Trying to figure out my class. Haven't played since late 03.

Wondering which classes will be most and least played on Hib.

I will pick something viable for 8 mans I am sure but wondering of those which would be the least played vs demand in 8 man groups.

Thanks for any guidance.

If you roll a Druid you will get picked up with just about anything you wish to do ^^

Druid/Bard/Eld will be in high demand, groups will want to have at least 2 druids and 1 bard/eld in the group, most will also want a hero but there are special snowflakes out there who may pass on the hero for a BM to peel/slam.

Bard, Druid, Eld, Hero, BM are all viable for 8v8, and depending if you want to play a caster setup than chanter/ment are also desired. Classes to stay away from if you are looking to pug 8v8 would be Champ, Valewalker, Animist because hybrid tanks have no det so a lot of people will just pass on them and while Animist has potential in a caster setup it will be rare and chanter can just as easily take animists place.

Maybe some grp gona pick a Warden...

so, in order :
DRUID > BARD > (HERO / BM) > ELD > ENCHANT > MENTA (light spec ofc) > WARDEN > (CHAMP / VW / ANIMIST)

Some grp gona run with 2x Bard [43 nurt / 33 reg / 37 music] + [43 nurt / 16 reg / 47 music], and imo, we gona be in need of good bards.

Thanks for the insight guys!

Many people will play an animist for pve I guess but they won't be seen that often in 8vs8. Guess some of them will make some RPs during zerg fights

People love elds ? I played a void eld in my earlier days.. never got it far.. only use i had was gtaoe to expose the stealths...

alf wrote:People love elds ? I played a void eld in my earlier days.. never got it far.. only use i had was gtaoe to expose the stealths...

Yeah the only reason for a Void Eld is for debuff if it's fixed with Animists or to solo. Everyone is referring to debuff/nuke elds with NS and DD or PBAOE

Depends on your playstyle like this

Healers : Bard, Druid, Warden
Bards will have more active roles from CC,Buffs,Songs You will not fight or have any real offense.
Druid has main heals,Buffs,Spec Buffs, Roots and some dd poison and pet.
Warden has PBT and also heals with baseline buffs and weapon styles. This patch doesn't have shield spec.

Tanks : Hero, Blademaster, Champion
Hero is your tank and spank character that just allows for 2 handed weapons and Celtic spear. Most will spec with shield and sword or blunt whatever you prefer. This gives you slam and weapon styles. The CS styles are good for positional and also burst damage. They also get the option of LW which is a good burst dps spec as well.

Champions are the better option if you wish to use some magic and have a LW in hand while you smash things. They do good burst dps and also have snares and dds.

Stealthers : Rangers and Nightshades
Rangers are your basic long range melee fighters and bow users. with stealth
Nightshades are up close and personal fighters that use stealth and positional.

Casters : Animist, Eldritch, Enchanter, Mentalist
Animistis a pet based class that has several pets that you can cast as well as bombers that can aid or dmg your foes and friends.
Eldritch has bolt range nukes and also pbae it also has mez and debffs.
Enchanter has pbae, nukes, and pet options.
Mentalist has mana regen buff as well as nukes and can charm a pet if it likes.

Valewalkers I didn't list in a category because they are a hybrid like the warden but instead they do not heal as much as cast and dps via a 2 hand scythe. Even though they use cloth armor they can take hits and dish them out most of their styles are based around finding your position on the target.

Anything above should give you a general idea.

Also you need to keep in mind to play something you have fun with and not something that someone else will be counting on in a group or what others tell you to play.

slowpoke68 wrote:
Wondering which classes will be most and least played on Hib.

right out of the gate you can expect 80%+ of hib to be enchanters, mentalist, and druid.

in early beta there were, at all times, more enchanters online than -BM,champ,hero,VW,eldritch,warden,ranger, ns- combined!

I would expect the same on release when people want to rush to 50/rush to get rich.

Trios will not want to invite others to cut into their xp. no point. if you make a mana eldie you could slip in with some perhaps and respec to a very fun light spec at 40 .

defill wrote:

slowpoke68 wrote:
Wondering which classes will be most and least played on Hib.

right out of the gate you can expect 80%+ of hib to be enchanters, mentalist, and druid.

in early beta there were, at all times, more enchanters online than -BM,champ,hero,VW,eldritch,warden,ranger, ns- combined!

I would expect the same on release when people want to rush to 50/rush to get rich.

Trios will not want to invite others to cut into their xp. no point. if you make a mana eldie you could slip in with some perhaps and respec to a very fun light spec at 40 .

Enchanters are just a nice class all around to start from scratch. caster, melee, heal Pet, speed, Debuff for own DD, PBAOE, focus shield. Many leveling options solo or group and solid in RvR as well.

alf wrote:People love elds ? I played a void eld in my earlier days.. never got it far.. only use i had was gtaoe to expose the stealths...

Void elds were very effective in keep defense, you could usually always target an enemy caster peek out and launch both bolts at them then hide and get the kill. You could also find a group along the wall destroy them with ae dd

pirhana7 wrote:

alf wrote:People love elds ? I played a void eld in my earlier days.. never got it far.. only use i had was gtaoe to expose the stealths...

Void elds were very effective in keep defense, you could usually always target an enemy caster peek out and launch both bolts at them then hide and get the kill. You could also find a group along the wall destroy them with ae dd

i used to hide behind a keep wall on top and use GTAE to steal RPs.. lol..

i think i will stick to my original first main i had.. a bard.. maybe roll a void eldritch for BG fun later

alf wrote:People love elds ? I played a void eld in my earlier days.. never got it far.. only use i had was gtaoe to expose the stealths...

Well void eldritch are the least prefered in PvM and RVR.

Whereass Mana Eldritchs are most welcome in PVM for PbaoE damage.

And light eldritches are sick in RVR. They have very high single damage, nearsight debuff, baseline stun, aoe mezz, baseline bolt. Everything you really Need. High damage and most ulities.
as a light eldritch even Targets like sorcs, bonedancers, theurgists etc. shouldnt be a Problem in 1vs1.

Nearsight -> aoe mezz -> stun -> dead.
For me Light Eldritch is the most dangerous Caster in this game.

You only have to spec light to 45/47 and put the rest into mana and void (for more constant baseline bolt damage).

Then you end up as a Light Eldritch with these Tools:

- 209 driect damage spell
- 65% nearsight debuff
- 9 sec Baseline stun
- 31 sec AoE Mezz
- 90/120 sec AoE Disease (mana spec)
- AoE Snare (Mana Spec)
- Dex/Quick Debuff
- Baseline Bolt (Void)

Light eldritch is clearly the best Main caster of all realms. The only thing he misses is Speed.

Had a Void Eld as twink on live. Total beast in keep raids, espacially with negative maelstrom. Wait for enemy grps to enter stairs right before lord and fire away. You can wipe whole raids this way.