New Player to Server: Class Choice Delimma

[Oakengroves]

I have reviewed all leading treatises and learned Project 1999 materials regarding the "choice of class" issue for new P1999 players. Sadly, I still have a few questions and concerns. I played a warrior in EQlive, but have little desire to relive the days of no soloing capability and gear dependency. My class selection concerns are as follows:

(1) I prefer to play "good" races because I enjoy exploring "good areas."

(2) I desire to play a class that can solo well. I am leaning towards monk because it was always my favored twink class on EQlive, but I am concerned that my untwinked monk will not solo very well past level 30. I've also read that starting out as a monk is difficult because it is harder to earn plat due to weight limitations. I am also concerned that I would not be up to par pulling in groups due to noobness [I MT'ed in EQlive and pulled most pre-Luclin zones, but it has been a very, very long time].

(3) My play time is limited and being able to AFK between kills is important on most days. This likely limits my class selection to Monk, Necro, and SK due to FD capability. After monk, I consider necro the second leading class for me to consider playing. Unfortunately, I never played a caster in EQlive, and it would probably be difficult for me to learn how to play a caster [I am used to pulling and tanking things, afterall]. I am also concerned that a necro, even a human, would not be able to prance through all the good zones.

...So, I find myself a bit torn between monk and necro for the reasons above. Any other options I should consider? Is the necro such a better soloer/first time character that I should consider playing one over a monk?

Your thoughts, comments, and dire assistance is greatly appreciated.

[Swish]

Necromancer is jumping out at me here.

You need afk time? Feign death ;)
You want to solo? You can!

I guess you're limited to human/gnome for "good race" choices though... or erudite at a push :p (watch out for gangs of erudites on Freeport street corners)

Welcome aboard whatever you roll...and you'll play the longest on a character you enjoy, so in the end its down to you :)

[Vayder]

(1) I prefer to play "good" races because I enjoy exploring "good areas."

(3) limits my class selection to Monk, Necro, and SK due to FD capability.

Decision is made: monk.

[Swish]

Monks need gear, necros can level nekkid...plus the best monks are evil and scaly :p

[Aerar]

I love necro (i am one) but the interesting thing here is you want "good" races but have 2 of 3 evil classes.

These classes will often have similar limitations as the evil races (see necro near mage guild in FP or WC Druid rings)

I agree with Vayder if your primary criteria is playing in "good" places then go monk. Lots of utility and if your good lots of dps in the end.

SK also has static 40% xp penalty and with good races you really have no good options, unless you want to cool look of flayed skin on humans.

[Oakengroves]

Thanks for all the comments thus far. I'm still concerned about the monk's ability to solo after level 30 or so (especially without gear).

Does anyone know how KOS a human necromancer [Innorouk] is in most "good" cities?

[Ele]

You will have difficulty with vendors and guards. However, you can slip by the guards with gather shadows once you get it.

As for the monk or other classes with low strength, instead of destroying coin just purchase gems from vendors (peridots, pearls, sapphires, rubies, etc.). The gems weigh quite a bit less than the coin, and readily convert back to plat, with very little loss, when you are ready to make a purchase.

[Aerar]

Its not primarily KOS its vendors being A-holes. Any melee has a tough time soloing, but there are a ton of people on server and groups are not hard to come by

[Laugher]

If your decisions between monk and necro I would say go necro; they are more in demand and have a lot of good capabilities solo and in groups; their ability to out survive most anyone is pretty awesome in bad situations with fd.

Although I would recommend druid if you're looking at good areas and solo ability. Druids can solo a million different ways, get groups because they're healers/2nd rate dps and snares, make money from ports, etc. The only downsides to druid are:

potentially overplayed (I would say this is also true about monks, but everyone likes a good monk)
no fd

If not druid necro would be my next choice :)

[Peekae]

If you want to solo and be good another option would be barbarian shaman. Shamans are fairly common but are a very strong class in groups and solo. They also tend to be good money makers as their solo capability at 60 is vey good.

In the end just play what you like most though. Only downside IMO though to shaman is that in large groups and raids you will pretty much just be slowing and buffing.

[applesauce25r624]

Does anyone know how KOS a human necromancer [Innorouk] is in most "good" cities?

keep in mind what people might say about this may not be true (because of patch changes). they said that iksar necro would be able to purchase spells in the freeport tunnels. they cannot

[Elements]

If your making your class choice based largely on the ability to FD and afk you should consider any race with hide can similarly afk around non see invis mobs, or if you have 30 sec you can just /camp before you afk...

Dont get me wrong FD is great for so many reasons but chosing a class based on the ability to fd afk seems silly.

If you decide that camping or hide will work for your purposes your class selection really opens up to accomodate your other two points.

However if your intent is to play at work or something where you need to ninja fd and minize eq when your boss walks by I could understand that.

[Aerar]

I mean if your main goal is afk id roll a wizard then every 5 min blow your mana on a pull and then do the "oom afk while i get mana" card

[Oakengroves]

The ability to AFK safely with FD while soloing is a major reason for favoring Necro or Monk.

I also happen to love the monk class, and of all the caster classes, necro seems the most interesting.

Ugh, hard to decide between the two... It seems a necro would be much easier to solo than an untwinked monk, easier to play in groups, and somewhat in more demand.

[pharmakos]

Thanks for all the comments thus far. I'm still concerned about the monk's ability to solo after level 30 or so (especially without gear).

Does anyone know how KOS a human necromancer [Innorouk] is in most "good" cities?

idk about Human Innoruuk, but Erudite Necros start at Dubious to a lot of good places. i think my Erudite Necro could bank in North Freeport from day one.

[Aerar]

The ability to AFK safely with FD while soloing is a major reason for favoring Necro or Monk.

I also happen to love the monk class, and of all the caster classes, necro seems the most interesting.

Ugh, hard to decide between the two... It seems a necro would be much easier to solo than an untwinked monk, easier to play in groups, and somewhat in more demand.

i love the idea that necros are more in demand in groups, i hope it will be true but perhaps I live in a fantasy land

[fadetree]

Druid. Make Monies. Twink Monk.

[Getsmurfed]

(1) I prefer to play "good" races because I enjoy exploring "good areas."

(2) I desire to play a class that can solo well. I've also read that starting out as a monk is difficult because it is harder to earn plat due to weight limitations. I am also concerned that I would not be up to par pulling in groups due to noobness [I MT'ed in EQlive and pulled most pre-Luclin zones, but it has been a very, very long time].

(3) My play time is limited and being able to AFK between kills is important on most days. This likely limits my class selection to Monk, Necro, and SK due to FD capability. I am also concerned that a necro, even a human, would not be able to prance through all the good zones.

1) You only stay in "good" or "bad" areas for maybe the first 15 levels....You've got 45 levels after that. Unless you're talking about Iksar then you pretty much just stay on Kunark, unless you're adventerous.

2) Don't worry about pulling on a monk in the early levels, most groups almost expect to get 2-3 mobs a pull. To be honest tho, most areas that you'll group in on the lower end the mobs are scattered very well and there aren't very many hard pulls you'll have to "break". Sure, later on 50+ it'll be very crucial to split but you'll have multiple days of in-game time to learn it.

3) While FD is a guaranteed fail safe for AFKing you may also want to consider a wizard or mage. Mage can more consistently kill, but is incredibly self-productive. A wizard is a bit rougher when levelling till you get a snare, but it's another scenario of very fast near guaranteed kills and AFK med time.

[Estu]

I'd definitely say monks are more desired in groups than necros, but necros are much better soloers, especially if the monk has no gear. I also wouldn't worry too much about them being hard to learn. Fear kiting is easy. So is root-dotting. Undead charming is tricky but you don't have to do it.

[Elements]

Shamans are the kings of FD.

[Aerar]

Rangers are kings of the RD (Real Death)

[Swish]

Rangers are kings of the RD (Real Death)

Yeah if your level number doesn't bother you too much and you enjoy corpse runs...solo a ranger today! :)

[Enxienty]

Druid. Make Monies. Twink Monk.

Will take many many many many hours of porting on the druid to twink out a monk lmao

[fadetree]

Will take many many many many hours of porting on the druid to twink out a monk lmao

Fine, fine, GEAR Monk then.

[Oakengroves]

Thanks for all the feedback.

I'm still really on the fence over the Monk and Necro. What remains not addressed is how well the monk can solo (untwinked) past 35ish. I doubt my monk would generate enough money to be able to afford more than a Wus 2 hander and Wus cloth by those levels.

[Elements]

Don't get your hopes up on soloing 30+ untwinked on a monk, especially if you are carrying more than 14 stone in an attempt to make some bank.

[Raclen]

I don't think you need to worry about feign death if you want to be afk. There is usually a safe spot to meditate. I never had a problem with going afk on my wizard between quad kiting. Don't worry about the feign death ability and you open yourself up to a lot of choices.

I think wizard would be good for you. Not that gear dependent, once you can quad kite you can go afk for a long time since you burn through a lot of mana killing 4 mobs at once, and you will be needed in raids down the road.

Leveling style alone it is a good class to be for a casual, in addition the ports save a lot of time.

[Estu]

I don't think you need to worry about feign death if you want to be afk. There is usually a safe spot to meditate. I never had a problem with going afk on my wizard between quad kiting. Don't worry about the feign death ability and you open yourself up to a lot of choices.

I think wizard would be good for you. Not that gear dependent, once you can quad kite you can go afk for a long time since you burn through a lot of mana killing 4 mobs at once, and you will be needed in raids down the road.

Leveling style alone it is a good class to be for a casual, in addition the ports save a lot of time.

I'd personally suggest druid instead of wizard if FD is not important. Druids can quad kite, but can also charm kite, root-dot, root-nuke, fear kite, and are much more useful in standard EXP groups than wizards. They can also power level for money. They are generally way less boring and one-dimensional than wizards. The only downside is that they are not very useful in raids.

[Vexenu]

Starting from nothing, the best first character is a Druid. You need zero money for gear, you don't have to bother with spell research, you can solo, duo or group effectively up to 50, and you can make money by porting, camping rare outdoor nameds with track and PLing. There's a reason there are so many Druids on the server. It's the best new player/casual/non-raiding class by a mile.

Necro is a distant second, in my opinion. A good soloer for sure, and one that requires little gear, but the Druid is also both of those things. And the Necro can't port and requires a lot of researched spells, which is a pain for a new character.

Monk is a pretty tough choice for a first character. Not impossible by any means, but unless you're dead set on it you'd probably be happier if you picked something else.

And finally, even if you get a Druid to 34-50 and decide not to take it any further and gear up another class, you'll still have the benefit of being able to log on your Druid at any time to port people around for groups and CRs. A very nice benefit.

[Jzendo]

I have reviewed all leading treatises and learned Project 1999 materials regarding the "choice of class" issue for new P1999 players. Sadly, I still have a few questions and concerns. I played a warrior in EQlive, but have little desire to relive the days of no soloing capability and gear dependency. My class selection concerns are as follows:

(1) I prefer to play "good" races because I enjoy exploring "good areas."

(2) I desire to play a class that can solo well. I am leaning towards monk because it was always my favored twink class on EQlive, but I am concerned that my untwinked monk will not solo very well past level 30. I've also read that starting out as a monk is difficult because it is harder to earn plat due to weight limitations. I am also concerned that I would not be up to par pulling in groups due to noobness [I MT'ed in EQlive and pulled most pre-Luclin zones, but it has been a very, very long time].

(3) My play time is limited and being able to AFK between kills is important on most days. This likely limits my class selection to Monk, Necro, and SK due to FD capability. After monk, I consider necro the second leading class for me to consider playing. Unfortunately, I never played a caster in EQlive, and it would probably be difficult for me to learn how to play a caster [I am used to pulling and tanking things, afterall]. I am also concerned that a necro, even a human, would not be able to prance through all the good zones.

...So, I find myself a bit torn between monk and necro for the reasons above. Any other options I should consider? Is the necro such a better soloer/first time character that I should consider playing one over a monk?

Your thoughts, comments, and dire assistance is greatly appreciated.

The two classes that seem to meet all your criteria, for me, are Barbarian Shaman and any race of Magician.

Assuming you are fresh to the server, a mage will be much easier leveling from 1-34, and can do so with no gear (as long as you can out-nuke your pet's DPS- it's harder now that they nerfed XP on 51% pet damage). Mages can't FD and can't keep pace soloing at 50+, but they're straightforward, easy to play, and are valued DPS at higher levels and raids.

Shamans have a rough life from 1-24. Your spells don't really push you into viability until you get Regen and Canni at 24. Pet is a huge boost at 34 as well. My current main is an Ogre Shaman and with full battle gear he's close to unstoppable for solo grinding. With my epic at 53 I can solo 3 or 4 seafury cyclopses at once- the only downtime for me on seafury island is when other people are pulling them all. Barbarians are widely considered the weakest of the shaman races but once you work your way up to regen items and a JBB it won't really matter.

My first toon was a DE necro and I almost exclusively soloed from 1-54. They have a variety of tools available and they're a lot of fun to play- but unless you're an Erudite, Human, or Gnome, you won't have the "good" areas open to you, and even then you won't be welcome in some places.

Best of luck whichever way you go!

[webrunner5]

Why do people keep recommending Monks on here? They are a Very important part of a group. A hell of a lot of people that play Monks don't know there ass from a hole in the ground about pulling or zones. It will be even worse in Velious.

Its like a lot of Bards on here. One song wonders afk 3/4 of the time. Good Monks and good Bards are few and far in between.

Both are about the last class you should play here as a noob. Not counting a Human Monk has a 20% XP penalty and a Iksar Monk has a 44% XP penalty. And a Bard has a 40% XP penalty. Good luck starting out with that.

[Jingleson]

Well my first character is a Ranger, and I'm told that's by far the hardest choice to start out as, especially unfunded. I don't know enough about it to say anything positive or negative about it yet, but I'm level 6 and I'm hoping the class will pick up when I get spells and dual wield/double attack.

[webrunner5]

Well my first character is a Ranger, and I'm told that's by far the hardest choice to start out as, especially unfunded. I don't know enough about it to say anything positive or negative about it yet, but I'm level 6 and I'm hoping the class will pick up when I get spells and dual wield/double attack.

No, you could be a Paladin or Wizard. Believe it or not it could be worse on here. Ranger and Pally has super cheap gear on here. Ranger even cheaper. :eek:

There is a LOT of good Ranger gear for a good price on P1999

[fishingme]

Honestly, some places you can afk in and others you can't. If you recognize safe spots where no mobs path through, wizard/mage/necro/enchanter. All fine classes for soloing and afking. I wouldn't recommend a monk untwinked unless you can but some steady sessions into the char to farm the gear/quests/groups for gear that you can. Monk soloing without good gear 35+ gets a little bit haywire.