Which caster to start with? [Archive]

Swish

08-09-2017, 04:12 AM

Necromancer if you're unsure...great solo ability at least and can help you to gear another class you like.

Shaman is great in groups and can solo.

Enchanter is probably a stretch to solo with without knowing their mechanics properly and only basic rules....but yeah if you put the time in and like to group that's an awesome choice <3

Breton

08-09-2017, 05:07 AM

Thank you for your welcomes and helpful replies. It sounds like I was a little vague in my initial post here so allow me to clarify what I mean.

By pure caster I do mean robe wearing caster. Magician, Wizard, Necromancer, or Enchanter. I don't have much interest in a priest class because I'm not interested in healing but do want to primarily use magic. I'm probably going to role a tranquil worshiping Erudite for my own role play purposes. Plus their high int likely makes them great casters.

My thinking is that a more straightforward class role would be best to relearn the ins and outs of the game (mechanics/what levels to hunt where/dicey areas vs safe ones) although I'm open to having my mind changed.

As far as solo/group I'd say a bit of both would be nice. Having the option to solo is good for times I can't play for long periods of time and grouping for times I can would be ideal but I'm not sure if that option exists. If that option does exist but the class is more of a challenge to learn, I'll take the ability to both solo/group over straightforward class role.

Hope that clarifies my meaning. Thanks again for all of your help, it's nice to be part of a helpful & welcoming community.

trite

08-09-2017, 11:31 AM

Hey all,

Played EQ back in the day and loved it so I'm back to do it all over again. I know I'd like to start with a pure caster but I'm looking for some opinions on which pure caster class would be best to re-learn the game.

Any suggestions are appreciated.

Thanks! :cool:

necromancer is the easiest to solo 1-60 and is the most independent class. Almost no benefit to interacting with other players, as far as leveling efficiency. At higher levels in some dungeons, groups will want them as a DPS class for their ability to charm the undead...once you get to the raid scene your only roles would be to cast DMF on people and act as a backup mana pool for clerics ...and summon corpses

magician is easy to solo 1-50 but then 50-60 is much harder...once you get to the raid scene your only role is to CoTH people through dungeons and provide a few summoned items such as mod rods and haste masks etc etc

enchanters solo well and they are also one of the most (if not the most) highly sought after group classes because they are the best DPS and crowd control for groups at higher levels and their buffs are invaluable for the efficiency of the group. probably the most advanced of the int caster classes.

wizard is tedious to solo and undesirable for groups, stereotypes about chronic afk...the ability to teleport is very cool though.

enchanter or necromancer are the best to start with in my opinion. Even though they are harder to play than wizard and mage, I think choosing either will maximize the likelihood that your character hits 60 eventually.

If you pick an enchanter put 25 points into charisma and 5 points into intelligence

Dreenk317

08-09-2017, 11:57 AM

Some serious misinformation about necromancers going on here. That being that they aren't useful in groups except for some dps. Don't know about you but any class that can heal my group mates, debuff my enemies, mez the rowdy assholes, give my cleric more mana, and feign death split mobs is welcome in my group any fracking day. And that's just the tip of the iceberg. Sure everyone knows that necros shine when solo. But what people don't know is that there a god damn disco ball in a group. When played right at least.

Troxx

08-09-2017, 12:41 PM

Anyone who says necromancers aren't useful in groups doesn't know the class well or hasn't played with someone who knows the class well.

loramin

08-09-2017, 01:45 PM

I'd vote Necromancer, with Druid or Shaman as close seconds. All three can:

solo with virtually no equipment (I leveled an almost naked druid to 45 without issue)
are useful in groups (although Druids a bit less so)
have ways of farming plat at higher levels (necros and shaman can solo valuable loot and druids can join dial-a-port)
cover a broad spectrum of play: all three can heal, DoT, nuke, use pets, and charm (although Shamans only briefly)

All three are great up until 45/50-ish. At that point however Druids start feeling less powerful and desirable, while Shaman have to acquire two very expensive items (their epic and Torpor).

Enchanters are a good 4th option. They're not gear-dependent, they're pretty well-rounded and they are desired both in solo and in groups. However, they have a more unique play-style and can't heal, so they're maybe not quite as good for "re-learning the game". And Bard, Mage, Cleric, and others are all viable options too, they're just less self-sufficient and/or more one-dimensional than the above classes.

Scrumtick

08-09-2017, 01:51 PM

Lots of good info here. Like others have hinted or said, any recommendation is highly dependent on whether you want to be most effective in groups or solo and whether you are thinking end-game roles. Any preference?

Breton

08-09-2017, 02:24 PM

Apologies for the slow replies folks. I think somebody needs to review my posts before they show up which can take a little time.

Baler

08-09-2017, 02:33 PM

I started p99 with a magician. I wish I started it with a necromancer.
I encourage you to go iksar necro and embrace being evil.

The reason I recommend necro over mage for a new comer is their superior utility spells. Root, Feign Death, Fear, mana regen, etc...

The reason I don't encourage enchanter or wizard is because they're far more gear dependent and in the care of the enchanter require far vaster knowledge and understanding of p99/classic mechanics and game play.

---
I see some debate on necros in groups. +1 for necros being good in groups at all levels. Heck they can even spot heal other players. No puller? With FD necro can pull, no joke. Extra roots/snares in group is always good. other stuff i'm forgetting.

Expediency

08-09-2017, 02:54 PM

If you are brand new roll druid. At 60 they are not as good as most casters but they are easy to learn, versatile, not equipment reliant, can escape danger easily, and can port for pp starting at 29.

Foxplay

08-09-2017, 07:45 PM

#1) Enchanter: if you want to learn the game and all its mechanics and how to abuse them. In essence how to "win" at EQ
#2) Necromancer: will teach you many of the lessons that you can gain from enchanter but offers a much easier learning curve and safety net, while also being a bit more powerful than enchanter in situations that call for direct damage sourced via the caster and not thru a charm pet (Necro has super DD, and DoT's, and a stronger natural pet vs. Enchanter charm is better and haste and buff spells beef up their charm to super saiyan levels of stupidity)
#3)Mage: Wont teach you much about the game with the exception of good pet control - and chaining pets at higher levels, but if you want a relaxed class that is fairly powerful, as well as having a certain amount of "guaranteed power" the mage is a sure bet with you are always at the very least as strong as your pet which are pretty decent. I have no personally leveled one up but I imagine mages being pretty much unmatched at farming lower level content as their hasted pet + dmg shield could just curb stomp it with ease.
#4)Wizard: Mathematically probably the worst class in velious, yes they can burst out a lot of damage and are fairly relevant in Kunark when bosses only have 32k hp. But their nukes just did not scale well in velious as mobs almost across the board received sizeable health increases. While they are not an amazing class by the numbers on at least one positive note playing a wizard will teach these players proper kiting and quadding techniques on p99 as it will be engraved in the back of your skull simply because getting into groups as a wizard may (will) be difficult.

Foxplay

08-09-2017, 07:49 PM

If you are brand new roll druid. At 60 they are not as good as most casters but they are easy to learn, versatile, not equipment reliant, can escape danger easily, and can port for pp starting at 29.

I think your slightly understating the druid class... Imo only Enchanter and Necromancer edge out over Druid. Magician is pretty dang strong, but their epic is crazy hard and its a huge piece of their "end game power". Druids have Wizards beat hands down

Swish

08-10-2017, 03:34 AM

Anyone who says necromancers aren't useful in groups doesn't know the class well or hasn't played with someone who knows the class well.

Unfortunately the number of necros that send the pet in, (cue Ralph Wiggum, "I'm helping" gif) and do little else outweigh the necros who want to be as active as an enchanter with patch healing, mana regen and a charmed undead pet.

Some group leaders play the percentages sadly. I have a 60 necro btw and when I wanted to group it wasn't easy to get invited despite saying I could charm in CoM/KC/Seb/etc ^^

Troxx

08-10-2017, 03:56 AM

Twitching in a group is seldom worthwhile. There are exceptions (ie twitching the knight so that chain pulls can continue or twitching the cleric in an absolute emergency -- or any time you find yourself full mana with nothing to do immediately) but in general the 400:150 ratio on the high end twitch is mana better spent elsewhere.

Swish

08-10-2017, 05:32 AM

It depends on the synergy of the group, if the cleric is struggling with a ranger/bard tank, a bad tank, or something... that's probably the best avenue to prevent frequent mana breaks, patch heal/cancel magic costs next to nothing, you're only spending the mana on twitching and the occasional lifetap.

I agree though ideally I mostly preferred/enjoyed charming a pet, tooling it up, hasting it (if no better haste was available) and really motoring the group's dps output, with screaming terror on a hotkey for the inevitable break ^^

Expediency

08-10-2017, 10:09 AM

I think your slightly understating the druid class... Imo only Enchanter and Necromancer edge out over Druid. Magician is pretty dang strong, but their epic is crazy hard and its a huge piece of their "end game power". Druids have Wizards beat hands down

At 60 druid is possibly the least useful and least powerful caster. You need one druid at the raid for potg and thats it.

Necro/shaman/ench much stronger
Wiz/mage more useful to raids
Cleric is cleric

My main is a druid. I wish all this wasnt true but it is.

Edit: if the raid is outside and/or there are charmable animals around the druid gets much better.. but most raids are neither.

Sorn

08-10-2017, 11:17 AM

At 60 druid is possibly the least useful and least powerful caster. You need one druid at the raid for potg and thats it.

Necro/shaman/ench much stronger
Wiz/mage more useful to raids
Cleric is cleric

My main is a druid. I wish all this wasnt true but it is.

Edit: if the raid is outside and/or there are charmable animals around the druid gets much better.. but most raids are neither.

You're just talking about raids, though. For everything else (and there is a lot of everything else) druid is quite good. Can solo quite a few things and duo even more.

Raavak

08-10-2017, 11:26 AM

Druid is kinda nice in that you can solo or group, depending on how you feel that day. Not the best at either, but the game can be more fun/less of a grind that way.

Druid duo with a melee, especially like a ranger with a haste cloak, can be really nice.

Expediency

08-10-2017, 11:54 AM

You're just talking about raids, though. For everything else (and there is a lot of everything else) druid is quite good. Can solo quite a few things and duo even more.

Which of those does a druid beat in a solo or duo situation? Wizard sure. Cleric possibly without a charmed pet but clerics have other obvious utility. Maybe nonepic mage in some situations. None of the others.

Druids are a good class and fun to play but they are easily one of the weakest casters. If you want a fun ride to 60 roll druid. If you want to be a boss though look elsewhere.

mcoy

08-10-2017, 11:59 AM

Looking for my obvious utility... I seem to have misplaced it =p

-Mcoy

Raavak

08-10-2017, 12:32 PM

Sow, regen, heal, ds, dot, nuke, snare, root, and port.... some hp buffs and resists.
Druids can do it all. Just not the best at any one thing.
Except maybe wisecracking.

Troxx

08-10-2017, 12:43 PM

Druids are a pretty well balanced class, they just suffer from not being *BEST* at any one thing. A well played druid always pulls their weight and is well worth the group spot 95% of the time. Their buffs are especially useful and often undervalued by the playerbase. In a game as slow paced as classic everquest, regen is clutch ... and they're the only class that with one spell can give 5/10/15 to the whole group.

Foxplay

08-10-2017, 01:02 PM

Being the best at nuking in Velious is like being the best at sprinting 100meters in a 5mile race. Id rather have druids in melee groups or healing with "/rtarget" on geared rogues and monks than wizards

Sorn

08-10-2017, 01:09 PM

Which of those does a druid beat in a solo or duo situation? Wizard sure. Cleric possibly without a charmed pet but clerics have other obvious utility. Maybe nonepic mage in some situations. None of the others.

Soloing: beats wizard, cleric, mage, shaman (especially with quadding) in terms of DPS mana efficiency and speed, survivability, single-pulling (in outdoor) - druids take a hit indoors
Duoing: Druids can duo with nearly any class. Their dots stack with shamen (and their DS stacks with the DS pot) and necromancers (druids have the better snare), they can heal pretty well. For melee duos, they're missing haste/slow.
Porting: Wizards get translocate spells to cater to their laziness...druids get SoW and merchants at some of their rings.
Powerleveling: Druids turn you into god for up to 7 minutes at a time. Plus they can heal themselves quickly if their train hits them too hard, unlike bards.

I'd rather be a druid than a min/maxer who only does one thing well :P

Troxx

08-10-2017, 01:31 PM

Soloing: beats wizard, cleric, mage, shaman (especially with quadding) in terms of DPS mana efficiency and speed, survivability, single-pulling (in outdoor) - druids take a hit indoors
Duoing: Druids can duo with nearly any class. Their dots stack with shamen (and their DS stacks with the DS pot) and necromancers (druids have the better snare), they can heal pretty well. For melee duos, they're missing haste/slow.
Porting: Wizards get translocate spells to cater to their laziness...druids get SoW and merchants at some of their rings.
Powerleveling: Druids turn you into god for up to 7 minutes at a time. Plus they can heal themselves quickly if their train hits them too hard, unlike bards.

I'd rather be a druid than a min/maxer who only does one thing well :P

Solo: mage played well will put out more efficient damage over time than even a quadding druid. Many other classes out-compete druids by a fair margin.

Duo: Shaman duos better with a melee class than any druid ever could. Many other classes play the "synergy" card better than druids.

Porting: no arguments there. Druid to cast sow on the player wins over wiz.

Powerleveling: Bard for casters > all even after the 25 target nerf. Monk beats druid at high end. Necro beats monk at higher end(s). Druids do a great job, but they aren't the *best*.

-------------------

I have lots of love for druids, but don't oversell them. They are good at LOTS of things. They are best at few things. Their strength is in their versatility.

Breton

08-13-2017, 07:17 PM

ajdes

08-13-2017, 08:21 PM

I appreciate all the feedback on the druid, but I'm looking more at pure casters than priests. They sound cool but I'm not a big fan of healing and I remember they do a fair amount of that.

Sounds to me like Necro/Enchanter/Mage seem to be the favorites. I'm leaning toward a Tranquil worshiping Erudite for my own rp purposes so do they make a particularly good necro, mage, or enchanter?

Assuming by Tranquil you mean Quellious, you cant be a necro.

For Quellious Enc, it might get you into trouble in some evil cities (with illusions) but I play a Bertoxx enchanter and Ive never had too much trouble.

Breton

08-13-2017, 08:27 PM

Assuming by Tranquil you mean Quellious, you cant be a necro.

For Quellious Enc, it might get you into trouble in some evil cities (with illusions) but I play a Bertoxx enchanter and Ive never had too much trouble.

Good point. Im less worried about the deity. Moreso like the idea of Erudite being a magical race for the pure caster. Seems cool to me.

Pyrocat

08-25-2017, 05:47 PM

Erudite enchanter is a great choice. Enchanter is likely the most complicated class you could pick to start with, but will pay dividends if you spend the time to learn it, and there are some good guides / threads around that can teach you what you need to know.

Erudite necromancer is also a good choice, but Iksar is the far superior race for necromancer due to their frankly overpowered regeneration that counteracts the necro's lich hp drain, a core class ability.

If race is more important to you than class pick, go with Erudite Enchanter. If you really want to play a Necro (and I'd advise it, easier to pick up than Enchanter with most of the same fun parts), play Iksar Necro.

fadetree

08-25-2017, 07:50 PM

I agree with Eru chanter. I have one, and he did very well, and I'm no game mechanics genius. I just read the guides and watched some vids, it's not as easy as hitting 'A' over and over but it aint rocket surgery.

Ruien

08-26-2017, 03:06 AM

I main an erudite enchanter, and if you've decided on Enchanter then Erudite is a good choice; the only stats that really matter are INT and CHA, and Erudites have the highest total (add 25 CHA, 5 INT at creation):

Dark Elf: 114 + 95 = 209
Erudite: 122 + 105 = 227
Gnome: 113 + 95 = 208
High Elf: 107 + 115 = 222
Human: 90 + 110 = 200

This assumes that you want to play an enchanter. It's a late-blooming class, with a lot of core functionality not maturing until the mid 40's (and some components not until near 60). Some people will prefer Magician gameplay over Enchanter, and for good reason, so I'd encourage considering Magician unless you're absolutely sure you like the Enchanter style. Erudites make excellent Magicians as well. (But if you decide on Necro, then Iksar wins out over Erudite. And don't count out gnome for mage/wiz for wallvision.)

(Note that high elves deserve an honorable mention for second place because high-end enchanter gear tends to have too much INT.)

Aberen

08-26-2017, 04:03 AM

I main an erudite enchanter, and if you've decided on Enchanter then Erudite is a good choice; the only stats that really matter are INT and CHA, and Erudites have the highest total (add 25 CHA, 5 INT at creation)....

Not quite - people forget that starting agility on an erudite is 70. So you need to put 5 points in agility to make sure you have full run speed at level 1 (an important feature for a first toon), making erudites and high elves exactly even on INT+CHA

Breton

08-27-2017, 07:39 AM

Thanks for all of the help guys. I ended up rolling a high elf mage based on what people were saying here and a friend set me up with a few pieces of gear to get me going. Enchanter and necro sound fun too and may roll one or both eventually but I figured Mage is a good place to start. Currently level 15 over in Kurns if anybody wants to group. Name is Linwe.

Yoink1986

08-27-2017, 09:47 AM

Msg me Ingame today or tomm and I can prolly help you out some. Name is Retllon.

p.pumpjob

09-05-2017, 04:02 PM

Wizard if you can quad kite

Enchanter if you have a strong attention span

Necro if you like getting research spells and soloing, has FD and invuln so new player friendly

Mage is in between all of these

Illsiff

09-05-2017, 05:33 PM

If you're a glutton for pain and a fan of danger...

If you excel in a stressful environment where your most valuable contribution to the team is also YOUR biggest threat and could blow up in your face at any given moment...

If you detest the idea of watching helplessly while your party members scramble to regain control of a situation gone wrong...

If you enjoy being a member of the party that is (in my experience) most often referred to as a necessary piece of the puzzle...

Enchanter.