I KNOW SK's can tank - right??

[Kyndriana]

Hi all,I remember when I started my SK I was in love. I couldn't believe how much damage she could put out, and how little she actually had to withstand. I must have severe altitis though because soon after she hit 25 I rolled a Dirge. And promptly forgot all about my SK. My dirge is the best toon I've ever played, eq1 or 2. I think she'll always be my main, but she's almost 40 now, and I've found myself logging on the SK again.Well, I logged her on and she was in Nek Forest. Mind you, she's only 25 and I have no idea what brought her to Nek, but I'm sure it was quests. Well, the quest that is up right now is to kill 25 owlbears. So, I pull up my map and find the mob. Then I see all the aggro spideys and think, okay, careful... Okay, yeah, I JUST remembered that I think my toon has some type of invis but I haven't used it in this quest. Even if she does have the invis though, it wouldn't take this problem away. I start creeping across, trying to avoid the spidey's. Ouch! turn and fight - dead. Hmm, that was weird, I thought I was tougher than that. Try again - Dead. Yes, there are more than 2 on me, but the mobs are GREEN - why in the world can I not kill a few green mobs before they kill me? 10-20 greenies I can understand but 4?? My first thought was armor, so I went to the broker and spent a ton of plat on her (thank goodness she's a twink now!) buying her the MC'd level 22 gear. I'm also having a primary weapon made for me, the same type as the gear. I have the best bow and ammo I can buy at this level (that's available on the broker), the best armor (now), the best weapons that I can find. I've upped my strength to about 175, int is over 200. Now, all of this was done last night and I haven't been back in the field fighting yet so what I've done might just do it.SK's are supposed to be able to tank, correct? Hopefully this re-vamp of my toon will enable her to withstand more punishment. I'm pretty happy with what I can dish out, but wow was I disappointed at how quickly I was dieing to greenies. Suggestions? Other than re-learn my toon? lol What spells, CA's, AA's, etc., were the most important to you at this level? Anything I should be doing?Thanks for the help!~KynTesska 25 SK PermafrostChanteuse 38 Dirge Permafrost

[bboyhalfstep]

What stance are you in?  And do you use a 2 hander or a sword and board?  These things make a difference.  Usually if I am one on one, I use my 2 hander for a faster kill, but if I think it would be a tough fight or multiple mobs I would use my shield.Also it depends on what skills you have.  My sk is 25 as well, and I had no problems in nek forest with the spiders.  I can usually take on 3 blues.  Its a tough fight, but you have to use the right skills.  One thing I didn't use in the beginning is a skill called Infernal Blessing.  It looks shield and its for grouping, but this spell is killer solo.  It puts a small damage shield around you, and while this shield is up, whenever u get hit it procs a small lifetap.  Using this and your other buffs it shouldn't be too hard.Also, twinking out your char at this level is kind of moot because you'll be to 30s and need new ones very soon.  And SK is a great class.  I rarely finish i fight with less than 2/3 life.  Also if I get jumped by extra mobs, thats when I use that harm touch I've been saving up.  Sometimes I can kill a green mob outright with that.

[Jevius]

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[Kyndriana]

Thank you Jev.Thanks to all of you for your suggestions. And, you may have a good point bboy, I was <i>not </i>allowing time for the death de-buff to wear off before trying again. Too impestuous I guess. Okay, I just need to slow down and re-learn my toon. It's all good. =) ~Kyn

[Soefje]

SK are good for solo, and usually can take on muliple green mobs.  My only problem is that I tend to run out of power and have to slow down.  As the previous poster said, make sure you have all your buffs up and use your lifetap ward everytime it refreshes.  I tend to fight in ofensive stance with a shield and sword.  I know that the 2 hander is supposed to do more damage, but I find it is harder to time the spells.  I have recently starting doing this and am getting better.Also, moving from one toon to another, or in my case from one game to another, sometimes takes a short adjustment.  I got killed by 1 blue mob the other night because I was not paying attention and was trying to fight like the other game.  Got mad, went back and pulled 2 blue mobs and died again.  Then slowed down, and found may rhythm and wiped the whole area (just for meaness).  When I went back to the other game, died my first time out.  Took a few minutes to re-adjust and get going.I suspect when you go back to Nek, you will rock.

[bboyhalfstep]

One more thing.  In your post you said that after dieing you went back and tried again.  I don't know if you waited for the death de-buff to wear off first or not....I'm guilty of doing this several times....but that debuff hurts a lot and can lead to more deaths. 

[Baa]

<p>Tesska,</p><p>No offense meant by this comment, but if memory serves me right, I used to die there a bit trying to sneak around in my 20's as well, and back then there were spiders, and then there were heroic spiders (in some spots).  I'm sure you checked, but the heroic ones kicked by butt.  I think they were nearer the docks though.  I'd say maybe you camped in unbuffed, but if you tried again.. then I'm not sure what's going on.  There's no reason, even in offensive stance, that you should be having this issue with 2 green mobs.  Also no offense, but could it have been some time since you last played an sk and have to get used to it again?</p><p>It's been awhile since I was a lower sk, but I think I have always fought in offensive for the most part, and always pulled big - whether solo or in group.  Key things to keep in mind as you get higher is what some folks mentioned here - power (we do get a minimal power tap which does little, but does help, get a manastone when you can via Stiletto's HQ, and there are potions/items/consumables that will help), use your debuffs - both the wis one and the mitigation one (the mitigation one will seive mit over to you temporarily), lifetaps - direct ones as well as procs and buffs, upgrade your spells when possible to at least Adept 1, and don't forget adornments (they are all useful and make a world of difference).</p>

[Jevius]

Ah yes, I realize my mistake now. That will teach me to post first thing in the morning. I thought it was another SK "OMG WE NEED A REVAMP" thread. My bad, my apologies.

[Baynne]

My SK is lvl 52 now.  prolly gonna be there for a while because im sick of PoF already lol.  precasting your blessing spell before a fight helps a lot.. it is the best lifetap spell we have until tap veins at 55 (as far as i know) being that with AAs especially you are healed for almost twice as much as it damages.  I tank just about everything in offense stance, and i try to pull as much as i can.  SKs have great AEs, and i like to use them.  SK imo is the most fun tank to play, but it does require more work than pally or guard IMO.  gear and spell quality will always have an affect on performance.  also dont forget you can feign death when things get sticky and you know you are going to die.  and further down the road you get evac too, so there are plenty of tools for survival at your disposal.  as far as inviz, load up on totem of the chameleon, cuz you dont have a spell like that, and racial inviz only lasts for about a minute.

[Sokol3200]

If your SK is having trouble surviving then you must not have the reaver AA. This is the most powerful AA for an SK. 2.0% of your HP is converted to health when using an offensive spell on a target. So by the time your lvl 60 you have an arsenal of lifetaps...my SK has no problem taking on multiple blue ^ and never even dipping into the yellow zone of my HP. Get reaver then do your Int line if you want another lifetap. Lifetap is the key ingredient to a prosperous SK.

[Slamida]

not sure why you are having probems, we are one of the best soloers ( altho i have the best gear )  but i remember when i started ROK just life tap as much as possible and keep blessing up and ull be fine...

[Slamida]

Alao at 70 i could solo 72 heroics NP at all, RoK changed that, and i can barelly solo KC now... so i guess it depends on the area