I've spent a couple months flailing about trying different classes out. I do not like to box and due to my play hours and family life, I'm unable to have a steady group or usually group much at all (frequent AFK, etc.). Raiding is out of the question. I am looking for a class that can do the following: 1) Solo/molo a large share of previous raid content (RoF and below at least, if at all possible) 2) Solo/molo progression tasks in EoK and RoS (group quests like Cactiikiil excluded) 3) Solo/molo RoS named (tier 2 is not a must) 4) Be able to do the above three things in current expansion group gear with average (not above average) augs. 5) Not be Flavor-of-the-month or temporarily OP until the next patch. I'd prefer to play something I could enjoy for years to come. Enchanter: I used to think that enchanter was my go-to class, but with the recent nerfs , I don't think a group-geared enchanter is going to kill any RoS named molo. I do like enchanters a lot, however, and I hope this is still viable. Beastlord: Beastlords require too much gear I think to be in the runnings. Mage: Mages can't do raid content as well I don't believe due to lack of healing. Shadowknight: Shadowknights seem to fit, but they are extremely gear dependent which makes #4 not work. The rest of the classes probably can't molo RoS named without perfect play and full raid gear, so I didn't bring them up. Please enlighten me if I'm incorrect. Also, a lot of classes can't pull, so doing progression tasks with no puller also seems to disqualify them. Is there a class for me? Any thoughts/tips would help. I'm willing to work on my character though, even get max AA, but raid gear/raid augs are out of the question.
I like the beast, if you ever get time to raid or do anything like that in the future you'll always have a spot. You also have shaman like buffs, FD, fero, bloodlust/protective spirit which will allow you to tank for a period of time, and you can always switch to healer mode and healer your pet and have it tank if things get dicey. Plus paragon and canni, RF, an awesome dicho...list goes on.
I'd counter that argument with: 1) Gear dependent 2) Difficulty soloing raid content as raid content bypasses pet threat (afaik) 3) Inability to pull, which would preclude a lot of group content. I could be wrong!! I'd love to be wrong. Please enlighten me.
Enchanters can handle the "oh crap" moments the best without needing too much gear. Those moments will happen for sure when doing progression tasks in RoS/EoK. Names are still doable for molo enchanters. Ask Gotwar for pointers. Another option is Necromancer. I main one, but usually don't recommend it to people unless they are strictly going to solo. A group gear necro may have their pets die to names, but you will have about 6 to 9 swarm pets to back you up with your silent casting running until the named dies. Both of these classes are considered difficult to play. You can stick with what you know or try something new and learn all over again.
which raid content are you talking about, unless you are talking about PoW with a beast you should be good, which isn't really raid content anyway. Also, beasts have FD, success rate may be a bit lower than say monk or SK but it still works a good amount. If you get creative with your pet summon abilities/healing, you can do a lot of content. Like mages/necros, they can summon limited pets that can tank adds for time, additionally with your AA healing abilities you can heal your pet extremely well. Also, you said "average augs" I don't think there is such thing as a class requiring "average augs" in the classes you selected really, you either need good augs/gear as in with BST or SK, conflag gear is easily attainable which is very close to dropped group gear in ROS, or your a caster like a mage and you don't really need any augs (except for the conjure/evo augs). Anyway, when I had worse gear around 95-100 when I was leveling in RoF/COTF I played the main healer then I had a DPS merc/let my pet tank, that's always an option. I've never really played caster classes, so no comment on the ench/necro. Also have a fully augged SK in Ros t2 gear, and he is also a lot of fun to play. But they both required a decent amount of time to re gear.
Beastlord is not gear dependant as such..it's more AA dependant. You will do more dps with casts than melee.
just my 2 cents. ENC post nerf for what talking about doing is fine. Best set of class tools.. middle of road gear check if any. mage and bst are similar is sense its about the pet and how play around it.. mages pretty simple and basic.. and bst have better tools.. are a bit more busy. Nec has a great set of tools and options. Maybe a little more flexible that enc.. pretty equal. SK is powerful but you gear. All of above are fine in conflag style of gear with whatever options you have. All but nec will be group primary friendly.. stuff just dies off too fast for nec to show value reguardless of player skill on nec. 1. enc and have fun 2. mage or bst and have fun 3. Ranger rick and have fun too
Your list of requirements is puzzling... Why do you think that any of these are soloing RoF raid content? Most(all) aren't moloing RoF group content (which is generally paired down versions of the raid content...there are some real pita mechanisms in some of these). I never did any VoA raids so I'm not sure of the power/mechanics needed in those. Solo vs molo is a huge difference for any class, except maybe paladins/sks due to tanking and self healing. Conflagrant gear is just better than anything you are going to get from RoF or lower. For this to be your number one requirement is...confusing. Group gear now is very simplistic...conflagrant gear is easy to get, will cost at most a krono (generally) on any live server, and has all the group t2 focuses...and there are augs. If you aren't outfitting your single toon with at least conflagrant, you aren't being serious. Side comment - ANY class can pull. Some can do it faster (due to abilities/shorter refreshes), but all can pull fewer mobs than might come. You just have to know the class. Second side comment - AAs are going to make the most difference...you are going to have to grind a good amount before you are going to be doing tasks/named. I think finding a class to solo/molo through EQ is great and any of the ones you list would make fine choices. I just am not sure you are thinking clearly about the raid stuff and possibly not realizing that gear has never been easier in the group game (okay...so you might have use a krono if you are in game poor...skip a bar outing or a movie and you've got the funds). As you say you want to do this for years, pick whichever class made you log in more to play. The game is much more enjoyable when you actually enjoy the class you play solo/molo.
I am curious why necro is not on this list? Have they really fallen that far down the ranks that they are not considered one of the best solo/molo classes? Sure they wont kill as fast as the above choices but a well played necro was always able to do things in the solo game that most classes could not.
In a solo situation the kills are long, which defenitely plays into the necro playstyle, so I would like it for such a scenario; it is the toon with least gear dependance that is also able to FD.
Yeah I was thinking necro would fit the description best for what the OP wants. Its a slower pace in terms of kills but even a group geared necro is a force or at least the ones I have known throughout the years. If I wanted to do what the OP is asking for I think this is the class I would roll with unless something drastic has changed with them.
You need 3 toons to open a mission. So at least 2, and a merc. Not be flavor of the month, maybe talk with Allayna as she seems to have this stuff all figured out.
Necros aren't necessarily a bad choice, but the problem you'll run into is pet durability. Unless you know what you're doing and/or have at least a mage-geared pet, a group-geared Necro's pet is going to be pretty squishy wrt RoS T1/T2 named, especially compared to Mages or Beastlords. Much of the problem for Necros is mitigating mercenary heal logic and mobs with AE abilities. That said, as a Necro in full EoK (not RoS) raid gear with a mix of Rk1 and Rk2 spells, I was able to molo most of the 'hard' named mobs in VP with only self buffs. It wasn't easy, and took pretty much everything other than Vet AAs to accomplish, but it's certainly doable. But therein is the issue that Menown inferred above; Necromancers have an incredibly diverse toolkit, but putting it all together can be quite difficult for the average player.
The ultimate class, is the class you enjoy playing enough to move beyond merely adequate and play it at high level. Some would say the classes are unbalanced but actually I feel they're in pretty good shape. The class means far less than the player behind the class.
Necro - first choice, but difficult to master correctly in todays game with out full blown raid gear to buffer you. Beastlord - play with a friend who mains a Beast - even in group gear, their pets are amazing and abilities they bring to the table, usefull in solo and group situations.
1 - The mechanics of raids will prevent you from doing this for most things. Seeds of destruction raids even may be hard to solo. Also you can not molo raid targets that are not in a static zone. Mercs can't go in raid only zones. 2 - Druid, necro, shammy, enchanter, wizard, mage. Most non-cleric casters can solo some mobs in eok progression. There was a video where this SK defeated 14 spiders in lcea. Because of that, without a ton of gear, your not moloing anything in EOK without raid gear as an SK. 3 - Without raid gear, it's not going to happen for most classes. Maybe enchanter with charming a pet. 4 - For this go with a caster. They are the least gear dependant 5- Beast go up and go down. Currently they are listed in this thread, but they are a flavor of the month type character. You should go with a caster; as they can consistently solo/molo more. You'll be sorry that you picked a beastlord after they decide to nerf pets. I would also stear clear of a mage. They are currently awesome; but there have been expansions when they couldn't solo anything because of the pet tankage. Right now pet's are crazy powerful. I don't expect to see that last. Necro is always a solid choice. They do get a pet, but that is not where there power lies.
