Ok I'd like to start a thread mostly for newer players and maybe a little for some of the older. Post here with any information you have of the classes or game mechanics that could help players in group play. If you see I have said something wrong please correct it or add any comments you may have about it. I haven't played a lot of these classes and will just make comments on what I have heard or experienced.
-Alchemist\Wizard - These are the massive damage dealers from the casters. Run through mana like water and can pour damage on. Only drawback I see from them is they tend to be frail and if they don't manage their agro tend to end up back at the Spiritmasters. And save the AoE stuff for farming.
-Bards - Bards are a light DD, probably the weakest of the 4 melee DDs, and can be a major mana battery along with some decent buffs, like ac, str/dex, and a minor HoT. The major restriction on them is that to DD they have to be in melee range and all the buffs are centered on the Bard and have an AoE. Second is that most of the buffs last no more than 3 minutes or so, so unless you see a major gap in the timing of the buff there is no need to spam the Bard about them.
-Cleric - My personal favorite healer to have around. Massive heals and a great AC\HP buff. Unless you know a lot of good tanks then dropping some of that Charisma for some Stam/Agi armors might be a better route and from a little experiment I tried with a Cleric it seems like 3 points of Cha results in a 1 point increase in heals. So dropping 30-60 points off of Cha shouldn't have a huge impact on your heals and could boost other stats to help keep you alive.
-Druid\Shaman - Decent healers with some nice buffs but not what I would choose to have when fighting mobs that are 5+ levels above the team average. If instead of pulling to the group you are in the middle of the camp taking mobs as they spawn then this is the healer to have as they can add some damage to the group while providing all the healing you will need.
-Enchanter\Magician - These guys add some solid damage, usually a decent pet, and both can help with adds with root abilities. Enchanters provide mana while Magicians have the better pet and I think better nuke spells.
-Monk\Rogue - The top DDs for melees. Both deal major damage and chew up mana. And Rogues steal their ***** off, don't know how much they make but I'm sure it's more than I do. My selection for DDs are these guys, Bards and Rangers, unless you camp is a pretty safe one these guys won't crumble like casters tend to do when mob after mobs comes wandering by.
-Necromancer - The top pet class and the most versitile casters. Healing, nuking, life taps, rezzing at the higher levels, and probably some other stuff I don't know about. Haven't grouped with many so not sure all they can do.
-Paladin\Shadowknight\Warrior - Tanks... next time I hear a tank brag about how much Strength he has and how much damage he can do I will not be in that group. If you main concern is specials and how much damage you do the next time you join a group tell them that you are a DD and not a tank, but if you are one that chain taunts, does minimum damage, and near maxes Stamina and Agility, then you can advertise that you are a tank. If you can DD while being able to take\hold agro from multiple mobs and not take a beat down then you are truly something we need. If you read the forum on the 'Offical' EQOA site there is a topic on how PPO is overrun with DD tanks and not very many real ones. If you can solo one of whatever we happen to be fighting that's all well and good but when we have more than one and the healer has to die to keep your paper **** alive then please do us a favor and stay solo. If I have offended any of you then good. You have offended all of us with untold amounts of debt.
- Ranger - The number 3 DD from the melees and from what I have seen don't add anything more than damage. This is not an insult, maybe I don't know anything.
I have see most of these classes played to their maximum potential, and I have seen them be failures. To all the good groups I've had, thanks a lot, and to any that failed for whatever reason, maybe we could try again and have a better time. I hope this has helped someone somewhere. If not oh well =) Maybe I will post some more when I get bored again.