Most played : bard, druid, maybe warden

Least played: nightshade, ranger

All standard setups in rvr call for two druids, play a druid.

Not sure if you were asking to get an idea of what to play, or just curious as to what classes you'd see. However, since the server is closed I'll do you one better, discuss the general need, roles, and specs of all of the classes. I've left out the stalkers since they are kind of "solo" classes. Hope this helps. Keep in mind these are my opinions... but for my credentials I have a 50 in all hib classes, and rr5+ in many of them over of the mythic servers (Yes... I played way too much).

Support Classes:


Bard
PVE Demand: High
PVE Roles: Bards will primarily be using their songs to aid end/power recovery (end during combat, power during rest), and providing buffs and heals to the group. Occasionally a bard will need to mesmerize adds, but this is relatively rare.
RVR Demand: Very High
RVR Roles: In RVR, the bards primary role is crowd control, interrupts, and non-heal support. Second roles include healing, but are rare. Bards are the primary mesmerizing class for Hib, and also have speed/end/power songs. They are also the primary demes class. Because of these roles, the majority of the time the bard will be using mesmerize and amnesia spells to CC and interrupt enemy casters. They will also be on the run a lot since they are considered a primary target by enemies. It can be very difficult to play a bard well, and therefore good bards are in extremely high demand. Even mediocre bards will usually not have trouble finding a group. However, high end groups are usually reluctant to accept a bard they have not played with or heard of prior.

Bard Specs: The most common spec is 47 music, 43 nurture, and 16 regrowth. A few people prefer running lower music and higher regrowth (37 music, 33 regrowth) but those are usually PVE specs. The higher regrowth became popular in new frontiers due to the 5 minute purge timer making mez less of a major factor. However, the higher music gets you a bigger radius insta mez and a longer duration casted mez which are very useful in old frontiers with 30 min purge timer.

Race to be: Be a celt, be small... you will be a target, and you want the higher dex

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Druid
PVE Demand: Very High
PVE Roles: Druids provide buffs and heals to the group
RVR Demand: Very High
RVR Roles: In RVR, the druids primary role is healing. A select few will go with the nature spec and also have some secondary interrupt and rooting responsibilities. However, the primary goal is always to keep the group alive. Druids are relatively easy to play moderately well, and not that difficult to play well. Most groups will be willing to try a new druid for at least one run.

Druid Specs: The most common spec is 40 nurture, 35 regrowth as this provides the druid with a good mix of buffs and heals. However some will spec 40 regrowth and 35 nurture for better heals, this will probably be rarer to see with no buff bots.

Alternatively, most nature druids (no buffs, roots instead) will go with 40 regrowth and 36 nature. The nature spec is usually reserved for people who want the flexibility to play with small groups that might not have good CC, or set 8vs8 groups that have a dedicated nurture druid already. It's not a spec I'd recommend for pick up groups

Race to be: Be a celt, be small... you will be a target, and you want the higher dex


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Warden
PVE Demand: Moderate - High
PVE Roles: Wardens will provide buffs, heals, and blade turn to the group. WIth a small spec in a weapon they can also get a taunt style to be able to peel from a druid or bard that gets aggro if they are low on mana.
RVR Demand: Low - Moderate
RVR Roles: The phrase, jack of all trades master of none is very applicable to the warden. A warden will never heal as good a druid, and will never even come close to the damage output of a tank (they'd be lucky to get to half the damage). This leaves the warden unable to perform a role that another class can't do WAY better. Wardens in RVR are typically used when druids are in short order, and therefore spend most of their time healing. TOA and some classes changes later in the game helped wardens, but these will not be on this server. Trust me, most all groups that take a warden actively wish it was a druid instead. Wardens are decent small group / solo classes, but still not as useful as a druid or tank.

Warden Specs: Most common is 45/46 nurture, 42 regrowth, and remainder in weapon skill of choosing. However, warden specs very greatly based on the wardens play style (ie: might want less regrowth and more weap skill / parry if will be solo etc).

Race to be: Depends on playstyle. If you plan to be healing a lot, be a celt. If you want a good mix, by sylvan



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Tank Classes:


Blademaster
PVE Demand: Moderate
PVE Roles: BMs will be tanks, and therefore will be using taunt styles to try and keep mob aggro. They may also be asked to be the puller on many occasions.
RVR Demand: High
RVR Roles: In RVR, the BM is the primary damage dealing tank (along with hero). The ability to duel wield can often lead to high DPS over time, but less spike DPS than a caster or Large Weapon / Celtic Spear user. Celtic Dual has some really good styles for being in a tank train.

BM Specs: The most common spec is 50 celtic dual, 50 weapon skilll, rest parry... however I do not believe this is the best. Weapon skill only effects base damage (unless you are using the line's actual style, which is rare), and caps at your level (or maybe your level +1 been a while). In case, you should notice no difference if you go 39 weapon, and this allows you get get 42 shield for slam. Note that switching between these in combat is a royal PAIN as the shield takes your offhand weapon slot (which is wear you'll put your dual wielded weap. Basically you'd have shield out to slam, swap to 2 dual wield and pound away. Shield is also nice for PVE. This can be VERY effective, but a lot of people find it simpler to just go 50/50 + rest parry. (or 50, 39, rest parry).

NOTE: Piercing is based on str+dex, and dex is a secondary train to strengths primary. This means that usually piecing BMs will not hit has hard as blade or blunt BMs. While pierce is strong vs chain (aka enemy healing classes), I wouldn't recommend going with piercing as it will make your template a nightmare.

Race to be: Firbolgs will deal the most dmg. Elfs will deal way less damage, but might draw some heat away from casters in your group in rvr... still Firbolg if you can stand looking at them.

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Champion
PVE Demand: Moderate
PVE Roles: Champs will be tanks, and therefore will be using taunt styles to try and keep mob aggro. They may also be asked to be the puller on many occasions, especially since they have insta magic spells.
RVR Demand: Low
RVR Roles: In RVR, the champion will be a damage dealing tank. However, a major realm ability determination (reduces CC duration) is not available to champions. Also lack of a high strength starting race makes them deal less damage usually, and have lower HP than a hero. They are decent tanks in 1vs1 duels thanks to their debuffs and self str/con buff, but groups will wish you were a hero instead.

Champion Specs: Pretty much the only seen spec is 50 Large Weap, 50 Valor, rest parry. Some may reduce the valor a bit for more parry. Champions don't get enough spec points to get high in shield and still get decent valor, so I'd say skip the shield.

Race to be: Celts deal the most damage. However elfs or luris might distract the enemy a bit in a group / zerg. They also will parry marginally better due to the dex. In general though, celt is the race to be.


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Hero
PVE Demand: Moderate
PVE Roles: Champs will be tanks, and therefore will be using taunt styles to try and keep mob aggro. They may also be asked to be the puller on many occasions, especially since they have insta magic spells.
RVR Demand: High
RVR Roles: In RVR, the hero is the damage dealing tank. During keep raids they may be asked to use their shield and slam (stun) people while guarding (blocking for) a caster / druid. Primary though, it'll be a matter of "I'm a moose, time to smash"

Hero Specs: Most common spec is either 50 in Celtic Spear or Large Weapon, 42 shield, and 24-39 weapon with the rest in parry. The hero will be using shield use to slam and PVE, and will be swapping to the 2-handed weaps for damage (this is done with a button click and not having to drag drop like a BM). I think celtic spear is better because pierce is strong vs chain, and the rear snare is better than a rear stun (since you have shield stun), but both are good specs. Weapon and shield specs are really only used for solo or pve.

Race to be: Firbolgs will deal the most dmg. Celts and Luris will deal less damage, but might draw some heat away from casters/support in your group in rvr... still Firbolg if you can stand looking at them.

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Valewalkers
PVE Demand: Low - Moderate
PVE Roles: Valewalkers will be tanks, taunting to get aggro. They will also likely do pulling due to their spells. They are a little less sought out because they tank more damage. But they can dish out of a lot damage with their style procs at higher levels.
RVR Demand: Low
RVR Roles: In RVR, the hero is the damage dealing tank. They have the plus of being able to cast when they are rooted or in a keep defense, but this is hampered by the lack of determination RA. Their high level style procs can put out some massive damage though, and the root + run away and lifetap makes them pretty good soloers.

Valewalker Specs: Most common spec is 50 scythe, 43 arboreal, and rest parry. Some might take lower arboreal for more parry, but the ablative proc is probably worth it.

Race to be: Firbolgs will deal the most dmg. But celts might be mistaken for a caster (even though the only celt casters are animists and ments)... still Firbolg if you can stand looking at them.



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Mage Classes:


Animist
PVE Demand: High
PVE Roles: While not as good as when they have a font of power and a ton of power increase stuff like in the current servers, animists are going to throw a ton of shrooms down to aid in kills. For high end raids, each shroom counts as an "attacker" and thus a few animists can make the game think a lot of people are in on the raid. This is important because there is a "hit cap" that once reached will allow for everyone to hit easier and harder on the super high purp mobs.
RVR Demand: Moderate
RVR Roles: In RVR, the animist is a damage dealing caster. Most will NOT use shrooms, as they are stuck in place, can be CCed, and cost a ton of mana. However, using the aboreal path's bomber can allow an animist to spike damage very well. Two DD bombers followed by lifetaps will make the bombers reach around the same time as the lifetaps. This will make it seem like the target has two casters hitting him at the same time. Bombers in keeps can sometimes take longer to path to their target, allow you to get 3-4 off before one hits. On groups without healers this could mean that you send out enough bombers to kill the target before the first one hits (thus he can't run out of range). NOTE: animists get dex as a third leveling stat instead of second, so they will cast slightly slower than other casters. However all three of their leveling stats are useful, while other casters all have a useless third leveling stat.

Animist Specs: The most common is aboreal, but the other paths are good for pve. I'll talk about each line individually. Generally you are going to go very high in one line, and the rest arboreal (or creeping if you are going arboreal main spec). NOTE: the fire and forget damage turrets (aka the spam shrooms) are BASELINE. This means that you will NOT need to spec in creeping just for PVE. Arboreal path is still good for shroom spamming.

Arboreal Path: Best all around path, and really the most valid RVR spec by far. This the DD bomber spec. Primary job is to throw out a ton of bombers and watch them blow stuff up.

Creeping Path: A lot of raid / PVE animists will go this path because this is the path of the fire and forget turrets. Specing in this path makes their damage more stable and lets you throw a damage debuffing turret (pbaoe and regular) that can aid in huge pulls.

Verdant Path: This path is great for people who want to do solo / small group farming with an animist. Instead of spamming a ton of pets, you put out one strong controlled pet. You then cast spells that are channeled through that pet (mainly you will cast PBAOE damage). This allows for the pet to take the damage instead, while the caster stays safe and uninterrupted.

Race to be: Celts will have slightly higher dex, and sylvans will have slightly higher intel... it's mostly a wash out. I'd say celt because they are a little smaller, but either would work.


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Eldritch
PVE Demand: Moderate - High
PVE Roles: Mana spec eldritches will be used for PBAOE damage to kill mobs. Other specs are considered more solo specs for leveling.
RVR Demand: High
RVR Roles: In RVR, a mana eld has a TON of tools (debuffs, disease, nearsight, DD + Snare) to use while waiting for a good opportunity to bomb with PBAOE. A light eld has those tools, but also has a strong single target nuke instead of pbaoe. Void is kind of meh, but the bolts can be good at keep stand offs (though probably not as good as PBAOE)

Eldritch Specs: Both Mana and Light are good specs, with void being a distant third but not completely terrible. Again I will talk about all lines. You will usually take one line very near 50, and put the rest in light (or mana if you are light spec main).

Way of the Sun (aka Light) 45 light, 28 mana, rest void: This path is focused around dealing high levels of single target damage. When assisting other single target caster or a tank train, they can add a TON of damage. They also get a range decrease debuff (nearsight) that in this server HAS NO CURE! Therefore, it is DEVASTATING to a caster. By sub specing in mana you'll get the aoe disease spell. This also have a few aoe insta debuffs that while draining on the mana, are effective.

Way of the Moon (aka Mana) 50 mana, 19 light, rest void: This is the spec with PBAOE and DD + Snares. This class is designed to deal massive damage to mobs or enemy players that are stacked in a small area (like say... a keep room). This has access to a lower level of nearsight as well as the debuffs and AOE disease spells.

Way of the Eclipse (ala Void) 49 void, 22 light, rest mana: This path is pretty meh and really designed for one thing... bolts. Bolts are long range damage spells that are on a 20 second timer. Void elds are sort of ok in keep fights, popping up to throw their two bolts at a caster and then going back into hiding. Vs casters with poor resists or no buffs, you might be able to kill them with these two casts alone. Void elds can also do an area of effect PBAOE that deals less damage, but is harder to resist, and and can be done from further range allowing for decent interrupting ability if needed.

Race to be: Be a luri... be short... you will be a target.

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Enchanters
PVE Demand: Very High
PVE Roles: Mana spec chanters not only have PBAOE, but they also have a focus damage shield for the pet that allows them to solo / small group very effectively. In fact, most won't argue that the best power leveling in hib will come from a chanter. This class is good at farming too thanks to the pet.
RVR Demand: Moderate - High
RVR Roles: In RVR, a mana chanter has far less tools than the eldritch, but can self debuff (heat) and nuke, as well as pbaoe. However the baseline nuke is power hungry and a long glowing line to the chanter that says "Kill this soft squishy target". PBAOE is what makes the chanter most useful. Mana chanters also get cold debuff if you are running with a light eld to make them hit like a truck. They have a caster pet that does DD + Snare that is also useful in RVR.

Eldritch Specs: Enchanters really should be mana spec. Be 49 mana rest light for pure rvr, and go to 50 mana for more pve flexibility. Light spec only has a DD spell similar to light elds but without all the toys an eld has. The enchantment line is a joke, the mana lines focus damage shield alone is worth more than the entire line.

Race to be: Be a luri... be short... you will be a target.


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Mentalist
PVE Demand: Moderate
PVE Roles: Mana spec mentalists get POM (aka Crack) which aids in mana regen, as well as a heal over time that will not draw aggro and baseline heals. They will be a support class mostly doing healing on pets during focus pulls.
RVR Demand: Low
RVR Roles: In RVR, a light mentalists have a spec DD that is decent, and are a valuable demezzer, but generally people would rather have all the tools of the eldritch instead. Light ments can also charm pets, but again, not a huge deal.

Mentalist Specs: Mana is primarily the PVE spec, while Light is primarily the RVR spec. Mentalism is primarily just crap.

Way of the Sun (aka Light) 45 light, 28 ment, rest mana: This path is focused around dealing high levels of single target damage. When assisting other single target caster or a tank train, they can add a TON of damage. They can also charm a pet, and the mentalism sub spec gives them a cure mezz that can be nice (also heals incase they are solo / small group).

Way of the Moon (aka Mana) 48 mana, 24 light (or ment for pure PVE), rest ment: This is the spec mainly for PVE. It gives the mana regen and health over time heal that is very useful. Dots are near useless in group PVE, and tend to do more harm than good in RVR (break mezz). However, most mana ments will ignore this and throw out aoe DOTs to try and leach as many RPs as possible in a zerg. Go light sub spec for the better baseline DDs, and mentalism for better healing (only useful in PVE, healing in RVR should be done by a druid).

Mentalism: This path is pretty much good only for the level 28 remove mez spell. Everything else about this line is pathetic.

Race to be: Be a luri... be short... you will be a target.

Chysil wrote:Not sure if you were asking to get an idea of what to play, or just curious as to what classes you'd see. However, since the server is closed I'll do you one better, discuss the general need, roles, and specs of all of the classes. I've left out the stalkers since they are kind of "solo" classes. Hope this helps. Keep in mind these are my opinions... but for my credentials I have a 50 in all hib classes, and rr5+ in many of them over of the mythic servers (Yes... I played way too much).

Support Classes:


Bard
PVE Demand: High
PVE Roles: Bards will primarily be using their songs to aid end/power recovery (end during combat, power during rest), and providing buffs and heals to the group. Occasionally a bard will need to mesmerize adds, but this is relatively rare.
RVR Demand: Very High
RVR Roles: In RVR, the bards primary role is crowd control, interrupts, and non-heal support. Second roles include healing, but are rare. Bards are the primary mesmerizing class for Hib, and also have speed/end/power songs. They are also the primary demes class. Because of these roles, the majority of the time the bard will be using mesmerize and amnesia spells to CC and interrupt enemy casters. They will also be on the run a lot since they are considered a primary target by enemies. It can be very difficult to play a bard well, and therefore good bards are in extremely high demand. Even mediocre bards will usually not have trouble finding a group. However, high end groups are usually reluctant to accept a bard they have not played with or heard of prior.

Bard Specs: The most common spec is 47 music, 43 nurture, and 16 regrowth. A few people prefer running lower music and higher regrowth (37 music, 33 regrowth) but those are usually PVE specs. The higher regrowth became popular in new frontiers due to the 5 minute purge timer making mez less of a major factor. However, the higher music gets you a bigger radius insta mez and a longer duration casted mez which are very useful in old frontiers with 30 min purge timer.

Race to be: Be a celt, be small... you will be a target, and you want the higher dex

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Druid
PVE Demand: Very High
PVE Roles: Druids provide buffs and heals to the group
RVR Demand: Very High
RVR Roles: In RVR, the druids primary role is healing. A select few will go with the nature spec and also have some secondary interrupt and rooting responsibilities. However, the primary goal is always to keep the group alive. Druids are relatively easy to play moderately well, and not that difficult to play well. Most groups will be willing to try a new druid for at least one run.

Druid Specs: The most common spec is 40 nurture, 35 regrowth as this provides the druid with a good mix of buffs and heals. However some will spec 40 regrowth and 35 nurture for better heals, this will probably be rarer to see with no buff bots.

Alternatively, most nature druids (no buffs, roots instead) will go with 40 regrowth and 36 nature. The nature spec is usually reserved for people who want the flexibility to play with small groups that might not have good CC, or set 8vs8 groups that have a dedicated nurture druid already. It's not a spec I'd recommend for pick up groups

Race to be: Be a celt, be small... you will be a target, and you want the higher dex


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Warden
PVE Demand: Moderate - High
PVE Roles: Wardens will provide buffs, heals, and blade turn to the group. WIth a small spec in a weapon they can also get a taunt style to be able to peel from a druid or bard that gets aggro if they are low on mana.
RVR Demand: Low - Moderate
RVR Roles: The phrase, jack of all trades master of none is very applicable to the warden. A warden will never heal as good a druid, and will never even come close to the damage output of a tank (they'd be lucky to get to half the damage). This leaves the warden unable to perform a role that another class can't do WAY better. Wardens in RVR are typically used when druids are in short order, and therefore spend most of their time healing. TOA and some classes changes later in the game helped wardens, but these will not be on this server. Trust me, most all groups that take a warden actively wish it was a druid instead. Wardens are decent small group / solo classes, but still not as useful as a druid or tank.

Warden Specs: Most common is 45/46 nurture, 42 regrowth, and remainder in weapon skill of choosing. However, warden specs very greatly based on the wardens play style (ie: might want less regrowth and more weap skill / parry if will be solo etc).

Race to be: Depends on playstyle. If you plan to be healing a lot, be a celt. If you want a good mix, by sylvan



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Tank Classes:


Blademaster
PVE Demand: Moderate
PVE Roles: BMs will be tanks, and therefore will be using taunt styles to try and keep mob aggro. They may also be asked to be the puller on many occasions.
RVR Demand: High
RVR Roles: In RVR, the BM is the primary damage dealing tank (along with hero). The ability to duel wield can often lead to high DPS over time, but less spike DPS than a caster or Large Weapon / Celtic Spear user. Celtic Dual has some really good styles for being in a tank train.

BM Specs: The most common spec is 50 celtic dual, 50 weapon skilll, rest parry... however I do not believe this is the best. Weapon skill only effects base damage (unless you are using the line's actual style, which is rare), and caps at your level (or maybe your level +1 been a while). In case, you should notice no difference if you go 39 weapon, and this allows you get get 42 shield for slam. Note that switching between these in combat is a royal PAIN as the shield takes your offhand weapon slot (which is wear you'll put your dual wielded weap. Basically you'd have shield out to slam, swap to 2 dual wield and pound away. Shield is also nice for PVE. This can be VERY effective, but a lot of people find it simpler to just go 50/50 + rest parry. (or 50, 39, rest parry).

NOTE: Piercing is based on str+dex, and dex is a secondary train to strengths primary. This means that usually piecing BMs will not hit has hard as blade or blunt BMs. While pierce is strong vs chain (aka enemy healing classes), I wouldn't recommend going with piercing as it will make your template a nightmare.

Race to be: Firbolgs will deal the most dmg. Elfs will deal way less damage, but might draw some heat away from casters in your group in rvr... still Firbolg if you can stand looking at them.

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Champion
PVE Demand: Moderate
PVE Roles: Champs will be tanks, and therefore will be using taunt styles to try and keep mob aggro. They may also be asked to be the puller on many occasions, especially since they have insta magic spells.
RVR Demand: Low
RVR Roles: In RVR, the champion will be a damage dealing tank. However, a major realm ability determination (reduces CC duration) is not available to champions. Also lack of a high strength starting race makes them deal less damage usually, and have lower HP than a hero. They are decent tanks in 1vs1 duels thanks to their debuffs and self str/con buff, but groups will wish you were a hero instead.

Champion Specs: Pretty much the only seen spec is 50 Large Weap, 50 Valor, rest parry. Some may reduce the valor a bit for more parry. Champions don't get enough spec points to get high in shield and still get decent valor, so I'd say skip the shield.

Race to be: Celts deal the most damage. However elfs or luris might distract the enemy a bit in a group / zerg. They also will parry marginally better due to the dex. In general though, celt is the race to be.


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Hero
PVE Demand: Moderate
PVE Roles: Champs will be tanks, and therefore will be using taunt styles to try and keep mob aggro. They may also be asked to be the puller on many occasions, especially since they have insta magic spells.
RVR Demand: High
RVR Roles: In RVR, the hero is the damage dealing tank. During keep raids they may be asked to use their shield and slam (stun) people while guarding (blocking for) a caster / druid. Primary though, it'll be a matter of "I'm a moose, time to smash"

Hero Specs: Most common spec is either 50 in Celtic Spear or Large Weapon, 42 shield, and 24-39 weapon with the rest in parry. The hero will be using shield use to slam and PVE, and will be swapping to the 2-handed weaps for damage (this is done with a button click and not having to drag drop like a BM). I think celtic spear is better because pierce is strong vs chain, and the rear snare is better than a rear stun (since you have shield stun), but both are good specs. Weapon and shield specs are really only used for solo or pve.

Race to be: Firbolgs will deal the most dmg. Celts and Luris will deal less damage, but might draw some heat away from casters/support in your group in rvr... still Firbolg if you can stand looking at them.

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Valewalkers
PVE Demand: Low - Moderate
PVE Roles: Valewalkers will be tanks, taunting to get aggro. They will also likely do pulling due to their spells. They are a little less sought out because they tank more damage. But they can dish out of a lot damage with their style procs at higher levels.
RVR Demand: Low
RVR Roles: In RVR, the hero is the damage dealing tank. They have the plus of being able to cast when they are rooted or in a keep defense, but this is hampered by the lack of determination RA. Their high level style procs can put out some massive damage though, and the root + run away and lifetap makes them pretty good soloers.

Valewalker Specs: Most common spec is 50 scythe, 43 arboreal, and rest parry. Some might take lower arboreal for more parry, but the ablative proc is probably worth it.

Race to be: Firbolgs will deal the most dmg. But celts might be mistaken for a caster (even though the only celt casters are animists and ments)... still Firbolg if you can stand looking at them.



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Mage Classes:


Animist
PVE Demand: High
PVE Roles: While not as good as when they have a font of power and a ton of power increase stuff like in the current servers, animists are going to throw a ton of shrooms down to aid in kills. For high end raids, each shroom counts as an "attacker" and thus a few animists can make the game think a lot of people are in on the raid. This is important because there is a "hit cap" that once reached will allow for everyone to hit easier and harder on the super high purp mobs.
RVR Demand: Moderate
RVR Roles: In RVR, the animist is a damage dealing caster. Most will NOT use shrooms, as they are stuck in place, can be CCed, and cost a ton of mana. However, using the aboreal path's bomber can allow an animist to spike damage very well. Two DD bombers followed by lifetaps will make the bombers reach around the same time as the lifetaps. This will make it seem like the target has two casters hitting him at the same time. Bombers in keeps can sometimes take longer to path to their target, allow you to get 3-4 off before one hits. On groups without healers this could mean that you send out enough bombers to kill the target before the first one hits (thus he can't run out of range). NOTE: animists get dex as a third leveling stat instead of second, so they will cast slightly slower than other casters. However all three of their leveling stats are useful, while other casters all have a useless third leveling stat.

Animist Specs: The most common is aboreal, but the other paths are good for pve. I'll talk about each line individually. Generally you are going to go very high in one line, and the rest arboreal (or creeping if you are going arboreal main spec). NOTE: the fire and forget damage turrets (aka the spam shrooms) are BASELINE. This means that you will NOT need to spec in creeping just for PVE. Arboreal path is still good for shroom spamming.

Arboreal Path: Best all around path, and really the most valid RVR spec by far. This the DD bomber spec. Primary job is to throw out a ton of bombers and watch them blow stuff up.

Creeping Path: A lot of raid / PVE animists will go this path because this is the path of the fire and forget turrets. Specing in this path makes their damage more stable and lets you throw a damage debuffing turret (pbaoe and regular) that can aid in huge pulls.

Verdant Path: This path is great for people who want to do solo / small group farming with an animist. Instead of spamming a ton of pets, you put out one strong controlled pet. You then cast spells that are channeled through that pet (mainly you will cast PBAOE damage). This allows for the pet to take the damage instead, while the caster stays safe and uninterrupted.

Race to be: Celts will have slightly higher dex, and sylvans will have slightly higher intel... it's mostly a wash out. I'd say celt because they are a little smaller, but either would work.


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Eldritch
PVE Demand: Moderate - High
PVE Roles: Mana spec eldritches will be used for PBAOE damage to kill mobs. Other specs are considered more solo specs for leveling.
RVR Demand: High
RVR Roles: In RVR, a mana eld has a TON of tools (debuffs, disease, nearsight, DD + Snare) to use while waiting for a good opportunity to bomb with PBAOE. A light eld has those tools, but also has a strong single target nuke instead of pbaoe. Void is kind of meh, but the bolts can be good at keep stand offs (though probably not as good as PBAOE)

Eldritch Specs: Both Mana and Light are good specs, with void being a distant third but not completely terrible. Again I will talk about all lines. You will usually take one line very near 50, and put the rest in light (or mana if you are light spec main).

Way of the Sun (aka Light) 45 light, 28 mana, rest void: This path is focused around dealing high levels of single target damage. When assisting other single target caster or a tank train, they can add a TON of damage. They also get a range decrease debuff (nearsight) that in this server HAS NO CURE! Therefore, it is DEVASTATING to a caster. By sub specing in mana you'll get the aoe disease spell. This also have a few aoe insta debuffs that while draining on the mana, are effective.

Way of the Moon (aka Mana) 50 mana, 19 light, rest void: This is the spec with PBAOE and DD + Snares. This class is designed to deal massive damage to mobs or enemy players that are stacked in a small area (like say... a keep room). This has access to a lower level of nearsight as well as the debuffs and AOE disease spells.

Way of the Eclipse (ala Void) 49 void, 22 light, rest mana: This path is pretty meh and really designed for one thing... bolts. Bolts are long range damage spells that are on a 20 second timer. Void elds are sort of ok in keep fights, popping up to throw their two bolts at a caster and then going back into hiding. Vs casters with poor resists or no buffs, you might be able to kill them with these two casts alone. Void elds can also do an area of effect PBAOE that deals less damage, but is harder to resist, and and can be done from further range allowing for decent interrupting ability if needed.

Race to be: Be a luri... be short... you will be a target.

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Enchanters
PVE Demand: Very High
PVE Roles: Mana spec chanters not only have PBAOE, but they also have a focus damage shield for the pet that allows them to solo / small group very effectively. In fact, most won't argue that the best power leveling in hib will come from a chanter. This class is good at farming too thanks to the pet.
RVR Demand: Moderate - High
RVR Roles: In RVR, a mana chanter has far less tools than the eldritch, but can self debuff (heat) and nuke, as well as pbaoe. However the baseline nuke is power hungry and a long glowing line to the chanter that says "Kill this soft squishy target". PBAOE is what makes the chanter most useful. Mana chanters also get cold debuff if you are running with a light eld to make them hit like a truck. They have a caster pet that does DD + Snare that is also useful in RVR.

Eldritch Specs: Enchanters really should be mana spec. Be 49 mana rest light for pure rvr, and go to 50 mana for more pve flexibility. Light spec only has a DD spell similar to light elds but without all the toys an eld has. The enchantment line is a joke, the mana lines focus damage shield alone is worth more than the entire line.

Race to be: Be a luri... be short... you will be a target.


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Mentalist
PVE Demand: Moderate
PVE Roles: Mana spec mentalists get POM (aka Crack) which aids in mana regen, as well as a heal over time that will not draw aggro and baseline heals. They will be a support class mostly doing healing on pets during focus pulls.
RVR Demand: Low
RVR Roles: In RVR, a light mentalists have a spec DD that is decent, and are a valuable demezzer, but generally people would rather have all the tools of the eldritch instead. Light ments can also charm pets, but again, not a huge deal.

Mentalist Specs: Mana is primarily the PVE spec, while Light is primarily the RVR spec. Mentalism is primarily just crap.

Way of the Sun (aka Light) 45 light, 28 ment, rest mana: This path is focused around dealing high levels of single target damage. When assisting other single target caster or a tank train, they can add a TON of damage. They can also charm a pet, and the mentalism sub spec gives them a cure mezz that can be nice (also heals incase they are solo / small group).

Way of the Moon (aka Mana) 48 mana, 24 light (or ment for pure PVE), rest ment: This is the spec mainly for PVE. It gives the mana regen and health over time heal that is very useful. Dots are near useless in group PVE, and tend to do more harm than good in RVR (break mezz). However, most mana ments will ignore this and throw out aoe DOTs to try and leach as many RPs as possible in a zerg. Go light sub spec for the better baseline DDs, and mentalism for better healing (only useful in PVE, healing in RVR should be done by a druid).

Mentalism: This path is pretty much good only for the level 28 remove mez spell. Everything else about this line is pathetic.

Race to be: Be a luri... be short... you will be a target.

This should be stickied. Very informative write-up, thanks so much.