Are any of your characters special to you and if so, what makes them special? Have you got any big plans for your Pantheon character(s)?
Well ever sense Everquest I have played as Nata Swiftfoot and half elf bard whenever possible, though I did play as a dark elf bard in Vanguard but with Pantheon not having a release class of a bard and whenever they get to expansions that include a bard Nata as a unique string will be gone I think I will probably starting fresh with Pantheon. So new opportunities to craft an identity!
Kilsin said:
Are any of your characters special to you and if so, what makes them special? Have you got any big plans for your Pantheon character(s)?
Medawky the Ogre Beastlord and Medakwy the Orc Shaman are probably the two characters I have the most affection for as I played them each for the better part of a decade. From low level questing to bleeding edge, end-game raiding, they saw it all (server first and perhaps world first OMM kill and a top 100 US Heroic LK kill respectively - along with loads of other fun stuff in between).
I think my fondest memories though are of helping other players and I look forward to being able to do that in a meaningful way in Pantheon. Group focused gaming presents you with so many opportunities to form great friendships.
There will be a Medawky in Pantheon, most likely a shaman, but the future is unwritten!
A magician was the first character I created in EQ, and a magician (not that first one though) became my main eventually. I just loved those elemental blobs, watching them grow from tiny elementalings into huge elementals as I leveled up, gaining new skills (first single attacks, then dual wield and finally double attack). It really made me proud seeing my little pets become bigger and stronger. As a damage caster the mage had less options than a wizard, but still very nice spells (particularly loved the fireball before its graphics were nerfed into ugliness). I always felt the mage had a very well balanced spell set (pets, damage spells, damage shields, utility summons).
One thing I particularly liked about the mage pets (but only later realized) was that they weren't so detailed. In the beginning, all pets had a very similar form: Blobs with arms :) Later game updates gave the pets other forms, but I didn't really like those. IMO elementals should always have abstract forms, never anything concrete (like the later earth pet with legs and arms and a clearly formed head). So you can use your imagination to make them "real". (As an aside, this is something I hope Pantheon will be very careful with: Not to make things TOO real, TOO perfect. I know a big part of the game is about awe-inspiring graphics, but I hope that they will leave enough room for your imagination to run wild).
Other things I loved about the mage was its nice selection of utility: Water breathing stones, levitation rings, summoned food/drink, arrows, bandages (ok those were much less useful later on), pet items... However I think later expansions went a bit overboard with summoned stuff, things like focus items and such shouldn't really have been part of the mage spell selection.
jimm0thy said:
I made plenty of characters in EQ before settling on my ranger , had a blast playing him but in subsequent games I've been playing healers so may still go that route with Pantheon
This kind of describes me. I played a wizard and a monk in EQ, but in a lot of games I've tried over the years since EQ, I've gravitated towards healers. I think that is because they are a great character for groups, but most games aren't group focused. Playing a healer today offers a more reliable multiplayer experience. More groups, more interaction, and more usefulness to others in general. Its a sorry excuse for a massively multiplayer experience, but its the best I can do.
There's really no telling what I'll play in Pantheon. If the game launches with only 1 pure healer class, there will probably be a huge demand for healers as there was in EQ. That may end up leading me to play a healer once again. I like being the go-to guy.
Zlambit said:
for some reason i love the idea of a sword and weapon class, but i rarely end up playing them.
as for being special, i love all my toons, which reminds me, im late for alts anonymous again
Haha I will see you there Zlambit! :)
The experiences I have on a character are probably what make it most special. Even if a character is retired and rarely played anymore, I can't bring myself to delete it. There are too many memories wrapped up in that character. It would be like trying to delete the memories.
Ultimately it's the people you play with that make a game fun. When I reminisce about a game I'm not thinking about the bosses or the mechanics or even about the stupid things I did. I'm thinking about the fun I had experiencing those things with my friends. The funny thing your friend says when you accidentally pull the entire dungeon and get everyone killed stands out more in your mind than getting hit by a tidal wave of angry mods. It's the punchline to the story, the reason it's worth remembering.
I think what makes a character special while you're playing it is how much of that character's journey, choices, experiences, etc are spontaneous or done for the fun of it, as opposed to following the yellow brick road laid out before you by the quest chain. I played WoW for a while and I don't have any real memories of quest grinding. All my memories are of either playing with friends or being in a good group. I played EQ before WoW even existed and yet I remember so much of my time in Norrath! In EQ, grinding was fun because it was more a social experience than a gameplay experience. I think that's what makes a character special -- the fun times you've had playing that character. The memorable times.
As for Pantheon, I intend to pick a class that offers a lot to a group. I play a healer in most games, but if I'm not feeling the healing mechanics I usually end up playing a rogue or mage type. If Pantheon brings CC back into the Trinity (Quadrinity?) I might try a support/CC class. I like the idea of delegating CC to a role of its own, especially in a world dangerous enough for it to be necessary. Knowing me I'll probably end up playing another healer though. I like healing. :)
Some part of me will always have aspects of my original EverQuest characters. Aleonia the battle cleric that could pull in SolB and heal at the same time; and Anaksuun my shadow knight that lived for Fear-kiting, and dungeon pulling. I hope to goodness you guys have a race similar to Dark Elves...I miss playing them...the Dunmer in ESO just aren't the same!
If there are evil elves, there will be a female caster of the most evil sort and her name will be Venjenz. Been that way since the original Venjenz first necro'd in Norrath in 2000. In every game I play, it's a female named Venjenz, and preferably evil if good/bad exist. In some games, you have to be good and noble no matter what, so those games, like Diablo 3 or whatever, it's typically Venj, since the full name is reserved for evil.
Hopefully there are necromancers, dark summoners/conjurers, blood mages or something like that. If so, I will be one, and I will have both a tank and healer/support alt. I have been going more towards Venjenz the main tank lately, and Venj is the alt death caster. MMOs seem to be lacking tanks and players willing to put up with groups blaming them for everything, so I have been doing tanks last few years just because the game doesn't go far without them.
But somewhere in the stable, the most evil caster I am allowed to make will exist. That's just how it has to be.
My EQ1 necromancer was, is and might always be my favorite character in any game ever. I really liked the blood elf DK incarantion in WoW, and am currently liking the warrior/Black mage version in FF XIV, but they are pale reflections because WoW and FF XIV don't have good lore for evil classes/religions/etc, not like EQ1 has.
Lot of fun individual RP went into my necro, like maybe half her levels to 60 being solely from the corpses of wood elves and halflings (which I referred to by any number of horrible pejoratives any time I was chatting). I loved killing in cities as well. Freeport guards, Qeynos guards, Felwithe (dropping high ticket 2H swords everytime, tyvm) guards, and of course, ugly foreigners in Neriak's Foreign Quarter, which made me KOS in 2/3 of my own home town. Ah....those were glorious times.... You just know you're straight horrible when the guards outside your own city attack you on sight. Shame EQ1 made so many neutral zones where I was tolerated....it took all the fun out of being Venjenz. Oh well...
I usually have 1 or 2 of the following characters in most games. That being said Im not a huge fan of alts thanks to being influenced by FFXI.
Greedalox: If a good race, then a character that was adopted and raised by a tribe of good Goblins or Orcs or such. If a evil race, then it becomes what I call the "Drizzt effect". My char comes from an evil race yet has the personality and moral compass of a good race. Basically Greedalox despite her problems, is good natured-fun loving-throw caution to the wind sort. And always up for any adventure ending in shinies.
Setta Sayyadu: Can be any good race, but is always a female. Not usually a Paladin due to their methods. She hails from a sect of female only warrior-priests whose sole objective is justice at any cost. Of course this often ends up being vigilante justice. There basic attitude is destroy evil first and ask questions later. Her sect is dedicated from very young to be ruthless seekers of justice. They are always deadly serious, and never have much sense of humor. Her sect goes by many names whispered among the criminal world, the most popular being Sin Hunters. Though most just call them Zealots.
Amsai M. Sutavarg: Any race, any class, almost always Male. This individual is interested in 2 things. Power and Glory! Purposely seeking out the most reckless and fool-hardy adventures and jobs. The man is relentless in his quest, and comes off a bit like an asshole with his biting sarcasm and gruff manor. That being said people usually let it slide because he gets results. Just don't get him drunk, or he will come up with an adventure that usually involves multiple delevels or corpse runs.
Before EQ beta, I choose an Enchanter, probably because of the innate desire to do something different. In retrospect I can't believe I made such a great choice. I did well solo because they could do DOT and direct damage, I could interrupt casters with stuns and mez. I could crowd control adds so I could handle situations with multiple mobs. Enchanters were always in demand in groups, if only for Clarity. And, I really enjoyed the pet, it was fun and quirky having a pet that you couldn't command. You got to play with aggro between you and your pet. With all the spells you got you could sling them together into very creative combinations. There was this necromancer in upper guk that I soloed for a couple levels. It was a blast going in and charming the necro's pet to kill the necro then just interrupt all of it's casting with stuns or mezes. At level 49 I soloed a Seafury Cyclops in OOT by continuously casting rune on my pet until it wore the cyclops down. I did a fair bit of underwater fighting because I had a spell to breath underwater. I've played a lot of other games, and the EQ Enchanter is still my favorite class of all time.
To echo Kayd, when I wasn't thoroughly enjoying Venjenz being the scourge of Norrath, I was enjoying the hell out of my enchanter, who still exists and is actually my highest level EQ1 toon, at a comfy level 100 and I think like 9k AA. Enchanters are still awesome in that game, and reverse charming might be the most exciting thing ever from a soloing perspective. Necro aggro kiting has its fun, but reverse charm soloing is just so edge of the seat fun the first couple hours you do it and any time you try new camps.
I will probably have 2 characters in this game. If the classes flush out like I hope they will it will be a monk and an enchanter. While I didnt play an enchanter in EQ1 I was always in awe of my friends who played them masterfully. I did play a psionicist in Vanguard heavily in beta and it was quite fun interacting with the devs about the class. It wasnt quite the EQ enchanter but it was fun. The only reason I switched to a tank in live after my psion was max level was our guild needed a tank and being the leader you do what you have to :P
I started on p99 not too long ago, and not having as much time as I'd like - potentially having to leave abruptly also - I made a mage. I love micromanaging my fire pet, level 18 now and still fire only, tanked more than a few times with groups, I'd offtank even more but most don't have the confidence in a pet offtank and steal his aggro =/
That being said, I still find myself lvl 1 nuking to pull whenever able, or if the zones overcamped and I get full mana, I am peeking around corners in unrest to see if I can snag a pull :D
Assuming something can be done to make pulling into an art like it was in EQ, and just as importantly a necessity, I will be a monk first. And if I have the time to play (and rarely have to leave due to RL interuptions) then I will be making an alt... which class will depend on the how the community looks.
Mostly competent players and I will lean towards a CC or tank to fill that demanding role which can be very fulfilling to play well.
If the frequency of reliable tank/healer players is low, then I will be looking more towards a pet caster for more survivablity for those times you end up in a bad pickup group.