Best class to level up solo?

highjusticar

I have pretty much one of each class in the low teens to mid twenties. I like things about each of them and dislike certain things about the, at least at the levels I have them at. However, I wish to level one up to 60 and do all the content. I will pretty much only group when needed for dungeons and skirmishes.

I have read a bunch of the guides for each class and though most of them are out-dated, they do give me an idea or two. However, most are written for people who are 60 and have access to purples, artifacts, boons, purple companions, and q HAMSTER ton of of astral diamonds. I don't have that kind of stuff. I am slowly working on my crafting skills to get them up to useful levels, but that will be a long time and I may level faster than they will thus they may never be useful.

So I ask, what classes can do everything I want to do the easiest with gear I get leveling up and as drops?

Thanks.

valwryn

In the old days, I would say anything but cleric. The lack of offense made leveling take forever. Now they're on top of the food chain. The funnest class for me is the wizard. All others are good depending on your style.

Flip an eight sided coin if ya can't decide.

setimoselo

Don't choose GF if you want to enjoy your game...

Unknown

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darkstarcrash

I found SW very easy to level: life steal is kind of built in from early days. Constitution gives you hitpoints and damage, so pretty much any starting roll will make you much sturdier than the average caster, and another main stat (Intellect) gives you armor penetration, so you hit harder than a DC or CW would given the same tooltip damage.

Once you get the hang of Dreadtheft, SWs are fast and fun to level.

setimoselo

magenubbie;GF isn't that bad. If anything GFs improved greatly since the rework. It just has to suit your playstyle.

To clarify Guardian Fighters have the lowest DPS, slowest movement speed and the least effective AoE skills in the game. Dailies last forever with this class compared to the other classes. You can make it better by raising your power but that will bite you in the behind in groups because you will need more defense/deflect to more effectively do your job as a tank. As a Guardian Fighter, the game is slow and unrewarding, theres better classes out there if you have no preference.

In my opinion the CW is the best class to solo level up with because CW has the most AoE skills, DC's are up there too now.

ghoulz66

CW and GWF are slow and horrendous leveling up.

mystagogue

You can level all classes to 60 pretty easily.

jorifice1

If you are only planning on Solo Play, then a pure DPS GF can actually be quite fun (if the slow pace suits you). This is a love it or hate it option and it doesn't really start to shine until you hit your 50's. I loved mine, even in PvP. He was my main for quite some time and I still break him out every so often. If you plan on doing End Game, bleeding edge PvP or intend to make him one of the most powerful toons in the Game, you will want to reconsider, as this is a VERY difficult path. Doable, mind you, but difficult. Trying to Solo with a defensive build is a recipe for terminal frustration unless you are just crazy in love with your Toon.

Great Weapons Fighters are a nice middle of the road choice. You get Offence and Defence but are not the best at either (at the Bleeding Edge, things are different, but then again, they always are). Unstoppable is a terrific Tab Skill and you can actually run faster than a T3 Mount for a brief time with Shift skill.

Control Wizards are probably your best bet. The Devs. seem to just LOVE them. They have crushing AoE's, monster Control Powers, and a surprisingly good selection of Defensive abilities. Not to mention that a significant portion of the best Artifacts give large Bonuses to their already powerful Control Abilities.

Clerics are another Love It Or Hate It Class. Just play it and see if you like it. That's the only advice anyone can really give to a new Cleric player.

Trickster Rogues are fast and fun. They have the best Melee Offence in the Game (with the exception of the very best Hunter Rangers, but again, you don't sound like you are interested in the Best Of The Best here, so ignore that for the time being). They have great Stealth and a whole slew of nice abilities built around Defect. With the latest changes they can be surprisingly durable.

Hunter Rangers are a Ranged/Melee Combo Class. In general they, like the GWF, are a Jack Of All Trades and a Master Of None. With great skill, ability, and experience (not to mention Gear) a HR can be perhaps the strongest Character in the Game. If you fall in love with the Class and want to take the time, effort, and AD necessary, this is a good choice. Otherwise, they fall into the "pretty good, all around, but really fun and effective if you like them" category.

Scourge Warlocks are interesting. They have perhaps the most variety built into them. You can tailor them to your own specifications more than any other class, even within your chosen Paragon Paths. I find them to be just CRAZY fun compared to anything else, heck I've even had some success PvP'ing with mine. Side note: you probably want to avoid post-60 PvP with a SW for the time being. Because reasons.

So, over all, my BEST recommendation for a Solo, first 60?
Melee:
Great Weapons Fighter.
The simplicity of this Toon makes it the best for an inexperienced player. It is just really, really hard to screw up and can function very well indeed with just the regular gear drops so you won't have to spend any AD on it if you don't want to.
Ranged:
Control Wizard.
They are the Most Favored Class by the Dev. Team. There is really nothing they cannot do. They are a bit more complicated than a GWF ( I would recommend heading to the Class Forums and looking up a decent Guide) but not by that much, again, unless you are looking to compete at the Bleeding Edge.
Wild Card:
Devoted Cleric.
Powerful RIGHT NOW, but that could change.

aulduron

Which one is funner to play?

I too have one of each, though my SW and GF are only in their 20s. My HR was quick to level, but I don't like playing the endgame. So goes for the TR. My GWF was very easy to level and I loved the endgame, until recently. My CW was my first toon, so he was hard to level, but I'm sure it would be one of the best levellers if he had been my last. He is the most fun for me to play post 60. My first DC was hard to level, but the second was mostly done after the latest buffs. He levelled quickly.

Post 60, I like the CW most and DC second.

alkemist80

I've played every class besides GF and I leveled my DC prior to Mod 4/5 (mod 2 to be exact).

Nothing really struggled besides the old DC. My new DC had it very easy being righteous (DPS tree) but I also had access to dragon bone MH/OH and trinket and ring from the dragonborn pack.

CW can be a little slow prior to level 30 until you start to gain better spells and skills. At level 60, they completely tear things apart and great for solo and group play.

HR is a more advanced class IMO with their stance changing mechanic, so until you know the mechanics of the game, it's not as newbie friendly. They don't seem to gain power until level 50 so you just have to grin and bear it. HR is my main and I enjoy it a lot. They are one of the classes that actually has a difference in playstyle between the three feat trees.

TR, leveled one during mod 2 and my first toon. They are much better now and can dish out a lot of damage and go in and out of stealth which is beneficial, especially if you want to get some where fast and have to pass a lot of mobs. With their new rework, I am having a blast again with them.

SW was easy, they can destroy things real fast. I leveled and play as temptation. It did get a little hairy around the 40's to 50 until I got my temptation capstone (used a tanking companion). I didn't use any dragon bone weapons since it had just released when I leveled my SW. They tear everything a new one at level 60.

GWF was really blah. Hulk smash mentality when leveling. I did it during double XP and it still wouldn't go fast enough. Couldn't stand it at all.

Kind of just boils down to what you want to play and your play style. Leveling in this game is relatively easy, even without special gear. You can get a free companion and they can help, especially if you get the cleric (healer) companion.

zebular

My favorite classes to level up, which I have the most fun playing, have always been and still are the CW (Spellstorm) and DC (Divine Oracle). I have 5 mages (4 at 60) and 4 Clerics (3 at 60), out of 28 total characters.

highjusticar

Well I guess I can tell you what I have so far.
36 Halfling TR. Very first character from game going live. Needs to have respec finished.
26 Sun ELf DC Not sure if going Righteous or Faithful. Love the Electric Slide
20 Half Elf SW Looking at either healer or perm pet. Love the Ghost Run.
18 Human GF I just wanted to hit someone in the face with a shield. No idea where I am going with it.
10 Tielfling CW No idea where I am going
10 Halfling GWF for the lulz. Would try to make it viable. Second best movement behind the SW
10 Wood Elf HR Not too sure about melee yet. Right now I take a lot of damage. I do have the blue dog pet I can use.

Thats is for now.
Thanks for the suggestions so far.

phogdog

I thought I was the only one who did that. I've only just begun this game and have one of each class just to try them out. TR and DC at 30, CW at 25, SW at 20 and the remainder in their mid-teens. There are things I like and dislike about each of them but, so far, the CW and DC have been spectacular fun. I mean, c'mon, you pick up a mob by the neck, smack him with a huge shard of ice that also blows up his minions, then slap him silly until he dies. What's not to like about that?

DC seems to have crazy AOE. TR is okay, but I really can't get behind the GF and GWF so far. They seem kind of meh and I've semi-retired both of them. I just started my SW this morning and got her to 20. She's a lot of fun but I have to get used to her. I'm not quite sure what to make of Dreadtheft right now, or how best to use it, but I imagine I'll get the hang of it after a while.

For me the class I will probably take to 60 first is one of the CW, DC or SW. I'm going to get my CW and SW to 30 and then decide. With the exception of the TR the melee classes just aren't doing it for me. I'm just happy to find I'm not the only one who tried all the classes right off to see what I wanted to run with to 60.

munchkinkitty

I try to have a mixture of all classes in my alts, and recently this has been my breakdown of most favorite to least:
DC- With the recent remodel of the DC, leveling them is a breeze compared to their former state.
CW- Always a quick and easy class to level. Lots of range and AoE power. Glass cannon though, so bring lots of potions.
TR- This used to be my least favorite class. LOATHED leveling TR's. their huge damage buff makes taking out mobs much easier.
GF- I hadn't leveled one in a long time, they used to be so slow. With the changes from the previous mod, they're faster and somewhat of a joy to level now.
SW- I admit they're not that bad, but I had trouble adjusting to them when they first came out. Once I figured out how to use them, they were relatively quick to level with.
HR- This used to be my top class I'd level. But now they are weak and slow, I'm dreading leveling the other two I have left.
GWF- Just a tragedy. Weak, slow. No power. Takes the longest to level now.
This is mostly just based on my play style and the way I level. I usually just take a cleric companion with me and go off on my own. I mostly play on DC so this is probably why I find them easy and quick to level with.

zvieris

Choose any class but GWF. It's super slow until lvl 50 or so.

inthefade462

I have 10 lvl 60 characters. I've leveled characters of every class to 60, including a second 60 of each: CW, DC, and TR post mod 4/5 changes.

Any class can do solo questing/dailies/content but some are stronger than others, some are faster than others, some need more help than others.

GF is just slow period. it's really the weakest for solo/questing content but you get your best abilities at super low level (cleave primary at will lvl 1, fighter's recovery primary daily, etc) so it'll always be as good as it's gonna be. It's the tortoise it'll get the job done eventually but you can tell right off the bat if it's the class for you or not, there isn't some magic ability coming at lvl X which turns it around for this class. You either love it or hate it right away.

CW are very slow and disjoined until decently high level. They are one of the weakest base classes, but they have strong specializations that they can grow into which makes them into one of the strongest classes. They don't really start to come into their own until around lvl 50. Your first encounters are a hodgepodge of suck. You get spell mastery (tab, ie 4th encounter) like 5 levels before you even get a 4th encounter to use. And your encounters for most of the low levels are all terrible or terrible until you are deep in feat trees where they start to shine (ie Icy Terrain and COI are both HAMSTER until you get storm spell, or chilling presence, etc). When you finally get your fourth encounter, it's freaking repel ffs. then after that shield and other junk. You don't even get steal time til late in the game. You don't get class defining abilities until, storm spell + chilling advantage/presence for SS rene, or Crit conflag/swath for MoF both of which are late 40s/50s abilities.

GWF while fun to level suffers from being far too gear dependent. They are probably the weakest base class atm. The problem with that is that their specializations aren't particularly great either, so weak class + weak specialization = overall underpowered class. If you aren't sporting the best blue weapon drop around for the level you are at then you are mediocre at best. Probably the most important class to get a blue dragon bone weapon or purple ancient mulhorand if you can afford it. But they are easy to level because they are so hard to do bad with. Unless you have a green weapon or under leveled one, then you are sucking. They are different than all other classes in that your defense is your tab ability instead of your shift ability. even SW who share a similar sprint feature, still use their shift ability as a "defense". on GWF just spam tab and mash buttons and you will prevail. They are similar to GF in that you get some of your best abilities (specifically for solo leveling/questing) right out the gate. Restoring, NSF, etc are your bread and butter for leveling. You do get 1 ability super late (Indomitable Battle Strike) but other than that you are using the skills you'll use to level pretty much from the get go. Word of warning however, post 60 your gear dependence for relevance becomes even more pronounced, and if you aren't sporting 12-15k unbuffed power you are gonna get outperformed by anyone else for anything you try and do.

SW are fun and pretty decent to level. low level your abilities do dmg, your primary role, unlike CWs who get weak control abilities until later on. Once you hit around 20 and you figure out how to use dreadtheft they get even easier to level.

DC are fun and easy to level. they are tied with TR for fastest to level right now. probably the strongest base class atm. Other classes can do well with specialized builds and gear but the DC is just strong out of the gate right now. Righteous is the only path you should concern yourself with for leveling purposes (and really, for anything other than PVP, just stay righteous) and they are very very strong. My new DC was just 100x easier than my DC i leveled in beta, their rework was that profound. You get your major leveling skills (searing, daunting, chains, etc) around 20 or so and from there you are golden.

TR were always easy to level but they too are fantastic now. They are probably the 2nd strongest base class atm. the automatic crit from stealth really changed their baseline performance from a leveling stand point. You don't need special build or feats or gear, you know going in that a stealth lashing blade will take down the elite in the pack guaranteed, you know that a dazing will probably kill the minions and at least stun the Lts, and a couple of at wills and they'll die too and you are off to the next pack of critters.

I haven't leveled an HR since their major overhaul so i feel I'm not truly qualified to speak on them. Their At wills took a major hit (used to be super simple to level to 60 just using split shot, which was like 80% of their dmg) and they seem to be forced down a specific path (archery/melee, or trapper) long before 60 now, because their base class is also pretty weak. but unlike GWFs, their specializations (archery/combat/trapper) are pretty strong and make up for the weak skeleton of the base class.



TLDR: DC or TR are probably your best bet for best class to level up solo. Fun is subjective of course, and other classes may be better eventually but for best soloing classes they are it.

nazghul22

With the aim of playing all the content (all the quests of all the realms) I created a CW and had no problem whatsoever. I even restrained the char to only chill spells (no steal time, no shield, no repel, no shard, no sudden storm), and used no augment pet. For the gear and enchants, I used what I was looting. This way I discovered all the content that I had skipped with my main, a gwf which had to go from 30 to 60 only by playing Bill Tavern, as after lvl30 he was unable to complete the quests or the dungeons.

midnightita

ghoulz66 wrote: »

CW and GWF are slow and horrendous leveling up.

haha best joke.

CW is the easiest and funniest class to level up with

highjusticar

My problem with most games and control classes is the bosses and a lot of the mobs are immune to control. I am starting to see that in the Tower District.

zacazu

sw by far.tab, tab, tab; fiery bolt. against boss, is just use... i dont know the name of encounter.

is like a makankosappo

williep30

zacazu wrote: »

sw by far.tab, tab, tab; fiery bolt. against boss, is just use... i dont know the name of encounter.

is like a makankosappo

its called *Dreadtheft...

*as a note, ive been calling it "special beam cannon" as a running joke to my guild mates since the sw came out... and its widely called that amongst my friends.

as far as the post... ive run every class to 60 by now, and the 2 easiest and quickest classes were the sw and cw... my dcs and my tank gf being the slowest(my dcs I levelled pre mod5... enough said)

commanderdata001

SW, HR is also very fast. MOd5 TR and DC has really good dmg,they have now basically 4 longer dodges so they are fast too.

highjusticar

Well, after playing some this weekend, my top two contenders are the DC and SW with the HR and CW close behind as I didn't play them as much yet.

Then I come home and find out that they are putting paladin in the game which I have wanted since beta.
Monkey wrench meet plans!

bioshrike

highjusticar wrote: »

I have pretty much one of each class in the low teens to mid twenties. I like things about each of them and dislike certain things about the, at least at the levels I have them at. However, I wish to level one up to 60 and do all the content. I will pretty much only group when needed for dungeons and skirmishes.

I have read a bunch of the guides for each class and though most of them are out-dated, they do give me an idea or two. However, most are written for people who are 60 and have access to purples, artifacts, boons, purple companions, and q HAMSTER ton of of astral diamonds. I don't have that kind of stuff. I am slowly working on my crafting skills to get them up to useful levels, but that will be a long time and I may level faster than they will thus they may never be useful.

So I ask, what classes can do everything I want to do the easiest with gear I get leveling up and as drops?

Thanks.

When all is said and done, I still think that the GWF is the single most self-sufficient class available. Behind the GWF, I find that the CW or SW can do quite well by themselves. I have at least 1 of each class at 60, and can solo with all, but my GWFs, CWs, and SWs seem to be the easiest to just pickup and play...

highjusticar

bioshrike wrote: »

When all is said and done, I still think that the GWF is the single most self-sufficient class available. Behind the GWF, I find that the CW or SW can do quite well by themselves. I have at least 1 of each class at 60, and can solo with all, but my GWFs, CWs, and SWs seem to be the easiest to just pickup and play...

What makes the GWF self-sufficient and when does this happen?

sockmunkey

highjusticar wrote: »

Then I come home and find out that they are putting paladin in the game which I have wanted since beta.
Monkey wrench meet plans!

Well, its most likely going to be some time around mid March before we can even expect it released. So you have a little time left to kill exploring the other classes still.

phogdog

I just stopped in to say that up thread I mentioned I would take one of my CW, SW or DC up to level 60 first because I found them great fun to play. I believe I even said my TR was just okay.

Since that time I have spent quite a bit of time with my TR and have come to realize what an amazing class it is for soloing. What I was missing before was not quite understanding stealthing and staying stealthed, along with what to do while stealthed. I'm finally getting there and it is really nice. It's great fun to sneak up on a pack and take out the minions with gloaming cut while stealthed, and then start whaling on the big guy before he knows what hit him. I can't stay stealthed through the big guy most times, but I imagine I'll get there eventually.

As soon as I get a really good feel for stealthing, staying stealthed as long as I can, and then finding the right mechanics and combinations, I think my TR will be a PVE champion. I have no desire to PVP so I really don't care what it can do there, although I suspect it does right fine.

So ... I am now throwing my vote behind the TR for a great class to level up solo. I didn't hit my stride with mine until I got to paragon level (MI Executioner) but since then I really don't want to play anything else. I may have become addicted to recovery along the way, as well; can't get enough of it. I'm taking this girl on up to be my first level 60.

Anyway, carry on. Just thought I'd revisit the thread with my new findings.

codexia

This is exactly the kind of thread I was looking for, guess it saves me having to post a new one and cluttering up the forum. I'm still trying to decide which class to play honestly. Leaning towards Cleric or Warlock, but also considering kind of spinning my wheels and waiting to see how Paladin turns out. Love me some Paladins.

Between Cleric and Warlock though, which can do more solo? For some reason, and I must just be terrible at search fu, I can't seem to find any good guides on either of them as far as soloing builds and which would be better. The only problem is I can't stand kiting and from what I understand pretty all the casters need to do it. Maybe a tank or rogue =/ but dunno. I do enjoy tanks in most MMO's, never really enjoyed rogue's though.

I kind of like the idea of the GF but everything I read says they are pretty much bottom of the barrel in terms of 'best solo' characters. I'll likely end up playing the GF anyway, I like shields ^^; /wants Paladin now

highjusticar

codexia wrote: »

This is exactly the kind of thread I was looking for, guess it saves me having to post a new one and cluttering up the forum. I'm still trying to decide which class to play honestly. Leaning towards Cleric or Warlock, but also considering kind of spinning my wheels and waiting to see how Paladin turns out. Love me some Paladins.

Between Cleric and Warlock though, which can do more solo? For some reason, and I must just be terrible at search fu, I can't seem to find any good guides on either of them as far as soloing builds and which would be better. The only problem is I can't stand kiting and from what I understand pretty all the casters need to do it. Maybe a tank or rogue =/ but dunno. I do enjoy tanks in most MMO's, never really enjoyed rogue's though.

I kind of like the idea of the GF but everything I read says they are pretty much bottom of the barrel in terms of 'best solo' characters. I'll likely end up playing the GF anyway, I like shields ^^; /wants Paladin now

My cleric is only 27 at the moment, but you don't really kite with it due to movement locking when you use a skill. I just nuke and when something is about to hit me with something that looks like it will hurt, electric slide out of the way.

The warlock is a little better at kiting, but again it is not really needed so far. My warlock is low 20's. You do need to be aware of your surroundings and move a lot especially to line up the Beam O' Death.

So far I seem to be torn between the DC, SW and CW with the HR coming in close. I think I might get them all up to 30 if for anything to unlock another crafting slot.

xxxgriessonxxx

keep in mind solo leveling ends at lvl60