Help with class choice - Phoenix Freeshard

Hi Guys,

Looking forward to trying out Phoenix! It's been a long time since I played, I left Excal just after Cataclysm was released and was looking for some help choosing a class to jump back in.

I'm a casual player so will be looking to PVE mostly with the occasional bit of RVR here and there, don't want to be a complete gimp in either. Due to time constraints I will mostly end up soloing but will have some time to group every now and again.

I like utility characters like Minstrel but not sure on there viability for PVE.

Any suggestions welcome.

Cheers!

Fri 4 Jan 2019 7:56 AM by Enrighteous

Minstrel can hold their own easily in PvE if not exceptionally well through the use of charmed pets. Although I would argue this is probably one of the harder classes to master but if you have experience in this class you should have no issue.

A couple suggestions I have are:
Friar, good self buffing/healing class. While not the best in "8 man meta" builds it is still a useful class.
Necromancer. Does this class really need any introduction into PvE? PvE chain pulling or focus pulling gods. Again won't fall into cookie cutter 8 man groups but some would argue the ABS debuff is creeping its way into some melee tank trains.
Cabalist, this class can PvE really well and can often times find a role in certain pvp groups quite easily.

Anyways, just about any class is made viable here with the custom changes. Hope this was somewhat helpful if you need any other specifics I'll try to chime in.

Fri 4 Jan 2019 1:27 PM by Pedro

For strictly solo Enri is right, specially the Necromancer and Cabalist which will probably be the two most used classes for farming.

I will add Armsman and Merc to the pool. They have high defense, can do damage with polearm and dual wield respectively, and in a tough spot you can switch to shield.

An honorable mention is the Sorcerer, with the charmed pet, lifetap, mez and crack, if played well it has very little downtime.

It would all fall on what type of play style you enjoy the most, melee or caster.

Sat 5 Jan 2019 3:53 PM by MrCloista

I take it you played on Albion on Excalibur? What was your character name(s), i played alb/excal from launch until toa released.

As for your question, from what little I did of Beta, Minstrels seem to be in a nice spot as usual, plus Paladins got a fairly big buff so that could be a strong utility option cos of tanking/chants.

Sun 6 Jan 2019 1:56 PM by jg777

The above posts list some excellent choices. I’d like to mention that you look at the below classes as well.

-Paladins are put on a higher WS table now and do more damage. They will also have access to a limited amount of determination RA, making them less CC prone, and endo pots are capped at level 3 on this server making them more important for their endo chant. They’ve only gotten better in solo/group in PvE and now, more in RvR too. A solid choice if you like melee and/or something that can do more than hit stuff repeatedly.

-Sorcerors are a really nice utility class, ability to charm pets make them good at solo or group for both PvE and RvR. What they lack in farming potential as a Cabalist they make up for greater versatility and grouping potential with their Mezz ability, life taps, and other useful spells. You definitely won’t get bored playing this class.

Tue 8 Jan 2019 1:04 AM by Dun_Dulind

First time I played a Paladin years ago on live was interesting, but nothing special. Could solo well enough and generally fun. If you don't mind mashing buttons for chant twisting, give it a try.

This version of Paladin? Good golly they are absolutely solid with a boost to their damage. Originally, they've always been grouped in with other hybrids with a Factor 19, but on Phoenix, they're Factor 21 along with Valewalkers . Not only do they have the damage bump, but a lot more spec points.

Here's their info from the Phoenix Wiki:

Paladin
– Can purchase Determination
– Can additionally purchase Anger of the Gods, Vehement Renewal, and Wrath of Champions
– Endurance range has been increased to 2000
– Increased specialization points from 2.0 to 2.5 per level.
– Increased damage (Table increase from 19 to 21)
– Armor Factor (AF) buff co-exists with other buffs. Highest level buff will be active at any given time.

Sat 12 Jan 2019 8:10 AM by lwhitham86

Hi Guys,

Thanks for the responses - really helpful.

I played a Cabby in the stress test and realised how easy solo PvE would be playing this class - due to time constraints I have decided to roll one initially to grind out some levels and cash then likely go either Minstrel/Paladin.

Look forward to seeing you all in game.