Everquest 2 Class Guide: Fighters

Welcome to Norath, home of Everquest 2.  Whether you are loooking to be a Ogre Beserker terrorizing the countryside, a High Elf Wizard practicing the arcane arts gleaned through years of study, or a Gnome Troubadour who tinkers as much as he tells stories, you will find your character here.

Everquest 2 has probably one of the most robust and comprehensive set of charactor options of any MMO out today, with 26 classes and 22 races. No matter what story you are trying to tell, you can make the main character of your dreams here.

The fighter Archetype consists of 6 classes who excel in melee combat and the tank role, each in their own way.  If you want a class that excells at taking the fight directly to the enemy, while also keeping their attention focused on you, these are the classes for you. There are 3 types of fighters and today we will look at the Warrior classes.

Guardians

If you are looking for an up close and personal, stereotypical tank, look no further than the Guardian.  This class specializes almost exclusively in both dishing out and taking massive amounts of damage from the front lines while making sure all eyes are him them.  This plate wearing warrior can use almost any weapon, but shines at being the sword and board fighter most think of when they hear that word, as evidenced by their epic weapon, the sword Vel'Arek.

Like all Fighter classes the Guardian has two stances that it learns at level 4, an offensive stance (Forward Charge) that focuses on STR, Fervor, damage and bleedthrough at the cost of their defenses, and a defensive stance (Armored) that focuses on reducing damage taken, and raising avoidence and mitigation at the cost of damage. Choosing the correct stance at the right time is essential to efficient combat, but choosing what matches your playstyle is more important.

This class is a neutral class that can be played by any race, though Dwarves, Aerakyn, and Ogres are common choices, due to their starting stats. Its main stat is Strength and it is focused moslty on single target damage, threat control, and self buffing.  Because of this, if you are looking to solo with this class I would recommend a healer mercenary.

Berserkers

If you are looking to use weapons as an extention of your body to unleash devestation on your enemies, the Berserker is the class for you.  This class specializes in grabbing the attention of your enemies and then wading in, sowing carnage.  This plate wearing warrior can use almost any weapon, but is most at home dual weilding axes, like their epic weapon, Dragon's Temper.

Like all Fighter classes the Berserker has two stances that it learns at level 4, an offensive stance (Abandoned Fury) that buffs Fervor, damage, bleedthrough and adds a possible spell proc for damage at the cost of their defenses, and a defensive stance (Unflinching Will ) that focuses on reducing damage taken, and buffing parry, defense and mitigation at the cost of damage. Choosing the correct stance at the right time is essential to efficient combat, but choosing what matches your playstyle is more important.

This class is a neutral class that can be played by any race, though Vah Shir, Barbarians, and Trolls are common choices, due to their starting stats. Its main stat is Stremgth and it is focused moslty on dealing damage, threat control, and self buffing.  Because of this, if you are looking to solo with this class I would recommend a healer mercenary.