Post by Deleted on Sept 11, 2013 9:25:09 GMT
Guides seem to be all the rage and all the cool kids are doing them so I decided to do one of my very own on the classes of HG. Inspired by ‘Deadly 60’ which my children like to watch on telly.
It’s a favourite question to be asked by newer players ‘what classes work well on HG ?”. So here is what I think.
These are just my personal opinions, for fun, other opinions are welcome and equally valid and don’t forget HG changes all the time so the Bottom Feeders of today could be the Top 8 of tomorrow (or in 3 days anyway).
THE DEADLY 8
Here are my Top 8 toons to make for HG (pre the new areas coming in) in alphabetical order. I don’t actually play all of these classes myself but if I was starting again I would.
Bard – Much has been done to reduce the server’s dependency on this class but it still retains a plethora of party support abilities that are unmatched by its lesser imitators.
Battle Cleric – I just can’t understand why there are not more of these around. A super effective self buffer with plenty to offer the party. Probably my no 2 tank just behind the hardy Warchanter.
Cleric – No wise party leaves without a cleric and now with Necro focus it has another lethal edge. So many useful spells, buffs and epics it just has to be in my Top 8.
Druid – Not as valuable as they once were but still the best SR droppers on the server. Such a versatile class with an array of buffing and disabling/damage options that are just so useful to any party.
Paladin – HG players love their tanks and this is one of the very best. A great 'resists' tank with high saves added to a useful array of buffs. Good damage output with a 2HW or you can also go sword and board if you are a scaredy cat. Throw into this mass-rez/auto-rez abilities, immunity to disease/fear and this is why it hits my Top 8 list.
Shifter – If I wanted only one toon I would make a shifter, the possibilities are endless. Take Construct Form and you are then free to do as you please, all the other forms have uses but IMHO the pure melee shifters are not worth it and Dragon Form is just too annoyingly big.
Sorcerer – When you absolutely positively have to kill every m@~*&%£r in the room accept no substitute. Sorcerers have it all, great SP, great DC and with careful Spell selection they pwn.
WarChanter – The best defensive tank on the server bar none, self buffing with epics to boot not to mention cursing/singing and some great spells.
MID-TABLE RESPECTABILITY
These are my middle order batters. All these classes have something to offer and played well will contribute splendidly to a well rounded party. IMHO the Top 8 trump these classes but that’s not to say these ones are in any way useless:
Assassin – A good tank and with rogue splash can fulfil that role but not in my Top 8 because anything it can insta kill can be also be wasted by the Top 8 just as easily.
Barbarian – Will be in a lot of folks Top 8 and a great melee damage dealer. It did not make it for me because of the sheer irritation of changing size when you want to swap weapons.
Blackguard – Just edged out by Paladin above due to lack of Fear/Disease immunity but a good solid self buffer that can meat out some hefty damage.
COT – Nearly has it all but was edged out of the Top 8 because of the Paladin’s spell casting abilities.
Herald of Storms – Another useful class when played well. Just tough to manage all those clouds effectively especially for a new player.
Lash of Hatred – Lashes have a great ‘infliction’ ability, if only it was not replicated so exactly by Shifter it would have made my Top 8.
Melee Ranger – Nearly made my Top 8 – great buffs and insta killing power. Only weakness is the need to maximise one main stat (str/dex) leaving it a little vulnerable to checks in the other.
Monk – Great defences and some neat tricks but lacks a little ‘punch’ in the damage department. Staff monk would potentially have made my Top 8 but they lost a lot when staves were no longer ‘large’ weapons.
Pariah – Lost its edge when SP calculation was changed but still a good viable choice.
Staffmaster – Once king of the damage tanks the nerf to staffs have relegated this tank from the Top 8.
Stormlord – The only one of these I saw played did pretty well but it lacked a little damage output. A handy toon to have around with its buffing, epics and SR dropping capabilities.
Theurge – I have a feeling that a well played Theuge could be truly awesome but just so many spells to manage is too much for me and it is certainly not a class for a novice.
Turner Cleric – Turners had their day on HG. Still good on a lot of older runs but their mojo has been much reduced in newer areas. Still powerful when they work.
Wizard – Great spell diversity but a little behind Sorcerer in raw power atm. Things may change though. Naturally a fantastically useful toon to have in any party.
Zen Ranger – Deadliest insta killer of any melee toon. Only not in Top 8 because as an archer it struggles to tank due to stat checks. (paragon levels and +16 items have helped this somewhat). Fantastic fun to play though.
THE BOTTOM FEEDERS
These classes are in my view the most lack-lustre atm. It’s not that they cannot be fun to play but as the server stands presently they just don’t cut it with the others.
Arcane Archers – These should be good and they are not bad in the Abyss. Problem is that as an archer you are not fulfilling any ‘needed’ role. Yes AA does some damage but so can a well made Fighter and at least that can tank bosses.
Bane Knights – Not even really the best at their own special ability.
BFM/DSM – Their special niche is just too specialised for the diverse nature of the server leaving you impotent in too many fights. Sorcerers are just infinitely superior in virtually all aspects. The melee tank versions are a bit better and probably deserves to be in the group above.
Dwarven Defender – Its special abilities are buggy and not that special, it has nothing else meaningful to offer that can’t be done by a Warchanter.
Fighter – A point and click melee toon with nothing out of the ordinary to offer at present.
Gnomish Inventors – Just too many fiddly abilities that lack real power in end game areas. Interesting concept though.
Life Threader – Once the rulers of HG now their ‘threading’ power has been reduced to a sad remnant of what it once was. Has a real uniqueness about it though which once re-balanced could make this class right up there again.
PM – No no you say they pwn Thids – meh make a Sorcerer and you will see why I put them down here.
Red Dragon Disciple – Solid enough and another one that people could argue should be in the group above but really they lack a niche ability to make them stand out.
Rogue – Whilst its possible to make a perfectly viable tank with rogue they lack a killer ability atm and most are only used for looting/searching/opening chests (useful skills in themselves but most tire of this role fast), oh dear what to do with the poor rogue class.
Shadow Dancer – A little better than Fighter but its tricks are of limited use and damage output is poor compared to others. Fun to play though.
Slinger – Tweaked recently but still lacking in anything but entertainment value.
Weapon Master – Yet another point and click melee toon. Some may argue it should be in the group above because of its ability to disarm but I disagree. Yes you can disarm some nasty opponents but it fails so often it just becomes irritating to keep trying.
Kratlin
It’s a favourite question to be asked by newer players ‘what classes work well on HG ?”. So here is what I think.
These are just my personal opinions, for fun, other opinions are welcome and equally valid and don’t forget HG changes all the time so the Bottom Feeders of today could be the Top 8 of tomorrow (or in 3 days anyway).
THE DEADLY 8
Here are my Top 8 toons to make for HG (pre the new areas coming in) in alphabetical order. I don’t actually play all of these classes myself but if I was starting again I would.
Bard – Much has been done to reduce the server’s dependency on this class but it still retains a plethora of party support abilities that are unmatched by its lesser imitators.
Battle Cleric – I just can’t understand why there are not more of these around. A super effective self buffer with plenty to offer the party. Probably my no 2 tank just behind the hardy Warchanter.
Cleric – No wise party leaves without a cleric and now with Necro focus it has another lethal edge. So many useful spells, buffs and epics it just has to be in my Top 8.
Druid – Not as valuable as they once were but still the best SR droppers on the server. Such a versatile class with an array of buffing and disabling/damage options that are just so useful to any party.
Paladin – HG players love their tanks and this is one of the very best. A great 'resists' tank with high saves added to a useful array of buffs. Good damage output with a 2HW or you can also go sword and board if you are a scaredy cat. Throw into this mass-rez/auto-rez abilities, immunity to disease/fear and this is why it hits my Top 8 list.
Shifter – If I wanted only one toon I would make a shifter, the possibilities are endless. Take Construct Form and you are then free to do as you please, all the other forms have uses but IMHO the pure melee shifters are not worth it and Dragon Form is just too annoyingly big.
Sorcerer – When you absolutely positively have to kill every m@~*&%£r in the room accept no substitute. Sorcerers have it all, great SP, great DC and with careful Spell selection they pwn.
WarChanter – The best defensive tank on the server bar none, self buffing with epics to boot not to mention cursing/singing and some great spells.
MID-TABLE RESPECTABILITY
These are my middle order batters. All these classes have something to offer and played well will contribute splendidly to a well rounded party. IMHO the Top 8 trump these classes but that’s not to say these ones are in any way useless:
Assassin – A good tank and with rogue splash can fulfil that role but not in my Top 8 because anything it can insta kill can be also be wasted by the Top 8 just as easily.
Barbarian – Will be in a lot of folks Top 8 and a great melee damage dealer. It did not make it for me because of the sheer irritation of changing size when you want to swap weapons.
Blackguard – Just edged out by Paladin above due to lack of Fear/Disease immunity but a good solid self buffer that can meat out some hefty damage.
COT – Nearly has it all but was edged out of the Top 8 because of the Paladin’s spell casting abilities.
Herald of Storms – Another useful class when played well. Just tough to manage all those clouds effectively especially for a new player.
Lash of Hatred – Lashes have a great ‘infliction’ ability, if only it was not replicated so exactly by Shifter it would have made my Top 8.
Melee Ranger – Nearly made my Top 8 – great buffs and insta killing power. Only weakness is the need to maximise one main stat (str/dex) leaving it a little vulnerable to checks in the other.
Monk – Great defences and some neat tricks but lacks a little ‘punch’ in the damage department. Staff monk would potentially have made my Top 8 but they lost a lot when staves were no longer ‘large’ weapons.
Pariah – Lost its edge when SP calculation was changed but still a good viable choice.
Staffmaster – Once king of the damage tanks the nerf to staffs have relegated this tank from the Top 8.
Stormlord – The only one of these I saw played did pretty well but it lacked a little damage output. A handy toon to have around with its buffing, epics and SR dropping capabilities.
Theurge – I have a feeling that a well played Theuge could be truly awesome but just so many spells to manage is too much for me and it is certainly not a class for a novice.
Turner Cleric – Turners had their day on HG. Still good on a lot of older runs but their mojo has been much reduced in newer areas. Still powerful when they work.
Wizard – Great spell diversity but a little behind Sorcerer in raw power atm. Things may change though. Naturally a fantastically useful toon to have in any party.
Zen Ranger – Deadliest insta killer of any melee toon. Only not in Top 8 because as an archer it struggles to tank due to stat checks. (paragon levels and +16 items have helped this somewhat). Fantastic fun to play though.
THE BOTTOM FEEDERS
These classes are in my view the most lack-lustre atm. It’s not that they cannot be fun to play but as the server stands presently they just don’t cut it with the others.
Arcane Archers – These should be good and they are not bad in the Abyss. Problem is that as an archer you are not fulfilling any ‘needed’ role. Yes AA does some damage but so can a well made Fighter and at least that can tank bosses.
Bane Knights – Not even really the best at their own special ability.
BFM/DSM – Their special niche is just too specialised for the diverse nature of the server leaving you impotent in too many fights. Sorcerers are just infinitely superior in virtually all aspects. The melee tank versions are a bit better and probably deserves to be in the group above.
Dwarven Defender – Its special abilities are buggy and not that special, it has nothing else meaningful to offer that can’t be done by a Warchanter.
Fighter – A point and click melee toon with nothing out of the ordinary to offer at present.
Gnomish Inventors – Just too many fiddly abilities that lack real power in end game areas. Interesting concept though.
Life Threader – Once the rulers of HG now their ‘threading’ power has been reduced to a sad remnant of what it once was. Has a real uniqueness about it though which once re-balanced could make this class right up there again.
PM – No no you say they pwn Thids – meh make a Sorcerer and you will see why I put them down here.
Red Dragon Disciple – Solid enough and another one that people could argue should be in the group above but really they lack a niche ability to make them stand out.
Rogue – Whilst its possible to make a perfectly viable tank with rogue they lack a killer ability atm and most are only used for looting/searching/opening chests (useful skills in themselves but most tire of this role fast), oh dear what to do with the poor rogue class.
Shadow Dancer – A little better than Fighter but its tricks are of limited use and damage output is poor compared to others. Fun to play though.
Slinger – Tweaked recently but still lacking in anything but entertainment value.
Weapon Master – Yet another point and click melee toon. Some may argue it should be in the group above because of its ability to disarm but I disagree. Yes you can disarm some nasty opponents but it fails so often it just becomes irritating to keep trying.
Kratlin
