New to the game: What character to start with?

[benpremium]

Alright gents.

I used to be a fairly keen AC player back in the day and learnt the hard way that randomly starting leads to a completely sh*t character in the end. There were approved methods of starting that were maybe hard to start but gave good yields when you got to the high levels.

I'm thinking of starting as an Elf Mentalist (Hibernia).

I'm after a character that's strong at attacking (preferably magic) but is fairly useful when it comes to support/healing.

Any advice on how to start this character (starting stats) or if I'm barking up the wrong tree what would be a better character to suit my whims?

Cheers

 

[censi]

well my friend mentalist is the way to go...

be warned the path of a mage is a hard one at the moment...

Mages are offensively comprasmised by the interpution system and there are survivabiliy issues related to Cloth, low hit points, lack of determination and savages!

If you are sure the mage is the class your want to play. Then a mentalist is somewjat of a PVE specialist nowadays, gr8 with focus pulling. (which will be nerfed soon)

A good spec in my opinion is 46 mana and the rest light. This is give you the best Health regen spell which is much more effecient than the baseline bulk heals. Mentalism is the spec line most avoid.

If you want to be a more ferocious nuker with higher con pets then a light mentalist is the way to go (not many of those around nowadays....

To be honest in terms of impact the best offensive mage has to be the Mana specced Eldritch... They are desirable in PVE or farming grps cuz of PBAOE and they perform well in RVR.

The Enchanter I would avoid like the plague just cuz the realm is full of them and they are a touch dull (very strong class though at the moment)

You should also consider the bard driud or warden. But I cba to talk about those.

btw my mentalist is 46 mana 28 mentalism but is purly built for farming.

have fun my friend.

 

[squalion]

i've been playing my void speced Eldricth recently and love it , imo its better go to with a voidy rather then ment for 1st character, but thats just my opionon

go to http://daoc.catacombs.com and click the character building and see how you would like to spec your character, that may help a bit too

gl and welcome

 

[boni_ofdavoid]

I would avoid mentalist for a first character. There is no big demand for the type of mentalist you want. The trouble with DAOC is you can have a perfectly specced character but still no on wants to know you cause your the wrong class.

Consider a druid instead of a clothwearer maybe...

Nature regwowth, you have some offensive spells (damage over time), crowd control (root), a pet, can heal like a god, and wear scale armour and tank if needed...

 

[old.Xanthian]

Originally posted by boni_ofdavoid
and tank if needed...

Blademaster

 

[boni_ofdavoid]

Originally posted by old.Xanthian


Blademaster

Cant argue with rolling a BM atm, they are very sweet in rvr.

Hard to level (well compared to healer/chanter/pb), and if hes after something that can heal...

 

[ilaya]

mentalists aint the hardest chars to play first up.. play summit that does one thing and not the other.. tank, healer, nuker..

mentalists are healer/nuker/support.. especially mana ones..

need to learn a bit about game to learn how to use them properly. perhaps the most awkward class to start with really..

having said that, they rock

 

[old.SOSAGES]

whats in more demand for rvr mage wise ?

i see an equal mix of em all (except light/enchantment enchanters)

and whats doing more dmg these days void or mana eld's been a while since i checked them out

 

[finbahr]

go with what u wanna play inmy opinion if you fancy a mentalist you go for it if you find it difficult then leave it and make another i would go full mana till 40 with my menta then decide from there


but good luck and welcome to the Golf course realm (see you in the 19th)

 

[VodkaFairy]

Void eldritch is good.. can solo with that till you know your way around

 

[vintervargen]

mate, in daoc atm, no good rvr chars can do more then one task good (generally).

you have to specialize in order to be really good.

thats why casters dont spec in all 3 lines for example, for why druids dont. go either full offensive, or full offensive. thats why its so many bms/savages/mercs atm.

 

[oblivion_6]

i would recommend voidey as that was the first character i started

its a nice well balanced pve character and its fun to play as well

as for performance in rvr thats up to the individual imo it seems to be good out in rvr with obli but some others dont like it

As i think iilaya said try and choose a char thats got one purpose tanking/healing/nuking etc b4 choosing a complex char like menta/bard etc that way youll learn the realm and then ur chars which is probs the best way to go

GL

 

[boni_ofdavoid]

Void kicks ass. The recent changes have made it a really viable class once again.

*With m.o.t.a. bolt cast times are insane. Both bolts in the air at once, and like arrows once they are cast they cant be avoided.

*Great damage with bolts against all but heavy tanks. I can two shot high rr stealthers / archers / any wizzie on a good roll.

*Can hit people in combat. I hit someone for 818 with main bolt last night while two people where meleeing him, could never had done that before the fixes.

*Baseline - nuke is now as fast as light, and has insta str/con/dex blaa debuffs.

Oh and in a future patch the cast time on our AOE is being reduced by 25%...

Void rulez

 

[old.SOSAGES]

what was ur final void spec ?

 

[oblivion_6]

my final was 46 void and rest light but im thinking bout taking away light and using my mini on mana

like boni said combat bug is now totally the other way and its nice to twat a savage while 3 guys are trying to take him down

 

[boni_ofdavoid]

Originally posted by old.SOSAGES
what was ur final void spec ?

I used to be 46 void rest light.

46 void is all you need for rvr (vs human opponents anyway), and the light gives nearsight which is very sweet and a gheto AOE mezz which is next to worthless now.

I respecced to 50 void rest mana.

This is more a pve spec, with 65 odd void your hit rate against uber mobs (read galla) is a lot better, and the mana backup gives a err.. crap disease spell and lame snares. You do get the best debuffs though for 50 void..

46 void rest light is probably the way to go unless your a pve fanatic. Though I guess 46 void rest mana is also worth considering.

 

[Moön]

Blademaster

 

[Ensceptifica]

Originally posted by boni_ofdavoid
Void kicks ass. The recent changes have made it a really viable class once again.

*With m.o.t.a. bolt cast times are insane. Both bolts in the air at once, and like arrows once they are cast they cant be avoided.

*Great damage with bolts against all but heavy tanks. I can two shot high rr stealthers / archers / any wizzie on a good roll.

*Can hit people in combat. I hit someone for 818 with main bolt last night while two people where meleeing him, could never had done that before the fixes.

*Baseline - nuke is now as fast as light, and has insta str/con/dex blaa debuffs.

Oh and in a future patch the cast time on our AOE is being reduced by 25%...

Void rulez

Seems void is becoming more and more popular again since the last fixes. I'm still quite happy with my mana eld, but I'm glad there's more viable specs now. Long live variety ( :

 

[Ahqmae]

The best thing to level first is imo an enchanter.

Easy getting lots of money = makes it easier to level your next char.

That aside, I'd go for a void or mana eld if you're going rvring. If void make sure you get the last energy debuff and if mana go 50 mana. Interrupts suck atm tho :/

If you want a tank go for a blademaster.

 

[woodsmen]

Ah, a dear friend to me is starting DAOC. Lovely.

 

[old.Xanthian]

49 void is a must, otherwise your a waste of space in the group.
The 50% energy debuff is the ONLY reason Voidy is used, without that you may aswell take a Mentalism Mentalist.

My Spec:

49 Void - For last Energy debuff
16 Mana - For AE Disease
16 Light - For crap nearsight and to lower base DD varience

and also +11 on mana and light

 

[ab_fluid]

Originally posted by boni_ofdavoid
I used to be 46 void rest light.

46 void is all you need for rvr (vs human opponents anyway), and the light gives nearsight which is very sweet and a gheto AOE mezz which is next to worthless now.

I respecced to 50 void rest mana.

This is more a pve spec, with 65 odd void your hit rate against uber mobs (read galla) is a lot better, and the mana backup gives a err.. crap disease spell and lame snares. You do get the best debuffs though for 50 void..

46 void rest light is probably the way to go unless your a pve fanatic. Though I guess 46 void rest mana is also worth considering.

i cannot believe in all that u never said the 1 defining feature of a void eld....Energy debuff, this spell is the ONLY reason to roll void eld and its a massively good reason too, mana elds cap on all dd'd and pb for like 900+ in centre, so 49 void is a must if u wanna be a good rvr char

 

[boni_ofdavoid]

Originally posted by ab_fluid
i cannot believe in all that u never said the 1 defining feature of a void eld....Energy debuff, this spell is the ONLY reason to roll void eld and its a massively good reason too, mana elds cap on all dd'd and pb for like 900+ in centre, so 49 void is a must if u wanna be a good rvr char

Yeah, well tbh after reading his spec I agree with Xanth. My voidy doesnt really run around emain, and ive never given great thought to what would be the best pure rvr spec. I respecced for the debuff mainly myself and I guess its just as viable in rvr as it is in pve

But I do disagree that that is the ONLY reason to roll a void eld. I can 2 shot or seriously cripple a lighly armoured opponent at bolt range and this is why im comming back to my voidy, not cause I can debuff bot for a pb mage which, lets face it, voidies always could.

 

[old.Xanthian]

Yeah but it was always overlooked due to 3 pb mages being better than 2 + debuffer, but now with the huge influx of lame-ass savage groups, things need to be killed fast.

The bolts are very nice indeed, I always open a fight by bolting the Sorc / Healer, usually killing the Sorc and putting Healer close to death.

 

[ab_fluid]

Originally posted by boni_ofdavoid
Yeah, well tbh after reading his spec I agree with Xanth. My voidy doesnt really run around emain, and ive never given great thought to what would be the best pure rvr spec. I respecced for the debuff mainly myself and I guess its just as viable in rvr as it is in pve

But I do disagree that that is the ONLY reason to roll a void eld. I can 2 shot or seriously cripple a lighly armoured opponent at bolt range and this is why im comming back to my voidy, not cause I can debuff bot for a pb mage which, lets face it, voidies always could.

the bolts r ok, but the trouble now is middie grps not alb grps and they basically have no "soft" targets, a self debuffing chanter would still hit for more than a bolt on a healer imo, obviously short range but not by a long way, in a VGN grp atm, the key role of a voidie is defo debuffing

 

[old.Xanthian]

Bolts do about 550(spec) and 450(base) on Healers.
But it can vary, some will be as low as 300.

But if the Mana Eld gets in Str/Con debuff b4 bolts are cast, a lucky crit would drop the Healer

Sorcs on the other hand... Well being Albs, 99% of them have AF buff down

 

[benpremium]

Thanks for the all the input guys.

I've been reading quite a bit about how mana eldritches are more highly sort after and are better in the long run.

Mana or Void - ARGh, I can't decide!

 

[boni_ofdavoid]

Originally posted by benpremium
Thanks for the all the input guys.

I've been reading quite a bit about how mana eldritches are more highly sort after and are better in the long run.

Mana or Void - ARGh, I can't decide!

Tough choice.

Mana eld is the easier route, youll be more popular in pve with your ownage pb and aoe debuffs, and tbh although its nice to see rvr guilds like VGN accepting that void has a strong role in a caster group, youll find roving rvr groups more willing to take a mana eld than a voidy.

Having said that voidie is possibly the strongest solo class, and if you prefer soloing to all that looking for group nonsence then void is the way togo. Void has a big edge when it comes to galla raids, though walking round galla for 4-5 hours isnt everyones cup of tea... Theres no character I would rather play in a keep defence/attack than a voidy.

Basically mana eld is more popular for grouping, but for solo/keeps/raids void owns

 

[Ensceptifica]

Originally posted by boni_ofdavoid
Tough choice.

Mana eld is the easier route, youll be more popular in pve with your ownage pb and aoe debuffs, and tbh although its nice to see rvr guilds like VGN accepting that void has a strong role in a caster group, youll find roving rvr groups more willing to take a mana eld than a voidy.

Having said that voidie is possibly the strongest solo class, and if you prefer soloing to all that looking for group nonsence then void is the way togo. Void has a big edge when it comes to galla raids, though walking round galla for 4-5 hours isnt everyones cup of tea... Theres no character I would rather play in a keep defence/attack than a voidy.

Basically mana eld is more popular for grouping, but for solo/keeps/raids void owns

I could make a lengthy post saying the same thing, so I'll just say I agree with Boni here ( ; Not entirely sure if void is that strong for soloing in pve... I found the DD+snare in the mana line incredibly useful soloing from 25-35, while soloing my voidy from 1-21 was hell.

 

[o_O]

snare DD eats pow....

Its all about power effisiency when soloing as a caster bolts own at that