SK as a Casting only DPS class ?

[Wintersborn]

<p>I have heard that some SK's dont want to MT/OT in raids so they put on all casting gear and hit the AA mirror and raid as DPS ?</p><p>Has anyone done this and what was the DPS like, I was told they are can do quite well.</p><p>I have always liked the SK class but never wanted the role of a raid tank, so if they are decent casting DPS in raids this may sound like fun.</p><p>Anyone ?</p>

[Uggli]

<p>No where near as good as a focused DPS class.   If you want to only DPS, roll a DPS class.  Other wise learn to tank.</p>

[CHIMPNOODLE.]

<p>Less DPS than a "true" DPS class...with as much or even more Hate problems (no dehates besides FD and sitting out part of the fight, certain abilities that will boost dammage have hate attached, etc).</p><p>Doable, but not a great idea...especially since most people perceive the usefulness of classes to be within fairly rigid boundaries (meaning you will likely get passed over for more than a few groups and raids, and get the occasional ribbin' for your chosen carreer path as well).</p><p>Obviously play the way you want to play...but know what you're getting yourself into as well.</p>

[Phelon_Skellhound]

<p>This was a concept that many followed in DoF, KoS and perhaps even EoF hence how we were classified as mage tanks... Perhaps this is how we came to be placed in mage groups due to the advantages of the buffs we recieved and what not... Those days are long gone...  We are still utilized in mage groups but are far more suited to MT/OT </p><p>If you want to do mage dps and not tank then be a mage...</p>

[Wintersborn]

<p>Well I liked the idea of the SK as a solid Solo toon with Plate and Life taps as well as good DPS (Both Melee and Casting). Since it is now mostly soloquest til 70 + that part appealed to me and I dont mind tanking group content with friends and PUG's but did not want the resposibillity of tanking the hard stuff/Raids.</p><p>So hate is the real issue due to having to back off some SK attacks w/+ hate and that will drop the DPS  : (</p><p>I dont want to be a hard core raider but would not mind doing the required for epics and some decent gear. Would a SK specced for DPS be as good of DPS as a Brigand or Bruiser without ripping aggro from the tank ?</p><p>I know there are some items that reduce hate based on positions as well as other gear that may help this issue but is it enough ?</p><p>Just looking for something new, fun but still usefull.</p>

[Maamadex]

<p>I can't speak for sks, but ripping aggro from the tank on occasion isn't a terrible thing. You can do it, most tanks prefer a tank to get aggro instead of a dps, you just don't wanna do it all the time. Our MT doesn't care when I do, he'd rather a mob beat on me than on a wizard. Spec yourself as dps, but grab gear that has some tanking potential along with dps if you can in case you pull aggro. Thats what i'd suggest. Melee crit, da, dps adorns as well as on gear, ca dmg etc is good, spell crit and stuff not so much. Anything with those stats along with parry defense shield effectiveness is good too. Just balance it out, sks can do good dmg.</p>

[Boruden]

<p>I actually have a DPS AA spec now for times that I am not MT in a raid.  Now I am not a hardcore player, more of a normal core player, so I don't have the best gear or run with a top end raid guild, but our guild does pretty well.  I have my fabled epic, 2 pieces of T1 shard armor, 3 pieces of T2 shard, and one piece of T3 shard.  I keep my gear the same when tanking or running dps.  Using my DPS AA spec, which needs serious work, I only pulled aggro once in a SoH raid.  I ended up 5th out of 19 on the zone wide parse, 1) mythed assissin, 2) DPS speced Berzerker, 3) Brigand, 4) Ranger, 5) Me.  If you build a DPS spec where you do not have any bonuses in your hate generation you will be behind the MT on hate generation.  You still have to be careful, but it isn't as bad as it seems.  Obviously you can do better with "dps" gear.  I am still playing around with the spec, but the initial result was nice.</p><p>For example I was in a WoE raid with my tank spec, but was not the MT.  I had to shut down all attacks VERY often to keep from pulling aggro off the guardian MT.  I think I ended up 8th or 9th out of 12 on that zone wide parse.</p><p>Now if you are looking to join a harecore raid guild it's not going to happen as a DPS speced SK.  The DPS classes do their job too well for you to keep up.  However, if you are looking to raid casually then I think you'd be fine.  We have a dps spec berzerker, and he is always turned down for dps spots in PUGs.  Well he is consistently doing 3-5k on the parse on trash.  6-8k on longer named fights.  Again not in raid gear.  So, it can be done but you just have to find a group with an open mind that will allow people play to the style they like.  Also, just be prepared to eventually be outclassed by the pure dps classes.  You are imposing a limitation on yourself by playing outside the class definition.  It can be done, but just be prepared to hit a ceiling.</p>

[Nimbrithil]

<p>In a DPS role I pull agro sometimes, well more than most other classes unless a swashie forgot to feed his hate to a healer. Escpecially when the Myth procs greatly increasing the hate generated from lifetaps is greatly increased. The advantage is that with a good shammie or better still Inquis in your mage group you can take those hits along enough for the MT to get the hate back. Be afraid if all you've got is a druid though</p>

[JoarAddam]

<p>Ripping can be mitigated, but it's still a bad thing.  Barrage and frontals hitting the whole raid instead of just hitting the MT or a planned limited number can really slow down a raid's DPS, healability, etc.  And where you're standing when you rip can make a real mess too.</p><p>These days you have the threat meter, and that's nice.  If they'd finished the fighter revamp you'd have had some de-threat options making this a viable option.  Unfortunately, a lot of what made the fighter revamp good also made it very crappy.  Sure you can de-threat, but at the same time it ate some of your dps tools, so what was the point.</p><p>Back when being an SK DPS on the raid was an OK (barely) thing (DoF, KoS) the dps was still about 60% of a more pure DPS class.  I was usually landing in the top 8-10.  These days it's more.  We have some really nice DPS tools in our AA lines, but I quit raiding, so I can't really quantify where we are now in the list. </p>