Hello! My wife and I are coming back to EQ after a 15-year absence. We are going to play on Mangler, and we're trying to decide what classes to play. We'd like to be able to duo effectively, but also be useful in full groups and in demand by guilds as we get toward high-end content. We are thinking possibly mage/chanter but haven't decided anything yet. Any advice? TIA!
Hi, Welcome back to EQ. I think any popular duo you work for you both. Shaman/Shadow Knight is a popular choice for duo. It might be hard to get in a guild as a Shadow Knight main, but I am not sure about the guild situation on Mangler. I just noticed that you are thinking about a Enchanter/Mage. I believe at live this is a good combination, however mage pets can't reliably tank until later expansions (even with slow) outside of a few specific leveling spots. The second hard part of your pair is the enchanter is a bit squishy without a healer. Be prepared to use a lot of bandages or waiting to heal up if something goes wrong. The benefit of a healer/tank combination is that you can always ask others to join you. If this was live I believe that is a great combination with healing mercs to fill the healing gap. You also might consider any combination of Shaman/Druid/Necromancer/Beastlord/Bard/Monk (with healer).
Just my op, Magician/Enchanter will work fine for several strategies. Mangler has progressed to the stage where your Enchanter will get Breeze early on. Lots of Enchanter spells stack with Magicians so properly set up pet should survive. Magicians also get a pet heal spell early so the combination of mana regeneration, haste/burnout, Mage burning like a Wizard, Enchanter DOT'n like a Necro, should be a deadly and fast leveling crew. Big IF, the pet gets in trouble, Enchanter can cast some level of Fear/Chase the Moon to get the MOB running and save the pet. Big OR, Enchanter can Root the MOB and Magician call it back to regenerate and heal. Another big OR, Enchanter can Mez MOB and if it isn't DOT'd, Pet will automatically back off and you have ~30 seconds of healing before the MOB is ready to go again. For wide open areas the Magician can pull with bolt spells. Normally with practiced backing up, you can get 2-3 bolt spells off before the MOB even closes making the fight trivial by the time it gets to melee. Through every strategy I can think of, Tash and Root are your best friends: Make all the spells in a magic heavy team stick like glue, gives you time to back off and count your fingers if the Magician goes overboard burning. Even if you have the Enchanter using their pet, just make the Enchanter pull. MOB will tag the Enchanter one quick one, send in the Magician pet with taunt on. Easy peasy.
Don't play classes that can blame the other class if one of you dies. Make sure to be on a server that uses mercs. Game fights can carry into RL...from what I hear.
I would rethink the TLP part.... If I were to start a family duo group, I would go live. Account 1: tank. SK is a rather popular choice. Running a healer merc. Account 2: CC. Enchanter or Bard main with either type DPS merc. Account 3: a free boxed account. Utility. Druid is good choice. Ports/tracking/evac/buffs like SoE, additional heals, damage, etc. Once you play a while and feel you getting the hang of it, consider going Heroic.
Mangler is fun, but can be frustrating at times. We (my husband and I) started there at launch, but lately I've just felt burnt out there... If you've not played in 15 years - you may find yourself frequently bothered by the bot armies in some camps (they've left Classic and Kunark mostly) and the general crowdedness at times. Sometimes it feels like you're spinning your wheels. I would consider live if you and your wife are going to duo. My husband and I box a group and play with another couple who does the same. Doesn't take long at all to get to 50-60, no contested camps for epics, planes are open - if you're looking for the classic feel without the classic grind, give live a try - and just self pace yourself. If you chose live, look us up on Brekt - we like helping people, and always enjoy finding other couples to play with... they usually work well together!
