Mischief - One or Two Box and Class/Race Choices

I am super excited about this TLP and can't wait to start. That said, I haven't played a TLP before, and I am looking for some advice on whether I should 1 or 2 box and then on which classes/races to pick. I know there are a bunch of threads dealing with the best duo or the best two box, but I have a more fundamental question: is one or two boxing better both for purpose of leveling speed and overall enjoyment?

To understand my situation, I am in my mid 30's with a wife and young kids, so my free time is much less than it was back in 99 when I was in school. As such, I mostly get to play in the very early morning (if I get up at like 4am eastern) or late at night for 1-3 hours (after 8 eastern) for 1-3 times per week. If I ever get to raiding, I could probably do that once or twice a week. At least due to having to play in the early morning hours, I want to be able to pick something that will let me hop on and solo for a bit.

That said, I do prefer grouping, being in a guild, etc. As such, if one of the solo/duos I am considering is going to decrease my chance to get into a group, a guild, or invited to a raid (perhaps because there is going to be an oversupply of that class), I would love to know.

Due to my time constraints, if any of the choices I am considering will result in much faster or slower leveling in comparison to the others, I would appreciate someone letting me know, as I want to be able to get as close to 50 as possible before Kunark drops.

Finally, as this is my first time boxing, I don't want to pick two classes that I will have to actively play at the same time. To be clear, I have no problem switching who my primary char will be depending on the situation.

Here is what I am considering:

1. Ogre/Troll Shammy + Human (then switch Iksar) Monk - I wouldn't pick barbarian because I will want to switch to Monk to Iksar as they look awesome. I imagine at low levels the shammy will be my main, with me switching to the monk if I am pulling in group situations.
2. Ogre/Troll Shammy + Orge/Troll SK - While I am leaning toward monk over SK as I think it will be easier to level with an ungeared monk, I am wondering if SK is better long term for two reasons. First, as it is a tank (and I am assuming there will be a shortage of tanks), it might be easier to get into groups/raids. Second, I understand the shammy is going to turn into a buff bot at higher levels/raids, meaning that I will be largely playing the monk or SK as my "main," and it seems SK is a more active class than a monk with spells, pets, etc.
3. High or Dark Elf Chanter + Cleric (same race for each, but don't know which to pick) - As I have heard this is the best two-box, I am concerned that I won't be able to get into any raids (or even groups) as there are going to be too many of these classes. I would main the chanter and just use the cleric to buff/heal.
4. Solo Chanter - Really the question is whether adding a cleric is worth the extra account (will I level that much faster, be able to get through more content, be more desirable for groups/guilds).
5. Solo DE (later Iksar) Necro - I have always seen a necro as a class with a high ceiling and imagine if I was playing one, I wouldn't be able to handle a second box to the point where it would be worth it.
6. Solo Troll Shammy - I imagine there is no reason to play a solo shammy over a duo with a monk or SK, but please let me know if I am wrong.
7. Chanter + Paladin - I have always liked the paladin class but never played one. Essentially, the paladin would largely just be a "pet" for the chanter for leveling purposes, and I would only "main" the pally whenever the chanter is just serving as a crack bot. I assume Cleric is a much better duo, but I would be curious how much worse the Pally would make things.

If you are going to have more limited playtime, including limited playtime in a guild some decent duos until you get good plat and gear

Very minimal gear requirement to start

Necro/Druid
Necro/Shaman
Mage/Shaman
Chanter/Cleric



More gear intensive

SK/Shaman- very long lasting across expansions
Shaman/Monk- strong combo

Interesting duos that will make you fast money

Mage/Mage
Necro/Necro

The above are more for classic-Kunark start and when you do guild and gear can open up other good combos for you like getting a bard in as one of your duo

If you have limited play time I would suggest single boxing a necro. You get to do a ton of stuff solo and have a lot of tools. If you really want to two box, I would add a bard for the second choice. The great thing about a bard is that you can choose to not play him and still get a lot of benefits. They no longer have to twist and you can just type /melody 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 (or whatever songs you want to twist) and they will auto repeat that unless they get stunned).

The advice you see in other box threads, pretty much applies here. The relative power of boxing combos is a constant really, regardless of your playtime available. As far as classes that are going to be desirable long term, or for raiding...it's pretty impossible to beat chanter/cleric as a 2 box. Cleric is always needed, for every expansion. Chanter waxes and wanes depending on expansion, but is amazing up through PoP.

If you want to just end your suffering, chanter/cleric is the ultimate answer. It's not for the feint of heart though, it's fairly busy as a box team because you are always relying on charming. If you want something a bit less on your toes...:

Druid/Monk. Really fun, ports, snares, damage shields, sow. I love this combo, if I could only play one this would probably be it. Can level to live with this duo.

Druid/Mage. Not as much of a power house as chanter, but solid, and can do quite a bit with druid harmony pulling outdoors.

Shaman/Monk. A classic, and really good. Go Inny shaman for the snare, because not having some kind of snare sucks.

2 Necros. Both kinds of invis, both have feign death, stacking dots and fear kiting, both have gate and bind, built in mana regen for both. Necros are very self sufficient, having 2 of them really gives you the power to burn through mobs. This is actually a really fun duo, and necros are very easy to macro, so you spend most of your time "driving" with one character. From an ease of use/power standpoint, this is really hard to beat. You can also do it in zero gear, so makes a great farm team for any alts you may want down the road. For that reason, it's a great first setup on a new TLP where money are gear are hard to come by at first.

I've spent a lot of years boxing, and have tried every possible combo, these are my favorites, but different people like different play styles. Hop the test server, and /testbuff 2 characters to 25 and try some combos out yourself.

Bard is hands down my favorite class to box because they're good with everything, require very little input to be effective and guilds love anyone who brings a bard with them.

One of the points to play TLP are play in group, if you want solo go to Live servers, new everquest is more challenging to solo players, then i suggest you play some hi demand group class, Sk, cleric, enchanter and enjoy the group experience with no so much time LFG

Mage-Druid is also a good one. You can focus either as both are an easy box. Mage is probably the easiest box in game outside of /melody bard.

That being said, most people with a limited playtime think they do not have time for groups. When a TLP is brand new there will be pick up groups everywhere. You can easily go to a dungeon zone like Unrest with your duo....start clearing yard trash, start inviting people are look and see if a group will take your duo on. Even if you only have 30 mins to an hour you will be better off with the full group xp than just duoing. In pugs and at the lower levels no one cares if you have limited time. Now if you are joining a group for the Hole or a couple groups to do yard trash in Hate, that will be a little different.

Thanks all for the feedback, but I don't want to do a druid (did one on live back in 99-01 and hated it). Some quick follow-up. And mage and bard just don't interest me.

If I am going to go Shaman/Monk, I want to confirm that there would not be any reason to go Barb Shammy and Human Monk over evil races, as my understanding is that Iksar is just a better monk all around? If I am going to go human and switch to Iksar, I assume it is easiest to start in FP as human and then make a Troll shammy so I am close (also I like the look more than Ogre). Also, when Kunark comes out, would there be any reason to switch to Iksar for Shammy too? I know the JBB issue, but I didn't know if for travel issues for an Iksar and Troll team (i.e., they can't bank at same spots, if I ever need to ferry or something, would need to split them, etc.).

I have no idea how exp works now. Will a duo shammy/monk be able to level faster than a solo necro? To be clear, I do want to group as much as possible, I am just worried I won't be able to do so at some points. If some many people are going chanter/cleric, wouldn't the monk/shammy be welcome as they would add some diverse buffs and dps to groups?

Necro/shaman is something I hadn't thought about, but that seems like two very active classes to play. How would that compare to monk/shaman?

Finally, if I do go chanter/cleric, should it be two dark elves or two high elves?

Shaman, and monk, are 2 intensive active class, if you play a monk, you have to pull in group, i doubt you can cany dance with the shaman at same time you pull with the monk, wen you make a combo, you have to think about how you are going performing, not just how nice are the combo.

Great point. Having not played in awhile, I assumed the shammy would just med and buff as needed, and maybe throw on slows once I pull. Lame. Is monk something you just don't want to 2-box with?

How active would the pair be vs. chanter/cleric?

/pause 20, /cast 1
/pause 20, /cast 1
/pause 20, /cast 1
/pause 20, /cast 1
cast 1

I've 2 boxed monk/shaman quite a bit, everything the shaman does can be macro'd, you spend 95% of your time on the monk.

monk/shaman or monk/druid is a fantastic 2 box. Chanter /cleric..now there is some work. Talk about 2 class that have to act at the same time. Monk/Shaman or Druid is ezmode.

this is not cani dance dude.

you need full attention on work pull, if you want become just a passive buffer with your shaman are ok. but is like have 1/2 shaman.

Cleric Enchanter is more afortable combo, Enchanter is super active, but cleric just stand up for heal, chanter helps cleric on Mana , and Cleric helps chanter on life, bot helps in his weak spots.

Chanter and cleric, you have to have macros setup and quick hands. Charm breaks. You have to recharm while keeping chanter healed. It's easy til you start charming juggs