What is a good classo?

[12345]

When most players start looking at Sloth, this is one of the first questions that they ask. Ultimately, its of limited value since Sloth is fairly well balanced and no particular classo is omnipotent. After all, if one was, everyone would be playing it. In the end, a good classo is one that does what you want it to.

Sloth is all about combos. So, when you're considering making a character, its useful to consider how classos might interact with each other. As an example, I'll use thief. Partly because its a very straightforward class, and partly because its one of the more difficult in my opinion.

Assuming that you want to play a thief prime, you've basically made a decision that you like living on the edge of the blade. Typical thief style mobs have two very prominent traits. First, they tend to be have relatively few hit points. Second, if you fail to kill them right away, its very likely that you will die in very short order. These are EASILY the best and hardest hitting mobs in the game. Also, if you try to kill a mob that doesn't fit the typical thief equation, you're going to have to fight that mob for an extended duration... not something a thief excels at.

So, backstab will obviously be a mainstay of your existance. Assuming this is an area you'd like to focus on, lets see how the other classes might help or hinder this.

Th/Wa - This is an old school classo. Among its advantages, the only stat ordering that makes it a comparitively easy matter to roll high strength. This will give you increased hit and damage bonuses, allowing you to stab harder without contributing a lot of equipment to strength. You will also have access to weapons like the gimlet, which are fairly common and do comparitively high damage until you have access to better weaponry. You will also have access to higher armor class equipment, although this will probably be of limited value since the mobs you will be killing will very rarely miss.

Th/Mo - A relatively new combination. Monk allows you to focus, adding a substantial amount of damage to your stabs if you can manage the timing. This also gives access to the presage skill, which can be used to attempt a second (or third, etc) stab on a mob that you failed to hit on your first attempt. Damage reduction may also help absorb the incredible amount of damage that you're likely to incur when you miss a stab, althought this is likely to be of limited value since the mobs you will be killed will hit very very strongly.

Th/Ba - Also a new combination, Bard songs can give you bonuses to stabbing. For instance, the Brothers in Arms song can make your stabs land more frequently and with greater accuracy. Gods of War can significantly increase the damage of your stabs, increasing the possiblity of killing them without enduring combat. Bards also have an affinity to equipment and items that meshes well with the thief skills for taking them.

Th/Cl - Its hard to put a price on self preservation... Cleric spells like sanctuary can significantly reduce the amount of damage you will take if you miss a stab or need to endure some combat. Dark cloak contributes greatly to stealth while maintaining protection. Supplicants like the peri can increase your bonus to hit, and heal you. Eudaemons can heal you considerably more. Not to mention the numerous spells that increase armor class and allow you to heal the damage you WILL take.

Th/Ma - In the area of fast damage, there is nothing faster than a stab followed by powerful blasts. Its not a complicated equation, and I won't try to make it one.

Th/Ne - While undeads will probably not help you in the stabbing department, wraithform can make you very difficult to hit. The effectiveness of this becomes reduced as you gain levels, but if you have to take damage, it always helps if it just doesn't hurt. Also, spectral shields can not only protect you from mobs that might blast back at you, it can refill your mana so you don't spend as much time trying to regen it back.

Th/Dr - Druids offer some interesting alternatives in the problem solving category. For instance, if you miss a stab and die as a result, a sneaky ferret can be just what you need to get your gear back. At higher levels, a hated mob might be impossible for you to sneak up on, but a powerful druid form may be able to easily overpower the mob (even without equipment). This normally isn't a practical alternative for repeated kills in a stab area, but it may work well enough to clear out a key mob and allow you to continue running the area as a thief.

So... those are pretty much the alternatives. At least as I see them in an off the cuff fashion. There may be some key points I missed, obviously.

At this point, pick any three. Preferably ones that seem like they would work well together. The disadvantages? You won't necessarily be able to do the other four. That's just the breaks.

So, if you decide that you want a character that will stab really hard you might choose a thief/warrior/monk/bard. This will give you high strength, focus, and gods of war. As a bonus you even pick up brothers in arms to help you hit and focus to attempt a second stab if you fail. On the downside, you're a one trick pony. If the stab fails to kill the mob, you have no real defense to survive the retributional blows of the mob. If you survive, you can possibly recall, then presage in and try again, but odds are that you will die a lot and there's very little you can do about it.

Good character? Maybe. If you like killing mobs that are worth a lot of xp in a single blow and don't mind leaving a trail of your own corpses intermingled with your enemies, it might be just the character for you. As long as you put some thought behind the character and it behaves like you want it to, then its exactly the right character for you.

Just try to be sure you know how you want to tie things together to get where you want to go. Understanding your character is always the best way to get the most out of it.

[13]

i think ma/mo/cl/wa will be extra fun in the arena

[firebrand]

if you are a new player to sloth and are not sure of what classo to choose, i offer this: make several different chars and classos. we do not limit the number of chars a player can have. play the char for a couple days to get a feel for how it works for you. if you find it difficult or uncomfortable, make another char/classo. yes, listen to the other ideas and suggestions given by other players. they have good reason for telling you what works for them. also, take a look at our eq list ( www.slothmud.org/eqlist ) and our skills/spells/abilities ( http://www.slothmud.org/index.php?name=PagEd&page_id=3 & go to the homepage and click on the classname for more indepth info) lists for the different classes and see what you would like to be able to do with your char to help you decide if you do/n't want that class. imho the best classo is the one that YOU have the most fun with

"shaken, not stirred"--james bond -->any bond movie

[*juggleblood*]

There so many good classo's its almost easier to ask: What is a bad classo?

For example, mo/wa/th/ba is a really horrible classo.

wa/ma/th/cl also is no good, cuz they can't tank....