AAs suggestions for young SK - and what order?

[Ilavatar]

I'm a level 25 SK so I'm just getting started. I have 21 AAs but I'm going to be working hard to get more.I've looked at some of the threads on AAs but since most of you are so much higher you don't discuss the ORDER in which I should get the AAs.Currently I have:INT 4-4-8STR 3and 1 left overBut I was thinking of putting them in STA instead to get the Hammer. It looks like a nice quick benefit for not too many AAs.What would you suggest for AA builds for both solo and as MT of a group (raiding is too far off to think about).And, just as importantly, what order should I get them?

[Ilavatar]

OK, I'll advise myself. <img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" />I found a good thread on just this subject at eq2flames.comattachment:/20/22113-beginner-leveling-aa-advice.htmlHmm, that's weird looking URL anyway you can search for the thread title is: "Beginner/Leveling AA Advice"But I think  I'll go with a different order based on my experience as MT in Crushbone Keep last night with good gear and Ad3 spells. I did OK but I still lost aggro some times.Since a young SK doesn't have lots of AAs, I think it's best to go where you get the most bang for your buck in the early days.So both my Group MT and Solo builds will start with INT to get spell crits, I guess.---For Grouping as MT the most important thing is keeping agrro. That seems to mean following the Hate line:So that would probably mean maxing out Dark Caress, Decree, Taunt, Rescue and Shield Slam to reach Sipon Hate. Then once I get Death March put some points there too.-- After that I'll probably go down STA to melee crits then STR to hate and maybe all the way - or vice versa. That's a long way off yet.-----------------------------For Soloing, I think the most important thing is to be able to heal yourself. If you can keep yourself healed you can usually win the fight.I'll start off with the Reaving Line:So I guess that would be 2 in Unholy Weapon (I'm not sure how valuable this is), 5 in Infernal Blessing, 5 in Grim Coil, 3 in Leech, then 5 in Consume Vitae. Since the next two spells, Tap Veins and Mana Sieve are level 55 and level 52, I can't go farther. So I'll probably fill out the rest of the line that I skipped and maybe put some points into FD or move over and do the STA line as far as melee crits or even look at WIS.

[nighthunter]

<cite>Ilavatar wrote:</cite><blockquote>-----------------------------For Soloing, I think the most important thing is to be able to heal yourself. If you can keep yourself healed you can usually win the fight.I'll start off with the Reaving Line:So I guess that would be 2 in Unholy Weapon (I'm not sure how valuable this is), 5 in Infernal Blessing, 5 in Grim Coil, 3 in Leech, then 5 in Consume Vitae. Since the next two spells, Tap Veins and Mana Sieve are level 55 and level 52, I can't go farther. So I'll probably fill out the rest of the line that I skipped and maybe put some points into FD or move over and do the STA line as far as melee crits or even look at WIS.</blockquote>I personally didn't see the return for Grim Coil when I had it, Unless there is a better jump I had 2 - 3 points into it and the healing I got back was only around 30 points (if that). I skipped Grim Coil and have points into Mana Sieve which helps keep my power up. Now mind you, the SK is not my main toon so others out there should know better then me but like I said, I did not see the payoff for getting Grim Coil.

[Ilavatar]

Thanks - I won't emphasize it for now then.

[nailhead]

I'll add my personal view, but dont take that as the direction you should necessarily go.  I'm currently a Lvl 28 SK on PVP and have 37AA points to use.  I began by going down the INT line 4-4-8, since the majoity of my skills were spell based.  This line increased my INT and max'd my spell crit, which makes alot of difference in my offensive combat.   Secondly, I went down the STA line 4-4-8 aswell, reason for this was to max out Hammer Ground, this is a really useful 3 sec AOE stun, gives my healer in the group time to heal me without interupt, also good for taking the feet from under the fleeing PVP'r !!!     At the moment I am jointly trying to increase my melee crit and go down the reaving line to eventually get Reaver ( heal as you get hit buff).  After that will then go down the STR line to increase my hate gain, but as my SK is designed as a DPS SK I havent needed hate gain as much.   Generally I group with two others, a Dirge and a Fury, only one of the two likely to get aggro is the dirge, but so far been manageable.  This setup is aimed at PVP and many people will have justified different opinions.FleabyBlind Mice (Venekor)

[Hugsnkissums]

<p>This has come up many times and without question, the first 17 points you get should be spent in the crusader line down the INT tree 4-4-8. After that most opinion splits...some say go down STR line as the haste on the end ability causes ALL your spells and abilities to refresh faster. CAs and Spelsl that come back faster can be used sooner means more damage, more damage means more hate and the hate gain in the STR line is almost a necessity as higher levels. Others claim that Reaver is is the next major ability to get in the SK Reaving Line. Some say the solo ability that reaver brings to the table is wonderful for us even at lower levels. </p><p>Either way, it takes a while to build the AAs to get to either, but it's a good time to examine how you play the game. If you find yourself doing a lot of things by yourself, Reaver would help you do that more efficiently; however, if you group more often any additional hate you get is only going to help you. As you level your groupmates will do more and more damage and you'll have a harder time maintaining aggro control even with hate transfers. Anyway, as you get more AAs more then likely you'll end up getting both abilites anyway so the only real question is which you will get first so don't stress about it too much. </p><p>My personal experience, go down STR first as end game you'll be grouping more and more often to get something accomplished and the sooner you start playing with groupmates, the better tank you'll be not to mention the more familiar people will be with you as a tank. Soloability, though nice, isn't going to help you become better at what you do in a group setting...in fact most times its counter productive to that end. Reaver as it stands is just an O-K ability at level 80 and is one you can live without, but the end ability of the STR line I don't think I'll ever spec out of because it's too useful.  </p><p>After those abilities people's opinions change about where to go next. As it stands, eventually you'll be able to get all three abilities in your SK Tree, but the Crusader Tree is another story. Some will swear to go down the STA line as it gives you not only an AoE knockdown for less then Epic mobs, it'll also give you melee crit and max health % increase which as a tank is all around good juju, not to mention the end ability is a nice 10 second invulernability that for the most part will save you in a sticky situation. Some will say the AGI line is over looked and has it's merits since more then likely we'll be taking on several mobs at one time and the AoE autoattack is not replaceable. The WIS line isn't popular at all, but to be honest will probably earn you the most points with the people you group with. The fear immunity is the cream of the crop in that line and works well as long as it isn't dispelled. The other goodies in that line are about helping you and your entire group hit, do damage, and survive the mobs you face reguardless if they are epic difficulty or not.</p><p>By the time you get to that point though, you should know what you want to do with those points. My advice is to play around with it and if you don't like it, respec. Experiement and see what works best for you.</p><p>  </p>

[StaticLex]

<cite>Hugsnkissums wrote:</cite><blockquote><p>This has come up many times and without question, the first 17 points you get should be spent in the crusader line down the INT tree 4-4-8.  </p></blockquote>I went down the STR line with my first 24 points and liked it.  Then I used a free respec and moved them into the INT line and absolutely hated it.  I attacked slow and lost aggro all the time.  So I respeced back to STR and all was good in the world.  Anyway, the long of the short here is I think the INT line is a crap choice for your <i>first</i> AAs.

[Ilavatar]

That's the nice thing about the Mirror of Reflected Achievements - you can have a solo AA build and one for Grouping.I like the Reaver line for soloing and have been going down the Hate line for when I'm MT.