soloing in RoK

[Ipskor2]

hi all,  I wanted to share my experiences of soloing in RoK, and get other people's impressions. I'm a casual player and have a lvl 72 pally, a mix of treasured/mastercrafted and mainly ad3 spells, AA respeced for solo/dps.  My initial thoughts... 'ow!'. I have to be in defensive stance with board and sword, and I can take on, and beat, any solo mob at my level and below. I invariably end up with around 30% (or less) power and 40% (or less) health. A enormous amount of my combat arts are parried (which is probably a reason I use so much power) and even with 51% mitigation against even con mobs I still take hits of 500+ regularly.  Offensive stance or 1H is a recipe for disaster.  I went into Karnor's at level 71 and got creamed. Even with 2 healers I would occasionally get one shotted by some of the entrance mobs. 2500+ dmg spikes... eek!  Various other threads have suggested that it's all a matter of 'learning new strat', but I disagree. I find that I have to mash buttons just to win, which makes for a  hectic fight. Actually, the fights are becoming quite tiring now and lower level alts more appealing <img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" />  I popped over to Loping Plains to finish off a writ and it's much more relaxing there. Lvl 69 mobs actually die quite easily!Delight,72 Pally, House of Cards, Crushbone.

[docpaulp]

Tell us your aa spec please. If you insist on tanking in def stance and whiff so much, at least respec to wis line. Otherwise i don't see how you cant solo in offensive stance.  Also, what weapon do you use? Usually a good compromise  for tanking/dps is sword/shield in offensive stance.  Also, taking 2500 hits is not getting 1shot, that's taking 10 k hits.

[Fellindar]

I havn't had any problem with any of the content I have encountered so far, admittedly im wearing the kyle bayle set / EoF legendary so I'm better geared by the sounds of it but like you I am mainly adept III's.I fight anything that is white or easy yellow with offensive + 2HS and thougher mobs in offensive with 1HS + shield.I agree that the mobs seem to hit harder but making effective use of knockdowns (to stop interupts) + ward seems to keep my health in the green with only Faith strike (or whatever it is called) upgraded to full in the hero line to keep my HP topped up.

[Jeenyous]

<p>For even con non-heroic mobs, Kunark is tougher than other locations in my opinion.</p><p>I guess I was spoiled where I could grab three or more of even con mobs and fight and wrath aoe them to death no problem.  This would even work on one arrow up heroic mobs as well.</p><p>Now, with three or more even con or some even lower non-heroic Kunark mobs, most of the time, I'm either running away or I stick in there too long thinking my abilities will grant me victory as they have in the past and die.</p><p>Not really a complaint here even though it is aggravating to me, just my own personal observation.</p><p>So far, I haven't faced any heroic Kunark mobs.</p>

[Karlen]

<span class="postbody">>>>A enormous amount of my combat arts are parried (which is probably a reason I use so much power)<<<Do you have the AA that gives +skills?  That might help if you are having trouble landing hits.</span>

[Marcula]

<p><span style="color: #00ccff;">Hmmm...i am not experiencing the problems you are. I am as of today fully MC in Devout gear, before I was just replacing stuff with quest items. I always use the sword and board and only ever use the defensive stance when I am actually tanking in a group.</span></p><p><span style="color: #00ccff;">Don't have any of the problems you seem to be having.....every now and then a mob seems to give me some trouble but nothing to crazy that I can't usually handle it.</span></p><p><span style="color: #00ccff;">All my spells are adept 3 or mastered ( I am level 72)</span></p><p><span style="color: #00ccff;">Have 88 AA's.</span></p><p><span style="color: #00ccff;">I am r<span style="font-size: x-small;">unning around 580 str and 580 int in offensive mode and my HP is around 7800, power is nearing 5000.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-small;color: #00ccff;">I PvP and actually think we have gotten tougher. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-small;color: #00ccff;">I actually only use the defensive buff about 2% of the time I would say.</span></p>

[Gwarsh]

i've seen several dots on me that take 10% health per tick, thats scary stuff there, how are your resists? if you are getting nailed by dots you should look into some resist gear

[Taipans]

<p>I was going to post the very same thing and ask for advice.</p><p>Since stepping into the new expansion I am having a hard time taking on even / blue con mobs. Every fight is a slow horrible struggle!</p><p>Master / Adept IIIs all the way around, gear is from EOF raiding. Which AA / Pally lines do you guys think are the best to pickup when playing solo?</p><p>I think I am parsing around 380dps btw, what should we be at using a 1-hander and should I look at going to a 2-hander?</p><p>Thanks!</p>

[DarkFire9020]

Soloing in RoK is extremely easy even without EoF fabled. As a 70 Paladin you should be able to kill 72-73 spawn in offensive stance with very little problems. Raincaller, M1's or Adept3's, stuns, and proc gear is all you need except for heals. KC is easy if 2 healers couldn't keep you alive get better healers and your ward is your friend. I have solo'd, done KC, and I am level 76 with no gear upgrades and adept 1's. So if you can't solo in RoK you're doing something wrong!! 

[Sheherazad]

<p>This is my first post, so please excuse me if I error.  I have noticed a difference in the pve combat myself and have wondered if I was doing something wrong.  From what I have seen, I think I have, I do use the 2h and sword and board, however, I have always ran defensive stance.  </p><p>My gear is all MC, all my spells and arts are at AdeptIII and I have 74 AA's now.  My question is how to properly spec those AA's.  I was wondering if anyone could share their opinion with us in respect to the Crusader line.  I have my points currently spread between Crusader and Paladin.  Wondering if I should just concentrate on the Crusader line first.  I am going down the Sta line for damage and the int line has been taken down to critical spell damage, was thinking maybe I should go down the wis line also.</p><p>Any help or opinions would be greatly appreciated.</p><p>Katie, 71 Paladin, Antonia Bayle</p>

[Buzzing]

<p>AA, gear, and playstyle play a huge role in being able to solo in RoK</p><p> If you have all MC gear and less then 100 aa you will more then likely have a hard time in RoK</p><p>the best solo spec bar none needs 96 aa as a min to get</p><p>at level 70 and 996 aa go agi str int 448 and 4485 sta for your crusader tree then use 26 points in the hero line for the 24% incrtease to your shield.</p><p>fight in ofence or defence it won't make a lick of diference but unless you have at least the eof legendary set I would not lose the shield.</p><p>just a sugestion (mind you it would change very much for tanking in big groups or raids and even more for healer/utility)</p><p> PS - tanked all of KC with two healers at 70 and 71 but I think I have a bit better gear then those who have trouble</p>

[bubspeed 2]

<p>Level 73 pally here.  I have a few pieces of fabled gear from KoS.  Draconic Deflector, Firebrand leggings, and an earring.  Rest is either MC Tier 8 or Legendary gear, so I guess I am slightly above average geared...</p><p>I don't have problems soloing.  Its just painfully slow.  Fighting even level mobs in Kunark with defensive stance, shield and 1HS takes forever.  As long as I ward and heal occasionally, I have no problem.</p><p>If I want to improve my DPS, then I know I have to switch stances and use a Two hand sword.  It's just not my style.</p><p>The problem I have is that I use 75% of my mana during each fight.  Then I have to rest until it builds back up.  It literally takes me 1 minute to kill a mob and get enough mana for the next one.</p><p>I have about 8300hp and just over 5000 mana.</p>

[Rast]

<p>I'm moderately geared (some KoS fabled, some masters) and while the fights are very slow, I couldn't fight them faster anyways since I have to wait on timers to come back up before I go after the next mob anyways.  I fight in offensive with sword and board.</p><p>I preward then lead off with Refusal, follow it by hallowed.  This brings the mob to me and byt the type hallowed goes off, I should be in range for Righteousness.  I follow that with our dot and smite evil.  At this point an even con mob should be well into the yellow.  I hit 2 CAs (extinquish Will and the other that has the same icon, can't remember it's name at the moment) and then kick.  While the mob is knocked down, I cast devotion again as it is either gone or about to be.  I then go into my other CAs that I have available to me, including any AoEs i can use.  Mob is normally dead in about 25-30 seconds and I wait out the timer on refusal, the dot and smite evil before I take the next mob, so 1 minute from pull to pull.</p><p>I'm closing in on 74 at the moment (about 7% out).  I have 9100 HPs and enough power that I rarely run out (4500ish).</p>

[Prrasha]

Similar to Jalathan, here.  Offensive stance with sword-n-board.  The extra stun from the shieldbash attack is nice for getting in another ward or Refusal nuke without wasting DPS on interrupt recasting time.Only difference is I try to get all my debuffs in up front... Preward, pull with Empowered Ghoulbane (yeah, I don't raid at all, and Modinthalis looks too evil for a paladin to wield <img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /> ), throw Righteousness on incoming, and use my Kerra "claw" ability (physical mitigation debuff) first thing in melee.  For a really serious fight (yellow^ or so), I'll eat the 8 second casting time on a hex doll for even more debuffery.Use your DoT attack early for maximum benefit (the Kerra racial claw and the DoT are both 1 minute recasts, so I have them macroed together).  Also, the Heroic Opportunity starter takes no time to cast, so use it whenever Brimstone is up for a chance at a little extra "free" damage.  Maybe macro it on top of your lifetap smite.And try to avoid wasting time on recasts; if you need to ward, heal, or cast Refusal, try to chain it right behind one of our 3 stuns (kick, shieldbash, Extinguish Will line).The mobs in RoK are definitely tougher, though.  I used to harvest ore on the Gazer Isle by body-pulling two whole branches of the temple and AE'ing everything down (10-14 level 60 no-arrow mobs at once).  Now, fighting one L68 and getting one L68 add requires the same level of care... RoK mobs hit you like you just insulted their momma.

[Vulkan_NTooki]

<p>Its all about playstyle.. Fighting solo's in RoK requires the same strat/care u do when u fight heroic nameds in the other expansions.. Allthough it gets alot easier over time.</p><p>At 77 tho I can manage 3 yellow cons at the same time if I work my spells correctly.</p><p>For solo go Sword n Board and offensive. Use concecration if ur having problems with a certain encounter.  Try to avoid any mobs that are 5-7 lvls higher especially if your concecration and lay on hands line isnt available. </p><p>Upgrade your spells to adept III as soon as possible.</p><p>As for gear and aa's for soloing.. sacrifice mitigation and avoidance for +dps+haste+double attack+melee crit+spell crit+proc gear.. U'll do fine with 3k mitigation and 33% avoidance when soloing, provided u can dish out some dmg.</p><p>AA's are the traditional 4,4,8 in str,agi,int,sta (either 3) and wrath/hero/heal in EoF tree(either 2). </p>

[Karlen]

<span class="postbody">>>>The problem I have is that I use 75% of my mana during each fight.  Then I have to rest until it builds back up.<<<You might want to pick up a few Spirit Totems of the Goblin for power regen between fights.Also, while on the topic of totems, my Paladin is really liking the Totem of the Chokidai which gives you +45% run speed.</span>

[Anurra]

Here is my experience soloing in Kunark:I am geared with T7 MC and mostly Adept III/Masters. I am AA specced for soloing: STR/INT/STA (5 points in AGI for joust) and Wrath.I went over at level 66 to check it out, as I bought the expansion the same day. I found the spiders hit me for around 600-800 damage with ~50% mitigation at my level (66). I did not die to these mobs, but it was not worth it to try and do the quests. I then left and decided to wait until I get several levels.I returned at level 69 and gave it another go. The damage went down to something that was much more manageable: 300-550. I decided to try and find out exactly what I needed to do. I did so, and this is what I have discovered:1.) 1H + Shield2.) Offensive stance.3.) STAY AWAY FROM DUAL WIELDING MOBS!!4.) Preward.5.) Open with ranged attack. I use my bow because I have longarm and field point arrows (55meter range)6.) Follow up with 2 ranged attacks: Judgment and Legionaries smite.7.) Alternate with using my Kick, Shield Bash, Break Will, and Hammer Ground. Essentially, I do this:Shield BashSmite EvilKickDPSBreak WillWard (Maybe shoot off a quick heal right after if I need it)Hammer GroundDPS--Repeat OR Ward then necessary OR use other CA's while waiting for timers.But the key is to use STUNS as much as possible. I recently got Hammer Ground and I am heading back to KP to try it out because the more stuns the better!Doing the following manner I have found that I can easily solo anything that does not dual wield. Dual wielding monsters can deal upwards of 3-,000-4,000 damage to me in a round before mitigation (~45% at level 70 and I get usually get doubled to tripled in a round for 600-800 each). They out DPS my wards + healing (including Lay on Hands and my self heal). It sucks to make our healing spells sort of useless in this expansion from soloing, oh well!I had to do the yeti cave quest and I was easily able to dispatch every single monster on the way up there. My health normally stayed in the green and I could pull back to pull (had to rest every few pulls though).I'm not sure if anyone else noticed this, or maybe I am just wrong but it seems that monsters get melee crits a lot when I have my ward up. Maybe the numbers are just bigger when your ward blocks it? But it seems they are a larger font size when I am warded, I haven't really checked the chat logs or paid much attention to it because I am in Combat Mode and trying to ensure I don't screw up and die <img src="/eq2/images/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY<img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" />" />Now, at level 69, I also grouped with a guild mate who had a level 80 templar. She mentored down to me and let me say, a healer makes a big difference (of course a level 80 healer lol). At one point, as we were doing that goblin quest, I over pulled and had 3 mobs on me. I was like "Great, time to die!" But I was wrong and quite literally, my health did not go under 90% and most of the time it was at 100%. I suggest making friends with a healer, lol. I am for sure going to group with her a lot!That is my 2 cents right now.In terms of AA Spec, I am trying to finish off the STA line to get melee crits and then do Hero and Healing.THANKS

[Karlen]

I'm level 71 and have mostly treasured gear, with much of it coming from quests I've done so far in Kylong and Fens (recently started in on Fens quests).  Most of my spells/CAs are adept III.The first thing I did on arrival in KP was to get my shield out.  I've almost never used one before, but without it I was getting crushed.   I have been staying in offensive stance because I can't seem to do enough damage in defensive stance to kill a mob before my power runs out.My general procedure is: [combat leadership], [ward], pull with short bowback up until I get another shot in with my short bow (and lets ward timer run out)HO, [The CA with the DoT], [Encounter Taunt with debuff], wardThen I run through my spells (legionnaires, brimstone, hallowed) while the divine debuff is active, bash with my shield and then wardthen I run through my CAs.  From here on in, I alternate warding and using whatever spells/CA become available.This works on most yellow no arrow mobs.  Yellow up arrow mobs are pretty tough, but I haven't run across too many so far.For AAs, I've completed the WIS line (mostly maxxed out) and am about to finish the INT line.  From the paladin tab, the heal cast improvement, the ward recast improvement and raid armament.  I plan on working down the STA line to get the melee crits next.

[Anurra]

A quick update: hit level 72 today and put on a full suit of MC vanguard armor(looks sweet), and tynnonium jewelry, and I barely have to ward/heal myself as much now. It is a huge difference.