Better solo artist -- Monk vs paladin?

[Selene]

Hello,

I have a 50 monk and a 51 paladin and I've now reached the point where I feel like I have to choose between the two in terms of who to invest more time in. I just don't have the time to play a lot to camp items endlessly or raid constantly due to real life engagements (my 55 mage on blue was made in 2017, my 57 druid on green was made in march 2020....the melees were made around the time covid hit, too. So i'm slow and need to pick one now...)

Between monk and paladin, which class is the better solo artist? I made both because I like the idea of soloing tough mobs, especially in the context of solo dungeon crawling. When geared at their best or near best (it may take me many years, but I hope to get there someday), who is more capable? My gut tells me paladin because of their toolkit but wanted to get some expert advice. I want the class I can not only explore deep in dungeons with, but also kill nameds by myself or do tough camps by myself because I love challenges. Thanks!

[DeathsSilkyMist]

Depends on your gear. If you have Epic + Fungi + IFS (or other good monk weapons), then Monk will do pretty well. Otherwise the Paladin is probably going to be better. They have a lot of utility, albeit slower killing speeds.

[Dogz_SS]

If you're talking GEARED, I would saw monk and its not even close

[Jimjam]

If you're going to be getting the very top level gear I'd say monk. The way mend scales with max hp is just insane once you are geared, and the vanilla class drawback of being restricted to bad blunt weapons and low ac equipment gets completely worked around by Kunark and Velious.

For challenges FD makes a more convenient reset button than 90% rez and you'll have access to a powerful slow clicky.

[Crede]

Pally if you just want to do solo stuff. Monks are cool when heavily geared but you need way too much dkp to even get close to that.

[Danth]

I just don't have the time to play a lot to camp items endlessly or raid constantly due to real life engagements

Pick paladin due to this factor. A monk can give good service in the long-run, but monks usually want to overgear the content they face. At level 50+ that usually equates to doing a lot of guild- and raid-related activities. The paladin is easier if you're in more level-appropriate equipment and still enjoys a pretty good ceiling.

Main issue with the paladin is--it's SLOW. I don't have the patience to solo them at 50+ for that reason. This is EQ, and melee classes aren't really meant for solo'ing in general, and even being decent by solo melee standards still means you stink at it compared to any of several caster types. However, if you're going to do it and don't have time/inclination to get the character decked out in raid loot, the paladin suits your needs better than a monk would.

[Toxigen]

Aint no paladin soloing Spore King or Emperor.

dwH5myJ6CIk

sRf5AuS0MLA

But for OP's sake: its Paladin. With Narandi Crown, Fungi, Deepwater BP, and a Narandi's Lance you're pretty much going to hit the soft cap of what can be done solo.

Monk needs years of dkp / raiding to become a god.

Either way you go, don't forget your 10 dose Kilva's DS pots.

[Garnaak]

I would choose monk for a more casual play style. FD is the ultimate afk switch (with hide being right there with it but neither of your classes have hide.)

[Snaggles]

“Solo artist” is probably a misleading phrase. Unless you really are talking BiS, burning clickies and making clickable vids like the above (and not posting the failed attempts). Many but not all for monks include raid buffs.

Either can solo easily to 60, the pally a more durable and stubborn grinder being able to just overcome a npc with time and clicks. The monk will run into some npcs that outpace it and either have to reset and try again or move on. Any pure melee will scale better with the best gear and buffs but not everyone will raid to get those. A pally with a reaver and a DW helm doesn’t need much else.

The idea of crawling like seb with either is just gross. This game is like watching paint dry at times. I guess I could crawl seb with my paladin but it makes me tired just thinking of it.

[fortior]

honestly an alternate universe version of kelza could probably do those solo vids on paladin. dude has a million dkp and more items than god

[Keebz]

I'd love to see some high end Paladin soloing videos. I think Opmeter has done some impressive things.

IMHO high end hybrid play is much more satisfying than high end monk stuff, which is just faceroll + abusing all/all clickies.

[Crede]

OP considered a Necro? Basically everywhere I killed 50+ on my twinked hybrids a Necro could do better. Fantastic class, and you can solo some pretty gnarly stuff when geared. Probably the most fun I’ve ever had playing this game despite my melee twinks having 500k+ worth of gear. Having fd, harmshield, heals, rez, evac, respectable pets, charm, mez, and crazy mana regen feels like playing the game on cheat mode.

[enjchanter]

paladin is way more gear dependent than a monk. Monk with epic/haste/fungi will beat pally in every way
paladin with that same gear will be like 40% as good

[Crede]

paladin is way more gear dependent than a monk. Monk with epic/haste/fungi will beat pally in every way
paladin with that same gear will be like 40% as good

It really depends on the zone. I’d rather take a pally to kedge than monk. Between lulls, dispels, root, stuns etc mermaids could easily destroy a monk. But if I’m going to CoM I’d rather just try to plow through as a monk. In the hole probably a monk due to the high level rock golems. In HS id rather be a pally(unless maybe you have beads which won’t apply to OP)

[DeathsSilkyMist]

It really depends on the zone. I’d rather take a pally to kedge than monk. Between lulls, dispels, root, stuns etc mermaids could easily destroy a monk. But if I’m going to CoM I’d rather just try to plow through as a monk. In the hole probably a monk due to the high level rock golems. In HS id rather be a pally(unless maybe you have beads which won’t apply to OP)

Agreed. Shadowknights and Paladins have more ways to deal with casters, which makes them quite nice in some zones. The only thing monks can do is get great resistance gear and pray hehe.

[Ennewi]

paladin is way more gear dependent than a monk. Monk with epic/haste/fungi will beat pally in every way
paladin with that same gear will be like 40% as good

Back when push interrupt and combat bind wound were possible? Or sneak pulling and all/all soulfires? When knight 2h dmg was gimped? 100% agreed with the general sentiment, monk > paladin. Now though? Idk. No one class beats another class "in every way". That's the beauty of EQ and the imbalanced state of its classes. Different levels, zones, and encounters make for situational usefulness where one class might shine, with the other standing in their shadow, and vice versa. With the exception of narandi crown, paladin gear is cheap af and tuna/vulak weaps are no joke. Monk's item list is much more extensive/expensive in terms of pp and dkp, even if better overall.

Paladin doesn't need haste with root joust. It doesn't need fungi with dwbp. It doesn't need epic with any of the high dmg/dly velious drops.

[Keebz]

paladin is way more gear dependent than a monk. Monk with epic/haste/fungi will beat pally in every way
paladin with that same gear will be like 40% as good

Have fun attacking through 4 CH's and eating nukes.

[Kirdan]

I think it varies as others have said. I also think there is a wide range of what people think of when they say soloing. Just grinding xp solo? Yeah the decked out monk is going to do better than the decked out pal. Taking on difficult solo challenges? Mixed bag. If it's a slowable target, monks can try slowstone but with limited chances to land it. Paladins can use willsapper and have a lot of sustain to last until slow lands. On the other hand, some solo challenges favor the monk. I doubt a paladin can solo phinny, for example.

Have fun attacking through 4 CH's and eating nukes.
Forlorn totems work just as well as paladin stuns to stop heals/nukes.

[Jimjam]

Btw op solo artist usually means overgeared and killing targets intended for groups or even small raids while solo.

[Keebz]

Forlorn totems work just as well as paladin stuns to stop heals/nukes.

My comment was specifically in response to "Monk... will beat pally in every way". My point is without clickies doing something trivial like killing a cleric is a massive pain, while a Paladin can just stun the big spells. And if we're gonna talk clickies, now that Soulfire is Paladin only that's quite a bit of extra sustain for big game hunting, likely enough to take down ole phinny.

[Trelaboon]

If you plan to be full BiS with years worth of DKP gear, thousands upon thousands of gold in clickies and a perfect understanding of each class, then probably the Monk. If you plan to be level 60, in what could be considered good gear, but no where near BiS, and basic every day clickies? Probably the Paladin.

I’m personally in the latter group, and odds are you will be too. For every one Kelz, there’s hundreds of us middle of the pack guys.

[Snaggles]

If you plan to be full BiS with years worth of DKP gear, thousands upon thousands of gold in clickies and a perfect understanding of each class, then probably the Monk. If you plan to be level 60, in what could be considered good gear, but no where near BiS, and basic every day clickies? Probably the Paladin.

I’m personally in the latter group, and odds are you will be too. For every one Kelz, there’s hundreds of us middle of the pack guys.

100% this. Plus middle of the pack folks will be more likely to pick up raid upgrades that make a noticeable difference. There are like three times more 2h’s in TOV a pally can get over a monk.

Hybrids can out-think a NPC. Pure melees it’s math vs math…gear and maybe a few clickies. Not the same as rooting and burning jaspers.

[7thGate]

Aint no paladin soloing Spore King or Emperor.

dwH5myJ6CIk

sRf5AuS0MLA

But for OP's sake: its Paladin. With Narandi Crown, Fungi, Deepwater BP, and a Narandi's Lance you're pretty much going to hit the soft cap of what can be done solo.

Monk needs years of dkp / raiding to become a god.

Either way you go, don't forget your 10 dose Kilva's DS pots.

Now I kind of want to see if Snails can pull it off. He's soloed Ragefire, which doesn't seem all that far off those two.

[Duik]

EQ is just torture.
Most Rogue poisons.
Taunt from slow, charm, mez and snare.
Brittle haste potions.
Items with minus stats/saves.
Take this plus, but suck on this minus.
We love torture, we self flagellate.
Use that info. Grow.

[Toxigen]

EQ is just torture.
Most Rogue poisons.
Taunt from slow, charm, mez and snare.
Brittle haste potions.
Items with minus stats/saves.
Take this plus, but suck on this minus.
We love torture, we self flagellate.
Use that info. Grow.

nou