My husband played this game awhile back and since his account has a lot of vet rewards I thought I would use it.I had dabbled in this game very briefly some time ago I was wanting to give it an honest go as a subscriber this time. Just had a few questions while it installs. Are fighter classes only tanks? Are there any melee dps classes that don't have positional requirements? Does race affect class performance? I was thinking of making a Ratonga Necro and wanted to make sure I wasn't messing something up. Are the built in automatic aa spending options a smart way to spend aa's? or should I just pick what i like? I'm refering to the 'solo', 'group', etc aa tab options that automatically place your aa's. Thanks all
You can dps as a tank class, but most looking for groups will laugh at you, however, if you find a guild that is more relaxed and dedicated to having fun you can dps for them... I know I do! Not sure, only melee dps I have is ranger and assassin and they need some positional moves to use some of their abilities. Race has some nice perks but not really effect your class much, so play what race you would like to play. After all, you are going to have that for a long time so might as well be a form you like to see. The default spending of AAs is okay, but know you can change your AAs easily and re-do them when you want (just takes some time if you have lots). Even your racial abilities can be redone. I suggest you take the AAs you want to help you reach max level and AAs and then redo them to take what you want to have now that you are max level and AAs. Hope this helps some!
Nice thanks for the reply. I see, I was afraid that fighters would be "laughed at" for going dps, and thats fine. I just wanted to see what options there were before committing to my Ratonga Necro.
Rangers, assassins, swashbucklers, and brigands all have some positional requirements. I don't find them too restrictive though, particularly for the ranger. All of them have at least one ability you can use to stun an mob so you can alter your position. Some also have an ability to spin the mob so you can poke it in the back too. If you are grouping with a tank (or someone else who can keep the mob turned to them), it's a complete non-issue. If you are solo, you will have to make use of your stun and turn abilities. Beastlords don't have much in the way of positional restrictions as far as I've seen, though I don't know their ranking the the melee dps hierarchy these days.
A fighter (Monk, SK) can DPS and DPS well with good gear. However, if you plan to raid, then as far as I know most people will still prefer a proper DPS class over a "DPS" Fighter. Same thing applies for group as well in that no one ask for DPS Fighter. Put it another way, don't roll a fighter unless you plan to tank.
Fighters can often do very good DPS. Guardians and Paladins, in my limited experience, are what could be considered archetypal tanks. Berserkers, Shadowknights, and Bruisers can output strong damage. Shadowknights also have life drain capabilities, which, IME, make them quite durable. Monks are very good avoidance-based tanks, last I knew - and also put out decent damage and come with some buffs. At launch in November of '04 race had more of an impact on class choice. In 2019, though, it's negligible, except in the selection of racial traits as you level, but neither are these as meaningful as they once were. If you haven't played in quite awhile I would suggest using a pre-planned AA tree. Simply because it can be overwhelming, otherwise. Once you get a feel for the game, again, then examine them more closely. You can create multiple profiles and swap between them, in any case. (Assuming you have the patience to rearrange and organize multiple hotbars; I don't, so I run with my own custom trees and I don't switch them out.)
As Meneltel said, you are going to have the race for a long time so pick one you like to look at. Play a class you want to play and play it the way you want to play it. If you are on AB, find someone in Army of Oobliteration, like Meneltel, they are casual, fun, friendly, and helpful. They will not only help you play your character the way you want to play it, they will encourage it. As far as AAs, there are personal slots where when you have the time, you can enter the build menu and play around with them, save that under one of the personal slots and altar what you do not like. Tweak it as you want. Enjoy your journey in Norrath and welcome!
