Bard or necro hmmmmm

[Subidoo]

I was wondering how difficult it is to solo as a bard? Is it 40% exp penalty? I plan to play Solo about 60% of the time. So was debating between necro and bard, just want to make sure I can get into raid content at max level 🙂

[zanderklocke]

There is no exp penalty anymore. Soloing is easy on both classes.

Raid content is not that fun on this server, so just have fun leveling.

[Subidoo]

Oh, evan better! Thanks :)

[Lunababy]

There is no exp penalty anymore. Soloing is easy on both classes.

Raid content is not that fun on this server, so just have fun leveling.

Do race penalties still exist?
And just to clarify, all class penalties are gone? Or was it only for hybrids?

[maskedmelon]

Race penalties remained. All class penalties were removed, however warrior/rogue bonuses remained... Iirc. The information is out there. Elly?

[Spyder73]

I have a 50+ Bard and Necro...I would recommend the necro. They are a completely underrated class and offer utility that rivals even that of the Bard when properly played (Heals, Charms, Mana Regen, Damage, Pets, Buffs, Better lore). Can't underestimate thier damage capabilities either, they are great (Bard is sh!t DPS)

I find soloing on a Bard ridiculous as well, but I also am sh!t at "swarm kiting" and find it to be borderline exploitive. Necromancer is what i was looking for when I origonally made my bard.

EDIT: With that said, I find it difficult to play the game without Selos now - its so nice its almost worth anything

[maskedmelon]

I have a 50+ Bard and Necro...I would recommend the necro. They are a completely underrated class and offer utility that rivals even that of the Bard when properly played (Heals, Charms, Mana Regen, Damage, Pets, Buffs, Better lore). Can't underestimate thier damage capabilities either, they are great (Bard is sh!t DPS)


This is a a very strong point that most people just don't get, including those who play necromancers. I never came to fully appreciate them until I witnessed the breadth of their versatility in unconventional groups on Red. They are an awesome group class with a lot to offer as Spyd explains above. When you group don't hesitate to utilize all of your tools.

[Spyder73]

I honestly think I can heal better on my necro than any of the priests class can (minus complete heal). I have it down to a science between Shadow Pact and Corporeal Empathy and Bond of Death.

Burst damage? Sure you need a "healer", but for grind content none is better than the Necromancer at healing (especially considering you can dispell Recourse for 100% free heals - all you have to do is leave buff slot 1 open)

[maskedmelon]

I believe it. I never played a necro so have no idea about the ins and outs of it. I just know I relied on a necro as primary healer / cc many times leveling on Red and was pleasantly surprised. I am disappointed though when most necros I group with don't know their own potential.

[Subidoo]

Perfect, thanks so much everyone. I'm thinking of making a dark elf necro, :) when I played many moons ago I was a cleric and i loved to heal, now I want to solo with a bit of grouping. Now to just find a guild, thank you everyone

[Spyder73]

Perfect, thanks so much everyone. I'm thinking of making a dark elf necro, :) when I played many moons ago I was a cleric and i loved to heal, now I want to solo with a bit of grouping. Now to just find a guild, thank you everyone

Would highly, Highly, HIGHLY...recommend Iskar. The health regen can not be undervalued considering you drain life constantly while in Lich form

[Swish]

Iskars are an Eve Online thing arent they?

Definitely lizards benefit from the regen, but you'll not know the difference if you havent tried it....also dark elves get to start in the best city :)

[Subidoo]

So does night elf have anything that it brings to the table?

[iruinedyourday]

worst thing about necros is the fact hat iksar is so much better than de becuse de look that much better than iksar ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[Swish]

So does night elf have anything that it brings to the table?

Nope, just a decent starting int pool (vs iksar). On that logic I guess it's as good to consider an erudite :p

[Nixtar]

Arguments for not choosing Iksar;
1. Not being an iksar.
2. Wanting a true classic experience.
3. Not a min-maxing/easy mode player.
4. Not wanting to be KOS everywhere... For us who haven't got multiple 60s/in a raiding guild/mountains of plat to spend/only concerned with velious faction, this actually does matter. Indeed, most won't have a CoS or Jboots.
5. Fashionquest matters. You know it, I know it. I've even deleted characters I spent a lot of time in simply because of the name/race/look combo irked me.

[Subidoo]

So I guess iksar is the way to go lol.

[Swish]

Arguments for not choosing Iksar;
1. Not being an iksar.
2. Wanting a true classic experience.
3. Not a min-maxing/easy mode player.
4. Not wanting to be KOS everywhere... For us who haven't got multiple 60s/in a raiding guild/mountains of plat to spend/only concerned with velious faction, this actually does matter. Indeed, most won't have a CoS or Jboots.
5. Fashionquest matters. You know it, I know it. I've even deleted characters I spent a lot of time in simply because of the name/race/look combo irked me.

Nothing like the sight of a lizard in a robe imo <3

[Nixtar]

Nothing like the sight of a lizard in a robe imo <3

All about dem botox gnomes.

[iruinedyourday]

those red eyes in the superior darkelf model tho

[Malik_Gynax]

4. Not wanting to be KOS everywhere... For us who haven't got multiple 60s/in a raiding guild/mountains of plat to spend/only concerned with velious faction, this actually does matter. Indeed, most won't have a CoS or Jboots.

Just wanted to address this because multiple 60s and being in a raiding guild is not a pre-requisite for dumping all your faction. Having no faction is one of the most freeing things about playing an Iksar.

Faction is not even close to a concern for an iksar necro. As soon as you get Call of Bones you can sell/bank/wander freely in any evil city in skeleton form. They will all love you. If you want, you can level up by killing Oggok guards, sell the loot right back to their merchants, and then bank at the banker in town because they like skeletons that much.

Or killing guards in Freeport, selling the loot to the necro guild under the docks, and then banking in town. All of these options are available to you as an Iksar Necro. The only limitation is that you can't just walk right in places without casting a spell first.

Also, you can bank with feign death at any bank in the game. You also don't need CoS to go invisible... you have the spell to cast whenever you want.

I can't recommend Iksar Necro highly enough. The only reason not to go Iksar is if you really don't like the way Iksar look. And even then you're going to look like a skeleton most of the time anyway.

[iruinedyourday]

having no faction being freeing is damn true.. Its so nice to jsut be like.. will I loose faction if I kill this rando... wait FUCK my faction!

Kill npc

nothing feels better than killing npcs

fuck i love everquest

[Subidoo]

You all had me at Freedom LOL

[iruinedyourday]

http://i.imgur.com/D8K0HM2.png

[Cecily]

having no faction being freeing is damn true.. Its so nice to jsut be like.. will I loose faction if I kill this rando... wait FUCK my faction!

Kill npc

nothing feels better than killing npcs

fuck i love everquest

That's how I play my wood elf rogue.

[iruinedyourday]

That's how I play my wood elf rogue.

Thats even more RP ima do this w. my next character

[Tayen]

Also, you can bank with feign death at any bank in the game. You also don't need CoS to go invisible... you have the spell to cast whenever you want.


Just as a follow up to this comment... is not being able to get the un-nerfed CoS in the near future a big deal? I've heard a lot of comments about how incredibly vital this item is, but also how less useful the nerfed version is. I don't have any 60s at the moment, and I think by the time I get a high enough level to get a CoS, I'll probably only be able to get the nerfed version. Should this be something I should be concerned with, starting an Iksar Necro?

[maskedmelon]

Just as a follow up to this comment... is not being able to get the un-nerfed CoS in the near future a big deal? I've heard a lot of comments about how incredibly vital this item is, but also how less useful the nerfed version is. I don't have any 60s at the moment, and I think by the time I get a high enough level to get a CoS, I'll probably only be able to get the nerfed version. Should this be something I should be concerned with, starting an Iksar Necro?

Well, I wouldn't let it concern you if there is nothing you can do about it ^^ The pre-nerfed version is OP because it let's you go damn near anywhere. Aggro? FD, stand, insta-invis and continue on your way. The cast time on the nerfed version just makes it a mana free invis, which is of only minor use.

Overall, the pre-nerf version allows you to do things you couldn't otherwise do, but does not at all diminish the power/versatility of the necromancer class. Don't sweat it.

[Troxx]

To answer the initial question on how hard is it to solo on a bard ... It's shamefully easy. Not even counting swarming (which I stopped in the low 40s), a bard who knows what they are doing can solo in select locations faster than most (if not all) other classes. You could do this naked other than a cheap starter set of instruments.

As I made the push from 55+ to 60 I could either drop 6 blues every 15 minutes (9 minutes of killing 6 waiting) indefinitely or drop 10 every 15 minutes (12 minutes of killing with 3 to med) for 2ish hours before needing to afk for a prolonged time to get back up on mana.

How does this compare to necros? Well at this one camp I never saw any other class keep all 10 down every 15 minutes for a prolonged period, including necromancers.

Necromancers, however, have a MUCH broader range of targets, locations, and styles of solo than bards. For raw speed of leveling, 1-60, nobody beats a bard. Necros are steady all the way up and imo will solo 50-60 faster given their wider ranges of places they can hunt. I lucked out finding my camp open living in Europe more often than not. During US prime time getting the camp would have been much harder. As a bard that meant having to wait for the camp or move elsewhere or play an alt. A necro will have a lot more locations to choose from and therefore probably win the 50-60 stretch.

Both classes are insanely useful. A necro who uses all of their tools is an xp group Demi-God. Bards are arguably more versatile but less "potent" in critical areas like dps. Necros excel as healers and have solid dps (great if charming). Necro cc is mediocre, but it's there. Bards have crappy dps but have good CC while bringing other utility (slows/buffs) to the table. Bard healing potential is often underrated. Starting in the upper 40s when you get Nivs melody of preservation (stacks with hymn of restoration and later with 55 cantana) a bard with a good lute can give 35-45 hp/tick regen to each person in the group. In this regards they can be considered amongst the best healers in the game in a wide range of grouping scenarios.

Both classes are fantastic, and they synergize VERY well with both each other and other classes.

Bard necro shaman +/- rogue or monk is amongst my favorite groups

With monk, let monk tank and pull. With rogue let bard tank and pull. Bard regens more or less covers the healing along with shaman regen. Necro heal to top off as needed or allow shaman to canni harder. Solid melee dps plus necro pet damage and dots.

All around great atypical group that supports each other perfectly.

[Trollhide]

I'm away from the game for the next 4 months (unavoidable) but I wanna continue leveling my necro when I get back.. how widely available / expensive are the prenerf CoS's these days?

[Swish]

I'm away from the game for the next 4 months (unavoidable) but I wanna continue leveling my necro when I get back.. how widely available / expensive are the prenerf CoS's these days?

There's 1000s on the server.

[Troxx]

I'm away from the game for the next 4 months (unavoidable) but I wanna continue leveling my necro when I get back.. how widely available / expensive are the prenerf CoS's these days?

Last consistent price I saw on the prenerf were 3-4k.

There's a ton on the server but the price will still jump when the nerf hits.

[TheStinkyTuna]

EDIT: With that said, I find it difficult to play the game without Selos now - its so nice its almost worth anything

I remember having a bard back in 2002 before I stopped playing, always thinking to myself, "all these people begging for SoW, SUCKERS!" as I blew past them. Now I'm using a Warrior on P99 and I continuously daydream about having Selo's again, haha.