Is it going to make a huge difference if I roll a gnome necro instead of an iksar? I'd love to have a full gnome crew but I'm unsure if it's worth giving up the massive increase passive regen and AC that iksar get, since necro's mana regen spells drain HP. Has anyone played an iksar necro and a non-iksar necro that can coment? Can you use necro illusion/mana regen spells while riding a mount? How much damage does lifeburn do? Or how does it work exactly? How does it compare to manaburn? How does necro DPS compare to mage DPS? Specifically, which class will have more DPS after PoP is released? How does the highest lvl necro rogue pet compare to highest lvl mage rogue pet DPS? I'm specifically thinking about the PoP era pets. It seems like necro's get much more utility than mages, but other than mod rods and coth, is there any major advantage to play a mage? Which is a higher priority for a necro that's planning on getting lifeburn? Stamina or Intelligence? Should I split my starting points between the two or put as many as possible in one and the rest in the other? Thanks in advance!
The bonus from iksar regen for necro is pretty good, but I'd still play whatever race you like the most. min/maxing isn't as big of a deal here, people are just looking to enjoy the game and not get the absolute most out of everything. I definitely don't think you'd ever get flack for not taking the easiest route on race/class combos. I think sta is going to be best route for necro starting stat, most people in Luclin/PoP will be max wis/int I'd imagine. I'm not an expert on necros (especially in PoP era) so I'll let some others answer the rest.
The regen is nice, but if you are boxing it will probably be unnoticed. Iksars get an exp penalty on this server. In short fights Necro dps is not optimized, but in long fights Necros do among the best DPS at PoP level due to the nature of dots (need time) and they have very fast mana regen to keep casting. You can use every mana regen spell (lich) except arch lich on a mount. Arch lich doesn't work because the spectre illusion cannot sit on a horse. PoP Mage pets are way better than necro's. Necro pets are still very good, though. Necros do best in trios where every other toon exists to optimize and support the necro. They are very boxing heavy if you plan to get the most out of them. The major advantage to playing a Mage is that they do more DPS for less boxing in most circumstances. Here is the wiki page on lifeburn. http://everquest.allakhazam.com/wiki/EQ:Life_Burn
I think luclin dark elfs are perhaps one of the most beautiful and awesome and badass and...looking races, period. It is difficult for me to not want to make a character dark elf. Seriously, pick the race you want...but also remember that, like, necros are in lich form all the time and you rarely get to look at yourself. That has been my debate for when I make a necro. I made Dark Elf on Live, though, for aesthetics.
Iksar is the way to go. Being able to not lose HP when liched is much easier as an Iksar especially if you aren't grouping with a bard, Druid or Shaman who is using Regen on you.
I personally play an iksar Necro, but I single box him usually... In a trio setting it matters a lot less. Depending on the trio, of course -- didn't see you mention what your other two would be? And starting stats, I think all INT is still best... STA doesn't give that big of a return per point for a caster. More innate INT allows you to stack more +HP gear.
My wife started her dark elf necromancer and I started a iksar shaman. We played at the same time all the time together. Her dark elf necro hit 60 while my iksar shaman was still 57. If I knew then what I know now I would have started a barbarian shaman instead of iksar. In my opinion that innate regen from iksar is a lot of hype if all you care about is leveling.
Then you realized you're playing on a server that will be in Velious for atleast 6 more months, with no where to put any EXP gains, and you will be max level regardless of race choice, glad each regen tick on your Iksar is far more powerful than a Barbarian after each Canni! I imagine that's how that story ends . Yes leveling up does suck a bit more on a race like Iksar or Troll. But honestly leveling is a small part of the game for many people. Once you're max level the AA gain is the same which will be the majority of the grind on TAKP. 61-65 isn't really too huge of a climb compared to 55-60 from my recollection. Plus it is during PoP and who cares cause PoP is awesome.
