Class that requires the most skill

[Kope]

Solo -

Grouping -

Dungeon crawling -

Raiding -

Solo - Rogue? if it's even possible w/o a fungi

Grouping - Enchanter?

Dungeon crawling - Enchanter/Bard?

Raiding - Monk?

[Nytewind TP]

Raiding - Monk? as in pulling/split pulling?

[Kope]

as in pulling/split pulling?

I was adding that to the fact they have to understand the fights like any other melee dps would as well. Where to stand etc... Could be wrong though, this is just supposed to be a fun theread :D

[Asher]

While I don't necessarily consider it skill, these classes are very busy:

Bard - if you like carpal tunnel and not chatting much this is the class for you.
Enchanter - Non stop mezzing, buffing and debuffing and dealing with idiots that break mez.
Monk - puller, hopefully chain puller.

Laziest class is Wizard by far.
Stand, Nuke, Sit. If you can do that you can play a wizard. No buffing or debuffing.
Quad kiting is a bit more involved but on raids or group this class has the easiest job.

Asher

[deakolt]

soloing as a rogue doesn't require skill lolol. just a pretty futile exercise in wasting time

Solo - Enchanter
Grouping - Bard (if they a good bard)

[Humerox]

Solo - Bard
Grouping - Enchanter
Dungeon Crawling - Enchanter/Bard
Raiding - Monk/Enchanter

[Maurk]

I agree with Asher,
The classes he listed are the classes that you can tell pretty quickly if they are good, and will know right away if they are terrible.
Monks and Bards especially.

You know when you have a crappy Monk/bard

It's very easy to spot out a terrible bard/monk/enchanter any day over any other class.

[SyanideGas]

Rogues can solo as long as you got a Bloodclaw and SBD and as long as your okay with 20 minutes per mob lmao.

[Trisun]

While I don't necessarily consider it skill, these classes are very busy:

Bard - if you like carpal tunnel and not chatting much this is the class for you.
Enchanter - Non stop mezzing, buffing and debuffing and dealing with idiots that break mez.
Monk - puller, hopefully chain puller.

Laziest class is Wizard by far.
Stand, Nuke, Sit. If you can do that you can play a wizard. No buffing or debuffing.
Quad kiting is a bit more involved but on raids or group this class has the easiest job.

Asher

Dude i leveled a bard up to 40. Im still feeling the effects of it. And yeah you definately can't talk too much while chaining songs.

[Felwithemagi]

Agree with Asher and Maurk. I will admit a conceit that a mage's pet can be challenging in dungeons and handling multiple blue mobs solo.

[Sickle]

Chanter, Handling noobs in groups or raids breaking MEZ. Then you end up dead for their mistakes.

[Mardur]

Well played shaman don't get enough credit (especially considering most shaman are terrible). Once you get Torpor, canni becomes more efficient than meditate, which means it doesn't make sense to ever stop casting spells indefinitely. Shit can get busier than barding (although this is especially evident in Luclin, considering the length of fights like Seru. I've topped dps charts while simultaneously refreshing slow every couple minutes and RGCing the proc / spot healing etc).

[Mardur]

Shit, if this server was guaranteed to go to PoP I'd donate $100 and start a shaman right now. Class gets exponentially out of control OP every expansion until GoD.

[jarshale]

bard

[SearyxTZ]

None of the classes in EQ require much "skill", or this game wouldn't be such a stoner magnet

Bard/Enchanter are tops, but playing either doesn't really even compare to half-assing in a RTS game (Starcraft or whatever)

Pulling with a monk requires you to actually pay attention - as opposed to everyone else on the raid who is sitting down staring at the scenery. I would not put Monk near Bard/Enchanter though.

Warrior, Magician, and any group DPS are the ezmode

[Kevlar]

Bards are a simple class to play, you can cast on the run so you don't really have to time anything, and hitting 11221122 isn't very challenging.

It is much more difficult for a wizard or druid to quad kite than it is a bard to swarm kite. The wiz/dru actually have to avoid adds.

[Baa]

Wizards - Honestly the skill level needed to stay awake playing this class is amazing

[Vohl]

I played a monk on live through 80 starting shortly after release. I've now played an enchanter through 40 on p1999. Both can keep your attention well. Looking at the staggering combination of songs available, though, I'd have to say bards are the class that would take the most skill to master.

Twisting through a combination of songs while running around seems like quite a stunt. Knowing all the options the class grants and how best to combine them looks to be a larger challenge than monk pulling and enchanter CC.

[Teflon]

Bard, hands down.

In a group, a fantastic bard brings incredible utility to the group.

And just for that guy saying wizard quad kiting is harder than swarm kiting... In an average swarm kite of 50 mobs, a bard has to press keys probably 1 - 2 thousand times non-stop for 10-50 minutes, if you press any of these keys out of sequence or at bad timing once, or accidentally hit S instead of A or D, you die INSTANTLY. Granted I haven't quad-kited with a wiz (only a druid), I doubt its anywhere near that intensity.

[SearyxTZ]

Bards are a simple class to play, you can cast on the run so you don't really have to time anything, and hitting 11221122 isn't very challenging.

It is much more difficult for a wizard or druid to quad kite than it is a bard to swarm kite. The wiz/dru actually have to avoid adds.


I've done both, and no it isn't. Quad kiting is a fucking cakewalk compared to Bard AoE kiting. I find myself wishing it was as easy as quading on a druid.

On a Bard I fuck up once or get the timing even slightly wrong, I get one-rounded for 70% of my hp (or killed outright). When considering that you have to get just a hair outside of melee range to hit your tiny DoT songs + that you're twisting all throughout it, this is probably the hardest thing in EQ to do for extended periods of time.

[Arrisard]

Bards are a simple class to play, you can cast on the run so you don't really have to time anything, and hitting 11221122 isn't very challenging.

It is much more difficult for a wizard or druid to quad kite than it is a bard to swarm kite. The wiz/dru actually have to avoid adds.

The first part I can agree with. Knowledge of stacking, proper resists, zone knowledge, etc, is what really separates a good bard from a bad one.

Having done both ad nauseum, the the second part is so far off I can't take it seriously.

[Lill-Leif]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQz24ilKS2I <-- ask him, he is the best at Everquest!

[Feachie]

The first part I can agree with. Knowledge of stacking, proper resists, zone knowledge, etc, is what really separates a good bard from a bad one.

Having done both ad nauseum, the the second part is so far off I can't take it seriously.

he's trolling you hard, quadding on a druid is easy. bards are stupid :\

[Kevlar]

Bard, hands down.

In a group, a fantastic bard brings incredible utility to the group.

And just for that guy saying wizard quad kiting is harder than swarm kiting... In an average swarm kite of 50 mobs, a bard has to press keys probably 1 - 2 thousand times non-stop for 10-50 minutes, if you press any of these keys out of sequence or at bad timing once, or accidentally hit S instead of A or D, you die INSTANTLY. Granted I haven't quad-kited with a wiz (only a druid), I doubt its anywhere near that intensity.

If you are a keyboard turner you are already doing it wrong.

Bard kiting is simple. You do figure 8s either using auto-run or mouse plowing with both buttons. You don't have to worry about adds until respawns start, and you don't have to do anything but mindlessly run the same pattern over and over. No need to worry about adds, mana depletion, trying to sit for med tics, snare duration, etc. Quadders die a hell of a lot more than bards. Unless you have a sketchy internet connection.

[Popt]

Solo - Bard
Grouping - Enchanter
Dungeon Crawling - Enchanter/Bard
Raiding - Monk/Enchanter

enchanters take skill to raid with?

[greatdane]

I think shaman takes more attention than most classes. You have to keep track of a shitload of things including several shorter-duration buffs, you have to sit during ticks even though you're casting pretty much constantly, your spells are huge aggro, your solo is terrible until level 34, your solo regardless of level is much more subjective to bad luck since you're either a) tanking mobs as a caster or b) dotting stuff down without snare.

Most classes are easy as hell and require general knowledge of the game rather than class knowledge, or just take constant keystrokes but no actual decisionmaking. There's not a lot of classes that take anything you won't learn in a day of playing.

[falkun]

Bards are one of the hardest classes to master. The number of combinations possible to twist are mind-boggling, and knowing what to memorize for what situation can make or break a solo, group, or raid. Executing on mesmerizing 2-3 adds in a camp while also keeping up as many buffs as possible is also a test of skill at positioning yourself and the adds and rapidly swapping targets. Finally, I can't see how a wizard/druid can have it harder quadding than a bard that must avoid getting hit by a pack of 50 mobs all while staying within the 35/30 distance to actually land the DoT song.

No other class is as night/day when it comes to seeing the effects on a group of a poorly or well-played bard.

[Teflon]

If you are a keyboard turner you are already doing it wrong.

Bard kiting is simple. You do figure 8s either using auto-run or mouse plowing with both buttons. You don't have to worry about adds until respawns start, and you don't have to do anything but mindlessly run the same pattern over and over. No need to worry about adds, mana depletion, trying to sit for med tics, snare duration, etc. Quadders die a hell of a lot more than bards. Unless you have a sketchy internet connection.

lol k.

[Dr4z3r]

Solo - Bards probably have the least margin for error (basically zero when AoE kiting), but the things an Enchanter can do in terms of, say, soloing named mobs are probably more impressive.

Group - Shaman or bard probably take the most paying attention if you have a good puller. If you're bringing in 4-5 pulls, then it's your bard or enchanter.

Dungeon Crawling - Bard or Enchanter, with an honorable mention to the best 5% of Necros out there, who bring an awful lot more to a group than you might think.

Raiding - Puller, which isn't a class so much as a role. Pulling dragons or PoFear is no cakewalk, but it can be done by any class.

[Kryptyde]

A good shaman has more duties in a group than any other class so this makes them a challenge to play to the fullest potential. Not as button mashy as a bard but canni dancing takes some finesse also.

[Atmas]

I would say Bards are the hardest and most involved.

Swarm kitting is more difficult than quad kitting but it also generates a crap ton more xp.

A good bard in a group is awesome but also a lot of work.

[greatdane]

I don't see what makes bards so difficult. When I played one, it was more about work than about skill. You have a lot of options, but it's always pretty obvious which ones are the right ones for the situation. It's just a repetition class, you do the same thing over and over and over. Once you get used to the rhythm of twisting and the pattern of swarm kiting, neither of which should take more than a day, it's a class that takes little actual skill. You don't have to hold aggro, you don't have to maximize DPS, your "spells" always work exactly as expected and take no real timing... if you can tell which combination of songs to twist for the group you're in, I don't see what else can possibly take actual bard class skill.

[falkun]

I don't see what makes bards so difficult. When I played one, it was more about work than about skill. You have a lot of options, but it's always pretty obvious which ones are the right ones for the situation. It's just a repetition class, you do the same thing over and over and over. Once you get used to the rhythm of twisting and the pattern of swarm kiting, neither of which should take more than a day, it's a class that takes little actual skill. You don't have to hold aggro, you don't have to maximize DPS, your "spells" always work exactly as expected and take no real timing... if you can tell which combination of songs to twist for the group you're in, I don't see what else can possibly take actual bard class skill.

To address the bolded points:
Holding aggro as a warrior consists of "Is auto-attack enabled? Y/N". Holding aggro as a knight consists of balancing aggro generation with mana regeneration, neither of which is that hard and in group environments most tanks get a feel for fairly quickly, much faster than the "day" of learning.

Maximizing DPS is pretty easy in a game not built around rotations. If you are melee are you behind the mob? Are you using your skills on cooldown? Are you not drawing aggro? If you are a caster, are you using spells appropriate to the mob's resists?

Timing means everything to a class where buffs last 12-18sec. It means that you can only mez up to 4 targets reliably (assuming 0 resists), and that for every target you mez, you must sacrifice a buff. Balancing that sacrifice vs. mezzing requires skill. Getting mezzes off timely is crucial when your cast time is 3sec (0.5sec longer than for ENCs). You can't be serious when you say timing doesn't matter for bards. If you're not at that point, I suggest you learn the "advanced" skill of twisting 4 songs, up from your novice 2 song twist.

[YendorLootmonkey]

Laugh all you want, but playing a ranger to the fullest potential probably takes above average skill. When I'm not naked at my bind point, the versatility of the class means I get exposure to a lot more game mechanics than a specialist class. This has all been said before, but one moment I could be meleeing and jockeying for position behind the mob to avoid ripostes, while being mindful of my aggro level and ready to throw a jolt, lay off auto-attack, or throw a root to force aggro back on the tank. Or I could be tanking, with all of the responsibilities and actions that come with that. Or I could be chain pulling (granted, Harmony makes this easy mode outdoors). The next moment, I might need to cycle targets to throw out a root for crowd control, or snare something off a caster and park it. If there's no slower, I might need to break out Swarmcaller until it procs and then switch back to my normal weapons. Or I have to toss a 270-pt heal to the cleric or Cancel Magic to remove a damage shield. Or snare kite 4 adds around to prevent a wipe.

Not saying it takes the most skill, but it takes a lot of situational awareness. I think a well-played bard takes the most skill, followed by enchanters, and then possibly rangers.

Yeah, I know... Hahaha rangers sux.

[Kevlar]

I don't see what makes bards so difficult. When I played one, it was more about work than about skill. You have a lot of options, but it's always pretty obvious which ones are the right ones for the situation. It's just a repetition class, you do the same thing over and over and over. Once you get used to the rhythm of twisting and the pattern of swarm kiting, neither of which should take more than a day, it's a class that takes little actual skill. You don't have to hold aggro, you don't have to maximize DPS, your "spells" always work exactly as expected and take no real timing... if you can tell which combination of songs to twist for the group you're in, I don't see what else can possibly take actual bard class skill.

Not only that but the entire essence of being a bard can be gleaned with just two hotkeys.

/stopsong
/cast 1
/pause 30
/cast 2


/stopsong
/cast 3
/pause 30
/cast 4

Wow tough class!

[Seaweedpimp]

If you arent using hotkeys i believe it would be a bard, you guys are going to laugh but i think necro might be secound toughest class to play right.

[Seaweedpimp]

Because necros in general are just bad

[Kope]

Because necros in general are just bad

True point, a very well played necro brings a TON of stuff to a group.

The problem is: almost all necros: OMGZ I HAZ PETZ AND DOTZ!

[Paumad]

Not only that but the entire essence of being a bard can be gleaned with just two hotkeys.

/stopsong
/cast 1
/pause 30
/cast 2


/stopsong
/cast 3
/pause 30
/cast 4

Wow tough class!

Not sure if serious. If you are, you're bad man, really. No good bard in his right mind would use stupid macros over manual twist when you have to deal with missed notes, changing the songs order and incoporate mezzing rotation. Did we steal your succulents in OT or something?

[Kevlar]

Not sure if serious. If you are, you're bad man, really. No good bard in his right mind would use stupid macros over manual twist when you have to deal with missed notes, changing the songs order and incoporate mezzing rotation. Did we steal your succulents in OT or something?

Yes you bastard!

But I have taken my revenge on many an unsuspecting bard by charming a tiger and giving it sow and haste. If you were wondering where that stun came from out of nowhere, now you know.

[Dr4z3r]

Not only that but the entire essence of being a bard can be gleaned with just two hotkeys.

/stopsong
/cast 1
/pause 30
/cast 2


/stopsong
/cast 3
/pause 30
/cast 4

Wow tough class!

If you're doing that, everyone else is doing this:

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.............................,.-"..................................."-.,
.........................,/...............................................":,
.....................,?........................... ...........................,
.................../.................................................. .........,}
................./.................................................. ....,:`^`..}
.............../.................................................. .,:"........./
..............?.....__............................ .............:`.........../
............./__.(....."~-,_..............................,:`........../
.........../(_...."~,_........"~,_....................,:`........_/
..........{.._$;_......"=,_......."-,_.......,.-~-,},.~";/....}
...........((.....*~_......."=-._......";,,./`..../"............../
...,,,___.`~,......"~.,....................`.....}............../
............(....`=-,,.......`........................(......;_,,-"
............/.`~,......`-...................................../
.............`~.*-,.....................................|,./.....,__
,,_..........}.>-._...................................|............ ..`=~-,
.....`=~-,__......`,.................................
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................................`:,,.............. .............`..............__
.....................................`=-,...................,%`>--==``
........................................_......... .._,-%.......`
...................................,

Seriously, get some situational awareness, learn how long 3 seconds is, and graduate to real barding.

[Kope]

charming a tiger and giving it sow and haste.

THIS IS FRIGGIN WIN!!!

[deakolt]

^ haha yeah dude what happens when you have to twist some other shit into your rotation? newb bard imo

[Arrisard]

THIS IS FRIGGIN WIN!!!

It'd also be almost impossible to kill a bard with it since any difference in run speed would be ... ridiculously obvious when you're pulling to your spot. And haste doesn't matter since any decent pull is a one shot deal anyways.

Feachie was right, the only "revenge" here is all the trolling that's being done =P

[azeth]

Kevlar, just be aware bards are capable of a lot more than twisting mana+ and speed in group situations.

IN FACT - If i had to choose between an A+ Enchanter and an A+ Bard, I'd take Bard 100% of the time. That said, if the bard isn't A+, excellent, the Enc would prove more valuable.

[Paumad]

Yes you bastard!

But I have taken my revenge on many an unsuspecting bard by charming a tiger and giving it sow and haste. If you were wondering where that stun came from out of nowhere, now you know.

Real bards dispell sow'd monstarz!

[Macken]

any pvp class takes the most skill.

[Tasslehofp99]

Shamans are the most frustrating classes to play during raids. Imagine buffing 20-30 people every hour with 5-6 buffs each. Then imagine trying to maintain a timer for all of these buffs, and adding to that the fact that deaths are somewhat inevitable during raids. Lets not even talk about a full raid wipe (especially after a full rebuff).

[bakkily]

pff when i raided, thats pretty much all i did, though i only have about 12 raids under my belt, which is'nt a whole lot, but all i did, buff, rebuff, sic my pet on mobs, help heal, and usally repeat

[stormlord]

Laugh all you want, but playing a ranger to the fullest potential probably takes above average skill. When I'm not naked at my bind point, the versatility of the class means I get exposure to a lot more game mechanics than a specialist class. This has all been said before, but one moment I could be meleeing and jockeying for position behind the mob to avoid ripostes, while being mindful of my aggro level and ready to throw a jolt, lay off auto-attack, or throw a root to force aggro back on the tank. Or I could be tanking, with all of the responsibilities and actions that come with that. Or I could be chain pulling (granted, Harmony makes this easy mode outdoors). The next moment, I might need to cycle targets to throw out a root for crowd control, or snare something off a caster and park it. If there's no slower, I might need to break out Swarmcaller until it procs and then switch back to my normal weapons. Or I have to toss a 270-pt heal to the cleric or Cancel Magic to remove a damage shield. Or snare kite 4 adds around to prevent a wipe.

Not saying it takes the most skill, but it takes a lot of situational awareness. I think a well-played bard takes the most skill, followed by enchanters, and then possibly rangers.

Yeah, I know... Hahaha rangers sux.
Nice comments. I'm a fellow ranger. Had a level 85 ranger on live. I also played one in 1999. I liked the diversity of the class. I think it got worse with time, though. Mobs were harder and harder to tank and more and more of them summoned. Just seemed like more and more of my ranger abilities became useless as time went by. I like how rangers seem to keep more of their utility on p1999 versus what I left in 2010. I mean, when I left live, I felt like a 3rd-rate dpser. It wasn't like that in years past. I actually felt like a ranger back then.

Maybe that's just what happened at the higher levels. The game changed over the years too.

[citizen1080]

EC Whore is by far the hardest class


A close second is a A+ Bard - On live I was spammed relentlessly with requests for groups. Lulling 3 mobs, getting a 3 pull, mezzing one, charming another while twisting 3 songs and mezzing any adds that came after the initial pull was challenging to say the least. But if you were good you were irreplaceable. Changing song lineup to compensate for class makeup in your group etc.

Bards have tons of utility, but only if they are smart enough to use it.