The easiest and simplest class to play?

[BlackBellamy]

Originally Posted by pivo [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

mostly solo

less button I need to click

the only button you ever need to actually click on is destroy, so i would go with the other people in this thread that say rogue because as mostly solo you're going to really minimize that use

[magnetaress]

Originally Posted by Gustoo [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

All easy choose what you feel most fun and favorite starting town.

Enchanter sux low level. druid kinda sux low level. Both become highly enjoyable solo classes later on.

everything else pretty good all the time.

Some are easier then others.

DD viability in order of it is going to kill your target is Wiz>Mage>Druid>Cleric>Shaman>Enchanter>Necro

Having played a necro to 50, and never gotten an enchanter past lvl 20... I don't exactly recommend them for 'simplicity'.

That said my original recommendation still stands, on a necro if you only bought your lifetaps and pets, and fought in relatively safe outdoor spots were pulling was straight forward and you could focus down one mob at a time from a full mana bar, all you really hafe to do is lifetap and help your pet tank a little bit.

Druids and Wizards do it better though, with less downtime. Mages can be pretty awesome, but pets get me killed, all the time....

Almost every class can be played simply in this game if you are not worrying about optimal efficiency.

Wizards have built in optimal efficiency with 1 single spell line. And it is noticeable later on.

Enough so that I would say deleting a mob 36 seconds or so, increases exp throughput a lot more then being able to 'sustain' killing a mob every 2 minutes constantly. This pays out a lot more if anyone ever afks, as every time they go to fight, their mana bar is automagically full. So there is in reality zero downtime with the fastest kill throughput possible. No one is making you sit at the keyboard. You can read. You can nap between kills. You can lay in bed and die for 30 minutes between kills. It is a great class for people who truly are sick and need something to distract them 'when they can manage it'.

It is really important that people pick an archetype and theme that resonates with them. It is much better to play a bard poorly doing a lot of repeatable experience quests and take 3 years to level, but enjoy the journey baking muffins, then it is to play a wizard and be sad you don't have selos for all those CRs. Or a faction song. Or a Bard mask.

[Jimjam]

Originally Posted by turbosilk [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Just because some people think this doesn't make it true. Rogue by far is the least skill class. Monk would be next. A low skill player playing a wizard is the same results as a high skill player playing a rogue, just mindless dps. A high skill player on a wizard brings a lot more to the group than dps.

And for the next at least 2 years mage and wiz are god mode dps in raid bosses.

I think you're missing the context of my post. I don't disagree with your comment on what a high skill player on a wizard brings, but the thread is in relation to the easiest and simplest class to play. Your comment was outside the scope of this context.

Being a social game, I believe one of the most important criterion for 'easiest and simplest' would be 'meeting the expectations of your group mates', and I feel this barrier is even lower for wizards (occasional mana dumps) than it is for rogues (dpsing every mob, continuously paying attention to positioning and remembering to back stab, while being expected to have the zone knowledge to accomplish corpse recoveries).

Rather than being what a peak (or even mode) example of the class can achieve, we need to look at the lowest acceptable trough for performance is on each class.

[magnetaress]

Originally Posted by Jimjam [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

I think you're missing the context of my post. I don't disagree with your comment on what a high skill player on a wizard brings, but the thread is in relation to the easiest and simplest class to play. Your comment was outside the scope of this context.

Being a social game, I believe one of the most important criterion for 'easiest and simplest' would be 'meeting the expectations of your group mates', and I feel this barrier is even lower for wizards (occasional mana dumps) than it is for rogues (dpsing every mob, continuously paying attention to positioning and remembering to back stab, while being expected to have the zone knowledge to accomplish corpse recoveries).

Rather than being what a peak (or even mode) example of the class can achieve, we need to look at the lowest acceptable trough for performance is on each class.

Rogue has a steep learning curve. The difference between an amazing rogue and a simple rogue is pretty big. A rogue that invests time into poisons, knows all the spawn points, knows pulling mechanics, knows agro mechanics vs a rogue that just stands there and hits one button is more drastic then a wizard IMO.

The only thing a wizard really needs to worry about is:

Is the mob at 70% hp, OK safe to nuke it.
Is the mob a caster? Nuke harder
Is the mob attacking me or someone I don't want it to attack? Ok root.
Is everyone screaming OMG WE ARE ALL DYING TRAIN /shout TREAIN 2zone? Omg evac plz channel.

About the only other thing I can think of is if you want to channel a better evac stand in a corner were u cant get pushed lol.

[magnetaress]

Originally Posted by Ivory [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

I bet a fisherman would make more moneys. Beg to get enough for a sturdy rod and some bait....

UNLESS you are a druid / ranger! Then you can forage your own bait and food and water to save money! Even sell some of that extra foraged foods.

Boom, fish, berries, veggies....that's some good moneys. You probably start making 1pp every 10 minutes with good fishing (and fishing isn't capped by level, so you can be a master fisher early).

Ayyyeee and you can then start baking and brewing too ! [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

* am really JEALOUS * of wood elfs... so wrong ;(

[Muggens]

Every class in EQ can be easy, as mentioned it comes down to what you want to do and what people expect.
People playing monks will say split pulling is an "art form", warriors brag about positioning and leadership abilities, but theyre all easy to play. Shaman heh im curious what makes a shaman difficult to play. Some posters pretends almost no one know how to play their class [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.] truth is this game is not difficult to play, its mostly down to knowledge about game mechanics, and enchanters and bards have the highest ceiling on this aspect. If you are knowledgeable in game there is alot you can do as these two classes without getting lots of gear and clickies, and they will keep you the most busy. But you can play either two on easy street too, and they certainly have lots and lots of tricks to make life easy in EQ compared to other classes who dont get half of their abilities. Druid is a good easy choice, you can do alittle of everything, you get sow and ports, you can level up using an easy method like being a group patch healer and buffer or go root rot or kite nuke/quad, and if you feel like some more responsibility you can charm. Choose whatever you get the most roleplaying affinity to, theyre all easy and they can all become more difficult if you want, its up to the player, why this game is so great

[magnetaress]

Originally Posted by turbosilk [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Just because some people think this doesn't make it true. Rogue by far is the least skill class. Monk would be next. A low skill player playing a wizard is the same results as a high skill player playing a rogue, just mindless dps. A high skill player on a wizard brings a lot more to the group than dps.

And for the next at least 2 years mage and wiz are god mode dps in raid bosses.

its fine if wizards are played reactively not proactively its not that big a deal. What we aren't taking into account is that this is indeed actually a social game and group dynamics are important.

"Groups that challenge new players to the point of wiping the group" are not really "good groups"

I would say its better for the group leader and puller to 'slow down the pace' and play more conservatively if their group makeup or player skill levels require such, and that any group leader or puller who cannot accommodate other people, their play styles, or their in real lives are indeed - bad group leaders - class and gear makeup matter very little at this point.

Not everyone is looking for that omptimal chain pulling with a mob parked 10% exp per kill rate, and in fact its dumb to try and achieve that as people just end up dying, hard crs happen.

If you want to level characters fast, form a cabal with a few druid, necro, and bard friends. You will be able to churn out lvl 50 characters in like 3 days. With way less risk, and effort involved.

This OP doesn't want to do that. They want a character they can play without the complexities of:
CC, mez, charm, pulling
swapping out 50 spell gems during a fight (ench, necro, bard, shm, lol)
Knowing about all the wierd tricks and quirks of the game mechanics and zone lore, (imo monk, rogue)

Remember though we were all new once, I played a monk without learning how to split pull for like a year, it was a terrible time in my life, but i had a lot of fun, and will never play a monk again [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.] [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

The journey was worth it.

[You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

[magnetaress]

Originally Posted by Muggens [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Every class in EQ can be easy, as mentioned it comes down to what you want to do and what people expect.
People playing monks will say split pulling is an "art form", warriors brag about positioning and leadership abilities, but theyre all easy to play. Shaman heh im curious what makes a shaman difficult to play. Some posters pretends almost no one know how to play their class [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.] truth is this game is not difficult to play, its mostly down to knowledge about game mechanics, and enchanters and bards have the highest ceiling on this aspect. If you are knowledgeable in game there is alot you can do as these two classes without getting lots of gear and clickies, and they will keep you the most busy. But you can play either two on easy street too, and they certainly have lots and lots of tricks to make life easy in EQ compared to other classes who dont get half of their abilities. Druid is a good easy choice, you can do alittle of everything, you get sow and ports, you can level up using an easy method like being a group patch healer and buffer or go root rot or kite nuke/quad, and if you feel like some more responsibility you can charm. Choose whatever you get the most roleplaying affinity to, theyre all easy and they can all become more difficult if you want, its up to the player, why this game is so great

yeah, ports are really convienient especially if you have a hard time moving your character around lots and lots

[Jimjam]

Some great posts there magnetaress.

One prompted me to realise the wizard probably has least active button pressing time, meaning it is easier to lay on the RP.

Surely, being a social rpg, this is the most important metric for 'easiest to play'?

[Izmael]

Hard to believe so many people are missing the point.

OP asked what is simply and easy for a mostly solo newbie.

How can anyone suggest rogue, which is unarguably the worst solo class in the game? You can't tank, you can't heal yourself, your only offensive ability (backstab) is almost unusable solo.

Wizard will only work for a few levels, then he will start to get beaten up by the mobs he's trying to root/nuke.

I don't think anyone suggested necro, by the way. Decent newbie class.