Complete noob to EQ1, class suggestions?

Discussion in 'Time Locked Progression Servers' started by Sayleann, Mar 24, 2017.

  1. Sayleann New Member

    The Heroic Event on the normal servers and general good feelings I had on the EQ2 TLP back when it first launched had me look into EQ1 which I played briefly growing up.

    I generally stick with more support classes in other MMOs but I like to hold my own when I'm leveling.

    My gut feeling says go with Bard though my uncle played Paladin way back in the day so I'm tempted to try that out as well. Any suggestions and newbie links I might miss would be appreciated~
  2. Ultrazen Augur

    As a first character, I would recommend against going with something that is reliant on gear to perform. That includes every melee class other than monk. Paladins, Shadow Knights, Warriors, Rangers, Rogues, and to some extent Bards, are all *very* dependent on gear. It's not impossible to level them fresh on a server, but I wouldn't wish it on someone trying to get a handle on the game. It also tends to be a position of a lot more responsibility, if you play a tank class, another thing that isn't a great idea.

    EQ is a pretty unforgiving game, especially early on with crappy gear. Even veteran players struggle early on with melee classes.

    I'd suggest Druid. You'll be able to do a bit of everything, and it's a good class to get a feel for the game with. You have some healing, some decent damage, some run speed spells (very important early on), snare (which is incredibly important early on), and you'll be able to teleport yourself and others around, which can make you some money and is just plain handy.

    At the end of the day, go with whatever class appeals to you, but in general, any of the casting classes are much easier to start out with on a new server, as most of their power comes from the spells you buy, instead of the gear you find. Gear in classic, is literally horrible at best so....melee classes tend to struggle early on.

    Monk would be the exception to this. They can literally level to max naked with no weapons (their fists are very very good DPS). If you have a jones for a melee class, this is a great starting one.

    The nice thing about druid is, it will teach you about all aspects of the game....you start out as a melee character, and then move towards more of a caster as you level. You'll get to see the game from a lot of sides, while giving you some tools that can help with the learning process.
  3. MoveFastRZ Bloodsaber

    If you want bard, play bard. It's the trickiest class to pick up if you didn't start with, and the easiest class to migrate away from later. The learning curve will be tricky at first, but worth it. Really the only unique class left in EQ.
  4. snailish Augur

    This suggestion will take longer on a low-xp server...

    Play many classes to at least level 10. Starting with a monk (less gear needed) lets you bankroll buying spells for the other classes that need them. Share your gear around during this testdrive.

    Then pick a few to take into the 20s. This will give you the basics of expected group play for the classes. And you will probably dislike at least one of the classes by this point. You'll also get a sense of what is hard to get a group with in your playtime, or what is solo viable in a way you like to solo.

    Then get at least one to the 50s. Even if you abandon the character, a 50s character can farm drops/$ way better than a level 15 to give that character a leg up. The game also settles in by the 50s so your class will do mostly what it is good at, whereas at low level just about anyone can pretend to melee for example. Note: As the game evolves many classes toolkit/tactics shift. Example rangers become quite powerful 60+ through the PoP era. Many classes change a lot post 75 with powerful abilities (i.e., crowd control and feign death gets farmed around a bit).
  5. Razzle Augur

    Learning curve is harder with some classes than other classes. Bard is probably the highest learning curved because of the classes Jack-of-all-trades utility. Mage, Monk and Shaman are gear light options and are not to heavy on the learning curve.