Which fighting class?

[Masumori]

I have my copy of DAoC with SI ordered from play (www.play.com) for the bargain price of £18 including delivery and have been doing as much reading as i can to decide on my class, but it's such a tough choice! It seems like a very friendly community so i thought i would ask for some advice.

I think i have decided i would like to be a fighting class, as i have always prefered these in other mmorpgs but i can't even decide which realm to choose, yet alone which fighting class, i'm thinking just choose a class and play which ever realm that class is in. I look forward to being quite effective with RvR combat, but have no knowledge of what classes would be a good choice.

I quite like to be able to get stuck in and solo mobs so i can level quickly, but i also want to be of decent use to group hunts.

Any advice on this would be greatly appreciated, thanks.

 

[succi]

Savage ?

 

[-yoda-]

make a friar

friar is a albion class . that has many different skills .. it can have VERY good melee.. it can buff yourself "and others" eal yourself "and others" has evade and can resurect friendly players...

i think most mids/hibs will agree a friar is a v formidible oponent in rvr , they are capable of killing any other fighter class "with exception of maybe a zerker?" but zerkers quiet boring due to them only having melee. hereas as a friar you can sit back and support your group as well as get stuck in with your big stick ive soloed nearly all my friars lvl's "nearly 41" and tbh i have enjoyed EVRY single lvl of him.. he is by far the most fun class i have played "i have played every class " except for the SI classes.

 

[Archeon]

Beserker, besides being in midgard the absolute no contest coolest realm in the game (due in no small part to me being in it ) they also have kick ass dmg output and don't require a lot of thought into how you need to spec.

By definition Midgard is the melee (fighter) realm.

Can't really comment of savages because i rolled one lvled it to 6 and got pissed off with it, but then i'm more happy playing support classes like healers and shamans

Anyway, the reason i said pick midgard is because we have 5 different types of tank class, all of them kick ass in their own way and all of them bring somthing vaulble to a group... well not savages, they just plain suck


Join Midgard!!

 

[Nonnier]

Do thanes!!!

makes u better players then berzerker/warriors if u do.

"pttf i can kill a red with gimped dex and hits, a crap spec line. So i must be a better player then you"

(but seriously, don't play thanes unless u go BG)

berserkers are cool, insane dmg output. Warriors are da blocking masters.

or make a luri hero

 

[Sigurd]

Ok, listing of tanks then:

Albion:
Armsman - full plate armour, class specific weapon (polearm) good all-round fighters, good damage dealers if specced polearm, but not the best
Paladin - best defensive tank in the game, a shield-specced paladin that knows how to twist is basically unbeatable in melee.
Mercenary - king of one vs ones against anything bar perhaps a paladin, these guys have the most staying power of all light tanks.
Reaver - the anti-stealther tank... bugged styles make this class not as much fun as it could be at this point though
Friar - not really a tank, but one of the best melee'rs in the game (although beatable solo, certainly by paladins and main tanks)

Midgard:
Warrior - the best tank in the game. No messing around, pure fighting supremacy. However, not much new each level, the only thing this class has going for it is that it really is the best fighter-class in the game
Thane - thought to be the most fun tank to play - this class has acess to an area of effect spell, self-buffs and deals pretty good damage with a two-handed hammer... however it's rather gimped in RvR at the moment
Berserker - the hardest hitting tank in the game when in bear-mode... you can easily take out several players after each other with luck, once in bear-form... this is a great class to play, although lack of ranged attack is a bit of a bugger
Savage - good damage dealer, relies a lot more on luck than most classes... low hitpoints due to constitution not rising with each level make this a very light tank though

Hibernia:
Hero - good all-rounder, spear does nice damage, moose mode is a nice bonus but with a large timer (30 minutes) This fighter is the worst of the main tanks, but it's special stuff almost makes up for it.
Champion - great in 1v1s, combines melee, instant-spells and debuffs to beat it's enemies - not too overpowered or underpowered
Blademaster - on paper, this light tank is the worst of all 3 realms - in reality, once you get past the low levels you will maul almost every other class, especially with your triple wield skill.
Valewalker - This class is presently rather gimped - good at lower levels, peaking at mid 20s - at higher levels, lack of a decent combat style that can be used at any time makes it rather luck based. Scythes are pretty nice looking though, and if used well this class can be a challenge for several enemies at once
Warden - the most group friendly of all tanks in the game, this hybrid can heal, buff, fight about as well as a friar, has a pulsing blade-turn ability, a speed spell, magical resists and can resurrect dead friends - you won't do much damage, but you and your group won't recieve much either.

 

[Meatballs]

Originally posted by the_chimera
Hero - good all-rounder, spear does nice damage, moose mode is a nice bonus but with a large timer (30 minutes) This fighter is the worst of the main tanks, but it's special stuff almost makes up for it.

Annihilation in Large Weapons Spec, Moose & Ignore Pain makes up for it easily Luri heros are funny as well, and you get backed up by the realm with the best supporting classes in the game.

 

[Jiggs]

roflmao those descriptions is pure BS

if you looking for good melee class then i would say:

mid: beserker

alb: friar

hib: hero

all 3 are good and alll 3 are very effective in RvR

 

[Sigurd]

Originally posted by Jiggs
roflmao those descriptions is pure BS

if you looking for good melee class then i would say:

mid: beserker

alb: friar

hib: hero

all 3 are good and alll 3 are very effective in RvR

Kindly don't suggest my opinion is bullshit, mate, I spent quite some time typing that up and I think I know what I'm fucking talking about, having played every class in this game.

 

[Masumori]

Thanks for all the replies, they have been very helpful, not that i have made my mind up yet >.< lol but they have certainly been food for thought.

With the conflict between realms... is it pretty close, or does one realm tend to dominate?

Any more advice on classes is more than welcome

 

[SilverHood]

realm strength is pretty evenly spread out on the english servers at the moment.

but I'd recon you're the type of guy who'd enjoy playing a thane
Good melee, okish spells (get good next patch), self buffs, can solo pretty well, and damn fun to play. At the moment, we are quite good in PvE, and strugling in RvR... next patch we will be PvE demi gods, and maybe we can survive in RvR a bit longer, and maybe kill something too

 

[Sigurd]

In Prydwen, Albion currently have the Strength relics, Midgard have the Power relics, Hibernia don't have anything but they're more than a match for both realms when they venture into the frontiers - so it's pretty equal.

Excalibur - Albion is so overpopulated here, that they dominate in general, but Midgard have the most relics, and Hibernia are probably doing better here.

Prydwen is generally seen has having a more stable community, and Excalibur as being more newbie-friendly - you'll find it easier to get a group in Excalibur, but it might not be as good a group, for example

 

[Uncle Sick(tm)]

You seem like a thinking being... capitalizing, punctuation... whatever realm you roll a character in.

Make it Prydwen.

If you own a mobile, tho, and like text-message style - lo m8s on excl!1

 

[Gekul]

And here's Uncle Sick on his anti-excalibur campaign

The best thing to do in my opinion is have a go at a few classes before you decide, it's very unlikely you'll pick the right class without a little experience first. Took me a few tries anyway
That being said, you won't be disappointed with the damage of the berserker class. Generally, the other pure melee classes will do less damage but have better defence. The hybrid classes ( those with abilities other than melee) will give up some melee damage and durubility in return for better utility (spells etc).

I can only really comment on the midgard classes as I don't have a lot of experience with those from other realms.

Berserker - Very high damage, low defence, although a lot of hitpoints.

Warrior - Medium damage, high defence, lot of hitpoints. Very group friendly.

Skald - medium damage, low defence, low hitpoints. They don't fight as well as the two above, in return they have spells (speed, damage add as well as 2 direct damage spells on 20sec timer)

Thane - medium damage, medium defence, low hitpoints. These are like warriors with a little less melee ability, less defence. In return they get a few spells, as well as self buffs.

Savage - High damage, medium defence, high hitpoints. Similar to berserkers but have slightly better defence. They have buffs which increase their damage and defence at the cost of hitpoints. They don't start off well unfortunately but get really good later on.

Take a look here for planning your character spec once you have chosen your class

 

[Arnor]

Originally posted by the_chimera
Ok, listing of tanks then:


Midgard:
Warrior - the best tank in the game. No messing around, pure fighting supremacy. However, not much new each level, the only thing this class has going for it is that it really is the best fighter-class in the game


Hibernia:
Hero - good all-rounder, spear does nice damage, moose mode is a nice bonus but with a large timer (30 minutes) This fighter is the worst of the main tanks, but it's special stuff almost makes up for it.

reading down your post going:

"ok"
"sounds good"
"yeah pretty much"

then WHAZAAM!
The anti-brain-ray hits your face, and you come up with these gems

The hero is the WORST?! of the main tanks?
Try best little feller


Warrior, the BEST!? of the main tanks?
Other end my friend.

Hero with lw will both beat most warriors, and ALSO have ALOT more utility with being able to be neutral to all the armours(i think) AND moose mode. Using CS and having 42 shield, will give you good versatility, AND the ability to drop support-classes like ripe berries

Yes, warriors are defensive beasts, but thats about it.
They have FUCK-ALL except shield/chain/parry/wpn (and they get a 2h "for free" wohooO!)

You think that ppl put "There is no obscene disparity between the warrior and the hero&armsmen" in their sigs as a tribute of a fact or a proof that Mythic dont play their own game?


edit: but you shall have credit for typing up nice summaries, even though you were a bit off on 2

 

[Arakasi01]

pretty funneh, everytime tanks are mentioned people bring up the secondary healing class in albion, sad very sad.
Give healers hammer spec

 

[old.Xarr]

i can recommend the skald/savage/berserker in midgard. i've played them all and enjoyed them very much

the savage is a pretty complicated class when compared to the zerker and skald though. they have a ton of styles that are abit tricky to keep control over and self buffs that need to be picked for every situation. don't let that scare you away from the class though, because it's immensly interesting and fun to play

midgard all the way!

ps: and what the post below says

edit spelling ;<

 

[Arakasi01]

make a skald, midgard needs you

 

[Zerg-Proof]

Originally posted by the_chimera
Ok, listing of tanks then:


Midgard:
Warrior - the best tank in the game.
Savage - good damage dealer, relies a lot more on luck than most classes... low hitpoints due to constitution not rising with each level make this a very light tank though

Heroes are far better tanks than warriors.
And savages having low hp? I know 2 lvl 50 savages in my guild who have over 2200 hp buffed...now that isn't low, is it?

 

[old.Hendrick]

If you consider being a mercenary, have a look at this.

With hindsight I personally would have wanted to be a Paladin in Albion though, mainly since they have far more to contribute to groups (rez, lots of different chants) and are also a bit more versatile to play. Plus you get plate, which is always nice

If you're looking for teh best!11!! then the hero is propably your thing, since on paper they certainly have the best potential. A hero can have a high shield skill and the very important slam-ability, plus use a nasty big weapon (spear or hammer), giving them both nasty offensive and defensive ability. Most tanks usually excel only at one of the two. Also they can turn into a big animal - what else can you ask for? Bedroc had a nice guide put together for heroes, but sadly I can't find it anymore.

Midgard on the other hand is quite the fighter realm. Try taking a berserker and savage to level 5-10. That's easily done and certainly worth trying.

 

[granny]

Reavers are fun too - very good solo PvE, my lvl 45 reaver comfortably kills oranges with v.little downtime. The styles are bugged yeah, but only visually, the damage effects are all working, only realy problem is lack of a good anytime style - but the long chain of styles chaining off of block are just superb culminating in a lifetap style that does 200-400 damage on oranges at my level.

RvR they're fair-to-middling, main problem being lifetaps & AOE's are often resisted and hitpoints/defence are low so we tend to go down fast - excellent at anti-stealther tactics though. We look a lot like clerics at first glance and several times a stealther has popped near me and got a serious surprise when I turn out not to be a cleric at all, great fun

 

[Shike]

Berzerker or warrior or maybe savage as a starting charachter in mid, shieldtanks are always welcome in groups however so the warrior is slightly more groupfriendly I think. Savage is the most complicated of them.

Savages can reach 2300 buffed, so nothing wrong with their HP, thats a myth.

I would do a polearmsman or shield/sword-paladin in albion.

Hero's are good, so are champions in Hibernia.

Friar is not a tank imo, they simply dont have the hitpoints to sustain massive damage which a tank imo should be able to handle. However, they rip a lot apart and fight well.

I have played a broad variety of chars by now, currently I play a Zerker in mid and i gotta say, I love that char, the raw damage they can dish out amazingly fast is just crazy. Screw defense though since damage is all they do

About the realms, hibs are friendly but politics and farming is way too important to many people there for my liking. They also house the least of prydwens players. Oh, and its very very very green.

Albion is Albion, many players, many bad players too They are also known for their extreme lack of courage. (some people do not abide under this rule I know, but fact is, many albs do, which can be frustrating).

Mid is gloomy and is depressive for some people, I have a hard time to be objective about mid since I play here now and really enjoy it.

Cant help out so much more than that. Welcome to Daoc.

 

[Falcon]

Paladin - best defensive tank in the game, a shield-specced paladin that knows how to twist is basically unbeatable in melee.

I have beat sheild spec Paladins who have 1mill more RPs than me in pure 1 vs 1 melee when they've been twisting, I play a melee ranger...

Mercenary - king of one vs ones against anything bar perhaps a paladin, these guys have the most staying power of all light tanks.

Not really true, buffed to hell and with str relics they have nice damage output, but take either away and they're completely useless, again, my melee spec ranger slaughters unbuffed mercs whether I'm buffed or not.

Warrior - the best tank in the game. No messing around, pure fighting supremacy. However, not much new each level, the only thing this class has going for it is that it really is the best fighter-class in the game

Definetely not the best tank in game, but certainly an average class now.

Berserker - the hardest hitting tank in the game when in bear-mode... you can easily take out several players after each other with luck, once in bear-form... this is a great class to play, although lack of ranged attack is a bit of a bugger

Don't be misled by this description the only chance you'll get at taking out several players is if they're unskilled mages or grey cons. Again, with my melee ranger I've solo'd Zerks even when they've ratted on me, however, against a good, well equipped, well player zerk I wouldn't stand a chance in hell of winning 1 vs 1.

Hero - good all-rounder, spear does nice damage, moose mode is a nice bonus but with a large timer (30 minutes) This fighter is the worst of the main tanks, but it's special stuff almost makes up for it.

Nope, Heros are arguably the best pure tank in game, Annihilation and access to crush and slash, both with superb melee styles coupled with Moose put them above Warriors and Armsman

Champion - great in 1v1s, combines melee, instant-spells and debuffs to beat it's enemies - not too overpowered or underpowered

Extremely overpowered in 1 vs 1 situations, they own just about everything. However it's a different story in group RvR as they have lower HPs and don't get the RA benefits the pure tanks get.

Blademaster - on paper, this light tank is the worst of all 3 realms - in reality, once you get past the low levels you will maul almost every other class, especially with your triple wield skill.

Very nice damage output but again, nothing to write home about compared to zerkers.

Warden - the most group friendly of all tanks in the game, this hybrid can heal, buff, fight about as well as a friar, has a pulsing blade-turn ability, a speed spell, magical resists and can resurrect dead friends - you won't do much damage, but you and your group won't recieve much either.

Wardens fight as well as Friars? Er L O fucking L. You say you've played every class in game? Blatantly not played Wardens if you think that. Don't make the mistake of seeing Wardens as a tank class, they're not. Nearly all Wardens who make and play the class expecting to be a tank soon after whine about how gimped they are. Wardens are largely a support class, they're under the Naturalist not Guardian section for a very good reason. Wardens are best specced 49 nurture, decent regrowth for healing your buddies and nice parry to defend yourself.

They key isn't so much in what class you play, it's how you play it. IMO no single class is gimped if it's played right, just some take a LOT more work to tweak than others. Most people think melee rangers are gimped, especially Elf ones, but I have no problems whatsoever ripping up even full melee oriented classes.

At the end of the day you want to have fun, the most fun if you ask me comes from the classes with a lot of toys, so you're best bet is going to be something like a Paladin, Champion, Friar, Skald, Thane, Reaver, Savage, Valewalker, or of course, a melee specced ranger

Remember, it's not what class you play, it's how long you spend learning it, loving it, and playing it. Once you've chosen a class stick with it learn it inside out and beleive me, do that and you can make any class look overpowered.

 

[old.Tohtori]

Originally posted by Uncle Sick(tm)
You seem like a thinking being... capitalizing, punctuation... whatever realm you roll a character in.

Make it Prydwen.

If you own a mobile, tho, and like text-message style - lo m8s on excl!1

Shameful...

You should shout for hibster and then we could get the new guy to bring new knowledge and fresh blood...ahem..."skills" to Ny Markee

 

[Sigurd]

I'm sorry to disappoint you lot, but warriors are and always have been better than heroes. You're looking at the stats on paper, I'm looking at my own experiences. My warrior, a long time ago, went on regular expeditions to Cruachon Gorge, Collory etc. - where there were less level 50s (he'd have been around 35 at the time) with my skald friend - one battle I remember was against 3 yellow heroes, 1 yellow ranger, 1 yellow druid, and 1 green eldritch. We butchered the heroes, the ranger killed the skald, I dropped the ranger and druid before the green eldritch finished me off (by then I was on 5% hps) from the safety of the guards

Now, these heroes were spear specced, but my 2h sword demolished them. Obviously the guys weren't great players, managing to get killed by 2 middies, and we probably had the relics at that point, but nonetheless, I never lost a single fight to an equal con tank, or orange tank, or any 1v1s at all with my warrior. He was a killing machine, provided he got close enough, and certainly butchered many heroes. Heroes really do look good on paper but please remember that Hibernia is the magical realm - emphasis on it's casters - and Midgard is the melee realm - it is just a fact that the Warrior is the best fighter in the game.

And the hero I rolled was good... at taking out support classes, but I found he got mauled by other tanks, unless he jumped them.

 

[Shike]

edited, cba to argue

 

[eben]

Originally posted by the_chimera
Kindly don't suggest my opinion is bullshit, mate, I spent quite some time typing that up and I think I know what I'm fucking talking about, having played every class in this game.

No you don't know what you're talking about. You don't even have a 50 in RvR:

Albion Prydwen
Gawain---3X Paladin
Owl Nightstalker---2X Minstrel
Midgard or Hibernia Excalibur

so how the fuck can you make such broad statements about the tanking classes?

Played all classes? Yeah sure to lvl 5 or something.

With IP, moose and slam heroes rule the roost (plus they get nice parties). Warriors are gimpage in comparison.

You say mercs are top of 1v1? Hell friars and palas take em out regularly in duels. Champions make the best in duels on account of debuffs.

You do say some correct things, but your post is damn dangerous...using some correct points to add credibility to the weaker points...it's misleading.

If I was gonna rolla tank in each realm I would choose:

Albion - Friar
Midgard - Zerker
Hibernia - Hero

 

[eben]

Originally posted by the_chimera
I'm sorry to disappoint you lot, but warriors are and always have been better than heroes.

You don't disappoint me that you're talking nonsense again.

Heroes > Warriors

Warriors need help and they ain't gonna get it if people believe the shit that some people say.

 

[Falcon]

Er, so hold on, let me get this straight. At lvl35 you were in a group that killed 3 Heros, this was back in what, patch 1.36 or something? Therefore Warriors are the best tank in game? Now I'm trying not to have a heart attack here from laughing, but that's perhaps one of the poorest, most utterly flawed, laughable arguments I have EVER had the misfortune to read.

 

[old.Lianuchta]

Originally posted by Falcon

Warden - the most group friendly of all tanks in the game, this hybrid can heal, buff, fight about as well as a friar, has a pulsing blade-turn ability, a speed spell, magical resists and can resurrect dead friends - you won't do much damage, but you and your group won't recieve much either.

Wardens fight as well as Friars? Er L O fucking L. You say you've played every class in game? Blatantly not played Wardens if you think that. Don't make the mistake of seeing Wardens as a tank class, they're not. Nearly all Wardens who make and play the class expecting to be a tank soon after whine about how gimped they are. Wardens are largely a support class, they're under the Naturalist not Guardian section for a very good reason. Wardens are best specced 49 nurture, decent regrowth for healing your buddies and nice parry to defend yourself.

I am not quite sure if i agree with you there Xest... A warden, although dealing out crappy damage, can take a lot of hits purely because of the PBT. The fact that you cap weapon speed with the final haste on a 3.3dps weapon, means that you get to hit 2-4 times per combat round compared to most 1H and 2H weapon users.

1 vs 1 a Warden can be like a Palladin, ie a bitch to take down. If there's two weapons hacking at you (be it a doublewielder or two players) you will probably have more problems. That being said I have taken out yellow con zerkers, shadowzerkers and infils, and can take out a decent amount of L50 2H weapon users (my warden being 47 atm).

And the fact that your 6s PBT makes your group so much better is not to be discounted. Friars or Zerkers with 6s PBT are scary, it is a good thing that on the rvr servers not many albs/mids spec to 6s PBT...

In summary as a warden, you'll usually tank in PvE, group heal in RvR/PvP, then /assist the main damage dealing tank.