<snip>
A melee class that depends completely on their armor
and weapons, which are now 2-3 zones away on their
corpse. A casting class depends on their spells which
are on them at ALL times no matter where they are.

So it's more dangerous for a caster to run 2-3 zones
away completely armed with their weapons (spells) and
their shields (spells), and less dangerous for a melee
class to make the same run with no weapons and no
armor at all.

Please explain that again. I think I missed something.
<snip>

Very happy to explain. When you run back to get your body, presumably you
are avoiding all mobs that may give you trouble. So if you do get into
trouble, it is generally coming from something that you didn't see and has
already started hitting you. Since it came after you, it is at least high
green, and likely higher.

A bard should have turbo going already and should have no trouble outrunning
pursuit. You might have me with a rogue. They should be hiding/sneaking
through trouble spots, but a random encounter spells disaster for them.
I've never played one, though, so they may have a trick up their sleeves for
just such a predicament.

A caster with spells memorized will probably start by trying to cast root
(if they have it), which takes a bit of time to cast. Some of the time
(depending on the level of the mob -- if it's white or higher you're
probably screwed regardless of class) you can get it off in your first
couple of tries and make a run for it. All too often, however, you get
repeatedly interrupted until you are either dead or too weak to make it to
the zone before the mob gets loose and comes after you again. That lack of
hps really shows in this situation; it doesn't take many hits to pound a
caster six feet under.

I think of it this way: a caster's armor is his/her group -- especially as
the caster advances in levels. Without that group, combat generally leads
directly to death. If a caster has the luxury of picking his/her prey, they
can often have some success, but when combat is initiated by the mob, my
experience shows that the caster is going to lose.

A fighting melee class (PAL, RNG, SK, WAR), on the other hand, if he/she was
smart enough to pick up that spare weapon he/she keeps in the bank (my lvl
16 TSK and 9 Ranger always keep a spare for difficult retrievals), can fend
off greens and most blues, even sans armor. If things look really bad,
having several more hps than casters gives the melee player a better chance
of making it to the zone before giving up the ghost. Again, if you've got a
high-level mob on your backside, you're probably dead, but you would have
been dead fully dressed and with a smile anyway.

At higher levels, your solo ability is reduced, but there are FAR fewer mobs
in most zones that would even consider taking a shot at you, and those can
mostly be avoided.

Understand my point now?

Ranulf
Tunare Server