Newb guardian, I cant kill anything even cons

I happened across this thread on the SOE boards, titled Newb guardian, I cant kill anything even cons.

Right away I can see the problem that the forum poster, Ladsud, is having:

Hi, just started eq2 yesterday and choose a guard.

It never ceases to amaze me how many people pick up a brand new MMORPG (to them, at least), and either because they don’t know better, or because they’re a glutton for punishment, pick possibly the worst beginner class you can possibly pick. And in this case, it’s a Guardian.

I can see, from a beginner’s perspective, how a Guardian would appeal to an average beginner. You have here your stereotypical low-IQ plate-wearing sword-chucking thug. They’re typically one of your most powerful characters in an offline RPG, usually wielding the Sword of a Thousand Truths, and able to survive–and inflict–those annoying 9,999 HP attacks (Final Fantasy, anyone?). They also evoke the fairy tale image of a knight in shining armor, off to slay the dragon and rescue the princess, who is usually in another castle.

I can see that.

On the other hand, you have the reality of the situation. Guardians are tanks. Their job is to hold aggro, while monsters let loose all sorts of carnage.  They have very low damage output compared to other classes. And because they have such low damage output, they aren’t as able to kill mobs quickly, and have to resort (typically) to simply outlasting their opponent in solo play. And in group play, you have to act as the group leader and lead your group to your destination, being aware of your surroundings, where your enemies are, where your group members are,  whether or not you have aggro, and being absolutely sure you will survive when a giant tarantula decides to attack and devour you.

That’s a lot to keep track of. It’s pretty difficult for a veteran at times, but it’s especially hard for a beginner. Forget dealing with all that, beginners are still learning how to play; they often aren’t ready for all this multitasking so early.

Add to the fact that Guardians are very gear reliant; you have to remain on top of gear upgrades, so that you can survive your encounter of the third kind. A caster can get away with letting his gear slip as long as he has his spells, but not a Guardian. You let your gear slip for too long, and you get eaten alive. Forget to upgrade that weapon, and you lose aggro. Let your combat arts fall behind, and though you can survive getting beat on, you won’t be able to kill anything with any kind of speed.

In a word, unforgiving.

So I have to wonder, what compelled Ladsud to create a Guardian in the first place? I can only speculate, but perhaps he played a similar tank class in a different MMO. I know Warriors in EQ1 are just as unforgiving, if not more; if you don’t have access to high end loot, you can’t even go to high end zones and tank, though your DPS is somewhat respectable (for auto-attack). If he came from EQ1, then he should be familiar with how Warriors function, right?

On the other hand, Warriors in WoW can spec all-out DPS, and put out some crazy numbers. Maybe he thought the Guardian class was like the WoW Warrior? If so, he was pretty close; Berserkers would fit the criteria here, as they’re more damage-oriented than Guardians.

I may never find out, but I do have advice for people playing an MMO for the first time: Pick a class that works well for beginners; these classes tend to be excellent soloers. Not only will you gain the satisfaction of killing just about anything you see, within reason anyway, you’ll learn the game that much easier. In time, when you’re ready, you can go back and reroll a tank class, should you still desire to play one.