Comparison of melee hybrid classes.
 

So I am so psyched about this server it is crazy. I only played classic and kunark RZ in the day and came back to luclin/pop to feel like the game had changed for the worse including pvp. I always played an enchanter, loved having tash and all the dispells.

Here is the thing, as much as I love enchanter mechanics I have always wanted to play a main melee class. I have played lots of classes on VZTZ boxes but I know this will be different and I have never really played on Project1999 to test classes.

Basically I have never been able to tolerate rolling around as a large race as I like to roleplay a good amount. I am trying to get the main pros and cons of all the hybrids and trying to find what I think will be better. I am down to either a ranger or paladin in my head.

If you guys could let me know if I am mistakin or something I am leaving out please let me know!

-I am assuming that basically all hybrid melee damage is about the same at a decent level with Rangers maybe taking the lead slightly with higher skillcaps and potential duel wield. Also Rangers have highest bow skillcap. So Ranger really wins this category. Paladins with a max bow skill of 75 I am thinking will miss a LOT in pvp. So Rangers will constantly be hitting their targets regardless of being kited around.

-Paladins have by FAR the best healing capabilities with greater healing. Ranger heal is more of an out of combat thing and shadowknight lifedraw of max 45 damage in classic sounds super subpar. Especially assuming that damage spells will do 80%.

-Paladins lack utility except for stuns (which will never land late game) and soothe. Rangers get SOW and Track and snare (which seems like the best cc out of all the hybrids). Shadowknights get FD and Shadowstep which I am sure some people choose just because FD is awesome.

-Rangers have lowest defense with shadowknight and paladin being similar.

With all these considered I seem to think I would love the Ranger. I am pretty good with kiting and I played a Paladin on VZTZ and was running around a lot of fights not doing damage where if I was a ranger I would be constantly hitting them for a small to medium amount doing more damage once in melee range which is easier to achieve with sow.

Not to mention rangers get kick.

Am I missing something or does it sound like I should be a Ranger?
Only reason I am kicking over on this subject so much is I do not have as much game time these days and multiple chars on P99 like xp is not doable.

Thanks guys, heres to hoping server is up soon!

havent tested it on P99, but back in the day (classic-pop) ranger bow for kites or chasing worked aight
The bow would interupt so i got to stop some casters from gating/healing this way
and vice versa:
like i would be kiteing around a ranger on my druid, and the relentless bow shooting was annoying
but i remember killin all rangers on my druid..being a ranger, i remember winning some /boggle

Same boat, can't decide. Narrowed it down to some classes i've not leveled up before, but still not certain.

Rangers are not very good except for the fact that they have great tracking. It's just not a strong class yet, and there are hardly any decent 2handers that rangers can use pre-Kunark. That's gonna be a big problem in PvP, because jousting is really critical for warriors and hybrids. If they code the resists like classic, you can't rely on root/snare in the higher levels, and wailing on someone with a pair of ebony swords quadding for 20s really pales in comparison with a jousting tank who can smash you for 200 per round and move out of your melee range while weapon delay refreshes.

Rangers also lack a class power-skill. Paladins have lay hands and shadowknights have harmtouch. They can't be used often, but it makes a huge difference when you have it up.

There's a few pieces of key utility that can make a big difference.

Paladins get endure magic and cure poison/disease, as well as many more junk buffs than rangers and especially shadowknights. Stun and blind are insane before people get full resist gear while root and snare are somewhat less amazing because they don't really disable the target. Paladin heals are really decent and they can be almost impossible to kill.

Shadowknights get both types of invis which is really useful for getting to people in dungeons, and feign death is HUGE in high-level PvP. Having a pet up is very useful even if it doesn't do any real damage, because it can interrupt non-channeling classes using clickies, and it'll show you exactly where someone is if they attack you from range/hiding or try to juke away. Shadowknights also get detect invis which paladins don't, and according to the p99 wiki spell list, rangers don't either; I remember them having the see invis spell later on, but it might have been added after Velious. Without that ability, you're a lot worse off against anyone who can invis or hide. It isn't easy to get from items until Kunark.

Ranger spell damage is ass pre-Kunark and they pretty much just rely on their melee damage for DPS, and their melee is ass as well. I think the best jousting weapon you can get is like a 20dmg bibs or something. Archery damage is mostly pitiful unless you somehow get the sky bow, and your bow really isn't something you can reliably kill with until Velious. To top it all off, rangers can't bash/slam or interrupt spells in any other way which is absolutely clutch for melees.

Real men play paladins.

Thats why i brought up the bow interupts.. not sure if that works in pvp here or not since i didnt get to witness any ranger duels on P99
rangers dont ever get see invis i dont think... wtb bracer of the hidden come kunark!

Agreed

Rangers are fun as hell
 

But on the gimp side damage-wise

Bows don't interrupt any more than melee swings do, and since you land so few individual attacks with archery, it's pretty shit for interrupting. How many shots can you get off in the time it takes to cast an ice comet? Maybe two or at the very most three with a typical bow. Two or three melee attacks will not routinely interrupt a high-level caster, they'll channel right through it.

Thanks for tips so far guys, as far as interupts go if you are not a large race then using a 2hander neither sk or paladin gets one so ranger wins with kick for + little damage.

I can see where HT and LoH makes a huge huge difference in small pvp.

Also ranger can use the bibs.
Ahh I am so on the fence it is crazy. I think its gonna come down to how bow damage fairs in classic. Also if the bow can consistantly interupt. Anyone know a bit more info on bows on P99? Also I know on VZTZ it was pretty cool to chain spells with the bow CD. Can you still do that on P99? For example, i cast the ranger 100 damage nuke, then right after it finishes i hit bow attack into another spell. So I am chain shooting and casting for even better damage?

*Edit* Just saw the post before mine after I made this one! Can anyone confirm that bows do not interupt very well?