question for old/casual EQ player and soloing

[ChaseECarpenter]

just got back into eq after 15 years, want to play something I never played b4 but seeing as Im not sure how long/much time i'll have this go, I wanted to pick a class that was as self reliant/soloable as possible, just to give myself at least a relatively more casual time. My choices are Shaman, Bard, Druid... leaning towards Sham or Bard.

Shaman, Bard, Druid

- rank by best at soloing? (other than kiting)

- rank most useful/in demand for a group

- rank relative power at high levels


Id really appreciate it as this is prolly the only char i'll pick and I never played either of those so need to decide. thnx ahead of time!

[Shodo]

Soloing - Shaman, Bard/Druid (excluding kiting, both bard and druid can charm kite - druid can root rot (but not well), bard can fear kite and many other things).

Grouping - Bit of a wash for all three depending on the level you're talking about. Definitely Shaman or Bard at higher levels would be more in-demand (slows/buffs for Shaman, pulls/CC/etc etc for Bard). Early game I don't think there would be much difference - maybe a bit more toward Bard still.

Power at end-game: Shaman first for sure. Bard/Druid I'm not terribly certain on which would be more "powerful," if you're still excluding kiting. Druids get ports, bards get more versatility and shinier armor.

Added - money-making potential at end-game: All three are great money makers, but there are some differences.
Shamans get big bucks by soloing/duoing tough cash camps that a lot of other classes can't handle. Great money, but probably less "casual" as it often involves being online for extended periods of time.
Bards can make a killing off power-leveling - might be wrong, but I think Bard PLs are typically the fastest.
Druids can also make a killing off power-leveling - I think they're a tad slower than Bards as far as exp/pull (again, I could be wrong), but they have the added benefit of being able to toss out buffs to nubs at the tunnel and ports (can easily make 500+ plat per hour very casually just porting people around).

Tldr; (In general terms) Shaman most powerful, Druid most casual, Bard some where in the middle & more versatile than either.

[Subidoo]

I think bards have the least downtime, im playing a shaman as my first char, had a slow time solo'ing in the warlier levels. But never had any trouble getting in a group, def getting a duo with a monk or mage was the best exp i got :)

[Trungep99]

You didn't mention Necros but consider them as a good soloer. Necros are amazing soloers from level 1 to 60. They get a pet. they get fear and snare. they get a lich spell for added mana gain. and they can drain the life off of their enemies. they get more utilities than i listed but once you learn this class you can solo yellow cons at low levels. I was soloing white cons at lvl 25 on my necro. Also necros can be iksar so that is an added hp regen bonus for their lich spell.

druids and shaman make excellent soloers but they start off a little slower at the very start. but once they are higher levels they can solo very well. Shaman can even solo lesser dragons at lvl 60.

Bards can swarm kite solo which is the fastest soloing anyone can do, takes a lot of practice and skill. Takes a few levels to get the proper songs to do this. takes alot of swapping between songs and can be physically exhausting after a 30 min kite with 100 monsters following you.

[Baler]

um.. wut? Duplicate thread?
http://www.project1999.com/forums/showthread.php?t=245608

[Izmael]

Necro if you want to be able to log in for minutes, kill a few mobs and logout.

Other classes require more time commitment to set up soloing. I never played a shaman though.

[Sadre Spinegnawer]

Bard, Shaman, Druid

- rank their ability to solo
Bard can level super quickly and solo with some effectiveness depending on the location and target. Not one of the core "solo" classes though, so won't perform even close to a necro/shaman/enchanter.
Shamans will level slower especially in the early levels, but are the best soloers later after 200k+ of plat investment and only at level 60.
Druids will level quickly, but have much less late game power.

- rank relative end-game power
Shaman top tier. Druid and Bard not so much (for solo). Bard super useful in group forever. Druid can be useful, but less so.

- rank usefulness/demand in a group/raid
Bards always needed. Guilds are overflowing with shamans and druids, so demand is low.

- rank their popularity
Shamans and druids are massively popular, bards kinda less so.

I recommend any of these classes, but you will probably feel the most limited as a shaman of the three. Bard is probably my favorite class. But I love my druid too for the ability go anywhere at any time engage heavily with the community.

[JurisDictum]

Bards:

Bard's, if you learn how to swarm kite, are the fastest solo levelers that you listed. But you need to have a decent enough comp and connection to pull it off -- and I heard it is hard to get a-hang of and can be very frustrating.

Bards will also be the most in demand for raids out of the classes you listed. But probably tied with shamans for groups (Both are very sought after).

Bards aren't really an endgame soloer for high end cash camps.

Druids

Druids are a lot easier to solo level with. Quad kitting is easy and better exp than most groups. They can also port for plat and convenience.

They can group -- but they pretty much suck at healing and dps late game. They aren't desired in groups for the most part, but people do will invite them anyway. There ok in Raids, but nothing special or in high demand (you can get into raid guilds regardless of class)

Druids don't really solo farm cash camps endgame particularly well either. You best bet would be to duo with a necro or enc and try that.

Shamans

Shamans are not good solo levelers. They can root rot mobs...that's not exactly good exp. Especially early on. It is something to do while you try to get a good group together imo.

Shamans are liked in groups and various duo/trio combos. They are also welcomed in raids -- but you only need a few is the truth.

Shamans are very expensive to gear out. Their best heal goes for like 100k at least. That's just one good thing they need. It is a blessing for those that like to max out a character slowly. But you have to have money to afford the stuff you will need to solo the better cash camps out there. But if you want to be able to solo stuff no one else can, this may be your class.

Popularity

This is how I would rank their popularity, from least to most popular:

Bard
Druid (end game)
Shaman
Druid (early/mid game)

Note on Necromancers

You didn't mention necro btw -- which many people consider to be overall the best solo class. Especially since they can solo level and solo farm pretty well -- where other classes tend to be better at one or the other. Necro's are also actually quite good in raids. They are probably about as popular as druids endgame.