Another "Which class to make?" post

[Lunababy]

Looking for a moderately-funded alt to make. Planning on making it my "real" main while my current main acts more as a source of income. Needs the following:

-Can solo
-Has purpose/desire in endgame (preferably 5 mans maybe raids)
-Isn't shaman or druid

I'm currently thinking about Bard, Enchanter, Monk, or SK. I know the general gist of each class' capabilities but not how good they are at what they do at 50+ and how versatile and desirable they are. Also not even sure how well SKs can solo. Seeking opinions!

[Swish]

Enchanter I think! Great in groups, great when soloing, decent learning curve that'll keep you entertained and wanting to improve (especially for solo/duo work).

Or bards...similarly so, but very fiddly if you want to truly "relax" while playing.

SKs don't solo very well in terms of XP gain/hour - but if you're happy chasing down fear kited mobs then have at it.

Monks... they're everywhere. Fun, and popular for a reason, but you're "just another monk".

[JurisDictum]

For blue Id go Bard. Great solo, raid, and group class. It is important to note that bards (like druids and wizards) are better at solo exping then they are at solo farming. Farming classes would be necro and shaman.

For red I would go Enchanter or SK. SK would be better at the very end (unless you are an extremely talented enchanter)...but a lot worse along the way. Enchanters are in much more demand on red I believe..but that could be dated.

In my experience, people that try to capitalize on solo a lot, don't do nearly as well at this game as people that find 1-2 guys they do a lot together with. You might want to reconsider the need to solo if you play regularly and plan on raiding. Edit: Bards, Druids, and Wizards are actually pretty fast solo levelers...so from a pure leveling up basis, they might be better than 2-3 guys grouping together/ finding others to group with.

[kined]

Enchanter is going to be your best solution for all of those points, with bard taking second. i wouldnt go bard if you want to solo normally. excluding bard swarm kiting, enchanters are the fastest levelers and they are one of the top two soloing classes for end game, as well as being incredibly usefull and required in groups.

you wont regret chanter. its also a great first character to fund any alts you want to make later... made thousands while leveling, even before lvl 50. they are dangerous but the leveling is so quick it makes up for your fails and you make so much money you can afford rezzes. by your criteria i would say ench is the only real viable option. SK's and monks will be pretty poor soloing if you arent already twinked. Bard is a great second option, but playing them well is a great way to burn yourself out and develop some arthritis, but at the same time they can be absolutely AMAZING assets to a group or a trio.

[Nixtar]

I click when twisting my songs in group content to ease the the strain on your wrist/fingers. Zero loss in effectiveness when you get into the rythm(takes a little bit to get used it) of it and makes the experience playing a bard less stressful. While being a "clicker" is often used to insult people in MMORPGs it makes sense in EQ since you aren't juggling 30+ abilities. Indeed, since you often change instruments it weaves itself nicely into the sequence.

The way I do it is having buttons assigned to target nearest NPC, next/previous npc, and that's it. After awhile you'll just switch between pressing buttons and clicking without even thinking about it. Makes for a much more enjoyable barding experience.

VertUI is a good custom UI to use as you can easily time your clicks due to "casting"-bar being on embedded in the same place as the target box. The secondary ability bar is also a very nice addition.