Wizard or Enchanter?

b1ackr00k · #1 10-08-2016, 11:35 PM

Hey folks! So I'm returning to EQ after 17 years and a lot of what I used to know doesn't seem to be true anymore. So I've got a question.

Should I play an Enchanter or a Wizard?

Back when I played in the late 90s Wizards seemed to be all the rage for DPS roles and add in ports and it made my Druid very jealous. So coming back I decided to make a Wizard however I've read some P99 articles which suggest that caster DPS isn't scaling well, or at all, and as such wizards tend to not get groups. Soloing is all well and good but I'd also like to be able to group for leveling. I mostly solo but enjoy grouping to speed the process along whenever the opportunity presents itself. I know Enchanters are always welcome, who doesn't love that sweet sweet mana crack, and I like CC style characters however no ports (I like to be able to move around freely).

My concerns are threefold:
1.) Which class is easier to solo with and provides faster leveling?
2.) Which class offers more to a group and is thus more attractive for groups to take?
3.) Is the trade off of the utility of ports outweighed by negative factors a wizard may face?

So it comes back to my original question, a wizard or an enchanter? I appreciate any feedback! Thanks! [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Renad · #2 10-09-2016, 12:18 PM

I believe enchanters are considered the de facto soloing kings, but wizard quad kiting seems to be quite popular as well. Enchanter is going to pretty much always be wanted in a group. As you said they have that sweet sweet mana regen, along with CC, best haste, and huge dps when charming. So again, I think the consensus here will likely be be chanter again. As far as benefits outweighing not having ports, that's probably going to be a personal choice. Are ports that important to you, or would you rather be nearly always sought after for a group spot?

thufir · #3 10-10-2016, 05:59 PM

Enchanter, period. I played a wizard on live up to 59 in velious era. They were not good then and are even more reviled now that everyone knows they are inefficient.

Efficiency is extremely important to puggers on p99 at higher levels. Play an enchanter. They are great at everything you mention above - very good soloers and offer more to a group. And no, porting doesn't make up for it. /who all dial solves that problem most of the time.

vincenzo · #4 10-10-2016, 06:22 PM

100 time out of 100 a group will want a chanter over a wizard. Enchanters are the best class to solo with and can make ridiculous amounts of plat camping desirable spawns. Ports are easy to come by in this game and enchanters have the added benefit of being able to visit any area they want without being KoS. Enchanters utility is just so much better than a wizards.

Baler · #5 10-10-2016, 06:37 PM

Wizard for raid nukes
Enchanter if you can pay attention to the game.

I will pre-enmptivley warn you: "Why don't you charm a pet?" you can have everyone hasted, cracked and mobs slowed. As an enchanter people will be on you nut sack about anything. Despite that your utility is par none to any other class in the game.

Both excellent options.

Pyrion · #6 10-11-2016, 03:24 AM

If those are your options take enchanter. If you just like to have a class with nukes and ports, use druid instead of wizard. Druids can do so much more... and even their nuke dps is not that much worse than a wizards (we are talking about maybe 10 to 20% less mana efficiency with nukes). With druids you will find groups in the below 50 game, later on you will have the same problem a wizard has.

Kotopes · #7 10-11-2016, 04:53 AM

Well, druid nukes are nowhere near as good as wizard when it comes to raids, so if you want to raid most of the time 55+, then go wizard. They have a very relaxing solo career past level 29, all you do is kill 4 mobs then /afk for 10-15 minutes. It gets bad again 56+ since quad-kiting options thin out, but you can get to 60 with some dedication.

Outside of raids wizard life is not easy, nobody wants them in groups due to low consistent damage, their utility is shared with many other classes, and druids got better port locations + SoW. They aren't good at farming unless killing NPC guards while leveling.

Go enchanter for super group friendly and one of the best solo class, go wizard for relaxing solo career, mobility and big booms on big bosses. Raiding on ENC is really boring outside of couple encounters, wizards are always wanted however.

kgallowaypa · #8 10-12-2016, 10:18 PM

Quote:

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

Go enchanter for super group friendly and one of the best solo class, go wizard for relaxing solo career, mobility and big booms on big bosses. Raiding on ENC is really boring outside of couple encounters, wizards are always wanted however.

Nailed it on the head for enchanters at end game with velious. You are pretty much a buffbot and the uber prowress you feel from 16-59 vanishes fairly quickly when you are at the upper echelons of raid encounters. However in a raid scenario you will become quite popular with your guild as almost every class wants your buffs for C or haste. I would recommend main an enchanter as plat comes easy and then twink out a secondary class and have fun with it [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Trelaboon · #9 10-15-2016, 12:14 PM

With Diap a Port, moving around freely is really not even an issue. Enchanter meets every one of your needs, they're just an all around better class

Expediency · #10 10-15-2016, 12:23 PM

Wizard is possibly the worst grouping class on p99 and people openly discriminate against them. If you want groups roll chanter, no doubt. If you want to roll wizard, have a backup character for grouping.

edit: once you get to very high level, wizards are good and useful raid characters. You can also make money by porting. Its the exp grouping that will be very hard for you to do.