Looking at SK or Bruiser. Comments?

[Samjax]

I have also posted this in the Bruiser forum...perhaps a Mod can delete one of these if that is not allowed. (Sorry) I did however want to get opinions from folks who have played either a SK or a Bruiser (with a good amount of solo time). I currently have a Defiler that I enjoy playing...still a lowbie but fun. I play him primarily to team with my son who has a Berserker that he  enjoys quite a bit. I am wanting to keep my level and my son's levels fairly close to make it a bit more fun (speaking of the Defiler and Berserker duo). To my question... I am experimenting with a couple of alts for the sole purpose of soloing whenever my son is unable to get online. I "think" that I have it narrowed down to either an Iksar SK or an Iksar Bruiser. How do these two compare in regards to solo play? Or...should I be looking at a Mage or Scout class instead? Thanks<div></div>

[Giral]

<P>hello samjax this question has been asked recently on this board (without the bruiser comparision) you can look thru back posts of a week  and get some more info (don't listen to the bad point's)  i have never played a bruiser so i cant give you a heads up there . ON live servers now you can solo very well with an sk at level at level 30 i could solo fog mist grinnen 34,35'  at 34 i could solo the lvl 38 , 39 , 40 nightblood's in el at level 38 i could solo the level 35 ^^ blight rats , i don't know about after revamp BUT from what i read about the Re-vamp SK's we can still Solo a ton of content and in Uber gear and weopon's you will still be able to solo herioc mobs like the lvl 35^^ at level 38 . i have nothing but fun with my Sk if im solo,dou,small groups,large groups,or raids we can do it all and do it well. i have played my Sk since Nov last year and even with the skills that are broken on live have worked around them  (manastone and totems to regain power faster is very helpful  especially soloing as your power will come back up very fast so you can solo almost non stop)</P> <P>Welp good luck on your choice hope this gives you a little help and other posts on hear also</P> <P>P.S. you really won't get the Flavor of being an Sk till you hit about lvl 25 to 28 not sure how it is with bruisers but i pretty sure all toons dont come into there own till atleast 25</P>

[far]

<DIV>A lil late on the reply but i do have a 50 sk and 33 monk (not a bruiser but closer then some).</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>My sk can solo quite well (took 11 mins for him to complete the solo arena today). The issues with my sk are that I have many damage dealing spells but it affects downtime in between encounters because they really tap the juice, rendering multiple spell lines useless so the issue with him is what maximizes power versus time, high green heroics and low blues are possible, but green named are a handful unless you kite. HOs dont hit particularly hard and seem to cap early at around 150 which is a good swing of the sword. Soloing is sticky 22-27 or so but becomes much smoother there after.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>My monk seems to have fewer options as to what to use while in combat, but a more definiative all out attack or tank stances, power never is a huge issue as a tank the heroic armor is a godsend because monk mitigation is horrible which exposes itself against high blues and up. This is supposed to get better but doesnt seem likely. Greens and low blues are generally easily beaten but does a poorer job then the sk at high blue and up. Soloing is easy up to 30ish and thats where my monk has petered out (33).</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Sk equipment and spells are EXPENSIVE. Rares for both spells and metal are the most pricey, also faced with a glut of sks on most servers means paying top dollar for adept 1s, so expect to level spells to grey at app IV, make do with carbonite feyiron and fulg. Despite the ginormous populace of alchemists rares and app IVs might require some instance to get made.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Monk equipment is cheap (Leather is the cheapest of all rares) and can be easily attuned to max the all important agility, the problem is there are 2 looks for the monk the 'gi' which looks spiffy and then the leather '[Removed for Content]' outfit. You spend more time in the later and its god awful. Monks do get a ranged item which adds more stats, despite the fact my sk has the higher dps the monk is viewed as a dps class and has an easier time getting into groups and tends to pull aggro more often in the dps role.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Weapons : Sks have lots of drops and quests and other ways of getting weapons, my monk is dependant on a weaponsmith the good news is that leather is cheap and the rare weapons all have the same damage ratings.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Right now Id say sks have a decided advantage (tho you have to pay some coin to maximize it) in weapons and tanking ability (IE screaming mace pgt other hqs) and mitigation, but after reading the upcoming changes after they go in id say the brawler class has an advantage, my two bits.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV>

[Giral]

<P>in fight you do need to conserve some power and auto attack here and there the Down time of waiting for power to regain is easily compensated by buying a Totem that increases out of combat regain by 30+ a  tick i beileve they are totem of the Bat and Totem of the hawk      also     High absorbtion Drink with the totem and  your power will regain in 1/3 of the time you can also buy Potions that increase your Max Power OR regain you Power IN combat so there are various means to work around your power issues you just have to find whats right for you ANd also maybe start crafting Drink Totems and Potions lol or get some connections : ) if not you gion to be blowin thru Lot's o Gold  </P> <P> Totem of Hawk  2 to 4 Gold  </P> <P>Potions can be 2 to 5 gold </P> <P>and good drink can be 1 to 2 Gold                      (drink off sets the food cost as our Out of combat Health Regains really fast so cheap food works fine if you want to waste the money Cuase by the time your power is back to 3/4 your health will be to full with no food MIght want to buy some Good food or a health totem if you Run away alot tho  ; ) </P> <P>Ow P.S.    lol best thing to try to get into a group is a wizzy and send them a tell ask them to Power feed you in the group this is really great on top of the drink and totem so you will have almost no down times as MT in groups becuase of you OOP just ask them if they see you near end of a Mob low on power to send a little power your way NOT to use all there power feeds as 2 of them Stun the wizz so then Less dps = longer fight ; ( BUT after a mob let the wizzy throw all her power feeds on you and you'll be kickin buttocks and taking names almost endlessly </P> <P> </P><p>Message Edited by Giralus on <span class=date_text>09-06-2005</span> <span class=time_text>08:28 AM</span>

[far]

<DIV>he said solo chief in the OP so i tried to make my post relevent to that... context its all about context</DIV>