I have to ask the community to help me decide as I have not played EQ for over a decade. I have forgotten most of what I knew back then, and need help deciding on the two above as a solo / group oriented toon. I am not going to box this, as I feel like it would detract from the experience I am yearning for. I will and intend to solo when i don't have group mates, or if i don't know enough people to get into groups. Can someone help me with some specific to "Ragefire" specific reasons to go one or the other. I know the personal preference plays a part here so try to avoid that, but i am hoping to glean some specific Pro's / Con's here that will help me identify with one or the other. pro / con Druid Quad Kiting - ? not sure if this was possible until Kunark/Velious? Movement buffs, self healing, DD, and Ports? Group friendly with off healing, buffing, and cc? Not a strong toon in any particular field later on? mana dependent / GEMS mini-game master?? Monk Highly soloable? FD (survability and small income for Corpse runs), FD pulls??? Good meelee DPS ? little/no self healing? extremely gear dependent iirc? no run speed or pack separation for solo questing? Any thoughts from the community will be greatly appreciated, even those Bias to one or the other as I am genuinely 50/50 on these two.
Druids can quad from low 30s (Lightning Strike, level 31, which was certainly available when Kunark launched); it is easier in Velious because of content that suits quadding (ice cougars, wyverns, othmir and ulthorks), and the raptors in Kunark. But there's also the goblin camp in the graveyard in Butcherblock (oops, just spoiled someone's special exp spot!). Snare is very useful. Druid healing is a little erratic through the levels; usually a notch below cleric and equivalent to shamans, by the low 50s cleric leaps ahead. Despite a mini-CH given in PoP, druids don't really close the gap until high 70s or mid 80s. Quaking becomes ineffective around GoD/Omens. Animal charm is another missing from your list, and becomes the mainstay for solo exp from mid 60s up. I haven't played monks as much, but they are considered decent soloers, with the emphasis on FD and mend. Ragefire will have the modern updated fist damage, making monks much stronger than they were in classic up to PoP. With AAs (PoP) they get a speed advantage, too. No need for weapons until... PoP? is a strong advantage on gear.
Ah yes, i forgot about that. I am leaning towards Monk based on the soloing, emergency FD, and the damage and you say there is a mend?? not sure i remember them having a self heal other than Fungi? =D. I am also not sure about the ability to handle pack pulls... but I think if iirc you can FD pull and tag a mob when they run back right?, Quadding was very exciting and successful i believe but I am sure there has to be spots the Monk can excel. Hmm thanks for the feedback!
Druids are a good solo class...but dont shy away from groups....LFG in /ooc will get you a spot in a group on this server when it comes out...there will be plenty of groups to get into. It changes the game and its a good way to populate your /Friends list as well as your /ignore list
Monks are a great solo class, and have very good healing via bind wound and mend. Once your bind wound skill is high enough, you can actually use bandages to full health. I solo'd a monk to cap when velious was first released, and that was with the old damage tables. As far as gear goes, you could level a monk to 50 naked and be just fine. Gear in classic is little more than window dressing, especially for monks. There is some gear to be had that can help a bit, but it's really not much. With a monk you really need absolutely nothing. Forage your food, don't need weapons as fist damage is out of era and grossly overpowered, and armor in classic is laughable at best. 2nd most overpowered class on ragefire, only to mages. Feign death in my mind actually makes up for that. Monks are awesome. Druids will certainly be OK on ragefire, but being stuck with the level 29 heal as you only heal gets a bit dicey at level 50. They really don't come into their own until later expansions. Being a jack of all trades master of none class has it's perks, but for me I'd take a monk for no other reason than feign death. FD is huge in classic.
