Before you choose druid I really think you should re-think. I feel like all the people who point newbies towards druids are really just not doing them a favor, especially when it is important to someone to be able to solo.
Can druids solo? Yes. Can druids solo well? Yes. Do they excel at it? In my opinion, no.
Druids get DoTs, DD, Snare, Root which all assist in soloing for a druid. The main problem lies in the fact that they have NO mana free damage. They have no pet, they can't deal good melee damage.
They have NO increased mana-regen. If you are limited on time (in your case only 3 hours per night) then I really think you need to focus on one of two classes:
Shaman or Necromancer.
Shaman is a decent soloer (post-34) but not excellent (in terms of speed). Shamans can handle pretty much any situation and make it out alive but they sure as hell won't do it quickly. Their nukes are worthless and their pets are a little bit weak (but sufficient with slow+haste).
Shamans also have excellent options for soloing techniques. You can root-rot with Root and DoTs. You can aggro kite by building your aggro and turning off pet taunt. You can solo similar to a mage by letting your pet tank (using slow so your pet doesn't get owned). You can tank yourself.. Whatever. You are extremely versatile as a shaman.
The king soloing class in EQ is 100% for sure Necromancer. You get root, snare, feign death, invulnerability, invis, invis vs undead, fear, mez, charms (undead), lifetaps (heal yourself), leaches (heal yourself)... Playing a necromancer it is almost impossible to die.
Necromancer pets are excellent. Damage just as well as mage pets (minus DS) and tank slightly worse. The tanking thing doesn't really matter since you will be aggro kiting (via Disease Cloud) or fear kiting (still my favorite option due to it allowing you to med while the kill happens)
Here are the two MOST important things to consider when choosing a soloing class:
1. Mana-free damage (ie. pets)
2. Mana recovery (ie. Lich and Cannibalize)
Life is hell when you are constantly begging for clarity or whatever and I would seriously consider a shaman or a necromancer if you are looking to solo or are short on time to play. Druid will work, just imo, not the best option.
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