Since we don't have our own section yet, I guess I will start this here, and hopefully it will get moved over. I am looking for your input on what your preferences are for a solo BL, and I will put my opinions and what I prefer after my questions. Race Preference: What race do you like best for your Beastlord? Honestly, as has been addressed many times before, there is really not a difference between the races for your character, as stats can be easily covered by gear. So it all comes down to whether you want good or evil, and most good or evil races have counterparts that have similar racial abilities, or a neutral race that can go either way. A good pick can always be a race that has skills that focus on scout-like abilities (increase speed while stealthed, etc.). Since I don't put much stock in which race I prefer, I look for good racial perks that are most convenient. My choice would be Froglok (good), Erudite (neutral), or Iksar (evil). My reasoning: Water breath. You can explore underwater all you want, without having to worry about drowning or keeping your totems up. Should I be good or evil? Again, it comes down to preference. For the most part, endgame, it will not matter. I like both of the newer starting areas of Gorowyn and New Halas, as their questlines are a lot of fun, and the gear from them are pretty decent, if you can't twink your character. For tradeskillers, both have decent crafting areas. For Adventuring, I personally went evil, starting in Gorowyn. I am familiar with the entire questline, and it allows me to get into the new Freeport Reborn quests, which are not available to good characters. For Tradeskilling, I would go with good, starting in New Halas. Reasoning for this is two-fold: 1) harvestables for Tier 0 and Tier 1 are readily, and easily available in a generally small area, and you don't have to worry about aggroing (except maybe when fishing). Not only that, but the Tier 1 tradeskill quests (starting at lev 10) are located right in New Halas. Which warder should I choose/is best for soloing? Aesthetics wise, all warders in a group (lizards, aquatic, etc) have the same stats, so, as far as which one to pick, I just get the best looking one out of that group that I can find. You can choose between Offensive and Defensive warders, and eventually, exotic pets (through AAs). I tend to fight side-by-side by my warder when I solo, so I tend to go with Offensive warders. I have found that with my damage and theirs, I can take down many things. This is a pretty far cry from the other pet classes, where you send the pet in and just throw in your spells. I haven't done much grouping yet, or let my pet tank that much, so I can not vouch for Defensive pets. I have been doing just fine with Offensive, but I would love to hear about what others think about the Defensive pets. That should be good to get some of the first general questions out of the way. Again, these are just preliminary observations from previous experience, and what I have done in the beta and since the release. It is, by no means, the Word.
Race preference: I guess it boils down to if you eventually want to tank, dps or provide utility/heals. I went with Froglok as I am tired of the other races (Ratongans still rock, as do Iksar) I would have to say that any race with an offensive pet is more ideal. Good or Evil: Evil of course. Evil is the new Good. Which Warder: Well for soloing...Anything with a group heal reflected hear ( http://eq2wire.com/2011/12/07/beast...ons/#more-12202 ) As for me? <20...Bear 21 to 30...Gorilla 31 to 40...Gorilla etc. I could say Gorilla but that would be obvious... I imagine the PVPers with go with the Reptile family for the heavy poisons. As for raiding / grouping I imagine many will get a Bovid Warder for increased healing received by group or Drake Warders for group buff increase to multi attack.
Race: I went Ratonga so I could still disarm traps, no other reason really. Good or Evil: Evil to do the new Freeport quests. Warder: I'm prefering the bear or canine. The canine attacks pretty fast and procs a good number of weaknesses so that I can get affinity on a lot of fights. Most of it is flavor at this point, once you get up into grouping and raiding in 90 zones all that may change.
Water Breathing is a trivial issue with the Haddens Earring heritage quest, and Otter totems. More relevant, IMO, would be the other Char Developments, Tracking, movement speeds, pool regens, bonuses to MultiAttack. That type of thing. Warder choice DOES matter. Check out the ZAM breakdown, http://eq2.zam.com/wiki/Category:Be...d_(EQ2_Subclass). Quite decent listing of the how, what and why's of the Beastlord.
