Necromancer: Race choice?

[claypigeons]

I finally got P99 working, and I'm ready to dive back in to old school everquest.

I have (at least) one question first:

I've narrowed my class down to necromancer, due to play time constraints and irregular play schedule. A strong solo class is a must.

I'm still undecided for race, though.

Dark elf, or iksar? Something else, like gnome? Is the iksar exp penalty as brutal as it looks on paper? Does regeneration offset it enough to make it worthwhile? Ultravision from dark elves is snazzy, almost bodacious, and I like Neriak.

Talk me into picking a race! Halp!

[Bubbles]

Gnome gives you quite a few more options to use merchants and bank, and in general require far less faction work to be liked. Solid starting INT, and great newbie area (steamfont) too. very underrated choice.

Iksar regen is amazing. Gamebreaking at higher levels. Great starting Area (FOB), great tween area (LOIO/WW). Newbie currency is bone chips, and no one can amass more faster than a lizard grinding in FOB and Kurns Tower. Once you hit 60 you are done, so the slight XP penalty is an easy trade for a much more lucrative level 60 toon. [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Dark Elf... If its what you want to be, thats fine. [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

[Izmael]

Iksar for min/maxing
Gnome for looking through the walls - this is invaluable at higher levels in places like HS
Dark Elf for fashion quest
Human for classicness

[claypigeons]

Does the same apply to troll/iksar shamans? Is regeneration that good? Does troll win for JBB?

[Erica]

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

Does the same apply to troll/iksar shamans? Is regeneration that good? Does troll win for JBB?

If torpor wasn't in the game, there might be an argument for Troll/Iksar shamans. But once you hit 60, hp regen doesn't matter all that much. The stun immunity from the front however, will help you a lot. You can even JBB spam through a mob bashing, where a troll will not.

Will a non Iksar necro work and still be good? Sure. But when you are constantly losing hp due to lich, what is the absolute best thing to have? More HP regen. Min/Maxing to me is more like losing 10 INT to play a race you like more. Extra hp regen is amazing for you.

Play what you'd prefer, but I'd highly recommend Iksar unless you really really really hate them [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.] You'll usually look like a skeleton anyway!

[Danth]

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

If torpor wasn't in the game, there might be an argument for Troll/Iksar shamans. But once you hit 60, hp regen doesn't matter all that much.

Not every Shaman makes level 60, and not all those who reach 60 acquire Torpor. As such, racial regeneration is very much a concern for many Shaman players. For Necromancers, if you don't much care about your race, pick Iksar. I feel Iksar/Necromancer is the most advantaged race/class choice in the game. The only reason to choose a non-Iksar Necromancer is if someone specifically wants to pick an alternate race. The other races can and do work, but Iksar is clearly better than any other option for that class by a significant margin.

Ultravision is largely irrelevant because a) Necromancers get spells with which to see in the dark anyway, and b) The Titanium client used by Project1999 has brighter than classic nights. True darkness occurs only inside a relative handful of indoor dungeons. The Iksar racial experience penalty is a straight 20%, which will to some degree be mitigated by the superior regeneration rates. Class penalties are a thing of the past and have been for some time so some folks seem to be operating under bad assumptions.

Danth

[trav71]

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

The Iksar racial experience penalty is a straight 20%, which will to some degree be mitigated by the superior regeneration rates. Class penalties are a thing of the past and have been for some time so some folks seem to be operating under bad assumptions.

Danth

Well shit.. teaches me to believe everythign I read on the wiki!

[EQBallzz]

Originally Posted by trav71 [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Well shit.. teaches me to believe everythign I read on the wiki!

Also, if you are duoing like you said..the pet doesn't steal any XP at all. It's only if you are soloing and don't do more than 50% of the dmg that the pet steals any XP.

[Ofaelol]

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

Not every Shaman makes level 60, and not all those who reach 60 acquire Torpor. As such, racial regeneration is very much a concern for many Shaman players.

Danth

For anyone considering rolling Shaman, I regret Ogre for this very reason. I probably won't get 60 and definitely won't get Torpor, so Troll would have been a better choice because of the regen. I'm 21 now and considering re-rolling.

[Troxx]

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

For anyone considering rolling Shaman, I regret Ogre for this very reason. I probably won't get 60 and definitely won't get Torpor, so Troll would have been a better choice because of the regen. I'm 21 now and considering re-rolling.

Frontal stun immunity has it's uses, but it's not nearly the huge benefit many insist that it is - and that's considering the moments in time where it might make a difference. For every point in time that you're not actively getting beat on, it gives you nothing. Racial regen is there always ... buffing, medding, running from point A to B and still being able to Canni harder, playing the group game - you name it. Torpor goes a long way towards making regen less relevant, but as has been stated - not all shamans even make it to 60 and the process of acquiring the spell itself is a headache. Once any shaman of any race HAS torpor - the game gets trivial to the point that the FSI/Regen/whatever debate is pointless.

One of THE best solo-artist shamans on this server was a barbarian - which has neither racial benefit. It just demonstrates how powerful torpor is and how important skill can be in those extremes of trophy killing where theoretically FSI is supposed to pay off the most.

Pick Ogre if you like it - FSI and the extra stats will be your benefit.

Pick Barbarian if you like it - being less hated and leveling faster will be your benefit.

Pick Iksar if you like it - racial regen is your huge perk and the starting area is nice.

Pick Troll if you like it - racial regen is your huge perk, great balance in starting stats, large size for bash and ability to wear Jaundiced armor (perks over iksar) will be your extra niceties.

Min/max ideal? I'd vote Troll.
-Large size for slam (iksar has not)
-Can wear jaundiced (iksar has not)
-Racial regen is clutch (ogre and barb have not)
-Excellent (imo arguably the best) balance of the important starting stats
-Only thing you miss out on are the looks and FSI - and the racial penalty disadvantages that are trivial compared to ogre and really only meaningful in relation to the worst race choice (barbarian).

TLDR version: regen makes a shaman's life a lot more easy than any other racial trait you could pick. If you're only looking for the benefit, it's therefore not in your best interest to pick Ogre.