Greetings everyone, I'm pretty much a noob when it comes to EQ. I played on Mangler a couple of years ago and got to about 20 on a druid. I wanted to start playing on Mischief but I'm not sure what to start with. I usually play around 11pm-3/4am EST, so I'm not primetime. Grouping may be harder for me, and eventually raiding (I may not be able to raid at all because of my work times and most guilds finish by the time I get home) I've been flirting with playing a Enchanter, Necromancer, Cleric, Shadowknight, or Paladin Enchanter/Necro I hear that they are good if you want to solo. I'd like the option to solo since I play later at night and I figure getting a group would be a little harder. Enchanter is a difficult first class to play from what I've been reading. Don't really want to waste anyone's time trying to learn while in groups. Necro I've read it may be harder to get groups but can solo fairly well. Shadowknight is what I'm leaning towards. The unholy/holy knight aesthetics have always attracted me. An awesome sword/shield combo or 2hander with awesome plate armor is what I love. I know the roles for those are tanks. Usually tanks are the leaders (idk if that is with this game) and I'm not much of a leader type. I know responsibilities for tanks are usually more than other classes. Also, it seems like SK is a very popular class and that kinda turns me away. Paladin is probably my last choice simply because I can't be a Dark Elf Paladin. DE has always been my favorite (one of the reasons I wanted to play EQ) Cleric is something that would be stepping out if my comfort zone. Well, any caster tbh. Healing is something that I find stressful. I don't want to be the reason a group, or a raid(if I get to that point) wipes. My goals are to experience the game, learn the game, and eventually raid if i can find a guild that raids a little later or times when i can make it. Oh, and look awesome lol. I know I should play what I want, it'll keep me playing the longest. However, I don't want to solo the whole game. That will get me to stop playing. The one thing I will say is the Everquest community seems to be very friendly and helpful which is a breath of fresh air. I'd love to make some friends that actually play this game, as none of my friends have any interest. Any advice for a guy like me that has trouble making a decision on what to play? Lol. Thanks for your time!
If it were me, I'd go necro - you never need a group, you are your group, with clr merc when needed. However, groups are always welcomed. There are plenty of necro guides out there, just search the forums, google, or learn to play the class and ask people. A highly skilled nec destroys the group game, but that will take some time to learn.
Tanks require far better gear to function when they reach high level, you won’t really be able to make due with what you can farm. Necro/chanter/cleric will be able to get by with lower quality gear and cheaper bazaar options until can farm better. Cleric is very powerful at healing but little else, very extreme group dependency. If I were you I’d go dark elf necro.
You have to decide which role you want to play in a group or if you just want to solo/molo with the possibilty of boxing later. DPS, support, puller, tank ? Based on that pick the class. Do not build a PC based on its look. With the Hero Forge feature you can get a plate look with a chain class too. Even a 2H illusion is possible for 1H weps with some ornaments. The tank does not have to be the group leader his job is just to keep aggro. So if it has to be a Dark Elf with plate amor look only three classes remain: Rogue, Shadow Knight, Warrior. Rogue will be the easiest class (in a group only) and its role is DPS (doing alot damage). The other two are tanks while only the Shadow Knight is a good solo/molo class out of all three.
There are two basic ways to fight mobs in EQ: direct combat (when monster hits players and players hit the monster) and a range fight with no direct contact. In direct combat your team (or just yourself) needs to be able to take the beating the monster delivers, i.e. tank it. And while the tank takes the damage you need a healer to replenish the lost health. And you need to actually kill the monster, so you need dps, three basic components of the cobat. Any class can hire a tank mercenary, but those are good only so far, and at higher levels those are barely adequate. Some classes have pets, which can tank the monsters, Necromancer, Mage and Beastlord are pet classes. Enchanter's pet can tank equal-level monsters too, but has hard time tanking above-level mobs or names. Although, Enchanter can charm a monster to serve as a pet, which is quite enough to tank. True pet classes can heal their pets reasonably well, while Enchanter can not. So, with a pet class you get a pet tank, a healer and the dps 3-in-one. And depending on your playstyle you can pick a mercenary, which will serve you the best: a wizard, a rogue or a healer. All pet classes can molo into the top level without a ptsd, albeit relatively slow. With a plated tank class (SK or Pally you've listed) you get a very good group tank and a reasonable dps, just add a healer mercenary and you are a functional group by yourself. Although, as you mentioned, SK's are dime a dozen, and Paladins are situational dps (awesome against undead). And both depend heavily on armor and various character boosts (achievements etc). Poorly equipped tank is actually a detriment to a group, or they have to become secondary tank and just play a dps role. Cleric is a special gamestyle. Not a tank, not a dps, the awesomest of healers. You have to use tank or rogue mercenary to fight, which becomes a hard life at higher levels - mercs are not that good of a tank in current expansions. However a cleric is much welcomed class in basically any group and very desired by raiders - there is always somebody who needs healing. If you have friends, join a large guild or on very populated server - clerics can play all the time. If you are at a "down time" of a server (as you mentioned) it may become a problem to find a group. Range fight (without a direct melee contact with a monster) is based on a monster being rooted in place or movement slowed, so a character can "kite" it. You've played Druid and a few other classes can play like that: Wizards, Shamans, Rangers. All can solo/molo into the top level but it will be a long and depressing road. And all will need decent gear, which will improve their remote damage (based on Focus effects on the gear, not AC or HP stat). You either have to buy somewhat inferior gear at bazaar (or top gear on FV server) or you do need to group/raid to farm the uber gear. Enchanters and Clerics (from your list) are highly desirable on raids, Necros are dps-masters and are wanted on raids (though they got competition in zerkers, monks and rogues, and wizards novadays) Shadowknight and Paladins are needed situationally on raids but are in top-demand in groups. If you insist on DE race, then go with Cleric (harder to level up but are in high demand on top), Enchanter, Necromancer and perhaps Mage or Wizard. SK, Rogue and Warrior are possible, but will be harder to level up solo. And a general note - to about lvl 70-75 tank mercenaries are beasts and you can solo with any class by just letting it engage and kill monsters all by itself, even without heals. The hard time starts at about 75.
Everyone plays the game differently. And there is nothing holding you to one character. Ranger was my first choice only because in high school our team was called the Rangers. Plus I like how they cover almost all the other class skills like casting, tracking, healing, tanking, range fighting, etc. 20 years later he is still my main. And if you want to be a Dark Elf then there are potions and spells that you can use to be a Dark elf. This is a nice link to show the different illusions and how to get them http://www.bonzz.com/illusions.htm and this 10 Dose Essence of Dark Elf 5 Dose Essence of Dark Elf 5 Dose Essence of Dark Elf Ancient Mask of Deception Darkened Mask of Deception Essence of Dark Elf Essence of Dark Elf Guise of the Deceiver Mask of Deception Mask of Deception Midnight Veil Potion of Transformation [Dark Elf] Spell: Illusion: Dark Elf Vial of Inky Ink
