-Best Solo Class-Follow

Best solo class far and away is enchanter.

How can you argue with the class that gets the strongest pet in the game hands down?

Only when they get DC, before that it's just too damn risky to do it as a leveling stratagy.

I would say that for sheer ability to kill mobs at minimal risk

Bards.

for consistancy at taking down mobs that really they shouldn't

Necro's.

For overall leveling as a solo charicter

Druid.

Reasons:Bard
The first time i stood and watched a Bard swarm kit with the clicky invis to animals ring in PoD i was amazed this guy was dropping 20 - 30 mobs at a time, he would do 3 swarms <60 - 90 deep Blues> before he had to med.
Necro
The sheer amount of damage a Necro can dish out with little or no impact on thier mana bar is truely impressive, add in a fear and a backstabbing/lifetapping pet and you have a dead mob very quickly.
Druid
Quad kiting is the best xp from 34 - 62 in the game, this is a fact. they can also root rot and port about to the places they can do it. played correctly a druid is a one man group.

Mages and Beastlords are great but they do not have the versitility that a necro does.

I'd probably guess a BST too. I do okay with my wizard which is the only class I've ever soloed with past the low levels. I think a BST would be better though because while a wizard is limited to places where he can run around and stay away from the mob, the BST has the pet and can solo in an enclosed place as well as an outdoor place.

A BRD might be good too with all the different abilities he has.

My criteria would be, against a random mob in a random place, which class would you have the best chance to win with.

I appreciate the opinions, keep 'em coming all...BSTs still uber rule :)

How the various classes solo (at least in my opinon)
I have also rated them on a 1-5 star basis, (*) being the worst and (*****) being the best.
My rating system includes the following:
-> How well can the class solo without the use of enhancements from other classes.
-> How easy it is to just pick up the class and start playing. Are they easy to play. (i.e. bards are really good - but twisting songs can be daunting to newer players)


Bard****
The bard seems to have a few ways of soloing. They do have their lull line of spells, and then can single pull with one of their direct damage spells. From there, since they are a plate class, they can try tanking the mob. Most people however seem to prefer to kite mobs, where they use snare songs and/or speed songs to run around while doing either direct damage to a single mob, or do swarm kiting with their AoE songs. The hardest part about bards is getting used to twisting songs and switching instruments.

Beastlord****
Beastlords have spells much like a shaman, but overall their spells are weaker. They emphasize the Brawn over Brains approach. Beastlords that solo tend to step in with their pet, and then either back up to heal themselves or back up and heal their pet. Either way they tend to do plenty of damage with just the two of them. Their pet buffs are probably the best in the game - added with their normal buffs they cast on themselves and their pets, they tend to be very strong. And slowing and dotting a mob makes the job of the pet that much easier.

Berserker*
I really don't even want to talk about this class - as SoE hasn't really finished it (they still are missing their own AA and many of their abilities aren't working) but they solo with some work. They have a set of abilities that let them snare mobs "leg Strike" they can use that to kite mobs by snaring and then throwing axes at the mob - however the snare does not seem to work very long, and is often resisted. If they can get intimidation to work they can also fear kite. As a last resort they can try to run up and overpower the mob - but this is less effective than a warrior due to the limited armor. Berserker is really ment more as a DPS class and tends not to solo well in my experience thus far (and from what I've read)

Cleric**
Clerics are one of the harder to solo classes - but believe it or not, they can. They can root and nuke or they can root and rot in the case of undead. They also have some fear spells - if they drink a sow potion they can usually reverse kite a bit till they get to higher levels. After the reduce the mob to bits with nukes/rots they can sometimes even melee the mob, with the HP/AC buffs and anti-undead weapons. They at least have healing spells to help them in downtime.

Druid*****
To many the druid is the ultimate solo class - and in many ways they may be the best WIS based solo classes. They have snare and sow, an awsome combination that lets them stay out of harms way. They also have a nice line of dots to hurt mobs. Throw in some animal charm spells and they can solo pretty good. They can root and rot/nuke if they so choose as well using their various spells. As final bonuses they can get to pretty much any zone fast and have buffs/heals to help them out as well.

Enchanter***
Another one of the harder-to-solo classes, at least in early levels. Since their pet cannot attack on its own, they need to get the mobs attention before they can have their pet attack. Then the pet just attacks, no way to pull it off. They do have fear and root spells - so they can use that as options - and they do have a couple of nukes (like chaotic feedback) and rots (their choke-line of spells). Probably the best way to solo with them at lower levels is to root and nuke/rot the mob down a bit till root breaks - then let the pet finish it off. Once they learn charm, you can charm solo - but really best to have a high CHA for this. Sick your new pet onto a mob, and have them kill each other - preferably your charmed pet will win - then when charm breaks, the pet is now weaker and you can solo it. Added bonus of having mez to reduce adds and mana spells.

Magician*****
Another really good solo class. They have very strong pets - but they don't have quite as good buffs for their pets as the Beastlord. They do have a lot of summon spells, but they have some good DD and AoE spells. Soloing well with them is a matter of knowing which pet is the best to use for what situation. Most people tend to use the Earth pet (most hp) or Air pet (harder to hit) - they will then usually sick their pet on a mob, and follow up with DD. They do have pet heals, and can summon some really good gear for their pet. Their damage shields are very useful too.

Monk**
Most of the pure melee are a little tougher to solo with. Mainly because they have no natural magic as a way out. Monks, kinda do with their feign death. Their big disadvantage is their lowered armor selection. Mend can be used as a heal if need is great. They do have some nice higher level abilities though.

Necromancer*****
Necros very well could be the best soloist. They have a pet, they have mutliple dots, they have snare, they have fear. Really they have just about everything they need - they can even heal with life tap line of spells. They have a get out of jail free with their feigndeath spell. With all this going for them its easy to see why many people think they are the best. However, resists tend to make life difficult for them, more so than mages who have Malo line of spells to reduce this. It is also difficult when fear kiting to prevent adds. Their pet heals also are weaker in general than mages and beastlords - but with the bonus of being able to fear kite, the pet shouldn't take much damage.

Paladin***
The paladins are a bit easier to solo than other melee classes. They have lulls, which make them one of the best pullers, and being one on one is really what the Paladin wants. They also have HP and AC buffs, and some heals, though of course weaker than a clerics, and they have anti undead spells that make them really good in those situations. They also have root, which allows them to root and nuke with arrows if desired. Finally they have lay hands, which can be used as an emergency heal when the going gets tough.

Ranger***
The Ranger is much like the druid in they have sow/snare. They however, are great with a bow, and will most likely use that over any dots. They start with snare and pretty much back up and make the mob in a pin-cushion. Against animals their animal fear allows them to reverse kite - which is probably their better option for soloing at higher levels. They also have damage shields and some buffs, as well as heals to reduce downtime.

Rogue**
Unfortuantely, I have the least experience with rogues. I do understand though that their lower AC makes them hard to solo. They're best bet is to get up behind a mob, and Backstab it, hoping to do enough damage they can solo the mob for the rest. Their poisons do add pretty good damage it seems too.

Shadow Knight***
The Shadow Knight, like much of the other hybrids, can solo based off the spells they get from their father caster class. Pets, is not really one of the SK strong points. However, that does not mean the pet doesn't help. Starting with the darkness/snare spells, followed by a fear, the SK is acting like a necro, but instead of the pet doing most of the damage, the SK is with this weapons. Harm Touch is a great finisher if your in serious trouble with a single mob.

Shaman****
Shamans have the best buffs overall in the game. Enough that at lower levels they can semi-tank. However, this is not their strong point. They have root, and they have a cold line of nukes, but they are best when they root and rot. The can also kite with the dot spells and their SoW- but they don't have a snare spell like other classes. Once they get their pet the world changes for them. Their pet can kinda tank, especially when the shaman slows the mob and buffs the pet. Canni and regen help reduce downtime. Shamans solo otherwise much like a beastlord, but now its brains over brawn and the shaman wants to focus more on the magic side

Warrior**
Warriors are probably a little easier to solo than some of the other melee classes due to high HP and high AC. They follow the "bully" method. Find a mob, run up, hit it and hope you kill it. To solo them most effectively, find them some usesful potions (such as potion of dulscehound).

Wizard***
Wizards have the best DD spells in the game. They maybe best at snaring and doing AOE on mutlipe mobs (quad kiting) or they could root and nuke. Their ports help them find places to go. Also, They can regain mana with their familiar. They're lack of hitpoints make them a bit more difficult to play.

Well thats my list and my opinion. Play skill also adds into it, and I couldn't target every possible strategy, I only listed the ones that came to mind and that I knew about.

Feel free to correct or add what you think is needed.

(edited to fix a problem with the bolds)
(edited to explain my ratings system better)

Edited, Fri Apr 30 22:56:44 2004 by Devilwind

Edited, Sat May 1 09:06:44 2004 by Devilwind

Inarguably, the hands down best solo class is the one you have the most fun playing soloing.

I like it, I like it :)

EXCELLENT POST, Baron Von Devilwind...I appreciate the time you took to put into that, nicely laid out and very informative.

/e whispers "BSTs = uberest of uber" and scuttles away to hide :)

As I said - it was based on what I've read, what people have said to me, what experience I had in playing various classes, and the appearance of the class from the description and the spells they have available.

The star rating was also based on the learning curve of the class and the ease in soloing style of the class.

If your newer to a class or new to the game, a shaman maybe be eaiser to solo in most than a wizard overall (from lower levels up) because they have a greater versatility of spells (heals, buffs, dots, dd, etc). So while a wizard may be more effective it requires more play skill to be that effective. Wizards are my greatest customer of SoW potions, since they use them during soloing. I'm sure that they would do fine without the potions, but it gives the appearance they are dependant on having some type of enhancement from another class to make them more effective such as SoW or Kei. Shamans have their own buffs and can Canni for mana meaning they would be less reliant and really would be more "solo".

But like I said it was all opinion based - so take it as it is, I did my best :smile:





Edited, Sat May 1 06:29:52 2004 by Devilwind

While I tend to agree with Tarv on many issues, I just wanted to clear up one little thing for you in your last post. Bards can't increase their own mana regeneration. The bard mana songs will not work on bards. Also, the Clarity line, necro twitches and so on. The only tools bards have for mana regen are flowing thought items (+ mana regen now), AA's and tribute. This is the limiting factor for bards in terms of swarm kiting (charm a mob, sic on his buddies, break charm when he's almost dead, and kill it for full experience gain). My bard, at level 56, can swarm kite stalkers in PoN, and gain about 15 pct regular exp or 60 pct AA in about 30 mins when he finally runs out of mana. That's with FT 1. If I get an additional FT 2 with tribute, I can go for about an hour before I go OoM. But, then it takes about 30 mins to med back to full, since our meditation skill maxes at 1.

Damn it! Beasts, beasts, beasts! Do you forget what you all ask for to compliment your KEI everytime you're in a group with a BST???

"Can I get some Kitty Crack please?"

Once again, the BST is forgotten and left in the cold :(

Shame on you Tarv...

And as for the previous post, who would care to "enlighten" us:

Refer to post #1..."This is an opinion thread"

I'm asking for your opinion, not based on facts and details and parsing and what-not what class IS the best solo class, just what you THINK it is and why...Saying some class is better than the other just straight-up like that, well, that starts fights...

But BSTs are best!

Muahahahahahahaha!

-edited in order to fix quotation problem

Edited, Sat May 1 14:55:45 2004 by GungirSpear

Sorry Gungir i went back and fixed it many appologies.

here have a cookie

feel better now?

as a matter of fact i basicly had a brainfart i was thinking Beastlord but since i was waxing lyrical about bards in my previous post i put them instead of beasty's, stupid English i sware.

You mean duel weild... Double attack is something else all together. I don't have a high level beast so I don't know what they can solo. All I'm pointing out is a leather armor class must have a hard time tanking a mob that hits for 700 plus in PoV even if it's slowed.

Edited, Sat May 1 18:21:15 2004 by DruidOfEq

Shaman DoT spells cannot rival a Necro DoT spells damage output, not even close. This is in no way taking away from the Shaman class as a great soloing class, but they simply cannot match the DoT spells Necros get.

For my money, these are the best soloing classes, in order (each class has its downside, and each has its specialty):

Enchanter: After dire charm only. A dire charmed and buffed enchanter pet will tear through most mobs once the enchanter slow lands. As long as the enchanter doesn't get hit too often, this class has amazing soloing potential.

Beastlord: The best sustained DPS in the game, bar none. Don't believe me?, send single mobs at any of the soloing classes one by one, the last one standing will be the BL. The reason, very little mana expenditure to sustain the DPS, just continue to keep pet buffed and healed. DPS combined with high end BL slows make the BL my favorite class for soloing.

Necromancer: Amazing DPS for long durations, great pets, and FD. I mention FD because the Necro can get out of almost any soloing situation gone bad with this ability. If either agro kiting or fear kiting, I put the necro ahead of both BL and Enchanter on this list.

Shaman: Personally, my feeling is the necromancer and shaman are interchangeable as far as this list is concerned. Shaman slows and buffs are fantastic for soloing. In a straight up fight, toe to toe, I take Shaman over Necro, however, if any other means can be utilized to drop a mob (root/rot, fear or agro kiting, etc...), I take the Necro. Though shaman buffs and slows are better than a BL, the Shaman does not get the sustained DPS of a BL, nor does a Shaman get the hp/ac of a BL.

Druid: I love druids as utility players, they get some nice buffs, some good DPS, root, snare, and harmony. As long as a mob can be rooted or snared, and doesn't summon, druids can solo.

I know many who read this will question my reasonings, or say I'm downright wrong, etc..., thats fine, I gave my opinion. To be honest, any of the above classes are more than capable soloing classes, it all depends on the mob type and abilities. It also depends on the abilities of the player.