Good first char to get 50+ with?
 

So I convinced a friend of mine to try out EQ since he never did back in the day, I told him Id be able to twink him a bit and hook him up with some nice stuff so he was like alright sure. He know's very little about EQ and was asking which class he should roll first, just to get one to 50+ and see most of the game / learn it. I told him EQ is really simple and he doesn't really "need" to make a char to learn the game because hell learn it on basically anything he chooses to play.

Anyway he still isn't so sure what to play, I suggested Mage or Necro maybe since he could solo easily and not have to rely on anyone, so hes considering those 2 but I thought Id ask you all for suggestions / opinions and see what you guys thought. Druid / Monk he doesn't want to play at all since thats what I play, and he basically just wants something that will get him groups while at the same time being able to solo just as efficiently if there are no groups around. His play time will be late night so most likely hell be soloing a good 50% of the time. And Ill be able to twink him pretty decently with whatever he chooses.

So with all that said, what are all your opinions / suggestions? Necro/Mage or something else?

1) Shaman - Armor, soloing ability and groups love em
2) Sk - Tanking, soloing, armor
3) Mage - Soloing + damage + not too complicated.

Are Mages ever really wanted in groups? I mean I know there good for soloing, but whats there group DPS like?

Pretty decent, not great. They have sustained DPS with the pet as well as some burst dps with nukes if they need to kill some mobs quickly. Not a bad class, but not incredibly desired in groups until late game.

Sidenote - Necros can solo incredibly well, yes, but again, I've never been in a group that said "damn, we need a necro right about now." but I have heard that for pretty muche very other class, even wiz.

cant go wrong with a mage.

I'd fault that on the players, not the class. I have been in plenty of groups where a necro is THE perfect addition, but no one realizes it because they just don't know what a good necro brings to a group.

You've never been in a group where the Cleric said something along the lines of "Damn, I wish I had a mana battery" in reference to a Necro? :P

Someone above said Shaman are great solo. I would really only argue that's true AFTER level 34. 1-24 is slow going, even with decent twink weapons, but your DoTs suck at any given level. Even at 24, your DoT catches up and you get Cannibalize which makes the mana efficiency issues less noticeable, but Shaman's don't really get strong until they have a pet at 34. That's when their ability to solo gets so much better.

However, from my experiences on live pre-Luclin, Shaman are very good for the group. Sustained DPS through pets, some of the best melee buffs in the game, backup heals, the best slows and (arguably) resist debuffs in the game.

If you're playing a Monk, you cannot go wrong with a Monk / Shaman combo though. If your friend can stand to get through the harshness of 1-34 on his Shaman, then it'll get so. Much. Better. So even if their solo life is a bit rough pre-34, they are a very solid class that's group friendly and they are excellent soloers that are much less squishy (Chain armor, slows, and heals) than any arcane caster in a dress. ;)

As far as the topic at hand, I'd say shaman or necro.

If he's new, he's going to want to be able to do shit on his own and not rely on others 100% of the time. I didn't include mage because they seem kinda boring to me. Send pet, cast a nuke or two, ok you're done, but I suppose that's personal preference and mage is certainly worth considering.

The only problem with shaman is it doesn't have as much instant gratification. You don't become a powerhouse until 34+, whereas the necro is beastmode pretty much starting at level 1.

monk or necro