Returning after a 4-year – Looking for a fresh start (DPS/Utility advice)

[Lupin12]

Hiho,

It’s been about 4 years since I last touched Return of Reckoning, but I’m officially making my comeback now. Honestly, the modern MMORPG market has become incredibly stale and boring, and absolutely nothing out there scratches that genuine PvP/RvR itch like this game does.

I’m looking for a fresh start, but my playtime is somewhat limited now—usually around 3 hours a day. My absolute main priority is just having pure fun and enjoying the progression. Since I only have a few hours a day, I wanted to ask how the current gearing progression looks? Is it doable to get competitive gear nowadays mostly through scenarios and casual RvR?

Before diving in, I did some reading on the forums and narrowed my interest down to four specific classes that look really fun to me:
Engineer
White Lion
Squig Herder (specifically ranged)
Witch Elf.
I don't mind a class with a higher skill ceiling or unique mechanics, as long as the gameplay feels rewarding once you get the hang of it.

I already know that I want to stay away from tanks and healers, as those playstyles have never really clicked with me. I’m looking for a DPS class that can hold its own across different types of content. I enjoy everything from large-scale warbands (unorganized) to small group skirmishes, but it’s a huge plus if the class can actually survive and perform well in a 1v1 scenario. It doesn’t need to be a perfect all-rounder that excels at everything; I’m totally fine with a class that has varied strengths depending on the situation.

I'm also not hunting for the absolute 'flavor of the month' or a broken/overpowered class (though if one of these happens to be very strong right now, I won't mind!). I’ll most likely be playing solo at the start, but I’d love to join a community later on. Are there many casual-friendly guilds active during European evenings?

With that in mind, I’d love to get your thoughts on a few questions:

How is the current meta looking for the classes I mentioned?
Which faction (Order or Destruction) is currently lower in population and genuinely needs more active players?
Specifically for the DPS role, which side is currently in greater need of more DDs right now?

Thanks in advance for any tips.

[Bankei]

Don't worry about population control, your single character will not make a difference. Play whatever is more appealing to you. Join a guild that plays in your timezone

Engineer has a very high skill ceiling and the difference between a good engineer and a mid one is massive
White Lion has a spec for everything but it's melee so having a healer or guard is ideal
Squig Herder is a really interesting class with good solo/small man/SC spec with ranged and a good melee spec for warbands
Witch Elf is also high skill ceiling, it's the stealth class if you're into that type of gameplay

There's a ranged patch incoming if you're worried about that kind of thing.

I suggest that you follow the rule of cool, whatever you find more appealing, go for that. And like I said, join a guild that plays in your timezone and you'll have a much better RoR experience

[Lupin12]

Hi there,

It’s really cool to get a reply so quickly. My best buddy just told me, “Go for it—RoR is currently the best option for PvP players like me.” And here I am.

I still have one class at RR 80—my DPS shaman—but I don’t want to play that one. Then there are a few others at various RR ranks. But the classes I’ve always really liked are Engi, White Lion, and—on Destro—Witch Elf and Rangen Squig.

I’d love to play them all at once, but my wife, job, dog, and my hobby of playing PvP games don’t really allow for that. That’s why I’d be really happy to get some good advice from you guys on which class I should use for my comeback. As I mentioned before, the class should also be fun—which is, of course, a personal preference. But hey, I like all four, and I’d love to hear your thoughts on why you enjoy playing one class over another. That’s much more important to me than playing a “meta” class.