I've played all of the classes and my summation on soloing is pretty simple, it's been the worst on Cleric and Enchanter, but they are two of the most irreplaceable classes in groups and thus group pretty easily so it's not an issue, also, this isn't really a solo focused game.
I did not find soloing to be "Horrible" on either the Cleric or Enchanter though, but slow, as intended, and as it should be.
A friend of mine is playing a ranger (up to level 6 only) and he tells me DPS is outstanding, and a very capable soloer.
Level 6? Wait a few levels. I'm 11 and some even con or blue con mobs are really tough for me. Your ability to leap in and out of combat are completely useless while soloing because it's not far enough to allow another instand ability to be used before they catch up. Like there is a use delay built into the leap. This is how we get our DPS. Ranger needs tose crits for the bulk of their dps. Otherwise they hit like a wet noodle. The least they could do is give us a pet like in every other game with a ranger. Wouldn't even be hard. DPS pet or Tank pet. wolf/Bear. Instead, they give temporary pets as dots. These are not pets. They are dots with different graphics. At that same level it takes my ranger 30-60 seconds to kill a blue mob with half or more of my HP gone and mana empty while my wizard has killed the same mob in 2 spells with almost no damage taken and mana near full. I've done over 300 damage in 2 spells. So, it would be different if the ranger had other tricks, like in EQ, where he could stealth, have a pet, roots, snares, and could take decent damage. Not to mention the summoner which is ridiculously easy to solo with. Send pet in, let him get aggro and nuke it down. No damage taken. Pet heals itself almost instantly after combat. My mana near full.
I've solo'd with my 13 cleric. It's pretty easy. It takes a long time, but almost no risk.
I understand there is supposed to be a group focused in this game, but there WILL be times when you can't get in a group. Like if I'm playing off peak hours and no one is grouping. If I am playing a class that can't solo, I might as well log, because the crafting so far has shown to not really be worth much, like in most other mmo's. I had hopes that they would have learned from most other mmo's mistakes. The upcoming game(if it ever releases) Camelot Unchained has said there will be ONLY crafted gear. Everything except starting gear is crafted. So you know crafting is worth it. But they are also going to have crafting classes. Not just crafting skills. All classes can craft, but are limited. Crafting classes have the limits removed. Will it happen? IDK. But just what they are saying sounds good. I was hoping these guys would do something similar. It's not bad having dropped gear. But those should be harder to get and only in groups. Otherwise crafted gear will be better.
IDK. I will wait and hope they do a lot more tweaking, but it seems like they are putting this game out when it's not even half finished. Hell, there are 2 classes that still aren't even in the game yet. Both of which I wanted to play. Druid and bard. Can't remember what game, but I played a bard that was a support class. Lots of buffs and temporary combat buffs and heal boosters. Just made everybody better, actively instead of just static buffs.
Then the druid, which i'm guessing since the ranger does't get pets, that neither will the druid. Seems backwards, that the 2 nature based characters don't get a pet while the shaman does. I hope this changes. We'll see. As long as they fix the black sscreen bug so I can play without being handicapped.
Yes my ranger up to about 7 or 8 was very capable solo'er, but after that it became much more difficult to even take down a dark blue mob.
Better weapons and gear would definitely help, but those are hard to get solo since the better stuff is currently on group mobs/encounters. One could spend time working on crafting to create their own better gear, but even that seems to hit a wall when better resources become group area items. Add in the skill cap tied to level currently and that negates a lot of the tradeskill solution.
My Paladin, only lvl 7, was/is very capable solo'er still, but also benefits from some gifted gear.
PS: I am not complaining, as I expect to group, just including my experience so far, as I was curious how far I could solo before it became nearly undoable.
Warning: Spoilers.
I have been playing steadily through all the wipes for the last 2 years, and my experience - and therefore opinions - are certainly modified by this. I acknowledge that true beginners who are still learning the world, and the range of difficulty spanned by white-to-blue mobs, will have a different experience if they don't get some advice & tips from more experienced players.
As was pointed out above, gear is extremely important in Panth. For DPS, that relates both to armor and weapons.
I've soloed a Ranger most of the way to lvl 10 more than once, and he does very well soloing IF you accept that the first order of business after you create one is to focus on upgrading his gear. I used to do it by focusing on crafting leather armor, but I've since found that it is faster for me to focus on making money and then just buying the armor. The armor that the Huntress sells is not quite as good as T1 leather armor, but it's close enough and convenient to be able to buy each piece as I get just enough money to do so. If I was more patient and saved the cash until I could buy a full set from a Crafter, it would be a superior solution.
I haven't explored the changes from the very last patch, but historically T1 weapons have always been a step up from starter gear so I always try early on to make upgrades for my starter melee weapons. For a Ranger specifically, it's not very expensive to upgrade your arrows and your bow to the the lowest level ones sold by the armor vendors in Availia. Cheap enough to be worth doing even before you start buying armor.
While I haven't played nearly every class, my guess is that many other classes who struggle to solo at the start would benefit from a similar approach. Besides Ranger, it has worked for me on Wizard, DL and Shaman (tho Shaman doesn't need much help LoL).