What would you play?

[joejccva71]

Out of these melee dps classes (Monk, Rogue, Bard, Ranger) which one would you play and level up for the long term (velious content)?

Please give your reasons why and the pro's and con's of each class.

[Bigsauce]

My personal choice, since that's how you framed your question, would be between Rogue and Bard. Which wouldn't be easy, but I'd think about if I want utility and to be able to run around ridiculously fast and solo or if I just want to be badass DPS who helps with corpse runs.

A lot of it comes down to not just class preference, but play style. How do you like to play? Group? Solo? Mixed?

[Loiterius]

It's definitely a question of what you want to play. They all have very different playstyles. I've never played a Monk/Rogue/Ranger before. I have played a Bard, however.

I do have to say though: if you want to be considered a good bard you'll need to be a bit ADHD. An average bard twists 3 songs at any given time, a good bard twists 4, and a machine twists 5.

There isn't anything you can't do as a Bard though. You will literally be the swiss army knife of classes. The only bad thing is, you can't really make money off your spells like an Enchanter/Cleric/Druid.

But, if you want to see an entire zones worth of mobs fall at your feet while you have people screaming, "I hope they catch you", then a Bard is for you.


If you're looking for a group, we're looking for you.
http://veneratep99.guildportal.com/GuildFiles/492860/MemberUploads/541771710/shawn_signature.png (http://veneratep99.guildportal.com/)

[joejccva71]

My personal choice, since that's how you framed your question, would be between Rogue and Bard. Which wouldn't be easy, but I'd think about if I want utility and to be able to run around ridiculously fast and solo or if I just want to be badass DPS who helps with corpse runs.

A lot of it comes down to not just class preference, but play style. How do you like to play? Group? Solo? Mixed?

Don't the rogue sneak/hide skill become useless in Sebilis and Karnors (and Raids) because even those high level mobs all see through invis and a rogue's sneak/hide?

[Malone88]

Don't the rogue sneak/hide skill become useless in Sebilis and Karnors (and Raids) because even those high level mobs all see through invis and a rogue's sneak/hide?
KC and Seb both have randomly scattered see inviz mobs, though for the most part
you can still get around KC pretty well and avoid them. Seb is a different story.

[Dezik]

Don't the rogue sneak/hide skill become useless in Sebilis and Karnors (and Raids) because even those high level mobs all see through invis and a rogue's sneak/hide?

I would not say useless... however less useful may be true. Regardless, there is something to be said for a class that is considered THE best DPS in the game, while at the same time not having the burden of responsibility to pull / tank / CC / heal. Rogue is a fun, relaxing class that is very much in-demand for their niche roll of supreme DPS.

[Ofaelol]

Bard.

I'd rather be a Swiss army knife than a super niche DPS god.

[lecompte]

Only one obvious choice: Ranger.

[baalzy]

Ranger. Snare & Fear animal. Track in huge open spaces.

Edit: You get to eat death touches, so you're never expected to do anything else of use on raids.

[Juhstin]

Monk... Always Monk

[lecompte]

Ranger. Snare & Fear animal. Track in huge open spaces.

Edit: You get to eat death touches, so you're never expected to do anything else of use on raids.

If a ranger is doing nothign but eating DTs the raidleaders need to consider the relative DPS between SK and Ranger. I guess an SK could speed bump

[solduios]

If a ranger is doing nothign but eating DTs the raidleaders need to consider the relative DPS between SK and Ranger. I guess an SK could speed bump

Sk dumps HT then goes and sits in a corner .... or eats a DT =p

Cause Paladins are still better OTs at this point just because of strong snap agro.

[Danth]

They don't ask Shadow Knights to eat death touches because most SK's are like me and would tell said raid leaders to snuff it. Rangers tend to be nicer and more willing to do a useful duty.

Shadow Knights have snap aggro on par with Paladins; sometimes you don't see it because there are a *lot* of incompetent Shadow Knights who don't know how to use anything except Disease Cloud. These Shadow Knights make good death-touch fodder. In fact they should be encouraged to make different characters entirely.

------------------------------------

Monks remain a strong class in Velious, flirting with god-mode-overpowered if you have access to North Temple Veeshan and Sleeper's-quality loot. Without such loot they're merely mortal but still very strong. Main downside is their excessive population, meaning expensive gear and high competition for drops.

Rogues are easy to play and good at what they do, and due to lower population than Monks tend to be in demand. Main downside is they have fewer options than the other classes listed and may become boring. It's a good class for someone who doesn't always want to give the game high attention levels.

Bards are the opposite of Rogues, difficult to play well and having a very high relative skill cap. Good Bards are always in demand; poor Bards quit at level 50ish and end up used as EC mules. They're very busy to play well, requiring constant activity not too dissimilar from combat in many newer online role-playing games. Horrid choice for players who like to AFK or type in chat a lot.

Rangers offer more engaging combat than Monks or Rogues and lower activity levels and difficulty than Bards. The cost is being probably the worst of the four in terms of overall power and desirability, even after Velious enhancements.

Danth

[applesauce25r624]

I do have to say though: if you want to be considered a good bard you'll need to be a bit ADHD

I think you mean OCD :P

[SyanideGas]

If I could go back and main a monk, I would definitely do it.

Great utility, fun as hell to play too.

[fishingme]

my decision would lie between monk and bard, bard dps to my understanding is a little low, but I think all the cool things with spells, and the illusion masks are worth the bard. I'd take a good bard that knows how to mez over an enchanter

[Erydan Ouragan]

my decision would lie between monk and bard, bard dps to my understanding is a little low, but I think all the cool things with spells, and the illusion masks are worth the bard. I'd take a good bard that knows how to mez over an enchanter

A little low? Here's a rundown of melee dps in the game, from top to bottom, assuming equal gear:

Rogue (DW+DA+Backstab)
Monk (DW+DA+FK)
Warrior/Ranger (DW+DA+Kick)
SK/Paladin (with 2-hander)
Bard
Casters

Take any weapon combination you want, even with the epic thrown in the mix, an equal level rogue will outdps you with rusty daggers.

Mage and necro lvl 29 pets, when they start DW+DA outdps you.

Bard melee is an illusion. It's something to do when you're not CC'ing (priority #1) or while you're twisting songs that benefit the group as a whole (priority #2)

[Man0warr]

Bard melee DPS sucked until AAs when hybrids got proc increasing AAs and hybrid only weapons that proc'd 650 damage dd's.

[Aabdel]

the forums can either completely help or hurt in these type of questions. you'll be told which classes are most desirable for end game/raids, you'll be told why class A is better than B etc, and most of all you'll hear why rangers blow.

in the end, the only good advice is to tell you to just roll with the class you're gonna enjoy. everyone tells you to go bard? awesome, until you discover around level 35 that you have carpal tunnel and hate playing the class. i came back to the server about a year ago after i finished school wanting to play the one class i loved in live, which is also the laughing stock of classic and kunark, the ranger. So i searched through the forums and listened to what people told me, ended up making a monk, a bard, ench, warr, etc. none past 25. started a ranger last week and couldn't be enjoying it more. so what if i the min/maxers spit in my direction? go with what will keep you playing and actually enjoying the time you spend doing so

[Roku]

A little low? Here's a rundown of melee dps in the game, from top to bottom, assuming equal gear:

Rogue (DW+DA+Backstab)
Monk (DW+DA+FK)
Warrior/Ranger (DW+DA+Kick)
SK/Paladin (with 2-hander)
Bard
Casters

Take any weapon combination you want, even with the epic thrown in the mix, an equal level rogue will outdps you with rusty daggers.

Mage and necro lvl 29 pets, when they start DW+DA outdps you.

Bard melee is an illusion. It's something to do when you're not CC'ing (priority #1) or while you're twisting songs that benefit the group as a whole (priority #2)


This goes back to the good bard vs bad bard question. A good bard's dps comes from charm & dots. Significantly higher than melee dps charts would indicate.

[Colgate]

with how broken precision disc is here, warriors will be the top DPS on any raid target that lasts as long as the disc(which is 2.5 or 3 minutes?)