Questions from a soloing SK

[Vooz]

<p>Ok first i'd liek to add that i managed to solo 60 lvl's but from this point it's starting to be less easy.</p><p>I wear MC'd stuff and spent a lot of AA's on reaving and INT + STR.</p><p>Now i've been reading that an SK does better with a high delay sword than with a low delay sword and i can't understand the ideea behind that statement so a bit of help on this topic would be great.</p><p>Second question is should i wear a 2H or a 1H and a shield? I never tank for grps and i solo MOST of my time. Think i grpd like 10-15 times total and that was only causse i joined friends.</p><p>Thanks a lot.</p>

[DwarvesR]

<cite>Deval@Crushbone wrote:</cite><blockquote><p>Ok first i'd liek to add that i managed to solo 60 lvl's but from this point it's starting to be less easy.</p><p><span style="color: #ff0000;">Congratz on making it this far!</span></p><p>I wear MC'd stuff and spent a lot of AA's on reaving and INT + STR.</p><p><span style="color: #ff0000;">Sounds like a good AA spec, especially if you're primarily solo.</span></p><p>Now i've been reading that an SK does better with a high delay sword than with a low delay sword and i can't understand the ideea behind that statement so a bit of help on this topic would be great.</p><p><span style="color: #ff0000;">High delay weapons tend to hit harder per swing, and if they crit the larger damage spread on them tends to maximize damage as the crits are averaged in over time.  High delay weapons also lose fewer swings over time due to "waiting" for spell-casting timers and CA's to finish, so this also serves to maximize dps.</span></p><p>Second question is should i wear a 2H or a 1H and a shield? I never tank for grps and i solo MOST of my time. Think i grpd like 10-15 times total and that was only causse i joined friends.</p><p><span style="color: #ff0000;">You'll get hit more with a 2H due to losing the block chance, and you also lose the 2.5 second stun from your shield block, which is damage prevention as well.  Since a 1H + shield still does about 75% as much auto-attack dps as a 2H, and makes no difference at all for the CA's and spells... I find that I do better with a shield than without due to the better defense.</span></p><p><span style="color: #ff0000;">The only time I use a 2H is if I'm in a group and not the tank, in order to maximize dps, since theoretically I d't have to worry about getting hit whn I'm not tanking.</span></p><p>Thanks a lot.</p></blockquote>

[Hugsnkissums]

<p>I'm assuming you don't use a parse program otherwise you'd have answered your first question. Most of our spells, at least our bigger damaging spells, take a few seconds to cast. If you have a sword with a 1.6-2 second delay, you're missing normal auto attack swings between spell castings. If that happens, the amount of outgoing damage you're actually doing tends to drop by a lot. The longer delay weapons allow you to cast those longer spells and still hit a normal auto attack cycle so you're not missing out on valuable damage.</p><p>That also ties in with why some SKs perfer to run around with a 2hd weapon over sword/board. If you look at the damage rating of most 2hd weapons, they have slow delays and do more damage then 1hd ones. It's an easier fit to have a long delay 2hd weapon then find a slow 1hd weapon, or at least it used to be. Most SKs when put into a group are the tank these days so it's rare to see a grouped SK running around with a gigantic sword or axe on their back. Some still swear by it, but it's become far easier to find a long delay 1hd weapon since RoK came out. With our survivability issues, most would choose the slow 1hd weapon over the 2hd weapon simply because if you steal aggro with a sword and board you'll live a lot longer then if you had a 2hd weapin equipped. </p>

[Vooz]

<p>Cool, thanks for the replies gonna have to go look for a better sword i guess but only after i hit 62 since it will open(i hope) more weapons and such.</p><p>And nope, no parse program... I do know that once, long ago(50 something) when in a grp i managed to out dps the dps-ers, that's about the only grp thing i can brag about <img src="/eq2/images/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" />)</p><p>Well hope i can get to 80 soloing... </p><p>Thanks again</p><p>Thou... excuse the newb... if i have a 1.5sec delay weapon doesnt that mean i slash slah slah fast fast fast? so more slashing/mob/interval of time? Compared to a 6 sec delay that will onyl slash every 6 secs? </p><p>I dod get the crit part but the delay thing is still a brain fuzzer for me <img src="/smilies/9d71f0541cff0a302a0309c5079e8dee.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /> sorry <img src="/smilies/283a16da79f3aa23fe1025c96295f04f.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /></p>

[Meauvena]

<p>Compare the upper and lower damage values on the 1.5 sec and 6 sec weapons.  You "should" see that the 6 sec weapon will have a higher upper value.  So when it crits, it will hit for a minimum of that max value +1.</p><p>Also, when you cast CA's that have a casting time of more than 1.5 sec the auto attack will have to wait for that CA to finish casting before the auto attack will trigger.  So if you cast a 2 sec CA and your weapon delay is 1.5, then you are wasting .5 seconds of DPS.  Not to mention if you key up another CA while the first is casting (i.e., "SPAMMING CA's&quot<img src="/smilies/8a80c6485cd926be453217d59a84a888.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /> the auto attack won't trigger until the last CA has been cast.  </p><p>With a longer delay weapon you can auto attack, chain a couple CAs, wait a split second and auto attack will trigger again (with practice you will know how many and which ones to cast between auto attacks).</p><p>One other thing worth mentioning are Proc's on weapons.  Proc's are "normalized" with the figure/number in the description.  If a proc says it will trigger 2.2 times a minute, it will trigger 2.2 time a minute whether you are using a 1.5 sec delay or a 6 sec delay weapon.</p>

[Vaelaen]

<cite>Deval@Crushbone wrote:</cite><blockquote><p>Well hope i can get to 80 soloing... </p><p>Thanks again</p></blockquote>I don't see why not, im at lvl 74 now and have solo'd the whole way with very few acceptions. I personally maxed the str and sta lines and have int maxed on the spell crits. I have reaver now, but will probably switch that over to the taunt line when i get to 78 or 79 so i can start hitting up the instances. I've never even thought of not using a shield, because if im in a group ill be tanking... when im solo, i need the avoidance even more so.

[Vooz]

well it seems i have lots to learn about sk's still...Usually i just chain CA's and spells like a uzzy <img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /> by the time they get all casted my mouse is yelling STOP! IT HURTS! <img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" />But then the question pops... what sword? the MC'd stuff has very low delay and as a soloer i can't even start to hope for fab swords or axes... The only high delay MC'd are the 2H's but then i have no sheld...Grrr why didn't i just play necro... root, send pet, dot, get xp <img src="/smilies/69934afc394145350659cd7add244ca9.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" />

[Tammerla]

maybe this isnt saying much, but my SK is my first toon in EQ2, or any mmo, ever.  I soloed thru to level 80 with some difficulty at times, but nothing a little creativity couldnt solve.  And my weapon of choice?  Two handers.  The only time now I use the sword/board combo is when I tank.Gratz on soloing to 60, and good luck the rest of the way!

[Vooz]

<p>Used to 2H myself untill one day in my 50's a great shield droped from a named and somehow i felt that i should use it and i did... When i ding 62 if i can find a really good shield i'll try out 1H+shield and 2H no shield on the same mobs, same play etc to see how it fits best to my playstyle.</p><p>But since i can't get even close to cool sword drops(solo + names that drop cool stuff = no no) i will be forced to use MC'd stuff and in order to have a high delay weapon i'll HAVE to use a 2H...</p><p>Thanks everyone for the grats and tips.</p>

[Vaelaen]

the mastercrafted stuff have delays all the way up to 6 seconds on the 1 handers. look for imbued or blessed stuff...

[Tiberuis]

<p>I would suggest a 2H with 5 or 6 sec delay for fights against mobs with less difficulty.  Max out your weapon rating, some of the Mastercrafted weaps are quite decent.</p><p>Against the more difficult mobs, try using a sword/shiled combo.  You will find your survivability increases substantially.  And always try to use a shield if you are tanking. </p><p>(As a side note, I recommend is getting your Damage Shield Ward upgraded to Master I if possible.  And spam it while fighting, constantly.  If you get interrupted, spam it again, lol.  This is the single most important survival spell at your disposal, and you will need it to keep you up in many fights).</p><p>To maximize your auto attack melee damage with a sword/shield combo, get yourself a high delay 1H weapon (5 or 6 secs), and time your attacks.  You can check your actual modified weapon delay by typing the command   /weaponstats</p><p>Make sure if your actual modified delay is 4.0 secs, that you que up your spell and combat arts to no more than 4.0 secs at a time.  You don't want to miss any auto attacks, you will need every swing possible to achieve some decent DPS.</p><p>The most important aspect of auto attack melee damage is Double Attack value.  I know it is very hard to build this stat for an SK newb, but try to get any gear that has +DA values.  If you manage to build your SK with decent +STR/+Melee Damage/+Melee Crit/+Double Attack values, your auto attack damage, if timed properly, will really help to increase your DPS.  </p><p><img src="http://forums.station.sony.com/eq2/images/smilies/8a80c6485cd926be453217d59a84a888.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" width="15" height="15" />    I copied some of this info from one of my previous posts, as I thout some of this will be helpful to you.  GL, and have fun on your journey to 80!</p>

[t0iletduck]

The mastercrafted Karabelas have a 5-6 second delay and a good damage spread IIRC. I'm at work and can't verify. For solo, I would personally recommend a 1h and shield just due to the survivability increase. As Tiberuis suggested, get your blessing spell Adept3/Master as it is your best tool for solo'ing. The hammer ground (STA line?) ability will give you an AoE stun to help cast blessing/Tap Veins without getting interupted. My usual routine for solo'ing is pull a bunch of mobs, cast death march, and start spamming. Try to put pestilence on the mob that is close to dying so you can maximize its effectiveness. A good solo build in my opinion would be:4-4-8 STR for Haste4-4-8 STA for Melee Crits4-4-8 AGI for AE Auto Attacks4-4-8 INT for Spell CritsYou have 5 points left over so I'd say probably put them in STA for hp pool increase. Obiously Reaver in the SK tree would be important as well as the Blessing line improvements. Siphon hate isn't going to do much as you mostly solo.

[Vaelaen]

<p>I went:</p><p><b>4-8-8-4-2 str</b> for avenging invigoration.</p><p><b>4-8-8-4-2 sta</b> for divine aura.</p><p><b>4-4-8 int </b>for spell crits.</p><p>this would be a good solo or group spec imho. max out the blessing aa in the sk tree, and you would be good to go... reaver is nice as well, but at only 2% it's not as important as it once was. im 74 right now with the above spec, and reaver in the sk tree.</p><p>here is the crusader tree <a href="http://www.eq2ref.com/aa/index.php?class=Crusader" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.eq2ref.com/aa/index.php?class=Crusader</a></p><p>here is the sk tree <a href="http://www.eq2ref.com/aa/index.php?class=Shadowknight" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.eq2ref.com/aa/index.php?...ss=Shadowknight</a></p>

[Vooz]

<p>My bigest investment of AA's are in INT 8-5-5 STR 8-5-5 STA 8-something-something(forgot) and the rest are invested in Reaving. I found Reaving to be of huge help especially in encounters where u need to put to sleep 2-3 mobs. I also have master in my buffs and i always have the fat giant from zek for the 20 STR boost.</p><p>As for the HATE line... i find it of no use at all... Why would a soloing tank need hate buffs? <img src="/smilies/69934afc394145350659cd7add244ca9.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /> I get all the hate i need! Scowled at by 99% of Norrath <img src="/smilies/283a16da79f3aa23fe1025c96295f04f.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /> ! </p>