Advice on picking a healer

[Buns]

Hey all,

I just started playing P1999 after not having played EQ1 since around the time that Shadows of Luclin was released. Needless to say, I forgot how unforgiving EQ1 was, but I'm having a lot of fun and the challenge is refreshing.

I created a Halfling Cleric because that was what I played in EQ1. I'm wondering though if I should try one of the other healers. From what I remember in EQ1, it seemed like 90% of the people back then were playing Druids which was why I never played one then. Shamans were pretty rare back then, but it seems like they're fairly popular here.

I'm wondering if people have any advice on which Healer might be more rare or would have the easiest time finding groups? I loved my Cleric, but the lack of utility compared to Shaman's buffs and Druid's ports (and both their soloing abilities) makes me wonder if I should try something else.

Thanks!

[Tecmos Deception]

Clerics are the only true "healer" imo; they have complete heal, they have heal-over-time spells, they have faster-casting and harder-hitting heals at 50+ for different situations, they have group heals. They actually are actually the rarest of the wisdom casters, too, probably because druids are such a convenient class to solo and have around, and because shamans are widely regarded to be overpowered.

Velious makes druids better healers, giving them watered-down versions of the cleric spells Remedy and Divine Light, but they still never get the variety or power of cleric heals. Shaman heals are always just enough to get by really, until they get torpor at 60 which is a crazy awesome heal; the ability of a shaman to be a healer depends more on his ability to reduce incoming damage with slows + steadily regen hp with buffs than it does with his ability to heal directly.

Druids will have the hardest time getting a group, though they can be very effective in groups (primarily, imo, when they are able to charm for DPS while also filling in with help healing, buffing, rooting/snaring, nuking, pulling outdoors). Shamans and clerics both get groups pretty easily. Clerics don't really lack utility compared to the others - they have lots of buffs, lulls, stuns, a memory blur, roots, rezzes, and pretty decent undead nukes (clerics can solo 1-45+ in a boring but still rather effective manner by blowing up undead, convenient if you want to play a cleric but can't always spend the time making/finding others to play with or if you might need to log/afk unexpectedly, etc)... a lot of clerics just only buff hp and cast heals though. If you play a cleric in smaller groups you'll probably have more chances to use more of your spells.

[Raavak]

When you get 50+ a cleric is the only healer. If you have a shaman or druid they heal the cleric when he gets smacked for CH'ing.

[Danth]

The Cleric will usually appeal to a different sort of player than the Druid or Shaman will. All three classes have potent healing ability, but only the Cleric prioritizes it as its primary purpose in life. Clerics are for folks who want to be healers. Druids or Shamans work for folks who simply want to have access to healing spells if needed.


Danth

[Gustoo]

If you want to heal you only have the choice of being a cleric once you are over level 50 and even before that.

If you want to do other stuff than an ogre shaman is the best choice by a long shot for being sorta priestly but not so priestly as a cleric.

[Buns]

Thanks for the advice. I suppose I'll stick with a cleric then, since I'm most interested in healing.

I'm kind of struggling though. I'm level 5 now, and I'm mostly too weak to solo blues at the moment (it takes sooo long to kill them). I also haven't had much luck getting into a group, and I assume I'm not much use anyway until level 8 when I get med.

I have about 22 pp after buying my level 5 spells. Should I invest in a better weapon (I'm still using a rusty morning star) so that I can solo better? If so any advice on what to go for? Any advice where to solo/group? I'm in EC right now... was previously in GFay but couldn't do much on Orc Hill.

I don't remember having this much problem in EQ1, but I think I was probably twinked when I started new characters, and can't remember what I did when I started my first character back in 99.

Thanks!

[Danth]

Originally Posted by Buns [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

I don't remember having this much problem in EQ1, but I think I was probably twinked when I started new characters, and can't remember what I did when I started my first character back in 99.

P1999 is not exactly the same as Live, since it's a third-party recreation, not a copy. As a rule most creatures will do more melee damage to you than they did at the same level on Live, at least to 50+, making life tougher for anyone who solos with melee.

If you can't find a weapon from a player for sale, you can always buy a 6/32 Warhammer off a vendor in most starting cities for 5 or 6 plat. That'd still be a significant improvement over a Rusty Morning Star. Beyond getting a better weapon, the first ~8 levels can be pretty tough for all three of the priest-type classes.

Danth

[Estu]

Originally Posted by Buns [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Thanks for the advice. I suppose I'll stick with a cleric then, since I'm most interested in healing.

I'm kind of struggling though. I'm level 5 now, and I'm mostly too weak to solo blues at the moment (it takes sooo long to kill them). I also haven't had much luck getting into a group, and I assume I'm not much use anyway until level 8 when I get med.

I have about 22 pp after buying my level 5 spells. Should I invest in a better weapon (I'm still using a rusty morning star) so that I can solo better? If so any advice on what to go for? Any advice where to solo/group? I'm in EC right now... was previously in GFay but couldn't do much on Orc Hill.

I don't remember having this much problem in EQ1, but I think I was probably twinked when I started new characters, and can't remember what I did when I started my first character back in 99.

Thanks!

For grouping, go to Orc Hill and/or Crushbone. If you can't find groups, it's not because you're a cleric; clerics are always useful. Here are some tips about that:

1) Server population varies wildly depending on the hour of the day. If you're searching for groups outside of peak hours (peak hours being evening in the United States), your main problem will be a lack of players. If you're searching for groups during peak hours, your main problem will be that everything's already camped. This doesn't mean you can't find groups doing either time. Read on...

2) If the place you're trying to group (say, Orc Hill) has no one grouping there at the moment, don't be afraid to start your own group. Be proactive. Use the "/who" command (or just "/") to see a list of people in your zone, and message the ones of suitable class/level to group with you. Use "/ all paladin 3 6", for instance, to find a paladin between level 3 and level 6 in any zone; then you can start sending tells and asking about forming up.

3) If the place you're trying to group is already taken, you can talk to the people there about whether anyone is planning on leaving soon, or whether they have room for one more. If not, don't be afraid to travel. You can get free ports from druids and wizards if you ask nicely and tell them you're a newbie and can't pay them. Popular EXP spots at your level include Orc Hill, East Commonlands, and Blackburrow.

To find groups, even if you're the most desired class, you need to be proactive and you need to be ready to travel. Now, you're at EC. EC is a unique place because there are a lot of bored high level people sitting around in a tunnel. These people will often be happy to give you high level buffs that will let you wreck everything in the zone solo. It's not really how the game's meant to be played, but if you wanna hit level 8 quickly to get meditate, ask for DS (damage shield) and regen; this combination will make you pretty much indestructible and extremely powerful against monsters near your level. But there's no reason you can't group from level 1 to level 60.

Don't worry about soloing if soloing isn't your plan, and certainly don't invest in weapons, since you won't need them once you get meditate (you should spend basically all your time meditating or casting spells at that point; your mana is more valuable than your paltry melee DPS). If you DO need to solo, the way to do it is to root-nuke undead, with your special undead nukes. But this is not an efficient way to EXP and will be slow and boring. Clerics are meant for grouping - go out and group. If you're really having trouble finding a group one day, you can always switch to a solo character to kill some time and maybe try to find a group for your cleric while you're doing it.

[Raavak]

I did a lot of cleric solo until 50-ish, mostly on undead. Yes, I was twinked with like quest armor and some items. I had a bonethunder staff, but really it sucked, so mostly I rooted and nuked. I started in Befallen, moved to Najena, then to Unrest for a long, long time (both group and solo). Finally was doing spectres in the Feerrott in my 40s. Now I group exclusively.

[Exmo]

Stay in the EC area.

Look me up tonight. We'll fix your lowbie soloing issues.

Exmo