Mage or Necro?

Discussion in 'Casters' started by ceto, Nov 23, 2020.

  1. ceto Elder

    Hi folks,

    Just came back to the game. Looking for a class to molo my way up to higher levels then do groups/raids? Which is more desired by groups and raids and will give me an easier to molo to the higher levels, Mage or Necro?

    Thanks!
  2. Took2summmit Elder

    To be honest both are probably about the same. Mage probably have higher consistent dps for xp grind groups while necro will leave mage in the dust for named/missions burns. I dont have enough experience in raids to say either way, but can say our necro is consistently the #1 dps in the guild by a fairly wide margin.

    Both will be able to Molo just fine. Necro may have the slight edge with being able to split harder camps.
  3. Filter Augur

    Welcome back ceto! With the new nerf to necro's, removing their epics ability to boost dot dps post lvl 100, I might go mage. Both of the classes have their benefits but it boils down to your game play best fits each class. Personally I like to go places where most can't and nec is far better there.
    I have played both and my preference is necro but could see how many enjoy mages. Their burst dps is good, pets are great, CoH is sooooo nice and decent sustained dps.

    Doesn't matter what we say really, you should play what you enjoy but I'm sure you're asking "is there anything glaringly wrong with either currently". Nec nerf is new so hard to say for sure. They tried a month or two ago but screwed it up so supposedly they officially sunset the nec epic. Time will tell...
  4. OldCa61 Augur

    Soloed to 115 with my Mage, no problem. With my weird work schedule a Mage is pretty self contained so I can go kill just about anywhere at anytime without waiting for guild or groupage.
    Get the Best EM earring you can afford/loot.
    Enjoy... Welcome
  5. Zalamyr Augur

    Necro is probably the easier of the two to level solo/molo, given kiting/root rotting is generally much faster xp than tank and spank with a pet. Feign death also just makes for less downtime when you can avoid deaths.

    As far as desirability, that's a pretty big "it depends" and is probably pretty even. Group desirability is a pretty moot point imo...at this point in the game your group desirability is mostly determined by your social skills, lol. If people like you, they group with you. If they don't, they won't. Necro raid performance is tremendous, but they have stackability issues.
  6. Kaeladar Journeyman

    In theory both can be good in groups and raids, and the more important thing is that the player knows what he is doing and also enjoys the style of gameplay.

    In practice however, with the current content, i've seen necros struggle a lot more both in solo and group situations. Necros are useless in strong DPS grind groups, you could say its not a big deal because it means the group is doing good anyway, but it's never fun to feel you're not contributing. And their soloing is somewhat limited to kitable mobs or easy stuff and requires more skill.

    Mage burn on mission/named is not as good but it can be decent, and again it really depends on player skills, in my experience (people i've grouped with and my own boxed mage), the average necro doesn't do more burn damage than the average magician.
  7. kookoo Augur

    we got a good necro , and in raid if the fight last more than a few minutes he is usually the #1 on parse.

    i am a shaman and when we have 3 necromancers in raid , i usually don't dps much because i got some dots to not land , due to the limited number of debuff / dot a boss can have. so i let them do their # 1 job ---->> dps .

    here and there we have 4 or 5 necros , then i guess their dps drop because of the dumb limited debuff / dots a mob ( boss ) can have
  8. kizant Augur

    You can't go wrong with either one. Necros are also great in strong DPS grind groups so not sure what Kaeladar is thinking about.
    Ironkeg likes this.
  9. Beergoggles Elder

    You can pretty much ignore the entirety of Kaeledar's post once past the first sentence. If you are interested in raiding the biggest issue will be limited slots for necros due to debuff cap limits. Kizant already addressed the group portion of his post but the limited soloing of necro is completely wrong as well. I've molo'd all t1 names in tov as well as some t2 named. Necro pet isn't as strong as mage but you can slow mobs and use your various aas and spells to assist merc in keeping pet alive if you must, but even moloing t2 trash I never have to help heal pet unless it's a named mob. You may want to check the availability of raid spots in the raid guilds on your server if that will be a determining factor for you.
    kizant likes this.
  10. Took2summmit Elder

    Its possible I haven't grouped with a great mage yet. I box pal nec and I focus 90% on pal screen. For named I hit spire, hand, twincast, and 2 macros that cycle my 10 strongest dots. That alone gets my necro to 1.2m dps. Ive never seen a mage burn higher than 800k on named burns.if theres necros out there that can't hit 5 buttons like I just prescribed..that worries me.

    Some people are saying necro is good also in high dps grind groups. I guess if the group is able to pull 3 or 4 at a time and you're able to drop sphere and throw a couple big dots on all 4 mobs. The worst nightmare is a high dps group that has a puller that think they're cute and single pulls every pull. Thats an absolute nightmare scenario for nec.
  11. Ibadan Kun'Tirel Augur

    As much as I love my mage, I'm in team necro for this one. Mages are super fun, necros are just better right now. Had I more time I'd consider a class shift. Too much time investment to start a new one for me, though.
    Elyssanda likes this.
  12. Elyssanda Bardbrain

    Ignore Ibadan.. he thinks bards are food. Play what YOU have fun playing.. I play a bard and have a blast with it. others HATE playing bards.. YOU do YOU.
  13. Panikker Elder

    I been playing both and both have strengths and disadvantages. Necros can do stuff mage cant. But based on that alone I can say Enchanters can do stuff both mages and Necros cant ! LOL:p As for pure fun Mages are fun (for me ), but also they are a dime a dozen.
    Here is the hard truth, there is no really great super pet class on EQ (or not in terms people like it to be). I been doing this pet class dance since Fall 1999, and in the end I can tell you "play what feels right for YOU and ignore the rest" . That is the best advice I have received countless times, but ignored for to long :rolleyes: . Please do not fall into the trap of FOTM classes. In the end the game is designed to be fun. And sometimes playing a really great class does not mean FUN. Play for fun.
    Just sit down and think, "what do I like to do in the game? what style of play can I do for hours and hours" .The answer will surprise you if you are truly honest. I can tell you warriors, SK's, bards, Zerkers and enchanters are no fun for me and probably hate it every minute if I had to play one. EQ is a huge time sink , play what makes YOU happy. ;)
    Dven and OldCa61 like this.
  14. Kaeladar Journeyman

    i'd be curious how you DPS as a necro on a mob that lasts 15-20 sec. i have never seen a necro pull a significant amount of DPS in this situation ever.
  15. Kaeladar Journeyman

    the max i have seen a necro do on burn is about 400K or 450K and that was with an enchanter in the group using all their ADPS, he got outdpsed by a boxed druid by quite a bit on that fight too.
    The others I played with were usually 200 to 300K on burn. so it's possible that i have played only with bad necros. but thats what i was saying, necros have potential but i never seem to find any that do well while mages tend to do at least okay generally.
  16. Took2summmit Elder

    Thats really sad. Necro has one of the easier burns in my opinion. I literally just hit those 3 AA and then 2 macros that cycle my 10 strongest dots. If i have some spare time ill throw in an assert or swarm pet but that's rare. I am group geared and thats good for about 1-1.2m dps.
  17. Szilent Augur

    add Gathering Dusk when you hit the second dots macro :)
  18. Ibudin Augur


    This isnt Kael from Xeg is it? I can duo the Griklor with another necro, zero adps push 1.8-2M dps. Not sure what your doing bud. Run over and hit Velks, same duo - and push over 1M dps for that event.
  19. kizant Augur

    It's a nightmare for everyone.
  20. Conq Augur

    The necros you have parsed must have been mostly afk...
    Conq