Epics and their relative powers
 

Just curious, what epics would you all say actually change the capabilities or even gameplay of a class to a significant degree, that without them you are gimping your toon?

I'm not interested in hearing about which are harder to get, etc., just want to know how people rank the power of each class' epics relative to each other and what they change for the class wielding them.

FYI, was only thinking about this the other day because I wondered if my paladin really needs that fiery sword. Plenty of better dmg/delay weapons and even better procs out there

Monk epic is superamazing, instaclicky atk/ac/Spell Haste (Link it with FK for convenience) and by miles best in slot (until elemental gear in pop). Also doesn’t block weapon progress since it’s hands slot.

Gimping? I mean probably not many reach that extreme. Monk epic is great like another commenter said. At the same time you can be an effective Monk without it too.

So if your definition of gimping is more like is it BIS or not then yeah Monk's would be BIS. I think Ragebringer for Rogue is BIS. But there are some epics I think that are less good than other weps you could equip (think Pally is an example of that IIRC).

I'd say the Wizard epic is up there. Shield gives much needed survivability and mana regen.

This is really subjective, depending on what level of gameplay you are referring to (raids, solo, grouping, etc.)

I've seen them all, IMO SK is the coolest & most game changing epic. My 59 troll SK with fungi & epic proc regens 75hp/tick standing which is pretty ridiculous for a melee especially when you mix in some fear kiting.

I'd give #2 to shaman epic. #3 monk.

Clerics is technically the only one that matters in the raid scene, but I'm not specifically focusing on raids.

I'd probably consider pallies the worst.

Monk is gamechanging. Just wearing it changes fists from 14/27 dmg/dly to 9/16 dmg/dly. Plus, an instant click 41% haste that stacks with worn haste. Don't think any monk would ever replace epic with anything else --- bonus is that it's a hand-slot, so you can use uber weapons still.

Shaman Epic is gamechanging. Mana free Splurt-lite. Makes levelling super easy. Loses a little bit of luster at 60. Never used on raids. Usually high-end raid shaman wind up replacing it, and only use it situationally in solo ops.

Cleric Epic is gamechanging. Mana free 96% rez. Needed on raids. Don't often see it replaced by anything else, except situational items.

Wizard epic is gamechanging. Clicky is a damage absorb, that works to absorb the damage of Manastone / Manna Robe. Essentially gives Wizards near-infinite mana. Extremely useful on raids. Unsure if this is often replaced, as I haven't played wizard.

As someone else said, all epics are huge upgrades, and generally easier to get than the higher-end items (VP, Vulak, Tunare weapons). But, the effects of the items are what really make them epic. I've only got 4 epics on p99. Of those 4, (Monk, Sham, Rogue, Cleric) -- Monk is the clear best of the best. (Although clicky rez is amazing as I said)

This is pretty hard because after Bard/Cleric the classes in the middle could all be in the 3 - 7 spots. I wanna drop wizard down more but it's hard to rank others above it.

1. Bard - This is a no brainer, this is the only way to get a mod on singing, truly unique
2. Cleric - Changes raiding dramatically, so many reasons why this is good
3. Monk - Because it's a glove slot
4. Wizard - The rune effect / regen is good for every aspect of the game
5. Rogue - Easy to acquire, brings any rogue up to raid dps status when leveled
6. Magician - This adds a unique ability only found on the epic, useful beyond soloing
7. Shaman - Obviously very powerful for shaman, but mostly useless on raids
8. Warrior - Great epic, but there are sooo many weapons availible in the endgame
9. Enchanter - This is a great click, especially for wipe recoveries or LoM situations
10. Shadowknight - The resists,proc, and 2h bash are great, but it's too easy to upgrade
11. Necromancer - Stat stick, not very useful on raids
12. Druid - Stat stick, not very useful on raids
13. Paladin - 2hand bash is great, but it's so easily upgraded, especially for Tunare pallys

There are vids about this that rank them, search for “EverQuest epics” on YouTube

Bard and cleric were #1, the rest significantly below that from what I remember

guess i should've specified, for soloing. because thats what i do 99% of the time i play

if shaman epic is strong for that purpose, then i think you have to rank the necro and druid epics as along the same level more or less, no?

does the mage epic significantly alter its soloing ability? i feel like an earth-staff focused 57 earth pet would be in some ways better for that chain summoning solo strategy and also to deal with adds

i agree paladin epic sucks....it just looks cool. doubt it really changes soloing much either