OK, been playing MMO's since they started. Here we are about to come back to EQ2. Was here WAY before it was PTW. As a total newbie, if I start from L1 what race, class,skill should I go for. I usually play Archers, Hunters, etc. I usually make my Craft Alchemy. I like harvesting. Understand that dual crafting is limited here?. I.e. Alchemy NO MAX, all other crafters 20 max? Is there one craft that makes tons of income? or saves me tons of money when I keep leveling my combat class? My problem is the same as always, I start and get to around 20/30 and find I've picked a TERRIBLE Class/Race/Craft. etc and everyone points and goes!!!!!! You have GOT to be kidding. Everyone knows thats the most UP combat, Poorest craft (costs a bomb to level, never makes any money, and gives your particular combat type ZERO advantages.... Any advice would be appreciated before I open the game and jump in.......
I don't think you'd regret choosing to level ranger, which sounds like what you're considering when you say archers/hunters. Rangers are strong right now at top end and I think fun to play at lower levels also. If you don't care about aesthetics or roleplay, Kerra/Fae/Arasai would be good race choices for a ranger (or any class) because they have a temporary run speed increase as one of their racial abilities which could come in handy in staying ahead of big bads while kiting or running for your life if you find you've bitten off more than you can chew. But really, there is no wrong choice when it comes to race, the racial abilities aren't too significant and it's really a matter of what intrigues you. Alternatively, Beastlord is a hunter-ish class that might be in line with your tastes, is strong at endgame and plays very well at low levels. They are also pretty strong to solo with since they can heal themselves (or even a whole group) fairly well, if that's the sort of thing that interests you. As far as crafting class goes, here's how it basically works. There are 9 different crafting classes, broken into 3 different "categories." Here is the breakdown: Scholars Sage - makes Mage and Priest spells Jeweler - makes Scout combat arts and jewelry Alchemist - makes fighter spells/combat arts, potions used by everyone and poisons used by mainly the rogue and predator flavors of scouts (although in Kunark Ascending, there are some poisons that can be used by any scout class) Craftsmen Carpenter - Makes house items as well as strong boxes (for storage) Woodworker - Makes bows, arrows, wooden weapons like staves, wooden shields, and totems (limited use items that grant temporary buffs/bonuses such as run speed, increased mana regen, etc) Provisioner - Makes food & drink Outfitter Armorer - Makes plate and chain armor Tailor - makes cloth armor and backpacks (for storage) Weaponsmith - makes metal-y type weapons like swords, daggers, maces, and metal shields (i think?) When you start out crafting, you will be basically all classes up until level 9, at which point you have to choose one of the 3 categories to refine your skills toward. From level 10-19, you will be either a scholar, craftsman, or outfitter. To advance from level 19 to level 20, you will have to choose your final class, from among the 3 in the category you chose at 9, and that's the class you will proceed as from 20 through level cap (currently 100). If you choose ranger, strong choices for crafting would be Alchemist (to make yourself poisons which you use quite a bit of and can be slightly costly), Woodworker (to make yourself arrows, which you will use in fair quantity, especially early on) or Provisioner is a good choice for any class because quality food and drink are spendy. Currently I think Provisioner is probably the best money-making tradeskill class, especially if you're fond of harvesting, because the top-tier food takes ultra-rare harvested components; I always buy it with my eyes closed because it's so obscenely expensive. As an added bonus, going provisioner will also allow you to craft your own bows & arrows up through level 20 (because of the fact that craftsman encompasses both woodworker and provisioner). There are also three additional crafting "side classes" - Tinkering, Transmuting and Adorning. If you want, you can be all three IN ADDITION to whatever your primary crafting class is. Tinkering is useful for tinkered Manastones and the tinkered portable repair bot you can make at higher levels. Transmuting and Adorning should ideally be leveled at the same time as one another as you level up, because you transmute old loot to make the components you will then use for Adorning, which is how you make the white gem looking things you can put in the adornment sockets your armor has. They're not that important at low levels, but they become meaningful at top level. Adorning can also be a source of revenue at times if you pay attention to what is in high demand. I hope that gives you a better picture of what you're doing as you get started!
I think you might have this game's crafting confused with a different one. You can have 1 primary tradeskill ie sage/alchemist/jeweler, weaponsmith/armorsmith/tailor, provisioner/carpenter/woodworker. You can also take up both of the secondary crafts, tinkering & adorning. The transmuting mentioned by someone earlier is essentially a harvesting skill, you just break down dropped gear/spells into the components you'd use to level adorning. At this point, you can probably make at least some money with every craft, though weaponsmith honestly always seems to get the worst end of the deal. As far as useful to yourself, a class that makes items you would personally make a lot of use of would be ideal. Could be you'd like to make your own spells/combat arts so you'd make the appropriate scholar class. Could be you like to decorate so you'd make a carpenter. If you want to play a ranger or channeller, woodworker wouldn't be a terrible idea, since you can blow through arrows. No craft costs much to level, so that won't be any sort of issue, especially since you have stated you enjoy harvesting. Race makes almost no difference whatsoever, unless you are really trying to milk every possible stat point. It can get you useful things (like track, disarm chest and such) for a class that normally wouldn't have it though. The red-headed stepchild class changes fairly regularly, so it's quite possible what is AWESOME today will get slapped down come the next big game update or an expansion release. My advice on that front would be to play the class you most enjoy and just stick with it. http://eq2.wikia.com/wiki/EverQuest_2_Wiki:Main_Page This site has a pretty good run down of the classes and races. You can give them a look before you even get started.
