simple class to learn that *is* soloable?

[Maner]

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

The thing about monks and necromancers is that, if you pick human you can't change your mind (and change your race) if you realize "hey, regen would be very helpful and worth the XP cost". It's totally possible you'll get to 60 and think "man, iksar are so ugly that even without the regen I'm still glad I didn't roll one" ... but you're making sort of a risky bet as you can't know if that's how you'll feel later.

My recommendation? Barbarian shaman or halfling druid. Both classes can solo very well. Shaman are a bit more powerful at the high end, and a bit more desired in groups, while druids get tracking and ports, both of which can help you earn plat in ways a shaman can't. Barbarians do have a small (-5%) penalty, but that's the smallest possible among shaman races. Halflings actually get a +5% bonus to XP.

(I should note that race regret is possible with a Barbarian shaman also. But once you get Torpor you won't regret the Iskar/Troll regen, and Ogre's frontal stun immunity (while cool) is not nearly as cool as the Iksar regen is to a necromancer.)

If you're not that in to grouping and not real fixated on level 60 I think Druid makes for a great starting class for anyone, and you can't beat an XP bonus. But if you are picking a class you plan to continue playing long after you hit 60, or if you want to do a fair amount of grouping, Shaman might be better.

Other options wold include Mage or Enchanter, both of which are also good soloers, with Enchanters being the better of the two. Both of them can be human if you want no penalty, and while you might regret it it a little at 60 (since a Gnome/Erudite/High Elf would have better stats), it won't be anywhere close to the regret you'll have if you pick a human necro and later want regen.

Unlike other classes, you can level a necro to 60 naked, maybe a bard can too, but the plat investment is very minimal with a necro. Even spells don't coast that much, excluding EoT.

Not taking 1.5x as long to hit 60 on your first character is huge, not to mention that necros can get to 60 faster than almost any other class just with how fast they can solo. You can level to 60 quickly and cheaply then farm gear either for yourself or other toons or just for cash. And since you didnt actually spend much on your necro you can reroll later as an iksar if you want to.

[loramin]

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

You can level to 60 quickly and cheaply then farm gear either for yourself or other toons or just for cash. And since you didnt actually spend much on your necro you can reroll later as an iksar if you want to.

Wow, to casually talk about leveling all the way to 60 on any character (even a necro), and then in the very next sentence suggest re-leveling that exact same class to 60 all over again ... you must have a lot of time on your hands.

But look I was not trying to start yet another race debate here; there are already a million of them already. I was simply trying to explain that most people do not find it so easy to level to 60 twice, and as a result they may experience "race regret" when their human necro (or human monk, or non-ogre shaman, or ...) hits 60 and all the other races have some cool power while they're stuck with a useless XP bonus. Many people on this forum have been in that position, and I'm sure they'd all say that warning new players of it is reasonable.

Also, I'm not at all against the idea of leveling a quick-leveling race/class up and then using that character to farm stuff for other characters. But not everyone wants to create a first character with that goal; some plan to keep playing that character as their main for years.

Finally just in case it's not clear, I'm a level 60 Barbarian Shaman (either the worst or second worst Shaman race depending on who you ask), and I have no regrets. "Race regret" is a real phenomena, but it most certainly does not affect everyone who creates a sub-optimal race character.

[Lhancelot]

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

I'm not trying to start yet another race debate here...

Ogre > all.

Size does matter, no matter what they say!

Oh shoot. I forgot, ogre can't be necro. [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Well. I agree with Loramin, try to choose race wisely, most people don't want to go down the same 60 lvl road again, even if it's on a preferred race later on.

[Maner]

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

Wow, to casually talk about leveling all the way to 60 on any character (even a necro), and then in the very next sentence suggest re-leveling that exact same class to 60 all over again ... you must have a lot of time on your hands.

I was not trying to start yet another race debate here; there are already a million of them already. I was simply trying to explain that most people do not find it so easy to level to 60 twice, and as a result they may experience "race regret" when their human necro (or human monk, or non-ogre shaman, or ...) hits 60 and all the other races have some cool power while they're stuck with a useless XP bonus.

But just in case it's not clear, I'm a level 60 Barbarian Shaman (either the worst or second worst Shaman race depending on who you ask), and I have no regrets. I'm not saying a human necro will have regrets, I'm simply saying that if they do their only option will be to re-level to 60, and that's so viable for everyone.

Please do not take this as an attack on your particular race choice and then defend your choice: that's how the race debates start [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

I started on P99 without knowing anyone on the server, picked a necro as my first character and hit 60 in under 2 months while working full time plus. That was whenever this account was made. Now i have 4 lvl 60s and one lvl 50, i have never bothered releveling an iksar necro though, because at 60 the regen really doesnt matter all that much.

You would only have to relevel if you cared about min and maxing. I would assume that starting with a 40% exp penalty would slow the game down enough to make a lot of new players actually quit.

This same line of thinking would suggest starting a halfling druid first due to the ability to make money from porting and it is even faster to 60 with the exp bonus. However i think a human necro would out level a halfing druid anyway.

[Lhancelot]

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

I started on P99 without knowing anyone on the server, picked a necro as my first character and hit 60 in under 2 months while working full time plus. That was whenever this account was made. Now i have 4 lvl 60s and one lvl 50, i have never bothered releveling an iksar necro though, because at 60 the regen really doesnt matter all that much.

You would only have to relevel if you cared about min and maxing. I would assume that starting with a 40% exp penalty would slow the game down enough to make a lot of new players actually quit.

This same line of thinking would suggest starting a halfling druid first due to the ability to make money from porting and it is even faster to 60 with the exp bonus. However i think a human necro would out level a halfing druid anyway.

I think this is the most important thing for a new guy to take away from this post.

If you hit 60 on a non-iksar and actually find it not a big deal that's reassuring to someone who doesn't really want to roll iksar necro, but feel they might regret it later if they don't.

Good to know.

[Tankdan]

There's some necros I know who'd laugh at the statements that iksar regen is negligible at top level. But tbh it was more important in Kunark when people actually grouped in Seb and shit, not what we have now where people just log in due to a batphone for 15 minutes then log out.

[Maner]

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

There's some necros I know who'd laugh at the statements that iksar regen is negligible at top level. But tbh it was more important in Kunark when people actually grouped in Seb and shit, not what we have now where people just log in due to a batphone for 15 minutes then log out.

Even if you're soloing, the HoT taps are very mana efficient and usually will just help you kill faster anyway. If you're duoing its usually with a shm or a cleric so you can get heals there or just regen from the shaman.

Anyone who laughs that iksar regen is negligible at lvl 60 either hasn't leveled a necro other than iksar or just hasn't played at lvl 60 for very long.

Not that its the easiest thing to get, but the VP necro staff also makes race choice irrelevant.

[originalman]

Monk is the best solo class. And keeping weight down makes it like a survival game! ^_^

[kjs86z]

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

I started on P99 without knowing anyone on the server, picked a necro as my first character and hit 60 in under 2 months while working full time plus. .

I'm calling bullshit on this unless you did almost nothing but come home from work every day and play EQ.

How could you ever be active and maintain relationships during those two months?
Unless I'm missing something there...2 months to 60 is insanely fast if you had no outside help (plvling, twinking, etc).

[Cambiant]

It amazes me how you guys always hijack these threads with race wars and level 60 considerations. The thread isn't titled "LF end game necro advice".