Comin back after long abscence

[Pnaxx]

<DIV>Hey fellow Zerkers.....I may be comin back after a very long time and I had a couple questions you may be able to help me in...when I left I was a low 40's Zerker in Qeynos...</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>1. Are the Zerkers still the Bomb after the change? </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>2. What classwould you all say is the best soloer as I will be very limited in time upon my return and will do alot of soloing.</DIV>

[Kaberu]

Berserkers are definately top notch although I think we also fit into the category of "late bloomers." You'll definately perk up once you get Rampage after 50, you may get a bit egotistical once you get Open Wounds... you will throw yourself at charging armies just for the sheer pleasure of stacking Open Wounds and Rampage together and with our health regens, decent defensive buffs and abilities like Vision of Madness, you'll be pleasantly surprised when you calm down from the adrenaline rush and find yourself still alive. Invincible? Heck no, but extremely durable and downright viscious once things hit the fan. Just make sure that you also work towards a nice set of equipment to compliment your abilities. Best soloing class? I'd have to say Necromancers. Especially if you also go Sage with tradeskilling as you can make your own spell upgrades as you level. Necromancer's can tank.. more accurately, their pets can tank. Necromancer's can DPS even on their own (without their DPS pets). Necromancers can crowd control with a combination of fears and roots plus a few other helpful abilities. Necromancer's can heal others, usually their pet at first, then others by giving them some of their own life. They can also heal themselves via Lifetaps which can also be a nasty nuke against their target. They usually don't run out of power, especially when they utilize their lich form to the fullest. In the later levels they are walking armies... They can summon their main pet, summon an additional pack of 3 creatures during combat, summon an additional zombie for more DPS during combat and on top of that, charm an undead mob to bring along as well. Stack that with the slows, DoTs and debuffs from the necromancer himself and heroics generally aren't a problem. Here's a good example of what necromancer can do. Ok, your group pulls a heroic mob, but adds a second on incoming. Just as the mobs get there, a third pops and adds as well. the tank dies, followed by the healer and then the rest of the group starts to follow. Here is the typical array of choices the necromancer can pick: <ol> <li>You hold off three heroic mobs with pet tanking, fears and roots as you rez (necro's get a rez) the healer so they can revive the group.</li> <li>First you crowd control the heroic mobs and proceed to kill them off one by one, then rez your group once you've cleared the area. </li> <li>There is no way you can hold off these mobs so you Feign Death and wait for the all-clear.</li> </ol> Hopefully you get the idea. the funny part is that Necromancers last maybe 5 seconds at best against a Berserker in a duel unless they manage to evade you're initial stun. <div></div>

[Pnaxx]

When I was playing before I had a good time soloing when I was just lvling...I really like groups. This time around, I will have alot less time to devote to the game and thus soloing will be more important for me. So how would you all say we do as soloers...like I said b4....I had pretty good success b4 all the changes and now I am just not sure of anything....seems like a whole new game alomost from what zI have been hearing. Hope my char is still around...we shall see...its been around 6 months.

[Kaberu]

We solo fairly well. We have excelllent tanking skills and can put out just enough DPS to make the solo hunt worthwhile from a time versus XP gain standpoint. I think the only real drawback is that our most effective and defining abilities don't really emerge until the end game (45+). Until that point, we are a higher DPS version of a guardian for most purposes. Abilities like Vanquish, Frezy, Rampage, Vision of Madness and Open Wounds really seperate the Berserker from other fighters and give us an excellent survivability rate. Actually, the major problem is going to be gear. Armor is very important to our abilities as it balances our solo ability against scouts. The scouts get hit harder but also inflict far more damage. The more damage we can mitigate, the better our solo effectiveness. With so-so gear, you'll find yourself spamming more attacks to finish the fight with suitable health left... this of course causes the need to rest more often due to lack of power. If you plan on soloing through nearly all of the game, I highly recommend one of the summoner classes. They have extremely effective tank abilities (via their tank-type pets) and exceptional DPS rates (being mages). There will be alot of times you won't be able to finish certain quests or names that you come across as a solo Berserker unless you greatly outlevel the mob. On the same note, I've seen successful instance and XP groups with a Necromancer's or Conjuror's pet main tanking. I wouldn't be surprised if a skilled 60 Necro or Conj can solo places like Scornfeather Roost (a mid-50s instance). On a scale of 1 to 5, I'd say we're a 4... above average, but not the best. While we can't take as powerful mobs as some other classes, we can waltz through solo mobs/groups with relative ease and build a steady stream of XP and large amounts of vendor trash for money. <div></div>

[danceswnymphs]

Hey Pnaxx, I too will be coming back after a year away ( iraq), see you around

[Pnaxx]

Thanks fer the input.....and welcome back from Iraq...thanks for serving our country.