Out of the 58 people currently on at the moment that I can see, I would guess that at least 50% of them are warriors. In fact, I see one Invoker, one AP, one Druid, and a random assortment of other classes. The second most played classes that are visible are thieves and assassins.

In addition, checking the PBF, most people kill and are killed by warriors, indicating an above average preference for this class. Why is this? Is this because that warriors are self sufficient at lower ranks? They are in high demand for tanking? As a lowbie caster, I am somewhat frustrated by the lack of solo options available to me because I don't always want to group with another. Sometimes I want to be able to log on, play for 30-45 minutes, then log off without grouping with someone and wasting their time trying to find a third then having to leave before we even begin.

It would be nice to have customizable lowbie mobs that hit hard in relation to how many defensive combat skills you have (or are using at the time). This would make soloing a bit easier with a less combat oriented class, at least until we can determine if we like this class in the first place.

I don't play mages anymore. Why?

I had trouble getting ranking groups 7 years ago when the playerbase was significantly bigger.

the last few mages I've played have spent 30+ hours pre 25 just trying to get a group to rank.

compare with any class that can tank or deal lots of damage AND tank, and there is just no comparison.

When you only have 5-6 people to choose from to rank for tens of hours, you want to be a class that offers something to the group. most often what is needed is taking the hits. Add in align restrictions, cabal restrictions, and playing a mage (for me at least) is just asking for 50 hours of masochism before I get past lvl 30.

there are other classes that can tank. at the early levels at least. shaman to some extent. paladins. druids. aps. rangers. thieves. assassins.

Thieves and assassins you might not be seeing because they are hidden. same with rangers. Shaman/pally/druid all need empowerment. Druids are very limited in role/align/cabal choices. People know ap's need a/b/s knowledge to build a weapon later on.

So the default is often warrior. Grab a few half decent weapons. a set of easy to get +dam gear. bash/trip or spec skills and you are a killing machine. Every other class has alot more work involved in getting to the "I can at least partially compete" stage.

aps/mages have to have a/b/s. assassins need to work kicks (plus the number of duergar out there is humerous, whenever I check). Thieves need to understand the secret thief point system and many need to know prep locations almost as much as mages. Holy classes need empowerment...often 3/4 times in their life. rangers can't fight or explore out of wilderness, and most of the good stuff happens out of wilderness.

sure, none of this extra work is insurmountable. I've done it with just about every class. But especially with an aging playerbase that just has a few hours here and there to play, classes that just require more time to be "fun" aren't really that much of an option.

so roll up warcry;flurry;bash giant war #875920582176.

warriors is to cf like hunters are to wow. Heh.

>Out of the 58 people currently on at the moment that I can
>see, I would guess that at least 50% of them are warriors. In
>fact, I see one Invoker, one AP, one Druid, and a random
>assortment of other classes. The second most played classes
>that are visible are thieves and assassins.

Emphasis is mine; this is part of your answer.

As for the rest, warriors are most likely the most customizable class in the game by a wide margin. An axe/mace fire giant warrior is going to play very differently from a sword/hand fire giant warrior, an elven sword/hand warrior will play very differently from that, and so on.

And we haven't even started talking about legacies or edges or cabals yet.

Once upon a time there was a 'mage' class on CF; over time that got broken down into various classes (invoker, transmuter, conjurer, necromancer, shapeshifter). Cleric, same kind of thing. In the case of warrior, just with the way the class evolved and the way things made sense to us, it made more sense to keep it as one very varied class rather than many derivative classes.

>It would be nice to have customizable lowbie mobs that hit
>hard in relation to how many defensive combat skills you have
>(or are using at the time). This would make soloing a bit
>easier with a less combat oriented class, at least until we
>can determine if we like this class in the first place.

Soloing (to gain XP, anyway) isn't really a viable long-term strategy with any class.

"Soloing (to gain XP, anyway) isn't really a viable long-term strategy with any class."

It happens!

Remembering that Seb did it with an f'ing thief is what kept me going when the exp holes left me cold and naked at night.

It happens, but I think we can agree that it's more something that players who have heroed a dozen characters the normal way do to themselves as a challenge, vs. a real way you'd try to play the game as a new player.

For most people, the question is "Can I really put up with the boredom of it?"

Because group mob grinding is *so* exciting.

It's what you make of it, depending on your group. If it's boring, at least 1/3 of the problem is you. :)

I would have said it's more along the lines of, will I notice the group of three coming to level in this area or kill people levelling in this area before they kill me? :)

took me a few years, but the "where" and "who pk" commands are so ingrained in me that I find myself putting it into my letters at work. As well as having to try to explain to my non-cf'ing friends what "who pk" means when I talk to them on aim or in email. I don't think anyone who has played a while has a problem with people coming up on them like that. not groups of three anyway. Unless they are three rangers or three thieves/assassins and you can't detect them.

One person jumping you while you lvl is always more deadly, because there is MUCH more chance that they can sneak up on you.

with most of my characters i almost always solo rank. Part of the reason is that I like to get my skills up and another part is that I rarely have time for long ranking sessions and have to drop link/quit out unexpectedly. Ive ranked up to 45 or so solo. The down side is that it takes a while and you may have to eat a few mob deaths in the process if you dont know what you are doing.

Especially for newbies, solo ranking will teach you what skills do, how they work, lag, damage, etc. A lot of this stuff you do not have time or the opportunity to observe them in combat very much.

Ive ranked up to 45 or so solo. The down side is that it takes a while and you may have to eat a few mob deaths in the process if you dont know what you are doing.


If you're a sufficiently newer player, this rate of death will eclipse the progress you're making. Plus, not having more experienced groupmates around, no one is giving pointers or pointing out what your mistakes were.

Solo-ranking past the first few ranks is terrible advice for a new player. I think it's worth doing things like the Academy by yourself, since the point of the Academy is to teach you how to play, and it's generally very safe. After that, you're going to run into unneeded frustration if you insist on working solo and ignoring the ability to learn from other players. Even grouping with other inexperienced players is better than going it alone.

valguarnera@carrionfields.com

Personally, I prefer having a newb or two in tow over ranking solo. I feel that a massive solo ranking trend overall is detrimental to the game.

But, IMO, people solo rank because they think that's the best way to maximize skill gains. The only way I see to move past that is crank up the skill improvement rates in groups until the trend reverses than slowly back the changes out.


And that of course assumes solo ranking as seen as a problem that needs addressing.