Getting back into EQ2 have a few questions

BanzaiBary

With the free 45 days I want to try and get back into EQ2. I have had a on and off affair with this game over the years I have played. Everytime I get into the game I get stuck at around the mid 30's as I have leveled both a Fury and Paladin to that point. The major reason why is because I never made much of a attempt to get into a guild to actually know players to play with. My characters were on Najena, but it seems that was merged into Unrest. I want to get a fresh start to this game, so I think I am going to depart to a higher populated server (most likely AB).  Between leveling a new character, new crafting profession for money, and joining a guild sometime I think will help a lot.

With looking at a fresh start I have some questions regarding doing on AB. I am still unsure as to what class I want. I want to play a class that can be used to raid later on and that is soloable for certain content as I know most players are at the end game. I've done the tank and priest, so I was looking at doing a scout (dislike playing mage). Do any of the sub classes of the scout meet those criteria? For a crafting profession I was a tailor on my Paladin that got to 33. I was looking for a different, but that also made good money through the broker. Any suggestions? Lastly what is the best place to start a new char? I've leveled my original two chars in Qeynos and Great Faydark areas, so maybe something new scenary would help! Sorry for all the newb questions as I have been out of the loop for a few years. The last expansion I purchased was Sentinel's Fate as well (got it in December 2010 trying to get back into the game, but was too busy so it didn't work).

Ardwulf

I'll let others tackle the rest of your questions, but I've been through all of the starting areas lately, so I'll hit on that a bit.

First of all, the launch-era Qeynos/Freeport starter isles have been removed from the game.  Most of the 6-15 content, that is to say the post-isle but pre-Antonica/Commonlands content is still there, but you don't start near those zones anymore, so you'd need to go out of your way to play through them.

The current crop of starter zones are all either fairly new or have been revised in the last couple of years.  Darklight Wood (Neriak) and Timourous Deep (Gorowyn) are Evil, and Greater Faydark (Kelethin) and Frostfang Sea (New Halas) are Good.

There's a great writeup comparing them HERE, not written by me.  As I said in a comment there, though, I like Gorowyn visually the best, Neriak in terms of quest flow, and New Halas in terms of convenient city layout and accessibility.  I also like New Halas housing the best.  Overall, though, I would probably rate Timorous Deep as the best place to start.

These zones will all take you from 1-20, and you'll get a mount near the end and a breadcrumb to Butcherblock, which will take you to 30-35 or so.  After that, Ithink the optimal progression is deemed to be Steamfont (at 32,) Lavastorm (at 42,) Sinking Sands at 52 and Tenebrous Tangle at 57, and Kylong Plains at 65, at which point you'll be in Kunark content and the path upward from there should be clearly directed.

teakbois

Getting dungeon groups on AB at all levels is fairly easy, theres still an active leveling population, plus asking in level channels people may get on their alts or mentor down.

 

Dirge is the most wanted scout in raids, but tough to solo.  Brigand is desired and fairly soloable, but all scouts take care to solo well.

Nadia

Originally posted by BanzaiBary

With looking at a fresh start I have some questions regarding doing on AB. I am still unsure as to what class I want. I want to play a class that can be used to raid later on and that is soloable for certain content as I know most players are at the end game. I've done the tank and priest, so I was looking at doing a scout (dislike playing mage). Do any of the sub classes of the scout meet those criteria?

I would recommend Brigand

http://eq2.wikia.com/wiki/Category:Brigand

both Brigand / Swashbuckler solo very well

with their Walk the Plank AA ability -- forces the mob to expose their backs to you

 

Brigands are highly desireable at endgame with their Dispatch abilitiy

BanzaiBary

Alright I checked out the Brigand videos on youtube and I like what I see, so I am going to go with that class. I am going to go with Gorowyn  as my starting city as well, looks like a great enviorment. Thank you everyone for the feedback! Any recommendations on a crafting profession? 

Tutu2

I have a Brigand too. Great class. I went down the Stam line and specialized in shields and put one point in Walk the Plank too. Amazing how even one point in that skill is useful. Alot of people say specializing in shields is useless, I dunno maybe it is, but it suits my style.

Ardwulf

The character I have ben leveling is also a Brigand; it's been a lot of fun so far, with strong DPS and high utility, and stealth means you can get in and out with minimal fuss if you want or need to.  I haven't started his Tradeskill yet, but I'm going to go with Weaponsmithing; Mastercrafted weapons are hugely beneficial for Rogues.

Azureblaze

I'd suggest weapons or armor that suits the class you choose, as far as a craft. You can make the weapons/armor for yourself in addition to making a profit off selling them . The Market lacks MC gear as it is,either from high demand or something else I'm not too sure. I'm thinking  if you get into making items for either craft, you will make a profit.

I'd pick armor over weapons, personally. Some reasons being that you can make so much more items that you can equip on yourself, plus you have to buy less for yourself. You really only need 2 weapons at a time to level with, after all. You need many more pieces of armor than two. More agi,  also means more damage and you get most of your agi from armor and accessories.

Brig is a good choice, I have a Swashie myself. Swashie are more AOE oriented. Either class can get by solo, and even do some moderate tanking if you go down the AA stam line. I'm assuming this will also help with solo as well, but I haven't had to go down that line just to solo myself yet (I'm level 62 or so). Walk the Plank and other stun abilities, used right in addition to high DPS brings foes down pretty nicely.

As far as end game, I'm not sure where Swashies fall in there. I know they do the second highest AOE dmg (Warlocks being #1).  I'm not sure if that is desired in endgame at all, or if anything else makes them specifically desired. It's possible swashies are more desired for full group encounters, as an aoe damager.

I looked around, seems swashies have hate transfer. Maybe that would be something desired in end game? Not sure if other hate transfers stack, I believe assassins also have the ability.

 

arieste

It's not a main tradeskill profession, but i strongly recommend leveling your transmuting as you go.  (it basically crunches any items you get into parts for adornments).    Adornments are pretty useless at lower levels, but if you ever get to the endgame, transmuting will save you tons of money and make you quite a bit too.    It's also super easy to level up if you do it from the start and very expensive to level up if you decided to pick it up later on.

 

Crafting-wise, only do it if you really enjoy it.  Crafting gear is pretty useless compared to the gear you loot, especially with the new gear revamp coming to the game.