Best Race is?

[DanielAtchison]

<DIV>what is the best race for a Guardian? Bad race and Good race</DIV>

[TheMeatShie]

Impossible question to answer as every class has advantages and disadvantages. To try to help you pick what race YOU like the best though, ill try to list some advantages to the more commonly picked guardian races. You can notice the stats i think are most important for a tank are sta, agi, and str, in that order... Some would disagree, or put them in another order, but that is my opinion for my own reasons.  Sta is the basis for how many hp you will have, str the basis for power pool (ie mana or CA power), and agility is the basis for how well you avoid blows and connect on blows you put out. Ogres (evil) - 25sta 30str 15agi Ogres get a +5 defense racial trait and also i believe the leadership buff that gives another +5defenes Iksars (evil) - 25sta 20str 20agi Iksars get the +5 defense racial trait, but no leadership +5 defense buff, although they can pick eb or a 3 minute hide from among a few others Barbarians (good) - 25sta 25str 15agi Not sure on barbs racial benefits, dont think they get the leadership, but i THINK they get the +5 defense.. maybe someone can reply with the truths on this Troll (evil) - 30sta 25str 15agi Racial benefits /boggle, id imagine they are hard skinned race though with the +5 defense pls reply if true Humans (good) -20sta 20str 20agi Balanced stats, get the leadership buff with +5 defense but do not believe they get the +5 defense innate racial Ogres will have the most power and defense before you cap your stats, and trolls will have the most hit points, although iksars will have the best avoidance/attack acuracy.  The pure stat differences (ie sta, str, agi) are fairly meaningless, dont get me wrong, they help, but end game they wont mean much and will problably cap anyhow.  The +5 defense skills in my opinion are problably the largest racial factor other than what you like the most. In the end, no race is better than the others as you can see, because all have tradeoffs.  I personally went with iksar.. why did i choose this? Because they are evil and cold blooded, and i like those roleplay values... And if you want to take the time, any of the good classes can turn evil and evil can turn good via betrayal.  So pick what class you want, because in the end they all balance out in their own ways. <div></div>

[Uumuuanu]

<BR> <BLOCKQUOTE> <HR> DanielAtchison wrote:<BR> <DIV>what is the best race for a Guardian? Bad race and Good race</DIV><BR> <HR> </BLOCKQUOTE> <P><BR>Go with Iksar, we are sexy and it makes the mobs want to hit us first :-p</P> <P> </P> <P>No in reality I dont think it matters as stated.  However personally I think Iksar have a long term advantage in that our avoidance is higher, which means outside of magic attacks which are unavoidable, we are less likely to get hit.   Yes the others might have more HP but if you arent getting hit, I dont think it matters.  5% avoidance bonus seems like alot to me.</P>

[Nacoa]

<div></div><div></div>Quibble: Barbarians and Humans are both Good and Evil. Dwarves (good) also get +5 defense, have decent sta and str. <div></div><p><span class="time_text"> </span></p><p>Message Edited by Nacoa on <span class=date_text>04-08-2005</span> <span class=time_text>10:34 AM</span>

[Drolio]

In the days before the agility nerf, my halfling warden friend would be very evasive when he got aggro. Made me think a halfling/ratonga guardian would be a great great tank. Don't know if it would apply now though.

[Shizzirri]

<DIV>Woodelfs for the win</DIV>

[TunaBoo]

Hps all that matters, ogre for the win. <div></div>

[Robyen]

Interesting...hmmm.....I have more HP than any ogre my level and I'm a Troll.  <img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" />

[TunaBoo]

Just cuz most ppl suck doesn't mean ogre doesn't have the most hp and defense :p <div></div>

[Corv]

Good post Meatshield, but  I think some of those starting stats are out of date.  (They did change at one point.)  These should be more up to date.  I confirmed the barbarian stats by making a newbie, but the rest are from eq2.com's race profiles. Barbarians - 25 str, 20 agi, 25 sta, 12 int, 18 wis Iksar - 18 str, 22 agi, 18 sta, 20 int, 22 wis Ogres - 30str, 15 agi, 25 sta, 15 int, 15 wis Trolls - 25 str, 18 agi, 30 sta, 10 int, 17 wis Human - 20 str, 20 agi, 20 sta, 20 int, 20 wis Based on this list,  I'd characterize barbarians as being a fairly balanced fighter race.  Ogres are skewed heavily towards str, trolls towards sta, and iksar ever so slightly towards agi.   None of these stat differences will make or break your character, since the stats you gain from gear and your chosen build will overwhelm base stats more and more as you progress.  (although it probably  won't ever disappear completely unless people start hitting a hard stat cap)  It should also be noted that we don't perfectly understand how all stats function, and that function can change over time.  For example, it is currently thought that int may have a small effect on your parry percentage, and str and agi have been patched to have a less significant effect than they once had.  (when extremely high)  Bottom line, even if you crunch all the numbers and read all the theories and finally decide on a single "best" race to play right now, the "best" race may change in the future.  So instead of going through all that hassle, potentially for nothing, just pick a race you like. <span>:smileyvery-happy:</span> P.S. I can also confirm that Barbs get at least one racial bonus to defense.  I'm not sure if they get a second. <div></div>

[TheMeatShie]

<span><blockquote><hr>TunaBoo wrote:Hps all that matters, ogre for the win. <div></div><hr></blockquote>How do ogres have more hp if trolls have more base sta <span><span>:smileywink: As far as i know, different races dont gain different formulas to calculate HP, am i missing a racial trait? </span></span></span><div></div>

[TunaBoo]

Yar ogre has a +3% hp trait.. so they edge out trolls. I think dwarfs may be able to beat ogre hp by like 2 sta (forgot their starting), but ogre gets a total of +10 defense and gobs of hp.. + ogres are sexy <div></div>

[Rolsda]

<DIV>Humans (good) -20sta 20str 20agi Balanced stats, get the leadership buff with +5 defense but do not believe they get the +5 defense innate racial<BR></DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Humans do get the + 5 innate defense racial as well as the +3% Hp one tuna mentioned.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Cleary we are the best race in eq2 :smileytongue:</DIV>

[TheMeatShie]

I didnt realize the +3% hp was a racial trait. i can confirm though that Iksars get this too, i just thought it was a Guardian trait choice. <div></div>

[TunaBoo]

Well all classes can pick +3% hp 2 times as a generic all classes get chocie trait. But ogre and dorf get to pick it a 3rd time as a racial. <div></div>

[Kilg_]

Heh, sounds like the design did it again, with the one race as the raid tank and all the others as cheap substitutes. It sure was fun spending half a year in EQ watching someone else tank because at the same setup he had an edge over everyone, only to be replaced by Paladins as offtanks because of teh fast taunt. Oh, so much fun! To the point tho, Barbarians get +5 defense (Memory of Halas I believe), and also +2 to crushing mitigation (Strong Jawed or something like that), oh, and we also get Summon Lager! Oh yes! I counter your +3% hp with my summoned tier1 drink! <div></div>

[CatmanPalad]

Cats.They have 9 lives.

[Niter1d]

Dorf power <img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" />

[Belce]

Barbarians, we're dead sexy...

[Xebed]

*in a quiet voice* Ratonga! cuteness is a much neglected tanking stat <img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /> <div></div>

[Arielle Nightshade]

<BR> <BLOCKQUOTE> <HR> Xebed wrote:<BR>*in a quiet voice*<BR><BR>Ratonga! cuteness is a much neglected tanking stat <img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /><BR> <BR> <HR> </BLOCKQUOTE> <P>Yeah!  <img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" />  Ratonga tanks are ADORABLE!  <img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /></P> <P>My Guard (alt) is a Barb...and I have to say ..the difference between playing a High Elf druid healer and a Barb Guard..is heartwarming.  The elf can take a pretty nice beating, but the Barb...weee doggies!!!  I love getting all muddy and bloody and bruised...and still be standing <img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /><BR></P>

[Death4]

<DIV>Iksar, duh.</DIV>

[Urglu]

<DIV>The differences are statistically irrelevant based on the current formulas employed by the game regarding damage.  This assumes both races choose stam, agil, %hp, etc as opposed to +5 to tailoring or something. </DIV>

[BigTea]

<DIV>Dwarves!  ROCK solid!</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Str 22</DIV> <DIV>Sta 25</DIV> <DIV>Agil 16</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>+5 Defense Bonus</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>AND...</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Beer!!!</DIV>

[Oakwood]

<P>Here is a handy chart of racial traditions: <A href="http://www.eq2arcanum.com/static/RacialTraditions" target=_blank>http://www.eq2arcanum.com/static/RacialTraditions</A></P>

[Chanliang]

If you like tune up for the max then ogre is best due the racial traits, def/sta/str/hp.  Difference isn't that great compared to other races tho. <div></div>

[eqtaka]

<DIV>That's a good list, but I think some of it might be slightly inaccurate.  With all the changes and patches it's understandable.  Wood Elfs', Wind Warrior, I don't believe is +3 Avoidance but +3 Parry and +3 Defense.  Also, Wood Elfs' get's a Group buff with a spell avoidence component ( 10 minute buff ).   </DIV><p>Message Edited by eqtaka on <span class=date_text>04-12-2005</span> <span class=time_text>12:30 PM</span>

[Zodi]

<P>Please correct if I am wrong but as level 30 guardian I have notice that the mayority of the time when I am tanking for a group I ran ouf power due to the fact that pulling and trying to unleash attacks. Rarely in my case hps have made a huge diference. I prefer a race that has +5Defense skill and +3% Power.</P> <P>Any high level guardians please comment about this post.</P> <P> </P> <P>Thank You</P> <P>Avathos-30-guardian-troll-crushbone</P> <P>Thank-26-guardian-human-crushbone</P> <P> </P> <P> </P>

[English Da Gua]

<P>   Depends on what your ambitions are. Yes in a well balanced, non-stop pulling group you will run out of power before HPs, obviously.</P> <P>   But, in a raid, properly geared and with enchanters / manastone / hearts you will never be OOP. For raids, HP > Power.</P> <P>   I stopped grinding at 50, and knew this would occur, so I always went the HP route and would do it the same way again if I had to.</P> <P>   I choose ogre because of HPs and Defense buffs. Although if they jack how my Defense traits stack I want a /respec :smileytongue:</P>

[TunaBoo]

Some of us are made to maintank not grindtank. For grindtank want regen. For raidtank need HP max as mobs may hit for 8000+ and need to be able to soak up some abuse. <div></div>

[TheMeatShie]

<div></div>What race gets better regen? Im iksar, and we get a buff that increses regen, but its only out of battle...making it trash... <div></div><p>Message Edited by TheMeatShield on <span class=date_text>04-14-2005</span> <span class=time_text>04:56 PM</span>

[Kint]

In most situations it's not going to matter what race you are.  In a group, if you are the only fighter there you'll have the best setup to tank of course. In raids prior to level 50 the main tank will end up being whoever is the highest level or if two are of the same level it will be whoever has the best gear/stats. Once you get to level 50 is really the only point it could really matter and even then gear could play as much of a role as race. I do know that people will want the best player being the tank versus someone who doesn't know what they're doing even if the other person has better stats. Choose what class you think will be the most fun and don't worry about picking a race for stats, etc.  I play a halfling guardian and I enjoy it, especially when people make comments like never seeing a halfling tank before. <div></div>