Stuck around lvl 34 advice? (class advice too)

[manard]

Hey! I've been playing casually for a few months. I cant seem to get past the mid 30's before I think " Is this all this class will ever do " then start to get the idea to reroll. So far I have

35 necro
34 mage
35 paladin
then two account worth of random teens.

I am happy in at least I didnt go crazy and sell my items for each reroll, but I am really stuck.

I really enjoy dealing damage, I like to see numbers, but I cant deal with being killed caught without a pet (mage), not being able to deal any damage (paladin) or being able to do both, but there's no reason to group as a necro.

I am thinking maybe a melee class, that can deal damage, but doesn't have to run from a fight?

I have an 18 warrior, and liked tanking to a degree and critical hits, but made a halfling for the xp bonus, but feel a little gimped vs a troll or iksar

I havent tried rogue, or ranger.

any advice appreciated, thanks!

ps. I have 1000 plat to outfit any attempt

[Webeporting]

Shaman or enchanter are the options you are looking for. Why?

The grievances you listed with mage, paladin, necro, are they are generally good for one singular purpose. Classes like shaman and enchanter are viable in group and solo roles, and require different playstyles in both. Also, if you aren't a slacker, both are extremely active.

Regarding your mention of melee, monk might be a great fit. Why? You want to be able to deal damage, you are generally the puller for the group, you can also be the tank in certain scenarios, and you can solo quite well, last but not least, you never have to run, just fd = ).

Or just choose warrior and be a wall, and say buff me. Always fun imo.

[Amyas]

Necro's are really underrated in a group setting. Patching healing mana bots with dps!

[Amyas]

You might like SK better than pally, you will have necro stuff in plate with harm touch =P?

[manard]

Well, I I've tried enchanter, albeit low level. I just didn't like being destroyed in melee.

I guess something else I did like was being able to be self reliant on the most important stat in the game (runspeed) I know shamans can self buff, rangers can at 30, or you can buy Jboots or potions, but I feel like a cheapskate I guess ;w;

I do have a lvl 6 monk with some cured silk and two trace staffs, seems pretty powerful, just needs some AC/HP rings and that 300p staff to run to 50?

I guess I just like being able to do it all

[Rararboker]

After the mid levels, if you are fighting solo, almost every class gets destroyed in melee.

[Redi]

Try monk.

Very versatile, can solo, great dps I'm groups, can pull if u didn't want to just mondlessly press attack, not gimped as a pure melee (mend, fd, sneak)

[manard]

I did enjoy necro, it just feels passive even though I am doing so much. Was great to solo and in groups it was fun to charm or help out, but it just didnt ever feel like I was doing much.

My necro is parked at 34, just for when I hit the wall again I guess.

I am stuck between monk, ranger, or rogue I guess. Though I think the only one that gets to dual weild is rogue because of best ratio 2hb weapons.

[Amyas]

wHAT ABOUT A BARD?

[manard]

I thought about that, I do have one at level 9 already. I do have some great armor I could pass over to it, and a few weapons. I made macros to do three songs per press so not that annoying for groups. I dont know _(. _.)_

I seem to be really indecisive, I want a solo king who is a groups best things who can take a hit without pulling up a robe to shit

[Cuktus]

Well, I I've tried enchanter, albeit low level. I just didn't like being destroyed in melee.

I guess something else I did like was being able to be self reliant on the most important stat in the game (runspeed) I know shamans can self buff, rangers can at 30, or you can buy Jboots or potions, but I feel like a cheapskate I guess ;w;

I do have a lvl 6 monk with some cured silk and two trace staffs, seems pretty powerful, just needs some AC/HP rings and that 300p staff to run to 50?

I guess I just like being able to do it all

I thought about that, I do have one at level 9 already. I do have some great armor I could pass over to it, and a few weapons. I made macros to do three songs per press so not that annoying for groups. I dont know _(. _.)_

I seem to be really indecisive, I want a solo king who is a groups best things who can take a hit without pulling up a robe to shit

You sir, are looking for shaman. Roll Ogre. They are the swiss army knife of EQ... Nukes, pets, dots, slows, buffs, whole package. With haste/slows and a Granite Face grinder/poison wind censer you can melee your way into the low 50s. After that it might be something to avoid till you get torpor though.

[NuanImproved]

Vote for monk. I've played rogue, monk, necro, mage and SK. I'm pretty casual, and having feign makes being casual fuckin' RAD. It's so nice, being able to actually afk, or take a phone call in the middle of stuff and never die.

With minimal gear you can easily solo to 50. Soloing on an SK is fun too, and SK's are a close second for me. Grouping in 6mans is significantly slower xp for monks, duos and trios are where it's at. Works well with a large variety of classes. I had an absolute blast leveling on my monk, and you tend to make real friends because you'll xp grind with one other person for the evening pretty often. You get tells for groups constantly because you're great dps and fill a hugely vital role in EQ - puller. The only downside I think is being expected to be pulling and be busy all the time in most groups.

[Ivory]

Why do you say paladins can't do damage? :| Go fight some undead with high dex, a ghoulbane, and your undead nukes.....

[Tecmos Deception]

Necro's are really underrated in a group setting. Patching healing mana bots with dps!

Don't forget a lot of CC (root, snare, mez, fear, pet offtank), pulling (undead lulls, feign, tricks with pet+feign+mez+snares+roots), and more.

A group necro a lot like a bard or druid, imo; they kinda need to fill in based on what the group has going already. But they DO have the tools to fit into basically any group and do very well in it if you keep your mind open beyond "well my 2-minute dots don't work well cause stuff dies in 25 seconds so I guess I'll just keep soloing."

[manard]

My problem with paladin is that I did more damage through melee and healing than nuking. I farmed and got a ghoulbane, but the damage it did was very poor compared to Baton of Faith even with procs, I have 130 dex which was pretty good for a high elf paladin.

I did unrest for a long time, and that was a great experience tanking and pulling. Got lots of compliments

Someone then suggested jousting, which just seemed very silly to me, I tried it, but was a little disappointing. So went back to grouping, had a great night, then couldnt find a group for two days straight, so rerolled into the mage. Which was fun, sorta...

I might give shaman a try? I figure its just another alt I can park if it isnt for me.

I think if I was ultra rich and had Jboots on every toon it would be less of a problem lol. Should have probably just leveled the necro to 50 for the plat, but had a few days of having a really hard time finding a camp and hung it up for a while.

I went back for a bit and was like, " Wow, nothing can kill me " splitting WC druids and taking them both out.

I dont know what ranger seems cool to me, maybe having armor, weapons, and dual wield.

Probably going to have to try them all to 34 lol

[indiscriminate_hater]

wHAT ABOUT A BARD?

[Maliant]

Seems like you are having a hard time getting past the wall of the 35 hell level. Regardless of which class you play hell levels are going to take time and patience, it's pretty much the cornerstone of EQ. That being said I am a bit biased towards necros and that should be your best bet to level up quickly if you are following Sesserdrix's guide which you should be doing. I will warn that if you do want to take necro further and go past 50 you will have to spend all your farming money on EEs, coffins and peridots.

[Ivory]

Really learning a class (any class) is far more than just playing them up to 34 or something. Each class has hidden power that you can discover....

For example, I had a level 30 gnome warrior....that was a solo god because I learnt combat bandaging.

My level 14 rogue was soloing hill giants in Karana for a while :P

I took my ranger to 55 using a bow and discovered how crazy strong archery is if you think it through.

I have a 51 necromancer that I meleed with.....being able to out-tank my pet and solo like crazy. (Did you know necromancers get a decent self damage shield? Along with a self proc vampiric embrace that does FAR more damage than the SK version? ...most people don't).

I have a 56 gnome cleric...that I played as a paladin. Meleeing mobs and using my mana to heal myself with a nuke here or there (since I focused early on tanking and trying to keep up with gear, I was able to keep my skills high enough to make this happen....and invested my specialization into evocation, not healing).

And now I'm trying a shadow archer (necromancer that uses archery and pets to solo).....and I have high hopes for it pre-50.

Basically, there is a lot more to this game than just "how is my DPS". Really mastering a class takes a lot of time to think through just how far you can take it....and gearing yourself to strengthen that play-style. Like, I've always been jealous of paladins, because they seem like amazing tanks outside of the very very high end raiding (I played one for a while, but couldn't get into it because of the race :|). I even have a non-traditional theory for paladins i want to try some day!!

[Zuranthium]

I did enjoy necro, it just feels passive even though I am doing so much. Was great to solo and in groups it was fun to charm or help out, but it just didnt ever feel like I was doing much.

How did it feel like you're not doing much? Necros do a lot of damage. You are level 34, Venom of the Snake is very powerful and you have a pet too. If you want to "see the numbers" then you can just play like a Mage and nuke. Necros have better mana regen than Mages, so they are just as good as a Mage at doing that, even though their nukes themselves are weaker and their pet is slightly weaker. Much more versatile at the same time too.

[Danth]

So went back to grouping, had a great night, then couldnt find a group for two days straight, so rerolled into the mage. Which was fun, sorta...

A) Your comment I quoted is a fact of life for leveling tank types. It comes with the territory and the occasional groupless periods are part of the cost associated with picking those classes. If you don't like that, don't pick Paladin/Warrior/Shadow Knight. Shadow Knights solo the best of those three, but they're still unremarkable at it, and outright bad prior to level 22.

B) Few people try to melee unslowed monsters past the mid levels. Monster damage output scales more quickly than player hit point pools, and things like Dar Ghoul Knights in Lower Guk will ruin level-appropriate people who try to fight them unslowed 1 vs 1. Folks who insist on trying to melee past the mid levels either joust--which is tedious and slow--or pick a high-damage class like Monk and try to kill stuff before dying then bandage and regen up. Fungi Tunics are common gear items for such people. They're usually also very careful with respect to what they fight, typically favoring low blue /con opponents.

C) Solo Shamans can melee far more than the actual melee classes can on account of having powerful slow spells which cripple monster damage output. The major downside of the Shaman class is the tremendous cost associated with its high-level spells and equipment. This class may be worth a look if you accept the long-term cost associated with it. Note that the Shaman class starts off poorly and doesn't truly come into its own until about the mid 30's--right where you seem to usually run out of gas. It's not a great choice in the teens and 20's.

D) Necromancers make perfectly competent group members, although many folks who play them opt for solo gameplay. If you pick any of the solo-based classes you'll still develop that feeling of, "I can make faster experience on my own." That's what makes the solo classes what they are. The classes which make experience in groups faster than they can solo do so because they can't solo worth a hoot. As Necromancers reach upper levels they tend to gain access to some strategies, such as charming, that they don't typically utilize during low and mid levels.

E) It's important to remember that no single class in EQ gets everything. No matter what you pick you'll lack something, somewhere.

F) Don't imagine Rangers as an up-front melee solo'er. Past mid levels they solo mostly by fear-kiting animals or less commonly by bow kiting.

With all of the above in mind, I'd recommend you either stick with the Necromancer or try out a Shaman.

Danth

[manard]

I enjoyed necro a lot more than my mage due to FD, regen, iksar tails, and just being evil.

One thing I DID really like about necro, is every tier of new spells I felt more powerful, and as the character grew I was able to do more and more things, not less and less.

I wanted to get some gear for the magician and tried to use my paladin, then, I just took the necro and it was a cakewalk, even when it wasnt I could just FD.

Kind of regret not sticking with necro 100% and getting a COS.

I really appreciate the input from everyone.

I guess I am just frustrated with the difficulty, but on the bright side I guess I have a lot of alts.

[Crashking]

What a lot of folks seem to do is pick a class work it up to higher levels (say 50+) then use the profits of it to twink out a new alt. (Twink - buy it stuff that isn't available at its level) This way the toon will breeze though the earlier levels and can often be done solo.

I have a small army of toons who aren't exactly twinks with the best of best gear though each toon does have its gear slots filled and a number of nice little items that I spent time getting rather then buying.

I personally think half the fun of playing a class is the time spent learning it.

I wouldn't trade away the fun I had playing my rogue solo from 12 to 19 and battling mobs with only 50% of my hp's to start with as that is as far as I could bandage up to. While camping the one spot I was at I did get an occasional high level cleric buff that doubled my hp's for a while so when I would bind wound to 50% it was my normal full hp's making things a bit easier. In the end my rogue walked away with bind wound skill at 100 and backstab at 100, plus 1500 plat in the bank.

Not sure if this applies Manard, but I hear folks join guilds to find others to group with. I have yet to find my way into one, but have managed some groups from time to time in some places.

[manard]

really rusty D: fun having the tools available though

http://i.imgur.com/7UkmlDw.jpg

[Ravager]

I enjoyed necro a lot more than my mage due to FD, regen, iksar tails, and just being evil.

One thing I DID really like about necro, is every tier of new spells I felt more powerful, and as the character grew I was able to do more and more things, not less and less.

I wanted to get some gear for the magician and tried to use my paladin, then, I just took the necro and it was a cakewalk, even when it wasnt I could just FD.

Kind of regret not sticking with necro 100% and getting a COS.

I really appreciate the input from everyone.

I guess I am just frustrated with the difficulty, but on the bright side I guess I have a lot of alts.

Cos is cheap enough. A necro can farm plat for that and more easier than most classes.

[Rygar]

And now I'm trying a shadow archer (necromancer that uses archery and pets to solo).....and I have high hopes for it pre-50.


Do you mean a shadow knight as a shadow archer? Necros can't use archery I thought. Be interested to learn more.

Love your play style sneaksy, very out of the box. A gem to have you on p99

[Ivory]

Do you mean a shadow knight as a shadow archer? Necros can't use archery I thought. Be interested to learn more.

Love your play style sneaksy, very out of the box. A gem to have you on p99

Thanks! :) Yea a shadow knight that is an archer....using the pet and snare to supplement damage while kiting!! I don't know if it will work....but my theory (after being a ranger archer) is that it should more than make up for the loss of ranger skills with archer sub 50.

After 50...well....that is another story.

[Crashking]

Cos is cheap enough. A necro can farm plat for that and more easier than most classes.

Price on a CoS has skyrocketed since the nerf. Believe they are 4 or more times as costly then prenerf. Watch out and don't be tricked by the current Circlet of ShadowS, which has a non instant cast time. As with all things EQ, it all can be had given time.

[LethClaypool]

With my necro, what's made grouping enjoyable so far (he's 31 and grouped quite a bit on the way up) was making friends and sticking to duos or trios as I leveled, that way you're more of a cornerstone and utilize a larger 'palette' of your abilities.

If you're careful you can be a decent puller, you have your life taps and heals (which together do provide a bit of mana cushioning for the healer), your pet can off tank a bit and helps provide some damage, you have your mana battery abilities and if you're doing some thing risky you could always peel adds off to the side, and crowd control through a mix of root, terror, snare, and fear.

To me it's not as fun of a class in your traditional six man type of group but when you start pulling together little rag tag duos and trios it's more enjoyable.

[Jimjam]

My warrior tanked moat groups in City of Mist with just a necro and bard for heals. The rest of the group was monks/rogues. It was so epic.

I'll welcome any necro that knows how to group!

[LethClaypool]

My warrior tanked moat groups in City of Mist with just a necro and bard for heals. The rest of the group was monks/rogues. It was so epic.

I'll welcome any necro that knows how to group!

Stuff like this.

It's fun to have enough to bring to the table that you can, to a point, build a group around you as classes become available.

[Kutsumo]

There's 100s and 100s of prenerfs out there - fat cats being fat cats.

I know lots of people who have one on every character on every account. lol

[Nixtar]

Never pay more than 10k for a CoS. High supply / low demand = Not the coveted item it was on live and it never will be(unless this server stay alive for 10+ years without being rebooted).