There's only 4 classes that are fun in this era.

[Foxplay]

Unpopular opinion but Enchanter Charm was a mistake (at least how it was implemented on p99 and TLP's)

Theme wise its a great MMO ability. But mathematically its just too good with no downsides (don't even say Risk v. Reward your a bad enchanter if you even think this way)

They are just too good at a certain element of the game, so much that it can damage group play and accessibility (able to solo camps that would normally be done by a group, hold down rare item camps with 1 character) leading to greedy play over community

Charm should have been more reliable but the damage output reduced while charmed (and no ability to make mobs quad that cant natively quad). And as a trade off Runes should have cost slightly less mana with no reagent component so they could fit a role as the INT (healer) without actually healing. Would bring their damage output back into reality while still allowing them a pet that does decent damage and a stupid thick health pool, greatly reduce the cost of the class as well as buffing their (support role)

Even in PoP Enchanters could solo things that would normally take a full group (giants in Bastion of Thunder for example)

[JayDee]

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

Monk - Far and above the most fun melee to play. Only melee that can effectively solo by face-tanking. Mend is OP. Sneak means you can sell to vendors you don't have faction with. Can do similar damage to rogues. Can tank almost as good as the "tank" classes. This means you can solo mobs that only the other 3 classes on this list have a shot at soloing. Epic is very easy to complete - and it's only epic that isn't a weapon. Feign death trick works wonders for getting around. (I can get down to Poop Mtn in Seb faster than rogues). Can either do a low-budget twink with SCHW and Peacebringer, or go all out with Fungi, CoF, Priceless Weps, etc. Either route puts you far out in front of other melees. And don't get me started on Holgresh Elder Beads and their effectiveness as a monk...

Necromancer - My personal choice for favorite caster, slightly edging out Enchanter. While levelling: Necro has a bunch of different ways to go about EXPing. Necro can fear kite, charm, or root rot - all very effectively. If you want to group, Necro is amazing in group with Root, Mez/stun, Twitches and HoT. All while having a pet to send in for extra melee damage. Necro rules places like Kaesora, City of Mist, Howling Stones and Chardok. But the real fun comes when you get all the clickies. Circlet of Shadow for instant invis, VP Staff for mana-free life leech, VP robe for Mana-free Dead Man Floating - but my personal favorite: the necro Epic for a mana-free Snare (and DoT). Back when I played more (and still as a favor to friends) I powerlevel almost exclusively with Necro. Either by letting them AFK while I clear the entirety of Upper and Lower frenzy in Velks using mana-free DoTs.. or actively by FDing at mob low HP (after using mana-free DoTs) and letting them finish off the mob. Plus, like a monk, Necro has a lot of cool utilities on raids.

Shaman - A class so nice, I levelled one twice. With high AC / HP and Mana, Shaman is a beast. From the get go, Drowsy is 20-25% slow for only 20 mana. Combine that with cannibalize and Bind Wound and shaman have infinite HP and Mana. Slowest to kill mobs of the classes on this list - but edges Monk out in being the most survivable. And then of course the power scaling starts, along with the other casters on this class, around level 34-39. Turgur's is crazy good. Torpor is crazy good. I have soloed Vilefang, Ayilish, Hierophant Grekal and others - without even needing to try that hard. Shaman is by far the best duo partner for any damage dealing class. Shaman pairs so excellently with any class (minus priests). The only thing that is less-than-stellar about Shaman is when in a full group, or on a raid during buff sessions. I parsed my actions on a Shaman in a full 6-person group and 75% of the actions were either casting Cannibalize or GCD. But saving the raid by slowing the dragon still feels good.

[B]Enchanter[B] - Almost didn't make it on my list, but let's face it - Charm breaks this class. Having Pacify + Mez + Slow + Charm is a game changer for any type of dungeon crawl. Clarity is great. Enchanter sucks on raids, though. Constantly fielding buff requests, or being a sieve bot are your two options. But in solo play, enchanter is in my personal top 4 - and I'm sure is many people's top class.

Honorable Mentions - Great Fun, but not as powerful
Rogue - I have 3 epic rogues on Green. I mained rogue back in the day, and I just love the class. Easiest epic by far. Hide/Sneak is great, and this is a great class for a lazy raider.
Ranger - Has all the tools. Track is fantastic fun, especially while levelling in outdoor zones. Bows are cool. Sucks that they can't tank for shit. The epic is also great on a ranger. Top tier pullers for exp groups as well, especially in places like Karnor's Castle.
Druid - The fastest toon I've ever levelled, but that was with Manastone, Fungi, Fungi Tunic and Elder Spiritist Greaves. Maybe has the best clickies of any class with Tanglewood Shield, Thorns Gloves, ES Boots and Helm, etc. Costly to make that build, though.

What are your thoughts on classes in Velious era? What's your favorite to play? The holy Quadrumvarite (Monk, Enc, Nec, Shm) is hard to beat, because I believe them all to be objectively leagues above every other class for group / exp / small op dungeon crawls. I know people love Bard - it's just not for me. I hate getting interrupted (see Channelling bug fix forum post for more of me whining about Channelling) and Bards have it bad, having to recast spells every 18s.

Monks are very broken here. No chance in hell one could solo drusella on live. Hell, they might not have been able to solo a geonid

[Sadre Spinegnawer]

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

Unpopular opinion....

Everyone knows what you say is true, the "popularity" solely has to do with people wanting to hear it.

Everything everyone posts here is true. The reason the game is dead is because the museum is complete, the song is sung, the play has run. Let us figure out how to enjoy it.

(This were kindness.)

[Jimjam]

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

But now how I remember it at all "back in the day." Shit, son, I remember an epic magician was a thing of legends. no one was talking about the enchanter with his hasted drolvarg because it legit wasnt a thing.

it is what it is tho

I wonder whether npc vs npc dps is reflective of how it functioned in classic, particularly regarding summoned pet vs npc and true npc vs npc (ie when under charm).

[Wakanda]

Enchanter can be the most fun, but only for short durations. I always tell people it took me longer to level my Enchanter because I would be exhausted after a couple hours of playing, whereas with my Necromancer or Shaman I can chillax all day long without a care in the world.

Also, all of the classes felt more epic in 1999. I remember when I was a kid I thought Wizards were the most ridiculously powerful class in the game because they got Ice Comet. Now it's like erm.... also Magicians felt way more badass in 1999 because without Charm... there's pets felt amazingly powerful. Now they feel like second class citizens in the pet community.