04-27-2005, 08:38 PM
I think it's only fair to make comments on the two classes I've played a lot:
Priest: The priest is probably actually a pretty good choice. Sure, priests generally kill slowly (I've never really used shadow much so I'm used to killing as a disc/holy priest) but they are pretty durable. In 1v1 combat the priest will come out ahead of any non-elite similar level mobs. The only trick is learning how to manage your aggro so that combat is 1v1. Adds mean a bubble and run and hope you can get out of range before they kill you. Skills such as shield, renew and mind soothe can allow you to get around some more hazardous areas sometimes as well.
Also as mentioned it is fairly easy to find groups as a priest if you want/need them. Anyone could always use a healer to duo with as it reduces downtime for any other class if they have a healer along (with the possible exception of a mage). Being a solid priest for instancing requires practice and a larger learning curve but I assume the casual player will not be doing more difficult instancing (like 5-manning Scholo/Strat/LBRS).
Warrior: The warrior can be a fickle beast. If your equipment is underlevelled you will feel it more than many other classes. This is more likely to happen for a casual player. Also, the lack of healing means that you can usually tell pretty quickly if a battle is winnable or not. If it looks hairy you will be doing a lot of running and the only thing you have going for you as you run away is a higher armor value so you can hopefully take more hits. As a warrior you have to know your limits and learn to hightail it the other way ASAP if a situation is beyond those limits. If you don't then you die.
That said, if you have anyone to help you find a priest to play with. Thanks to their high armor a warrior's survivability is incredible with a healer to back them up. If you can learn any basic aggro strategy to keep aggro off your healing friend then the situations you can handle are incredible. The difference in how I can play my warrior with a priest tagging along as opposed to soloing is incredible. When soloing I pick my fights and I'm always ready to run. With one healer I can charge entire enemy camps and just lock them all down while my healer keeps me alive. Shortly thereafter all the mobs are dead and we are still standing.
For larger scale partying and instancing as long as you can understand how to hold aggro and pull effectively (you can learn this by soloing as if you pull poorly when soloing you will be running or dying a lot) you can be effective. Every tank has to learn how to pull a particular instance on the fly and each one has their troubles the first time. The warrior does not HAVE to be the party leader, good warriors probably will be but that doesn't mean you have to be. The real trick to playing a warrior in instances is simply to understand that your role is target dummy and damage sponge instead of dps. As long as you can understand this and play to that end you will be ok.
Still, of the two classes I think a priest is more solo friendly as long as you have the patience to deal with the slow kill speed. Also, in many places short of the endgame you can be a suboptimal healer and still be ok. As long as you remember to heal when necessary (and don't just ignore your duty) you can be ok. I've rarely met a priest that outright forgets that they are a healer (whereas I have met druids who seem to ignore healing others at times, even in groups where they are the only healing class around).
From a naive perspective it seems to me like Rogues would indeed be a solid choice for soloing as you pretty much are set up to stealth to pick your target and then blast it until it drops. You have minimal downtime thanks to no mana. Stealth allows you to do many item find quests more easily (or killing particular mobs without clearing the trash around them) and your dps is phenomenal. Also, if you are mostly soloing you don't have to worry about handling aggro which can be one of the biggest tricks to an endgame rogue. Just unload on a mob and move on...
- mjdoom
Priest: The priest is probably actually a pretty good choice. Sure, priests generally kill slowly (I've never really used shadow much so I'm used to killing as a disc/holy priest) but they are pretty durable. In 1v1 combat the priest will come out ahead of any non-elite similar level mobs. The only trick is learning how to manage your aggro so that combat is 1v1. Adds mean a bubble and run and hope you can get out of range before they kill you. Skills such as shield, renew and mind soothe can allow you to get around some more hazardous areas sometimes as well.
Also as mentioned it is fairly easy to find groups as a priest if you want/need them. Anyone could always use a healer to duo with as it reduces downtime for any other class if they have a healer along (with the possible exception of a mage). Being a solid priest for instancing requires practice and a larger learning curve but I assume the casual player will not be doing more difficult instancing (like 5-manning Scholo/Strat/LBRS).
Warrior: The warrior can be a fickle beast. If your equipment is underlevelled you will feel it more than many other classes. This is more likely to happen for a casual player. Also, the lack of healing means that you can usually tell pretty quickly if a battle is winnable or not. If it looks hairy you will be doing a lot of running and the only thing you have going for you as you run away is a higher armor value so you can hopefully take more hits. As a warrior you have to know your limits and learn to hightail it the other way ASAP if a situation is beyond those limits. If you don't then you die.
That said, if you have anyone to help you find a priest to play with. Thanks to their high armor a warrior's survivability is incredible with a healer to back them up. If you can learn any basic aggro strategy to keep aggro off your healing friend then the situations you can handle are incredible. The difference in how I can play my warrior with a priest tagging along as opposed to soloing is incredible. When soloing I pick my fights and I'm always ready to run. With one healer I can charge entire enemy camps and just lock them all down while my healer keeps me alive. Shortly thereafter all the mobs are dead and we are still standing.
For larger scale partying and instancing as long as you can understand how to hold aggro and pull effectively (you can learn this by soloing as if you pull poorly when soloing you will be running or dying a lot) you can be effective. Every tank has to learn how to pull a particular instance on the fly and each one has their troubles the first time. The warrior does not HAVE to be the party leader, good warriors probably will be but that doesn't mean you have to be. The real trick to playing a warrior in instances is simply to understand that your role is target dummy and damage sponge instead of dps. As long as you can understand this and play to that end you will be ok.
Still, of the two classes I think a priest is more solo friendly as long as you have the patience to deal with the slow kill speed. Also, in many places short of the endgame you can be a suboptimal healer and still be ok. As long as you remember to heal when necessary (and don't just ignore your duty) you can be ok. I've rarely met a priest that outright forgets that they are a healer (whereas I have met druids who seem to ignore healing others at times, even in groups where they are the only healing class around).
From a naive perspective it seems to me like Rogues would indeed be a solid choice for soloing as you pretty much are set up to stealth to pick your target and then blast it until it drops. You have minimal downtime thanks to no mana. Stealth allows you to do many item find quests more easily (or killing particular mobs without clearing the trash around them) and your dps is phenomenal. Also, if you are mostly soloing you don't have to worry about handling aggro which can be one of the biggest tricks to an endgame rogue. Just unload on a mob and move on...
- mjdoom
Stormrage:
Flyndar (60) - Dwarf Priest - Tailoring (300), Enchanting (300)
Minimagi (60) - Gnome Mage - Herbalism (300), Engineering (301)
Galreth (60) - Human Warrior - Blacksmithing (300), Alchemy (300); Critical Mass by name, Lurker in spirit
ArynWindborn (19) - Human Paladin - Mining/Engineering (121)
Flyndar (60) - Dwarf Priest - Tailoring (300), Enchanting (300)
Minimagi (60) - Gnome Mage - Herbalism (300), Engineering (301)
Galreth (60) - Human Warrior - Blacksmithing (300), Alchemy (300); Critical Mass by name, Lurker in spirit
ArynWindborn (19) - Human Paladin - Mining/Engineering (121)