Newb needs some suggestions..

[CozzaFrenzy]

So I've been having a great time with this server and my newbie rogue, but it seems my RL situation has changed. I'm going to be working 2nd shift (3pm - Midnight PST) and I'm worried about being able to find groups with my rogue in those kind of off hours.

The reason I mention it is because I just get really frustrated when I log in and basically can't play because I don't have a group, at least with a class that can solo, I'd be able to run out and grab up some xp.

So I guess I'm wondering how I should proceed.. Keep the rogue and just try to tough it out? Or reroll?

Here's my considerations -
Necro - Great for solo but hard to find a use for in endgame / raiding.
Monk - Decent solo, good group utility for pulling, weight limit is gonna suck.
Shaman - Seems like an all around good choice but never played one before!

My goal is to be able to eventually start raiding (once I get there of course) and I'd love to play my rogue, but as stated earlier, it just sucks hopping on and just not being able to play at all!

Any suggestions are welcome. Thanks for the help guys!

[Bazia]

Roll SHM, maybe come back to ROG later....... Maybe.....

/thread

[Korisek]

Just make a new character that's capable of soloing, why not go with the shaman?

In addition, Shaman buffs/slows are in high demand so you'll have an edge in getting a group during the off hours, and Alchemy is an extremely useful/profitable tradeskill, meaning more money to upgrade your Rogue's gear to make him a bit more viable solo.

[CozzaFrenzy]

Shaman sounds pretty cool, I've just never had any real experience with pure casters before, just hybrids and melee.

Is there a certain race that shines over the others? Iksar might be nice to level up in Kunark :)

[Bazia]

Barbarian, easier to travel and no exp penalty that I'm aware of.

Although I think they're gay all other SHM races have exp penalties.

Just my two cents.

[Moggster]

Barbarian, easier to travel and no exp penalty that I'm aware of.

Although I think they're gay all other SHM races have exp penalties.

Just my two cents.

Barbarians
Faction: Good
Race Abilities: slam, +10 Cold resist
Experience Info: -5% Experience Penalty <-------------
Starting city: Halas
Available classes: Rogue, Shaman, Warrior

[CHusk2]

Alright, I know this is going to get a lot of backlash, but here goes;

It is indeed very possible (when necessary) to solo as a rogue

Yeah. I said it.

It's going to take a lot more work with a lot more downtime than most other classes, but it can be done (and it can be fun if that's your thing.

Up until 22 or so (I believe that's when rogues get apply poison) you'll be sneaking up behind an enemy, backstabbing, and hoping the rest of the fight goes well. This is actually a pretty effective way to go about things at early levels, as most mobs really don't hit that hard. Special monsters like the Gnoll Commander and such are obvious exceptions, but my 16 rogue has no problem soloing down Elite Gnoll Guards.

Post 22, you really need to be able to have a continuos supply of poison, which will mean a lot more running around and crafting in between. There is, however, a pretty good beginner poison quest you get from a dark elf in the hidden tunnel entrance just to the left (facing into freeport) of the west freeport entrance.

You can mow down light blues well into the upper 30s. It's not the best exp, but it's better than sitting with your LFG tag up.

But yeah, if you're down for raids and you're not super 100% all about playing a rogue, then I'd definitely recommend a shaman. They're very fun to play, and by 60 they're really in a league of their own.

It all depends on which class you'll have more fun with.

Alkaiser Beneofmistmoore - 50 Cleric of Prexus

[Estu]

What I'd do is make a separate character for soloing, but always first log into the rogue and see if you can find or make a group - maybe even try to set up a regular thing with someone. Even in off-hours there are European players or players like you around, so it's not like grouping is impossible.

As for what to make the second character, I wouldn't highly recommend shaman for soloing, as they are rather lame at it until they get pets at 34. The necro is the obvious choice as it is useful in a group/raid setting as well as being an excellent soloer.

[Dfn]

Reroll on Red99. Problem solved.

[Vondra]

Keep the rogue, make a 2nd character that is effective at soloing like a necro or druid. Play them when you can't find a group and put some of the money you make on the solo char into gearing your rogue.

[Pyronost]

I love all of the red players trolling up these threads for recruitment. These new players are having enough trouble finding groups, classes they like, etc. What makes you think they want to start all over, and get ganked by twinks in the process, and have their money stolen?

Lets try not to drive off the newer players before they get started here. Kthx.

Back on topic, If youre just looking for a class that solos easily, go chanter if you want to endgame with it as well, or shaman for a little bit rougher solo play from 20-34.

Keep the rogue though, endgame, nothing touches the damage they can put out potentially.

[CozzaFrenzy]

Enchanter sounds pretty fun, again, never really played one on live but the ability to solo combined with the need for them in high end raids does sound appealing. Not to mention breeze / clarity as well as illusions will probably make life just generally easier.

Is there anything more I should know about them? I don't really know the ins and outs of charm xp'ing but I'm sure I could learn :)

[Nagash]

You look like you'd like to play your rogue but can't find groups due to time constraints. Having said that, you want to raid later (maybe when you're no longer on 2nd shift); so maybe discarding the idea of the rogue altogether is a bit hasty. Maybe what you could consider is gearing your rogue so you can level him fast when you're back to more normal hours so you can hit the raid scene asap.
If my assumption is correct, my advice to you is to run 2 characters: the rogue when you can find a group, and a decent solo class that can make you some cash to gear your rogue. Any caster could work:

- Shaman great solo class. Don't misunderstand what people say about pre and post level 34: the pet simply makes things easier by adding some dps and opening some new play styles. By no means are things difficult before that point, just a bit slower. To be perfectly honest, you will have cani (at level 29 IIRC) which will already increase your kill speed quite a bit.

- Necro: well, necro. Great solo class, brilliant in a group if the player knows his tools. Downside is if you want to raid with him later, you may struggle: there are a lot around and a raid won't probably have many of them. They are good for twitching but AFAIK necro DoTs don't stack so the ones past the first one won't do much dps.

- Chanty: can't comment much except that I've seen some soloing with charm or their pet and they seemed to do ok. Also, you will always have someone ready to pay for clarity fom level 29 on. Raid wise, haste is a must have, slow as well but it may get resisted too much (and chantys can't sustain a beating like a shaman in case of over aggro which happens a lot when you slow), I can imagine that if they are allowed to charm, they will probably top the dps chart far ahead of anyone else.

- Druids: I know you haven't mentionned this class. However, based on the assumption I made above, druids could be a good bet as well. Their capacity to teleport from level 29 on will make you a lot of cash. The other classes will make cash by farming some items and selling them to players, the druid can do it too but also has an easy option :) Can't really comment on them in raid but like necro, there a hundreds of them. I suppose a raid will bring them along for their buff, their off-healing capabilities and maybe aggro kite some adds.

- Wizard: like a druid less all the goodies. However, if you intend to raid, you shouldn't struggle to find a home being the only viable nuker thanks to the lure line.

That's my 2cp. All my comments on raiding are from memory (my EQ raiding days a long gone) so I welcome any comment on them. Also the population of the server, although being healthy, doesn't match the population on the Live servers during Kunark so the barriers to enter the raid scene might be easier to overcome. Hope this help.

Nagash/Petitpas

[Snaggles]

I would reroll a Shammy and find buds to trade PL time with you later for the rogue. Ideally use another account so your neighbor can play with you or something.

I soloed a fair share with my rogue, it was horrible. You need great weapons, haste, a good backstab on a fairly weak mob for it's level. You can prob find zones with high zem modifiers and zone fight but it will be touch and go. Poison is an economic landfill and fun but not really the answer. A solo rogue will need terrific gear and a ton of bandages. You will have the fastest heart rate in Norrath :).

These were just my experiences tho. Give it a shot and key bind instill doubt. That and a serrated bone dirk might pay off.

Note: Nagash and Vondra have a good point, having two toons you play is best. I started a sk for when groups werent around with the rogue.

[CozzaFrenzy]

I really appreciate all the feedback guys!

I'll definately keep my rogue, now I'm just trying to decide between enchanter or shaman!

[Tah]

Enchanters can be fun, but just be warned that the pet nerf does gimp the soloing scene for them. While it's not impossible, you have to work a bit harder to get that full XP. There's also less room for error with an enchanter, if you get into a bind, you'll need to react fast. As said above by others, shamans can take a bit of a beating so it's more forgiving.

[Splorf22]

I don't think the pet xp nerf hit soloing enchanters that hard. If you do the standard charm/kill other/break charm/kill pet routine you're still getting 75% xp - not as good as it was, but hardly a disaster, and charm soloing is just so good anyway that you'll still move right along.

However, it seems you think that enchanters have a good role in the endgame. They do not. You have to realize that as an enchanter your abilities are so powerful that if they were allowed to work on raid mobs the game would become trivial. Imagine being able to mez Nagafen for a few minutes while the raid rerezzed and such. Or being able to charm him and wipe the rest of the zone with his AE. Or even being able to slow him and reduce his melee damage by 75%. So 99% of your raiding life is answering requests for haste and clarity. Which are absolutely necessary, but kinda boring. Hate and Fear are fun though because you can charm and mez once you get to higher levels, its just Sky and solo targets that are buffbot routines. I'm told this will be even worse in Velious.

On the other hand, the solo ability of a L60 enchanter is unmatched. I got both the commander and Brogg today (more to prove I could do it than for the loot). A Shaman could maybe solo the commander with torpor (and probably couldn't even get down there with all the see invis mobs on the way to the disco), Brogg would be totally impossible as he has 2 krup guards. I don't think any other class could even come close, since both mobs summon and rape far to hard for mage or necro pets to last very long.

[whippetofspades]

I honestly would not make a shaman for fast solo levelling. I rerolled shaman a while ago and twinked him out a bit (poison wind censer, suit of jaundiced bone/totemic, ac5/55hp rings) so he can take hits and do good melee damage. Even with that advantage, soloing to 24 was slow, and from 24 on (I'm 28 now) with canni and regen soloing is a bit better, but still not up to par with a mage or necro of equal level (I have not played a druid - can't comment). I can't imagine how painfully slow root rotting as a low level shaman would be, and as an untwinked shammy I don't think you'd be that efficient taking hits all fight.

If you really just want to get into your rogue, you can get a mage or necro up to farming level in no time flat. Probably easier with a necro since pet nerf.

Shaman is a great class don't get me wrong, but without the AC and a heavy hitting melee weapon you're basically a cross between a gimped druid and a gimped warrior when it comes to soloing.

[CozzaFrenzy]

Ahhh! Conflicting information! :eek:

[Nagash]

Ahhh! Conflicting information! :eek:

With the previous posts you proably know more or less what to expect from these various classes. The next question for you is do you want to level fast or is a medium pace good enough? Shaman or druid will be a bit slower than necro or mage (they are probably more even now with the xp pet nerf than what they were before though). From level 34, they all even out with maybe druid and wiz being ahead thanks to quad kiting.

[Snaggles]

I think the best thing is to pick the other class you will enjoy the most. Having a "solo class" sometimes is just one that can solo if necessary...not the fastest one.

I recall camping my rogue in Seb for an entire summer :p. Log him in when I had a few hours, check for groups, get pissed and log in the SK for a while. Check back, etc.

Having the option for both is great. Plus later on you can have the rogue set up for easy raid relocating. It's easier to bust ass to Spot A or Spot B when your raid toon isn't stuck in Unrest.