After a 2 1/2 year absence from the game, well really a 6-7 year since I only played 3 months last time, I decided to give EQ a try again and roll up a toon on the FV server (Still RP, right?). Joining me will be a friend from WoW who never played EQ in the day and wanted to give it a try. We are going to grab subscriptions but even if it's an option on FV we won't be buying any level ups, we'll need to learn the game so will quest/grind the whole 1-90 range. My friend is going to be playing a Barbarian Beastlord and I was debating which class I once played* to relearn and play alongside. *(Those are Magician, Druid, or Enchanter). I guess my question has 3 parts, in order of importance... 1) In terms of duoing, which of those 3 synergizes best with a Beastlord (especially in any level ranges that are hard to level/farm for)? Which synergizes worst? 2) In terms of joining groups leveling, which of those 3 in combination with a Beastlord would have the easiest time helping us get into groups? 3) In the off chance I stick with EQ and my friend doesn't, on the high end which of those 3 will find me the easiest spot in group and raids?
1) i'd say Ench is probably worst for BST, since slows and haste overlap MAG or DRU would have good synergy with BST. I would lean toward MAG (can give toys to BST pet is a nice bonus) faster killing that with DRU. 2) before the upcoming pet nerfs, MAG could be a cornerstone of xp group, looks like they will not be anymore so pretty much either of 3 classes will be equally desirable 3)current content raiders will need to chime in, but I understand that either DRU or ENC would be more desirable than a MAG (again looks like MAG raiding DPS will take a hit due to pet nerfs) in my older days MAGs were not desired for raiding
Raid wise a lot of guilds will look at the player over the class, however healers and enchanters can be hard to come by. To maximise the beast you want them within melee range, so a Druid would have the advantage of keeping a tank merc or the beast lord tanking alive, plus ports, track, snare etc. Enchanters would work well too if the mobs are stunnable/charmable,, although with the Enc or mag you would likely be relying on a tank merc and healer, which isn't ideal or as efficient at higher levels,
Traditionally (i.e. pre-merc) the preferred pairing with a beastlord was a druid. Tanking, pet dps, snare, ports, heals, and charm: an excellent package. Add mercs into the mix, and everything can work with everything else, and hobble reduces the value of snares to the duo. BUT: with the mage, the beastlord will always be tanking unless you have merc tank and healer out. Enchanter tends to be a better pairing with casters than with melees, not to mention the overlap with slow/haste. If you want to be able to handle old raid zones (so no mercs), you really want to pair with a healer; there's nothing wrong with a shaman, despite the overlaps, as their other buffs are so important, and druid is still the best pick.
With actually players behind both toons, an Enchanter and Mage can take about any content in the game. Just be aware, both of those toons have been receiving pretty heavy nerfs lately. They seem to be in good shape still but fair warning. With a charm pet, mage pet, and the boosted dps of the two, a wiz merc and a cleric merc (or another wiz merc if you can keep up heals) you can burn down most anything in a few moments.
In terms of raids, it's really going to be dependent on how many of the class guilds already have. Healers are often in demand (and druids can go in tank groups or caster groups). Not that many events need a lot of enchanters, and no one's sure yet what the most recent mage changes will do to mage desirability so hard to place that one in order. Don't forget on the druid Pro's list - tracking. Only 3 classes in game have it and if it's you two playing, knowing which named are up or where NPC's are for quests can save you a lot of time depending on your game goals.
I play a druid and Bst combo and I manage to do very well just boxing. Add a tank and a DPS merc in to the list and you are laughing bst will pump out a nice bit of DPS for the mix. I also am on FV If you would like feel free to send me a tell, character names are Gaie, Soirt, Kaition, and Launitia
Will reply more later when I have more time, just wanted to pop in and say thank you everyone for the help so far. I'd been very slightly leaning Magician but I'm not sure I want to be (re)learning a class that is itself in some kind of transition. I'd thought about Enchanter because I liked dabbling in it on EQ and in my DAoC days the Sorcerer class was my main (I love being on crowd control and getting to pick my pet via charms), however I'm getting a vibe that Druid would be the solid class to pair. I don't want to [character in the basement in "Pulp Fiction" who's name I didn't know until just now is a censored word] us by picking Enchanter. I've never used Mercs. How much xp do they steal? What level can you start using/affording them?
South01 - one thing to know. Every year some class will be in transition. The last 6 months or so, developers have been re-adjusting many classes' abilities because of the length of time in the game, they've become so powerful that it stagnates the type of content that the developers can produce in game. Therefore, you'll see a lot of folks say play what looks good to you rather than the best 'flavor' of the month, because next month it will be someone else's turn to get their abilities adjusted.
Mercs take exp as if they were a player character. Because of bonuses, that means that your character with a merc will lose approx 40% of each kill! although obviously you will gain by being able to kill faster! or tougher mobs that may give more exp. Also, one thing about class nerfs that may not be obvious: most of them only really affect the clas in the expansion for which they were implemented. They mostly don't affect earlier expansions, and are likely to be counteracted in later expansions. Broadly speaking.
Thank you again everyone for all the help. I'm starting to see how much of the game I really don't know anymore, the sheer volume of change in a few years. Housesilverflame once I get settled onto the server I'll send a message. Borek thanks for the newbie links in your sig. Everyone else, thank you for the help. I haven't decided for sure but I'm leaning towards making a Druid to play with my friend then creating the Enchanter or Magician to play on my own, since I decided to go ahead and purchase a membership I've got the character spots for it.
I am always happy to help. I also will be able to speed you on the gear way, Much left over form my not grown up bst, And such
I would suggest druid. Too much utility to pass up. Ports and when you get port to your bind it makes traveling so much nicer. They can main heal, dps, cc with roots, kite, agro kite, more. I cannot understate how nice moving around with one is. Being able to bring others to where you are bound makes doing dailies real fast.
