Best class for beginner?

[kmpt]

What class should I pick if I'm not crpg veteran? I've picked warrior for a start but it seems boring :> I'm gonna play on medium difficulty and I don't have White March expansions.
Thanks for your interest ;)

[Armanz]

I'd go Barbarian, it's not as boring as fighter imho and there is no Barbarian NPC (also no Thief or Monk) without the DLCs. Other choice would be Druid or Palladin, they seemed straight forward to me.

[Burusagi]

To be fair, you can't really judge a character without getting to like lvl 4-5 at least. They don't really come into their own until you get a few class-specific talents and whatnot.

[ColeTrain1034]

Originally posted by Alcohol Fueled Brewtality:

To be fair, you can't really judge a character without getting to like lvl 4-5 at least. They don't really come into their own until you get a few class-specific talents and whatnot.

Agreed. It takes a while to make any class actually formidable. Also, there really is no "beginner" class. On Normal ANY class can hold their own as long as you use your whole team as one unit working together.

Really, just pick the one you think looks the most fun or that you'd like to roleplay the most.

Or, if you'd rather get advice on something slightly more specific (i.e. what kind of combat position are you trying to fill - tank, DPS, CC, etc.), then there's a lot more to be said about each individual class.

[kmpt]

Originally posted by ColeTrain1034:

Or, if you'd rather get advice on something slightly more specific (i.e. what kind of combat position are you trying to fill - tank, DPS, CC, etc.), then there's a lot more to be said about each individual class.

I like h'n's genre. I always pick melee fighter or archer. I'd like to try something different right now but I don't like playing mages (low hp, dies quickly). Any ideas what would be best pick for me?

[ColeTrain1034]

If you like melee fighters, but think the Fighter is too boring, you could try out the Monk. It's a pretty good damage dealer and it has good survivability, because it's designed around taking damage to perform more abilities.

Also, just a straight up Rogue could be fun. You'd need to stay off the frontlines, but they can put out a LOT of damage and will cause good status effects.

[kmpt]

I've heard that Monk isn't good for beginners and Rogue seems to have same disadvantage as mage - low hp, dies quickly. I'm considering to try ranged Cipher or Paladin, which one would be better?

[D'amarr from Darshiva]

It all depends on what you do with your "warrior". Fighter class can be really entertaining, especially if given support from a Priest, but some of the later talents are only available with The White March. --> http://pillarsofeternity.gamepedia.com/Fighter

[Burusagi]

I'm having a blast as a Barbarian.

Their built-in "cleave-like" AoE on normal attacks is just wonderful.

[kmpt]

Nah, I don't want to play Barbarian/Fighter cause I usually pick this class in h'n's games and I'd like to try something different now :P

Chanter, Cipher, Druid, Paladin, Ranger looks good to me. Which one is the easiest to master and the most satisfying to play?

BTW. Can you recommend any website with builds for 3.06 ver. of the game? I've seen many builds in the network but most of them are outdated :(

[Burusagi]

A Barbarian/Fighter in PoE plays absolutely nothing like a melee character in a "hack 'n slash" game because a CRPG is vastly different.

This is Baldur's Gate, not Diablo.

[Gregorovitch]

Originally posted by kmpt:

Nah, I don't want to play Barbarian/Fighter cause I usually pick this class in h'n's games and I'd like to try something different now :P

Chanter, Cipher, Druid, Paladin, Ranger looks good to me. Which one is the easiest to master and the most satisfying to play?

BTW. Can you recommend any website with builds for 3.06 ver. of the game? I've seen many builds in the network but most of them are outdated :(

I also recommend barnarian both becasuee it's fun to play (lot of tactical moving around to do) and becasue in the base game their are not many front line melee available to recruit so it balances your party nicely.

If you don't want to go that way a Druid is a good choice becasue in the early game their beast form is pretty strong enabling them tank up and dish some claw damage toe-to-toe when necessary and they get a rich, varied, intersting and powerfull spell book as they develop.

[kmpt]

Ok, I'll try barbaran if you say it's good for beginners. Can you recommend any builds for it?

[Gregorovitch]

Barbarian is a strike DPS, at least the way I think most people play them, there are alternatives I guess. Their key abiliuty is Carnage which is an AoE damage effect that is truly devastating when applied to a large group of enemies, hence the importance tactically of keeping the barb mobile and able to relocate to good attack points covering multiple enemies. The radius of the AoE is controlled by the INT stat, therefore an optimal barb build maxes out Intelligence and Might.

Carnage AoE damage is also directly related to main weapon attack damage after the enemy's Damage Reduction has been deducted so I would recommend 2H weapon as this minimises the impact of DR. The other popular option is dual wield of course but I have found this to be less effective than 2H personally - big sword or axe is the ticket for me. Also bosses and even elite enemies tend to have a *lot* of DR in this game so being able to hit like a truck is something you learn to appreciate.

Emnemy AI, perhaps not surpisingly, likes to see the back of barbs as quickly as possible (technically brab has high DPS but typically lower defences than fighters or paladins, hence priority target) so I have found it very effective to hold ther barb back a little on encounter start and let other front line capable party members tie up the enemy first, then move the barb in at a good spot to level the playing field so to speak, or if necessary intercept enemies trying to get at my casters. Note I don't use party AI, I play strictly manually.

[ColeTrain1034]

Originally posted by kmpt:

Ok, I'll try barbaran if you say it's good for beginners. Can you recommend any builds for it?

Personally, I don't think exact numbers are super important in this game (because you can buff everything up with equipment and consumables), but I will say you should definitely invest in Might and Dexterity. Surprisingly, you'll also want a little bit in Intellect, because it dictates AoE, which is helpful to the Barbarian's innate ability. Some people might disagree, but I wouldn't lower your Constitution or Resolve much, if at all. Barbarians can be squishy if you handle them improperly, and lowering your Health and Deflection won't help with that.

I've seen a lot of people favor two-handed weapons with Barbarians, which is definitely not a bad choice. Personally, I like mine faster than strong, so I go duel-wielded mostly. But two-handed is great for just straight damage output. I would suggest, if you go with two-handed, picking something like the pike or quarterstaff, because they have a long reach and you can stay behind your more defensive characters while you wail on the enemies.

[Gregorovitch]

Originally posted by ColeTrain1034:

if you go with two-handed, picking something like the pike or quarterstaff, because they have a long reach and you can stay behind your more defensive characters while you wail on the enemies.

The only thing I would say about the pike option is that AFAIK the centre of the carnage AoE is the barb themselves, so operatring at a distance with a pike is not optimal DPS-wise. There are good pikes to be had found the game though, no doubt, and it is very useful to have this option fighting in restricted areas.

My preference though is 2H sword - there are a lot of them in the game including some pretty wicked soubound ones to be found. If you are playing blind you can't really go wrong with 2H swords.

But heh, there are tons of very viable alternative approaches with all clases in this game.