So, I'm making a Shadowknight...(AA & General tips please)

[NG23985_01]

<p>The tank I regularly run with is quite the alt-aholic, and wants to play his alts once in a while, so he's been bugging me to make a tank. (I'm primarily a Defiler, currently.) I've never had any problem with shadowknights in my days of healing, so I dont completely believe the hype that "shadowknight's suck" however I am open to the idea that they might be a bit disadvantaged compared to other fighters. Surely the upcoming achievements will fill in the gaps. Way back in the DoF days, I had an SK around level 30, but otherwise I've not played any fighters. I've done some studying up on the different fighter spells and abilities, and I've decided that Shadowknight will be the most fun for me to play. I'll learn the tank specifics from my tank friend, but I need to know some Shadowknight-specific stuff, and he isnt able to provide that information. I'm not looking to raid tank here, just 1-group instances for when my friend is suffering from tank-burnout and wants to play one of his other toons.</p><p>Since SK's cant dual wield, I'm thinking of going straight for the STR line AA attack that gives haste when it hits. I'm thinking this will help me get up my melee skills faster - is this assumption correct? If the STR line isnt useful to (higher level) tanking, I'll respecialize later. What's the best way to get all 3 slash/pierce/crushing skills up? Should I rotate weapon types every couple of levels, or just wait til I'm higher level and go whack on some lower level monsters with a weak weapon? Sword & shield is the way to go for tanking, right? Is it approprite to use a 2h when soloing or DPSing?</p><p>Also, I'm the kind of person who likes to plan ahead in regards to achievements. I've studied the Crusader tree briefly, and EVERY single branch seems to have useful tanking things in it. How on earth am I going to figure out which is best? Currently, this is what I've planned in my spreadsheet, please give constructive feedback & suggestions as to how to improve it. STR: 4, 5, 5, 8, 2. Haste, Hate, & spell cast/recast boosts. STA: 4,4,6,8,2. Hammer Ground AE, melee crits, HP max. INT: 4,5,6,6. Nuke, spell crits, heal crits & spell mitigation. Total is 70. Any suggestions? The AGI line is appealing because of the teleport CA, AE damage, and avoidance. The WIS line appeals to me also. The melee & casting skills buff is always a plus, and when I'm on my Defiler, I love Pallies & SKs with the ability that makes my heals a little stronger!</p><p> I'm less worried about the SK tree, as it seems I can get just about everything I want from there. I'll eventually get all 3 endline abilities, taunt resist enhancement, reactive taunt enhancement, shield bash taunt enhancement, recast time on FD, mana sieve, sap strength enhancement. Are there any must-haves that I havent mentioned?</p><p> EDIT: Also, I know racial advantages are very small, but are there any particular racial advantages that I should consider? I'm really looking at Iksar though. +5 Parry & Defense, 50 meter range attack (for pulling), +3% Max HP, melee crits... as they say with /flirt, "What more could you ask for?"</p>

[kxizm]

<cite></cite>SKs may not 'suck hard,' but they have very large and very definite disadvantages compared to the other fighters.Aggro control is one of the two biggest complaints ive heard.guardians have amazing aggro control, undisputed champs of aggro management.zerkers have little to no problems holding aggro and have a few 'oh crap' abilities.even monks have peel which helps a lot.sks dont have much in the way of aggro management.taunts arent enough to keep the fighters threat high enough. even the devs say that DPS is as important as taunting in keeping aggro these days. But since SKs get the short end of the stick with aggro abilities, dont they get higher DPS to compensate for it? wrong! fighter DPS tier has SKs at the very bottom. so its harder for SKs to hold aggro than any other fighter. Not to say they cant, its just harder.ive only ever seen SKs with slashing weaps. skill up the others if you want, but i doubt theyll be that useful. Sword and shield is a must for tanking if your not real comfortable with the zone and the healer healing you. Once you have that, you can tank zones in offensive stance with a 2hander.

[Mathafern]

I hate to say "it's the player not the class..." As long as the SK is the same level and gearage as the group they shouldn't have a problem with aggro.  Do get adept III/Master I/Master II taunts however. I'm a group MT and raid OT (and occasional MT) and haven't ever had any real problems with aggro.  There's a swashie who hits 4k on the parse occasionally who can pull stuff off me, but then I death march or rescue and all is well.  As to starting AA's, I'd definitely start with the STR line for AA and then grab some Int line after. 

[kxizm]

<cite>Mathafern@Mistmoore wrote:</cite><blockquote>I hate to say "it's the player not the class..." </blockquote>i hate to say that too, but the fact is that SKs are extremely unbalanced and ToS is (finally) going to fix that.SKs get way too little snap aggro abilities and less dps than any of the other fighters to compensate for it.edit: and raids hardly count since w/e class is MT gets loads of aggro buffs. heck, a wizzy can tank if he wanted. In a heroic instance situation where you dont have all the buffs and stuff is what i think would be important here as he is lvling the char

[Mathafern]

I've always found the "snap aggro" comment funny- since I routinely snap aggro with no problem.  _Especially_ in heroic instances as opposed to raids- with our shield bash and kick we can immobilize the mob nicely and get aggro before it reaches the group, while body pulling or range pulling.  Step past it to turn it (and watch the mob spin while lying down, always amusing) and finish the fight. I agree that SK are nerfed in all THREE important categories- aggro, DPS, and tankiness.  But they are also uber-fun class to play. I really look forward to the expansion, if anything the devs are saying is true, I'll be even happier than I already am.  Hopefully it will adjust people's attitude toward SK- played right they are an effective fighter class, and can tank anything.  More AoE content would be nice.  Better itemization would be nice.  Sanctified was a cruel joke.   Personally, I wouldn't tank with any other class. 

[Soefje]

For Crusader AA:  Start with Int - 4/4/8.  Heal crits do not work for us.  Our lifetaps are spell based.  After that, I would go STR or STA.  I found my tanking abilities improved dramatically when I respected into STA.  After that, I would take STR.  In the SK AA:  Reaver first.  I find it keeps me alive.  Also, helps build hate.  I then went down the Hate line.  3% Siphon Hate sucks, but it is better than nothing.  Beyond that, it is up to you.  I personally don't see a big advantage to Pools of Blood, but others like it.When developing character, I would (this is my opinion) go:  INT, then Reaver, then STA, then STR or Hate line, then other.  Fill out as you want.Get yourself good armor, a good 1 hander and shield and a good 2 hander and you will be set.  I personally tank in offensive stance with a sword and board.  If I am in a really tough fight, I might change to defensive, but usually only when my healers are not up to par.  I solo in offensive stance with a 2 hander.  Hope this helps.

[Lazarus_Beta]

<p>I have a L52 Sarnak SK. </p><p> I went INT 4/4/8 then STR 4/4/8 then dabled around with the SK AA line putting points in the reaver line to add life tap effects to spells. </p><p>The thing is: the AGI line offers an additional group attack and the ability to attack multiple opponents. These are useful traits for a SK, especially when faced with groups of opponents. So I decided to put the Reaver line on hold for a while to build 4/4/8 in AGI as well.  </p><p>The (current) AA plan looks like this:</p><p>INT 4/4/8</p><p>STR 4/4/8</p><p>Add points to Reaver line to add life tap effects (only the first and second line of reaver spells, rest comes later)</p><p>AGI 4/4/8</p><p>Finish Reaver line of spells</p><p>Did anyone else experiment with the AGI line in a similar way?</p><p>Cheers</p><p>Lazarus</p>

[Slamida]

We arent that bad, but after exp we will be alot better <img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" />

[Vaelaen]

<p>int 4-4-8</p><p>str 4-8-8-4-2 (end ability is a must have)</p><p>sta 4-8-8-4-2 (end ability is a nice save your butt kind of thing)</p><p>max out blessing and get reaver in the second tree.. if you are grouping get siphon hate as well (which is supposed to change in the exp).</p>

[inthere1]

I am going to piggy back of the original post since people have been actually responding recently.  I duo my SK with the wifes beserker, I know a crazy combo, we seem to do pretty well against most things we come up against.  What would be your suggestions with AA selection since she pretty much holds that agro any any fight?  I have gone down the int line to max out the spell crits, but don't remember what I have done other than that off the top of my head.  Thanks

[inthere1]

I am going to piggy back of the original post since people have been actually responding recently.  I duo my SK with the wifes beserker, I know a crazy combo, we seem to do pretty well against most things we come up against.  What would be your suggestions with AA selection since she pretty much holds that agro any any fight?  I have gone down the int line to max out the spell crits, but don't remember what I have done other than that off the top of my head.  Thanks

[CHIMPNOODLE.]

<p>To each his own, but this is what I did and I find it effective...</p><p>I went down Sta to final, Int to Max crits, and dumped the rest in STR for the crusader line.</p><p>For the SK lines I maxed out Hate, Decay down to armament, and dumped the rest in the reaver line (but did not go for that final).</p><p>For skills I just worked up the weapon I used all the time, when I felt like goofin I worked up another (or when soloing)...eventually I only had pierce left to work on. When I finally nabbed a pierce weapon I like I just went out and beat on average mobs (little weaker con than me), melee only, for about an hour and maxed it. </p><p>For tanking anything tough I use a sword and shield. Otherwise I'll use a 2H (in strong groups, soloing, DPSing).</p><p>Feel free to send me a tell anytime in game if ya want to chat about any options. Filmore on Unrest <img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /></p>