I haven't played in years. Even then I found it near impossible to find groups. I made it to level 52 on my troubador and 32 on my bruiser. I do not remember how to play either. I do remember my troubadors terrible DPS and didn't enjoy soloing with him.... Should I re-roll completely? I am currently playing on Permafrost, but I'd like to group and have fun. I enjoy raiding but not looking for a full time job. Any pointers to get me going in the right direction would be great. New expansions, should I buy them both? That's a lot of $$ to come back to....
I was in the same boat as you and just returned to the game after a couple years off. If I were you I would get the AoD expansion which would allow you to get mercs that way you can play any class without any problems of not being able to find a group at lower levels. A troub with a merc will give you no problems of leveling at all until you reach around level 90 then finding groups will become much easier. You don't need the new expansion CoE until you reach 90-92.
I'll second that Maxxen. IMO - hands down - AoD is worth every penny. It just totally changes the game in some areas for the best.
Is Permafrost a good server? Should I consider a different server? What type of merc am I looking for? What about an AA tree or something? I just need a basic rundown of what I should be doing, icons looks familiar but as for a rotation, hah. So lost.
I'm on Permafrost and its been fine to me, but everywhere I read, the population is higher and the recommendation server of choice is Freeport. I occasionally ran into other people while questing and leveling up but didn't attempt to group since I was duoing with my wife. If you do decide and want to join an established guild (meaning high level guild hall with great resources), send me a tell/mail (Snowhaze) and I'll get someone to invite you, its a fairly small friendly guild with usually 3-10 on at any one time - I think most guilds have turned into this type of guild, especially on the medium pop servers. Regardless, I would recommend joining a friendly guild early on, it makes life much easier to travel and tradeskill, etc. Agree with the others AoD and mercenaries will help you level easier, you won't need CoE until you are in your mid to upper 80s and that is a little while off probably. I would definitely reroll and the merc will really depend on what class you choose, if you choose a tank, you'll want a healer, etc.
Before you spend all that $$$ you need to seriously consider the fact that outside of end game instances and raiding there is very little in the way of grouping. Not to be negative but if that is one of your must have features in a game like EQ2 then think long and hard about it because mostly it will be you and your Merc for a long time and Mercs aren't great conversationalists.
I'm ok with spending 40 bucks. I am just wondering about re-rolling etc. I think I may start a shadow knight. Whats a good choice for a new player wanting to get towards end game content, even if grouping etc. Or doing epic quests etc. I usually play melee classes. (Druid in EQ1, tanks in CoH through Guild Wars 2).
I say play whatever strikes your fancy, with a merc, you should be able to get to 90 no problem, even without I think you can do it, you would just have trouble with some of the heroic content (mostly dungeons). I also recommend following the Golden Path to leveling. http://eq2.zam.com/wiki/Solo_Progression_(EQ2)
If you stay on free to play, your old characters will be grandfathered and therefore playable. If you start again, you can only choose 4 classes and 4 neutral races without paying to unlock them. This is void if you pay for a sub. Everything is available then. If I were you, I'd not spend a cent, log on for free one of your old toons and try it out. The game has changed a lot and you'll find it easier to level. But as said earlier, groups are rare below L90. If you enjoy it, then part with your cash for AoD and subscriptions.
