I quit during OoW expansion. Decided to give it a whirl mostly for nostalgia sake. Was level 70 Bard at the time and amongst the best geared on the server I played (Vallon Zek). Needless to say i don't have that it's like riding a bike feeling. Would appreciate ANY tips anyone has on getting restarted.
Take your time... don't try to figure it all out at once. Going through the Hero's Journey path is highly recommended by most folks. You may be overwhelmed with not knowing what the best thing to do is or what is relevant/irrelevant, but at the end of the day know that leveling and AAs will always be relevant.
Bard is good if you are going to focus on raiding. If not change (I have a 98/4k bard and groups don't often jump out). Focus on the favored classes if you are not hooked to the bard: mages, necros, SK's, other tanks (which are not really op), slowers (primarily shaman / chanters which together with their dps and other utility always get snapped up faster), wizzies. SOE doesn't care for hybrids really, nor certain priest classes (druids). Truth is almost every class is a utility class nowadays (one of the most OP "dps" classes probably has the greatest utilty and the "other one" about same if not more, can do many things, can single pull without a puller (in fact some of the tank classes can pull faster and more regularly). I would seriously consider changing if you are not just going to be a heavy raider and want to have fun and get groups.
I'm not a bard main but they are very sought after for groups. They increase an entire groups Dps substantially. Their regen songs make mana last a lot longer. Whenever I jump on my currently 93 bard I'm picked up right away and not always by guildies. If u like the class its a good class group or raid.
May differ from server to server. Up to HOT my bard would have group within 2-3 minutes, due not only to the ability to boost dps, but pull. Pulling is almost defunct in the majority of the group game now. DPS help with the classes the used to like it the most is not as needed as the high dps classes tend to burn through non-nameds within 30 seconds, about the time it takes to get a full twist set off. Help, yes? good class? yes, but self dps is not so great and pulling is not as needed. Just saying, they went from top tier desirability to 2nd tier in the group game. I will often get group offers for lower groups in reasonable time, better groups only if friends are on, unless I wait a long time. Timed a slow period once. was over 100 hours lfg, before group offer. Not as bad as the ranger. luckily I run multiple accounts so I would be doing something with an alt or other accounts main while I was lfg. Want the fastest groups, you go with tank, high dps, slower (shaman / chanter first), then cleric. then the rest start to fall in line.
I also recently gave EQ a spin after not playing much in 8 years or so. Man, so much has changed. It's like learning the game all over again. Still love the spells/songs though in EQ. Imo it's still the best spell wise.
Don't fall for the FOTM classes, don't dump the bard so quickly. They don't require a lot of gear to be useful, they are amazing pullers still and can seriously speed up xp in a good group. I leveled my bard up 2 years ago after quitting after OOW was released and after some growing pains I wouldn't choose any other class lol. Bard has changed a bit with /melody (allowing you not to have to manually twist songs) being probably the biggest change. Unless you plan to raid I wouldn't expect to ever see any real dps output, but the songs we get now more than make up for that. It is not uncommon for people to say "man i haven't been a group with a real bard in like, forever" , rogues/zerkers/monks/beasties will love you long time and you'll start making friends pretty fast If you take your time and learn to play the class well. I would look at server populations and consider moving to the highest pop server (during your normal play time) you can. Some servers are pretty dead and you'll end up soloing a lot more and may lose interest pretty fast. PS. Don't let other people pull for you (monks, chanters, clerics, SK's are the most common but I've had almost every class try to take my job...), you'll have more fun doing it yourself and your dps wont really be all that important (or good lol), and imo it makes a bard look bad, stand up for your class!
