I have been thinking things through for the new TLP and trying to come up with a game plan. When Mischief launched I played Enchanter and for the first time was able to stay on pace and race to max in the first week and did some raids. I have had a lot of fun on each TLP that comes out and am trying to weigh the various options. I have played since 99 off and on with a serious problem of creating endless alts lol, this time I am trying to be honest with myself about how much I will really play in the first few expansions before I get bored. I never really cared for raiding, theres so much coordination that it kind of ruins the spontaneous fun for me. That being said; I am looking to try to get opinions for what would be best for next time around. I really love the group game in EQ, solo is boring to me and raiding is overly complex, so given EQ grouping, what do you think of the following options is a good idea for next TLP? Enchanter-I know this class backwards and forwards, I can own a camp in two seconds flat, I've also played it to death and am looking for something a little more growth oriented, Enchanters are super OP but gear and quests don't seem to matter much, nothing matters, just charm and mez lol. Paladin-I have played SK multiple times on TLP and am just considering it for the variety factor, I really love that they can rez, the low dps kinda bugs me but who cares about dps if your job is to tank? Lots of opportunities to grow over time, plus low competition for gear. Shaman-The middle ground of all classes, healing, dot dps, buffing and endless opportunities to do almost anything. They are always in demand and always have something to do, that being said buffing takes up all the mana; also can't decide between snare Troll and Ogre stun immunity lol. Monk- The melee dps with the ability to just "nope" out of anything, Their dps is fantastic and having the role of puller keeps me busy, which I enjoy. I like their self sufficiency while being able to just add a bunch of extra damage, I dislike not being able to directly intervene more when things are going poorly for my group.
Your comment about wanting to intervene when things go bad makes me think Bard. You'll be able to pull as well or better than the Monk after a few expansions, you'll get a variety of things to do to keep you interested, you can mez or kite or charm to help a group in those chaotic moments, and they're a class that grows exponentially through the first six expansions or so. For Shaman - buffing only takes a lot of the mana in classic from my experience. Once you get group buffs and decent gear, its a side note. Shamans that can throw a dot or two, provide buffs, slows, root parking for crowd control can make a really significant impact on a group. Its an extremely active class, but generally not a puller. I really enjoyed Ranger back in the Luclin/POP era for many of the reasons you seem to be seeking. I was great a pulling outdoors, I could help crowd control and cause traffic with incoming pulls when needed, and when things got a bit stale in Luclin, I was suddenly an archer with a whole other game mechanic at my hands. It was good fun through Omens and with the power creep these days, probably feels a lot sturdier as a class than it did back when I played it.
Play what you enjoy period. If you enjoy the group scene almost any class works at the start. Best enjoyment I ever had was on Phinny, main group with 5 enchanters + pets + cleric when I wasn't boxing.
Second bard given your description. They are a busy and fun class in groups. They are often boring in raids (which you aren't doing). Great pullers, CC when needed, etc.
Intervening when everything hits the fan is something I consider very important too. I'd say pally is the king of it. It is not uncommon for them to save entire raids. But I could never get very far with one in EQ. I just found them too boring. Even with all the free easy access to crazy endgame pally-only items that usually rots. It takes a lot of AA to get to the fun stuff for me. Maybe if you really like tanking though. They can pull pretty well too. The correct answer is ogre. By the way shamans start to have stupid-high mana regen after a few expansion so they're the last class I would worry about mana usage.
I'm with Skuz, try rogue or wizard. I main a wizard on Mischief. If you don't make connections early, specifically find a guild and form up a static group, then it will probably be a challenge. I did those things, and by the time we logged off early the Monday morning after the server launched, we were all at level 50. And the crazy thing is, we didn't do marathons. We did have longer play sessions than any of us would have normally put in, but we did log off for about the same length of time. If and only if the next TLP is perfect by my definition, then I will move, and I have decided I will main a rogue or paladin. But my intent is to stay on Mischief til it catches up to Live.
It would be fun to troll giant farmers with pickpocket, but I think autoattacking and occasionally pressing backstab would get boring very quickly. I wish they would revise rogue poisons and add more locked doors/dangerous traps to dungeons in classic and beyond to give rogues more of an RPG presence in groups.
I have to urge caution when making a rogue or wizard in classic. The wizard is a little bit better of an option due to your being able to port just, which is very important end game when only wizards can take you to Sky. It is also easier to get to Hate as well without burning a dz. If your trying to punish yourself with the most difficult starting class in EQ, play a rogue. Just remember that your almost 100% a melee dps class that gets outdone by classes that aren't even considered dps. Once Kunark hits, all of that changes with the epic. Still, be careful
I plan to go Bersreker myself! If you trying to decide between Ogre or Troll for your shamy. It comes down to how you play. If you regularly grouping tank or charm pet that tanks, and your not expecting your shamy to get hit a lot, go Troll, the regen help offset canni. If you are solo alot, or don't have a regular tank, go ogre. I tend to canni way more then tank when I play a shamy in the earlier eras. So the additional regen has more value.
If you're looking for the single class to rule them all that fits your playstyle I imagine that Bard will be the most fun for you, as it has many of the abilities of an enchanter albeit... much shorter duration, so it requires a very skilled bard to effectively replace the power of an enchanter in a group - you may find that challenge right up your alley! On the other hand, if you want to be a jack of all trades, shaman is arguably the most useful support class in the game - but that's exactly the rub, you're support. The buff tells you got as an enchanter can't really compare to the hell you'll live as a shaman buffbot if you''re also mainhealing and dpsing - but again, the challenge could fit you. I'd give both a shot, and I'd do so by just making a little non twink on Agnarr and playing the first 20-30 levels solo and seeing how you feel about the class before really locking into it for the next tlp.
Idk why you think paladins aren't competing for gear. Sure if its pally only but thats only the first 2 expansions. You compete vs warriors, paladins, clerics, shadowknights, and bards for gear. Now that being said paladins are a class that pick up a lot of speed come luclin and don't stop. Shaman go ogre. That stun immunity is just insane for a single player. Also regen is trash because they changed bind wound a while ago. You can bind wound while sitting down up to 70% without AAs. So canni dance till low sit your butt down and bindwound yourself. Monks are just faceroll mode. Just get your epic and you can keep up with any dps without even getting weapons velious-pop.
