Easiest Class to Group/Raid with

[SolZer]

I could use some expert opinions here.  What would you say are the top 3-4 easiest classes to play in a group or raid? Much Thanks.

[Image_Vain]

Either Brigand or Necromancer

[Asdran]

For raiding: Troubador Nothing you do makes or breaks the raid - you don't have any spells that if you hit by mistake affect epics.  90% of your role is passive and the other 10% won't put you above priests in the all important DPS parse<img src="/smilies/8a80c6485cd926be453217d59a84a888.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /> Dirge Similar but a harder - more jousting, Decisons on prioritising Rezz/Heal Other classes I have raided as by difficulty: <ul><li>Illusionist - Your control spells effect epics so you can stuff up big time.  Can do enough damage to pull aggro</li><li>Templar and I presume any other MT group priest - High speed whack-a-mole on cures, fixated on health/power bars - constant concentration required</li><li>MT - Hardest.  Can't see a thing (inside some big beastie), constantly interrupted, requires obsessive gearing up and very hard to get into.</li></ul>

[Rhym]

Scout classes are for sure not the easiest to play if u think that a troubador or a dirge is just utility(buff rez proc bot) than ur somewhat wrong You have to time using Combat Arts and Spells to not screw up your auto attack dmg as every other scout cause the utility ends with the buffing and then ur dps im really tired of Bards parsing  500  zw  or less since they assume they do the buffing and the job is done thats wrong totally ofc it is much harder to time ca/spells and auto attack  since some abilities have longer cast timers than  the most other scouts  but you can adjust , And buffs figure out what u need to buff u have a huge array of group buffs resistance buffs , haste dps modifiers, mana regen , casting skill increase melee skill incrs, dmg procs for casters and melee dmg , short term proc buff for melees or mages , hate gain hate loss buff, defensive buffs stoneskin defense etc Stat buffs STa agi STR agi Brigand easy to play ? I get the feeling some ppl think we are here for debuffing only we are a DPS class with some crazy debuffs and some of parse 2k+ zw but it requires some knowledge about the game that starts with what is a recovery timer  and ends up with what are the buffs i benefit the most of , and I tell you what there are a lot of tanks in the game who cant handle the most scouts apart from bards Swash and Asassins have aggro transfer Rangers and Brigs dont , well if ur MT cant deal with a Brig then I dunno find another tank than hes doing something wrong if I wanna group i need to find me a Paladin recently who amends me or hopefully can get one of our guild tanks to group with me otherwise i end up tanking the mobs and im not that sort of player whod hold back dps with a middle range dps class since Id have no fun , and im speaking about tanks who are aggro buffed and still loose aggro to me even with having my deagros up , thats kinda  a shame Rangers draw aggro just from auto attacking dont even have to use a CA , Assasins got their hate transfer i can rely u to an Assassin u dont have to watch aggro that much while going all out if u can live with the fact that the most lethal attacks are positional and u need to be stealthed but again most dps comes from Auto attacking you should also consider that u spend a lot of money for Ammunition and Poison what u need for ur dps , Bards just some Ammo for the bow they dont have access to poisons (find that a bit weird but ok its like that since launch but imo they should have) Swashbuckler is also nice hate transfer ae dmg a lot but its imo the hardest to play Scout since u need a front arc to at least 4 mobs for max auto attack dps plus positional attacks Mages : Wizards Warlocks have some nice dps but their aggro management is so poor that really have to think about when its time to Nuke i know a lot o Sorcs who die on pulls etc , dots at start and then go easy in with the hardcore DDs scouts do their dps over time for Sorcs it comes in loads , need to get a feeling for it Summoners : prolly the easiest to play class in the game there is no problem in going full out since you share the aggro with ur pet and u got a lot of DoTs so ur dmg is as sustain dmg like SCout dps there is not much u can do wrong and ur kinda versatile you cant find a tank ? np get ur tank pet out soloing grouping no biggie at all except some higher tier zones Enchanters : Well mezzing happens on raids prolly not more than 2 or 3 times a week in groups no one cares about it anyways So Illu - DPS MAchine right group setup and AA setup plus some proc gear and your Predators have to work hard to look still good on the parse Coercer . Not a dps machine even with the same AA spec  as a  Raid Illu  have  weird  offensive  magic  Reactives which do their dmg  when the  mobs  hit your group mates  ,  dont like that concept really  you offer also some buffs  hate gain for tanks dps for scouts  you got some nice stuff to nterrupt mobs prevent spell casting illu can do that too but doesnt have such a huge array on tools you can stun them Healers - Druid Heals are all about timing nice dps especially fury is the king of dps among the healers imo those are the slackers they use Heals over time mana efficient but you need a good timing Clerics Cure and Reactive heal cast bots very busy ppl , target of the reactive gets dmg and triggers heals Shamans PRevent dmg and debuff mobs also busy ppl plus some retarted long cast timers group ward cast timer is a joke with 5sec but they heal at 100% efficiency the other branches dont due to the nature of wards since those absorb dmg Tanks - I cba to play myself one but I suggest you a guardian or paladin , guardian has some awesome aggro tools but u need a lot of practise until ur a goodd guardian , Paladin not really practise required they have an aggro leech buff get some high dps tell him to go all out straight from the start and spam ur stuff without thinking about it Shadowknights and Berserkers are the dps plate tanks they got taunts and some tools but those have to really know their stuff if they wanna tank their aggro comes a lot from their dps Bruisers/Monks No one actually has a clue if the made for tanking or dps i think not even the devs they wear leather and but got a lot of avoidance they problem is once they are get hit they get hit hard a way harder than a plate tank on raids theyre almost useless when it comes to tanking they lack aggro generation tools all over the place the already mentioned missing access to some real armor makes a lot more vulnerable and when it comes to dps we dunno if theyre really considerable dps if you compare em with other dps classes especially monks have Issues big time Bruisers have a at least some decent dps

[KBern]

<p>Basic answer is that it is easy to play any class in a group/raid badly.</p><p>Other than someone with a main job, such as MT/MA/MT healer you can pretty much suck and blend into the background.</p><p>Non tanking plate tanks to me can be the worse and no one will really notice.  Some scouts can go on auto attack and do the same thing.  Same with mages and almost any class that is not being relied upon for something specific.</p><p>However a good player will take whatever class they are playing and play it well and it takes a little bit of strategy to do it right.  You could read that Button Smashing thread to get more of an idea.</p>

[Bi]

#2 is right - easiest class to raid is a troub, mainly cos you are there for Deagro buff, and Precision of Maestro. You could macro bot a troub on a raid, and noone would really know the difference. Dirge: make a macro for cacophony to go off every xxx seconds (Depending on AA) and by and large, if your guild doesnt read the parse past #10 dps, you wont be noticed, you will have to joust, but by and large you are there for buffs, and for cacophony of blades. Pet class: send pet in, welcome to 50% of your dps.. if you are a necro - lifeburn at the start of the fight as well.. gotta love i win buttons swashie: stand behind mob, use Inspiration and en garde.  gotta love i win parses buttons for healer classes: inq: if you're in a melee group you just self stun for the rest's haste. fury -  mostly there for int buffs tbh. you can just dps your way through most raids without having to heal at all ... edit: if there's no necro in grp Hard classes to play in no particular order Main assist - not class related but if you are asked to be main assist you have to be on the ball, pick the right target, and do everything right first time. main tank: as above - you get stunned a lot, the raid depends on you for good pulls, good placement and good agro. if the healers are bad / crap / worse - you look like a bad tank, rather than them looking like bad healers.  Incredibly gear oriented, massive playtime needed to get into this position. MT healers: esp shaman/templar - you have to be on the ball all the time, you cant exactly slack like the druids can, as it really will be noticed. assassin  - all your big hits are positional and or stealth, its massively CA based, you need to understand your class very well to do good dps. I've seen assassins hit from 300dps to 3000 dps on raids, its very player skill oriented much like: brigands everyone is waiting for dispatch, you have to call it, as well as keep your debuffs up, AND do good dps, you have no real agro management skills, which can be an issue if you have a better 1hr than your tank. sorcerer: massive agro management issues. You will die, and do that a lot, trying to put out good dps and staying alive is VERY difficult

[Ruut Li]

<cite>SolZer wrote:</cite><blockquote>I could use some expert opinions here.  What would you say are the top 3-4 easiest classes to play in a group or raid? Much Thanks.</blockquote><p> Summoner, nuff said.</p><p>Edit: wait I forgot fury! Summoner and fury, nuff said. <img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /></p>

[liveja]

<cite>Bibe wrote:</cite><blockquote>swashie: stand behind mob, use Inspiration and en garde.  gotta love i win parses buttons </blockquote><p>En Garde doesn't do you any good behind the mob <img src="/smilies/e78feac27fa924c4d0ad6cf5819f3554.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /></p><p>I don't bother with Inspiration on anything but nameds.</p><p>Gotta not love people who actually care about parses.</p>

[simpwrx02]

Ruut Li wrote: <blockquote><cite>SolZer wrote:</cite><blockquote>I could use some expert opinions here.  What would you say are the top 3-4 easiest classes to play in a group or raid? Much Thanks.</blockquote> Summoner, nuff said.</blockquote><p> Yes summoner is the easist to get okay dps with almost no effort.  Pet attack, however any summoner who actually wants to contribute thier potentail dps needs to learn button mashing order as well as any other casting class.</p><p>Another easy class  ranger  get good bow and posion hit ranged auto attack congrats you are around 900-1000 dps just refresh posion as needed.  </p>

[Skeptycal]

I have played most classes except scouts on raids. This would be my OPINION: Easiest to Hardest: Bards (ok so i really dont know ... it seems easy to me) Necro (only easier that conj b/c when you pull agro you have FD =) Conj Sorcerer (only harder than summoners b/c you have to watch agro more) Enchanter (not much agro problems ... no jousting) tanks besides MT (time intercepts and joust ....) other scouts (position and joust) MT group hate scout (position, joust, and time hits for early hate) off group healers MT group healers Main Tank and, finally, raid leader (whatever class he/she is that has to get all these fools to work together)

[Norrsken]

<cite>Skeptycal wrote:</cite><blockquote>and, finally, raid leader (whatever class he/she is that has to get all these fools to work together) </blockquote>Oh my god that is true.

[simpwrx02]

<cite>Skeptycal wrote:</cite><blockquote>I have played most classes except scouts on raids. This would be my OPINION: Easiest to Hardest: Bards (ok so i really dont know ... it seems easy to me) Necro (only easier that conj b/c when you pull agro you have FD =) Conj Sorcerer (only harder than summoners b/c you have to watch agro more) Enchanter (not much agro problems ... no jousting) tanks besides MT (time intercepts and joust ....) other scouts (position and joust) MT group hate scout (position, joust, and time hits for early hate) off group healers MT group healers Main Tank and, finally, raid leader (whatever class he/she is that has to get all these fools to work together) </blockquote> Sorry to disagree but aggro is the biggest concern in raids so I would put sorcs as one of the hardest to play classes out side of the MT group.  Joust how hard is it to run back to the caster when it is called then run back in after AoE went off.  Scouts have 10 times the aggro reduction of sorcs the only one that is close is a brig, but they have a .5 sec deaggro that drops them down by one threat position, sorcs get a 2,000 dehate which 9 times out of 10 mean you still have aggro and die because healers dont really ty to keep you up.  Sorc especially warlocks have the hardest time with aggro. I would deffinately place sorcs at the very least as the hardest mage to play chanter a close second because they have to time stuff on a few raid mobs, and most are not overly concerned about chanter dps. I would also put Secondary tank just below MT as he needs to be close to the top of the hate list with out actually getting aggro. 

[zaun2]

I can agree about the summoner bit for the easiest class to solo/group/raid with.  The only disadvantage to a summoner class is that your pet is your soloing ability, so you are forced to keep your pet (and to a lesser extend the pet's offensive and defensive stances) at the highest spell level possible. This gets expensive in higher tiers when a T7 master 1 pet goes for 200-300 plat.

[Boadicca]

<cite>SolZer wrote:</cite><blockquote>I could use some expert opinions here.  What would you say are the top 3-4 easiest classes to play in a group or raid? Much Thanks.</blockquote><p> Dirge, Ranger or Warden.</p><p>Dirges are very well rounded. But i'm partial to them.  We have ranged attacks, ranged high damage spells, back attacks, buffs, debuffs, fear spells, healing, a battle rez which is kick toches, increased attack speed, and attacks that can be either frontal or back attacks.   The only think I don't like is that the master strikes are back attacks.  I have to fear the mob and use the master strike as the wander away from me.  I use a round shield and have a shield bash that does nice damage and stuns.  There aren't many Dirge spells or skills that do damage over time if any at all.  My dirge is level 70 and all her spells are Masters or Adept 3s and I rarely parse above 600.  I solo alot and group with guildies sometimes.  I have tanked 72^^^ with a warden and Inquisitor as my only group mates.  It was great fun.</p><p>Rangers are good to group with because of the ranged attacks and back attacks. </p><p>Wardens can solo like conned mobs, ^^^, if the player knows what they are doing.  </p><p>To me, thats the most important key to a great toon, is the brain mashing the keys.  If a person understands what a class can and cannot do, you will have fun grouping that toon.</p><p>But thats just my 2c worth.</p>

[Bi]

<cite>livejazz wrote:</cite><blockquote><cite>Bibe wrote:</cite><blockquote>swashie: stand behind mob, use Inspiration and en garde.  gotta love i win parses buttons </blockquote><p>En Garde doesn't do you any good behind the mob <img src="/smilies/e78feac27fa924c4d0ad6cf5819f3554.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /></p><p>I don't bother with Inspiration on anything but nameds.</p><p>Gotta not love people who actually care about parses.</p></blockquote> en garde only for when/if  u get agro - depending on tank and whether you are grouping or raiding. and as people are left out of raids depending on what they parse, i think that caring about them is fair enough..

[EtoilePirate]

<cite>Skeptycal wrote:</cite><blockquote>I have played most classes except scouts on raids. This would be my OPINION: Easiest to Hardest: Bards (ok so i really dont know ... it seems easy to me) Necro (only easier that conj b/c when you pull agro you have FD =) Conj Sorcerer (only harder than summoners b/c you have to watch agro more) Enchanter (not much agro problems ... no jousting) tanks besides MT (time intercepts and joust ....) <span style="color: #ff3333"> other scouts (position and joust) MT group hate scout (position, joust, and time hits for early hate) off group healers MT group healers</span> Main Tank and, finally, raid leader (whatever class he/she is that has to get all these fools to work together) </blockquote> Actually, what I've learned through raiding is that both on my healer and on my Assassin, it's <i>easier</i> to play in the MT group, not harder.  If I'm on the Assassin then I can just go to town if I'm transferring aggro to the tank, but if I'm in an off-group I have to manage myself much more carefully.  Similarly, the multiple high priorities of the healer are easier to manage from the MT group, because your first concern is always the tank.  From the MT group, you can keep an eye on the tank and on your group all at once, you can use every one of your heals efficiently, and you can still fling some spells out to the other groups if they need them. That said, and back to the origin of the thread... whoever said it's "Easy to play any class badly" had the truth of it.  I think ranged DPS is probably the easiest class to "phone it in" on but even so, if you want your raids in harder zones to succeed then you're going to have to be timing everything, aware of debuffs (yours), aware of AoE hits (the mob's) and so on.

[Ama]

<p>There really isn't a true "Easy" class to raid with since situations vary.  Groups almost always need healers or tanks on the Kithicor server.  Get yourself a warden, shamy, crusader or warrior toon and your set for grouping.  </p><p>Raiding I would say you want a cleric probably inquisi or a shaman character mystic or defiler.  Sadly alot of wannabes have infiltrated the druid ranks and I can't hardly get a raid with my warden.  One raid had freakin 5 furys then said no more druids so I was SoL.  </p><p>SKs and Pallys are a good help on raids with pallys having a nice ward or SKs having deathmarch + dmg shield for added hate.  SKs are also good because they have despoil and str siphon on the enemy.  As a guardian or zerker you would have to be prepared to be MA or backup tank if the mob got loose.  </p><p>As for caster wizards and warlocks are deffinately out there in droves.  Summoner classes are deffinately welcomed with Necromancers being great for "Lifeburn".  If you pair a Necromancer with a healer that can dish out health to them you have an omega nuker on your hands.  Only managed to keep a necromancer up for 4-5 seconds while he was doing life burn with my warden.  If I had some more warning I could have kept him up for probably 7 seconds. </p><p>Illusionists are a rare commodity and are deffinately helpful with the same being said for Coercers.  These are utility classes not having too much nuking power compared to Summoners or Sorcerers, but they deffinately make up for it.  If you go the illusionist route I highly recommend getting time compression on the illusionist AA tree if you decide to raid.  That ability is super helpful and i'm working my way towards it.  </p><p>As for Scout class Assassins are deffinately top DPS with rangers next to them.  Rangers are good because they have that super debuff for heat which can help out your local wizard/conjuror.  Brigands and Swashys are always welcomed with Brigands getting that super Devitalize debuff.  Super hard to find a master of that, but if you do your set.  </p><p>Dirges/Troubadors are like illusionists having some power but not alot compared to their T2 and T1 brethern.  However they make up for it having alot of great spells/abilities.  Stone Skin is one great ability along with the Hate buff they can give the MT.  Almost always I have seen a dirge in the MT group giving a hate buff to the MT.  Grately helps with aggro so that mob doesn't go anywhere.  </p><p>Have a Warden and only recently have I found it hard to find raids but that's usually on rare occasions.  I get my SK into raids when my Warden won't fit.  He is usually high T3 dps almost T2 with how I have made him.  Deathmarch is a must have ability that helps in raiding and I almost swear that Slavering Alzid thing was made for this ability.  The one that belchs out all of those mutagenic globules.  </p><p>Right now i'm working up my Assassin who is level 62 at the moment.  Sadly I have little coin so I can't trick him out as I would like to.  You really have to get Assassinate/Decapitate at adept III atleast if not master I.  Also your Deathly Blade for Master II choice then Killing blade at adept III if not master.  Assassins have great potential as high dps and almost always see them parse 1st if not a not too distant 2nd in raid dmg parses.  </p>

[Lariu]

<cite>simpwrx02 wrote:</cite><blockquote>Ruut Li wrote: <p>Another easy class  ranger  get good bow and posion hit ranged auto attack congrats you are around 900-1000 dps just refresh posion as needed.  </p></blockquote><p> A ranger parsing 900-1000 dps is a slacker who should be tied up by his feet and set on fire.</p><p>Actually ranger is probably one of the hardest classes to truely play well. CA/Auto attack timing, reapplying poisons etc is a fine balancing act.</p><p>To really maximise your dps every class has to be played with a huge amount of skill and care. There is no easy class to play when you play alongside people who are ambitious and care about winning.</p><p>Playing a troub myself, I would say that yes, I could sit back and parse 500-600... But that would be lazy. A bard is capable of a lot lot more if played correctly and with care.</p>

[Fromingo]

<cite>Bibe wrote:</cite><blockquote>#2 is right - easiest class to raid is a troub, mainly cos you are there for Deagro buff, and Precision of Maestro. You could macro bot a troub on a raid, and noone would really know the difference. Dirge: make a macro for cacophony to go off every xxx seconds (Depending on AA) and by and large, if your guild doesnt read the parse past #10 dps, you wont be noticed, you will have to joust, but by and large you are there for buffs, and for cacophony of blades. </blockquote>LOL I have a 70 dirge that I retired and this was one of the reasons.   But if you take this stance on the dirge board, half will agree and the other half say you aren't tactical or thoughtful enough or some such.  <img src="/smilies/2786c5c8e1a8be796fb2f726cca5a0fe.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" />  I mean seriously what's the point when I can go AFK on /fol and make a sandwich,  walk up and hit COB macro once in awhile and since I rarely make the parse anyway,  no one even notices.    Now on my 70 warden missing even a few seconds could have disastrous results and people will definitely notice. So <img src="/smilies/e8a506dc4ad763aca51bec4ca7dc8560.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" />  Bibe and Asdran.   You are right on target IMO. 

[Mareth]

<cite>Lariuss wrote:</cite><blockquote><cite>simpwrx02 wrote:</cite><blockquote>Ruut Li wrote: <p>Another easy class  ranger  get good bow and posion hit ranged auto attack congrats you are around 900-1000 dps just refresh posion as needed.  </p></blockquote><p> A ranger parsing 900-1000 dps is a slacker who should be tied up by his feet and set on fire.</p><p>Actually ranger is probably one of the hardest classes to truely play well. CA/Auto attack timing, reapplying poisons etc is a fine balancing act.</p><p>To really maximise your dps every class has to be played with a huge amount of skill and care. There is no easy class to play when you play alongside people who are ambitious and care about winning.</p><p>Playing a troub myself, I would say that yes, I could sit back and parse 500-600... But that would be lazy. A bard is capable of a lot lot more if played correctly and with care.</p></blockquote>I've got to agree with this, it's easy to be an average player in almost any class, but if you want to be actually good, it doesn't matter which class, it still takes effort and dedication.

[TuinalOfTheNexus]

<p>Nah, you can argue all you want, but it's Scouts that are easiest.</p><p>Guardian is the hardest imo, because if you don't max dps you lose aggro and the raid wipes. If you position the mob wrong, in some cases, that wipes the raid too. If you die, the raid wipes. If you don't target the right mobs and cycle targets in a multiple mob encounter, you lose aggro and the raid wipes. Offtanking is hard too on nameds where mobs need to be pulled away from the MT, and you have to contend with a full raid of DPS usually with less than optimal group setup.</p><p>Healers... a lot of the time the job is trivial, but if you screw up, that can easily wipe a raid. On some nameds healing is definitely not easy.</p><p>Mages are certainly easier, but they have a much harder time with aggro management than Scouts. Though they can seldom be the cause of a wipe, they do have vital cure and support duties (power transfers, cure arcane, etc), and are fragile when it comes to avoiding AEs. Summoner's aren't that easy because you have to keep your pet alive or you really lose a lot of DPS, but they're definitely towards the easier end of the spectrum.</p><p>Scouts either have their own aggro debuffs or transfers, or don't generate enough DPS for it to be an issue (Bards),  so that's much less of a concern for them. Whilst I'd agree it's hard to play a Scout to it's maximum potential and get every last bit of DPS you can, there are very few situations those 500 extra DPS are going to make a difference. Okay, so you get through EH quicker, but a Scout never really has a raid-critical job, except maybe hitting AE immunity at the right time. As many have said, you could macro bot a Bard and all you'd lose is 500 raid dps. Even Bards themselves have been begging SoE for abilities that require more skill to use effectively.</p>

[gradyma]

<p>My question to the OP is why would you want an easy class to play? You would get board after a couple of raids.</p><p>I play a Necro and there is nothing easy about it.....Sure I can hang back and just DOT the mobs and stay out of AOE range. But I dont!</p><p>I REZ on the fly, Pass out hearts (To 24 People Seperatly And Keep Them Stocked), Spot heal those that need it, Debuff the mob, Cure Arcane, All the while managing my agro and either parsing top or top 3 every encounter........That requires keeping my better half alive and well, And seeing as we are both made of paper....It's not an easy job.</p><p>I do ALOT of work during a raid and enjoy every bit of it. If I ever have to setup a macro to do my stuff for me and sit on /flo....Then I would start a new toon and never touch my Necro again.</p>