Re-maining from Druid to Necro, maybe.
 

Hey P99 gang,

I'm thinking heavily of creating a new main - currently a 42 druid. I'd love some opinions:

My play style is relaxed, will probably never raid - just don't have the time. I play often during the day in spurts and for an hour or so at a time at night. So solo'ing classes are definitely a preference.

I've never leveled up a necro past....8 maybe (lol) even though I've played the game since retail. I mained a mage and cleric back then. Have always heard that necros are the best class for relaxed solo play - and the world is your xp sandbox - cause you know, evil.

Can I get some thoughts on the move? I am not rich by any means (3k in bank, and gear that gets my druid wis to 200+) but am willing to sell and restart for a more powerful damage class.

Thanks in advance,

Patriot

Having played a necro to 60 I'd say it seems to match your wishes pretty well. Being an extremely proficient soloer combined with FD to go afk forever at a moments notice really is fantastic. Be aware that at 60 the (torpor) shaman and enchanter pull away in terms of solo powers but the necro is still pretty sweet.

Edit: you're going to want jboots and pre nerf cos. Other than that gear won't play a huge factor in your early life. 55hp rings and whatever else you can shop for 2-3k is ample.

Necro doesn't benefit from gear too much(especially early on until you can click COS) so feel free to dive in and get your feet dead. It's a perfect class for those one hour spurts and if you have to get called away FD is EQ's pause button.

The Necro would fit your criteria well, but I'll play devil's advocate for sticking with the Druid, at least until you get the mid 50s.

1) Druids are also very casual friendly. Ports help a lot for this. You have a variety of ways to solo, as well. Root rot, charm, quad are all viable.

2) Druids got a LOT of benefit out of Velious in terms of spells and gear. They arguably improved more than any other class. They have the best Velious BP clickie, two nice new heals in Chloroblast and Nature's Touch, one of the best buffs in the game with PotG, a bear pet, plenty of good charming zones in Velious, an indoor stun, a nice ATK debuff, Tunare root necklace and DS clickie gloves from PoG, and finally the Druid Epic is now much more useful since root and snare stack, and much easier to get since Venril Sathir can be spawned directly.

Necros, in contrast, got shafted pretty hard by Velious. They get a couple of nice items like Zlandicar's Heart and Holgresh Elder Beads, but otherwise don't benefit much at all.

3) A Druid is always useful for making easy plat from porting, powerleveling or just running around looking for rare mobs/mob cycles with track. Just a very good generalist and casual class.

Judging by your preference for casual solo I'd honestly just stick with the druid and keep going. Necro is a great class and it does fit what you want but I don't think rerolling to one is really going to change anything for you. Vexenu's post above lays out really good points. As a casual player being able to port around at a whim and check what camps are open is a huge boon.

Thanks for the replies. I definitely enjoy being able to port around on a whim - saves (and makes) a TON of cash.

I think one of the big points for me is the lack of "umph" that druids have. Seems that necros are able to dole out a lot more damage more efficiently than a druid. And not being 100% beholden to gear would be amazeballs.

You guys have definitely given me a few things to consider - many thanks!

Patriot

Druid and necro both fit your play style well. Good arguments above for sticking the druid out, if not to 60.

If you decide to go necro:

1) Roll Iksar.

2) HP > Int (at levels 50+, to 200) > sta = mana

3) Since you are probably the least gear dependent class and don't have a large amount of plat to begin with, I would suggest considering some cheap WR bags (evil eye, light burlap sack) and some good 6/65 rings. The rings will make a big diff at lower level and last right on through. Necros often make plat by farming things like guards that drop weighty vendor trash. Might as well make that easier.

4) If you've never been past 8, take heart. 8-12 are the worst levels of a necro career. At 12 you get your first versions of staple spells, all through the 20's you get good upgrades, and at 34 they really start to shine. The 50's see a comparative dip in power next to enc/shm, but they remain solid.

5) Make good use of being evil.

Life as a necro gets so much better after 12. At 58 I finally finished using up all the bone chips I banked while leveling in Kurns.

At level 8 get yourself a nice ratio weapon, even if it is just a greatstaff, give your pet a nice two handed weapon to boost its damage, load up grim aura and vampiric embrace and straight up pretend you are a shadowknight for a few levels.

Definitely going to do this.

Rolled an Ikky necro last night - going to give it a shot.