Most FUN Class to Play Untwinked?

[Bigdaddy47]

Hey, I've been running through a million different ideas this morning on a new character to play. Would like to do the <Auld Lang Syne> playstyle this time around, going untwinked and earning upgrades along the way.

Anyone with experience in this way/style of play care to chip in with what you enjoyed about it and what class you were? I don't care at all about the "best" character as it's obviously necro/ench, but what you found was fun about the class and why.

I play a bit off-peak (a few hours between 8am-4p is usually my window) so having the ability to somewhat solo would be nice. Currently considering SK/Pally, but would love to hear how others fared.

[Auchae]

Monks not too bad untwinked if youre leaning away from the usual solo spellcaster and want to roll a melee.

[Dirkus]

Bards can do a lot without any gear as long as you stick to kiting outdoors.

[Spyder73]

Pally/Sk untwinked will not be very 'fun'. Monk is a good suggestion since they were designed in classic to be naked beggers who carry no coin. My first P99 character was a monk and he is now rocking full White Lotus and a Facesmasher. The progression for monks is good for 'self only items' also because it flows pretty naturally. IE Use fists, get armor from Upper Guk, then Dalnir cresent armor, then CoM weapons, ect, ect). The epic quest starts with sash and headband quests which can be started and completed fairly early in a monks career. Then camping Raster in your late 40s is a rite of passage for any monk.

I would think the most fun untwinked is either Monk or Necromancer... even though necro is also one of the most powerful untwinked. Necromancers are totally viable healers for group content during the levels near your Compact spells. I healed on my necro pretty much full time from level 20-30, 44-58. There is a dark period between 30-40 where your heals wont be enough.

If you play necro with the mindset of a healer and send your pet in for extra DPS, dispel your own recourse, and life tap/twitch as needed then you will see just how powerful a well played necromancer really is.

I don't want to toot my own horn but I have had at least probably 20 groups tell me I am the best necromancer they have ever played with. There are also so many undead zones in EQ that necromancers can charm almost as well as enchanter.

Plus lets face it - the grind form 55-60 is damn near unbearable and it can be IMPOSSIBLE to find groups unless you play a min/max class. At least with necromancer you can solo 55-60 (that is if your aim is to max out).

TLDR - Monk or Necro bro

[Spyder73]

If you want to "solo some" then you definitely need to pick a charm class IMO. Necro/Chanter/Druid - Druid can be a bit tricker to find charm spots but druid charm is just as viable as any other class in outdoor zones and they can quad kite.

I recently leveled a Druid (Wutaang) up to level 39 and I did quite a bit of charming along the way. Most notably in Oasis in the teens where I became a DPS monster.

Now that I think about it I think you should scrap Monk/Necro and go Druid. Its pretty neat having ports and very unique

[port9001]

I've spent a lot of time on this problem since I love melee based classes but don't always have time for a group. I also don't usually twink my characters much, if at all. My Ranger is in Auld actually. So given your criteria of wanting to 1) play untwinked 2) melee and 3) off hours with some soloing:

Paladin
A slow soloer, particularly until you get a decent 2hander and root (level 22). Root jousting is the only real solo strategy this class has to offer. Otherwise you'll be taking full damage hits to the face and healing up afterwards, which is slow. Can work but requires patience. On the plus side very easy to get single pulls with lull and decent heal up capability.

Shadowknight
A very capable soloer with fear kiting. No real way of generating single pulls at first, but easy once you have FD. Soloing is entirely restricted to large open outdoor zones you can fear in but still very viable.

Ranger
A very capable soloer with three different workable strategies: root jousting (level 15), fear kiting animals (level 22), and archery (level 9 to start, gets better with root). Archery is hugely underrated IMO but requires some effort to make it viable. Rangers also have Harmony which makes single pulls a breeze, but only outdoors (note however that most of the popular grouping dungeons ARE outdoors).

Monk
Has a reputation for being a good soloer but I think much of that rep comes from access to cheap good weapons. You can buy overpowered weapons for a Monk in EC for 100pp. People practically give them away. As a member of Auld you will not have access to these so you'll be face tanking mobs and then healing up with bandages and Mend which isn't a recipe for success IMO. Still viable but will be slow I think.

Warrior
Face tanking with no heal up capability besides bandages. Not viable.

Rogue
Face tanking with no mitigation or heal up capability besides bandages. Not viable.

Bard
Technically a melee but I think of them as more of a caster on wheels personally. Very good soloers but everyone knows that.

[rubicaant]

Shadowknight
A very capable soloer with fear kiting. No real way of generating single pulls. Soloing is entirely restricted to large open outdoor zones but still very viable.



What do you mean SK has no real way of generating single pulls? They have snare and FD, they're pretty good at single pulls.

[port9001]

What do you mean SK has no real way of generating single pulls? They have snare and FD, they're pretty good at single pulls.

Sorry, was thinking of early levels. At level 30 you can feign for all the single pulls you could ever want. Will edit my post.

[Twochain]

I've always played melee chars in EQ, "main'd" a war on live (aka i was 11 and got up to level 40) and my main here is a monk.

That being said, Enchanter. They practically require zero gear, and all the gear that IS required will be easily solo'd/group'd with Auld Lang Syne. Lull pulling, super high dps via pets, CC gods, ETC. The most fun I have had outside of raids in this game is being the main puller for my group on the enchanter.

The only downside is they suck til like level 16.

[Tann]

depends on your definition of fun really, both my mage and necro are mostly untwinked (can play either naked) and fun for me in the ways I play them which are quite different from each other.

mage for me is a war/cleric duo, I hate the reclaim/chain summoning strat and much prefer weaponizing, hasting, and healing my elebro. the 50% exp pen is what it is, chewing through low blue cons is probably more efficient than a twinked out monk or a melee hybrid.

necro is an entirely different animal where the fun for me is maximizing efficiency with how much damage the dots and pet are doing and finding that perfect balance.

[Lhancelot]

Personally I don't find it fun struggling on a game so I'd say enchanter untwinked aint bad. The spells are so powerful they carry the class in the lightest of gears.

The only thing is the ungeared chanter is very fragile, but as you get higher in levels that don't even matter because the chanter even geared will feel fragile especially when you fighting 50+ mobs.

The chanter ungeared is quite useful in a group too, unlike a melee that is in cloth and using rusty weapons.

Basically a poorly geared melee is at the mercy of groups who will accept them.

I been with other players who actually consider a players gears before inviting them. It's wrong, but some players are this way.

[Crede]

Best Untwinked Imo would be any charm class: enc, necro, bard, maybe Druid. I loved my enchanter but I also had jboots which helps a lot. Personally, I’d go bard. I’m having a blast charm kiting with basically just a drum. It was my first class ever in classic and finally starting to realize their true potential and I’m only lvl 33. And their run speed is addicting. Not much needed except a decent lute and drum.

[timeflux]

Enchanter is the most fun class to play!

End of discussion :)

[Lojik]

Necro untwinked is pretty fun. Iksar is great, FoB is a great starting area so the initial levels aren't so bad. Progression is good, you get a lot of levels that you look forward to and your relative power increases.

Enchanter untwinked good too but I don't think you get that sense of progression.

[Sage Truthbearer]

I would definitely pick an Iksar Monk if you want to play a melee class. Being untwinked you can go a long way on Bind Wound + Mend alone.

[Baler]

magician. You can level to 60 naked. :)

[Amyas]

Necro or bard

[Fifield]

When i first started on the server with nothing as a bard it was amazing.

Finding groups, using your lute to heal the group and cc. Almost never melee'd. Highly recommended

[kined]

Enchanter IMO. charm leveling is about as fun as it gets for regular grinding, atleast for me it is. on top of that even with junk gear you can dive right into dungeons with people and control situations that would be disastrous for any other class. my chanter at 60 still has crap gear but im able to clean up some huge messes. charming in a duo in HS is crazy fun, you just end up with piles of mobs just lined up to shred through with your pet. with just a healer, you feel like you have the power of a full group... because you do. its a bit tense, but if you enjoy the challenge nothing beats it. i am on the verge of leveling a second chanter, but trying to get some other classes to 60 before i do that

necromancer is a close second, but chanters win it just because of the crazy situations you can fight through instead of just hitting FD and resetting.

[Pyrocat]

Iksar Necromancer.

You have access to the skullcap questline, which can be a fun distraction from leveling. You are just gear-dependent enough to give you goals and interesting choices (focus on hp vs mana? unlike mage/wiz) but not enough that you would feel underpowered without twinking. You can get into places you shouldn't be with invis/FD, skeleton form means you can sell in many more cities than iksar would normally allow.

[Erati]

druid

[Samoht]

play a warrior but only take rogue loot and always pretend to be a rogue when joining groups and you'll have fun
demon hunter

Dammit, Filbus... This isn't World of Warcraft. (Where Rogues, Monks, and Warriors actually can efficiently solo for EXP.)

[Beastagoog]

yah Druid or Necro or Chanter I'd vote for.

Chanter is super easy to get enough cha for that will take you to 60

[Izmael]

The class that gains the least from twinking is obviously magician, with bard being a very close second if bard sticks to kiting.

A mage can literally only buy malachite (2sp? per) and food/water and get to 60 like that with no issue whatsoever.

If they get epic'd they can even skip the malachite and just buy food/water.

[Tankdan]

Untwinked isn't fun, it's a job.

[TheOutdoorNerd]

Enchanter or Necro. Both these classes let you overcome gear with skill rather effectively. Even in groups, no one will know or care that you're wearing all cloth if you're good at your class.

The chanter was my first toon on P99 and I was practically naked until level 50 or so. Even then, it was mostly gear I picked up grouping. At some point I could've started soloing for my own gear or to farm plat, but I wanted the levels more than gear, so I kept playing with some junk plain cloth slots well into my 50s.

The necro is easy mode but once you get your first big boy lich, you'll really want at least some cheap HP gear since your hit points will drop like a rock with your mana regen. Even then you can look at gear like a luxury. Gear is just less downtime.

Shaman is OK to start with untwinked, but it kinda turns into a money pit as you level up. But at the lower levels, it's not as gear dependent--you're basically a cleric with SoW.

[Cecily]

Rogue if you don't mind being group bound. Untwinked rogues are fun specifically because how blatantly your character's damage improves every time you upgrade your weapons. There's nothing quite like seeing your new Ragebringer in action level 46-50ish.

[Beastagoog]

Enchanter or Necro. Both these classes let you overcome gear with skill rather effectively. Even in groups, no one will know or care that you're wearing all cloth if you're good at your class.

The chanter was my first toon on P99 and I was practically naked until level 50 or so. Even then, it was mostly gear I picked up grouping. At some point I could've started soloing for my own gear or to farm plat, but I wanted the levels more than gear, so I kept playing with some junk plain cloth slots well into my 50s.

The necro is easy mode but once you get your first big boy lich, you'll really want at least some cheap HP gear since your hit points will drop like a rock with your mana regen. Even then you can look at gear like a luxury. Gear is just less downtime.

Shaman is OK to start with untwinked, but it kinda turns into a money pit as you level up. But at the lower levels, it's not as gear dependent--you're basically a cleric with SoW.

Shaman also has that grey area before it's pet...also after it for a bit ... hard to solo/ sorta must group 30's-40's without it been a super twink but BOY do they come alive in their 50's especially with an epic.

LET THE 5 MOB ROOT ROT BEGIN!

[dbouya]

He won't have his epic probably at level 50 in auld lang will he? I still recommend shaman though. They're great in groups, they don't really require any gear in groups, and they can solo, while at the same time being just bad enough at solo'ing to WANT to group sometimes. They're great to duo with as well. An untwinked shaman duo'ing with a twinked melee doesn't violate the rules of auld does it? That would give you all the benefits of twinking a few hours here and there.

They're not melee's though, but you won't be solo'ing on a melee in auld, basically at all. Or if you do end up solo'ing on a melee character with auld rules, you won't actually be using your melee.

[TheOutdoorNerd]

Shaman also has that grey area before it's pet...also after it for a bit ... hard to solo/ sorta must group 30's-40's without it been a super twink but BOY do they come alive in their 50's especially with an epic.

LET THE 5 MOB ROOT ROT BEGIN!

Yeah, it's a slog soloing for XP in your 50s without the epic, though. Much better to have a melee partner at least. But you can buff up dogdog with HP buff, haste, and regen, and set him loose on low level dungeons for some easy cash. And with all that extra STR from your buffs, you can go a long time without needing to vendor everything. And unlike the charmed chanter pet, dogdog won't eat you if you go AFK.

The shaman isn't very fun in groups though at higher levels. "Hey can I get SoW/str/dex/sta/agi/HP/regen?" swap your spells out, cast a bajillion buffs, canni down, rinse and repeat. It's nice being able to fill in for a cleric or chanter, but that's just more stuff to cast on top of all the buffs you're already casting. Playing a chanter is higher difficulty but much more fun IMO: crack the casters, haste the melees and keep the group from wiping, all while wearing a paper dress.

[sespeedy]

I rather enjoy either a mage or necro as an untwinked starter toon. So long as you get the first pet, you're pretty much good to go so long as you have an understanding of both classes. Manage your expectations and play to their strengths.

[aaezil]

Warrior/paladin/sk

people always twink them and ruin the fun of the early grind

walk the real path!

[Expediency]

You are already in for a real tough road if you play a hybrid with the auld lang syne rule set; trying to solo will be frustrating and you'll probably be fear kiting or jousting, two very tedious ways to play a melee.

[aaezil]

Well if the main plan is solo then dont pick melee class untwink :) but if you want to group then its a blast

[Fragged]

Enchanter.

[Aandolaf]

I would recommend going with one of your first choices, a SK or Pal. I've played this ruleset/style with a SK and quite enjoyed it. Much more rewarding playing this style as a melee class as you can really feel and appreciate every new piece of gear you get/replace, especially weapons.

[Jimjam]

Well if the main plan is solo then dont pick melee class untwink :) but if you want to group then its a blast

Agreed. On melees, tanks especially, you can really feel those big upgrades; your dps rockets, you resist those slows with a little more regularity, you don't get hit quite as hard.

Solo:

Basically don't pick a gear dependant class unless overcoming unnecessary adversity is your idea of a good time (which, as an EQ player, I assume it is :P).

Shaman also has that grey area before it's pet...also after it for a bit ... hard to solo/ sorta must group 30's-40's without it been a super twink but BOY do they come alive in their 50's especially with an epic.

LET THE 5 MOB ROOT ROT BEGIN!

Even the grey area isn't so bad. Cast poison and spam cold nuke until mob is dead. Reroot adds and camp or zone out. Recover quickly with canni / regen and repeat. My ever/permafrost only gimmick untwinked shaman just hit 29. He can either tear through a bunch of mammoths in no time (abusing charm) or befriend a large dire wolf and destroy goblins in permafrost. Things seem good at the moment, but perhaps the next 4 levels will be less kind to him?

[markcosmin]

Literally any class is viable with a weapon and combat bind wound, i've seen warriors solo to 60, monks solo to 60...etc, all using cheap ass weapons and bind wound in combat (its 4x a fungi at appropriate level)

Casters are no different, drop a nuke, sick pet, bind wound then auto attack, it's always a recipe for success, even naked. Bandages take up most of your made money for nearly 30 levels but it evens out.

Shit even a wizard with a cheap staff could melee and bind wound their way to more viable spells (first ten or so levels is garbage for everyone I think)

it's about using what's available, almost any class can farm spider silk and bone chips from level 1, this gives you access to cheap/good weapons around level 6-8 maybe 10 if you're bad. If you farm enough (iksars can get close to 800 silk before level 10) you can grab some HP/ac rings and you're off the races.

[khandman]

Paladin

[dbouya]

it's about using what's available, almost any class can farm spider silk and bone chips from level 1, this gives you access to cheap/good weapons around level 6-8 maybe 10 if you're bad. If you farm enough (iksars can get close to 800 silk before level 10) you can grab some HP/ac rings and you're off the races.

Except that from the standpoint of the OP farming spider silk and bonechips to sell for money to then use to buy powerful gear is cheating. He has to actually be level 50 to get that trash 50plat weapon. Auld rules for defining twinking are EXTREME to the maximum. He's not poor, he's choosing to avoid the economy entirely. He wants that minotaur axe to seem like the best weapon in the game for him at some point, like it did in 1999. He has to be level 34 to even attempt making his own 55hp ring (roughly, I forget the exact wording of the rule.)


Also @Jimjam at higher levels shaman don't get charm, so that does fall apart, slightly, but they get a lot of other awesome stuff to keep them from being sad. If you wanted charm and healing and utility though you'd have to be a druid. IIRC the highest level mob a shaman can ever charm is lvl33. (without something like puppet strings.)

[Jimjam]

You just have to lower your standards when you are playing without EZmart; a 10:25 50pp weapon is just replaced by a 5:25 combine weapon instead.


Self found: Cabalis is a good spot. Iksar Berserker Club (decent plat camp too from the fine steel if you can vendor with iksar and ALL of the bone chips) long but worthwhile camp in Kurns Tower... if you don't achieve that Forest Giant Hammer passable ratio available in the teens from the Warslik's Wood giant fort.

Bloodforge Warhammer easily attainable 2hander if you are willing to take ports, great for farming Willowisps at level 10 so you can upgrade to combine weapon, buy some vendor armor or take smithing to 100 and brute force out a set of banded.

[jolanar]

I think most people also don't realize how good killing greens that give exp actually is for a melee.

[Tann]

I think most people also don't realize how good killing greens that give exp actually is for a melee.

^^^

a camp I love leveling at feels terrible on a caster after a certain point because the exp return from mana required to get said exp tanks once they turn "light blue" green. but for a melee it gets turned up to 11.

[Priceline]

going untwinked and earning upgrades along the way.

https://i.imgur.com/G8YcEGZ.jpg

[Jimjam]

IF you are an untwinked iksar monk grab a set of bristle silk form cabilis, a chitin shirt from upper guk and ninja a rotting velium great staff.

Everyone will think you are wearing fungi, velious quest armor and rocking a tranquil staff.

You're welcome!

[Lulz~Sect]

Playing a Troll Shadowknight non-twink on red launch was extremely painful. Oddly enough, I enjoyed it still until giving up at 30 when classic XP penalty did me in.

If only I started a Druid or Necromancer instead! These classes are exponentially funtastically amazing and versatile in what you can do/where you can go, etc. at low levels with their spell utility.

**Was also surprised to learn I could spot heal at lower levels with the Necro.

[Zekayy]

Necro

[dbouya]

IF you are an untwinked iksar monk grab a set of bristle silk form cabilis, a chitin shirt from upper guk and ninja a rotting velium great staff.

Everyone will think you are wearing fungi, velious quest armor and rocking a tranquil staff.

You're welcome!

Looting worthless rotting gear is also against the Auld rules, unless you're killing enemies in the area at the appropriate level anyways. so nope.

[Jimjam]

Looting worthless rotting gear is also against the Auld rules, unless you're killing enemies in the area at the appropriate level anyways. so nope.

Probably gonna have to wait till 30 for that terribad fake tstaff then :P.

[jackd104]

Necro

[Jhaerik]

Mage. Needs no gear.

[Tsunami21k]

Maybe I'm a glutton for punishment but my iksar sk was a blast to play geared in banded with a handout weapon in fob and kurns. I didn't start to feel the need to upgrade until the late 30s when my duo partner told me I was a mana sponge.

[Ahris]

Funny how many assumes that 'fun' equals solo ability. :P
Anyway bard has always been the most fun for me, i've never twinked anything. Bards has access to a wider selection of gear than other classes and can mostly use both caster and melee exclusive equipment. They don't need any kind of weapon but can benefit from most of them. The songs covers almost all kinds of spells and don't require any reagents, bards also gets many skills like sneak, forage and tracking.
They excel in groups and are good at soloing once you get comfortable qith twisting songs. Personally i find swarm kiting boring as hell so i stick with the groups or fear/charm kite when soloing. :)

[Troxx]

Bards are very fun and have almost no gear requirements. A 100p drum and 100p lute and your songbook are really all you need. If you're going the "no twinking" route both of these can be obtained in groups in your 20s. Until then vendor instruments are more than good enough.

I just wish fewer bards went the swarm route. Bards are a very group friendly class - it's the most fun aspect about playing a bard.