New player - which class to pick?

[Nisrak]

Hi,
I played EQ heavily from vanilla all the way through PoP and it's definitely the best game ever! I've played most classes and raided a lot as warrior, enchanter, cleric, and monk. I'm curious what would be the best class to play on p99. The population actually looks pretty solid but should I play a class capable of soloing? At this point I'm leaning towards enc or war, but would like to hear opinions.

Thanks and looking forward to seeing you all in game!

[fadetree]

Ok, i'll say it. Play what you like. It....does....not....matter.

[Vlak]

I think the general answers you'll get are:
- Play what you like or what seems fun.
- Lots of people solo but that's more to accommodate their lifestyle than by necessity on the server.
- Paladins and Rangers are under-represented on the server

That said: Welcome from one newb to another!

[Nisrak]

Awesome, guess I'll just start out as enc and see how it goes. Thanks for the advice!

[jarshale]

Necros are fun. Easiest to solo with imo.

[baalzy]

Go warrior if thats what you like. There is such a glut of mid 40s-low50s kunark gear available that you can gear out with everything you need for 1kpp and thats assuming people don't just give you half the stuff you need. Spend your first few levels farming bone chips/spider silk/animal pelts, sell em off in EC and buy some weapons + banded & some ac/hp rings if you can afford it.

Then just loot up while you group (but don't be a loot whore). By 30 you'll be fully outfit in everything you need to get to lvl 50 and by then you can start attending planar raids and get stuff.

[bartly]

You probably want a class that isn't gear dependant and can farm plat first. So necro/mage/druid/shaman type. Then make a gear dependant twink.

[Swish]

Never be tempted to play a class that's "in demand" if you don't enjoy it... as you'll just end up making another alt after another alt. Better to pick something you KNOW you're going to enjoy (a certain role in a group) and run with it :)

[jaybone]

need more enchanters, not enough on this server.

[Swish]

need more good enchanters, not enough on this server.

ftfy

[webrunner5]

Damn it Swish. Does the kid get away or the cop shoot him in the ass?? :p

[baalzy]

Damn it Swish. Does the kid get away or the cop shoot him in the ass?? :p

[whitebandit]

Damn it Swish. Does the kid get away or the cop shoot him in the ass?? :p

[Porcoa]

enchanter, duh

[Danth]

If you played EQ heavily in the past, why do you need to ask what to play? You already know the classes' respective roles and how they perform them. Class breakdown and desirability on P1999 isn't all that much different than it was on Live. It's the same game, after all. Leveling is slow and EQ takes a lot of time--pick a class and race you like and don't look back.

Just like Live--maybe even to a greater degree due to the lower population here--the key to desirability isn't class so much as skill. Good players of any class make friends and receive group and guild invites. Lousy players eventually find themselves with limited options.

Current population can be divided up into four levels:

Druid/Necromancer/Monk/Shaman at the top
Enchanter/Warrior/Cleric in the upper mid-range
Rogue/Bard/Magician in the lower mid-range
Wizard/Shadow Knight/Paladin/Ranger at the bottom

This relative relationship has remained accurate on P1999 for several years, at least. Note that the lesser-played classes are lesser-played for a reason. Don't pick them if you want to be incredibly powerful and desired for all groups.

Danth

[Nisrak]

Made an enc and got to 6 so far, but in the few groups I've been in so far, tanks seem to be scarce. I'm sure things are different at higher levels, but I'm already considering re-rolling warrior before I've committed too much to enc.

It is interesting you say bard actually has a mid-to-low population? Any reason for this? I remember that skillful bards can be incredibly OP and quite fun. I ruled out bard simply because I assumed they were everywhere.

It looks like I've got some thinking to do...

Thanks for all the feedback!

[Porcoa]

Made an enc and got to 6 so far, but in the few groups I've been in so far, tanks seem to be scarce. I'm sure things are different at higher levels, but I'm already considering re-rolling warrior before I've committed too much to enc.

It is interesting you say bard actually has a mid-to-low population? Any reason for this? I remember that skillful bards can be incredibly OP and quite fun. I ruled out bard simply because I assumed they were everywhere.

It looks like I've got some thinking to do...

Thanks for all the feedback!

There are some bards around, just not a lot of good ones and a lot of them solo. Also, there is the EXP penalty for bards which drives away some players.

[Lamil]

I wouldn't base anything off of grouping at lvl 6

[Nisrak]

Ouch 40% xp penalty for bard is rough. Well it looks like I'm gonna stick with enc and see where that takes me! Thanks for the advice and see you guys in game!

[NizmerThafen]

Magician is a fun and relatively solo-ready class. They are low stress and can farm quite well at higher levels. Torch of Alna + Fire Pet FTW.