First Time

[Foozae]

I have never played Everquest before. What class should I start with? I like being needed in groups and raids, but if this server is too small for that (not negative, just don't know) I would like to be able to solo well. Thank you

[Foozae]

I will be logging on to play in 1 hour.

[Obito]

You should play whatever class makes you feel the most comfortable. With that said, here are a few things you should know.

Leveling in EQ takes a LONG time, do not expect to raid in your first few months, especially if this is your first time in EQ.

Races are divided into 3, Good, Evil, and Iksar. Iksar are hated everywhere except their hometown of Cabillis. Evil races are Dark Elf, Troll, and Ogre. Good races are everything else.

Faction matters, what does this mean? The god you choose to follow, and the class you select to play, will make NPC's like, or dislike you, so choose wisely. (It is possible with lots of grinding to become friendly to any town in Norrath, so with work you can be an Iksar who is friendly with Humans of Freeport for example. Allowing you to bank/sell outside of Kunark.)

Norrath is large, and there are no mounts in the game. If you want to fight on one side of Norrath, and your friend is on the other side of Norrath, it's going to take you multiple hours to make the run. Druids and Wizards can teleport you, but they often require a donation.

Binding is important, there are no graveyards like wow. When you die, you will lose xp and spawn where you were last bound, and you must run to recover your body. If you are traveling a long distance, it is crucial to get bound in a safe place so if you die, you can run a short distance to your body.

The majority of the server hangs out in EC tunnel which lays just outside of Freeport. In EC tunnel many people will be willing to give you buffs to help with leveling, or if a mob aggro's you and you need help, people are most likely going to help you, but you have to communicate, they can not read minds.

The most soloable classes are mage/necro/wiz/druid. You can also solo as a shaman or bard, but these classes are more difficult to master, the plus side is that groups will always want you.

[Foozae]

Keep getting disconnected every time i create character :'(

[Bleui]

Are you making a halfling hybrid? Such as a pally or ranger? They are not classic, so you cant roll them. That may be your case.

[Foozae]

You are so smart :D

[Bleui]

But in terms of classes you should play. You should roll what sounds cool to you. Let us know what classes sound cool to you roleplaying wise, and we can give you better info. I personally play Ranger. I know Rangers get a lot of slack on this server, but I love their play style. All that really matters is if you're having fun playing the class you choose. I think each class has there place in groups and raids, but depending on how well you play you class will have a large factor on getting in them.

[deadreaver777]

as said above, classes that solo best are necros, mages, druids, wizzies, shamans and bards. SK's, monks, and enchanters can solo as well if played well, some better than others... and of course gear matters. A well geared ranger with a lot of arrows, and a good bow are capable soloers as well.

classes that are awful at soloing and almost require you to be in a group are cleric, warrior, paladin, and rogue.

any class can find a group, depending on what roles the group needs. out of all of the solo classes mentioned though; enchanters, bards, and shamans are the most in demand i'm sure.

if you find yourself always wanting to group; cleric, enchanter, and a tank class, probably warrior would be your best bet.

[Foozae]

Druid, Paladin, Ranger, Warrior, and Bard are all classes that seem cool.

[Foozae]

Thanks for the information everyone, I appreciate it.

[Bleui]

I would say Ranger, but I'm biased hehe. Warrior will be hard since you lack gear and plat. That goes for all melee classes really. But the Bard can swarm kite, which makes the bard the fastest leveler. But is soloing for the most part what you want to do? Pallys need less gear than wars. Druids are a good first class because you can farm money for your next ideal class you would like you play, but do you want to dump all the time in the druid just to get plat for a class you would rather play?

A Ranger is quite fun imo. I always thought of the Ranger as the default nomad of EQ. You get the best bows, you get sow, you can forage, you do decent damage, you have some utility if you know how to play your class, and you are rare at high levels. But keep in mind with the ranger... There is a lot of haterd on this server towards them. They don't wear plat, and it's kind of hard to place them in a group/raid when other classes can do a better job (per se).

But it's all about how you like playing. If you wanna lead a group roll war or pally (war will be wanted more in raiding). If you want to buff people, have ports, and be a decent soloer roll druid (keep in mind there WILL be down time). If you wanna level really quick to max level roll bard, plus they are great in groups, but for me grouping is a little boring playing as one.

[Reiker000]

Druid, Paladin, Ranger, Warrior, and Bard are all classes that seem cool.

Not sure what MMOs you have played but leveling in EverQuest takes a very long time, especially for certain classes. Also, not all classes were created (balanced) equally. Paladins, Rangers, and Bards have the largest class exp penalties in the game (40%). Also, Rangers are generally very underpowered until Luclin-PoP (expansions this server will never see). This might not really matter if you're having fun with the class, but a lot of groups may not want to invite a Ranger since other classes contribute more, unless you have a reputation as being a great player and even then it's difficult. This makes the grind even more tedious.

Paladins are *ok*. Bards are a really solid class, but they're one of the most difficult to play well. There's no other class in any MMO that plays quite like an EQ Bard because well, they're kinda tedious (but can be very fun). I'd only play these classes if you don't mind a challenge (especially Bard).

Warriors fill the same role and have some of the same problems as Paladins (tank, very gear dependent = need $$), but they have no class exp penalty and if you have some decent weapons (to hold aggro) you won't have many problems finding groups.

Druids are a completely different animal. They're easily the most friendly "newbie" class. Because of this, they're also very common. And as a class, they're slightly overshadowed by others due to their convenience factor. You can buff your run speed, debuff mobs' run speed, heal, buff, do damage, and port to all kinds of locations around the world which makes traveling really easy (and you can make a little $ from porting others). Our of the three healer classes, Clerics are vastly superior, and Shaman usually bring more to a group (buffs + slow). You can still find a group if that's your thing, though. Due to their versatility, Druids work a little better in a duo/small group than a 6-man.

Warriors, Rangers, and Paladins are primarily group classes. Bards can solo but are also very welcome in a group (especially if you have a reputation of being good - colossal difference between good and bad Bards). Druids are more of a solo class (but can find groups).

In short: If you want to play a melee/tank, play a Warrior. If you want to play a caster, play a Druid. If you want to dive in with a real challenge and don't mind juggling nearly every ability in the game, play a Bard.

[Foozae]

Thanks again, I have decided on Bard to be my first class. Any addition information would be helpful, but not expected. thank you :D see you around in EQ

[Jacquouille]

First : Welcome !

2nd : It's always good to start with a "pharm" class, such as Necro or mage. Makes soloing/pharming easier, and you will be glad once you're a high level to be able to dungeon crawl a bit on your own aswell as making some pp.

If you aim at raiding later, go for a most needed raid class, SK, Bard, Cleric.

Necros are always cool, they are pretty much useless but can feed mana and pull.

Remember though you won't play your class you used to on live during raiding here. It's all about speed and dodging trains and other dirty stuff guilds do against each other.

My last advice, P99 is a great server with some great GMs (when they're not taking care of Raid dispute, chasing RMTers or MQers), so just go play a class you seem interested to, it's important to play what you want.

Cheers!

[Ephirith]

Things that are: 1. very desirable in groups/raids 2. very versatile with who they can duo/trio with 3. are excellent soloists:

Enchanter
Shaman

And bard to a lesser extent on #1 and #2

[Tecmos Deception]

Keep getting disconnected every time i create character :'(

You might be taking too long in the character creation process. I know that the times I've gone to make a new character and sat there for ages trying to think of a name I like that isn't taken, I get DCed.

[Kope]

Things that are: 1. very desirable in groups/raids 2. very versatile with who they can duo/trio with 3. are excellent soloists:

Enchanter
Shaman

And bard to a lesser extent on #1 and #2

I'd say bards are as desired, if not more so in groups and raids, but that totally depends on the skill of the bard (in groups).

Enchanter is a fun class to start with.

Shaman is a little easier to pick up from other MMO experiences.

Bards are TONS of fun, but are as much work as they are fun :). Take you time levleing up, enjoy the experience, get groups and learn when you can. There WILL be jerks you group with and there WILL be awesome people. Welcome to the server :)

[Ephirith]

I'd say bards are as desired, if not more so in groups and raids, but that totally depends on the skill of the bard (in groups).

Problem is, most enchanters on this server will keep something charmed, and that is excellent sustained dps. Bards come with a 40% penalty and lack the ability to do that kind of dps. They cost more exp than an enchanter and don't do anything significant an enchanter can't, unless you need the bard as a puller.

[Kope]

Problem is, most enchanters on this server will keep something charmed, and that is excellent sustained dps. Bards come with a 40% penalty and lack the ability to do that kind of dps. They cost more exp than an enchanter and don't do anything significant an enchanter can't, unless you need the bard as a puller.

Untrue, bards can charm as well, and if timed correctly you can recharm almost immediately. Sure it's not as reliable as enchanters but a well played bard can come very close to the charming ability of an enchanter. Bards just don't keep the same mob charmed for long periods of time, with each pull (4 or 5 mobs per pull) the bard ccs 2 of them, charms one and attacks the MT. Plus bards can sing different songs based on what the group needs.

[Foozae]

So I am going to try Enchanter, Bard, and Warrior. Then see which I like best to start with.

[Emphase]

Actually pretty surprised that no one here as mentioned a Monk. Very good first class to play, melee class, dps class. can solo really well and has a lot of options to escape death(Feign death: You'll drop to the ground and lose all aggro with the mobs you were engaged with) and also Mend: ability to heal yourself instantly for a good chunk of your life

[Emphase]

By the way, whats your characters names? I'll try to help you out inside the game if you have any questions or anything. I'm currently playing my monk named "Kayan" so if you have a question just /tell kayan

[Foozae]

My in game name is Foozae, or Eazoof. Depending on what classes I decide to stick with.

[falkun]

Bards can do anything, 18 seconds at a time. I do envy enchanters sometimes, but then I raid and remember why I chose bard.

[Foozae]

I really want to play Bard, but everyone saying it take very long to level in Everquest, and on top of that the 40% penalty, just scares me.

[Kope]

I really want to play Bard, but everyone saying it take very long to level in Everquest, and on top of that the 40% penalty, just scares me.

If you learn to swarmkite bard is by far the fastest leveling class in the game. It takes MANY deaths to get the timing down perfectly though.

A well played bard is generally accepted in any group as well if you want to group. I have a 60 ench, and a 52 bard. I didn't aoe kite at all on my bard, I just wanted to have fun in groups. The bard I actually like 100X more than my enchanter but I can't always put the energy into playing him correctly and so I play my ench or another class if I'm lazy :P.

[fadetree]

Why level fast? What's the point? One could argue that levelling *is* the game, so why rush to be done?

[Tecmos Deception]

Why level fast?

Because you want to.

Fucking duh.

[Kope]

Why level fast? What's the point? One could argue that levelling *is* the game, so why rush to be done?

I actually agree with you on this point, but people generally want to level quickly to see the end game.

All of the new toons I make, I make purely for the reason of grouping, doing dungeons, dungeon crawling etc...

...I also get called insane for doing that though :P People are generally confused when I say that.

[Ryba]

Unless you're an ass-pie and therefore immune to extreme boredom, you might want to consider being a pure caster for your first run-through. Necromancer or mage are the best choices, but druid works. Don't listen to people who tell you those choices are unoriginal and you should play the class you want: you don't know enough to know the class you want, plus any class can be fun, so why not minimize the pain--we are talking about your precious time here.

I find melee characters too gear dependent and they take too long to regenerate HP between fights, but not long enough for a quality jerk session. And even if it was long enough, how many times can you really rub one out per day? 7? And the last 3-4 will just feel like work.

Moral: Be a caster, mate, or learn to quickly masturbate.

[Emphase]

hey man i just ran to freeport but i think you were afk, was giving you a few platinum for songs. msg me when you get back online

[Brutal_X]

A Mage or Necro in my opinion, are one of the best soloers by far for NEW players. They get pets, necros get dots, and mages get semi-nukes. Both of them have smaller xp penalties, if i recall its 20%... I started on hero as a mage, and im definately glad i did!

[Foozae]

Level 5 bard, man this game does take a long time to level, but I am having a really good time so far. ^^

[Kender]

Level 5 bard, man this game does take a long time to level, but I am having a really good time so far. ^^

well you picked a class with a 40% penalty... until you can AE effectively you'll level real slow when not in a group

[Raavak]

Level 5 bard, man this game does take a long time to level, but I am having a really good time so far. ^^
well you picked a class with a 40% penalty... until you can AE effectively you'll level real slow when not in a group
That's at level 18 I think. Then you can effectively bard kite (search for posts on that on these forums, there some good discussion). You picked a fairly difficult class to learn, too, for a new player. But if you can manage it you will take the EQ-bull by the horns.

Remember, that if you elect to group for exp once you've gained a few levels you will also be tagged as the puller (with your lulls to pull single mobs) and crowd-control (mezmerize and charm). Then of course there is your mana regeneration songs that casters will love.

In end-game raid situations you will be loved and sought after for your great resist songs. And as a dragon puller in the outdoors, since you can outrun most anything on Norrath with your travel songs.