Best class for grouping

[Dumont]

title says it all. Looking to do mostly grouping. What is the most sought after class grouping wise? I haven't played in EQ in many years. My 2 mains back in the day were pally and shaman. I had fun with both but want to pick up groups easily. Any suggestions? Thanks.

[darkreap]

Well I guess that really depends on what you want to do in said group. If you want to tank SK and Pally usually find a group pretty quick where warriors are less desired in lower level group situations due to their lack of snap aggro options. Most every group needs a cleric especially at later levels when druid/shaman heals drop off, however, shamen are also desired due to their amazing slow spells which make each encounter require less healing. If you want to be a DPS class rogues usually have a pretty easy time finding groups and chanters also top the dps charts at later levels with a charmed NPC. Most groups need some sort of CC and mana regen so a chanter or a bard wouldn't be a bad choice, however, bards are less desired as when things get hairy, the bard usually will have a hard time keeping mana regen, CC, and haste going all at the same time. Chanters can do all these things better than a bard but the bard will have other options in his bag of tricks. All comes down to play style and there is usually a spot in groups for most classes. Speaking from experience rangers have a hard time finding groups as do druids and wizards but play what you like and there are always things to do when you cant find a group.

[Nilstoniakrath]

Cleric Enchanter Shaman Monk Rogue Tank...

[Swish]

Cleric Enchanter Shaman Monk Rogue Tank...

To elaborate on this, and as a rogue main... you'll never be short of a group if there's a DPS slot going. Sneaking through zones like Sebilis is a great perk too. You are very screwed if there's no DPS slots available though.

If you like to sit, make a cleric. Similarly essential to a successful group but a lot of people burn out before they hit 60 and find it a bit limiting. Be a good backup CC if you make one, root adds and tell the group to move out of the way of it/them, stun mobs to gain aggro if the enchanter is getting a beatdown (as a plate class you can take a few hits).

Enchanters are fun and popular too but they lost some of their shinyness in Velious.

Want to tank? Everyone loves a SK for grouping. Best snap aggro tanks out there (disputed, but I know I'm right :D)

If you enjoy small groups of 2-3, maybe a shaman - good all round utility class with a bit of everything.


Hope that helps, and don't make a wizard... ;)

[Auchae]

Something with a desired role. Cleric is going to have tells for a group before you even log on. Enchanter covers things most other classes cant in crowd control and are effective pullers as well among many other things. Sk and pally make good group class over warrior if starting from nothing but usually theres a root spell somewhere in the group so dont let it stop you from rolling warrior if you've got your heart set on that specific tank. Its my personal favorite, gear or not. Shaman and druid bring alot to the table for a group but shamans going to be more sought after by quite a bit for group purposes. I personally would take either if i was forming with no preference and sometimes take druid over shaman depending on whats already in the group make up. Monk can single pull effectively if you understand the mechanics and also bring great dps even with no gear.

Basically.. Cleric, SK/Pally/War, Enchanter will be your best bets if you want to nearly always have a group. Class wont always guarantee you a spot though. If you really suck at what youre supposed to be doing, your reputation could spread fast.

[Nexii]

As far as exp groups go you will easily find groups as Paladin or Shaman.

[Pyrion]

If the group is looking for a tank, tank is the best you can be. If they need a healer, you should be a healer. Dedicated classes always get preference, but if a dedicated class isn't available the group might take a compromise.

At the moment i am playing a bard, and grouping is usually easy. Missing a tank? Can do that. Insufficient heals? With heal song and slows going all the time the healer can relax a lot more and will have mana for the tough situations. DPS and CC can also be done by a bard (enchanter is better at both, but bard is not far behind). So you might consider playing a bard... if you like to be *very* active during fights.

[Aaramis]

I'm surprised nobody mentioned Bard.

[demokatt]

I'm surprised nobody mentioned Ranger.

[thufir]

Basically.. Cleric, SK/Pally/War, Enchanter will be your best bets if you want to nearly always have a group. Class wont always guarantee you a spot though. If you really suck at what youre supposed to be doing, your reputation could spread fast.
more or less right.

every pug group needs a tank, healer, and cc, so you're best playing classes that fit those roles. you won't always find a group within 60 seconds of putting up lfg but you'll almost always get one in a reasonable time.

honorable mention would go to monks and shamans, both very useful classes that frequently are in your XP group, there are just a huge number of them so their spots are more or less saturated. sometimes you'll see monks in the tank role because of this saturation.

[tobolamr]

I don't know that the class matters as much as the ability to PLAY the class. I think - no, I BELIEVE that a good player who knows their class is an asset to a group. The variety is part of the fun.

I agree that sometimes you get in a group and it's just... not easy. (I can tell many stories...) But it can be done. I spent a lot of times with my rogue grouped with a ranger and a druid. Or sometimes it was a bard and an enchanter and the Rogue was the tank! Or sometimes you had warrior, cleric, monk, enchanter, rogue and Necro. Or shaman, rogue, monk. Or... or... or... The combinations are endless.

So be what you WANT to be!

[Dumont]

Thanks all for the replies!
I think I'll give Cleric a try. I hear they are crap when it comes to solo though. Any suggestions on race/starting area/stats?

[thufir]

I don't know that the class matters as much as the ability to PLAY the class. I think - no, I BELIEVE that a good player who knows their class is an asset to a group. The variety is part of the fun.

I agree that sometimes you get in a group and it's just... not easy. (I can tell many stories...) But it can be done. I spent a lot of times with my rogue grouped with a ranger and a druid. Or sometimes it was a bard and an enchanter and the Rogue was the tank! Or sometimes you had warrior, cleric, monk, enchanter, rogue and Necro. Or shaman, rogue, monk. Or... or... or... The combinations are endless.

So be what you WANT to be!

this is great advice until "what you want to be" detracts from your enjoyment of the game.

I was a wizard on live. I pugged pretty hard up until 40ish but then things dried up fast. with kunark mobs in high level dungeons hit point totals are much higher and your inefficiency stands out. not finding groups in the late game kinda sucks. it isn't any better for wizards here, or druids for that matter.

most people you are pugging it with aren't going to think like tobolamr. most of them will expect a tank, healer, and cc of the appropriate classes. early on you will find groups because group composition doesn't matter so much early, but the more you level the more difficulty you'll have finding groups, until you get to seb and realize nobody will take you because you didn't pick one of the more important grouping classes.

so, sure, be what you want to be, but if you want to group regularly all the way up to the end, pick a class that is recognized as plugging one of those main roles. it'll be much easier for you.

[darkreap]

There is no "bad" race to be when choosing a cleric. Human/Erudites get some kinda cool quests which help if you are not twinked, High elves start with the highest wis and get a nice bracer quest at later levels, Halflings get sneak/hide, gnomes can tinker and have really cool looking custom helms, Dark elves get ultravision, hide, a snare necklace (which isn't as good as it seems but its useful sometimes) plus really cool custom helms, and Dwarves can do that sweet barrel-roll. As for starting stats Wisdom isn't a bad place to put your points as it will make your mana pool bigger but at later levels this will be capped regardless of where you put your points. Str might also be a good choice depending on your race as plate armor is heavy but this will also not be an issue at later levels as most plate will have str on it as well. A split between the two would be ok as it will give you more mana to help level and let you wear heavier armor earlier on. End game raiders will likely tell you sta is the most important stat because it is the only stat you wont be able to cap but it isn't a big deal. Pick what you think looks the best and in the end, the differences in all of your creation decisions will be minimal.

[Pyrion]

Against undead, a cleric is basically a wizard, and your nukes even have a resistance bonus. But you can't quad them... so not really a wizard :). Still, you can solo, it's just really boring and slow.

[Kowalski]

Against undead, a cleric is basically a wizard, and your nukes even have a resistance bonus. But you can't quad them... so not really a wizard :). Still, you can solo, it's just really boring and slow.

Not from my experience. I get more resists on vs spells soloing blues than anything. Maybe it's because the global MR on this server is through the roof and all cleric spells are magic based?

I'll never solo lvl a cleric again. Worst class to solo IMHO.

[Jimjam]

There is no "bad" race to be when choosing a cleric. Human/Erudites get some kinda cool quests which help if you are not twinked, High elves start with the highest wis and get a nice bracer quest at later levels, Halflings get sneak/hide, gnomes can tinker and have really cool looking custom helms, Dark elves get ultravision, hide, a snare necklace (which isn't as good as it seems but its useful sometimes) plus really cool custom helms, and Dwarves can do that sweet barrel-roll. As for starting stats Wisdom isn't a bad place to put your points as it will make your mana pool bigger but at later levels this will be capped regardless of where you put your points. Str might also be a good choice depending on your race as plate armor is heavy but this will also not be an issue at later levels as most plate will have str on it as well. A split between the two would be ok as it will give you more mana to help level and let you wear heavier armor earlier on. End game raiders will likely tell you sta is the most important stat because it is the only stat you wont be able to cap but it isn't a big deal. Pick what you think looks the best and in the end, the differences in all of your creation decisions will be minimal.

Humans of Innoruuk get some fun clicks.

http://wiki.project1999.com/Terror_Forged_Mask
Fear

http://wiki.project1999.com/Regent_Symbol_of_Innoruuk
Snare/DoT

They also get some robe options, which lets you mix up your appearance.

[Kowalski]

http://wiki.project1999.com/Regent_Symbol_of_Innoruuk
Snare/DoT.

Is nice, but it has a long cast time compared to duration of spell. Also, it tends to get resisted a lot.

[Ravager]

Rogue is the best class for grouping and this is why: DPS is always in demand. A group with a healer doesn't need another healer. A group with a tank doesn't need another tank. A group with CC or Buffing doesn't need more CC or Buffing. Groups are more than happy to have 3 rogues in them, however.

[Ura Fay Gate]

Who approves posts?

[darkreap]

Rogue is the best class for grouping and this is why: DPS is always in demand. A group with a healer doesn't need another healer. A group with a tank doesn't need another tank. A group with CC or Buffing doesn't need more CC or Buffing. Groups are more than happy to have 3 rogues in them, however.

A group can consist of those three classes without DPS, however, 3 rogues alone wont get very far. Half the group will be these key classes with DPS filling in the remaining slots but can contain multiple tanks or CC focusing on DPS (enchanter will top the charts with a charmed pet). Granted, groups will not likely take a second healer to be DPS but I've seen plenty of groups toss a warrior in as DPS or have a pally and a SK. Tank/Healer/CC are usually always the classes in demand when trying to form a group from my experience.

[Ravager]

A group can consist of those three classes without DPS, however, 3 rogues alone wont get very far. Half the group will be these key classes with DPS filling in the remaining slots but can contain multiple tanks or CC focusing on DPS (enchanter will top the charts with a charmed pet). Granted, groups will not likely take a second healer to be DPS but I've seen plenty of groups toss a warrior in as DPS or have a pally and a SK. Tank/Healer/CC are usually always the classes in demand when trying to form a group from my experience.
I didn't say 3 rogues alone would get far. If you're looking to group, a rogue is going to find way more opportunities than any other class. That's my point.

[Lojik]

Wizard best choice

[Pyrion]

A rogue isn't needed to make a group *function*, it's just there to increase DPS (by a good amount i admit). So people generally like to have rogues in a group, but only when the bare neccessities are taken care of. Healer + tank usually make the core of most groups (there are possibilities around this, but this is the proven most efficient way). Next there is CC. All healers can root, so they have some basic CC already... but often that's not enough. Only when those functions are present DPS becomes a favoured choice. But although rogue maybe the best pure DPS class, it's not the only option. Pet classes can DPS reasonably well and usually bring other abilities as well. A chanter who knows how to charm (or even a bard) can do a lot of DPS.

So, rogue isn't an obvious choice. Still it will usually work in areas that have enough groups.

[Ravager]

A rogue won't wait nearly as long for a spot to open up as any other class. If you don't believe me, go sit at the zone in of any popular grouping zone and see for yourself.

[bilirubin]

A rogue won't wait nearly as long for a spot to open up as any other class. If you don't believe me, go sit at the zone in of any popular grouping zone and see for yourself.


This is true in my experience. Every group only wants one tank and healer, but most groups will take multiple rogues or DPS.

[Jimjam]

Monk is a pretty solid choice. Dps that self heals and can pull. Can tank in a pinch if geared reasonably.

I never struggle to find groups on warriors.

Rangers people tend to avoid, even though I find them reasonably useful in groups.

Clerics... There seems to be an overabundance of healers levelling up at the moment. A good bet for healers is to go to popular monk solo spots and duo up.

[Sebastionleo]

I love having a ranger in certain zones. High Keep for example. Splitting the Raider Room becomes trivial with a ranger in the group (or a druid, but the ranger is more likely to pull it himself)

[zati]

Wizard best choice

this. 6 wizards is even better.

[Muggens]

if u like sitting roll a cleric, the server always need more of them!

[Crawdad]

Like others have said, Cleric/Enchanter/Warrior is the holy trinity of EQ. Bard can sub for War or Ench, SK/Pal can sub for War, but its the basis for any solid Exp group.

From there the answer is obvious: Roll one of each and keep different level ranges. You'll eventually/always find a group somewhere.

If you want to Dps, I'd go with rogue or monk. Just know there are hundreds upon hundreds of monk/rogue twinks out there at all the popular grouping spots.