Best farming class?

Closest POK book to EK is what Qeynos hills

Hmm, not to derail too much, but isn't the one in Misty Thicket closer? Just jaunt through kith, hhp, and you're there. Or go through Runnyeye and you're there too. Going through the goblins/evil eyes/minotaurs should be easy if your of a sufficient level to be farming EK.

Barring that, just wait at Antonica Scion, you land in NK, walk to EK.

[Cigarskunk]

What makes a good farming class?

Ability to get to location of mobs.
Ability to kill the mobs quickly.
Ability to find the mobs when need be.
Ability not to have to stop except when full of farmed stuff.
Ability to work in just about any area.

With one or two exceptions, PoP and the Nexus have made the first requirement moot - porting classes will still have a slight advantage though.

All casters and melees have the ability to inflict alot of damage very quickly, so this is another moot.

Some mobs are semi-rare or they range over a very large area or only pop 1-3 at a time at most, thus a tracking capable class is helpful in these situations.

Any class that doesn't have to rely purely on casting to take down mobs will do well with not having to stop for med breaks.

Any class that doesn't depend exclusively on some form of kiting will be good since there are some areas were one doesn't want to pick up a ton of adds while farming.

So all said, it would seem that the ranger would have to be the swiss army knife of farming - it's got the best tracking, it can tank the mobs, kite the mobs, root and nuke them, has SOW at higher levels (nice bonus) and isn't limited because it's in a dungeon/tight area/high add area.

[Harliquinn]

Hey just wanted to add my experiences as a bard.

I'm level 53 and I have to say, farming for low to mid end tailoring (158) or pottery stuff (Skins), and even some smithing items (Velium), a bard is the way to go.

Here is my 411

1) No mana usage. Typically you won't use any mana to farm greens for these supplies.

2) Area of Effects. I use 3 AoE DoT's. I run around EK tagging about 50 things, then AoE them all dead in about 5 seconds. I don't track or anything, just kill it all.

3) Speed. Selo's is the fastest thing so you can move quickly to a tracked mob.

4) Moving invis. I can switch from invis to non-invis in 3 seconds while moving. This helps in places like WL.

5) DoT kiting. I don't have to use mana for this and can do this for hours as needed. (Case in point, I kited 21 Velium Hounds in Western Wastes last night at about the same time. Took almost 2 hours to do). That may not be fast, but I don't know of another class that can do 21 things at once without stopping.

6) Tracking. We get it too.

7) With PoK Travel is easier.

Well that's just my thoughts. I found it much easier to farm silks/pelts in EK with my bard, easier to solo in Crystal Cavern spider tunnel with my bard and easier to fight velium hounds with my bard than I ever did with my Druid (level 51).

[Pojodan]

I'll put my word in for beastlords as being excelent farmers. I spent a great deal of time in EK running down spiders and lions for my various tailoring endevors.
At one point there where two other druids in the zone competing with me (One was admitedly just selling them, which got my blood boiling since here I was, trying to do my own farming and this person wants to kill the same MoBs and then sell the stuff to me for 5pp a pop). They where occationally noting how much silk they'd collected for their quota for the day and I was gathering silk -faster- than one and about the same as another.
The reason, I noitced, was because the druids would snag a MoB and toss a nuke or DoT onto it while their little bear pet whacked at it.. while this seemed to kill stuff faster than me (my pet being the lvl 39 version at the time, the druids where 47 and 51), I often saw them sitting to meditate. So while I had to run in circles to find things and they could just go straight to it I could do so -non-stop- since all I needed to cast was SoW, pet haste, and pet proc, which, with Spiritual Light, (Note, no Calrity, KEI, or anything else), allowed me to regen most of that mana back before they needed recast. By the time I was LoM I wanted to take a break anyway.

When it comes to higher level MoBs Beastlords may be at a disadvantage to several other classes due to lack of snare/root/fear, but I havn't had too much trouble so far.

[Cedor]

I'd like to see anyone but a ranger collect 10 stacks of spiderling silks in 72 minutes (one cast of wolf form) in The Feerrott.

Just one specific case where rangers excel.

[Khoren Stonefall]

Maybe not the ideal example because the spiderlings and jungle spiders spawn in a fairly predictable area from just on the oggok side of the druid rings (and a bit towards the river) up to the corner with the itty bitty stonehenge thingies. You can cover that area so fast on a knight pony that spiders are extinct in no time. I'd like to see anyone beat a ranger in Stonebrunt, though--being a ranger there OWNS.

[Cendorly]

I've got to throw my 2 cp's worth in as mages being excellent farmers. With my epic pet self buffed, self hasted, and me on horseback, I was able to collect quite a few stacks of spider silk in EK in slightly over an hour. That was competing with 45+ druids and other high level farmers. While farming swirling shadows in TS, I can clear the island then take a break for 7 min while waiting for respawns. This is all done without using "any" mana, losing any health, and absolutely no downtime except the time I want to take a break.

When I go farming/factioning with friends, they are in awe at how fast my epic pet kills stuff vs. even a Shaman or Beastlord with their pet. A while ago, when I was working on the spirit wracked chords quest and needed Chardok Faction, I would head to Droga with my pet, and in half the time of my friends, have my faction up to non-kos due to the speed of killing the goblins.

Of course, it's not an easy road to get the mage epic and not a class everyone would enjoy playing. For me, being a Mage is the only class I've ever seriously played. I've toyed around with a bard, and can see how they can be great farmers also, however, the lack of gate really irritates me (since I'm spoiled by it as a caster).

Fortunately, for me, I find farming a lot of fun, and really enjoy it, largely because my pet does all the work while I sit back and hit target, /pet attack, /loot. ROFL

In the end, the class that is the best at farming is the class YOU enjoy playing. If you don't like the class you chose to farm with, then farming will be an endless, boring, horrible chore. If, however, you enjoy the class, and know how to play it well, then farming won't be so bad.

Lastly, to quote the signature of a respected mage in the Mage Community - "Epic Pet - never farm greens without it".

[Shaman Arriana]

Actually, the new PoP rogue pet is probably even better than the epic pet.

It assassinates

[Wandor]

Like Khoren said, anyone with decent gear at 65 is a decent farmer. Personally, I am partial to farming stuff with my wizard. I can say with pretty good certainty that an epic wizard can farm mobs with under 2400 (up to mid 40s level) hp probably faster than any class.

Any time I need to farm greens, I can load up my 800pt epic shield and a couple of PBOAE spells. No need for tracking when you are pulling everything that moves. Run around agroing everything in sight with my staff of temperate flux (250 range instant cast) then AE the mess into the dirt when you are done. WC cleared in 90 seconds, simple. I have farmed velium and crystaline silk like this in CC like this, spider and spiderling silk in UGuk and EK, and pelts anywhere cats and wolves wander.

Now with level 65 possible, people can take farming to a new level.

[sir0die]

i had a wizzy friend help me farm teeth from gnolls in Butcherblock, i buffed up, ran around an poked everything with my pokey stick, then when i had all the gnolls in the cave aggro'd i lead them topside to where he was sitting. He cast some sort of AE spell, and poof, dead gnolls everywhere. We did this enough for me to get 4 stacks of teeth (turn-in in halas arena for epic faction)

was alot of fun. There was a newbie that entered the zone just as i arrived with train in tow (was 3am). I bet he about crapped his pants when he saw EVERYTHING runnning towards him.

[Iannyen]

I hearby nominate this topic/thread to be the first moved to the new "Dead Horse Forum" as soon and if it gets implemented.

[Tenasi]

druid

I've farmed with several different classes...and each does have their strengths, but the most consistant good farmer is my druid (61). She can clear all of CC in a single PBAE session (46pt damage shield + Replenishment + Fungi + PBAE = really efficient), hunt non-stop in Stonebrunt Mts & Tenebrous Mts, and can *get* to places when the need arises faster than any of my other chars. Also, arguably, one of the two best classes for farming items in WW + CS.

But like all things, it comes down to personal taste and levels. Any 60+ can farm more effectively than any level 10 player...but, then again, a level 10 player may gain xp from farming, which is a nice bonus.

[Bemidian]

I play a lot of characters. If I don't have to track then nothing compares to my 62 Magician for farming. If I have to track then my 60 Bard is great. Bard can't kill things as fast as the Mage epic pet. For example hunting the shadows in Twilight I can clear the island in a few minutes. No tracking. No delay from their lifetap or damage. When I am through I might have to throw one heal on my pet. Other classes can't kill them as fast and have delays caused by their lifetaps or mana use. Hunting for ore in TM though is another story. The Bard is 5 times as fast due to track and selo's.

Just my 2 coppers.

[Quinner Sparrowhawk]

Hmmm

Would this be an example of sadonecrobestiality?