Honestly mage is often referred to as the “king of classic” for a reason. They aren’t the utility powerhouse other casters can be with CC, transport or pulling, but what they do, they do very well and excel with DPS. In a group, you will speed up the kill time by a large margin (especially in classic where there be many a melee with their tarnished weapons). While solo, they can do very well against on level targets and literally eat the lower level mobs you wish to farm.

Mages honestly are powerful all the way through Velious. The problem is, the monsters get increasingly difficult. And most every high profile solo target in Kunark/Velious requires a slow in order to solo it efficiently/safely. Not saying it cannot be done otherwise, but mobs hit much harder post classic.

Well the first thing you're going to have to do as an enchanter is find something to charm. That can take no time or it can ruin your whole short play session.

For your lifestyle I would recommend shaman. It's similar to what I had on TZ back in the day when I played one. You'll always get a group because everyone loves your buffs. You can pair up with a monk and grind exp like crazy. It's like this crazy damage machine you just follow around and haste once in a while. When you solo you have a great toolset to deal with stuff as you like, it's not like you're stuck kiting, or having the pet do all the work. Early on you're not squishy and can melee and take hits, later you have your dog and a large selection of damage spells. Shaman soloing only gets stronger, some say it's the strongest soloer at 60. Travel is fast, you're always speeding aroud and levitating to the next camp. Also Alchemy gives you a steady income, I sold so many SoW potions I can't even remember.

The only downside I can think of is that if you're used to soloing, your group experience might be a little boring. You're there for the long and short term buffs only, and all mana left over for backup healing. If you go oom for any other reason you won't be asked back.

SO I am going to add Mage and Shaman to my consideration list. Thank you so much everyone!

However my suggestion would be in favor of a bard, druid or cleric for your particular situation.

Cleric would be the most desirable for any group. While they are limited in the realm of solo play, if you camp in a dungeon and log in and only have one hour...you can rest assured that the hour will not be spent LFG 90% of the time. Plus, as you are leveling if you focus on undead dungeons (befallen,unrest lower guk dead side) you can effectively fill the role of DPS vs the undead with your wards should a group have a cleric but need to fill a dps role.

Druids can spend down time or short spurts porting or soloing and likewise bards have the ability to charm solo and Bard kite later (4 AE mob limit at launch).

If you're short on time Druid is a great pick because of ports. And you will never regret having a Druid leveled up no matter what other classes you enjoy.

Haven't seen you in awhile, hope things have been alright for you.

I'll just provide my thoughts on all the different classes for classic era:

Warrior: Trying to solo while wearing banded and wielding at best a combine weapon is not my idea of fun, and probably not yours either. Fine and in-demand for groups of course.

Paladin: Can sort of solo by healing itself but it's slow. Can be tolerable once you get to higher level and especially vs undead with a ghoulbane (in 2009 I made some levels around 40ish solo'ing spectres) but you got to get there first, and that's not necessarily fun if you're solo. Decent in grouping, tanks are usually in-demand sufficiently that the XP penalty doesn't hurt too bad.

Shadow Knight: You know the class, no need to elaborate.

Monk: If you didn't like trying to solo an SK, you'll hate it on the Monk too. Much of this community has an overinflated sense of monk soloability owing to fungus tunics and cheap twink weapons with absurd ratios. Trying to solo wearing maybe raw silk and wish fists for weapons is kind of doable but it doesn't make for a fun time. At least the SK above has fear and snare. Monks are universally welcome in groups, even (post-kunark) iksar monks because community is largely oblivious to their significant experience penalty.

Ranger: No animal fear in classic, no SoW until level 39, bows suck as always, and low AC armor means solo is....lets say it tries the patience. Tiny heals mean you have to cast them a billion times to heal up too. Doable in theory but you'd need more patience than I have. XP penalty hurts them the most in groups because they aren't usually sought as tanks and numerous other classes deal comparable damage. Not terrible, but not as good as its proponents claim.

Bard: Theoretically strong but burdened with clunky mechanics. Love-it-or-hate-it class.

Rogue: Worst solo class in the game. Welcome in groups. Low responsibility.

Cleric: You know this one, no need to elaborate.

Druid: Decently versatile play style for a caster, but still a caster. Good solo, not usually sought for groups but they still get groups slots, mainly when a group needs a healer and there's no Cleric to be found (not uncommon). Almost undoubtedly the best alt class, with huge utility even from middle levels.

Shaman: Caster that can play like a quasi-melee if the player so wishes thanks mainly to slow spells, with even Walking Sleep in the mid teens being good enough (for the level) to tank with if you like it. Still a caster and hindered in the old world by a lack of good pre-planar weapons, so most Shamans act more caster-like. Welcome in groups. Might be worth a look.

Enchanter: Solo's better the more they level, but it's always a high-strung sort of life. Not a class for someone who wants to be laid back. Squishy and even the best of them die a fair amount. Welcome in groups.

Necromancer: Lazy man's enchanter, it gives up some potential solo power in favor of much convenience. Not reliant on charm pets. They can get groups but tend to be a little under-rated since so many of them mainly solo.

Magician: Strong class in classic, but gets proportionally weaker with each expansion (hence their lack of population on Blue). Velious especially is rather unkind to them. Slightly one-dimensional. Welcome in most groups regardless of expansion.

Wizard: Groups like a mage with no pet, solo's like a Druid with no SoW or Harmony. Some folks like the class but they're the minority.

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Hoping you stick around and make 50 this time around. As P99's decade-long history has shown, you'll have plenty of time--no rush.

Danth

Hey man. Good to see ya again. I hope you're doing well. I can't believe that I am now considering playing a magician. I swore I would never go lighter than leather. Thanks for your detailed breakdown, my friend!

Thanks for doing this write-up. Posts like these are great for newcomers and the undeceided alike

oof... I did not know this. I really was toying with the idea of an early Ranger, particularly with guise and rubicite in play.

The cons are obvious, exp penalty, master of none (group wise), but fear animals was a cool part of the kit I was looking forward too. That makes it much harder....

Everyone talks about 'Best Solo Class'. Well what most people dont get is the best solo class at 60 max gear is diff from best solo class while lvling. Necro is the best solo class 1-60 in open areas and dungeons. Yes a bard can swarm kite but its hard to do that in dungeons. Yes Shamans and enchanters kick the most ass at 60. Yes wizards and druids can Quad kite. but, Necros can solo ANYWHERE and they can lvl fast as hell. they are very strong from start to finish. So if you want to wreck shit your whole life make a necro. And yes necros are still strong at 60.