endangered classes?
 

Coming back after a couple years away from the server and couldn't be happier! :D That being said, I've always struggled to just jump back into an old toon (none of mine are higher than 18 anyway) so I want to roll a new one from scratch, and I was wondering

a) what classes are seemingly the least common/most needed (if any)?
b) is the population in lower level zones enough to find groups during peak hours? or will i need to be PLed or solo to actually socialize with other people? aaaand
c) is just about everybody twinked to the nines with kunark gear these days?

an addendum to question a: i'm open to just about any class, but would like to stay away from necro or chanter.

thanks for any input! excited to re-immerse myself in the world of Norrath!

Well there's least common and then there's most needed. Those categories don't overlap much.

Maybe warrior or bard? I never understood how someone could play an untwinked warrior, though.

Low level zone pop is great. Ask for buffs at EC tunnel then PL yourself. No matter what class you play, it pays to get a cheap (or free) Kunark weapon before you waste too much time swinging a cracked staff. Not everyone is twinked, but Kunark has been out for a long time and prices are way low on mid level weapons.

Overall I think that tanks in general (although people probably prefer warrior tanks to knights I guess, cause of XP penalty stigma even though a knight is a superior tank for most/all of the leveling process), bards, and clerics are probably a bit more rare than they could be.

Clerics... there are enough for Kunark, but unless a ton of people have a cleric hidden somewhere that they never log on and are saving it to main in Velious, there definitely aren't enough clerics for Velious. Bards aren't super rare, but they aren't too common either and GOOD bards are especially uncommon. Tanks, well, there are quite a few really, when you consider that for leveling most monks and rangers can tank in addition to warriors and knights... but I'd still say we could use more.

Peak hours you can find group all over, especially in the popular crushbone, oasis, mistmoore, etc.

There are a lot of twinks around, but there are even more untwinked (or only mildly twinked) characters.

The reason classes are uncommon or scare is because they are a pain to solo and not "needed" in groups. So if you want to play a uncommon class and get a group yours just being counterproductive. That being said try any toon that you deem interesting and give it a shot. Even if you class isnt needed if you are a cool person and can make friends you will always be wanted.

Be any one of the core roles in a group, be willing to start groups instead of just joining whomever, have a good reputation, and you can be whatever class/role you want.

Choose something that you will find fun (tank, healer, caster, support), if you want to have the option to solo - choose a class that's solo friendly.

You probably already know that while being buffed and given stuff is nice, it's not an entitlement. Some people choose to start with a money making (ie PORTING) character to build money, THEN play the character that more suits them. There's NOTHING wrong with this. There will never be POK books in this game, so you'll always run into people who will PAY to avoid running or using boats.

ahhh shit i'm screwed. haha i'm a big fan of warriors and have some mid-range gear i could drop on him if it becomes necessary, but i've always taken a lot of joy in obtaining my gear without handouts (from myself anyway). the only reason i might twink myself would be money for spells.

thanks for the input everyone! i'll roll a new one later tonight if the bruins don't have me drinking in disappointment :)

Honestly it's pretty cheap to twink up a warrior for low levels (up through the 30s or so) because good proc weapons can be found that people just don't have a lot of interest in. Things like Whips of Strangulation/Gnoll Hide Lariats/Obsidian Shards aren't going to make any parsers go nuts, but they'll get and hold aggro at lower levels np.

Looking a bit at a slightly higher budget, Cobalt Boots and/or Gloves are both pretty cheap, and each offers more AC than any pre-planar armor item. They'll help raise your overall survivability a surprising amount for relatively little investment.

Paladins most rare by far.

http://p1999pop.dmsimard.com/db/Classes

I have no how often that's updated, but I would still say its pretty accurate as far as the popularity of the classes.

I would have thought rogue would be higher.