starting on phini need advice

Discussion in 'Time Locked Progression Servers' started by FL!P, Jan 7, 2016.

  1. FL!P Augur

    Hi guys, I recently stepped up to gold status to try out the progression server. I was wondering what you guys would think a better first toon to start off would be. I was torn between one of the knight classes to tank, and a ranger. I figured a knight class would help me get groups more often because of being a tank. I guess it really doesn't matter play what you want, but with everyone so far ahead didn't know how hard it would be to get groups. And if I do go knight does it matter which one i roll? I appreciate any input you guys can offer me!

    thanks,
    Flip
  2. Clonkers Lorekeeper

    Hey Flip, welcome to Phini
    at this stage even though a lot of people are max level there's still plenty of people not so you should be fine getting groups, there's still many instances of most of the levelling zones open and as Kunark is still 2 months away I imagine there will be plenty of alts to group with.

    As far as what to play, how familiar are you with classic content? The reason I ask is because all of the classes you've picked are melee and very gear dependent, this is made even harder in classic with the limited options available and the higher prices associated with them. Playing as any caster is going to be easier for you than any of the classes listed and will also increase your soloability. Casters are far less gear dependent (I replaced my starter robe at level 49 on my enchanter....).

    If you are dead set on going one of the classes then I'd say definitely do the knight, the reason being as you said you'll get tank spots which are often in demand. As to which one, SKs are better soloers, other than that it's mostly personal preference.

    I would strongly recommend against Ranger, I played Ranger the first time around in real classic, you start off pretty decent and feel pretty OK in classic, then Kunark hits and you get worse, then Velious hits and you get even worse again (with only pred keeping you in raids) and stay rubbish until Luclin where you need to grind a ton of archery AAs to become average
  3. Frenzic Augur

    Rangers can tank just fine in group content. Knights are better imo. Either way you won't go wrong except you'll fun into a few ignorant ones that scream RANGER??? I asked for a tank!!

    Don't worry about people being far ahead, it's a misconception from the forums. Plenty of people rolling new character every day. Noobie zones are still stacked with noobs in their noob robes and daggers.
    Whizbang, Vaclav and Nickatropolis like this.
  4. FL!P Augur

    Kk, thanks guys I appreciate all the info. Guess ill be going SK. I had thought about doing the caster thing to solo and farm money, or maybe a cleric to sitquest to high lvls. But figured by the time i lvld one and farmed the money to gear out the class I want, I would be burnt out. XP
  5. Bobbydomino Elder

    Just be aware that melee classes are very gear dependent, so you are going to struggle a lot in the beginning. People will also expect you to have a basic understanding of the game (you may have to pull, keep aggro). If you started a month ago it would have been great but now you're limiting yourself a bit.
    Classes like druid, wizard, mage, necromancers etc all make good first characters because they can farm, get some solo exp and aren't super gear intensive.
  6. Ultrazen Augur

    I'd actually suggest a monk if you want to play a melee character.

    1. They can literally level to 50 with no gear or weapons, and do just fine.
    2. They can feign death, which means you can drop all agro on you if things go bad. Also makes it very easy to get around.
    3. They have the best combination of mitigation and DPS in the game.
    4. Can heal themselves with mend.
    5. Bind Wound skill is actually very worthwhile to train up on a monk.
    6. Easy to get groups as either a puller or DPS.
    7. Can solo to 50 if you needed to, or at least solo a bit while waiting for a group.
  7. Batbener Augur

    You wont have any problem getting groups. I personally would recommend not going with a healer. A lot of the groups you will be joining will now have out of group heals, thus less needed. A lot of the big shots are leveling their tanks now, but there will be plenty of groups that will still need/take a tank. Ranger would be a great choice, because it will keep you from tanking PUGs, and gives you the versatility of filling 2 rolls in a group.
  8. FL!P Augur

    true true alot of good things being said I didn't think about. I like the monk idea but i can't betray my inner iksar =(. If I go with caster what would you guys suggest. I played a mage/wiz before, never rlly made it far. Never played necro or chanter though they look interesting, especially enchanter. or shaman? Should be home around midnight tonight and looking to roll with something, so looking forward to some more input on the casters from you guys so I have a pretty educated decision between the SK/ranger, and whatever caster u guys suggest.
  9. FL!P Augur

    I know you guys get tired of these kind of post but i rlly appreciate the time you guys took to help me out. I've always wanted to play through EQ, after Luclin hit I was constantly deployed and never got a chance to. Now I'm more or less retired and looking to dive in =)
  10. Ultrazen Augur

    Well...chanter is easily the best class in the game...by a pretty large margin. If you have never played one, it's certainly worth doing. Oddly enough, they are also the best DPS class in the game lol. Charmed, hasted, and buffed pet is fairly ridiculous DPS.

    Necro would allow you to solo pretty easily, you can fear kite or drain tank. Having both kinds of invis, and feign death is also a huge plus. Necros make fantastic first on server characters as well, as they can farm stuff solo if need be. Only problem here of course, is the lizard problem, as lizard necros >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> all.

    I actually think EQ chanters are the best class in any MMO ever made. They certainly require you to be the most agile and on your game. There can be a lot to keep track of when things get hairy. I find that fun lol.

    P.S. You could always level a monk, and race change once Kunark hits.
  11. Iyvy Augur



    Please god no more newbie enchanters. If you are out of practice/newish you should not start out with an enchanter.
  12. xakanrn Augur

    unless you pay his fee ,he is free to play whatever he likes
  13. Rauven Augur

    Here's the path I took. I knew I wanted to play a SK, Ranger, or Rogue. All three are very gear dependant and starting on a server without plat is a daunting task. So my first character was a Druid. Druids are incredibly easy to gear. You pretty much kill wolves (or cats if human/half elf, I recommend wood elf) and decaying skeletons for gear and pelts. Craft your own set of leather by level 4 and go group.

    Group group group till you get enough to buy some banded and a decent weapon for the class you want to play. Use shared bank to transfer funds and play the class you want to play. If the class is a caster, you can level tailoring a bit higher to craft the silk armor.

    Banded Mail is huge to start out with if you're playing anything but a caster, druid, or monk. Also if you're having a hard time getting your hands on a magic weapon to deal with ghouls and other undead there's a bit of a trick you can do.

    Purchase an augmentation from the market that changes the look of the weapon. Make sure you INSPECT the one you want before you buy it to ensure it is a Type 20 aug and NOT a container. Containers are one use and do NOT confer the magic property. By doing this, you can have rusty, tarnished, bronze, or fine steel strike such magical creatures. That's a must for deep Befallen, Unrest, and Lower Guk.

    Melee Augs that proc effects shouldn't be looked over either unless money gets tight. I use damage proc augs on my Rogue and I dish out some respectable damage. The DD ones are a must if you tank. Agro is a bit hard to keep in classic.


    By that logic, the pool of enchanters would dry up as no one 'new' should ever play one. Sorry buddy but the only way to learn an enchanter is to play one. And classic EQ isn't the hardest of MMO content out there. Mechanics you see in the first dungeons of all modern MMORPGs aren't seen in EQ till 85+ content.
  14. Gruffish Elder

    A lot of people are answering questions that you didn't ask or talking to you as though you are a true newb and don't know about tanks needing gear etc.

    I am going to assume you do know something about eq and your question is more about the situation on Phini.

    I am a long-time eq player that has just returned and I am trying phini myself.

    Of the choices you list I would recommend SK. I have played an SK to high levels and I think they are probably the best tank for group content (arguments can be made for paladin but I am giving my opinion).

    As for gear requirements it is worth noting that the server is still fairly new and most people's gear still sucks somewhat. You won't be alone in that regard. Also, since their is instancing it is not that hard to get "reasonable" low to mid level average gear. If you want to be on the fast track to uber-tankness then gear may be an issue. If you want to be a good group-tank, meet some folks, have some fun and play the game then you will have no problems.

    I started a warrior this time and I've had very few problems finding groups and when I leave a group there seems to be no issue with what type of tank fills my spot.

    I will say that the firs t 5 to 7 levels are tedious as h3ll but after that it flies by. I am having a blast.
  15. DuchessElindra Elder

    Oh come on its not that hard...
    Besides, Necros can do pretty sick dps, and are supperior soloers. They do can charm too (only UD but thats quite important already in Guk/OOT/Hole and after in Seb/KC/CoM/HS...), and are seriously underrated atm.
  16. Venthos Augur

    Yeah I'm going to have to jump on the bandwagon and reply to you here; your opinion is pretty ridiculous. I understand that everyone is trying to "get to 50" ASAP and so anyone/anything slowing it down causes frustration. But, elitism for the sake of "This my MY house, don't even try!" is just inane.

    Now if someone starts up an ENC, clearly lacks fundamentals, and berates you for trying to earnestly give them help and advice (without you being sarcastic/patronizing/etc) then, by all means, unleash the insult cannon on them. But unilaterally propping up a class as elite? Come on, man.

    The only people I get mad at are those who know how their class can be played effectively, but actively refuse to do so out of admitted laziness.
  17. Fhiele Augur

    You can easilly farm 2 stacks of bone chips by level 3 and sell em @ 1p each for 200pp, enough for full banded and a twink weapon maybe. That'll get ya going. (maybe get a thick leather apron instead of banded belt). SSB's often go under 100. That's a nice hat.

    Fire beetle eyes also sell for 1pp.(there's a good xp freeport quest for them, people pay for that reason).

    And get plenty of bandaids, bind wound is your friend.
  18. Xars Journeyman

    Since the OP leaned towards a tank and specifically a Knight, the first comments should be about that.

    Both are fine. Both function as group tanks. Both can Raid and are useful in different ways. Long term both are excellent group tanks and can always find a Raid. I've always seen more SKs than Pallys in top raid guilds. For whatever that is worth.

    Rangers can tank in Classic while leveling but they really aren't designed to be tanks. If you plan on playing the next few expansions, you won't be a group tank unless you have great raid gear and are grouping with similarity geared guilidies.

    Enchanter is a fabulous class to play in Classic and up through OOW. After that they have their moments, but it's nothing like early EQ expansions. The flexibility to Slow, Haste, Mana Regen, Mez, and Charm is off the chart. People talk about EQ as a mindless grind when leveling because it's true. But it doesn't have to be as an Enchie. You control the group. A great Enchie that is paying full attention to what is going on can literally make the group. You can park multiple mobs in camp so that your Melee DPS is always killing. Overtime that is a huge exp advantage.

    Monk is great in Classic due to no gear needs while leveling. A great puller is a god send in groups. Knowing how to keep mobs in camp is an art and the best ones become widely known. Long term Monks are awesome group partners and always wanted on Raids. Pulling/Splitting is an art and they can top the DPS charts at times.

    You mentioned playing a Mage and Wiz before and not making it far. To me those classes are boring. I'd push Assist, Nuke all day. Felt like I was going to wear out my 1 and 2 key. Necro is more interesting, particularly if you solo. Necro solo is god mode. You feel like you can do anything.

    If you love Iksar, play a monk or necro now and then Race change later. Or play your tank class now and then add a monk/necro Iksar alt when Kunark opens.
  19. Iyvy Augur


    I do nothing but give advice to anyone who asks. I was simply commenting that there are a lot of terrible enchanters, like most of them now. Bad players are quick to hop on the OP classes (as are hardcores), and enchanters... I mean play what you want, just frustrating playing with em since they can get themselves and everyone else killed.
  20. Rauven Augur


    Those players you are talking about are not terrible at playing enchanters. They are terrible at playing anything. They are going to get you killed either way, whether they are playing chanters or not.

    That is why everyone is jumping on you. The enchanter class isn't hard to play in a group. Tash (if needed), and mez anything not targeted by MA, keep haste/clarity up, and throw a nuke or dot when mana permits. If you want to live dangerously charm something after tashing it, and reapply charm when it breaks.

    If someone can't do that right, the only thing they can play is a DPS warrior and just autoattack and kick on cooldown. And I'm sure they'll screw that up.