coming back to eq1

Been away for about 2 years (after having played it since release). Bought
the titanium edition to catch up, which gains me a couple expansions and
hopefully I wont need to download so much patch. Where can I go to get good
information about classes/skills etc? I still have all my old favorites
websites saved, but many are no longer up and the official everquest website
seems to be more advertising than information center. I'm leaning toward
monk or rogue, but still open to change my mind.

Adam Russell wrote:
> Been away for about 2 years (after having played it since release). Bought
> the titanium edition to catch up, which gains me a couple expansions and
> hopefully I wont need to download so much patch. Where can I go to get good
> information about classes/skills etc? I still have all my old favorites
> websites saved, but many are no longer up and the official everquest website
> seems to be more advertising than information center. I'm leaning toward
> monk or rogue, but still open to change my mind.

Websites I still use all the time:

Allakhazam (beastiary, spell info, item info, quest spoilers)
eqtraders (tradeskill recipes, skillup paths, tradeskill quests)

Make sure you stop by www.mapfiend.net (eq-toolbox.com redirects) and
download a map pack for every zone.

As for class-based sites, those are hit-or-miss. Some are actively
updated, some have been neglected for a while. Quick rundown based on
what things look like at 70:

-Monks are a bit less popular than they used to be, though still
welcome in groups. Other classes do comparable or better melee DPS and
quite a few can pull.
-Mages have been complaining about their DPS. I dont know how the
numbers work out though and this could just be my perception.
-Rogues and Berzerkers are amazing DPS.
-Necros are great DPS and probably unbeatable DPS for long fights plus
they have some great utility.
-Rangers do respected DPS with mostly the same utility and buffing they
had before (upgraded for level of course). More and more are switching
back to melee from using bows.
-Pure melee classes all have a lot more combat abilities (/disc's) than
they used to. Monks can pacify. Rogues have all kinds of abilities to
increase DPS. etc...
-Priests are probably not much different. Druids have moderate DPS and
reasonable healing, same as always. Shaman can heal pretty well and of
course are still the best slowers. Cleric is still boring and still
the best healing and HP-buffing class.
-Enchanters are about the same as always, welcome in most groups,
however charming is mostly a thing of the past at high levels.
(Compared to, say, BoT in 2004)
-Warriors are somewhat more popular in groups than in 2004. They have
lots of options for hate-procing weapons and are much better at holding
agro than they once were.
-Knights are also usually welcome as tanks of course.
-Bards are, at least IMO, the best pullers in the game.
-Beastlords are probably about the same as in 2004. Ok DPS, competent
slowers in most cases. Desirable but not critical buffs.
-Wizards can nuke for amazing amounts of damage. In relation to other
characters, amazing burst DPS just as with 2004. Not so much over
longer periods of time.

****I know lots of people may disagree with this quick summary. If
nothing else, let it serve to start a discussion.****

Things that have changed the game since 2004, affecting classes:
-Anyone can summon their corpse across zones to a centrally located
zone called the guild lobby. Rezzes are usually available from 3 or 4
clerics milling around in the zone.
-Every class can spend AAs to get Run5. SoW/SoE is rarely needed once
you have the AAs. Bards and Monks can get Run8.
-Many mobs in exp zones move far faster than before. You need the
extra speed in high level zones...
-Most mobs mitigate slow in the top-level XP and raid zones.
-Much of PoP flagging has been reduced to simple quests or raids. For
example, with the help of a raid, anyone can be Time flagged with a
single raid. People still raid it but of course the high level raiders
have better things to do.
-Expansions since GoD have included a lot more single-group content
with risks and rewards tailored both to people with shitty gear and no
AAs as well as great gear and lots of AAs. Non-raiders have been much
more pleased with the results, but raiders have lots to do as well,
including in single groups.
-Another zone called the guild hall has added automated-pay-for-port
terminals, further reducing the need for druid/wizard ports.
-Instancing is the rule, not the exception. Every expansion these days
includes a lot of instancing content, including many raid zones.
-People can "shroud" down to lower levels. A high level can turn in to
a low-level warrior, cleric, wizard/necro hybrid?, rogue, enchanter, or
berzerker and join you in a group. They usually have considerably
weaker stats than a regular PC would at that level but the option is
there. Shrouds have increased the popularity of LDONs a bit.
-Tradeskills became somewhat more popular than they were in '04.

There have been lots of other changes but those are the ones that
probably will affect your class choice the most.