Class that requires the least skill

[vageta31]

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

Honestly, the only games that i really consider to require "skill" are RTS and FPS games. MMORPGS for the most part don't require skill, anyone can play them well once you learn what you are supposed to do. A RTS on the other hand, you actually have to have a certain amount of talent at that to be good, doesn't matter how much you know about the game, same with FPS.

I believe you call those "twitch" skills right? I agree to some point but there is certainly some skill required to do certain things in EQ, though it's more of a strategy based approach than pure manual dexterity. Fear kiting in south karana is child's play, taking your level 50 necro down to lower guk(classic only) and soloing the frenzied ghoul camp takes some balls and a good game plan. I highly doubt your average necro could pull this off without dying a ton unless they really learned the ins and outs of their class beforehand to use all the tools at their disposal. I would guess that some could never pull it off reliably and would give up long before they figured it out.

Same goes for any kind of solo adventure in a dangerous area. Almost any caster can solo things outdoors by simply running away from the mob and aggro/fear/root fighting it. In a dungeon it takes a bit more tact and the ability to not panic when things go wrong. Your average players does what an average person does in a dangerous situation. RUN!... even though they probably won't make it out hehe. Some of my best times in classic EQ was taking my level 50 Druid down into dungeons and attempting to camp things I shouldn't be able to do. Testing pull spots and pathing, trying different tactics, etc... and usually I bit the dust a few times. But when I finally worked out the method it was very rewarding. Druid's weren't that great at indoor solo farming but I made the best of it. Had I known the awesomeness of a Shaman back then I'm sure I would have pulled off some more risky things.

[vageta31]

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

It was that way on live but it was considered a bug and nerfed at some point. It was never implemented here.

I distinctly remember fs daggers turning pets beastmode back in the day.

And there's my problem.. I played EQ from late beta into late classic before Kunark. Of course I came back and left a few times in between, but my knowledge of classic has a lot of the "bugs" that got fixed later. We're talking the time when harmony was broken, snare lasted longer than ensnare(I used to quad kite with snare which was a bit of work), lifetap had no max level range for resists(quickly fixed after a bunch of low level necros were swarm killing sand giants haha), monks could wear rubicite, etc.. It's been a long while but I'm pretty sure Shamans were initially able to use charm but it was taken away. I distinctly remember that bastard Chief Goonda charming me on several occasions so maybe it was an npc only thing.

[Bubbles]

Wait, there's yet another thread with the level 30 necros in OT telling the level 60 ones how to play the class most effectively?

[vageta31]

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

Wait, there's yet another thread with the level 30 necros in OT telling the level 60 ones how to play the class most effectively?

Hmm let's not forget that some of the level 30 necro's in OT were most likely level 60 necros in a past life and may have more experience that some of the level 60 necros on this server that haven't played one before. That goes for ANY class, and I know many people are playing classes they never did the first time around. How many people on this server are actually complete EQ newbies? It's like riding a bike, when you put 100's or 1000's of hours into a game, or specifically into a single class it's not like you have to relearn the entire game again so that experience is still there...

Also the subject was about what class takes the least skill.. I'm assuming that wasn't aimed directly at level 60 game play and was in general over the span of 1 to 60.

[Feachie]

this subject is actually for the least skill. there is a thread for the most skill somewhere else.

[vageta31]

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

this subject is actually for the least skill. there is a thread for the most skill somewhere else.

You're right, my bad. Fixed above ^^. I meant that but was typing in a hurry. Point mostly being that it's a somewhat subjective question. Least skill to level up with the least risk and effort possible? Or least skill to achieve the highest rewards possible for your class. My necro tactic was meant to illustrate that "fear kiting" in itself is a basic skill capable by most anyone, but higher skill can be used to improve upon the tactics effectiveness.

Short answer. Mages and warriors. Not because they can't be played with skill and do things most would think not possible, but less skill for the average player to function in a normal grouping/solo situation. Raids and crafty solo tactics not included.

[stormlord]

My vote for least skill would be warrior because they have so few tools. But mastering the warrior class is not so easy. Neither is it easy to master any class in this game. For example, some warriors will stupidly invest in heal procs rather than in aggro procs. Or they might invest in stat gear rather than ac gear - bad choice for a warrior unless the stats are ungodly. It's good to have those things sometimes for soloing, though. A good warrior will have a set of gear for soloing and another for grouping, and gear that's on-call.

I think that the question should not be: can this class solo?

I think the question should have been (in 1999): is it fun to play a class that does not have lots of different tools, and if not, should we make the class anyway, if a minority likes it that way?

Because the way I see it, a class can solo well, but that doesn't necessarily mean it will have lots of tools. For example, you could increase the offense/defense of a class so that it can kill up to 4 creatures at once. That will allow it to solo well, in most cases. But it won't have very many tools. It'll be very grindy. In my view, tools keep things interesting. It varies the gameplay. That's necessary, imho. This should be important.

I think they went too far with the group/solo extremes. If it were me, I think I would have given all classes a base skill cap of 50 for all skills in the game. Or something like that, making sure that specialized classes still are experts in their chosen field. But even a base amount of skill should have its uses. So this means every class could track, but not very well. They could all FD, but not well. They could all heal too, though they might fizzle a lot on higher level spells. I think it would have made things a lot more interesting.

The advantage I see to a class system is that it gives new players a path to follow. It's a convenient way to roleplay a class without having to worry too much about the details. It also allows you to search for group members of a particular specialization much quicker. So rather than "/shout Anybody: 100 alteration, 100 defense, 100 1h slashing, 100 meditation, uses shield, etc LFG?" you might instead say "Any paladins LFG?" So if you see someone on the road, a quick /who tells you their skillset. Very useful for communication.

[beentheredonethat]

Originally Posted by vageta31 [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

I seriously don't think some peeps on here have any idea what they're talking about with the clueless tactical comments.

Fear kiting is the absolute best way to kite.. far superior to a standard Druid kite who burns all his mana to kill 4 mobs then has to afk med and browse the boards. My iksar Necro can pretty much chain pull non stop in the OT without having to stop for a med break unless I get too many resists, and it only gets easier each level. Even then I never med to full, that's for sissies. In fact if I have at least 25% mana I will begin pulling and if the resists are low I will slowly gain mana throughout the fights.

Fear kiting is simple, it's learning the most efficient method with little down time that takes a bit of skill and tactics. Here is my fave method in OT.

1. Keep casting a pet until you get the max for your level. Do this around others in different level ranges so they can help identify it's level by cons.

2. Give the pet the lowest delay weaps you can manage, FS daggers are great. If you want to go all out then the whips and daggers from paw or nice.

3. Keep lich line up at all times and if your health gets too low then lifetap to heal.

4. Personally I like to pet pull and run back to the edge of the zone. Send in pet to get mobs attention while you head for your fear spot(you have to be close enough for pet to attack). I literally hit pet attack and head in the other direction and as soon as I see the mobs or pets health drop I instantly pet back off in which the mob comes after me. Soon as I hit my spot I sit and wait and hopefully get one tick of mana regen. When mob gets close enough in casting range I start my darkness cast and tell the pet to attack. Mob stops at pet and I get a free chance to land a darkness without getting hit. Throw on a fear and sit back down and med until fear wears off.

Trick is figuring out the most efficient way to kill the mob. Simply use darkness/fear and pet for damage? Or do you throw on a heat/boil blood as well so it dies faster but at a cost of more mana? I also keep engulfing darkness mem'd at all times incase the other wears off. Lets me slow it back down without burning all the mana for dooming. If I get an add I just snare/fear it while pet beats down the other one. I've easily handled 4 mobs at once though it does eat on the mana when it happens and I prefer not to have to do it.

Shamans also require a bit of knowledge to play well depending on play style. I'm all out battle shaman with my Ogre and continued that playstyle to 50 even tanking Specters and AoF when needbe. Haven't played him in awhile and I doubt I could do this efficiently in Kunark, but if I upgraded his gear it'd be an option. With canni dance, pet control and all the buffs you at least won't be bored with all the button pressing.

its different for an SK a bit. for me it involved a pull with dots, snare came in later (didnt want it wearing off too early), fear and pummel. I was decently geared at 52, but could solo yellow giants in velious fairly easily.

[stormlord]

Btw, i used to fear kite in the wastelands next to great divide with my ranger. I was in my 40's or early 50's I think. But I had a problem with getting adds and/or misjudging my fear timing. Other than that it was fairly effective. But I certainly wasn't soloing yellows. That was probably 2002.

[Moonface]

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

Rogues probably require less skill than quite a few classes, but certainly more than mages, and certainly require quite a bit more busy work. Rogue is probably the most busy class in the game as far as how many button presses you execute constantly throughout a group situation. It also takes a certain skill or mindset to be able to compensate for bad positioning, and a certain anticipatory knowledge to know when to not use backstab and when to back off autoattack.

Monks require a fucking ton of skill if they are going to pull and/or tank. I doubt anyone will argue that.

I dunno what melee dps you think have the "lesser skill requirements.."

the only buttons your are pressing is auto attack on, back stab, auto attack off, pick pocket.. rinse and repeat. aside from your backstab nothing you press helps anyone but yourself.