Noob Duo

[Kritimus]

Hi all I am pretty much Bran-New to project 1999.

My friend sent me a text message the other day telling me to google p1999 and since that first google inquiry I have been visiting these boards every day since!

I started EQ back in 1999 just prior to Kunark release and played pretty religiously through PoP expansion.

My friend and I are going to start a duo and he is pretty dead set on Chanter so that leaves me to decide on what would compliment the duo best, while also thinking of later game and groups.

My first instinct was Druid, as they are well rounded and have sow, snare, ports, and heals to patch up the chanter if and when a charm breaks. However I am sure druids are plentiful and probably not so needed for groups and such at higher lvl.

I was also thinking about mage, as the duo would be able to rely on the pet for tanking and coupled with the chanters slows, and mind candy, they could do quite well...

Anyway I am up for suggestion so please feel free to add your comments.

Thank you all for your time.

[falkun]

Druid is going to duo with a chanter much better than a mage, as Druid has heal, SoW, root, snare, basically a ton of utility the mage just does not bring. But you are also right that druids are less desirable for groups at high levels. They are still needed for mobilization, off-heals, and tracking in end-game raiding.

Basically, the enchanter can be DPS (pet), tank (pet), and CC. The only thing he cannot do is heal. So, the best duo would add heals primarily, and then whatever other flavors you'd like to add between cleric, shaman, and druid. Of those, the versatility goes shaman > druid >> cleric while the desirability goes cleric > shaman >> druid.

[username1337]

Cleric to cheal charmed pet.

[Messianic]

If someone is dead-set on chanter, You'll probably do the best leveling (i.e fastest) 1-60 with a mage.

[falkun]

If someone is dead-set on chanter, You'll probably do the best leveling (i.e fastest) 1-60 with a mage.

Straight leveling, probably. But you are much more versatile partnering with a WIS caster.

[Messianic]

Straight leveling, probably. But you are much more versatile partnering with a WIS caster.

You're right - especially if the chanter is charming mobs and using them as dps.

Cleric to CH pet = win :)

[Kritimus]

Very well put Falkun.

When I first started on the server, Shaman was my first draw, as I simply love shamans!

I stayed away from shaman however due to the xp penalties and inability to play with my buddy right out the box. I am however re-evaluating that and will consider either Innoruk troll shaman or a Ogre for obvious reasons =) (My main in EQ live back when was a troll shaman, but i picked the wrong diety and didnt realize it till lvl 30+ ><)

Druid is still on the table with cleric falling a bit behind as I never did really get into clerics that much...

[Barkingturtle]

ENC/DRU is one of if not the best duos available. ENC will be desirable enough to get you into groups, as well.

[Harrison]

Don't rely on charm soloing because I've been told that the experience nerf applies to charmed pets as well, seriously ruining the tactic.

[Messianic]

Don't rely on charm soloing because I've been told that the experience nerf applies to charmed pets as well, seriously ruining the tactic.

Grouping removes that penalty AFAIK

[falkun]

True barking, a lot of groups, especially while leveling, would gladly take the druid if they got an ENC in the bargain. The druid would also allow your group to travel to the "BYOG" exp locations and have some real adventure.

[Kritimus]

Well now it comes down to Druid or Shaman!!

[Kritimus]

Thanks all for the suggestions. Now its time to decide and PLAY!

Take Care

-K

[Weekapaug]

Given the discussion, go druid. You won't regret it.

[Galaa]

Enchanter / Druid is simply the best duoing combo IMO.

With SoW, both chanter and druid can safely utilize charmed pet (animal for druid), and with grouping eliminating pet XP penalty, the 2 pets is gonna kill mobs real fast (especially with haste/pet buffs) and XP will increase at a very fast rate.

U can choose a shaman instead of druid, but the XP is not gonna be as fast as using 2 charmed and haste buffed pet for XPing.

If you decide to take a non SoWing class, charm killing might be a dangerous option for you 2.

[falkun]

Without SoW, snare still works if you cast it pre-charm. Helps a lot when dungeon crawling. Druid/ENC has the least overlap and the most potential duo-wise.

[Weekapaug]

Enchanter / Druid is simply the best duoing combo IMO.

With SoW, both chanter and druid can safely utilize charmed pet (animal for druid), and with grouping eliminating pet XP penalty, the 2 pets is gonna kill mobs real fast (especially with haste/pet buffs) and XP will increase at a very fast rate.

U can choose a shaman instead of druid, but the XP is not gonna be as fast as using 2 charmed and haste buffed pet for XPing.

If you decide to take a non SoWing class, charm killing might be a dangerous option for you 2.

QFT.

My gf and I went shammy necro for our duo....because I couldn't get her to play a chanter with my druid.

If the enchanter is set in stone, go druid for sure. That duo does everything but rez and CH, pretty much.

[sabinrf24]

Hey there - thought I'd add some anecdotal information to the mix.

I'm at 42 Enchanter, and I've been leveling almost exclusively with a Wizard. We were able to effectively two-man many camps (taking less pulls) throughout our experience so far, sticking to dungeons and enjoying the exp modifiers they provide.

Until the early 30's I was using a pet and debuffing mobs (usually just slow) and we would nuke heavier or more lightly depending on how the pet was doing.

After 30 we stopped using the pet, as it couldn't take the hits quite as well and it was holding us up.

We always root nuke, and the person with agro kites while the other roots. Oh - get used to being in troll form once you get it. Also, don't skimp on reagents for Rune once you start getting it - I start using Rune when HP is our bottleneck, and I will cast it any time I get below 70% life to let my hp get back to full as we kill.

1-8 we did Kobolds in Steamfont
9-14 Near Mino Caves in Steamfont
15-19 Nybright Sisters near Mistmoore in Lfay
20-30 in Upper Guk (Scryer to 24, Warden to 27, Lord area to 30)
30-35 guards in HighKeep
36-? lower guk (at 37-38 we could two-man the bedroom including all six frogs, all four bats, and some spiders)

Feel free to bug me in game if you have any questions - name is Jahno.

[myxomatosii]

Hey there - thought I'd add some anecdotal information to the mix.

I'm at 42 Enchanter, and I've been leveling almost exclusively with a Wizard. We were able to effectively two-man many camps (taking less pulls) throughout our experience so far, sticking to dungeons and enjoying the exp modifiers they provide.

Until the early 30's I was using a pet and debuffing mobs (usually just slow) and we would nuke heavier or more lightly depending on how the pet was doing.

After 30 we stopped using the pet, as it couldn't take the hits quite as well and it was holding us up.

We always root nuke, and the person with agro kites while the other roots. Oh - get used to being in troll form once you get it. Also, don't skimp on reagents for Rune once you start getting it - I start using Rune when HP is our bottleneck, and I will cast it any time I get below 70% life to let my hp get back to full as we kill.

1-8 we did Kobolds in Steamfont
9-14 Near Mino Caves in Steamfont
15-19 Nybright Sisters near Mistmoore in Lfay
20-30 in Upper Guk (Scryer to 24, Warden to 27, Lord area to 30)
30-35 guards in HighKeep
36-? lower guk (at 37-38 we could two-man the bedroom including all six frogs, all four bats, and some spiders)

Feel free to bug me in game if you have any questions - name is Jahno.

One thing this guy forgot to mention, him and his friend are the gnomes and CAN'T BE TRUSTED.

[Weekapaug]

One thing this guy forgot to mention, him and his friend are the gnomes and CAN'T BE TRUSTED.

LOL

It's Dwarves and Halfers you gotta keep your eye on. :P

[Splorf22]

I have a L60 enchanter.

The best duo with a high level enchanter is . . . another enchanter. 2 charmed pets is simply rape and with 2x the stuns and mezzes charm breaks are much less painful. This duo will be somewhat less effective at lower levels, but then EQ is pretty easy 1-20 anyway.

Clear second is a cleric. CH on the charmed pet is convenient, but the real advantage is 1K of hp buffs which helps a lot with staying alive. Plus with cleric/enchanter you basically have a great XP group ready to go by picking up whoever happens to be lfg. Clerics have a reputation as being a little boring, but if you are duoing with an enchanter you have a bit more to do in terms of stuns and roots than just healing.

Mage/Shaman are in a tie for third place depending on the skill of the enchanter: a better enchanter will get more DPS out of a mage and won't need the help for CC/heals, while a lesser enchanter will benefit more from regen/kragg/stamina and the help staying alive. Both classes have malo which is really nice for charm durations.

The guy who says he duos all the time with a wizard is not using charm and therefore is playing the class to about 1/10 of its potential. So:

If you want the maximum duo-in-a-dungeon-for-xp-and-loot, go enchanter.
If you want the most flexibility 1-60, go cleric.
If you plan to play mostly 1-40, go mage.
If you really want to play a druid, paladin, ranger, necromancer, or shaman, that will work OK too.

[kazroth]

I have a L60 enchanter.

The best duo with a high level enchanter is . . . another enchanter. 2 charmed pets is simply rape and with 2x the stuns and mezzes charm breaks are much less painful. This duo will be somewhat less effective at lower levels, but then EQ is pretty easy 1-20 anyway.

Clear second is a cleric. CH on the charmed pet is convenient, but the real advantage is 1K of hp buffs which helps a lot with staying alive. Plus with cleric/enchanter you basically have a great XP group ready to go by picking up whoever happens to be lfg. Clerics have a reputation as being a little boring, but if you are duoing with an enchanter you have a bit more to do in terms of stuns and roots than just healing.

Mage/Shaman are in a tie for third place depending on the skill of the enchanter: a better enchanter will get more DPS out of a mage and won't need the help for CC/heals, while a lesser enchanter will benefit more from regen/kragg/stamina and the help staying alive. Both classes have malo which is really nice for charm durations.

The guy who says he duos all the time with a wizard is not using charm and therefore is playing the class to about 1/10 of its potential. So:

If you want the maximum duo-in-a-dungeon-for-xp-and-loot, go enchanter.
If you want the most flexibility 1-60, go cleric.
If you plan to play mostly 1-40, go mage.
If you really want to play a druid, paladin, ranger, necromancer, or shaman, that will work OK too.

Nice post, thanks for the thoughts. (Not the OP, btw)

[Kritimus]

Dual enchanters.....now you got the wheels turning Splorf!...Damn you! (thank you really!:confused:)

[colleekitty]

+ 1 to the Enchanter/Druid duo, although 2 enchanters would be pretty sweet too.

Sow, Snare, Heals, 2 charmed pets, Ports, Harmony, Evac, Track, Food (lol), etc is pretty damn nice.

My husband and I did 17-25ish in Lake of Ill Omen in record time with 2 charmed pets while we took turns pulling. We also acquired 2 Goblin Gazughi Rings which is a must have for charming classes.

The best part of having 2 charm classes is the ability to avoid the pet exp penalty while doing minimal damage, which leads to infinite pulls/not having to stop and med very often, usually only for rebuffs. If I'm pulling, I pull with a low level dot that will do about 10% damage to the mob, the druid uses a similar dot, and then we rely on each pet to do about 40%ish damage. The mana cost of this method is very low and the exp rate is very high.

[Servellious]

Tracking and porting are so valuable.

[Kritimus]

So being that we are both just starting on p99 and have 0 gear, would you all agree that druid/enchanter is the best duo to get started?

cleric/chanter is also something I am considering with the chanter/chanter a close third.

The utility the druid brings for mobilization is what is so appealing to me. The cleric will provide great heals and mostly support the chanter with a few stuns, however the ability to crawl deep into dungeons with the cleric also is very appealing. The dual chanters sounds great for end-game and dungeon crawling, with the ability to pick and choose the fights, and then with 2 charmed pets, rack in the xp.

If enchanter was out of the picture, what would you all say the absolute best untwinked duo would be?

Thanks all,

-K

[colleekitty]

If enchanter was out of the picture, what would you all say the absolute best untwinked duo would be?


Interesting question and I'm looking forward to others opinions.

I'd say Necro/Shaman.

[Glasken]

+1 Nec and Shm

[Splorf22]

Basically what you have to decide is do you want to play a front loaded class or a back loaded class. In terms of overall power/utility for small groups at level 20/40/60 I would say:

Mage: 10/9/7
Necro: 10/9/8
Enchanter 6/9/10
Wizard: 4/3/2
Cleric 6/8/9
Druid: 8/6/4
Shaman: 4/8/10

Of course for raiding the ranking is very different, maybe something like:

Mage: 8
Necro: 5
Enchanter: 5
Wizard: 10
Cleric: 10
Druid: 6
Shaman: 5

In general all of the awesome solo classes have their abilities simply disabled for raiding because if they worked the encounters would be trivial and you wouldn't need a raid.

I had fun making that chart :D

[Kevlar]

Druid chanter is the most powerful duo. If you both charm pets the chanter adds the haste and does the slows. The druid keeps you both sowed and all the mobs snared. Druid buffs are good enough, and you never need to cheal pets. Just get a new pet. I used to play a druid chanter duo on live and could easily crawl dungeons or kill minibosses without any help. And if you screw up you always have ae stun and evac...so less rezzing. If you add a third person make it a paladin and all your bases are covered. My wife played a SK and it was nice but I'd rather have had the rez.

[Kritimus]

Basically what you have to decide is do you want to play a front loaded class or a back loaded class. In terms of overall power/utility for small groups at level 20/40/60 I would say:

Mage: 10/9/7
Necro: 10/9/8
Enchanter 6/9/10
Wizard: 4/3/2
Cleric 6/8/9
Druid: 8/6/4
Shaman: 4/8/10

Of course for raiding the ranking is very different, maybe something like:

Mage: 8
Necro: 5
Enchanter: 5
Wizard: 10
Cleric: 10
Druid: 6
Shaman: 5

In general all of the awesome solo classes have their abilities simply disabled for raiding because if they worked the encounters would be trivial and you wouldn't need a raid.

I had fun making that chart :D

Interesting chart here...Neither of us are interested in raiding...We want to enjoy the leveling game and test ourselves to see how much we can actually duo (dungeons, outdoor zones, etc...)

[Kevlar]

Bard cleric is another fun duo and surprisingly powerful. With my bard I could chant kite even summoning named mobs while the cleric medded and threw a complete heal now and then. Fights are long but loot is nice. When you need xp the cleric just goes afk while the bard swarm/aoe kites.

[Kritimus]

Bard/Cleric would be badass indeed...im just not very fond of the 40% exp penalty they gave hybrids =/

[somnia]

Bard cleric is another fun duo and surprisingly powerful. With my bard I could chant kite even summoning named mobs while the cleric medded and threw a complete heal now and then. Fights are long but loot is nice. When you need xp the cleric just goes afk while the bard swarm/aoe kites.

If you have IP Exemption don't do this - 1 character AFK while the other earns XP will definitely get you banned.

[Kritimus]

This is what EQ does to me, now we are thinking monk/sham....lol

[Kritimus]

Here are some good duo's we have been thinking of, feel free to rate them:

a) Druid/Chanter

b) Chanter/Chanter

c) Shaman/Warrior

d) Shaman/Monk

e) Cleric/Chanter

f) Monk/Cleric

To me the theory of starting the duo is almost as fun as playing, and considering im at work 12 hours a day, theory is more often than not the only form I can get my EQ fix on.

Thanks to all who have replied to this thread thus far. Good stuff

[phobus]

My favorites would be monk/shaman, cleric/enchanter, or necro/shaman. What I'd end up playing would depend on if we were going to duo 100%, or add people from time to time to make a trio, full group, or whatever.

[Kritimus]

We will definitely not be duoing 100% of the time. Anytime we are grouped I always have an open door policy as I would prefer to group 9 out of 10 times.

EQ is all about the social interaction!

[mgellan]

Don't forget Rogue/Shaman, Shaman keeps aggro so go ac/hp on the shammy and dps on the Rogue...

Regards,
Mg

[edgrubermn]

Here are some good duo's we have been thinking of, feel free to rate them:

a) Druid/Chanter

b) Chanter/Chanter

c) Shaman/Warrior

d) Shaman/Monk

e) Cleric/Chanter

f) Monk/Cleric

To me the theory of starting the duo is almost as fun as playing, and considering im at work 12 hours a day, theory is more often than not the only form I can get my EQ fix on.

Thanks to all who have replied to this thread thus far. Good stuff

ABD or E. Warrior duo is tough, although doable, they probably are better Warrior/Cleric. If you plan on having times where you won't be grouping together, Chanter/Druid is probably the better soloable combo.

I currently duo my druid with a Bard and it's pretty damn nice. Bard does the heavy lifting and gets aggro swarm kiting, then I start AOEing to help. I keep him buffed up and heal when needed. It works pretty well, and we also started from nothing with nothing.... We also have a Shaman/Monk duo (both Iksar) which also works great. We each also keep a toon for when the other isn't on, although since that's a Necro/Mage they could group together effectively as well I think.

Keep in mind on the xp that you share the xp fully (penalty or otherwise), so you level about the same rate when together, so the class/race combo isn't as important, other than being able to find each other if you start different races.

[Kritimus]

Don't forget Rogue/Shaman, Shaman keeps aggro so go ac/hp on the shammy and dps on the Rogue...

Regards,
Mg

That does sound pretty badass...that duo would pack a punch!