I used to play from launch to roughly when mercs were introduced(although after the monk AC nerf it was very sporadic, mostly playing with other classes or working on factions for my iksar monk) I was NEVER hardcore, preferred melee and due to my ex wife living on the game and us having 3 small children I tended to play what solo/casual I could(hence the monk) Still, nothing has ever compared to walking into a K.O.S city with my iksar, the horrible trains with my barbarian, kiting hill giants with my druid, or even the nerve racking lvl 1 run from kelethin to Halas. So I'm back. I've recovered my account with a 64 monk and some others in the 40's and did activate a 6 month all access. I have to get used the the u.i. , maps, etc. so i will be starting a new character. I will be playing solo/molo(i might can see boxing but doubt it will be often) What class can start from lvl 1 to the cap and see much of the world(esp the old world) while molo/solo now? I prefer melee, although I like Shaman as well. I dont mind taking awhile(I did solo an iksar monk when we had Hell levels and spent countless hours just to raise faction.)I just want to be able to see the world, solo and accomplish something without waiting 40 minutes for a group(or on live servers, forever?) . I've even considered moloing a cleric as I've never played it. I WILL do an enchanter at some point but thats because I love tradeskills. I keep reading necro necro necro and the other classes might be dated. Can a shaman molo 1-top? Cleric? How good is the beastlord? can they do alchemy? Do you have to be evil molo (necro/SK). I see a progressive server started, and its tempting, but that would be with no advantages from the years correct? on live I can auto AA. Do different servers have advantages besides FV exp bonuse? Thanks for any up to date tips and advice in advance.
Go with Half elf Ranger, overlooked and under valuated. They can melee and cast stuff also. Or have you checked out Bezerkers? Pretty sure those are new since you left.
Things have changed if ranger gate isn't a thing anymore. I've read about the berserkers but everything I've read have them solo/molo as bad as rogue. Has this changed?
Every class can molo, but some do it very well (SK, BST, MAG, NEC) and some do it very poorly (WIZ). The best merc is the cleric so being able to take a hit means you can use the cleric merc. The worst merc is the wizard but it is not very useful for molo anyway, unless kiting, in which case it is better than no merc. The Tank merc is about 40% the DPS of the rogue merc, which can take a hit okay, so CLR and DRU often use the rogue merc instead of the tank merc when moloing, unless they need a spongue. As said, the best molo experience will come from classes that can tank, DPS and utility with a CLR merc. The 3 pet classes and the 3 tank classes do the best, and their performance is based on their utility (BST has tools to split, slow and self heal, MAG doesn't). Melee classes are close behind. ENC can molo well but is charm dependent so we do have some limitations other classes don't have. Priests come in 3rd because they are a bit light on the DPS, but the rogue can do some solid work. WIZ can't tank or heal so they are at a huge disadvantage as compared to say a ZER or ROG. Which classes you choose is up to you... 1) Pet classes (BST, MAG, NEC) and Tanks (SK, PAL, WAR) 2) Melee (BRD, MNK, BRD, ZER, RNG, ROG) 3) Priests (CLR, DRU, SHM) ENC is situational. Wizard is a bad choice. If trade skills are important to you, Gnome ENC is a good choice.
Thank you. So basically they can all do it to some extent, just some more painfully than others. Ironically I had created a gnome enchanter last night as I'll need one anyway. Then when I'm caught up a bit try my luck on a shaman. Thanks again
Enchanters can solo without charm but their pet and DPS is not very powerful so it is very painful to do so without charm. The best way to XP or complete objectives is with charming. Familiarize yourself with charming, reverse charming and swarm charming. Familiarize yourself with how mem blur affects HP regen. Other things to consider is how nuking affects rooting, which is the same as with the SHM. For SHM, use rogue merc unless you need the tank merc to take a hit the rogue cant. The rogue tanks pretty well on trash mobs and does a lot more DPS than the tank. It's worth getting the extra merc slot on the SHM so you can have both a tank merc and a rogue merc in the pocket, but start with the rogue. Focus primarily on AC/HP merc AA because they affect both the tank and the rogue, working on the tank/rog specific AA when the AC/HP AA get expensive. Also, on armor, use tank armor on all of your mercs, no reason to switch to other armor sets, unless a specific situation demands it.
Gnome enchanters get you all TS, but poison making (ROG) and alchemy (SHM). Good choice. Based on my experience (PAL, SK, DRU, CLR, MAG, NEC, WIZ), molo may be a little slow. Pick your camps well. Mercs are a tactical choice, so it can be of use to have different types available. Generally, the cleric merc is your friend. Like, what could go wrong maxing H2H skills. (PAL, cleric merc) vs. Dain = death (at whatever level it was). (PAL, damage caster merc) for the win. Need the Dain to keep summoning me from the pit, so I could hit him. Probably could have done it with the cleric provided I had a little more DPS at the time. Not raiding means I miss out on all the cool raid gear.
