Hey guys, I'm considering playing on a live server after many, many years away from EQ. What are the best class options (prefer straight DPS) if I plan to do mostly soloing, some grouping, and possibly some pickup raiding in the long run? Is bow ranger even viable when solo? I would do the Heroic boost to 85. I'm looking, also, for a class that is relatively simple to play, without a huge amount of ability bloat. Thanks!
Mage, beast, or SK is probably what you want. They do good dps and solo very well because they can tank or pet tank at the same time.
You forgot necro, druid(reverse kiting) Druid is not for the faint of heart, I seen them having 15+ mobs after them and few min later the druid were standing tall and the mob corpses stretched out in a line behind.
A pet class is likely the most powerful solo. But really, it's not a solo game. Find a few friends. You will have way more fun.
DPS classes I recommend: Mage, Monk, Berserker SKs are decent once they're geared and epic 2.0 completed. Calling them a DPS class is a stretch..
you want to solo and be straight dps,, then mage or beast. you want to be straight dps with some sololing with a merc potential then monk. Zerker is for a tanking/moloing (duo with merc) , not sure about rogue. Depends on play style tbh.. are you a blue collar in the trenches kinda guy or like to stand back and throw spells?
TBL and ToV are designed for groups. It's going to be difficult to molo the content efficiently. I would suggest boxing with a mage/bst and choose whatever else you want.
Mage or bst. While it's possible to solo/molo, you will be wanting to get some friends for TBL and ToV. Ring of Valor runs casual raids on Bristle. Cazic has Freelance raids.