What Duo? Yeah, for the millionth time...

[Old_Rover]

I've played EQ off and on since about a month after release. Typically like to play shadowknights. Got to 100 on live server and have levels 52 and 34 on P99 green. Mostly solo. Yes, I'm a glutton for punishment, I know....

I'm also not really a good player, mostly just got as far as I have by playing too much I guess.

Wife has never played any kind of games at all, not sure I'll even be able to get her interested, but I already got our IP exemption just in case. She bores kind of easily, so I'm hoping to put her in a pretty active role.



Some of my druthers for this whole shebang...
No bard... neither of us is especially good on the keyboard and I'm sure all that twisting will be too much. Bard is out of the question.

No Iksars... To my eyes, Kunark is just an ugly, ugly place and I don't like it. That's my problem, I know, but we won't be going to Kunark at all.

I don't like night blind chars too much, so probably no humans or erudites, although it's not a total deal breaker. Barbarian Shammy is a real possibility since serpent sight is right there.

Trolls and Ogres would be ok, but radial XP penalties are kind of a turn-off. We could go that way, but wouldn't want to mix say a dark elf and troll because of XP.

Same starting area for both would be kind of nice. Could do a pair of gnomes or dark elves (ultravision!). Even like a hIgh elf/wood elf or gnome/dwarf would be alright.

Easy play is important. Mind-numbingly easy would be just fine, although we will still be on P99. Not gonna do WoW, hahah.




I have read a bit and have seen the P99 duo chart, but still having a hard time trying to decide.

.Ench/Cleric seems to be a big favorite, but I'm concerned about not being able to play the chanter (or either one) well enough to be effective. Or is it not that technical? Can it still be a fun combo for "bad at EQ" people?
.Shammy/SK strong possibility since I'm familiar with the SK and have a fair amount of gear already (reaver sword, pre-nerf CoS, Sash of Dragonborn makes that pretty attractive)
.Necro pair maybe?? (ultimate safe team?)
.chanter/wizard? .chanter/druid?? I don't know, I'm lost...



I'm really looking for suggestions here as I'm hardly experienced with any class other than shadow knight. I've tried several classes up to low teen levels, but none really captured my interest all that much. But then, I usually solo. Duo is going to be a whole new ballgame, I'm sure.

[rjw513]

Pair of elves from Faydark - Druid / Paladin

Both have great utility and pretty straight forward to play. Could easily duo or solo if you had to on either until level 40 just on Faydwer and Druid would have nice ports by then to travel away at that point …

Could do dwarf pally too (only one starting zone away)

Decent synergy there ie. both have light heals, Druid DS and dots for added dps both have root Druid harmony for easy pulls

Gnome cleric and enchanter could be fun, but enc is busy and cleric is bored. Straight forward cleric/warrior could be decent too, but again cleric might be bored but will have to cc more with warrior pulling mobs (:

GL HF <3

[Old_Rover]

Interesting! Never thought of pallly/druid, glad I asked.

Sow/Port/Stun/Tank/Damage Shield/Track/Buff/heal/heal/charm... Have I missed any other highlights?
Ooh, and pally can use a lot of the SK junk I already have. I might just have to give this one a try!

And yeah I think not on the cleric. Not that I would know really, but the cleric seems very much like a supporting role which doesn't interest me much and I suspect would interest the wife even less.

[Toxigen]

pally / druid is pretty bad, you'd be better off with an enchanter for the paladin

troll SK + shaman gets my vote since it sounds like enc may not be the best option

[enjchanter]

one ive always wanted to try on TLP servers is druid / necro and kinda embrace a root rot duo
Doesnt really work at lower levels but could be fun later on.
Plus if you decide you want to charm, could still be fun in HS

Me and my wife leveled as SK / ROG which was kinda cool. Fear kiting + backstabbing. Its not insane but if you want something alittle different.

anyways, yeah go sk shm tho

[Toxigen]

one ive always wanted to try on TLP servers is druid / necro and kinda embrace a root rot duo
Doesnt really work at lower levels but could be fun later on.
Plus if you decide you want to charm, could still be fun in HS

Me and my wife leveled as SK / ROG which was kinda cool. Fear kiting + backstabbing. Its not insane but if you want something alittle different.

anyways, yeah go sk shm tho

druid / necro = chardok bros

in fact, druid can pull the weight in bear pits with necro supporting too if you need a change of pace

druid / necro is a grossly underrated duo - thorns on necro charm pets = $$$

[cd288]

I used to feel the way you do about a lot of the Kunark zones, but there are some really good spots here and there to level at, which I would consider if I were you guys. The brute caves in Warslik's Woods for example...great spot

[Vexenu]

Given that you're pretty casual and your wife has never played ANY sort of of game (I can't believe that everyone seems to be glossing over this fact) you will want something extremely simple, safe and front-loaded on the power curve.

Paladin/Druid is very good for this. Lots of heals, roots, Harmony, Lull, SoW, snare, tanking, LoH, charm, porting. Due to the frontloading of both classes, by level 14/15 this duo already feels very solid and can basically go anywhere and level together safely at that point. The Druid is very easy to pick up and can be played actively or passively (i.e. healing/DoTing vs. charming or agro kiting). And the OP's wife would probably much prefer playing as a Wood Elf than a fat Ogre or Troll.

Paladin/Druid is not a power duo, but OP is the furthest thing from a powergamer. And despite its shortcomings, it's a duo that could easily level to 60 together and do so VERY safely (albeit not as quickly as some others).

[Keebz]

Wife has never played any kind of games at all


Mage.

Play Mage/Necro — you play the necro.

Gnome/Elf, Gnome/Gnome, DE/DE are all viable options that start close together and have night vision.

[Duik]

^ What he said.

[Old_Rover]

Thanks so much for all the thoughtful replies!

I like all of the things you guys have suggested here and I think any would probably suit us well. We'll probably end up trying Necro/Mage or Necro/Druid if I can get her to try playing at all. I still haven't run the idea by her and ultimately she'll choose what she wants to play if any. But I'll try to steer her towards either Necro/Mage or Necro/Druid. I think those combos would suit us best, but I think all of the suggestions so far have been great.

As an SK, I've partnered up with a few people here and there and have enjoyed running with shammy and ranger quite a bit. I hunted in Oasis with a rogue once and it was pretty nuts but he was highly geared up including a fungi at level 16 or whatever we were. I think I was slowing him down more than helping, lol.

We'll see how it goes and I'll report back

[Toxigen]

Thanks so much for all the thoughtful replies!

I like all of the things you guys have suggested here and I think any would probably suit us well. We'll probably end up trying Necro/Mage or Necro/Druid if I can get her to try playing at all. I still haven't run the idea by her and ultimately she'll choose what she wants to play if any. But I'll try to steer her towards either Necro/Mage or Necro/Druid. I think those combos would suit us best, but I think all of the suggestions so far have been great.

As an SK, I've partnered up with a few people here and there and have enjoyed running with shammy and ranger quite a bit. I hunted in Oasis with a rogue once and it was pretty nuts but he was highly geared up including a fungi at level 16 or whatever we were. I think I was slowing him down more than helping, lol.

We'll see how it goes and I'll report back

FYI - necro/mage will be a far easier, far stronger duo 1-50

but it wont hold a candle to druid / necro if both chars are piloted with any degree of efficiency after level 50 or so

plus its nice to be able to travel on a whim (druid)

[Treefall]

First, listen to Toxigen he knows his elf pixels better than anyone.

Second, my wife and I have very slowly been doing mnk/shm (you could do races other than iksar - hum/barb are very close and meet in blackburrow) and she had never really gamed before nor played EQ. We have done ok but honestly we don't play enough and it is stressful for her to do the more difficult learning curve of fd split pulling, which is kind of bread and butter for being able to do dungeons but we've been pretty efficient outdoors. Plus with a monk and sneak you can literally vendor anywhere and the shaman can always gate back after a couple days of grinding and getting a port to bank.

With that out of the way regardless of what you choose to play - I would say an important piece is ease of either being able to single pull or CC if you want to be in dungeons at all.

If you plan to mostly be outdoors, you can almost go with anything and plow through things as long as at least one of you has root at the very least for adds.

[Dundrige]

These are what I would say are objectively the best duos:

1. Enchanter - Cleric - Might struggle a little early on when enchanter's charms aren't very good and you might have to depend on their weak summoned pet, but this is objectively the most powerful duo in the game and doesn't require a lot of gear to be good. However, enchanters require the player to be on point and alert in an intense kind of way that I didn't particularly enjoy.

2. Monk - Shaman - More straightforward gameplay and less intense than Enchanter - Cleric, but still very capable and fun. Endgame would require a lot of time investment to get gear + spells for max capability.

3. Mage - Necro - really capable duo that can do endgame content (especially dungeon crawls and, requires zero gear to be good (I knew a Necro that purposely didn't have a single equipment item until level 60 and mage is the same way).


Honorable mentions:

Enchanter - Paladin
Magician - Shaman
Necro - Shaman

[Vexenu]

Do Necro/Druid and have your wife play the Druid. A Mage is a simple class but not an "easy" one for a totally new player (total reliance on the pet + no CC will likely mean a lot of deaths and frustration). The Druid is much more forgiving, brings a ton of utility and also scales better high-end.

[Old_Rover]

All good info thanks!

By the way, how gear dependant are druids and shamen? I kind of like that minimal gearing aspect, sure frees up plat for buying spells...

[Toxigen]

All good info thanks!

By the way, how gear dependant are druids and shamen? I kind of like that minimal gearing aspect, sure frees up plat for buying spells...

Shaman spells are extremely expensive in the end game (Torpor, etc).

Druids are cheap.

Look on the bright side - if the wife stops playing you'll have a porting bot.

[Snaggles]

I’d make sure both people are playing classes they really enjoy. Whoever is least likely to stick to it should get the first pick and the other finding their favorite that’s a solid one to collaborate with that pick.

This is a slow game that rewards practice in spades. Even unconventional duos can easily grind to 60 and farm. I too think the dual pet classes would be fun. Less gearing requirements and you could easily fear kite to 60. Or as mentioned a Druid plus really any other class. Being able to sow and port makes a slow game less slow.

[Old_Rover]

Not gonna happen.
She noped out immediately, lol

[Duik]

Time for a re-wifing ceremony?

[Toxigen]

Not gonna happen.
She noped out immediately, lol

lmao

[Snaggles]

Ack haha.
I’d pick a good solo/farm class then :)

[Old_Rover]

Ack haha.
I’d pick a good solo/farm class then :)


Nah, I'm out. The duo thing was something to see if we could do EQ together. I already have characters I could play, but I doubt I'll do that.

[magnetaress]

for future reference for ppl not OP



Easiest would be like someone with infravision and not super KOS everywhere ... so good elfs or if u dont mind not having infra gnomes or erudites and in order of ease

Mage>Dru>Wiz/clr... your wife might like an enchanter if she's good at the game.

Mage is hands down the 'easiest class to play make two macros:
pATK
/pet back off
/pet attack

and
pBCK
/pet back off
/pet back off
/pet back off
/pet follow

and a /pet guard here + sit macro
ez pz
problem solved

any duo is pretty viable if played skillfully

def don't give someone cleric who likes 'action', unless you understand clerics too and dont mind letting them play battle clr or atone/paci/root puller/cc'er/mezzer clr

[Vexenu]

As I said before, Mages are simple but not easy, and a new player will struggle with controlling the pet and having zero CC options. That will inevitably result in a lot of frustration and deaths early on that could easily lead to them quitting. The Druid is just much more forgiving for a true newbie; having snare from level 1 alone will allow them to escape a ton of deaths early on by running to guards. Then add in heals, root, harmony, invis, SoW all by level 14. With all those tools in the toolbox, even a totally new player can level very safely and contribute to a duo.