werkkrew

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.

BTW - I am going to repost this thread also in the Guk server forum for additional server-specific feedback. Mods, if this is a problem please feel free to delete the duplicate post.

Thanks in advance for any advice.

Dilfx

First off, welcome to EQ2. Race isn't a huge factor, but each class its own certain traits that make them desirable to casters, scouts, etc. It's more about the avatar you can tolerate staring at during your EQ2 career.

I would suggest going through the Gamewide recruitment forums and each individual server forum to get a better feel for who is raiding end-game material and to see what classes keep getting turned over needing more of. To start off, I'd pick any medium-to-high population server and start leveling. You'll get to know the good people and the idiots, just like in WoW, but over time you'll discover the needs world-wide of the class you are playing.

Next choice would be the class you want to play. Both wizards and warlocks are powerful caster dps, but in my opinion, wizards are awesome for single target opponents and warlocks are more group encounter based. They both fare well with the other way around, though. You'll notice that the subclasses are fundamentally the same, but each have their own differences. It's all in your preference and play style, but the classes fare quite a bit differently. The mystics and defilers in EQ2 do not drop totems and spam cast FROST SHOCK!!! (Though I admit would be pretty cool)

PvE or PvP? Well, I have characters on both and they are all fun.. But if you do decide to PvP, make sure it's on Nagafen (Vox and Venekor are pleh) and make sure you hunt with friends later on. If you don't have the patience, exp'ing solo can be frustrating with rangers, assassins, brigs and swashies running around everywhere! Again, all in your play style, and if you were on a PvP or PvE server in WoW, the gankage fairs similarly.

Good vs. Evil? Well, if you play a wizard or warlock, it truly doesn't matter which side you choose. The housing is different in all the cities, so that may factor in your choice heh. Some people just hate being a good guy or bad guy and choose that way.

Sorry that my thoughts are out of order, but I hope this helps a little.

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Dilfx Cares, 80 Dirge, Blackburrow
Silf (Intolerance For'Noobs), 71 Warden, Nagafen
Dilf Cares, 36 Bruiser, Nagafen

Israphil

If you want a fun caster class that is capable of a lot and has a high demand among end-game guilds gamewide, and you find yourself a skilled player (not necessarily at eq2, but if you have a knack for rpgs in general) with experience maximizing your class potential, and you want a demanding but immensely rewarding class, nix the warlock and roll an illusionist. They are a ton of fun, are a challenging but workable class early on, and at end game are truly awesomely powerful, have amazing aa abilities, are an asset to any group setup you could possibly imagine, and can pull out an astonishing amount of dps if you take the time to learn what you're doing.

I just made one recently; with my main being a healer and pvp character brawler I wanted to mix things up a bit. So far I'm having a blast; you can defeat some really difficult encounters, often by a razor margin, which is my favorite way to play.

Race really doesn't matter; I'd suggest a small race. Big ones just tend to suck.

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Less newb, more pwn.

Fearful

When I started playing (3+ years ago) i started with a evil gnome SK (don't ask me why) cuz I got told fighters/warriors are easy to start with. In the beginning I give my helpers right. I got the hang of the game with fights. But I soon realized fighters/warriors wasn't for me. First of al - group is depending on that you know the way and trust me - I prolly can get lost in QH .

Then I tried to make me a healer (Templar) and that class was awesome to me. I was standing in the back and following the group. And even though healing is really important it isnt the hardest class to play.

Tho - got bored in not doing anything. So tried other classes (illu, coerc, conju) Got a headache before lvl 20. Deleted them al and did a dirge.
And i can say FUN FUN FUN. Sneaky class that helps groups/raids. It can "heal" and ress (feelt a bit like home) Dirge are a nessesary utility And we can do really good dps as well.
But I do play both my templar (as an alt) and my dirge

If you want to do the mean dps go for warlok, wissy i would say..


As for beeing good or evil.. Well I dont like Freeport, to dark I have al my toons in Quenos and its more easy to use the shared bank then.

Server choise.. I don't do PVP. So can't help you there. But I have always played at Splitpaw server and I like that one really good. A lot of action in the channels, open raids and stuff.. Splitpaw is (mostly) ppl from Europe tho (raids starts around 19-20 CET)

Hoped that i helped a bit and welcome to EQ

Tyirul

Yes, he's compeletely right. A dark elf/erudite/arasai illusionist played right is one of the most challenging and thereby pleasing classes. You can own the parse, and still be a huge utility. Everyone loves you, everyone.