Easiest class to start with

[Numbers_]

I have a monk and a shaman at low mid levels.

If you are talking low levels a monk is much easier to solo even with crap gear (what I had). It's pretty easy to save up some cash for fighting batons and cured silk (or wus) and camp for a Iksar berserkers club (my god that is a long and boring camp tho).

They do have radically different roles in groups so keep that in mind. As a monk you will be expected to pull and you'll have to learn how to feign split (which I find fun). It's not as laid back as some classes.

The shaman have a lot of options with spells, are more complex and I feel much more helpful to others playing a shaman. Buffing up lower level people is always fun.

They're are a lot of both running around, but I actually think I have an easier time getting a group as a monk because you really only need one healer (and cleric is best) and more than one dps.

You may want to make more than one class, play it to 10 and decide then. Warning, you may end up like I have - not being able to make a definite decision [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

[Dr4z3r]

I would say start a Halfling Druid, and just level up to the 30's and make a little money.

Then, decide what you really want to play.

Other classes that are not gear-dependent include Mage, Necro, Bard.

Classes that are easy to play include Warrior, Wizard, Rogue with gear.

[maestrom]

Mage, Necro, Druid are typically considered "easy mode" classes.

Of the three, Mage is probably the easiest at the moment.

Quick overview:

Druids can get around the recent DoT damage reduction on moving targets by root rotting and they also have GREAT mobility. They run into problems with mana regeneration however.

Necros have some of the best mana regen in the game combined with pet + very powerful DoTs AND the extra survivability of feign death make them pretty awesome. They can also get around the DoT damage reduction on moving targets by fearing their targets (necros don't get root until much later). Fear can be tricky though if you're just starting out.

Mages are just pretty awesome. as long as you can single pull, you should be able to take out pretty much anything in your level range. Just send in your Fire pet (remember to nuke at least once toward the end of the fight) and make sure he's got Damage Shield on him and stuff will die pretty quicky. Mana regeneration is tough just like with druids but most mages spend less mana since the majority of their damage is coming from their pet and not their spell. The biggest problem I've seen with mages is their lack of survivability. If you manage to bite off a little more than you can chew, you're pretty much boned.

[Enderenter]

Easiest class ≠ easiest to solo with.

If you're just starting out on this server, probably anything other than necro, mage, druid is going to be very group dependant very early on. If you don't want to be one of those three, and don't mind being group dependent, rogue is probably the easiest.

[Daywolf]

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

Mage, Necro, Druid are typically considered "easy mode" classes.

Yeah, that's pretty much it. of course as with most classes, dependent on groups for fastest xp until late teens. After that, group or not, easiest going. In the short run, pre-20, probably ranger with a 2-h, but near useless later on (until fear), unless you just really like the class of course.

[Messianic]

Shaman are a lot easier than any of the other classes. Having inner fire at low levels (your most mana-efficient heal until level 19) along with access to sow itself - not to mention having it at level 9 - is a massive safety valve. Shaman may not level quickly, but they level very safely.

[Stormhowl]

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

Shaman are a lot easier than any of the other classes. Having inner fire at low levels (your most mana-efficient heal until level 19) along with access to sow itself - not to mention having it at level 9 - is a massive safety valve. Shaman may not level quickly, but they level very safely.

Without twink gear, Shaman is very difficult from around 6 until... well, well past 14 that's for sure. Root at 14 makes it easier, but things don't get better until level 24 when you get your next batch of DoTs and Cannibalize.

Your lower weapon skill caps (compared to real melee) starts to show around level 6 (where your skills, when capped, are as good as a level 5 warrior's and it starts to dove-tail from there). It's also at that level where your mana regen compared to your increasing mana pool is slower than molasses rolling downhill, but it gets so much better at 8 once you train Meditate.

Your spells mana:damage ratios aren't the greatest (Frost Rift, and then later Spirit Strike) are all 1:1 damage, and your DoTs Sicken (30 mana for 8 damage up front and 2 damage every 6 seconds) needs to last at least 1 min 6 seconds to meet the 1:1 damage:mana ratio while Tainted Breath (40 mana for 10 damage up front and 8 damage every 6 seconds) needs to last 24 seconds to be 1:1 damage:mana, and while it's better than Sicken, it's also very expensive when baseline you'll probably have ~300 mana untwinked at level 9. [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

I would not recommend Shaman to a new player, unless they want something of Moderate difficulty, because it's definitely not easier than a Druid, Mage, or Necro as others have said. Your spells are inefficient, you are in melee range at all times until level 14 unless grouping when your skill caps are lower than real melee classes (It's 4*(Level+1), where as melee are 5*(Level+1)), IIRC, and it truly doesn't get better until level 24 when you get some really strong DoTs, and the inefficient spells can be offset with Cannibalizing (50 HP into 20 Mana doesn't sound great, but when you Canni-Dance it's friggin' fantastic, and you'll have better mana regen than any other Priest class).

But, yeah, to make a long story short, unless you're twinked, I wouldn't recommend Shaman to someone looking for an easy class to start with.

Edit: That isn't to say the class isn't enjoyable. I mained Shaman for my entire EQ "career" and loved every second of it, even when 1-24 was rough as hell. But I'm being as honest as I can be, when I say that if you're looking for an easy class to start with, stay the hell away from a Shaman. If you want to play a healer, Druid would be best out of the three since you have a lot of tools early (Snare @ 1, Root, Invis and Whirling Wind (spell interrupt) @ 5, super efficient DoTs @ 14) that make them better early game soloers than Shaman, and your ports at level 24 can start making you some money. You get SoW later than a Shaman (by 5 levels), but you have snare from level 1 to offset that whole issue, and you get root 5 levels earlier than them.

So I would have to agree with everyone else when they say Druid, Necro, or Mage.

[xshayla701]

I was new to EQ when I started p99 and I have a mage. I think that says something...

If I can make it to level 52 despite the fact that I blow at this game then I think you can handle a mage~

[Bruno]

Based on your original post, and assuming you aren't going to be twinked, shaman is the easiest class to solo with if you're going for survivability and less down time, and rogue is the easiest class to play out of those three in groups because it's mindless.

Actually I just reread the original post and my choices were based on the 3 classes he posted. I just read his post wrong, thinking those were the three he meant to use.

My choice for rogue as far as easiest being less work remains the same, but I would choose necro over shaman any day to solo with from scratch.

[Deathrydar]

I am not sure where a lot of these answers are coming from, but to my experience with EverQuest, the easiest classes to level are as follows:

1. Druid
2. Necromancer
3. Bard
4. Magician

The only reason Necromancer isn't 1st is because of the "evil" factor and research.
One of those top 4 should do you just fine. Also, do not choose an Iksar!!! They are fun as hell, but you are hated EVERYWHERE and are constantly running for your life or traveling long distances trying to find a vendor to sell/buy from you.