The Spirit Realm

The senior shadowknights I hang with really (like really really) love their class, also. It's one of the few classes I see long-time shm switch to. Also beastlords and rangers really like being beastlords and rangers, respectively. My guild has far more rangers inquire about apping than any other class, I think.

I think the more versatility a class has, the less likely burnout is.

I'd have to say rangers myself, I tend to see far more shaman burn out than stay the course.

Shaman would probably be number one if it weren't for the tedium of buffing/boring curing raids etc...

The more I play with alts though, the more I lean back to my shaman. I've gotten surprised by trouble, or went looking for trouble:) and been constantly amazed how fun and powerful the shaman class is in solo/versatility. But I'm probably like the original poster. He's my main, so his gear is so far beyond my alts, that I cannot fairly compare.

Like Brohg, I do hear many SK's praising their class lately. But that comes and goes I think for narrower classes like tanks/dps/pullers. One expansion they love themselves, next expansion, hate.

I feel like I can contribute enough in most groups to be valuable, lots of contribution on raids, and enough solo power to be able to farm/quest/solo most stuff with ease.

Just wait though, another expansion like GoD will come out and I'll be bitchin up a storm about how we lack:)

I have a set of twink Monk, Chanter and Paladin all with 1000+aa and reasonable kit, none of them come close to the versatility and fun of Veril.

Shaman can do a little bit of everything, and can fill in and cover most any need in a group in a pinch. Oh, and we get slow.

I'm one of those shm that are burning low at least. I'm just plain sick of having people cry for a million buffs all the time. Apart from longing for our raid buffs to be merged into fewer, I just loathe champion, sloth and panther. For now, I made a box setup with a twink SK and that is lots of fun. I've been thinking about changing mains to SK, but the idea of Jooruus lagging behind in gear scares me no end :p I'll prolly just keep him as a raiding main / group bot and play SK for groups. When that gets too dull I hope another game is here that can rival EQ. (I have my hopes up for Age of Conan)

I've had the experience of playing with my family's toons that were on par with my own when I was boxing or just straight up playing them. I was playin around with a SK and necro mostly. The SK was a TON of fun to play and I never really got burnt out on him.

The necro I got burnt out on. I think the major reason was that I hate kiting. Too laggy for it and probably too lazy for it too. I always wanted to just root rot like the shaman but necro root wasnt near as dependable as VP. Also got annoyed with FD splitting. In the nest, I found it quicker to just VP a mob, run shaman to zone out and snare the unrooted mob, FD and then wait for the shaman to finish zoning and zoning back in.

I have an alt ranger that I like, I wouldnt say I love him but he's the only alt that is purely mine that has gotten to 60. I've tried just bout every other class and my next best is my necro at 38. Guess that says somethin for the ranger. I would also think beastlords would be good, but I've never gotten over the "shaman's little brother with an uberfied pet" mentality.

In the end, shaman will always win in my book. Huge versitility in groups and great solo ability. I've gotten burnt on shaman before, but my playtime is quite low at this point. Dont think I'll get burnt out anytime soon unless I magically get 500 more AA

I have played a Paladin for 6 years now and I love the class. But...since I paired him up with a Shaman, the combination of Pally/Sham has made it all work great. The duo has kept my interest alive and kicking and it's very easy to start your own group when you already have the tanking, buffing, slowing and healing covered!!

I do kind of miss the days of being just a shaman, but my sk takes more and more of my time these days. It's a beautiful thing to call buffs on a raid and just *sit* there while it happens.
Shaman are one of the most desirable classes in everquest, everyone has at least a bot. Raiding shaman however take real dedication. Most of the folks you see here have that.

I would have to say a shaman or an SK. I have a shaman pally combo, moved from pally to shaman as main (still box them everyday). My RL boyfriend has an SK not only is it always fun, the class is so overpowering.

I agree with the versatility comments. Shaman fit the bill perfectly on that.

The thing I love about playing my Shaman is not having to depend on others to play. I will always take a group over soloing any day of the week.. even a pick up group for the social aspect. That said, while I am lfg I can solo and have fun!

Now days, I find myself boxing my 75 Rogue with my Shaman and I have to say it's a blast! Shaman can tank good enough on alot of content that I can use my rogue's full potential on dps. When my rogue does take agro.. a quick SotQ pulls the mobs head back around to my Shaman. Just subtle things like that make playing a Shaman fun... controlling agro if/when you want and being able to take some blows.

I have been playing 7 years now.. I came from playing UO and started as a Bard < Ex-UO players will understand why a bard >. I soon found out the bard here was nothing like a bard in UO so on the advice of my druid friend, I started a Shaman. I think around level 22, I was debating on whether to continue with my shaman. My friend told me that it's worth it, level 50 shaman rule! - Keep in mind this was when leveling actually took alot of time for casual players -. So, i stuck with it and I have to say that was the best advice I have ever gotten in EQ!

For me.. Shaman hands down.

Tracor - Tunare
75 Shaman

All the "Nec" I know spend half their time retired.

...

/eye KB

I love my shaman, playing on FV i dont really have any alts. I quit EQ 3 years back or so because i wasnt having as much fun and wanted to change how EQ was a part of my life, hardcore raiding. I came back not long ago and play very casualy, very different way to go about EQ.

And no matter how i did it i have loved my shaman. I tried making a SK alt to go with my shaman but i wasnt very good at boxing and really it became more like work then and im doing this to have fun and i have a blast with my shaman.

Shaman rocks because if the sitatuon gets crazy we really come into being. plain boring simple stuff sure we are effective but we shine and the true value comes to fruition. one shaman can do so much more for a group than one of any other class, thats why we rock.

Beafly, I find there to be many different folks that come to the shaman boards, no matter what class. We just have a very good board and community.

I believe I can get a biased opinion here. Been an interesting read, but no one character class really stands out as being a true favorite yet. Even with the shaman response it isn't overwhelming. I would say that means some folks think EQ is pretty balanced at the moment.

Hi Rascalan,

Saw this post and couldn't resist posting, esp since I think your the same Shm from vazaelle who was in Eternal Advocates with me.

From the classes I have played from level 1 too where they are now, which are:

75 cleric 700aa <--- raid cleric burned me out couple of times (oh the pressure)
75 mage 475aa <--- fun overall class
75 wiz 600aa <--- my favorite class
75 bard 125aa <--- fun, but requires full attention all the time...bad when wife talking to you
75 bst 550aa <--- probably my second favorite behind wiz
73 ench 28aa <--- I hate this class
69 ranger 48aa <--- fun until AM nerf
68 shm <--- I like this class overall because of the versitile nature and groupability
61 nec <--- just started this one two weeks ago, i'm liking the power
52 sk <--- daunting feeling of how much gear and aa I need so I can group in higher end places and be the tank
52 druid <--- versatile, but not fun to me
50 warr <--- see sk

I would have to say my favorite is the wizard with the release of TSS(ooc regen, instant nukes,super harvest). I think this is mainly because I can XP or quest while being LFG for an hour or two and I don't get frustrated. Basically I have something I can always be doing and doing it effectively. Before TSS I played the bst and cleric a lot because they are usually quickly recruited into groups.

Bah

I have 6 level 75 characters, (Pally, Bard, Shaman, Cleric, Necro, Rogue). All are CoA+ geared. I 6 box these characters usually. If its longetivity you want, you need to play many different classes. You don't know how much fun it is playing my necro after playing my paladin for awhile, or logging in my bard etc.. It just keeps the game very fresh. I would totaly burn out if I only had one character. Hell I had 2 or 3 of them going before RoK came out. I think people who play one class for years with only minor twinks, play EQ for the social aspect mainly. I play for fun and could care less about the social part personally.

If I had to rate my characters in terms of my favorite(Paladin, Necro, Bard, Shaman, Rogue, Cleric). Necro is by far the eaisest to just log in and kill stuff with. Necros are a ton of fun and you can do some cool stuff with them sometimes. I don't think people realize what a good Bard brings to a group. The dps increase alone is crazy. When I box, I notice a HUGE dps decrease without my bard.

I dont think God himself could talk me into playing any other class as my main. When I'm bored shitless, though, I enjoy playing a pure dps class, it's almost like a vacation from responsibility!

I also have access to one of the top end SK's on my server, and the things I can do with him are just insane. Really though, they need to come up with a long-term fix to Harmtickle.