werkkrew

Sorry for the long post, I also posted this in the Noob forum but I wanted some server-specific feedback -

So I am sure I am opening myself up to a lot of flaming here, but here goes.

I recently quit wow. I was an officer in an end-game raiding guild who has cleared everything up through Illidan in WoW currently. I have come to EQ2 looking to raid, basically. In wow I was a top geared Warlock. It fit my play style well. Essentially I want to be top-notch ranged caster DPS in a raid setting. Necromancer, Warlock, or Wizard seem to be my options if I wish to go that route.

As an officer in an end-game guild I realize that raiding takes lots of time, skill, patience, etc. So please don't give me a lecture about that. Been there, done that. I lead my guild to the end-game of wow and while I realize this is much different game then wow is, the time commitment, listening/leadership skills one requires to be in an end-game guild are much the same.

Since the game is so new to me I do not understand most of the dynamics of the classes, good/evil, server choice (pvp vs. non-pvp), race choice, etc. Since I am sure what I am used to from WoW does not translate well to this game.

First I should say that I know it is going to take many months, or longer, to even level myself up to the point of being eligible for an end-game guild, but I want to put myself in the best position to be able to do so.

So far, I chose a Necromancer on the server Vox, which seems to have been a poor choice. So I recently re-rolled a Gnome Warlock on the server Guk; aligned to Good atm.

My question is, aside from looking at the "current needs" of guilds on the server Guk, is my choice of Warlock on a PvE server a good position to put myself in if I wish to be a desirable class for a raid setting? I know in wow certain classes such as rogues were very highly over populated and trying to join an end-game guild was nearly impossible due to the high number of them, or other classes were simply not all that raid viable, so not many of them were wanted/needed at all.

Seems most guilds desire some of the more obscure classes you don't see much of - Bards, Illusionists, etc. I fear if I chose one of those I might be in a good position to join a guild, but I wont enjoy playing my class.

Bottom line is - I don't want to level to 80 just to come to find my choices early on were bad, and I can't find a good guild who needs my class/race combination and I find myself stifled.

Since the game has been out for a few years now, and I am totally new to it, I am simply looking for the best advice a newbie can find about starting out in this game for the first time with these, albiet lofty, goals in mind.

Pheemo

A few short answers to some of your questions that come to mind:

If your goal is to be a top-tier DPS caster, I'd recommend playing a sorcerer; wizard or warlock, whichever you prefer. I can't speak directly to your situation, since I can't predict how long it will take you to reach level 80 or what the class needs will be for Guk guilds at that point in time. However, the current instanced end-game content favors wizards in that most encounters are made up of only 1-3 targets. Avatars and contested encounters have historically been more warlock-friendly, as they typically include large groups of adds that spawn frequently throughout the fight.

If you're just now starting a new character, ditch the gnome and roll an erudite. Erudites get a racial trait that reduces casting time by 5% and rivals any effect you might see on end-game loot. Other than that, race is largely irrelevant and a matter of personal preference. The same is true for alignment; unless you play on one of the PvP servers (Nagafen, Venekor, Vox?) it makes little to no difference whether you are good- or evil-aligned.

If your primary concern is whether you will attract interest from end-game raiding guilds based on class, I would submit that most guilds worth your consideration as a raider will probably place more stock in your ability to adapt to encounters and your understanding of game mechanics than your particular class. Give an idiot the best gear in the game and the best group setups possible, and at the end of the day he's still an idiot.

I play a wizard on Guk, and if you have any more questions about playing a sorcerer or how raiding and game mechanics work in EQ2, I'd be happy to answer them.

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Tuatha

Eww, erudites are so fugly though, I wouldn't play one even if they had the power to summon my favourite dairy products.

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dakkota

If you want an uber caster class without the obvious downgrade from hottie status, roll a Dark Elf as their racial trait is pretty nice for casters as well. ;O

kbern

Yeah play what you enjoy and if you are good at your class, you should be able to get a spot in some raiding guild possibly.

It is true there are certain classes that have too many players and some that are more rare and desired, but in the end most guilds will take a stellar applicant and a good player even if they are not the perfectly needed class.

I am partial to Iksar Necros myself.

Jovie

If you are primarily interested in raiding, consider eq1 instead.

Eq2 raiding is far too boxed up and predetermined to be enjoyable.

If you are still interested in staying in eq2 and raiding, go with a healer. DPS seems to be a dime a dozen around these parts.

werkkrew

What do you mean boxed up to be enjoyable?

Its gotta be more serious then WoW...which is what I am coming from.

Id like to stick with EQ2.