Seeking class advice

[Turbofish2050]

Thinking about playing have couple questions though. I would be starting new (no gear, plat etc) was looking at couple different classes. Was thinking cleric to get groups easier but i also enjoy solo time as i do enjoy the occasional "me" time. Any recommendations for classes? Thank You.

[greenspectre]

I started fresh on this server with a bard and love it. You can solo better than anyone in the game starting at level 2, just look up some swarm kiting videos, but if you are in the mood for grouping you rarely have issues finding a group. Also, your newbie gear is fairly cheap- Sionachie's Partisan beats most other classes value/pp at 100pp, and MM drums/Gypsy lute run 30-50pp each.

[Pyrion]

EQ classes vary greatly in complexity. While bard is really a powerfull class, its also very demanding and may not be for you. Same with enchanter.

Necro maybe a happy medium and mage is a really simple class, a bit limited but still powerfull. Druid can do a lot and can port people later, creating a nice income.

If you want to focus on groups, i would advice to play either a tank or a cleric. Those are the absolute essentials. Those classes are not great at soloing though.

[thebutthat]

Druid is a solid choice for a first time character. You can heal well in the lower levels, port people for money to gear yourself and other characters, have a very efficient means to travel, and can solo extremely well all the way to 60. You pay for this in the long run as if your looking to raid or group, your not in high demand other than getting people to the raids and casting protection of the glades.

Necro's are a great first time class as well. Pretty simple mechanics at lower levels, solo extremely well, and at later levels have some niche abilities that can boost groups quite well. Raid scene can be boring for a necro, but they do have viability, and in can sometimes be that clutch player that saves the raid. Lich, Feign Death and lifetap lines make this class extremely solo friendly and allow for lots of mistakes with easy recoveries. At later levels, while your potential DPS is among the highest, in reality nothing really lives long enough for your DOTs to play out.

Bards are a class you can level to 60 on just a few plat gear wise. Just get the starter instruments and get to work. While they are the most efficient soloers because of their ability to down 25 mobs at once, the leveling path is very narrow and outside of those zones, you'll either be inefficient or ineffective solo. Great grouping class with a wide range of roles they can play.

Mage's are another low level easy to level class. Later in life they get a bit more difficult because of the inability to CC and split pulls. Decent DPS for groups and raids, and some very very useful utility spells in raids.

Honorable mentions: Enchanter, Shaman's and Wizard's. Enchanters are the best bang for your buck soloers. You can hit the recommended CHA on about 2k plat, and then just charm your way to 60. Great buffs, CC is above anyone else so you'll always have room in a group plus everyone wants clarity all the time. Shaman's are some of the strongest soloers at end game, but getting up there can be painful and they're also the most expensive class to gear/spell out to be effective. Easy peasy to get groups, and in raids you'll be a buff bot/slower/off healer. Wizards...it's a lonely life. Great DPS in end game with the bane spell lines, but outside of that, it's quad kiting alone. They can port, to make a little coin, and the Translocate line makes porting multiple people pretty efficient without having to zone all over the place.

[Cambiant]

Druid, shaman, necro. New user friendly, can solo or group. My first character here is a shaman and I've solod him to 27 pretty easily (knowing where camps are).

[Thermite]

Best choice I think to start man is :

Druid - can solo, groups easy, port for cash on the side.
Nerco - great soloer, smart groups let necros in.
Sham - solo kings, great grouper, super expensive end game :(
Enchanter - solo gods, always needed in groups

[Syllibus]

I'm new too, and had classes like Druid, Bard, Necro, etc. recommended to me but I found that I enjoyed Mage & Enchanter the most. If you have the time and/or ability to, try rolling a bunch of classes and playing a bit to see what sticks.

[Muggens]

Hey Syllibus^ what is that avatar? Great drawing style, looks familiar, russian?

[Syllibus]

Hey Syllibus^ what is that avatar? Great drawing style, looks familiar, russian?

It's actually another work of art by the late Keith Parkinson, who did the boxart for original EQ, Kunark, Velious, etc. https://www.keithparkinson.com/

[GinnasP99]

Dark elf necromancer and don't look back

[Tenlaar]

My recommendation is actually to plan to play two classes when you start - a caster like necro or mage is perfect for an easy solo character that needs little gear (a mage can easily level to 50+ wearing literally nothing but a torch of alna). And because that character needs basically no gear, you can put the money you make with that character towards gearing up a character that might be more gear/group dependent.

It helps keep things from getting stale or frustrating just playing one character, especially if it's a class that is tougher when starting from scratch so will be more group reliant.

[xtraball]

Monk.

Game is tough. Monk is tough.

Monk.
Period.

[teai]

Probably the worst aspect of the game is dying due to some unfortunate circumstance, maybe even forgetting to leave an item and leaving no corpse for a res then losing time. The best classes are the ones that do not have to die unless they feel like it ( most of the time )

Necro, SK, or Monk. Each are pretty easy to gear and even the SK is cheap because of this top heavy server.

Avoid XP penalty, get to 60 fastest.

[Topgunben]

Probably the worst aspect of the game is dying due to some unfortunate circumstance, maybe even forgetting to leave an item and leaving no corpse for a res then losing time. The best classes are the ones that do not have to die unless they feel like it ( most of the time )

Necro, SK, or Monk. Each are pretty easy to gear and even the SK is cheap because of this top heavy server.

Avoid XP penalty, get to 60 fastest.

Sound advice. Don't go Cleric.

[Kytross]

Take a couple days and try out different classes you think you'll like. Sell some bone chips in EC. Buy some gear. Find something you enjoy and stick with it.

[Muggens]

It's actually another work of art by the late Keith Parkinson, who did the boxart for original EQ, Kunark, Velious, etc. https://www.keithparkinson.com/

ah very nice, his art is great, gonna check out more of him. Actually, I was thinking of Viktor Vasnetsov hehe. An inspiration perhaps to Keith. Dang, every aspect of classic EQ is great, from artwork to music(Jay Barbeau)

[bOONDOGGLE]

Some classes are more expensive than others, but this server is so top heavy that even decently good gear is incredibly cheap, if not free.

I wouldn't let that factor into your decision too much.

Shaman is one of the most expensive classes (maybe only after Warrior) and I had no problem playing it as my first character.

[Issar]

It's actually another work of art by the late Keith Parkinson, who did the boxart for original EQ, Kunark, Velious, etc. https://www.keithparkinson.com/

Keith is may favorite fantasy artist. I believe that piece is called Valshea. Probably my favorite work from Keith is the North Watch. https://www.keithparkinson.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/northwatch_product_001.jpg

Sorry for the derail OP. My suggestion would be like others have said, is to pick a few and try them out. Once you've picked one, have a cheap alt in place to break up the tedium.