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EQ2 has WAY more races then FFXI, and on top of that, I cant find any guides to help me pick which race I want to be. For instance, you FFXI players know that the Tarutaru race is the best for mage jobs, Elvaan is good for melees, Hume is balanced all around, ect. Like I said earlier, I'd like to be a mage of some sort on EQ2. Which race would be best for this? From what I have looked up so far, I am thinking Gnome would be the best choice. Am I correct? If not, please help me out. :D
A races starting stats only really matter early on. While it may seem Erudites, Gnomes, Dark Elves, and Ratonga may be best suited for mages, it doesn't really matter if you're a Wood Elf or Troll Mage; your stats later on are going to be mostly based on equipment.
My advice: Pick whatever race you like. While it'll be easier initially as a Gnome Mage rather than, for example, a Dwarf Mage, overall you should worry more about what race you want to play, not "whether
x race matches
y class." They don't want you to feel severely penalized for making an unorthodox character.
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And then my second question, which I havn't been able to find anywhere -- if we decide we don't like our job, are we able to switch jobs on the same character? I've heard from different places that you can, and from other places that you can't.
You cannot change them like in FFXI. If you want to change classes, you must start a new character. The choices for archetype, class, and sub-class are all completed by level 20, so don't feel too discouraged if you want to try a different class. (they put the choices early on in case someone decides they don't like their choice)
One thing I should clarify: Your class progression is in a 3-step progress - archetype --> class --> subclass. At level 3 upon finishing the tutorial, you choose an archetype: Fighter, Priest, Mage, or Scout. Then at level 10, you choose a class (so if you were a Mage, you choose to be either Sorceror, Summoner, or Enchanter). Then at level 20,you pick your final sub-class (they may be restricted by your alignment, so you can't be a Necromancer in Qeynos or a Templar in Freeport).
It should be noted that the 6 final subclasses of an archetype, while having unique styles and variety of magic spells or combat arts, all can provide the core functions of the base archetype. Because of that, you ultimately have 6 final Priest classes, 6 final Mage classes, etc.
For more information on these classes, read up at Clan Whitestorm linked above, or check other sites.
A final note: This is NOT like FFXI. This isn't even like EQ1. From what I've heard, many beta testers run into problems because they played with a mindset from EQ1. It'll probably be best to play EQ2 with no preconceived expectations at all. :)