I've had a few people recomend EQ2 and have been thinking of giving it a try. I wanted to fire off a few questions for the regulars.

First, the classes that most interest me are the Shamans and Druids. I've read that all classes can solo to one degree or another, and I've heard the druids are really good at soloing (important for me because I sometimes play wierd hours). How are the shaman classes at it? Are these classes desired in groups or do they play second fidle to the cleric classes? More specifically on the fury, do you need to sacrifice healing ability to be able to nuke stuff, or can you just switch jobs on the fly?

Second, what is pvp like in this game? If I pick a normal server, is it just limited to dueling and such? Are there any rewards to pvp besides satiating bloodlust? Also, is there a way of sneaking into rival cities or disguising yourself?

Third, and kind of a wierd question, I hear there is an appearance tab that lets you wear one thing but look like you're wearing another (I like this idea alot). Does it only work on clothing, or does it work with weapons? Could I say, appear to be using a two-handed sword when I'm actually using a sword and shield?

I appreciate any input, I know I ask some bizarre questions sometimes :P

I would skip this game, it has really went down hill after kunark. If you want to go through the same couple instances over and over then this is for you. Eq1 is loads of fun and they just came out with a new server where you start out at 50,So plenty of people to group up with.

In eq2 low levels no one groups anymore, its a wasteland and you have to quest to get your aa's you can't do any of the dungeons or you might miss out on your AA's.

Shamans are one of the slowest classes to solo with.  Defilers moreso than Mystics.  But don't let that fool you because Shamans are the most powerful healers in the game.  Even better than Clerics.  Due to the way wards work, Shamans will always be the primary healers in groups.  However, the slow casting time of most Shaman spells means you have to be more deliberate in choosing what spells to cast.  If you are going to go with a Shaman I suggest rolling a Mystic and getting your melee DPS spec through AA choices as you level.

Furies are probably the most popular healer class to solo with because they can keep themselives alive and still do respectable damage.  I have never played a Fury so I can't tell you much about the AA choices they get, but there are healing lines and DPS lines to choose from.  They are a hybrid class so they have priest and mage elements.  You won't be out-healing an equally skilled Shaman or out-damaging an equally skilled Sorcerer though.  As for being able to switch roles on the fly... yeah you could probably do that.  But like any other class the Fury will have more healing potential or more dps potential depending on what you put your AA points into.

PVP on normal servers consists of duels and Arena matches.  I haven't played much on PVP servers so I cannot answer a lot of questions about that.  But I'm pretty sure you can sneak into rival cities with stealth or invis if you avoid some of the guards.  I don't think you can disguise yourself though.  In my opinion, EQ2 is not a great PVP game.

The appearance slots work with clothing/armor as well as with weapons.  If you have a two-hand weapon, then you can only choose another two-hand weapon for appearance.  The same goes with sword and shield.

So, are Mystics/Defilers and Wardens/Furies just offensive and defensive mirrors of each other?

Originally posted by Sawtooth

So, are Mystics/Defilers and Wardens/Furies just offensive and defensive mirrors of each other?

I'm not quite sure what you mean.  Each class is unique.

Shamans (Mystics/Defilers) primarily use wards to heal.  Incoming damage has to get through wards first, before any actual damage is inflicted on the player which is warded.  So, shaman wards are always the first line of defense.  This makes them extremely powerful healers.  The direct heals shamans have are also some of the largest of all healers.  On top of this, shamans have great defensive debuffs and group buffs.

As for DPS, Mystics are more melee oriented and have the ability to turn all of their attack spells into combat arts.  In good hands a Mystic can put up very respectable numbers.  Defilers can't DPS quite as well as Mystics usually.  As pure spell casters there aren't very many damage spells and none of them do high damage.  There are important debuffs attached to Shaman attacks though.

Druids (Wardens/Furies) use heal-over-time spells.  They are fast-casting but don't actually heal anything unless someone is under 100% health.  They are great heals to have in a group unless you are taking a lot of big spike damage.  Because shaman wards and cleric reactives trigger first, druids are usually seen as secondary healers.  But a good druid can still solo heal a group through most, if not all, dungeons and instances.  Buff-wise, Warden buffs are for melee classes and Fury buffs are for casters.

Like Mystics, Wardens are melee oriented.  They can do more DPS than either shaman class but not as much as Furies.  Furies are like hybrid priest/mages.  They have some great nukes that make them the highest DPSing healers, all things being equal.

I hope that answered your question.

Thanks wnnw98, I think I get it now.

I'd like to fire off a quick racial question, if you don't mind. If I play I'd like to roll either a barbarian or a human. Humans have a racial ability that gives a +7 to a bunch of skill. I was wondering, at top level, exactly how big a deal is that? How does it stack against the +2% critcal heal and +5 ministration that a barbarian gets?
 

None of the racial traits are game-breaking.  Some races are meant to specialize in certain roles and their traits reflect that.  By the time you hit lvl 80, you will have all your racial traits selected, except the tradeskilling ones which I think most people don't choose.  So, when you're level capped, +7 to all skills as a Human isn't important.  The +2 heal crit Barbs get is much more desirable to have, but again, it isn't game-breaking.