Coming back to EQ - Going solo

[Nokio]

Hi all,

I haven't played in a while on the server (busy with work and real life stuff...)
Actualy I played when Box of Abu-Kar still droped.

I REALLY want to start playing again but, I don't have much time. It can be as low as 30 minutes a day to maybe a few hours if I am lucky.

I have a 24 mage (not enjoyed him that much)
I have a 16 shaman
I have a 9 bard

I would like to have opinion on what could be a good solution for me? I know people will say play what you like. And i think i will find out what I like as I try stuff. But I would love to have opinion or story on what i could do to be able to play and have fun even though it can be a 30 minute session.

If i can play for a few hours of course i would group for the social and fun part of it. But i guess i would mainly be going solo.

I don't have much plat to buy stuff (200-300pp)
I do have 1 Box of Abu-Kar (what is it worth?) Should I trade it for a few piece of gear or should i keep it?

Thanks in advance all.

[bman8810]

Originally Posted by Nokio [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Hi all,

I haven't played in a while on the server (busy with work and real life stuff...)
Actualy I played when Box of Abu-Kar still droped.

I REALLY want to start playing again but, I don't have much time. It can be as low as 30 minutes a day to maybe a few hours if I am lucky.

I have a 24 mage (not enjoyed him that much)
I have a 16 shaman
I have a 9 bard

I would like to have opinion on what could be a good solution for me? I know people will say play what you like. And i think i will find out what I like as I try stuff. But I would love to have opinion or story on what i could do to be able to play and have fun even though it can be a 30 minute session.

If i can play for a few hours of course i would group for the social and fun part of it. But i guess i would mainly be going solo.

I don't have much plat to buy stuff (200-300pp)
I do have 1 Box of Abu-Kar (what is it worth?) Should I trade it for a few piece of gear or should i keep it?

Thanks in advance all.

All three of those characters are viable solo characters. Bards can do a pretty hefty swarm kite in 30 minutes, shamans get much better at soloing at higher levels, and mages are just a great soloing class all through classic. Necromancers are also a great solo class.

Honestly, I play in a similar manner and I play my mage and love it. It isn't intense, but I watch tv at the same time I play.

[falkun]

1 bard pull usually takes me 25-45 minutes, depending on how long I take to gather things up and how often I miss the range on the dot or get resists. Its also quite repetitive and doesn't work well outside of open plains (no dungeon soloing), so there are those restrictions. You may level fast, but you're going to miss out on the dungeon crawl feel.

[Engraverwilliam]

My choice for this playstyle (hardly time to play) is a monk. Getting my mend skilled up then will get fiend death will allow me to crawl some dungeons alone when i get that urge to go inside. I used to live in Dalnir on Live.

[Nokio]

Thx for you quick information!

I would basicaly put the mage away for now as I did not quite like it. I will probably take all his money and xfer it to the char I will end up playing.

As for bard i just read a few thread about aoe kiting. It might be fun to try out. As I understand it start to shine at level 18. Doing that, will I level at a decent speed? I don't mean super fast. I mean will it feel like im going forward even though i only have the time for 1 pull in 25-45 minutes? Is it gear dependant?

As of shaman, i read effectively that it gets better as you level. Starting as low as 16. Can i solo well and feel a progression? Is it gear dependant too?

I'm asking about the gear dependant thing as I don't have any. Where as a mage is only spell dependant (well mostly)

[nalkin]

Originally Posted by Nokio [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

As for bard i just read a few thread about aoe kiting. It might be fun to try out. As I understand it start to shine at level 18. Doing that, will I level at a decent speed? I don't mean super fast. I mean will it feel like im going forward even though i only have the time for 1 pull in 25-45 minutes? Is it gear dependant?

The only problem with AE kiting is that it is extremely boring to do over an over. The xp is great but it gets so boring so fast and you think, "oh I have to do this ~x number of times till im level 50." And then its like are you really going to sit there running in circles for 2 days of your life...

[falkun]

Originally Posted by nalkin [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

The only problem with AE kiting is that it is extremely boring to do over an over. The xp is great but it gets so boring so fast and you think, "oh I have to do this ~x number of times till im level 50." And then its like are you really going to sit there running in circles for 2 days of your life...

As mentioned tho, there are other ways you can solo as a bard, just the AE kiting is by far the fastest. Other ways include:

Fear dot kiting
Fear melee kiting (to get those skill ups)
snare dot kiting
Charm kiting (not swarming, swarming, to my knowledge, doesn't work on this server) This one is difficult as after the first charm breaks, your re-charmed pet probably will not get aggro back from you.

Mostly, when soloing as a bard, its preferable to use instruments and your songs as opposed to weapons. Our melee is mediocre at best.

[Nokio]

So yesterday I gave a try to AE kiting with my level 7 bard. So far i found it fun and new. Of course you might be right. On the long run it might get boring.

When i have those long session of gameplay ill just get into a group. When play time is short AE kiting it is.

Ill try to see if i can buy a few gear from what little i have.

And i guess i will keep my box for now instead of trading it for gear.

[Nokio]

Originally Posted by Engraverwilliam [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

My choice for this playstyle (hardly time to play) is a monk. Getting my mend skilled up then will get fiend death will allow me to crawl some dungeons alone when i get that urge to go inside. I used to live in Dalnir on Live.

Im curious, I always though monk were damage dealer and that they cannot solo. I mean on live i never saw Solo monk. It is also true that I played a warrior from classic to luclin so I did not get the chance to wander off without a group often to see that kind of thing lol

[baalzy]

Originally Posted by Nokio [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Im curious, I always though monk were damage dealer and that they cannot solo. I mean on live i never saw Solo monk. It is also true that I played a warrior from classic to luclin so I did not get the chance to wander off without a group often to see that kind of thing lol

They are damage dealers, they deal very high damage and also have good defensive capabilities. They solo typically by finding mobs that they can DPS down faster then the mob can DPS them down. Then using bandages/mend to decrease their downtime and do it again. They won't be as effective at is as any of the other classes mentioned and are much more gear dependent on doing it effectively. Bandaging gets better as you get higher level and the xp range on mobs is larger. Until you hit 51 you wanna find mobs that you can kill reliably while taking less than 50% of your hp (the cap on how high you can bandage so you can bandage up to 50% and then use mend as your oh-shi button).

If you can get a Tstaff and a CoF with a Fungi tunic or robe (until the robe is nerfed) you'd be able to solo incredibly fast due to the tstaffs high damage and stun proc. Taking mobs out swiftly and preventing them from hitting you as much and then regening it fast via equipment regen, bandages, and mend. Throw in a pre-nerf fungi staff for a combined +30 hp/tick to really be swift about recovery.