Classic EQ tanking

[Tyoldra]

Greetings to all,

I have decided to start playing EQ again after some time and found this server. I love the high pop with Kunark coming out right around the corner I had a few questions. Now I know some of these are might be answered in post deep in the archives so Ill try and keep it short and simple.

1.) Warrior vs Knight - Now I know the major differences in the classes Im just having a hard time picking which of the three tanks to play. Really its down to Warrior or Sk. Do I want to raid tank or group/off tank is the real key here. Still working on deciding that but if anyone has any input that might help me tip the scales that would be fantastic.

2.) Being new here I was wondering where would the hot spots be for tanking. I will most likely be Ogre just for pure stats even though I detest the classic ogre graphic and love the Luclin model.

3.) Starting gear - Now if I recall right the "newbie" quest were not added into the game till PoP so thats out of the question. Would my best bet be killing everything and farming a bit of plat to level up smithing and making some Banded or would someone happen to have any Bronze gear they havent sold to a vendor laying around? What would be some decent weapons to get a hold of if i pick warrior, things i could pick up while leveling since im starting with nothing here =D

Those are about my only questions I have.

I hope to see you all in game and if you need a tank hit me up. Ill making my toon tomorrow once the server is back online.

Peace
Tyoldra

[Sharkeye]

You seem to be excited to come up. My best advice is to play the class that you will have the most fun with. For tanking at low level's (where you will be for a while unless you got PL homies) SK's own because of snap, Warr's own because of of uhh... and PAL's own because of snap.

[cuddlesthekilla]

SK are always good for tanking

I also did orge sk but i had a few friends to get me some gear

training i left the starting zone at like lvl 2 or 3 and went over to east common lands and trained till 6/7 then starting grouping at orc 1. Your not going to get a lot of plat/gold (you can try selling belts and pelts if you are lucky) untill like 14 when oasis is a option (you can get a lot of plat there if you pick up lots). But i say the best thing to do is 1 try and find a guild to help you out or 2 try and go to the tunnel often and get a high ds and a high hp regen and go out to the desert and kill things there at 7 or 8 for some fast lvls. hopes this helps a little

O yea it is pretty slow lvling till 9 but once u get spells it will pick up a bit.

[Noselacri]

Here's how it works:


If you're starting from scratch, playing a warrior is gonna be really tough. It's a well-known fact that in order for warriors to really function as group tanks, you need a couple of weapons that proc something with high aggro. In truth, warrior aggro doesn't become really comfortable until you get your yaks (there's a few more options in Kunark), although you can tank reasonably with things like obsidian shards. Since anything like that (especially the yaks) will take a long time for a new player to get, expect some serious hardship if you choose to begin your journey as a warrior with no twinking. It's doable, it has been done, but it's probably the hardest choice of all.

As for warrior vs. hybrid, the knight hybrids are so much better tanks for most exp content. The ability to infallibly grab and hold aggro is infinitely more valuable than the marginally better raw survivability of a warrior, and the utility spells just add the icing on the cake. In really high-end group content, particularly in Kunark and Velious, warriors get their comeuppance as mobs begin to get pretty tough and classes get disciplines, but warriors still don't truly shine until raids. That's when it all turns upside down and hybrids lose much of their value while warriors become the star of the show.

Another factor is that hybrids can solo to varying degrees while warriors just can't. You can solo a warrior up to level 20 with decent gear and a polished granite tomahawk, but any more than that is pretty much hopeless. Shadowknights can solo decently along the entire way, and paladins are... well, they're able to kill lone blue mobs, and they have healing spells. It's not beautiful, but they're technically able to solo. Helps if it's undead. This is where the utility of spells becomes valuable - invis and feign death help immensely with the practicality soloing as a shadowknight, and heals and stuns will go a long way for paladins, especially against caster mobs. The ability to snare or root is also highly convenient and, while not as crucial here as on live due to a quirk in the code, still helps and might become more important if mob flee code gets looked at again.

Play a warrior if you want to become the focus of attention in the endgame. Tanking raid mobs is a very special experience, and even if leveling up kinda sucks, it's a comforting feeling to know that your area of prominence is in the more "important" aspect of the game (raiding) while a hybrid's is in the less important one (leveling). If you suffer challenges poorly, though, don't play a warrior until you've played an easier class long enough to get a feel for the game again and to pass some decent gear along to your alt.

[nemethor]

if you hate the classic ogre model don't make an ogre imho.

[Slave]

I think the old troll and ogre graphics are wonderful! There's something very organic and iconic about them that just screams OGRE and TROLL. Remember, Ogres were CURSED!! They used to be like gods, but are now a fallen race. How cool is that?

[Tyoldra]

Well at the moment the Sk is over the warrior because of the fact that warriors are so gear dependent. I know most people wouldnt kick a new warrior from a group just for being undergeared but I would feel like a burden to most parties until i got some decent gear.

And I might not like ogre looks but i do like their stats and some of the race abilities like immunity to stun and slam. To me they outweigh a minor dislike of the race design of Original EQ.

[shuklak]

I grouped with a SK in unrest this past week and the aggro was incredible. Never saw anything like it so far. I've grouped with warriors though and it's just dismal. Rangers hold better aggro but they also drop really fast. I've yet to group with a paladin.

But that SK aggro was intense. I could chain nuke as a SHM. Normally if I slow at 70% I end up tanking the duration.

As far as warriors not being able to solo I would object. My friend played a warrior in classic and solo'd even until SolB. He wasn't a twink either. No doubt things have changed though and people probably expect more. But the point is is you can do it.

[Ralexia]

Disease cloud aggro is really really really really really high. When does this get nerfed? 10 mana, 1.5 second cast time, 6 second recast(only downside) for instant aggro. Even resists create a ton of aggro.

Warrior aggro before 37(when yak's start procing) is extremely frustrating at the moment. Hopefully the better ratio weapons in Kunark will help this. Right now you're stuck with obsidian shards and their terrible ratio but useful proc in order to hold aggro.

For early money making, I would collect bone chips. A good spot is north ro. There's a bunch of decaying skeles in the grassy area towards the freeport zoneline(watch out for the guards) and there's a camp of skeles further into the desert. I think you'd be able to solo that camp at around lvl 10. Bone chips are going for 10pp/stack + these days as people prepare to turn them in for Cabalis faction. You're right next to EC too.