Class roles in Velious?

[Mindsplatter]

Looking to start a new main character, I don't really do the alt thing, so I'm planning for the long term. I'm looking for a class that's relatively fun and as complex as possible to play on raids, desireable for end game content, and preferably a decent soloer. Considering the following: Shaman, cleric, druid, necromancer, monk, enchanter, warrior. Could anyone outline their roles in Velious raiding? My main motive is raiding, so I want to enjoy my raiding experience (feel like I'm serving a unique role, not just button mashing)

[Estu]

I don't know much about raids, but here's how your classes stack up in terms of grouping and soloing. Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong on any of this.

Shamen are excellent soloers once they get their pets at 34, and always wanted for groups because of their slows, buffs, heals, and dots. They are relatively complex to play, though I don't know to what extent this is true in raids.

Clerics are bad soloers unless you're fighting undead, in which case you root-nuke like a wizard, which still isn't really that good soloing. They're the best healers for groups and are always wanted, but their play style is pretty straight forward and some find it boring.

Druids are good soloers and have excellent utility spells and abilities, but are not very high in demand for groups since other classes can generally do what they do better.

Necromancers are excellent soloers and good in groups, and have an interesting play style, but they are not vital for grouping.

Monks are OK soloers and do the best melee DPS in groups, and can also offtank. They have some nice utility abilities such as sneak, mend, and feign death that make them more interesting to play, but I don't get the impression that they're as complex to play as a caster.

Enchanters are decent soloers when leveling and the best soloers when they hit 50 due to charm. They're also in high demand for groups for their crowd control abilities and clarity. They are complex to play.

Warriors are the worst soloing class, and are very gear-dependent for grouping, unlike (comparatively) paladins and shadowknights, who can hold aggro with spells. They also only have four buttons to press: melee attack, range attack, bash/slam/kick, taunt. However, they are the best tanks for raids because of their high skill caps. Tanking is a nontrivial job, though I can't really tell you to what extent it's more or less interesting than playing some other class, especially not in the context of a raid.

[Braveguard]

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

Warriors are the worst soloing class, and are very gear-dependent for grouping, unlike (comparatively) paladins and shadowknights, who can hold aggro with spells. They also only have four buttons to press: melee attack, range attack, bash/slam/kick, taunt. However, they are the best tanks for raids because of their high skill caps. Tanking is a nontrivial job, though I can't really tell you to what extent it's more or less interesting than playing some other class, especially not in the context of a raid.

I disagree on a couple of minor points here. Paladins and SKs are still VERY gear dependent... arguably moreso than warriors since they have lower HP pools (have to make up for it in gear). On that note, Paladins and SKs will never be the preferred raid tank (except after AAs and only situationally then) because their top end HP/AC will never challenge that of a warrior. In a group, I think it's kind of a toss-up since it's much less of an issue.

Also, warriors are tough to solo but not impossible. With bind at max warriors can "heal" somewhat. As long as you don't try to hunt above blue you should be able to hunt viably solo... although you'll never be as good at it as most classes. This is especially true considering potion use (DS and SoW).

[Sigmastorm]

Nothing is complex in Everquest, just a complete waste of time compared to anything else.

On another note I could level every single class to 60 before velious comes out, so get cracking.

[oldhead]

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

Looking to start a new main character, I don't really do the alt thing, so I'm planning for the long term. I'm looking for a class that's relatively fun and as complex as possible to play on raids, desireable for end game content, and preferably a decent soloer. Considering the following: Shaman, cleric, druid, necromancer, monk, enchanter, warrior. Could anyone outline their roles in Velious raiding? My main motive is raiding, so I want to enjoy my raiding experience (feel like I'm serving a unique role, not just button mashing)

that rules out clerics, monks, rogues, warriors.

I think you would like shamans or enchanter best.

But only you can answer that.

[Messianic]

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

that rules out clerics, monks, rogues, warriors.

I think you would like shamans or enchanter best.

But only you can answer that.

Eh, after playing a monk extensively in Velious and Kunark, I can tell you they are easy, with a big but - feign pulling, especially with Kunark/Velious FD behavior, is not easy. It isn't incredibly complex, but it does take some getting used to. It's definitely not button mashing.

[Omnimorph]

He's talking about raiding incase you guys missed that.

Enchanters become essentially buff bots on velious raids. Where as monks i'd say are one of the more interesting classes, pulling temple of veeshan on my monk was one of my all time favourite experiences.

Tank wise - there's not many complex encounters in terms of tanking, so ... not sure how much fulfillment you'd see in this.

So yeah, i'd have to say monk. Although unless you get some pretty nice gear for them they can't solo particularly well.

No mention of bard ... they get to pull PoG. And the speed they move at is very nice [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.] as complex to play as you want to make them. But definitely the best class to be identified as a good player in groups.

[Messianic]

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

...monk. Although unless you get some pretty nice gear for them they can't solo particularly well.

I'd definitely agree with you on this after about 54-55. Soloing on a monk was a pain in the rear end until I pulled together some decent gear (Tranquil staff, etc) - although it got downright easy once I got my Fungi Tunic [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Once 75% bandaging comes along (I believe in Kunark with 201+ bind wound), that also makes it a ton easier.

[Cogwell]

Necros and Bards are your best bet, as they have multiple roles, varied abilities, and have to micro manage a bit. They are probably the 2 classes that play the most like modern MMO classes.

Shaman and Druids will be healing, buffing, and dispelling poisons/diseases. Clerics will be doing more reactive healing (quick heals, group heals) up until Velious, and then they really start into the CH chains. The timing can be fun if you've never done it before, although the entertainment can wear off eventually.

Paladins will be DPSing (lol?) and group healing A LOT in velious. Outside of raids they'll be tanking, and are very able to tank trash mobs in ToV and Kael. SKs are a bit odd - they depend largely on your guild. SKs are capable to tank trash if your guild allows it, and can be more effective pullers in Velious due to snare, but most of the time end up being just self-reliant moderate damage.

Enchanters are similar - if youre charming giants it can be fun, but other than that they are essentially borked in velious - they cant mez because everything is immune, they can't nuke because of the stun aggro, so essentially they debuff and die - and buff in between.

In the end, for this server, I would suggest Bard or Paladin, because how useful they are, how stackable they are, and how few there are of them on the server.

[Glad8tor]

You should also keep in mind that velious is a LONG ways away....from what ive heard we shouldnt get our hopes up for kunark for atleast several more months, then well....only god knows how long it will take for velious to be completed(over a year or 2 possibly?). I could level several toons to 50 in that time.

Id be looking into more of kunark's raiding necessities(spelling?) but thats just my thought process.

As for what class, i would say a shaman or enchanter. Both have fairly decent solo abilities, both are highly sought out in raids and groups, and neither are extremely easy to play aka button pushing.

Sincerely,
EQfiend