As a completely new player to the game (started today) I am wondering if there is any class to avoid as they are never needed/wanted in groups/raids. I have started an Elf Mystic so currently looking a that side for classes. But happy to see any melee info as well as I am sure will start one of those soon as well.
There's no completely useless class, though obviously some classes are more/less useful in different times:
Your 3 options from Elven Mystic:
* Elven Elder - Second-best healer class, with a few useful buffs. Mainly your buffs are defensive and assisting -- you get buffs to reduce skill MP cost, resist stun, increase shield block rate and shield defense amount, etc. You also have a skill which, at level 2, virtually instantaneously teleports your whole party back to town -- a very useful emergency escape.
You also are versatile and phenomenal in raids -- you can heal the tank, and you can MP transfer to other players as well, which helps keep damage output high. Of the two classes that can MP transfer, you can do so fastest, because fully buffed you're the fastest casting of the healer classes. In a raid pretty much every group can use you, either for HP or MP recovery, depending on if you're in a tank group or a damage dealer group.
The downside is, while your unique buffs are good, you'd never want to be the only buffer of a group because you have virtually no offensive buffs at all. That means groups looking for only a single buffer/healer will probably not take you, especially if they need buffing more than healing; the dark elf version of the class, the shillien elder, has a lot stronger buffs but weaker heals, and they are often the more popular to take. However, in the harder places ingame, where you need multiple healers/buffers, you'll shine. You can also nuke undead monsters so you are capable of soloing if need be, though you're far better off in groups.
* Spellsinger - Solid nuker class, though better in PvP/Groups than solo because of all the nuker classes, you have the least mechanisms to keep your MP high. Fastest casting of the nukers, though, means that although you don't hit as hard, you can DPS up there with the best of them, at least until your mana runs dry.
* Elemental Summoner - One of the best soloing classes ingame, also has nice party buffs for when you decide not to solo. Summoners get virtually zero offensive skills (apart from one or two debuffs), but they can summon pets which have a very good offensive capability. Your only skills, apart from summoning pets and cubics, are heals, buffs, and cures for your summon. Cubics are tiny balls of light that float at your shoulders and randomly do an effect when you're attacking -- the ES has one that does a damage over time debuff and one that heals you or a party member randomly during battle.
Downside is the summon takes a fraction of your XP, so you level slower than the rest of the group, and if you want to keep pace with a friend, you need to solo at least a little to make up the gap.
I used to pick classes out and think, why would anyone play them, they are obsolete. Then i finally realized none of the classes really suck at all. Like before C5 i was pretty sure Elven Elders sucked compared to the Shillen Elder and Bishop. However in certain instances when you must have a mp recharger EE would be better than Bishop. Shillen Elder had much better buffs and recharge too, but the most important think being recharge makes EE still very suitable. Now in C5 EE and Prophet get a mp consumption buff; now thats a great buff. Also EE now has major heal along with Bishop, which SE does not have.
All classes are balanced and they are all suitable, however i still believe some are just a bit better than others.
Personally Id stay away from Dark Elf bow and dagger. Still very good classes, but i think the human and elf just have more to offer.
1 class i think everyone can agree has most to offer and is most requested = SE. They have good melee buffs for crit rate and crit power other real healers dont get + vampric rage buff = much less mp needed for healing. Also they get M. Atk buff Empower that no other buffer has. Add recharge to all that and you have the best bundle that makes them the best support class alone. Real buffers get atk + cast speed buffs but atk speed buff is no better than a Greater Swift Attack Potion.
Considering you have an elf mystic imo id go with the healer or summoner. Summoners are great for 1st characters because you wont really always need the best gear for the grade you are in. Your summon does all your work for you. All the summoner classes are equally good. The best thing that elf summoner has that makes them unique is AoE nuke summon. This makes soloing very quick exp. when you take down 5 1/2 hp mob groups with ease. Also they get a buff summon that buffs party with mp consumption buff, which would be very useful at raids when healer mp must last to the end.
I think Dark elf nuker is probably the best of its kind. This is totally based on thier mp regen capabilties compared to the other 2 classes. The Dark Elf nuker is most common because they get body to mind, however they dont get the nifty spell sleep cloud which makes the other 2 nukers considerable. Also they wont have a low lvl recharge summon the other 2 got when they were wizards. It may be low lvl but when you pair it with high lvls of higher mana gain skill, its quite useful. The human and elf nuker are basically the same except human gets a low lvl body to mind from when they were a wizard, whereas elf nuker gets self only mp regen buff which doesnt regen alot. Its about the same str as the prophets hp regen buff. However this buff does gain high lvls so im not really sure what turns out being better for mp regen, elf buff or low lvl body to mind. Also, old wizard recharge summons have a huge recast time so you really cant do several back to back raids with it, which makes the Dark Elf nuker best for mp battery.
All in all, every elf mystic is good. You really shouldnt reget making either in the long run. But if you want most wanted class for groups, its the Elven Elder. Raids and grind groups are always looking for healers for last spot in group, and EE has the best mp battery.
As a completely new player to the game (started today) I am wondering if there is any class to avoid as they are never needed/wanted in groups/raids. I have started an Elf Mystic so currently looking a that side for classes. But happy to see any melee info as well as I am sure will start one of those soon as well.
Thanks for any ideas.
if you want to stick with the elf mystic thats fine. i just want to suggest to you 3 more things you may not yet have considered.
1: keeping with the buffer aspect of playing, the Elven Elder is not a popular class to play as a MAIN character. more you are used for your unique buffs and party summoning abilities. but a helluva lot of fun to play i must say. what you should consider tho in all seriousness is the other 5 healing classes and 2 hybrids; human Bishop, human Prophet, Dark elf Shillien Elder. these are all healing and buffing characters with LITTLE offensive characteristics. these classes are hard to play solo. there are 4 classes that dont have so much trouble .. these are hybrid classes. Dark elf BladeDancer, Elf SwordSinger, orc Warcrier, orc Overlord. these are hybrid classes and other people will be able to elaborate on them and tell you intricate details of them but i will run the basics for you; orcs both have all the big bad buffs a prophet would have (best buffer in the game arguably is the prophet) but also have base stats that will allow you to solo easily. the elf and dark elf i mentioned are very special tho. these 2 classes have short 2 minute buffs that can be summed up like this: elf buffs are mostly defensive type, Dark elf are mostly Offensive type. thats all ill say and let others say more.
2: the nuker side of the fence youll only really compete as an elf under 2 conditions: you are fully buffed, and you KNOW your opponent. that being said there are other nuker classes that are easier to play, faster to level with etc. these are (in no particular order) the Sorceror, the Spellhowler, the Necro.
only thing youll need to know for this type of play style: walk. dont run.
3: summoning etc; yeah summoners arent popular, neither is wood. but everyone wants one just as bad as they want to get to heaven. but not many are willing to do what it takes.
lets put it this way: after your 50's, you wont be worried about your gear nor your cash flow. reason being: you wont be hitting your mobs. youll be focusing on your summon.
4: other classes: seems to me you'd be best asking around.
keep in mind youll only be a slave to your class if you dont like it to begin with.
play what seems fun, reroll, try something new, get into your groove, and whatever you like to do - do it.
Hmm, i coulda swore i read that on list of changes to C5. My mistake, you are right, its not on this sites skill list and its been updated on C5 skills. Nonetheless, that makes EE even more unique by being only class with that buff on top 5 most wanted buffs ^^
Question: What happens when you pair clarity buff, ES summon buff of same nature, and song/dance of same nature? Do they all stack? Whats it all come out to?
I wouldn't recommend Sorc. Bad mana management, very little to offer a group these days unless there is a dedicated recharger for your personal mana battery, and even then it is Prominence, Prominence, Prominince, yawn.
No overhit until level 77.
SH and Necro are both better at mana management and versatility and can offer more to a group.
I can't personally speak for the SpS (I can for the sorc), so I won't.
...and even then it is Prominence, Prominence, Prominince, yawn.
Well.. It is the best looking spell animation in game.. :) I agree you need an overhit spell though, and another vortex.
Anyway.. About Spellsingers, don't go one unless you got a dedicated SE. Even then you will drain all your SE's MP and you will have downtime.. The new herbs help A LOT, but still, you still get downtime every once in a while.. Spellsingers have a huge advantage though.. The best leveling spot after 72 is weak to sacred (one of our elements), and you can get up to 6% xp an hour there..
Stay away from the Warlord class unless you're ready to dedicate your gameplay to helping other people level. Warlords are excellent levelers, but they don't have much use in PvP. Not enough punch to take anyone out and not enough defense to stay alive for any length of time.
Stay away from the Warlord class unless you're ready to dedicate your gameplay to helping other people level. Warlords are excellent levelers, but they don't have much use in PvP. Not enough punch to take anyone out and not enough defense to stay alive for any length of time.
Da Smookster...
LOL..can't stay alive for any amount of time?????/
they have a skill at lvl 55, called revive...when hp drops below 5% use revive and it restores ALL your hp, and seeing how warlords 62+ can have over 10k hp, i think they can stay alive hellaova long time
Now in C5 EE and Prophet get a mp consumption buff; now thats a great buff.
Only the EE get Clarity; the Prophet does not. Clarity and Advanced Block are the only unique buffs the EE get.
I've never seen another class with resist shock or resist poison buffs.
As for elf mystics, if you don't have a clan or good group of friends, the EE will be a long, hard slog. They're good, with trance they're now one of the better ones at crowd control, they can heal and recharge, and have at least a few buffs. But without offensive buffs or any ability to solo, you'll need friends.
Spellsingers are also rough if you don't have a handy recharger. Spellsingers burn through mp like noone else, solo will be tedious without a recharger.
If you're just setting out on your lineage adventure, here's some classes I'd avoid:
Tyrant and daggers - classes that attack fast burn through ss very fast. Expensive classes to play, and hard to play well.
Warlords - AoE can be tricky. If you're good at it, its the most efficient way to level though. As a beginner though, a class with AoE and single target skills (destroyer, warsmith, bounty hunter) would be better.
Necros - A hybird nuker/summoner class that's very expensive to play.
Overlord - unless you're sure you have a solid, reliable group of friends and a good clan, you're going to have a very hard time levelling an overlord.
Good starting classes are the bladedancer (some tank skills to keep you alive, plus good buffs), destroyer (tough as hell, very cheap to play), gladiator (see destroyer, ditto), and Shilien Elder (always in demand, even in C5).
Prophet gets Resist Poison (but at later levels), you also forgot the most important buff, Decrease Weight. Bless Shield 6 as well, although Prophet gets up to 3, so not really unique.
WC definatly get an Evasion chant, not sure about OL though.
Stay away from the Warlord class unless you're ready to dedicate your gameplay to helping other people level. Warlords are excellent levelers, but they don't have much use in PvP. Not enough punch to take anyone out and not enough defense to stay alive for any length of time.
Da Smookster...
LOL..can't stay alive for any amount of time?????/
they have a skill at lvl 55, called revive...when hp drops below 5% use revive and it restores ALL your hp, and seeing how warlords 62+ can have over 10k hp, i think they can stay alive hellaova long time
p.s. (this is the class that i'm subbing :) )
10K hp at 62+....?????
Great skill called Revive???
Boy are you in for a big surprise. To get that great HP you're talking about you have to go full CON, and when you do, your horrible patk and/or atk spd will only get worse. And let me know how that revive skill works out for you the first 10 times you try to use it. Since you seem like a nice person I'll give you some free advice first. Bring tons of blessed rez scrolls. It's very difficult to spring it at exactly 5% of your total XP. Against melee it's about 50-50. Against any ranged attacks it's almost impossible to trigger. Warlords are good for leveling and pulling.......and oh....dying...
...destroyer (tough as hell, very cheap to play)...
Wouldnt say cheap, SS takes a nice bit of adena still and if you equip the destro for full pvp with optimal weapons /w SAs it is gonna cost a nice bit.
If you want a cheap class, prophet is the way to go ;) No need to even use shots since buffs dont last any longer with those ^^
A few passing thoughts as I troll another thread mentioning ES...
Elemental Summoner - One of the best soloing classes ingame, also has nice party buffs for when you decide not to solo.
"Not to solo" ... ? What else is a summoner going to do, sit in town? I'm a bit confused here; Warlocks are the only ones who get parties. :p
lets put it this way: after your 50's, you wont be worried about your gear nor your cash flow. reason being: you wont be hitting your mobs. youll be focusing on your summon.
Eh. Most of the summoners I've heard from have cash flow as their main (and pretty much only) issue. It's not that we don't hit mobs; it's that we can't afford to hit mobs with SS, so why bother in the first place?
Question: What happens when you pair clarity buff, ES summon buff of same nature, and song/dance of same nature? Do they all stack? Whats it all come out to?
Yes, they all stack. It makes for some crazy, albeit shortly lived (due to MP) nuker PvP.
1. Shilien Elder. Every granny and her pet boxes one because of mage FOTM.
2. Prophet. Same as above, but applies to archer FOTM
3. Tank ... who needs one now? Offense >> defense, you can 2-hit mob faster than tank runs to it.
4. Dwarven crafter. Does not even have any spoils to share and there are enough masochists out there with crafters that will set you private manufacture store.
P.S.: Do not take lines above that strict - they are meant with a bit of irony, it's not that bad as it seems but that's just lineage 2 :p
"Not to solo" ... ? What else is a summoner going to do, sit in town? I'm a bit confused here; Warlocks are the only ones who get parties. :p
Heh, I'm a 7x phantom summoner and I have no shortage of groups, in fact I virtually never solo :p
Eh. Most of the summoners I've heard from have cash flow as their main (and pretty much only) issue. It's not that we don't hit mobs; it's that we can't afford to hit mobs with SS, so why bother in the first place?
Partying with a bounty hunter most of the time solves that problem for me ;) And he enjoys the XP boost I bring.
warlords...the revive skill...i was really only talking about PvP, cause in AoE Pve i think i would be really hard to trigger, and yes, i was talking full con, but i was also talking about PvP...for PvE i would go, +dex, crit and hit more.