On Blue Server - Help me decide - SK, Pal, Rng, Wiz or Necro

[Sketelmona]

Greeting folks,

Just started on the server....originally from Tunare, played from 99 - 03 as Khrah (human war), Orchestro (HE bard) and Grognak (Troll SK). So glad to have found P99, big thanks to the devs for all they've done in creating a home for this player and everyone else.

I am struggling with a class decision though, and am going to outline some points below and hopefully can get some feedback:

First I'll list my play style and attributes:

I play at night (MST), I prefer to group but would like to be able to solo if I only have an hour or so. I enjoy dungeon crawling the old haunts and overall exploration. Would like to get into a little bit of raiding once leveled high enough. Finally, I have a long term goal of completing a class epic and hitting 60.

With the classes listed above, what are the chances of satisfying all these needs? I am in no rush whatsoever.

What is the server in need of in terms of classes?

I don't mind tanking when I need too and melee / ranged dps is fine.

Currently playing a necro to get the feel of the game again, and I am getting rocked by mobs in EC. Pet doesn't seem to be taunting very well and one clinging darkness gets me agro. Thoughts?

So far I'm loving the server, and thanks for any help.

Sketelmona

[Swish]

Necros - plenty around. A lot of them solo, if you like soloing then that's perfect. Not great for much when it comes to raiding.

Wizards - more appearing with Velious on the horizon, but still lacking in numbers. Tough to get groups with as wizards have a reputation for mana burning and afk'ing for 5-10 mins to med up. Can quad so solo ability is there, plus porting will help you get some cash together (although wizards don't get the good ports til 34-39).

SKs - Best aggro tanks out there. As a rogue I'd order a SK to tank for me every time.

Paladins - Similar to SKs but carebear variety. LOH is handy, stuns handy, get XP rez in the 50s. Not many on the server at the top end.

Rangers - don't do it.

Welcome to the server! Hope you enjoy doing those early levels :)

[baalzy]

Necro will definitely solo the best of those. Wiz will have the hardest time grouping until aoe groups. Sk can solo and will be desired for groups and raids. Pal to a lesser extent. Rng will probably be the biggest challenge although there wouldn't be much epic competition. Paladin probably has the easiest epic.

As far as your Necro now, pets seem to not hold agro as well as I remember, especially at low levels. Probably best just to use life taps and help tank for your pet. I would just use your poison dot and melee.

[Sketelmona]

Necros - plenty around. A lot of them solo, if you like soloing then that's perfect. Not great for much when it comes to raiding.

Wizards - more appearing with Velious on the horizon, but still lacking in numbers. Tough to get groups with as wizards have a reputation for mana burning and afk'ing for 5-10 mins to med up. Can quad so solo ability is there, plus porting will help you get some cash together (although wizards don't get the good ports til 34-39).

SKs - Best aggro tanks out there. As a rogue I'd order a SK to tank for me every time.

Paladins - Similar to SKs but carebear variety. LOH is handy, stuns handy, get XP rez in the 50s. Not many on the server at the top end.

Rangers - don't do it.

Welcome to the server! Hope you enjoy doing those early levels :)

Why not ranger?

[Swish]

Why not ranger?

They aren't preferred in groups as they don't tank very well (chain class), but still have the hybrid penalty (40%)...and some people here don't like too many hybrids. In their eyes, if they're taking on a hybrid its better to make it the tank rather than a ranger. Rangers can solo, but not as effectively as a necro/mage/etc.

If you like a challenge, take it on... but its far from easy to hit 60 with. LFG time will be lengthy unless you're good at forming your own groups :)

[baalzy]

Rangers can make good small group partners they just suffer from not being exceptional tanks or exceptional dps, they can also do some crowd control but because a more traditional group will have all those bases covered without adding a heafty xp penalty. Once velious hits and then penalty is removed I expect Rangers to start getting more love. Maybe not saught for but avoided less.

[SCB]

On rangers: You will almost never be in a full group and hear anyone say "Man, if only we had a rogue instead of this ranger for the extra dps." In full groups, mobs practically explode on contact. In groups small enough for individual dps to be important at all, a ranger has utility to fall back on.

On other classes: You're not limited to one. Roll one solo class (necro, wiz, etc) and one more group-oriented class. That way you can play whatever you're feeling like.

[Messianic]

Don't be a wizard unless you plan to do lots of raiding.

[Sketelmona]

Don't be a wizard unless you plan to do lots of raiding.

I'm curious about this. Had always believe wizards were good soloers (once quadding) and a good help in groups. Not steady DPs I guess, but there when you need it?

Are critical blasts in on P99?

Slowly leaning to NEC or SK now. Is the exp penalty that bad?

[Reguiy]

Wizard. Best raid dps in velious, ports are awesome, ports are awesome, can level in AOE groups (best xp in the game), and you can be a gnome.

[Messianic]

You're a fantastic soloer until about 54/55 (provided you can find sow, know where to go, etc).

But you're damn useless unless you're in an AoE group (I forgot that one) or raid. You have lower sustained dps in a traditional group than any other class and have less traditional group utility than any other class.

Best raid dps in velious

No. This needs a lot of qualification. Wizards have the best damage per 2 minutes/minute. Basically at the end of the fight - albeit a critical stage when you're dealing with certain raid targets - you dump your mana with nukes. Yeah, you're doing more damage for that minute or two than rogues. But definitely not best "raid dps".

You're also garbage at farming stuff for the most part. You can quad seafuries (if open) for good cash, but if you want to farm stuff in a dungeon setting you're not well equipped. Beating heavy hitting, fairly resistant mobs who will resist a couple roots simply isn't nearly as easy as it is for pet classes.

[twgmot]

I play a wizard. Why do they get better with Velious?

[Messianic]

I play a wizard. Why do they get better with Velious?

There are bane spells (really good anti-dragon or anti-giant DD's), but really it's the nature of the raid mobs you're facing which makes wizards so valuable.

[Faisca]

I'm curious about this. Had always believe wizards were good soloers (once quadding) and a good help in groups. Not steady DPs I guess, but there when you need it?

Are critical blasts in on P99?

Slowly leaning to NEC or SK now. Is the exp penalty that bad?

No critical blasts, unfortunately, but melee classes get to crit. Unfair, if you ask me. :(

Exp penalty on SKs goes from 40% to 68%, depending on the class you choose.

[Swish]

No critical blasts, unfortunately, but melee classes get to crit. Unfair, if you ask me. :(

Exp penalty on SKs goes from 40% to 68%, depending on the class you choose.

68% on trolls/iksar because of their regen bonus.
(somewhere in between for Ogres)
40% on dark elves, humans, erudites etc.

I played a wizard through Velious-PoP, was it Luclin that introduced crit blasts? They were awesome - always a nice sight :)

[Yanomamo]

Regarding your goal of obtaining a class epic, Paladin is the only class that can obtain the epic without being in a top raiding guild or spending 500k-1mil plat.

[Estu]

Don't play a wizard unless you're sure it's what you want to go with - they're super-boring and not great in groups (outside of specialized groups like bard duos or AE groups). Go SK or Necro if those are two you're leaning towards, both are quite versatile. SKs are excellent tanks in standard EXP groups and passable soloers, while necros are excellent soloers and passable contributors to standard EXP groups. Paladins are also excellent tanks but are not great at soloing.

[mtb tripper]

id roll a gnome or black wizard, good dps, ports, etc.

[Swish]

Regarding your goal of obtaining a class epic, Paladin is the only class that can obtain the epic without being in a top raiding guild or spending 500k-1mil plat.

An exaggeration but not totally untrue. Quested my own cleric epic and pulled in a lot of help for Ragefire. If you're antisocial or aren't too keen on being part of a guild setup where you help others and they help you... you'll be stuck with the MQ option that costs a fortune and lines the pockets of TMO and the EC fat cats who can charge whatever they want, because there will always be a market for convenience.

[Elmarnieh]

Rangers are great and can tank mobs just fine if you wear high ac gear, snap and solid aggro make them very nice. In fact if your group has a slower a druid or necro can tank xp mobs.

The xp penalty stinks but its great to be able to snare and sow, and lev, and eb, and buff, and heal, and dps, and dot, and kite, and root, and taunt, and sneak.

[Yanomamo]

An exaggeration but not totally untrue. Quested my own cleric epic and pulled in a lot of help for Ragefire. If you're antisocial or aren't too keen on being part of a guild setup where you help others and they help you... you'll be stuck with the MQ option that costs a fortune and lines the pockets of TMO and the EC fat cats who can charge whatever they want, because there will always be a market for convenience.

Well yeah, but Cleric was not on his list. Obviously there are other epics you can achieve without a high level guild or a lot of plat, but SK, Wizard, Necro and Ranger all need pieces off highly contested raid mobs.

[pharmakos]

imo use your necro to farm cash to gear up a paladin

[Sketelmona]

Well, I've decided on a SK.

Name is Sketelmona, see everyone in game!

And thank you very much for all the feedback, what a great response. Nice to meet all of you so far on the boards.

[Swish]

Nice name for a SK I think, enjoy... remember to disease cloud to hold aggro, its low cost and effective (like hobo drinks) :p

[Retti_]

What ever slays orcs, drolvargs, and frogs the easiest.

[Messianic]

Great choice. SKs are the single most balanced class across all areas IMO - feign death, soloability (fear kiting, particularly undead mobs), both types of invis, see invis, massive aggro pulls, snare...

[Aeaolena]

Good luck on your SK. P1999 needs more imo

[Pyrion]

Even if you didn't mention it i would consider doing a mage. Mage pets tank much better than necro pets. Generally mages are easier to play. Necros have much more versatility of course but for a beginner a mage is a nice char.

[thieros]

Good luck on your SK. P1999 needs more imo

Accurate! real pimps roll SK.

and what race did you roll brah

[Sketelmona]

Accurate! real pimps roll SK.

and what race did you roll brah

Went with human. Have always liked the way they look in plate.

So far level 6 and loving it.

Been getting my ass handed to me in EC by the sheer number of griffons (were there always this many?) Seems to be one wandering lesser mummy in the forested area that always sneaks up on me.....sorry to anyone in tunnel or WFP zone line that I've trained that guy on.

Any tips for money making? Earned about 40pp so far selling pelts (seems good for starting toons). Any tradeskills worth taking up to make some coin?

Enjoying P99 so far.

[Estu]

Went with human. Have always liked the way they look in plate.

So far level 6 and loving it.

Been getting my ass handed to me in EC by the sheer number of griffons (were there always this many?) Seems to be one wandering lesser mummy in the forested area that always sneaks up on me.....sorry to anyone in tunnel or WFP zone line that I've trained that guy on.

Any tips for money making? Earned about 40pp so far selling pelts (seems good for starting toons). Any tradeskills worth taking up to make some coin?

Enjoying P99 so far.

http://wiki.project1999.com/Players:Newbie#Platinum
http://wiki.project1999.com/Players:Newbie#What_about_tradeskills.3F

You can make a little money selling banded armor (blacksmithing) if you have a couple hundred plat to invest, but it's probably not worthwhile unless it's something you're specifically into.

[Sketelmona]

http://wiki.project1999.com/Players:Newbie#Platinum
http://wiki.project1999.com/Players:Newbie#What_about_tradeskills.3F

You can make a little money selling banded armor (blacksmithing) if you have a couple hundred plat to invest, but it's probably not worthwhile unless it's something you're specifically into.

Seen a guy selling full suits for 55pp yesterday in EC, so I'm almost there. Need to get lucky with a few more pelts or cracked staves haha!

Thanks for the links, will give em a read.

On another note, any leveling friendly guilds that also run entry raids recruiting? I'm looking for a home.

[Swish]

I'll give you the large banded armor off my troll mule in EC if you want it Sket... should help you get yourself kitted out at least (if you're a troll/ogre at least!). PM me if you're on :)