Monk vs. Bard, the debate over starting over. (NEED INPUT)

[Jvarin]

So, come this May, depending on a couple of RL issues to be decided, I have come to a consensus that I will probably play EQ again, from level 1. Or, I may just say screw it and play Jvarin again, but assuming he is gone since I have been cancelled for over a year now.... a few questions!

1) I have two classes in mind that have always interested me but I have never really took a serious stab at: Bard and Monk. Which of these classes is currently more important in the new non-SoL end game these days?

2) In your opinion, assuming the player is good and knowledgable which class would level up faster to 70 or in other terms, be easier to level up to 70? (Probably for the most part it will be soloing.)

3) Do monks currently hold the title as the best all around pullers in the game or has their role diminished?

4) Do bards, assuming if they are carpal tunnelly played, still make good substitutes for enchanters or have they surpassed them?

5) Which of the two classes do you think would be the cheapest to equip while leveling up?

6) I plan on finishing an epic with which ever class I would choose, which epic do you think could be done with the fewest people?

7) Which class would be most useful to ES in about 2 months, assuming I do start over?

Do you hate long posts filled with questions like these that I am asking? If so, do you mind if I ask you another question? HAH, already did~

Thanks for your time and input.

[Baccas]

1) I have two classes in mind that have always interested me but I have never really took a serious stab at: Bard and Monk. Which of these classes is currently more important in the new non-SoL end game these days?

Of the two, Bard without a doubt. And I don't mean for pulling. Resist songs and other utility make bards very important post SoL raiding.

2) In your opinion, assuming the player is good and knowledgable which class would level up faster to 70 or in other terms, be easier to level up to 70? (Probably for the most part it will be soloing.)

A twinked out monk can still solo damn fast to 50ish, but so can a bard, but then a bard can solo the rest of the way while a monk cannot. To solo really well to 70, you will be stuck with a necro.

3) Do monks currently hold the title as the best all around pullers in the game or has their role diminished?

Given equal knowledge about the game, a bard has more tools to use so will appear to be the better puller, but some of us old crafty monks that have been around forever hold our own.

4) Do bards, assuming if they are carpal tunnelly played, still make good substitutes for enchanters or have they surpassed them?

Bards really can effectively hold 2-3 mobs mezed. I've seen bards real with more, but they canot do it for very long.

5) Which of the two classes do you think would be the cheapest to equip while leveling up?

monk without a doubt. Fungi and Tstaff allone will allow you to level to 40.

6) I plan on finishing an epic with which ever class I would choose, which epic do you think could be done with the fewest people?

Monk epic is duoable. Bard epic has a few rare drops, but so does monk. Monk's easier since you don't have to deal with dragon scales or whatever.

7) Which class would be most useful to ES in about 2 months, assuming I do start over?

Assuming numbers stay the same, we have 3 semi active bards with 1 bard that is very active and 5-6 semi active monks with 3-4 very active. If numbers remain the same, I would say bard.

Do you hate long posts filled with questions like these that I am asking? If so, do you mind if I ask you another question? HAH, already did~

I get to practice my use of quotes.

[fazin]

ask away all you want to your heart's content

bards are sorely needed and can solo all the way to 70. monks cannot do that effectively (I have a lvl 66 monk)

bards are a good substitute for pulling and a great tagger but they haven't surpassed monk or enchanter but they will do in an instant pinch. (Bards saved invictvs from a wipe when the majority of their enchanters died on mezzable rathe by mezzing them while they rezzed the enc back up. wow eh)

in terms of twinkage yes monk would be cheaper but with fungi/tstaff. you could also contribute a decent amount of good gear on bard with equivalent value. so it wouldn't matter either way. Not to mention there's some crappy (but not for twinks) gear that's rotting away in guildbank that'll soon be sold for guildfund.

But all this speculation is moot because I know your character ain't deleted. Jvarin is still there just waiting to be dust off and tanking along with us. But if you wanna play bard that's $$$ too lol.

[aulinya]

I view a Bard as a "Jill of all Trades". This means our songs and AA skils are similar to but not as powerful to those skills in other classes. I view our class as filling in the skills gaps in groups.

I consider myself a crummy solo player so I like groups.

These are my opinions as life as a bard. I'm sure you'll hear from others and you should.

BTW: Our chatchannel is awesome. We even let Repthor in.

[Ylyrra]

Woowoo!!

I agree that according to our current numbers, bard is more of a needed class. Sooo.. in the event Jvarin has poofed (possible since Sony said they will delete any characters not logged in during the past 6months(?) when the merger occurs) and assuming you are equally interested and will enjoy both classes whichever you choose, I'd go with a bard. Otherwise.. just choose whatever class will make you happy since that is all it really comes down to. In addition, I'd be happy to help you out with buffs, healing, etc as you lvl.

Hope those RL issues work out cause I really look forward to meeting you in game!

/huggles

Yly

[Lorai]

Another thing to keep in mind is, that we DO heal Bards... Unless their surname is Fox that is.

L

[Marmie]

Half Elves can be bards.

[Jvarin]

Half Elves can be bards.

Quoted for its eloquence. This is good stuff, seeing this post is swaying me toward the singin' bard side...

[urzza]

Because of the new baby and having to go afk alot i made a new char just to fool around with till i get this baby thing figured out. It was a bard i made actually. And, as always after spending a bunch of money twinking out this char I got bored after about a day. I dont think ill ever be able to play any class besides a chanter, cause man they are fun. The bard is pretty neat cause you dont have to worry about mana so there isnt much down time. But if your looking for something the guild needs, we dont seem to have any berserkers and we are still pretty low on Sk's.

[Jvarin]

But if your looking for something the guild needs, we dont seem to have any berserkers and we are still pretty low on Sk's.

I have no interest in being just purely a DPS intensive class like a berserker (I assume that's what they are). My only interest with the monk was pulling/solo capability/relative cheap equipment for leveling, with the monkly DPS being secondary.

As for being a SK, I have a personal long story of rivalry with SK's dating back to my days in House Hydra with Noxium. It would be sacrilige to play a SK now (and the class itself closely resembles the paladin I already have(or may have) that it wouldn't be too smart to start over with essentially the same type of character.

Thanks for the info though, posts like this do help me get informed about ES and what is needed/expected nowadays. And I welcome anymore input, this is all good stuff, thanks!

[fazin]

Ylyrra is mostly correct that all characters will be deleted if they have not been logged in over 6 months but that is only for those that is level 10 and under. I'm fairly safe in assuming Jvarin is above that criteria =)

Honestly you should just play what you want, whether it be paladin, bard, or monk.

One fair warning. Bard songs is tweaked like nuts. The mana song actually garner huge amount of aggro which will kill you. So when you start raiding. Fair warning. do not play mana song until a tick before tank has aggro. That way by the time tank is attacking, your songs will start landing asap and should be fairly safe from the insta aggro death. They die even faster then me!

[audreya]

If you cant play Jvarin again i think a bard will be good for you since you are a great player.

Wen you see what thommy can do, you will know Bard>monk.

I will be happy to help you gear up and lvl if you need Jvarin just send me a tell.

[Jvarin]

I looked at some stuff from EQdiva and I've been persuaded that if I do indeed start over, bard will be my class. Part of the reasoning in playing again is to see how EQ ( a game I have loved and hated, hehe) has changed and to experience the areas I first was exposded to way back in 2000. I've always been impressed with how the bard class was made in EQ, and they have always been a class that has varying potential based on the player's knowledge. I'm currently leaning toward playing a new bard to both learn the class, provide a very useful character for raiding in a few months, and to have the flexibility that this class has been envisioned with.

If I do play this summer, it will be a bard. Thanks all for the suggestions and invitations of help, if I do play, I will certainly need some assistance in my endeavours, I hope not too much as to distract from the guild's progression.

[Noircogi]

If you have any desire to play Jv again, you might want to activate for one month and log him in prior to the server merge just in case. They claim to remove dead accounts after three months, but in practice haven't done that. They could decide to when cleaning up for the merge though.

It will be great to see you back on in any case.

[Baccas]

Wen you see what thommy can do, you will know Bard>monk.

hey! Lets not get carried away.

Good Bard = Good monk thanks.