Advice for a newbie Druid

[Ghamarro]

Hiya,

I was going to make a Dwarf Paladin at first, even made a thread similiar to this about it here on the P99 forums, but was disheartened to hear that I wouldn't be much of use in end game content as such, and was suggested to play a Druid instead, as I mentioned it being my other favourite class in RPGs alongside Paladins.

So long story short: My goal is to be as useful in end game raids as possible, so which race should I pick for my Druid and how should I distribute my starting stats?

[Deathrydar]

Hiya,

I was going to make a Dwarf Paladin at first, even made a thread similiar to this about it here on the P99 forums, but was disheartened to hear that I wouldn't be much of use in end game content as such, and was suggested to play a Druid instead, as I mentioned it being my other favourite class in RPGs alongside Paladins.

So long story short: My goal is to be as useful in end game raids as possible, so which race should I pick for my Druid and how should I distribute my starting stats?

First off, stop listening to min/maxers when they tell you that Paladins have no use in end game. That is not true!

You should play what you want.

Druid kinda matters on your race. Mostly it is 5 points into Sta and 25 into wisdom.

[Legidias]

Druids also have little use in end game raids, unfortunately. People are suggesting druid in other thread cause thats the believed 'best' start class when you have nothing in EQ.

For most of end game, you will be buffing POTG & resistances between mobs, then spamming heal on the tank in a fight.

(Cleric / war / rogue being the archetypal end game classes).

But its the same advice; play something you like and you'll enjoy it at end game, regardless of whether or not its an 'end game' quality class.

If you really want to focus on end game druid and are twinking at least somewhat, just play a halfling and get to 60 faster to do more end game stuff.

Otherwise pick a human / elf with tunare and quest some clicky root necklace or something.

[BlackBellamy]

Hiya,

I was going to make a Dwarf Paladin at first, even made a thread similiar to this about it here on the P99 forums, but was disheartened to hear that I wouldn't be much of use in end game content as such, and was suggested to play a Druid instead, as I mentioned it being my other favourite class in RPGs alongside Paladins.

So long story short: My goal is to be as useful in end game raids as possible, so which race should I pick for my Druid and how should I distribute my starting stats?

As others have said, your paladin would be more useful in raiding than the druid, and would have a more active role as well. You're never going to be asked to offtank with your druid. The disadvantage is that you can't really solo for exp, unlike the druid.

[loramin]

Really there's only one class that every raid force can't get enough of: Rogues. You can never have too many Rogues. Clerics come in a close second (you only very rarely can have "too many" Clerics), but I'll come back to them.

To a lesser extent the same is true of every DPS class, it's just that Rogue tends to be the highest and most consistent source of DPS. Less so in Classic maybe, but it becomes more true as the timeline progresses ... ie. as raiding becomes a bigger and bigger thing. But still it's not like any guild will say "we don't want more DPS" ... it's just if they already have a few Rangers or Wizards, they might pass on a new one. But Rogue #12? Welcome to the guild.

As I said Clerics are almost the same: you can have too many Clerics, but very few do. Most guilds in fact "repurpose" other classes as Cleric substitutes: Druids (subpar Clerics due to their worse healing spells), Magicians (mod rod makers to give Clerics mana) and Necromancers (ie. "Twitch" mana batteries for Clerics).

Also once Kunark comes Shaman with Torpor will join that list. I almost feel like Druids are the least desired out of any of them though. Clerics/Magicians/Necromancers all contribute to the CH chain, whereas the Druid/Shaman mainly help with healing outside that chain ... and a Torpor Shaman can do so more efficiently (plus they can slow).

So anyhow, one way you could interpret all of the above is that I'm advising you to go make a Rogue or Cleric (or to a lesser extent, another DPS class or pet Int caster). But another way to look at is ... Warriors, Paladins, Shadow Knights, Bards, Enchanters, Wizards, Druids, and (pre-Torpor) Shaman ... they all have a role on raids. Just because that role can't use five of the class, that doesn't mean guilds don't want at least one (if not more, both because 2+ might be valuable, and because usually any given player won't show up to every raid, so you need redundancy).

Heck, in my experience every guild wants at least one of even the most (perceived) "useless" class ... just because no one likes to see loot rot :) So really what I hope you'll take from the above is that every class has a raid role, and you should pick the class that appeals to you, then pick a raid guild that needs that class, rather than pick a class based on perceived need.

But if you want to be able to join any raid guild, pick Rogue or Cleric, and definitely don't pick Druid (for that reason at least).

[Deathrydar]

As others have said, your paladin would be more useful in raiding than the druid, and would have a more active role as well. You're never going to be asked to offtank with your druid. The disadvantage is that you can't really solo for exp, unlike the druid.

You can, it's just tricky. My little brother had a Paladin and he loved it. I never asked him ,but this guy was off soloing all of the time.

[magusfire24]

Anyone can solo with any class. Some are slower or harder than others.

Play what you want!

[solleks]

if you havent tried all the classes druid is a great one to play. i would suggest halfer.

[Fammaden]

If paladin is your favorite RPG class just make one. Starting on green is the time to do it when everyone is naked and broke together. Be warned that druid is overall going to be a more useful and versatile choice, and much easier if you are new to the game. Also, if you are new to the game don't assume you'll ever raid, you could quit before max level, decide you don't like EQ, or decide that EQ raiding isn't for you. If you are motivated enough to do raiding, you will get in somehow no matter your class.

As to the question, there's no perfect racial choice for druid, pick whichever one you like the best, maybe play around with starting cities before green launches too. Putting max into WIS then five into STA is the no brainer choice, there's not much reason not to on druid, your mana pool is everything.

[kaluppo]

As stated previously the Druid isn't a highly sought after end game raiding class. If you want to be the most useful raider then pick a cleric or rogue. But I say the heck with that. ALL cases are welcome at raids when your in the right guild. So play what class you like and choose your guild wisely.

That said I think the druid is an excellent choice. I am soooo glad I went with a druid first and leveled him all the way to 60. Why? Several reasons:

1). Druids are super easy to level up. One of the best solo classes so you never need a group but you will be welcomed into them when they need a healer. I root rotted and quad kited my way to 55 in record time. Then I hit permafrost bear pits on a XP bonus holiday weekend and went from 55-59 in one three day weekend. 60 came a week after that.

2). Super mobile. You get single port spells as early as lvl 19 and group ports start coming in the 20's. You never need to pay for a port, can bind anywhere and after lvl 14 you always have a sow on.

3). Great PP makers. Do not underestimate this. People will pay good PP for ports of course but they pay big PP for succors and PotG. Not to mention Druid is a greal PLer and people will pay 1K PP for a PL from you. Not to mention you can use your druid to PL your own alts (no not 2 boxing. The method I am thinking of is perfectly legal).

4). After you made all that phat PP from number 3 you can now afford to gear up your alts and give them all PP to pay for ports.

5). You can run errands for your alts. Your lvl 22 Ranger needs his new spells? Log in your druid, port to vendors and buy all spells, then head to zone with ranger and get someone to do a transfer for you. No one around to transfer? No problem, just pick a remote spot and drop the bag with spells on the ground, camp quick to ranger and have him pick up bag.

Play whatever you like. Pally, Druid whatever. You can still get to do end game and remember to enjoy the journey!

[BlackBellamy]

Play whatever you like. Pally, Druid whatever. You can still get to do end game and remember to enjoy the journey!

Yeah, see Kaluppo's sig, that's an example of playing what you like. He likes to be able to heal, he likes that archetype, he's got 2 topped out and 2 on the way. I'm sure at one point someone told him druids weren't welcome on raids, clerics were boring to play, paladins couldn't hold aggro, and rangers were gimped.


Kaluppo 60 Wood Elf Druid
Norezferu 60 High Elf Cleric
Hulkthor 20 Dwarf Paladin
Gavallin 23 Wood Elf Ranger

[Chryorn]

If you don't know the end game, don't choose your class purely on its value for the end game. End game can be fun and it can be terrible and frustrating. Sitting around for hours waiting - for the mob to spawn, for the raid force to assemble, after a wipe until all corpses are recovered and buffed for another go...

Depending on the class it can be very boring. For me as a cleric the big fights are not much fun: Starring at a wall to reduce lag as much as possible, standing up in coordination with the other clerics to cast my Complete Heal, maybe use a mod rod or ask for a twitch from a necro.

Since you are new to EverQuest you shouldn't focus on the end game. The paladin is a good choice if you enjoy tanking, pulling, wielding the big sword and standing face to face with the mob. - Especially in Classic.

The druid is a great choice to get around and really explore the game. Less gear dependent than the paladin but much better at accumulating the money to buy gear.
The druid can be a lot of fun due to the versatility, lots of different play styles.
The best XP when soloing is charm killing. Charming takes a bit of practice and experience. A druid is the best class for learning it: With sow and snare it is comparatively safe. Usually a druid can outrun a mistake or just bad luck that kill a new enchanter or necromancer without sow or jboots.

[NegaStoat]

To answer the OP - either Wood Elf or Halfling are top choice for druids. Wood Elf has access to certain Velious item options that the halfling can't score, and also has the Tunare initiate symbol quests later on in the server life. However, Halflings have Sneak which is super useful in using vendors that normally hate your guts, as well as some difficult area navigation. It's also good for doing a quest turn-in if all you need is Indifferent faction.

Folks usually dump everything into Wisdom and the last 5 points into Stamina, although I'd argue in the case of the Halfling to go with the last 5 in Charisma as they're strong enough already. Go ahead and roll the character, play it, level it, and take a break once it reaches level 20. At that point you have self ports to the 3 basic continents, can bind and gate to use with those ports, and have Tracking. The level 20 druid all by itself with what it offers is very strong for its utility and isn't a waste of time at all.

During your break, take a really hard look at what it is in Everquest that you enjoy playing in terms of fighting, or healing, or whatever. Make a gut call and either continue with the Druid or go for what you think you really want to play. Sometimes it's hard to make a choice on the character select screen and then stick with that choice, cold turkey. Playing the Druid to 20 will at least let you get a feel for the game environment, what the other players are up to, etc.