64 warder picture

[Kuttykins]

Corss that is so wrong!

Yes very much so =(

[Mneumenth]

LMAO, Corss.  Love it.

[Xarilok]

Iksar is the way to go.  Pet isnt too big.  Iksar aren't too big either.  Plus you get forage, infravison, regen boost and extra AC.

None of the other races that can be beastlords have any advantages that are tangible at 65 other than troll and ogre.  Trolls have the same regen as iksar, but lack the ac bonus, and are too big.  Ogres are huge and ugly, and the only bonus they get is being unstunnable from the front, and I don't get stunned very much with the second highest avoidance in the game (just barely behind monks) and combat agility etc etc.

Regen, AC bonus, size and warder size is perfect for iksar.  Barbs are blind, cats and ogres have no regen, trolls have no bonus...the only thing iksar lack is the unstunnable thing, and thats not really that great, imo.

[Kivuli]

Iksar is the way to go if:

A. You're a lizard fan
B. You choose race based upon benefit

Otherwise, you choose whatever race you feel like playing. Hence why I'm a Vah Shir and infinitely proud to be so. And I hate shrink.

[Ekss]

The one thing Iksars do have which people should also remember is the 20% xp penalty. This is a fairly large difference and although it doesn't matter once you start doing purely AAs, it does have an impact when you're doing normal levelling.
I'm actually a bit apprehensive about OoW - I want to get 70, but the thought of going back to having that penalty irritates me. I don't think Iksars get enough benefits to justify such a large penalty.
Still, I suppose it means I get to call myself level 71 when I finally get there :)

However, as Kivuli said, choose what race you feel like playing. I would choose Iksar again despite the xp penalty purely because I like the way the warder looks.

[Xarilok]

Also remember that iksar/troll regen gets a huge boost from 51-65, with 60-65 being weighted the most.  If they keep the regen boost per level the same, at 70 iksar/troll will be 27 standing and 36 sitting compared to 10 standing for others and 13 sitting.  Not sure if it will follow the 60-65 change pattern, or if it will ramp up even more for iksar/troll (likely) or even out more (highly unlikely), but I would think that iksar/troll will get a goodly boost from 65-70 to offset the exp penalty, which will be unduely harsh if they dont ramp up regen a good bit.  The iksar AC boost will likely get much larger from 65-70 too, as it does from 60-65.

Not only that, but the 20% penatly is only for regular exp.  Iksar/trolls get AA faster than the other races, solo at least, and I would put money on a iksar beast soloing to 65 and 200AA before a vah shir could solo to 65 and 200AA, due to getting those AA at a faster rate.  If you group all the time, then the regen is of lesser value, but solo its godly.

Oh, and Scaled Wolf pet >>>>> than chia pet!!

[Ekss]

Perhaps you're right about how good the regen is for soloing - I don't tend to solo so I haven't experienced the benefits. I have to admit that the AC boost is nice, because I tank quite a lot, but I still don't think it's worth a 20% xp penalty.

I know what you mean, Xarilok, and don't think I'm being critical, but I hope SOE wouldn't work out how worthwhile the xp penalty was based on how effective it made soloing; they keep saying EQ is meant to be a group-based game. And you're far more optimistic than I am about any upgrades to regen and AC we may get from 65-70 :)

Note: I'm not passing judgement on anyone's style of play here, before someone tries to read that into what I've posted.

[Bimboko]

Also ogres and barbarians get slam..ok it can never go up but I have found it very useful.

Good for interupting spellcasting and when a mob death marches away, stopping it in its tracks.

I did start an iksar beastlord but found it tough going at around 34ish. I remade an ogre and am really pleased with her. Seems to melee really great along side the warder.

Which is HUGE and needs to be double shrunk most of the time... :D

[Felidae]

Sneak has helped me out a bunch of times and I do like the safefall too.  Pretty much all the races have one perk or another.