Tanking group content

[Anthilia]

Hello everyone!

I've heard about p99 and been keeping up to date with how things have been going on the server foe a while now. Having never gotten to play EQ in this era I have always wondered what it was like but never actually taken the time to try it as I was intimidated to give it a go without any friends to play with.

Recently though I have gotten a few friends interested in giving it a go with me. in total there will be 5 of us, so not a complete group but pretty close. None of us have played in this era before, and only one of them has played EQ at all. Given that it should be quite challenging and fun to experience EQ at its prime while being able to learn the game together with friends.

Since I played a Shadow Knight on live I am going to be the tank for our group of 5 and was wondering how SK stack up to wars. I know in raids war blow sk out of the water, but I don't see my group of friends stepping into raids for a very long time if at all. Since we will be limited to just group content, and none of us will be twinked I was wondering if any of the different tank classes stood out as being the best or if they are all pretty equal?

Also, if anyone has any suggestions for other classes that would make our group really well rounded we are open to suggestions. I know we will need a healer of some sort (is a cleric needed for just group content?). As well as a puller being very helpful.

Gonna cut this off here so I dont start rambling and apologize for any typos... typing this from my phone in bed while I cant sleep.

Thanks everyone for your time and any help that may be given :-)

[Lorraine]

Welcome aboard.

Stick to Holy Trinidy (Tank/Healer/DPS), add in Crowd Control, and fill the rest of the spots of the group with classes your friends would be most interested in playing. Nothing will suck more than having one of them quit a character mid30s because he's no longer interested and/or having fun with it. Play to enjoy, and everything else will just fit into places. Since you have the added option of playing with friends, your best plan is to sit down and talk what each one wants to play. For example, druids are versatile classes. They can buff, they cut downtime with ports/SoW, they can add some dps via DoTs/DDs and they can heal. But a druid will have a hard time mainhealing in higher levels unless other requirements are met. Similarly a rogue can DPS, a monk can DPS - but so can a mage, and out of those three the least gear dependent class (for starting up) is the mage.

Shadowknight/Paladin is your ideal pick. Unmatched group tanking capabilities, can always couple as the groups puller AND main tank (though they might struggle with mana since that won't give them enough time to med). Can HOLD agro on multiple mobs at a time since their threat generation comes 99% from their spellcasting abilities. Utility classes that can help on more ways (splitting group of mobs, scouting, CRing, back-up healing etc). Paladin gear is cheap, shadowknight a bit more expensive. Both classes carry an experience penalty though, so be prepared to see your friends outlevel you at some point.

[koros]

Go SK/Cleric/Enchanter/Rogue or Mage or Monk/ Druid or Shaman or second DPS

I'd suggest druid over shaman if you'd rather ports (if you never played EQ pre pop it's a pain to get around), but shaman over druid for substantial boost to overall max strength (better slow, extra hp buffs that stack with cleric, etc). Both give you sow, which is nice.

If you want to eschew that, and go with an extra DPS you'll kill a bit faster but lose backup healing/sow/buffs.

[falkun]

You will want a priest class. Clerics are nice because they get greater heal at 24 while Shaman and Druids get it at 29, clerics get superior healing at 34 while druids and shaman have to wait until a whopping L53, and clerics get complete heal while no other class receives that ability. Its the 40s and up that cleric healing REALLY outshines druid/shaman.

As for group make-up, shadow knight is a prime group tank. Finish out the 'holy trinity' with a priest (cleric, druid, or shaman, with the info above), and cc/support (bard, enc, sham), and then fill the rest with DPS.

[Anthilia]

Thanks for the replies everyone. I think I will go ahead and make my character a shadow knight, and I know one of my friends said about wanting to play a monk, so that will cover a dps slot as well as doubling as our puller. Guess all that leaves now is a healer and then two slots for anything. The only issue is no one seems to have much interest in playing a cleric, although someone did say that a shaman looks like fun, so perhaps that will be our healer. Hopefully having slows in the group from a shaman and the lifetaps from the sk will make up for the lesser healing in comparison to the cleric. Although never playing at this time period I am unsure if thats a viable option.. if not I guess I can always play a cleric for the good of the group and let someone else roll a tank.

[Jimjam]

I'd recommend you include a port class in your prefab group. Wizard or druid.

If you got any players that like to play on the edge a bard or enchanter might work well too.

[Nogdar]

You'll shoot yourself in the foot for not having a chanter if none of you makes one :p

[lecompte]

Hybrids must have chanters as BFF, all else is gravy!

Don't pressure your friends in to playing (or not playing) any class in particular.

You'll have more fun with the strange and odd group combinations than anything else (5 warriors + pal healer anyone?).

I would NOT go out of my way to have a porter class in the group.

[Jimjam]

In the 3man group I was playing in we found having a port class really kept things fresh for us and helped us see plenty of the world.

Its good being able to do unrest basement one day, SolA the next, etc without having to faff about much.