Hello, so I'm starting all over again literally as a brand new player as I dont remember anything at all from 2004. On Coirnav I leveled up a 40 SK before I became so miserable and bored on him I just stopped. I'm trying to think long term as far as a class I want to stick with. Things I take into consideration are : Is the class needed and easily accepted in groups and raids? Can they solo reliably against same con mobs or will soloing be challenging in later expansions on Coirnav? Is the class highly overpopulated (necros, beast lords, enc, mage for example) Is it a class that can maintain its strength through the expansions without hitting a fail wall. I should note that I am not particularly interested in tanks anymore, or pet classes even though they solo content easily. A few classes I'm considering highly are Ranger (simply because dual wield with heals and buffs sounds intriguing) Druid (I'm scared there are millions of these and overpopulated) Wizard (Big dps and ports like druid) Cleric (Scared about solo capability) Bard or Shaman ( These I list only because I know ZERO about them or if they can solo or what they do vs other classes. Ultimately, my heart would like to play a ranger (Yes I've heard they are OP in the next expansion, but I'm thinking long term on live where people say soloing is a little tough for them.) Any suggestions?
I have successfully soloed/moloed a Cleric up to 66 I think. I did a lot of smelling the roses along the way, so I don't exactly know what it is that was lacking in the SK. I am just branching out to other classes and servers. I do know that help is not too difficult to find while in game if you are nice and respectful to other players. At least, such has been my experience of late.
Dunno why you want to stay on Coirnav. That is possibly why you got bored. Its so slow on those progression servers. Go to live server, make a ranger and you'll have fun. I have played one since the beginning - have tried other classes but can't beat that ranger track/forage, fighting up close with duel wield and long range with bow and throw in a nasty spell now and then and just all around versatility.
As far as melee classes go, SK's are one of the strongest soloers, Beastlords are the only one that's stronger. If your looking for a stronger soloing class, then it's best to look at pet classes. However on progression servers it's better to group for exp. If you looking for a class that will easily accepted in groups and raids: Cleric, Shamy, Monk. Decent soloing classes: Enchanter, Mages, Necro, Druids, SK, Beastlord (once Luclin unlocks), Rangers (Once they have Luclin AAs), Shamy, Monk. Charm makes Enchanters the strongest soloing class. I play on Agnarr, so no idea of coirnav population numbers (TPL forum or coirnav reddit is probably a better sources for this one). Different classes have different fail walls. Warriors, Cleric, and Wizards will ALWAYS be in high demands for raids, however Clerics are only one that always retain group desirability. Enchanters and Knights will always have good group desirability, but raids is a much different story. Bard, Shamy, and Monk are probably a good bet for long term desirability in both raids and groups. As for your desired classes: Rangers - The Archery Master and Endless Quiver AA gives them a huge DPS boost, and makes bow kiting a good soloing method. Downside is those AA's require level 59 and you are high aggro subpar dps until then. Druid - Are often viewed as second fiddle to clerics. Wizards - Wizards are limited in soloing and grouping. Recent root changes probably make soloing as a wizard more viable. In Luclin at upper levels, AE groups will always want wizards, conventional groups generally assume that wizards will be AFK half the time. Cleric - soloing is slow, but with plate armor and an amazing healing tool box you can make up for the lack of DPS. Shamy - great buffs/debuffs, decent heals, good DoT. They can fill different roles in a group, in raids your ajusted dps will generally make you the healer for the dps groups. They do use pets when soloing. Bards - Great utility, every group in a raid needs one. great soloing if you have room to move around and stuff doesn't summon. Expect the following rolls in an exp group: Puller, CC, mana battery. Bards are the kings of adjusted DPS, but really low personal dps (Paladin level bad). As for your heart, Ranger are a decent class, they don't solo as well as the SK you have already tried until they have the Luclin AA's. Headshot's proc rate has been nerfed, so it's less of a soloing option once PoP unlocked. Soloing summoning mobs will be an issue. Just get use to jokes about you dying. I honestly think that you should consider Monk, based of the sub-text of a lot of your comments. They always among the top tier in DPS, best dps class at tanking, can self heal with mend, FD when your is in trouble. Some other advanatages: beastlords are the only melee DPS class that's less gear dependent, so if you don't have twinking resources they are the mostly ready to go. Once you start raiding their is less competition for armor, leather armor always start rotting first. Disadvantages: weight restrictions, and half the Monk's on the server will have a dumb Bruce Lee joke for a name.
As always, I recommend Test server. Anyone coming back and looking for a new server who doesn't try it out is doing themselves a disservice. The advantages are numerous with the big disadvantage being you cannot transfer off. You can copy your live server character to Test and take a look or ask questions.
