Breed -- does it really matter?

[Sedrol]

Hey, so I just got the game to play with my friend and he suggested I ask here as he is pretty new too.

I've read the pros/cons on the Tips for new Bureaucrat guide:

Nanomage if you want to cast your nanoprograms sooner at a cost to your hitpoints. Their higher intelligence/psychic cap will come in very handy during the top end game. Lvls 200-220.
Solitus or Opifex if you don't want to look freaky. Really, nanomage females' looks leave something to be desired. They have slightly more hitpoints and have more armor options available for the first half of the game.

Dos this still hold water? I really don't like the look of the Nanomage and that is really it. As a first time player, is trying to play something that is harder to get bots worth the aesthetics or does it really matter?

[Aiken]

Solitus is always a very solid choice for Bureaucrats & of all my crats, I think I enjoy the versatility of Solitus the most. It's worth noting that any of the breeds isn't a bad choice, just some are more suited to different playstyles. As a newcomer to the game, i'd suggest Solitus due to the ease of doing symbiants and such.

[Louderer789]

The differences in trickle from abilities are quite small, especially below level 200. You can view the differences at 220 here: http://www.lotekk.net/ao/trickle/ . The real difference, is how much time you want to spend collecting items at 220 to get Xan Alpha Symbs in (with Trox needing the most items, and the others a bit less) and how beneficial the breed perks/items are. Currently all but Opifex have pretty compelling breed benefits depending on which profession you are - Solitus has a 5k HoT/Nano HoT, Nanomage has a 5k absorb, Atrox has Mongo Rage.

[srompu]

I would start with solitus if you're a new player. It's the most balanced and reasonable to learn on. NM has some advantages with nanoskills, but other than that you won't see the benefits until TL7. Trox is perhaps more challenging than NM to play at lower levels.

[Valour]

opifex how has a neat def debuff (-200) at 200 (so probs more at 220) iirc so get perks through now which is relatively easy to land

[Eedesti]

I usually roll all my toons as soli now. I dont think the effort for getting engame alphas is worth it. The nm coon is maybe the only reason to ever go for another breed than soli. But if i at some point in the future decide that I need it I can farm all the required items in endgame soli equip and then change the breed.

So i agree with the others, as a new player: definatly go soli.

[Wakizaka]

I roll almost everything as Opifex, for 2 reasons: 1) lowest IP expenditure for the highest total base attributes, 2) alphas are pretty much r-click.

[Raggy]

I roll almost everything as Opifex, for 2 reasons: 1) lowest IP expenditure for the highest total base attributes, 2) alphas are pretty much r-click.

3) We're sexy as f.

[Litestrider]

In my opinion all four breeds are great for bureaucrat, for completely different reasons.

Solitus has a generally easy time with symbiants and stat requirements, a very balanced approach, and that perk heal which is very valuable to bureaucrats who severely lack healing.

Opifex has a nice bonus to evades, 30 over solitus and a whopping 52 over atrox. Given that bureaucrat's first and last line of defense (assuming things break through your crowd control) is evades this is a very nice bonus.

Atrox rocks the high HP and high healdelta. Your heal delta will become relevant sooner and will be stronger later, and it may take 2-3 hits for you to go squish rather than 1. I'm extremely envious of how much HP Atrox bureaucrats have and regenerate. They also have Mongo Rage, which is hard not to mention with how often the PvPers fawn over it.

And Nanomage has the highest nanoskills, 20-30 points over soli/opi and 50-70 points over atrox. They also have significant nano delta sooner and stronger, which may not be a huge deal to bureaucrats in most situations, but is certainly nice. There's also the dreadloch endurance booster at level 201+, which is a very nice item and definitely worth considering basing your breed choice on. It's similar to bio cocoon and has saved my butt many, many times, especially considering bureaucrat most often needs survivability in short bursts.

My bureaucrat is nanomage, and while I've considered swapping to each of the other breeds many times, I think ultimately it's a "grass is greener" situation. I'm happy with my nanos landing more often, having a faux-bio cocoon, and almost never running out of nano even when I'm spamming nanos like mad and having it drained.