So, I'm a first time player and I've been reading up on races, classes, deities, etc. and was just kind of curious about what effects each of these have on my game play. I've played other MMO's in the past as well as a variety of table top and console RPG's, I'm just not really aware of what each does here. For instance, does each race have a specific set of classes it can be? Do deities do anything for the character or is it just a role playing aspect? Anyway, my other question was, is there any specific classes I should shy away from as a first time player? The couple I'm looking at are the Bard, Enchanter, and Rogue as those are all classes I enjoy playing in other games. However, I'm not sure how exactly they work here. Thanks for the info.
Back in the olden days of EQ, race and deity made a big difference due to faction issues. These days, not so much. Yes, each race has a specific set of classes it can be. Deities make very little difference in today's game. As far as what class to play.....read about them and just pick the one that sounds the most interesting to you. Or, try out several and see which you like the most. Play through the tutorial. It will teach you a lot. Remember, EQ is an old MMO, and most of the long time players are concentrated at the high end now, so you're probably going to see a lot of empty zones as you level up.
Let's see if I remember correctly: Dark Elf Clerics and Troll Shamen who worship Innoruk can get a snare clicky item that's very useful when not grouped with someone who can snare. Most everyone else should not select a religion, especially Enchanters. It's not a big deal, as it mostly effects the original game content which is most often skipped these days. Yes, each race can only be certain classes, but race matters little. Bard and Enchanter are both classes that take more skill to get the most out of. Rogue is one of the easier classes to play. What other game has Enhanters?????
Ya, I knew EQ was an old game. I just wasn't ever able to try it before. Will the game ask which class I want to be before the race or is it vice versa? I only ask because I've still got about half an hour before the download is completed.
You get a character creation screen that has race on the left and class on the right, so you can see what combinations there are; it is set up to want you to browse through by race, but it's simple enough to follow. Adding to what Qest has said, rogue is very easy while you can make effective use of a tank merc (which is up to somewhere between 50 and 70), they can be slow to level after that due to the lack of available healing. Both bard and enchanter are different from other classes to play, and could be said to be a little more complex. I wouldn't say to avoid them, but be aware. Easiest to play would probably be magician or necromancer. Tanks require more effort to gear up than other classes - warrior, paladin and shadowknight. And cleric can be a little frustrating to level.
To add a bit more to what the others covered, if you are not Gold (paid subscriber) then all of the races have the same starting zone (Crescent Reach). If you are Gold, then you can pick an alternative home city based on race. By default, you start in the Tutorial and that is a fine thing to do to help you get used to the EQ system, get some gear and some money. There are barrels sitting around. You can right-mouse-click on them and open them (or type /open), then right-mouse-click on them again to loot the contents. Sell everything you find and loot from corpses, do all of the quests, and have fun
To the OP - can you say what game you're most familiar with? That may be the easiest for someone to explain where differences will lie.
I always recommend just picking the race that you think looks the coolest. Everything else is entirely trivial.
