My previous Everquest 2 : Trial of the Isle post details some of the changes in the new Trial of the Isle. Now I will share some of the fun I had with the various classes I tried.
Name: Ipad
Race: Kerra
Class: Inquisitor
Plays most like: A smiting cleric in Dark Ages of Camelot.
Comments: Basically this character starts out with a "smite" spell that you basically makes up your entire offense. You start with a basic heal and a few levels in get your second. Standard point and click heals. You also recieve a basic buff to increase attack power, but it really does nothing to help your pitiful melee. I was able to last through any fight by chain nuking and chain healing. Viable solo early on, but I would guess this is more the grouping hybrid healer.
Name: Idea
Race: Ogre
Class: Shadowknight
Plays most like: Any newb fighter class in most MMORPGs.
Comments: This was a pretty cut and dry experience. The Shadowknight starts with a minor direct damage spell that only can be cast in melee. You run around an whack things otherwise executing your simple basic melee attack. I found this character to be weak even after recieving the class specific "Dark Blades" stance. The character only picked up after recieving my quest reward two hand sword. With that big piece of metal in my hands it was a much better experience. Was able to hold aggro perfectly for the final dungeon fight on the Isle.
Name: Swash
Race: Dwarf
Class: Swashbuckler
Plays most like: A rogue from World of Warcraft.
Comments: By far the funnest class to play that I tried. Not only is the idea of being a swashbuckler cool it lead to an excellent nickname for my Dwarf. I became known as Swashy. Adding to the fun as the fact I played this character on the new RP PvP server. I actually role played for a good bit. I even started to create a small backstory (NOTE: I don't know much about Everquest lore).
/rp begin
Swashy came from a long line of dwarven pirates, but the sea had grown quiet and a pirates life became hard. Moving onto land Swashy was dishing his swashbuckling skills to the highest bidder, Freeport. He had arrived for an introduction and quickly got to work.
/rp end
The class plays very fluid and really made me feel like I was back playing World of Warcraft with my rogue. The basics of combat are almost mirrored between the games. You stealth in to get the jump, stun the target, and then move behind the target to execute a backstab style move. On top of this the swashbuckler can take a good bit of a beating. With the help of just a Defiler named Gallow I took out the final dungeon in no time.