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Natewest1987
09-27-2019, 10:30 AM
Hi franz.

1) I'm generally cool with the neckbeards, and I don't really care if the guild I'm a part of is a "zerg guild" whatever gets the content done. That said, how easy is it to break into raiding guilds in this community? p99 has a certain... reputation. I also haven't been playing with any of you for the last 10 years, so I don't have any in game connections to this server unless I've played with some of you on p2002.

2) Leaning towards necromancer, but I don't know if dots will stack here? Are they desirable on raids without mindwrack and potentially without stacking dots ? Not sure if twitch is enough given smaller mana pools in this time period than what I'm used to.
-if- I do go necromancer, would that be terribly stupid to do pre-kunark? I never got into necro's until iksars were a thing.

3) Another consideration is that I could play a shaman or a cleric. I don't have a lot of interest in cleric gameplay, but if I have to pay my dues that way to open doors... then... grab the lube -_-. Most my experience in all levels of content is in enchanters, but I'm sure the community will be over saturated with them. Thoughts on shaman / cleric ?

4) Any hints on good tradeskills to take up early on that will be beneficial throughout the release of new timelines and help at launch ?

THANKZ

Danth
09-27-2019, 10:44 AM
A) It's very easy to join most whatever guild you wish to. One quirk of P99's culture is that even the high-end guilds aren't exclusive. In fact most of them are quite welcoming. Historically they'll take about anyone who wishes to join. That's part of why some of them are so large. The highest-end guilds might have level limits or some basic resist gear goals but that's about the limit of it. Can't speak for "green" of course but there's no reason (yet) to think ten years of server culture is about to change.

B) Dot spells of the same type do not stack. Necromancers are a fine class regardless.

C) Clerics are the same as always. Mediocre to poor for solo, groups like having them and guilds love Cleric mains. No guild has ever had too many Clerics. Shamans are a medium strength class for solo/group content in the old world, and become arguably overpowered in Kunark/Velious. In guilds and raids they're nice but less critical than Clerics for what should be obvious reasons.

D) Smithing is nice for banded initially. Tailoring for bags is also nice. Jewelcrafting is probably the best tradeskill on a fresh server but it's effectively limited to Enchanters and costs a lot to raise.

Danth

loramin
09-27-2019, 10:46 AM
1) I'm generally cool with the neckbeards, and I don't really care if the guild I'm a part of is a "zerg guild" whatever gets the content done. That said, how easy is it to break into raiding guilds in this community? p99 has a certain... reputation. I also haven't been playing with any of you for the last 10 years, so I don't have any in game connections to this server unless I've played with some of you on p2002.

Guilds here, even the top ones, aren't clique-y the same way live guilds were. I can't guarantee that every guild will need, for instance, a ...

Leaning towards necromancer

But the zerg guilds generally just want more bodies, and even if one guild happens to be full on Necros, another will likely need some.

There's no way to predict what classes will be needed on Green, but I think it's safe to say A) you'll be able to find a guild no matter what class you pick, and B) if you really care about getting into a raid guild of your choice ... then maybe Necro isn't the best pick. But again, I really don't see it preventing you from getting a guild.

3) Another consideration is that I could play a shaman or a cleric. I don't have a lot of interest in cleric gameplay, but if I have to pay my dues that way to open doors... then... grab the lube -_-. Most my experience in all levels of content is in enchanters, but I'm sure the community will be over saturated with them. Thoughts on shaman / cleric ?

Raid guilds will ALWAYS need more Clerics, at least in my experience. If you want a guaranteed in to a raiding guild, go Cleric.

Shaman are desired on raids, but A) they don't "stack" the way Clerics do (once they get Torpor they make decent backup healers, but otherwise you only need a couple on Slow), and B) if the last poll was any indication, Shaman will be the #1 most popular class on Green. There will be a lot of competition.

4) Any hints on good tradeskills to take up early on that will be beneficial throughout the release of new timelines and help at launch ?

Tradeskills in EverQuest (from classic to Velious at least) are a time/money sink, not a money maker or a source of cool items. I'm sure a few really dedicated people, who want to spend a huge amount of time just farming materials, destroying their wrists by doing a million combines, and then sitting in the EC tunnel for hours on end ... they'll make money.

But 99% of people doing tradeskills won't. If you want to do them anyway ... Tailoring to 100. That let's you turn HQ bear pelts into 10-slot backpacks, and everyone (especially in classic) loves 10-slot backpacks. Also it's not too hard to get it, especially if you collect pelts/spider(ling) silk/etc. wherever you level.

Jewlerycraft can also make money, but requires a MUCH bigger investment, and Blacksmithing/Pottery has some items you can make which aren't terrible in classic. Maybe someone will make money of blacksmithed javelins or something.

But yeah, again ... do tradeskills for fun, or so you can make backpacks for friends. Don't expect them to actually be a good use of your time.

Natewest1987
09-27-2019, 10:50 AM
Thanks Danth!

Regarding necro dot stacking. Are we talking about the same dots from multiple necros not stacking, or is it also true that dots cast by the same necromancer and within the same line do not stack as well ? For instance various levels of heating blood, etc.

Hoppkins_Wytchfinder
09-27-2019, 10:54 AM
Beware about joining a guild as a cleric and wanting to change later. Clerics are one of those linchpin classes not easily replaced. At velious stage complete heal is pivitol as far as spells go in a raid.

Used to organize the CH rotations for bosses. Missing a couple of clerics on a given night? Boy some of those HP bars used to get low occasionally. Pant wetting.

As a result some guild may not be very understanding if you get bored of your cleric main and want to switch to something else.

Who knows these days :)

Danth
09-27-2019, 11:02 AM
Regarding necro dot stacking. Are we talking about the same dots from multiple necros not stacking, or is it also true that dots cast by the same necromancer and within the same line do not stack as well ? For instance various levels of heating blood, etc.

Same spells from different characters will not stack. Different spells in the same spell line is more complicated. Sometimes they stack, sometimes they don't--it varies from one spell line to the next. I don't have a Necromancer so you'll need to find someone who plays one to answer that question more specifically.

Hoppkins is correct with respect to the social pressures that come with being in a guild that knows you have a Cleric. Once they know you have the Cleric, for the most part that's what they'll want to see you playing. That might be the Cleric class's largest drawback.

Danth

Hoppkins_Wytchfinder
09-27-2019, 11:03 AM
My understanding of the above is the DoTs are shared between the necros so as to avoid trying to stack similar things and the rest is nuking/mana battery duty.

Necro nukes are not the most efficient but if you have nothing else to do....

BlackBellamy
09-27-2019, 11:40 AM
As a result some guild may not be very understanding if you get bored of your cleric main and want to switch to something else.


If a guild leader told me "even though we have an infinite amount of places on our guild roster I'm going to kick you out because you won't commit to only playing your cleric at my beck and call", I would be very disappointed with myself at being unable to recognize I have a garbage guild leader and quitting on my own beforehand :)

Danth
09-27-2019, 11:43 AM
If a guild leader told me "even though we have an infinite amount of places on our guild roster I'm going to kick you out because you won't commit to only playing your cleric at my beck and call", I would be very disappointed with myself at being unable to recognize I have a garbage guild leader and quitting on my own beforehand :)

Earlier this year a player from a middle tier guild--Anonymous in that case--complained to me that he was hardly ever "allowed" to play his Shadow Knight on raids because they always made him play a Cleric instead. It definitely happens. Happened in the original game too**, and it'll always happen if people allow it to happen. I agree with you though. Grow a backbone and say, "No." Worst they can do is kick you and if they do there are half a dozen other effectively identical guilds to choose from.

Danth

**there were a couple times back in the early 00's that so-called friends/etc got rather mad at me that I wouldn't play (or even box) the wife's Cleric instead of my Paladin. It's classic. Just have to be able to stand up it and if they want to get mad about it, that's their problem.

Fammaden
09-27-2019, 11:53 AM
This is how bad raiding as a cleric sucks in this era OP. If you want to maximize your raid guild desirability without being subjected to the pain of cleric raiding, go warrior or rogue. You could even level necro first to get some gear for your melee of choice. Classic is likely to be a weird scene so you may as well just farm stuff and level alts IMO. After the launch of Kunark your warrior or rogue main would be solidly in demand for whatever raid guild emerges on top, and that may very well not be the same guild that is on top in vanilla actually.

loramin
09-27-2019, 11:59 AM
Earlier this year a player from a middle tier guild--Anonymous in that case--complained to me that he was hardly ever "allowed" to play his Shadow Knight on raids because they always made him play a Cleric instead.

I think the Anon and uber guild cases are very different, but the point still remains.

To be clear, Anon (and I think most guilds of that level) never force anyone to play any character. It was never "play your damn cleric or you're out of the guild" or anything.

Instead, smaller guilds just have a limited force. If you only have one cleric and need two for whatever you're doing, Bob's choice of Cleric vs. Shadow Knight may mean the difference between the raid happening and the raid not happening.

Under such circumstances an individual may very much feel "forced to play a Cleric", but it's because they want their guild to be able to raid ... not because there's some asshole guild leader telling them what to do.

BlackBellamy
09-27-2019, 12:03 PM
Well, if the situation is that serious, my cleric takes paypal.

Tethler
09-28-2019, 12:36 AM
p99 has a certain... reputation.

I think the forums make p99 look a LOT worse than it actually is in-game. The vast majority of people are really chill.

Natewest1987
09-28-2019, 12:46 AM
I wouldn’t necessarily mind being forced to raid with one toon over another. EQ combat isn’t much more engaging when you’re spamming this hotkey over that hotkey. Am a bit surprised to see warriors suggested, though most of my raid experience is in luclin and PoP.

Will it not be true here that guilds mostly just need one MT, couple OT’s and I guess some backups? Curious really for the sake of it. I find warrior gameplay the most tedious.

Zeboim
09-28-2019, 12:56 AM
My Velious main was a cleric. I always recommend someone play basically anything else. It is an indespensible class, sure, but in my opinion raiding in Velious as a cleric is simultaneously the most boring and most stressful thing you can do. One even minor fuck up can wipe the whole raid, and theres a lot of hurry up and wait. It gets mind numbing, and at least back in live the guilt trips to play the cleric were extremely real.

Natewest1987
09-28-2019, 01:29 AM
My Velious main was a cleric. I always recommend someone play basically anything else. It is an indespensible class, sure, but in my opinion raiding in Velious as a cleric is simultaneously the most boring and most stressful thing you can do. One even minor fuck up can wipe the whole raid, and theres a lot of hurry up and wait. It gets mind numbing, and at least back in live the guilt trips to play the cleric were extremely real.

Most high end clerics I’ve interacted with were quite geared to the teeth atleast and easily able to hear out alts and convince others to PL them. That’s fair enough for me to suffer through the monotony, if it really works like that lol.

Zeboim
09-28-2019, 01:40 PM
You can earn enough money to twink out an alt on any class. The thing with Cleric is that there is literally never enough clerics, so theres an expectation that you will bring them to the raid unless its trivial content.

And for me at least, the playstyle of the raid cleric is pretty miserable. Perhaps people do it better on p99 than we did it on live, I haven't played one here, but stuff like CH rotations aren't something I'd wish on anyone.

Jimjam
09-28-2019, 02:00 PM
Will it not be true here that guilds mostly just need one MT, couple OT’s and I guess some backups? Curious really for the sake of it. I find warrior gameplay the most tedious.
Warriors die, especially if a mob outlasts defensive disc. Errors can happen on tank switches (new tank takes aggro before cheal chain starts landing on it) so you want a few warriors on your tank line up. Likewise adds happen (off tanks) and some mobs rampage (need two tanks simultaneously for the same mob). Death touch can disappear tanks too.


As you can see lots of need for plenty of tanks. This is before we consider a single guild might park for several different targets at once, doubling the number of tanks needed.

Finally loot councils making executive decisions to autoaward items to specific players aren't popular on p1999. Most players/guilds seem to prefer to draw a dkp wage for the work they do and spend it on the items they feel best.

Natewest1987
09-28-2019, 02:07 PM
Warriors die, especially if a mob outlasts defensive disc. Errors can happen on tank switches (new tank takes aggro before cheal chain starts landing on it) so you want a few warriors on your tank line up. Likewise adds happen (off tanks) and some mobs rampage (need two tanks simultaneously for the same mob). Death touch can disappear tanks too.


As you can see lots of need for plenty of tanks. This is before we consider a single guild might park for several different targets at once, doubling the number of tanks needed.

Finally loot councils making executive decisions to autoaward items to specific players aren't popular on p1999. Most players/guilds seem to prefer to draw a dkp wage for the work they do and spend it on the items they feel best.

Ahh!! Thanks for the info. How are SK’s viewed in this regard? A little more fun gameplay wise

Danth
09-28-2019, 02:21 PM
The hybrid tanks are fine if you intend to cap out at the lower-to-mid tier. The high-end culture on P99 regards hybrids as nigh-worthless and has for quite many years. Guilds won't necessarily turn hybrids down (see above comments about P99's guilds not generally being exclusive) but they'll be the first ones asked to play some other character if the raid composition isn't ideal. I have a Shadow Knight as my one and only max-level character, but I've no interest in high-end raiding. For what I do (lower-end content and non-raid stuff) it serves with full satisfaction.

Danth

Vx36
09-28-2019, 03:36 PM
Well, if the situation is that serious, my cleric takes paypal.
If this is ever a thing I'll play cleric for whoever needs one.

Jadian
09-28-2019, 05:19 PM
If this is ever a thing I'll play cleric for whoever needs one.

That's a specifically prohibited thing, and was presumably just a bad joke.

fortior
09-28-2019, 05:48 PM
bards aren't worthless what

hybrid tanks are screwed by skill cap math though