Re-maining from Druid to Necro, maybe.

[PatriotPanda]

Hey P99 gang,

I'm thinking heavily of creating a new main - currently a 42 druid. I'd love some opinions:

My play style is relaxed, will probably never raid - just don't have the time. I play often during the day in spurts and for an hour or so at a time at night. So solo'ing classes are definitely a preference.

I've never leveled up a necro past....8 maybe (lol) even though I've played the game since retail. I mained a mage and cleric back then. Have always heard that necros are the best class for relaxed solo play - and the world is your xp sandbox - cause you know, evil.

Can I get some thoughts on the move? I am not rich by any means (3k in bank, and gear that gets my druid wis to 200+) but am willing to sell and restart for a more powerful damage class.

Thanks in advance,

Patriot

[nevilshute]

Having played a necro to 60 I'd say it seems to match your wishes pretty well. Being an extremely proficient soloer combined with FD to go afk forever at a moments notice really is fantastic. Be aware that at 60 the (torpor) shaman and enchanter pull away in terms of solo powers but the necro is still pretty sweet.

Edit: you're going to want jboots and pre nerf cos. Other than that gear won't play a huge factor in your early life. 55hp rings and whatever else you can shop for 2-3k is ample.

[Caiu]

Necro doesn't benefit from gear too much(especially early on until you can click COS) so feel free to dive in and get your feet dead. It's a perfect class for those one hour spurts and if you have to get called away FD is EQ's pause button.

[Vexenu]

The Necro would fit your criteria well, but I'll play devil's advocate for sticking with the Druid, at least until you get the mid 50s.

1) Druids are also very casual friendly. Ports help a lot for this. You have a variety of ways to solo, as well. Root rot, charm, quad are all viable.

2) Druids got a LOT of benefit out of Velious in terms of spells and gear. They arguably improved more than any other class. They have the best Velious BP clickie, two nice new heals in Chloroblast and Nature's Touch, one of the best buffs in the game with PotG, a bear pet, plenty of good charming zones in Velious, an indoor stun, a nice ATK debuff, Tunare root necklace and DS clickie gloves from PoG, and finally the Druid Epic is now much more useful since root and snare stack, and much easier to get since Venril Sathir can be spawned directly.

Necros, in contrast, got shafted pretty hard by Velious. They get a couple of nice items like Zlandicar's Heart and Holgresh Elder Beads, but otherwise don't benefit much at all.

3) A Druid is always useful for making easy plat from porting, powerleveling or just running around looking for rare mobs/mob cycles with track. Just a very good generalist and casual class.

[Nycon43]

Judging by your preference for casual solo I'd honestly just stick with the druid and keep going. Necro is a great class and it does fit what you want but I don't think rerolling to one is really going to change anything for you. Vexenu's post above lays out really good points. As a casual player being able to port around at a whim and check what camps are open is a huge boon.

[PatriotPanda]

Thanks for the replies. I definitely enjoy being able to port around on a whim - saves (and makes) a TON of cash.

I think one of the big points for me is the lack of "umph" that druids have. Seems that necros are able to dole out a lot more damage more efficiently than a druid. And not being 100% beholden to gear would be amazeballs.

You guys have definitely given me a few things to consider - many thanks!

Patriot

[Endorra]

Druid and necro both fit your play style well. Good arguments above for sticking the druid out, if not to 60.

If you decide to go necro:

1) Roll Iksar.

2) HP > Int (at levels 50+, to 200) > sta = mana

3) Since you are probably the least gear dependent class and don't have a large amount of plat to begin with, I would suggest considering some cheap WR bags (evil eye, light burlap sack) and some good 6/65 rings. The rings will make a big diff at lower level and last right on through. Necros often make plat by farming things like guards that drop weighty vendor trash. Might as well make that easier.

4) If you've never been past 8, take heart. 8-12 are the worst levels of a necro career. At 12 you get your first versions of staple spells, all through the 20's you get good upgrades, and at 34 they really start to shine. The 50's see a comparative dip in power next to enc/shm, but they remain solid.

5) Make good use of being evil.

[Troxx]

Life as a necro gets so much better after 12. At 58 I finally finished using up all the bone chips I banked while leveling in Kurns.

[Jimjam]

At level 8 get yourself a nice ratio weapon, even if it is just a greatstaff, give your pet a nice two handed weapon to boost its damage, load up grim aura and vampiric embrace and straight up pretend you are a shadowknight for a few levels.

[PatriotPanda]

At level 8 get yourself a nice ratio weapon, even if it is just a greatstaff, give your pet a nice two handed weapon to boost its damage, load up grim aura and vampiric embrace and straight up pretend you are a shadowknight for a few levels.

Definitely going to do this.

Rolled an Ikky necro last night - going to give it a shot.

[GreldorEQ]

Both are great casual classes. The druid "umph" doesn't really hit its stride until 60 - although 46+ quadding with lumi staff/es vamps and 54+ charming is really a fast track to 58/59. I am a Halfling, so I use HIDE in the same way others use FD, and it's never failed me in the right circumstances.

That being said, Necros can kill more and faster at 60. Although I would say their pool of camps/mobs they can solo is not vastly different at 60. You will still be limited based on managing summoning mobs and not having slow. But, that is the trade-off to being casual! Enc/Shm are not casual (imo)!

[Ravager]

I'd stick with the druid, and maybe just put 100pp on a naked necro for spells to just switch it up now and again when you need a break from the druid grind.

[Tecmos Deception]

Although I would say their pool of camps/mobs they can solo is not vastly different at 60.

Ehhhh.

How many things can a druid can solo that a necro cannot? But you'll never see a druid soloing in HS south or sebilis crypt or the hole, etc. Necro probably has more oomph when it comes to powerful duos/trios as well, which often can be nice changes of pace for a casual player who usually is solo.

Don't get me wrong, I think druid is also great for a casual player. But I think that short of quadding, a necro will be better off for soloing in any situation at 60, especially if dealing with tougher stuff and/or in dungeons.


I'd stick with the druid, and maybe just put 100pp on a naked necro for spells to just switch it up now and again when you need a break from the druid grind.

That's a really good idea, imo.

[Kotopes]

As long as druid can utilize charm their exp gain rate is on par with any necro. Outdoors druids even get an advantage.

If we compare them at farming stuff for plats that's a whole different story of course. Necro's far better at that.

[Jimjam]

I'm interested in mem blur tricks for a druid.

Obviously you can camp/reload to memblur a pet for mana-free heal (probably best to snare it too so it doesn't go wander off).

Has anyone experimented with setting a pet down and then running a long way away before breaking charm to trigger a leash memblur heal?

Are there any other tricks, or is memblur healing just not viable for a druid?

Also, what are some druid charm tactics?

I tried aggroing a red mob and feeding it blues, but during the kite I seem to invariably pick up aggro from KoS mobs. Do druids keep harmony up to pre-lull anything that could cause trouble during the kite?

More druid charm infos, please!

[Troxx]

Head to head they're not fair to compare as they synergize - having them both is not redundant.

As a stand-alone class, necros win hands down.

DPS:

From 53 onward necro pet (well positioned) will put out ~50dps with just necro haste. With the 55 necro haste and external str buffs, the pet can put out closer to 60dps. This dps alone is well beyond what a druid can sustain. In a group, a necro using pet alone + DDs can hold strong at 70-90+ dps depending on downtime and pull speed. Both classes can charm but are limited in WHAT they can charm. If both classes have charm pets available ... correct me if i'm wrong but animals will not take 2 weapons or a torch. Undead will - making their potential dps much higher. Druids can snare their charmed pets which helps ... but necros have a nice ghetto-mez for locking it down to recharm. Point is ... necromancers win at dps (hand over fist) unless the druid can charm and the necromancer can't.

Healing:

At level 55, with specialization alteration and c2 a druid has a heal potential of around 850 health per minute. Regrowth adds another 150 bringing this to 1k/minute. Necromancers can maintain a 125/tick heal (dispelling recourse or otherwise) pretty much infinitely ... yielding 1250 in heals/minute. If not dispelling recourse, the necromancer has to use most all mana to heal back the health given ... but that pet is still putting out 50-60dps and the necromancers taps add damage. Druids win at burst heal, but the total healing potential is actually better for the necro.

Support:

Druids have a plethora of buffs that should not be discounted. Regrowth of the Grove, PoTG, str, DS ... great buffs. They can root/snare, harmony outdoors, succor. sow. Plenty of utility. Necros can root, snare, rez, ghetto-mez, twitch, DMF. For raw CC I'd put necro over druid ... though druids are quite capable.

Druids have pretty bad mana regen until 60 - but even then are out-classed by necromancers.

Necros are hands down the stronger class for solo vs group play ... but as I mentioned up front, the classes are not mutually exclusive. Many of what they bring to the table synergize well with each other.

[nina]

Hit 16-20 in kurns, hit the warrens (or get a friend to help you kill erudite guards until they love you in paineel, kill guards (no faction hit) for bronze weapons. Make a crap load of cash and retire to a tropical island of your choice.

[Izmael]

For a necro:

#1 priority - get a prenerf Circlet of Shadow
#2 priority - get Jboots

With these two items you're pretty much set. Ideally you'd also get a set of Holgresh Elder Beads but these are 150k+ by now.

As soon as you hit level 20-ish, start charm soloing for exp and you'll be 60 in no time (at which point you can hit HS south and farm enough money to buy the said set of beads maybe).

[ghost182]

if you're charming your way through you'll be semi bound to a handful of zones, none of which are bad and all offer either tiptop xp or loot: befallen, unrest, kurns tower, tofs, kaesora, CoM, HS... maybe some KC. But I found it a bit repetitive. If not charming. Some of the spells can start getting very expensive to acquire. A lot of the high 50 spells are also pricey. It's nice to have goals on any class... you want things to strive for, with the necro you'll be after elder beads, zlandi heart, a hard epic, soul well VP staff, emissary of Thule pet and quite a few other things. Most of this can be bought so you can continue your solo play at 60 farming different places for money to acquire them. A lot of what the Druid is after will be raid gear. So the end game goals for necro are still suitable for solo play

[Ravager]

Happily with either class, the spells are really the only expense. Both can be equipped well enough to solo to 60 for less than 5k, which is easily attainable for both by level 30.

Play in rags as long as you can, save for the spells and simply loot your upgrades. You'll have a great time doing that.

Izmael is not wrong about Jboots and Circlet. They are game changing. If I were a Necro though, I'd buy the Circlet and not the Jboots, but I don't mind spending a couple weeks in SRo at level 35 trying to get the AC in a classic fashion.

[Jimjam]

Adding on to Ravager's post, spectres in Oasis are nice xp for a decent period, so you can kill them between each 9pm in South Ro.