Chanter or Bard

[Gratal]

I played a bard on live, although that was after PoP came out. I usually did charm kiting and fear kiting so I'm not sure if AE would work too well for me here. I either want to play Bard or Enchanter, the bard is 4 and my chanter is 15. Since I've already done Bard I would like to give another class a try.

My main question is when Enchanter gets fun. I can't seem to level easily. It's a pain to have to blow all my mana and med up after 2-3 mobs. Should I tough it out or switch to the Bard which I may be no good at anymore. Although Selo's in Velious is pretty much a requirement, am I right? ;)

Also, is either one of them rarer than the other? That might help decide.

[Slave]

Bards are rarer than Enchanters, mostly because a couple of their mechanics are broken, and the fact that there is no Melody here and must twist by hand, for hours and days and months. Enchanters get fun at 12-16th level I'd say, with Charm and Breeze, AOE mez, Haste, that kind of thing.

If you're soloing with nukes and roots and the base pet... well, take a look at your spell set and experiment a little more.

[Striiker]

I've never played a bard so I can't provide a comparison. I chose an enchanter here due the how much I enjoyed playing one on live. The fun factor I guess depends upon what you consider to be fun. I always loved playing an enchanter because of the effort required to play it well. Keeping a large pull mez'd while the group works through each mob is great fun and challenging. Enchanters can turn a potential wipe into a well-fought victory. I played a wizard to 50 on live and didn't care for the play style in groups as it was too sedentary for my taste (plus I became a clarity addict). So for me, fun is defined by the challenge of handling mobs on big pulls. Charm is another fun aspect. I found that charm on this server was broken when compared to how it was on live in 1999 / 2000. I was unable to use it reliably until level 39 with Cajoling Whispers where the difference was night and day in terms of charm reliability. Charming in groups is another great source of fun for me. On big pulls, I have some times mez'd the adds and then swapped in my charm set up and grabbed a mob to help chew through the mobs. Charming also allows one to effectively solo. Prior to level 39, I relied upon my animations (summoned pet) for soloing and it went well (not as well as I could solo on live with my enchanter because on live, charm was superior to here).
I don't usually have too much difficulty getting groups currently and have generally been able to get into groups as I leveled up.
As for rarity, yes bards tend to be rarer on P1999 in my experience.
Hopefully this helps you with your decision..

[Danth]

Bards...must twist by hand, for hours and days and months.

As much as this button spam was traditionally considered a drawback of the Bard in Everquest, it still pushes fewer buttons over time than pretty well any class in the majority of newer online role-playing games. I'm not sure how or why what was once perceived as nuisance became an advantage, but it did, and from that perspective the Bard might be regarded as having the most modern style of gameplay. It has the additional advantage of never having to meditate.

Personally, I dislike rapid key spamming, so the EQ bard never grew on me, but it's a good class for the folks who enjoy that sort of thing.

Bards are somewhat uncommon on P1999 because they still have a 40% experience penalty. Their numbers are skewed upwards due to the popularity of the class as an auction mule.

Danth

[Broot]

Depends on your goals a bit, too.

Bards are in high demand for the end game, if that's a priority for you. Both are sought after for groups, but I think enchanter would be easier of a time in general. Good solo capability / more group desirability (though there are certainly more Ench's than Bards)

[Supaskillz]

I personally think soloing always gets boring, but enchanters are most fun soloers for sure. Can charm. Can use lull and mez to solo in dungeons. So much utility, so many suicidal things to try!

[Slave]

So high, so low, so many things to know.

[Sorrow*qc]

don't do a chanter they suck balls, i left mine at 53, they were fun when they could charm, now its over