So I'm thinking of playing two toons with minimal effort

So I'm for sure gonna make a enchanter, I was thinking of having my 2nd toon be a bard. Problem is I don't wanna really do anything on the Bard. Will groups let me sit a bard down and just melody afk while I focus on my enchanter? Or will I get a ton of pushback and make it not even worth it?

bard will be expected to pull

Groups would let you melody in a corner I’m sure. Chanters are so good they would t probably let you sit a rogue in a corner doing nothing just to get you.

Thanks I appreciate the feedback.

bards are pullers but if you say your will main your chanter and charm pets while part afk sings mana song most groups will be ok with that. Just be upfront and clear bard is buff bot box and is required for your chanter in their group.

So here's the thing: Will people let your bard /melody in a corner? Of course. Bards are awesome, and even a bard who falls asleep is still worth the slot if he's standing in the middle of camp.

But they'll also remember that. Your reputation will be as a chanter who just happens to have a bard box--not as a bard. If you're fine with that, no big deal. The bard is just an accessory. But it's worth thinking about, because for better or worse there's a lot of baked-in resentment in this community against boxes that are perceived, rightly or not, to be idle. That's not a value judgment, but it's a real thing. You'll need to be Johnny-on-the-spot with the chanter, and chanters demand a lot of attention, so it might completely defeat the purpose (i.e., you're not going to be able to relax playing a good chanter, box or no box). You also need to accept the fact that that reputation may mean that groups that want a real bard will pass you over if what they're expecting is someone to pull.

Wow that's a good point. Thanks for bringing that up, now I'm thinking I might just one box and play how I've always played in P99

Last question.

I'm thinking enchanter cause I love enchanter and I know they are sought after for groups, but do clerics have an easier time finding groups? Might make a cleric, or even a bard..... Unless people don't want them till mana song

Cleric and bard are both sought after.

The least wanted classes are probably wizard. Druid. Warrior. Rogue and ranger. Of those I think ranger and Druid are unjustly disliked and the other 3 are legit bad in classic.

If there's a scale of 1-10 where 10 is the "most sought after" groupmate, enchanters are 11 because you can stack 3-4 in a group and get almost no diminishing returns. ENC(x3) / DRU / MNK / CLR at Chardok Kennels was probably the best group I've ever been a part of.

Clerics are maybe a 9...on one hand, there are very few clerics, great heals, and rezzes...but on the other hand, almost no group benefits from more than 1 cleric, unless your walloping some undeads.

(Main) Bards would probably be an 8, box bard would be like a 5.

2 bards in 2 different groups.

So, why do you want to box? Your mindset sounds more like someone begrudgingly doing it, rather than someone who wants to do it.

I see you've added a reply that you're thinking about just playing one. Which sounds more your play style, unless you decide you want to git gud at boxing and get more out of your 2nd toon. Also, I'd consider another class. Bards are nice, but you'll never need one in the group if you're maining an enchanter. I'd consider boxing a DPS caster if you're looking for something easy to box, since you don't have to constantly reposition them to melee. Wizard would probably the easiest, plus ports are great. Mage could be a fun combo with pet toys. Necro might be the most work with the dot stacking.

That being said, to answer your original question:

In my experiences, nobody will really care if you box a minimal effort bard, as long as you're bringing the charm deeps. Just be up front about not pulling and nobody will expect, nor should they want you, to pull. I wouldn't want to CC/charm + pull. I'd suck at it, and a slow/inefficient puller might be the #1 funkiller in EQ (def. way worse than a lazy box bard ). If you want to get the most out of an AFK box, bard is probably the best choice.

Bards don't have to pull. It's pretty easy, just tell the group your feelings on it and sit them in the corner for the songs. Most groups will be fine with that. If they aren't, find the next one that will.

Roll a bard for the tunes, and a mage for the pet attack and occasional nuke. Easy peezy.

2 bards (different groups) & /melody then /follow the priest & afk

So two reasons why I wanted to box.

1. I've never tried it and just thought it would be a fun new experience to try especially with a new type of fun server like mischief.

2. I love mana song and even as an enchanter with clarity, love having mana song in the background. ((Call me crazy)).

If I was able to actully box 2 chars on the same pc and have keys macros/ Keys that do things for both chars, maybe I'd be up for more than minimal effort, but I Def don't wanna be pulling / putting my bard in the right position constantly, then turning back to my main pc to rebuff/mez/recharm on constant charm breaks than turn back to my laptop to reposition/pull again or have my charm break mid pull and have to deal with that situation. ((Maybe I'm a bad gamer ))

So I thought I'd ask if I would get people mad at me for trying that with a bard, or hell even a druid just to offheal and sow the puller. That way I can port my enchanter around and power level alts easier.

*Shrug*

Appreciate all the advice

Hey bard pull...

enchanter and mage for malo or enchanter and cleric.

I never understood why the bard was a "puller". Literally any class can pull. Run out, aggro mobs, run back. It's not rocket science, especially in this day and age when it's pretty darn hard to overwhelm a group with even a half decent chanter in it. I would always rather had the bard in camp buffing than out of camp pulling. Bard might as well just be a bad rogue at that point. You've got 6 people in a group, one them is going to be a better option for a puller than the bard.

Very true - in my mind "bard pulling" became a thing in Lguk back in the day because they have (had) THREE really nice things going for them in terms of pulling:

1. CC tools - Calm / Mez / Charm - all really nice pulling tools to avoid trains
2. Bard speed - Remember, SoW didn't work in indoor zones back in the day
3. Resists - Ghoul root is a major beeotch.

Obviously, numbers 1 and 3 still hold true today to some degree...however, resists aren't overly important outside of LGuk and player power is super high so breaking camps isn't as much a thing anymore.

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