Shield or 2h?

[TheKreep]

As the MT should I be using a shield or a 2h if I'm going STR linr?

[Dead Knight]

Depends on how good your gear and healers are, and how good your 2H is compared to your 1H. I tank pretty much everything Heroic with a 2H except Nizara and CMM - it's probably doable in those two zones too but I've never tried.

[ThomasGrey]

When i'm playing the role of MT, I always use a shield.  You need your shield bash to help generate hate.

[Beldin_]

<p>You should maybe ask your healers better about that. My avoidance in offense-stance without shield is something like 20%, and since autoattack is normally only 10-12% of my total damage i prefer 20% more avoidance over maybe 50-100 dps more.</p>

[Skua]

if u are mentoring go 2h .....if u are MT a instance of your level , shield <img src="/smilies/283a16da79f3aa23fe1025c96295f04f.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" />

[Belaythien]

If your group wipes and you've been using a 2h weapon, everybody will blame you <img src="/eq2/images/smilies/908627bbe5e9f6a080977db8c365caff.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" width="15" height="15" />

[Dead Knight]

<cite>Shalla@Valor wrote:</cite><blockquote><p>You should maybe ask your healers better about that. My avoidance in offense-stance without shield is something like 20%, and since autoattack is normally only 10-12% of my total damage i prefer 20% more avoidance over maybe 50-100 dps more.</p></blockquote>The entire point of using a 2H is that your healers don't suck therefore avoidance no longer matters and you do more DPS to kill stuff faster and keep aggro better. Not to mention there's nothing in this game except Nizara that you can't really tank with 20% avoidance. Once you start getting 2 handers like Chirat that are hitting for 5k auto attack, you'll understand why so many tank with a 2H.

[Dead Knight]

<cite>ThomasGrey wrote:</cite><blockquote>When i'm playing the role of MT, I always use a shield.  You need your shield bash to help generate hate.</blockquote>We don't need any taunts to generate hate since they're so weak in the first place. Sacrilege for the debuff, Insidious Promise for the DoT. It's all about getting hit so caress goes off and increasing your personal DPS.

[Beldin_]

<cite>Dead Knight wrote:</cite><blockquote> Once you start getting 2 handers like Chirat that are hitting for 5k auto attack, you'll understand why so many tank with a 2H.</blockquote><p>Since i don't raid i will never get it i think. I also will never have the miti, avoidance, life and other stats that you raiders have.</p><p>And often if people ask here these questions they are just new to the character, and they also are not full fabled but only run around in Mastercrafted or even worse.</p><p>So do you also tank Avatars and all other raidmobs with a 2-hander ? If so, then you can maybe tell people who only have group-gear that they can do all with a 2-hander.</p>

[Dead Knight]

I've said countless times that I do not raid avatars. I do tank certain epics with a 2H, but my gear has reached a level where I can do that, we're talking about Heroic content here - I would never ask someone in Xego to go and tank any raid with a 2H in DPS gear.

[TheKreep]

<p>I think I'm even more confused now  :O</p><p>I'm new to tanking.. I'm level 25 in the AQ armor</p><p>All I have for AA are STR 4 4 4</p><p>All my CA's are Adept 1</p><p>My normal healer is a newish player Fury</p><p>Now should I use a 1h w/ shield or 2h</p><p>lol</p>

[Dead Knight]

Start with 2H, if you get your [Removed for Content] owned switch to 1H.

[Beldin_]

<cite>Dead Knight wrote:</cite><blockquote>I've said countless times that I do not raid avatars. I do tank certain epics with a 2H, but my gear has reached a level where I can do that, we're talking about Heroic content here - I would never ask someone in Xego to go and tank any raid with a 2H in DPS gear.</blockquote><p>But you tell people in Xegonite to tank Unrest and pull whole rooms with a 2-hander. Thats something that you my can do with your stuff, but people without that stuff will simply get eaten if they try, and then again everyone will say that SKs suck as tanks.</p><p>So please.. if a newbie asks some question, remember how it was when you were at that level, or if you can't do that, don't give advices about how you tank 100 mobs at once in your full fabled gear.</p><p>You can tell that maybe as a look onto the future, and what a fabled SK is capable to do if he is 70 and has that stuff <img src="/smilies/8a80c6485cd926be453217d59a84a888.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /></p>

[Beldin_]

<cite>TheKreep wrote:</cite><blockquote><p>I think I'm even more confused now  :O</p><p>I'm new to tanking.. I'm level 25 in the AQ armor</p><p>All I have for AA are STR 4 4 4</p><p>All my CA's are Adept 1</p><p>My normal healer is a newish player Fury</p><p>Now should I use a 1h w/ shield or 2h</p><p>lol</p></blockquote><p>First : Respec to INT .. 4/4/8 INT is always the first to go.</p><p>Second .. if you tank in groups .. use a shield <img src="/smilies/8a80c6485cd926be453217d59a84a888.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /></p>

[Hamervelder]

<cite>Dead Knight wrote:</cite><blockquote>Start with 2H, if you get your [I cannot control my vocabulary] owned switch to 1H.</blockquote>lol truer words have never been spoken.  I usually go sword/board though, simply because I end up w/ more hp/power/stats.  If I had a really really nice 2H, I may use it more often. 

[Dead Knight]

<cite>Shalla@Valor wrote:</cite><blockquote><cite>Dead Knight wrote:</cite><blockquote>I've said countless times that I do not raid avatars. I do tank certain epics with a 2H, but my gear has reached a level where I can do that, we're talking about Heroic content here - I would never ask someone in Xego to go and tank any raid with a 2H in DPS gear.</blockquote><p>But you tell people in Xegonite to tank Unrest and pull whole rooms with a 2-hander. Thats something that you my can do with your stuff, but people without that stuff will simply get eaten if they try, and then again everyone will say that SKs suck as tanks.</p><p>So please.. if a newbie asks some question, remember how it was when you were at that level, or if you can't do that, don't give advices about how you tank 100 mobs at once in your full fabled gear.</p><p>You can tell that maybe as a look onto the future, and what a fabled SK is capable to do if he is 70 and has that stuff <img src="/eq2/images/smilies/8a80c6485cd926be453217d59a84a888.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY<img src="/smilies/8a80c6485cd926be453217d59a84a888.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" />" /></p></blockquote>I didn't tell anyone in Xego to room-pull unrest with a 2H, [Removed for Content] are you talking about?

[seamus]

<cite>Shalla@Valor wrote:</cite><blockquote><cite>TheKreep wrote:</cite><blockquote><p>I think I'm even more confused now  :O</p><p>I'm new to tanking.. I'm level 25 in the AQ armor</p><p>All I have for AA are STR 4 4 4</p><p>All my CA's are Adept 1</p><p>My normal healer is a newish player Fury</p><p>Now should I use a 1h w/ shield or 2h</p><p>lol</p></blockquote><p>First : Respec to INT .. 4/4/8 INT is always the first to go.</p><p>Second .. if you tank in groups .. use a shield <img src="/eq2/images/smilies/8a80c6485cd926be453217d59a84a888.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY<img src="/smilies/8a80c6485cd926be453217d59a84a888.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" />" width="15" height="15" /></p></blockquote>Then go to the EOF line and upgrade your blessings.

[StaticLex]

I started a SK and have been using a 2 hander and no shield from the very beginning.  It seems to work well so far, but I have equipped the char with mastercrafted everything.

[TheKreep]

<p>Really go INT first? I have a couple regular friends I play with so I'm mostly grouped I thought STR would be better to start.</p><p>What would a good progression be for buying AA's?</p>

[MaCloud1032]

<p>As a SK always go for your spell crits first.  4-4-8 in the int line of the crusader tree.  Any thing after that is just a bonus.  Most of us who are more on the line of DPS go down the str line others who are more tankish are down the sta line where people who enjoy buffing there group are wis line.</p><p>In EoF almost everyone will tell you go reaver first then what ever.  Probly will be reaver and hate line though.</p>

[StaticLex]

I went down the strength line first, I figured the haste stuff would lock aggro for me.  My SK is only 25 too so I should have plenty of time to fix things if need be.

[TheKreep]

Why is it important to go int first?I MT for a regular grp so i thought STR/Int thn A little Sta

[Miele]

<cite>TheKreep wrote:</cite><blockquote>Why is it important to go int first?I MT for a regular grp so i thought STR/Int thn A little Sta</blockquote>You do most of your damage (and healing) through spells, higher int is equal to higher damage, aka more agro.Anyway there is not challenging content I'd face without a shield, putting an extra burden on your healer shoulders for some pitiful autoattack is not really worth it imo. Greens and even blues... meh, who cares?

[Arielle Nightshade]

<cite>TheKreep wrote:</cite><blockquote><p>I think I'm even more confused now  :O</p><p>I'm new to tanking.. I'm level 25 in the AQ armor</p><p>All I have for AA are STR 4 4 4</p><p>All my CA's are Adept 1</p><p>My normal healer is a newish player Fury</p><p>Now should I use a 1h w/ shield or 2h</p><p>lol</p></blockquote><p>I just started playing my SK that's been on the shelf for about 2 years - so trolling these forums.   I can't offer you the tanking advice, but as a Warden, Templar and Defiler - please......use the 1h with the Shield given these armor specs <img src="/eq2/images/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY<img src=" width="15" height="15" />  At your level, the struggle to keep everyone alive is a combination of things:  Your abilities and your Fury's abilities don't mesh throughout that tier.</p><p>Druids between about level 18 and 29 ish have power issues (I've leveled one from launch and one on a pvp server..so have x2 70 Wardens ..lol).   This (for them) is a combination of WIS-bearing gear (their power pool), lack of AA (yet) that would help that issue with heal crits.   Combine that with the fact that most mobs in the game feature burst damage right off the bat (the druid's weakness).  Most new druids haven't yet learned the power management of not overhealing during burst damage.  At first it looks like your heals 'aren't working' because the heals over time (HoTs, the druid class defining heal) haven't kicked in.  It can be nerve wracking for the new healer, and that often equals burning power fast.  </p><p>The better you can take a hit, the easier it's going to be for this particular healer and you right now.    As you level up, you'll see a difference both with your Fury's power pool and their spell quality improves in Tier 4 (30-39).   You'll be really glad to have a druid as your regular healer, I think.</p><p>So all that is short for: 1H and Shield.   You can try a 2H, but as Dead Knight said...if you get owned, switch.  Your healer will thank you!  <img src="/eq2/images/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY<img src=" width="15" height="15" /></p>

[Dead Knight]

I prefer being healed by a Defiler most myself, then again that's because I know this badass Halfling defiler that can pretty much solo heal me through anything.. lol

[PlageuReaver]

<cite>Dead Knight wrote:</cite><blockquote>I prefer being healed by a Defiler most myself, then again that's because I know this badass Halfling defiler that can pretty much solo heal me through anything.. lol</blockquote>OMG you shouldnt have, now I have evidence you love me

[Dead Knight]

<cite>Idolvo@Splitpaw wrote:</cite><blockquote><cite>Dead Knight wrote:</cite><blockquote>I prefer being healed by a Defiler most myself, then again that's because I know this badass Halfling defiler that can pretty much solo heal me through anything.. lol</blockquote>OMG you shouldnt have, now I have evidence you love me</blockquote><3.. shhh SK's don't love.