Rock, Paper.... Sword?

[LichKing06]

Hey, a bit new to EQ, looking to make an SK:  for soloing, should I go Sword n Board, Stick n Shield, Axe n Shield, 2h Sword, or what?  And what about Grouping?  Or should I go ahead and try to work on all weap skills as I level?

[Korpo]

Typically you'll use a sword (or mace, or axe, or whatever) and board when tanking to get the boost to your avoidance and to be able to use your shield bash ability. When you're DPSing, you can go with either the S&B or a two hander, whichever you like. It depends what weapons you have, but generally a 2h is going to do more damage than a S&B.

[Wilin]

It depends on alot of things. But starting out with no/few AAs and treasured/crafted gear, you can solo very well using a 2H. No matter which option you go with, make sure that you don't queue your CAs because you won't get any auto attacks out if you stay constantly queued. Depending on your weapon speed, you may have to stagger your CAs by a half second or so just so auto attacks occur between them. Otherwise, you're losing auto attacks and damage.

[AziBam]

Wilin, that really isn't the case about queued abilities.  AA will swing in-between queued spells/CAs as long as the timer of the auto-attack is ready.  You can delay the auto attack if you start casting a slow spell right before it would normally swing but even if you have a new art queued while you cast that big spell the auto-attack will swing in the middle.  . Generally speaking, all the one handed weaps have similar stats.  It isn't safe to say "Axes are better" or anything like that.  Just examine the stats and damage rating of each weapon and choose the best available.  I personally solo and tank with sword and board (meaning my best 1-hander and shield..not necessarily a sword).  I normally only use a two hander unless I'm fighting really easy content or I'm in a group/raid but not tanking.   Other people absolutely swear by using 2 handers as often as possible.  You'll probably just need to keep both in your inventory and find what works best for your style.