After much googling and forum searching, I believe I've narrowed my decision down to these two classes, they seem the most interesting, and I assume the DA as a tank class would be valued in groups, if L2 is anything like WoW (Cue flames) in that respect.
How viable are these two in PvP/PvE, for soloing, and which will be the better leveler? Keep in mind this will be my first character, too.
Gladiators are great in the olympiad and small scale pvp. They have heavy damaging skills (blaster, TSS, rage (78+), and disarm (81)), downside is the mp cost is very large and your mp pool is rather small. Large CP/HP pool.
End point: Gladi's can take the damage and deal it right back at u.
I cant speak towards DA pvp.
PVE
It is not terribly easy to lvl a gladiator, their regular hit dps is rather low and as mp is rather limited you cant spam skills as much as other classes. Plus side is that gladiators really dont require that much support, a gladi can lvl with just a SE outside catas or trio w/ a BD for some fast in cata xp.
Gladi's also have low lvl pole masteries which means they can effectively wield a polearm without too much support. i grinded 61-65 in devotion with just a SE (58+) or WC (66+) [+3/+4 tal hvy +0 Tal Glaive no SA].
DA's have a quite useful little panther that is invaluable in solo. I can solo large rooms with self buffs, gsap, and gmhp (got tons from an event) in catacombs, as long as i have the panther out for that extra dmg. And ofc invaluable in a raid.
No matter what road you choose to follow, pick one that you think you will really enjoy and not one that everyone tells you is great. That being said, i would suggest rolling a crafter up to at least D grade and crafting soul shots and spirit shots to easy the wallet a bit from the grind.
No flaming needed, but this is not like WoW and tanks are not typically valued in anything other than raids. More than likely you'd spend more time begging for a group than having ppl invite you. Of course, no matter what class you pick, your grouping vs. solo time is going to heavily depend on your clan.
At the high levels, glads are considered one of the best pvp classes in the game.
In PVE, it's hard for me to really compare, since I've never played a tank. DA has the cat summon, so I think they can do ok solo. As far as a gladiator is concerned, they're kinda comparable to tanks in that they can take a real beating with their high CON and heavy armor masteries. But they're actually DDs, so they've got high damage output to go along with that high pdef and hp. If you can afford a second account and run a warcryer, you could put tattoos on that would lower your CON and raise your strength and dexterity, thus making you even faster for xp. But I wouldn't plan on that if you will solo without a buffer.
The DA can, indeed, do "okay" solo PvE with a couple of qualifications.
The C-crystals for maintaining the panther, particularly as you get higher, begin to really cost a lot of adena. When you add beast shots (if you do), the cost to "solo" the DA starts to stack.
They really are more efficient in groups without needing their panther.
Secondly, it is slower to level the DA if you don't summon the panther since their damage output, even with top gear, simply doesn't stack up to a real DD class.
With the panther and my skills I can solo the fotd groups pretty easily and have been able to for a couple of levels. The exp is 'fair' and it costs a lot but I'm not really in danger--even from nearby aggro mobs and adds (DA's have moderate crowd control skills solo).
I don't PvP much and am horrible at it when I do. I'm told the DA is 'good' at PvP but I'm not the one to comment on that.
Never played a glad beyond about 41 but they are real DD's and inflict more damage as you'd expect.
So, bottom line from my viewpoint is that DA can do "okay" solo in PvE as long as you have access to a lot of adena.
By the time you throw in some A-shots, beast shots, c-crystals, and ghp, etc.---they may be one of the more expensive classes to level PvE as a solo toon.
Welcome to L2. It is a great game.
It is noting like WoW in regards to time required to level. I have some questions for you before I recommend a class.
Will you be playing with RL friends?
Will you be using a second account to buff yourself?
How important is it to you that you reach the highest level fast?
Are you mostly interested in PvP or just playing the game to have a good time?
Do you play on joining a clan/guild?
Are you a patient person?
Do you like to click a lot of buttons when you play?
Do feel it is important to be "cool" in the eyes of your peers?
Answer these questions, I will help guide you to a Profession.
In response to Allwine: I'm coming into this solo, most of my friends are busy with EVE online, and have only one computer with which to play, so no dual-boxing for me here.
As far as leveling and patience go, as long as the gameplay is enjoyable on the way up, or I have a good guild/corp/clan (Whichever it is in L2, but I am looking to join one) I'm good to go.
And naturally having a character that is cool flavor-wise is always a plus, though less of a concern than gameplay.
Probably most important thing for me is being able to get groups and find a good clan, playing a nelf hunter in WoW didn't lend itself well to that, not looking to repeat the annoyance.
Based on that, I'd suggest that you stay away from the DA. You'd be very valuable for raid bosses, but for day-to-day stuff you'd have a hard time finding groups, I'm afraid.
And you don't have to have a second computer in order to dual box. Many people dual box on one computer by running two clients in windowed mode. Of course, if you have a slow, older computer, that might not be an option for you. Most decent computers can handle it though.
The PTS should be coming out today. On the PTS you can make a character and level faster, either through boosted xp rates or one big xp dump on all characters. Either way, it might be a good opportunity to get to play both the DA and the Glad at higher levels and see which class you enjoy more. Just don't get spoiled to the quick xp, because the live servers don't run like that. :)
DA is good for tanking RB's tanking in small to large parties, and they can solo effciently although expensively.
I play a DA and my PvP experience is quite good
1 thing to note, shield stun is your ultimate skill let no-one tell you otherwise, Panther is your 2nd ultimate skill
If you play it smart in PvP (remember your a tank not a DD, clicking a few skills over and over again doesn't cut it, timing is key) you will win almost all your battles
playing agains't mages is very hard as they rip through you and your not fast enough to keep on them and your panther can't take too much punishment from nukes. If your lucky you'll fight noob mages and kill them with ease ^^. (ie those who just stand and nuke, those who try to throw off the most random debuffs and then get caught in a chain stun, those who try to sleep especially as the first move)
Agains't warriors your prime is keeping them from hitting you as much as you can which is where your stun comes in, chain stun in proper timing and keep a judgement debuff on (reduces crit damage), at times they will escape and start chaining skills but thats the thing, those warrior class type skills take a lot of mp therefore they can't use as many skills as they'd like too, and if they run out of mp and your still going strong, they lost cause their regular hits won't cut through that defense, which is why they have skills that say (ignores shield defense) to be able to do some damage.
DA vs Glad, PvE wise with the panther out and decent gear DA >Glad but it is very costly.
PvP wise b4 duelist spirit DA can kill Glad, after Duelist spirit 1 Glad is going to be very tough to fight, after duelist spirit 2, you'll need a prayer before you fight one. Because they're sonic skills hit very hard and they come very fast with that DS. also they attack faster giving them a good amount of hits off before they're stunned, also with Heavy armor and that high amount of hp and cp they also can take some damage.
At low levels I must say, Glads suck, at high levels they're really good.
DA is good too, can do alot of things in the game and fit different playstyles.
One of his questions was "will I be called to group more if I play a DA or if I play a Glad".
I'll take a shot at that one. It sort of depends what group/clan you land in.
If you happen to be in a clan with a few folks who just graduated from the academy and they have a cross-section of classes (a nuker, a healer, an archer, a melee dd, maybe a dwarf, etc.) they are going to appreciate having a tank around.
If you get into a typical clan these days that has less "lower players" and most of those are archers & nukers--they don't necessarily need either class dragging along.
Presumably a fair clan will include you no matter what you play.
But groups? If they are raiding together for many levels they'll want the tank. If your clanmates are just exp'ing like crazy they won't necessarily appreciate the tank and would probably prefer the DD (glad).
Which brings us back to what most will tell you. What do YOU like?
A tank, when tanking, stands in the breech. You stand their taking a beating watching your hp fall while protecting the lightweights and hope your healer doesn't get a personal phone call. Too, the DA is a rather complicated tank in some ways. Maybe not the best pure tank (in the minds of many) but an interesting toon to play.
A dd like the glad (close order melee) is more self-sufficient, a bit more versatile eventually, and welcome in most groups trying to exp or raid. It deals damage. Period.
You'll probably level the glad faster and a bit cheaper. Both require expensive gear.
If you have the patience and the nerve to be a DA tank--it will be fun. If you are lacking in either--choose the DD because skittish tanks give the rest of us a bad name (lol)!