Melee for a new player

[lostclover]

If you had to, what is the best melee to start new on this game with? I'm really leaning toward either Ranger or Shadow Knight. I like the idea of being self sufficient... but I also need to be able to solo about half the time I play. Is it silly to even pick a melee with that kind of play style?

Can Shadow Knights solo fear kite well in open areas? I was thinking of an Iksar SK that would always stay on Kunark. Thought it might be a fun idea. Otherwise a wood elf ranger is what I had in 2004, and it was super fun too.

I love questing. Wouldn't mind being able to farm either money or loot to sell. Love to group when I have time, and also like to be able to help newbies (when I'm not one!) If I *had* to pick a caster, I did love playing enchanters.

I haven't played since the Stromm server in 2004, and was so excited to read about this server. Actually have been reading about it for a week until I could find my old cd's to install!

Any advice?

[Sickle]

Shadow Knight FTW

[kilyen]

shadow knight would be the way to go invis faign death fear kite single pulls ect ect ect
rangers are not so great here
if im correct SKs get a -20% exp penility for being a hybrid iksar get -20% for being an iksar because for the regen and AC bonus so thats -40% exp
might wanna think about that one

[Sickle]

Its actually 40% for SK and 20% for Iksar which is computed as the following:

1.4 x 1.2 = 1.68 or 68% penalty.

[strosz]

if im correct SKs get a -20% exp penility for being a hybrid iksar get -20% for being an iksar because for the regen and AC bonus so thats -40% exp
might wanna think about that one

Nope, it's 40% more xp required for all hybrid classes including SKs. Iksars has to get an additional 20% xp for being a regen race. Kinda harsh.

A class without an xp penalty such as the warrior will surely be a lot faster to lvl up to the teens, but after that SKs will start to gain as they can solo reasonably good - unlike warriors who will have huge downtimes. So SKs are definitely a reasonable choice despite the huge penalties.

[Rotted_Corpse]

One thing to remember about Iksar SK's is they cannot wear plate armor. So armor choices are are not as good for them. They do get an Racial AC bonus though. Does it make up for not being able to wear plat IDK. Just an FYI. I had a Ogre SK alt in live that was a blast.

Rangers are still a blast at this stage of the game. A lot of people don't like them but you would have fun and be quite self sufficient. I see more guilds looking for them on the boards now too.

Rotted Corpse
Necromancer of Cabilis

[Mardur]

68% more required experience is correct. This is even rougher when you're soloing, as your penalty isn't shared with a group.

Monk is also a decent option especially considering the weapon options available in Kunark. The trick is finding the right mobs, low dark blues that you can kill with only losing about 40% health so you can bind wound back up and fight another.

Iksar Monks also have a 44% penalty. Human monks have 20%.

[lostclover]

So groups share the exp penalty? Do people avoid grouping with SK's because of their penalty?

[Snaggles]

I soloed about a third the time from 1-65 with my SK. Sure took a while but not as bad as you would think. Pallies are better in closed quarters because root/heal is pretty amazing. Outdoors a SK is easy as your watching your blue bar more than your red one.

Rangers seem a combo of the two with a faster paced life. How hard things hit seems to scale quickly so besides bow rotting something you definitely can't sit back with a beer and whack away. I'm pretty sure with a good weapon (or two) a ranger could level to 60 in Sol B just as any class can. It's how many monks soloed at one point.

[kilyen]

dont think so but i dont group that often

[Snaggles]

So groups share the exp penalty? Do people avoid grouping with SK's because of their penalty?

Not if they need a tank; often SK/Pal's are picked over warriors. They do that exp dance with Rangers though sometimes.

Groups aren't always easy to find. Playing a class that has a chance in Hell to solo means you aren't stuck sitting by the zone LFG.