to solo most of the time, so it is important to me that it is somewhat efficient (not taking 10 minutes to kill or 10 minutes to rest after every single fight). Maybe every class is like this and buying the game was a bad idea, I do not know, so help me out guys.

[Spyderbite]

<cite>daedme wrote:</cite><blockquote>What is a class that can reliably solo 20+?</blockquote>None and all of them.There is no class that can solo efficiently at all tiers, but there are people who are talented enough to learn their class and pull it off... regardless of the class.

[daedme]

Thanks for the reply. I have no doubt about the people that are able to really get a class down and figure out how to get by. But I am not looking for a second job where I have to slog through large chunks of the game to get back to it being fun again. I am not adverse to working for my levels believe me, I just do not want it to be a chore. So without grouping or having enough money to buy all the spell upgrades I would need I am just going to hit times when I suck regardless?

[Spyderbite]

<cite>daedme wrote:</cite><blockquote>So without grouping or having enough money to buy all the spell upgrades I would need I am just going to hit times when I suck regardless?</blockquote>Pretty much.Not being callous or anything. But, it is a MMO and as such those players that group together and combine their skills and resources will do better. And, those that play outside box and choose to solo it will have a bit of an uphill climb. e.g. more work to succeed. This is the reason that the guild system is so prominent in EQ2.Solo play is absolutely a viable play style. But, there is no class you can pick that will make it easy. At some point during your climb, you're going to have to rely on other players or sit down and spend some time learning your class inside out.

[Cantar1]

Try a Necromancer. One of the best solo classes thier is. Your pet takes all the damage and you sit back and cast your DoT's. Then at level 20 you get a pretty good Direct Damage spell for soloing.

[daedme]

Thanks guys. Hey, it's not callous, if it is the truth, it is the truth. Everyone looks for something different in a game and one persons gem is another persons flop. I enjoy this game, but that is my play style, I like interacting with other people but I like being able to to accomplish something on my own, that is what is fun to me. Accomplishing something alone but at a huge time sink and feeling of boringness does not appeal to me. I think I will take Cantar1's advice and try a necromancer and see. I have to at least try long enough to get my moneys worth if it does not work out for me. <img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /> I do not mind a slight uphill climb solo compared to group play but it is pretty darn drastic. As it is, sitting around for 5 minutes to heal just does not equal fun to me, it never has, it never will. I just found the pre-20, post-20 difference insane and if that is the norm for every class it is a great thing to find out early.

[Spyderbite]

<cite>daedme wrote:</cite><blockquote>As it is, sitting around for 5 minutes to heal just does not equal fun to me, it never has, it never will. </blockquote>In a group you just have to wait about 2 seconds for that heal. <img src="/smilies/8a80c6485cd926be453217d59a84a888.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" />You'll hit that proverbial "brick wall" no matter which class you choose as a solo player. Cause.. well that's the way the game was designed. And, its all good. As long as you're enjoying yourself.. that's what matters <img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" />

[Paladin776]

<cite>daedme wrote:</cite><blockquote>...As it is, sitting around for 5 minutes to heal just does not equal fun to me, it never has, it never will. I just found the pre-20, post-20 difference insane and if that is the norm for every class it is a great thing to find out early.</blockquote><p>While I think that 5 minutes to heal back up might be a slight exaggeration on your part, if it's taking you a long time to heal back up, there might be other things that you might need to do to decrease your downtime.</p><p>-     Make sure your food and drink are at the same tier that you are.  As you go up in tiers with food/drink, the amount that they regen (food=health, drink=power) goes up and will decrease the amount of time you spend waiting on them to get back to full.</p><p>-     Make sure that your spells are more than the Apprentice 1 that you are granted at each level. App 1/2 spells were fine for up to 20, but beyond that, you need the increase in spell strength that the App4 will give you. Starting at 20, your spells should be App4, Adept1 if you can find them (either through drops or on the broker.)  Starting around 50, you're going to want to start looking at making your more important spells Adept3 or Master1.</p><p>-     If you do go necromancer, the previous is even more important with your pet spells. Most necros/conjurors/illusionists I know do their darnedest to keep their pet spells at Adept 3, as a minimum.  Since you'll be out and about in the wilds anyway, harvest any node you come across. For Mages, you're going to want to keep the rare precious metals you find, as these will be used to make your Adept 3 spells. Other rares that you get can be sold for a tidy sum to help you out in other areas.</p><p>-    Another thing that helps with the pet classes is making sure you're focusing your gear on the right stat, namely Intelligence.  Intelligence increases your power pool, and more power = more damage through more spell output.  Some health is important, but as your pet should be doing most, if not all of the damage taking, that shouldn't be your primary concern. </p><p>Keep in mind that part of the "wall" you're hitting is mostly due to the fact that as you go up in tier, mobs get harder. You'll find as you come to the end levels of the tier that it seems the fights are going easier, then you hit the x0 level, and it gets hard all over again.  This is something we all have had to deal with, and it just takes some perserverance to get through it.</p><p>Hope some or all of this has helped, and the best of luck to you!</p>

[daedme]

Thanks for the response. I may be exaggerating that is true, but not by a whole lot, it is minutes. I have time to wander off and do something before I am healed after a fight that is even, even worse with mobs that are ^. Granted I do not run into a whole lot of those but on quests I have noticed them being a higher involvement. I will try crafting because so far I enjoy my Wizard much more than the other classes. I only have one master from 14. The shield AA's were awesome, but not anymore, it helps with healing though.  My problem with crafting is, well, to me it is boring. This may well not apply to all but to me it does. We can chalk that one up to my laziness. Either way, it must be the only way to get decent spells because prices are off the charts for event adept spells at the broker that I have seen. No one that is starting could ever afford spells their level from the broker.

[Calthine]

Have you discovered totems?  They can also increase your health and power regen.  <a href="http://eq2.allakhazam.com/db/guides.html?guide=930" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Totem Guide</a> (yes, I know this doesn't include T8 yet, it's on my list!)While there's lots to do for a soloer (I'm a soloer/crafter) you definately hit some bottlenecks along the way.  The raiders and groupers do to, lol, because the game caters to all playstyles instead of just one (which is a good thing).  It's definately improved over the years.  But you do find times when you just end up grinding <a href="http://eq2.allakhazam.com/wiki/Category:EQ2_City_Task_Quests" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">City Tasks</a> for guild and personal status or mobs a bit below your level to get that next ding when you're a little more powerful.

[daedme]

I have not, thank you Calthine <img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /> I will give it a shot. We all have our criteria I guess. I am just hoping this one meets mine. I really really have to say the first 20 levels are a blast. Great narration and quests, killing time, healing time etc. After that I just think it is way to drastic. I am a noob so maybe I am doing something wrong. I will try totems, but progression should be a little more freaking kind, that is just my experience so far anyway. So far I have felt I have gone from the touching a mildly hot rock into the inferno type progression as opposed to out of the fire into the flame. My ideal situation would be the mildly hot rock into the fire and than the flame heh.

[Isisalthea]

my main is a lvl 74 Wizard and I solo'd  at least 75 percent of the time, even though I am in a guild.  I recommend getting  at least app 4 spell upgrades fro your spells at the broker,  upgrade your root spells as far as you can without breaking the bank, you will be glad you did.  I went for lots of Int in armour and jewlery and also traits.  Also increased my power pool when ever i could. I also found the new lands were very solo friendly, and lots of fun to explore while invisable.  I also use alts to change things up  and found the Illusionist is my 2nd favorite mage. The most important thing is to have fun while you are on the journey. <img src="/eq2/images/smilies/283a16da79f3aa23fe1025c96295f04f.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" width="15" height="15" />

[JoePa]

Some good advice above, some other important things to consider as as follows: Non-Expansion content seems to be tuned a little harder than the newer zones, areas such as Nek forest and Thundering steppes will prove to have harder mobs relative to what you experienced in Tim Deep, Neriak, or Kelethin. Try Butcheblock MTNs if you haven't already. Upgrade your armor in addition to spells, each tier (0-9, 10-19, 20-29, etc) offers pieces with much more mitigation and stats, you should be able to pick up crafted pieces in the next tier pretty cheaply. There are also a serises of "Armor Quests" offered in Freeport/Qeynos which add some nice pieces. Watch the "CON" of the mobs you are fighting in addition to levels, this refers to the ^, ^^, ^^^, or downpointing ones. A even "Conned" mob (no arrows) at your level, can prove a challenge for many classes. Make sure you are using all of your spells/buffs, and most importantly Heroic opportunities, as most encounters are tuned with the thought that all will be in use. HOs add much needed DPS to all classes. As far as class choices go, there is not a class you have played to 20 that is not an effective soloer, Inquisitors with the right melee AA spec is a great safe choice, Brigs can lock most mobs down before they can get a hit off. Wizzies are squishy, but if you upgrade your roots, you should have little trouble. Other classes that are great solers include the Conjuror/Necro, Bruiser/Monk, Shadowknight, and Fury. Make sure you pick up as many quests as possible and work on the green ones first, you should be able to bounce between Butcherblock, Nek Forest, and TS until your 30s, doing mostly "Green quests". Good luck

[Castonu]

<p>I have to say that the necromancer idea stated above is one of the best solutions. I made a necro the other day that I intend on keeping. I worked him over the past couple of days and I am amazed at what he can do. He is a Sarnak and starting in the ROK zone to get all those great quests.</p><p>I can now see why so many recommend a necro, they are absolute killing machines!! </p>

[Duluvian]

When soloing and I have soloed a majority of my levels up to 71 I typically harvest nodes around the mobs while waiting for the health to regen.  This provides extra plat and rares for spells like it was stated previously.  Did you join a guild?  I know for my guild I am always offering to make stuff for all of my guildmates.

[Ishya]

<cite>daedme wrote:</cite><blockquote>I am really at a loss and need help. I have found almost every class I have played very enjoyable up until level 20 where every single one has taken a nose dive. So far I have played an Inquisitor, Brigand and wizard to 20 and all three just fall off of a cliff at that point. Sure I can still have fun soloing but everything takes a drastic turn in terms of time to kill and damage taken. What is a class that can reliably solo 20+? I do not want to try every single one <img src="/eq2/images/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY<img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" />" />. I have tried to get as much information on here as possible but to be honest to a new person most of what people start talking about in solo threads is just plain gibberish to me since I do not know the game all that well. Does every class take this long to kill/rest? I read alot about updating your spells to adept levels but I do not see how that is possible, the prices for these upgrades is well above what someone my level can afford, what are non-twinks to do?Anyway, thanks in advance. I tend to solo most of the time, so it is important to me that it is somewhat efficient (not taking 10 minutes to kill or 10 minutes to rest after every single fight). Maybe every class is like this and buying the game was a bad idea, I do not know, so help me out guys.</blockquote>i'd suggest, pick up a tradeskill, if you are a melee class, you can pick up alchemist for example so you can make your own spells (apprentice4) and if you are lucky with harvesting and get a rare, (adept3) also those adept3's do sell for quite a bit if you need the money (for lvls 10-20 ranges about 10-50g) for caster classes (like wieard/necromance) the sages make those spells.every class can solo reliable. my bruiser, never bought anything on the broker because of the redicilous price, yet managed to get to lvl 70 with 85% solo play, even my fury, with only app1 or 2, can solo decent. (and yes, made her an alchemist so she could upgracde her own combatarts, mostly every skill she had was atleast adept3's )only, some classes will take longer to solo then others.the problem with your resting between fight is because of the food/drinks. the provisioner makes those. if ,you have a crafted food/drink of your level (ranges from a few coppers to a few silvers on the broker) those rest time will be  only a matter of seconds instead of minutes

[Faynne]

Welcome to  Norrath!  Most here have given sound advice and alternatives.  I would just like to add another that I find very helpful.  Each class here has a class forum board.  And though I find looking for the information I want hard here, what you look   for is a link to the  class affiliate site.  Most of those boards are very well organized and finding what are the best spells/arts, AA advancement and various ways to combine things is easy to do.  Since you have mentioned being a necro here is the one to the board for them (actually for both conj and necro  but very well done)  <a href="http://eq2.eqsummoners.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Summoners Tower</a>

[Wulfgr]

I think Sony intended people to solo to 20.  Pre-20 there isn't much reason to solo, you can easily make it there in a few hours.  That said.  After 20 is when the instances start coming up..FG, 25+ RoV, 30+ RE CBK, 35+ CBK, 40+ PF.  I spend most of my life in instances.  I hate soloing, never have liked it.  But in those off hours I still solo my ranger quite easily, I can take out non-herioc yellow and orange mobs all day long without even breaking a sweat and zero down time.

[Paladin776]

<cite>Ilthander@Crushbone wrote:</cite><blockquote>I think Sony intended people to solo to 20.  Pre-20 there isn't much reason to solo, you can easily make it there in a few hours.  That said.  After 20 is when the instances start coming up..FG, 25+ RoV, 30+ RE CBK, 35+ CBK, 40+ PF.  I spend most of my life in instances.  I hate soloing, never have liked it.  But in those off hours I still solo my ranger quite easily, I can take out non-herioc yellow and orange mobs all day long without even breaking a sweat and zero down time.</blockquote>I was actually thinking the same thing, really. For new players, those first 20 levels are really all about figuring out how the game and your character work. By 20, you should have a pretty good grasp of both and then it's time to get to work, so to speak.

[Razlath]

<cite>daedme wrote:</cite><blockquote>Thanks for the response. I may be exaggerating that is true, but not by a whole lot, it is minutes. I have time to wander off and do something before I am healed after a fight that is even, even worse with mobs that are ^. Granted I do not run into a whole lot of those but on quests I have noticed them being a higher involvement. </blockquote><p>Definitely look at your food / drink.  There is pretty much no reason for a regen to take more than a minute even if you were darn near dead.  Most of my "med breaks" on any character are 30 seconds or less and that is if I was severely beaten or practicing my mana like water chant.  My guess would be you are using the starting food, or food bought from vendors.  You need player crafted food.  I think there are some food quests in the old world zones that start at 20 (or is it 10? my memory betrays me).  That food should last you a little bit.</p><p>Of the three classes you named, I only have post 20 experience with the inquisitor.  I found the class to be greatly entertaining to play.  Between the punishments you can keep on the mobs, yaulp, and your direct nuke / dots (which share a heroic opprotunity symbol so you can run a heroic opportunity darn near instantly and as fast as it recharges) your damage output isn't quite as bad as a lot of people make it out to be.  Obviously you won't be putting out scout DPS, but it is enough to take out the mobbies before they eat you.  Just remember to cast your group reactive healing spell on yourself before you pull.</p><p>Hope all that helps, and I really hope you find the class that really does it for you soon.  ;}  I understand searching for just that right class, I played for almost 2 years in EQ1 on various classes before I hit the warrior and realized I was born to tank.  <img src="/smilies/8a80c6485cd926be453217d59a84a888.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /></p>

[Kellin]

<cite>Dartak@Nektulos wrote:</cite><blockquote><cite></cite><p>Definitely look at your food / drink.  There is pretty much no reason for a regen to take more than a minute even if you were darn near dead.  Most of my "med breaks" on any character are 30 seconds or less and that is if I was severely beaten or practicing my mana like water chant.  My guess would be you are using the starting food, or food bought from vendors.  You need player crafted food.  I think there are some food quests in the old world zones that start at 20 (or is it 10? my memory betrays me).  That food should last you a little bit.</p></blockquote>This is important.  If it's taking you a long time to regen between battles, it's because you either aren't using food and drink at all, or are using cheap, low level stuff (or the absolutely worthless priest-summoned crap).  Your food and drink level ideally should be at the x0 level above yours - e.g., if you're level 22, you need level 30 food and drink.  Get the longest lasting stuff you can afford so you don't have to worry about it.  This is actually critical for those who solo, as you won't have anyone else around to regen your power or to heal you.Also, at the x0 levels, all throughout the tiers, there is a jump in the toughness of the mobs.  The difference between level 19 and 20 is probably about 3 or 4 times as much as the difference between levels 18 and 19.  It can be discouraging at first, but it's intended as a wake-up call - it's time for you to see about upgrading spells and gear.  Remember, this whole game is structured around the tier system, and when you reach a new tier, you need to see about upgrading.Don't be discouraged.  The classes actually start coming into their own past level 20, and you haven't even begun to see what your characters are capable of yet.  <img src="/smilies/283a16da79f3aa23fe1025c96295f04f.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" />

[Karlen]

<span class="postbody"> >>>Inquisitors with the right melee AA spec is a great safe choice,<<<Mystics with melee spec are also fun to play.   If you are a healer class, you can heal yourself which means you don't have to wait to get your health back.  Unfortunately, you do have to wait to get your power back.My mystic uses drink and totems to regain power but has never bothered with health regen (food and totems).</span>

[Eviljoe2]

<cite>Karlen@Befallen wrote:</cite><blockquote><span class="postbody">>>>Inquisitors with the right melee AA spec is a great safe choice,<<<Mystics with melee spec are also fun to play.   If you are a healer class, you can heal yourself which means you don't have to wait to get your health back.  Unfortunately, you do have to wait to get your power back.My mystic uses drink and totems to regain power but has never bothered with health regen (food and totems).</span></blockquote><p>This is a good example how much opinion and playstyle are involved in what we play.  I have a level 51 inquisitor and I absolutely HATE him solo.  The kills are so slow and I have trouble taking out even cons without going down to below 50 hp and power.  I love grouping with him so I can try to be an "on the ball healer", but solo sucks.</p><p>My main is a 78 Necro and once I created him, I loved him.</p><p>As a necro...you really are like a one man group....you can heal yourself and your pet, you have direct damage spells, dots, you can charm undead for crowd control, tank pet is really like a tank with great taunt ability with the right AAs, you can feign death if it gets outta hand, you can summon massive amounts of pets to sick on a mob to up your dps.  </p><p>I started with a mage (lvl 27), Paladin (lvl 27) then Necro.....and you know how that turned out....</p>

[JoePa]

^^^ I guess you must be fully Battle Cleric specced with the corresponding melee crit maxed? Your comments strike me as an old school inq without the right DPS spec. To the OP, read the inq forum if you want advice on inq solo power.