Yet another Paly vs SK thread

[Strah]

Hey all, an old time player coming back to the game here, and have decided to roll a new character. My raiding days are behind me at least for a time to come and am now choising a character on more ... personal satisfaction I guess.  Regardless, I have a dilema. I want a tank type, as thats what I enjoy the most. I have a berserker and a SK as of right now, and have had a hard time deciding between them. Berserkers seem better in every aspect but I just like the idea of a magic using tank. So I am leaning towards the SK, heavily, however recent posts have made me consider a paladin. Mainly due to the fact SKs are heavy on int requirements while Paladins are not so dependant on int I hear, is this true? Also, Paladins have an easier time maintaining agro and I have gotten the impression that they are rather better at tanking. Here's my question. I will primarily be soiloing/duoing and 6 man grouping, mostly grouping for xp and soloing to finish quests. I am woried that the SK will be able to perform the MT role of a 6 man group (based on some SK posts). So could some of you solidify my knowledge of this area? Just how well can SKs tank in a 6 man group? And just how well can they solo to finish up quests? How is their utility? I will most likely be duoing with a swash so I will have his agro dump to help me out but I don't wana rely on it too heavily. Anyways, any info you can give me to decide between betraying and not would be appreciated. Thanks again, and sorry for duplicating this post in 2 forums, obviously I find it relevant to both.<div></div>

[Ceruline]

<DIV>We can MT for 6 person groups.   Most SK tanking gripes are around not being able to MT a raid.  Don't worry about not being able to tank groups - it's harder on the aggro control front than zerkers, but definitely doable.</DIV>

[mikeyswizz]

<DIV>I MT 6 man groups all the time. Never (rarely) have aggro issues. I reguraly group with a guilded pally and almos always out dps him as well, so it helps alot with solo/duoing.</DIV>

[Ultimatum]

Our ability to hold aggro may not be the best, in fact it may even be the worst among the fighter class, but even so, imo its not THAT bad.  I have had aggro issues in the past like all SKs, but the more you play and hone your pull style the easier it gets.  Once you get to your 20s and start accruing AAs the gap closes significantly, especially if you go the route of spell crits.  That being said, we are awesome for tanking 6 man groups, especially for the fact that we only need 1 healer because of our lifetaps, and that extra DPS filling the second healer spot makes grinding go even faster.  As for our ability to solo, I believe it to be among the best out of all the classes.  Especially post-50s.  I have personally spent lvls 65+ soloing white and yellow ^^^ heroics and groups of ^ and non arow heroics, and the XP is amazing.  Throw on a drink and you can power pull until you are blue in the face, with your damage shield and Tap Veins easily keeping you alive.  Keep in mind gear and spell quality can be a big factor, but regardless, our solo abilities are superb.  Plus, we vastly out DPS pallies while staying alive easier since we can attack and lifetap at the same time, rather than pausing to heal ourselves.  Not to mention we get a dumfire pet that does respectable damage.  I hope this helps your decision, if you have any more questions don't hesitate to ask!<div></div>

[nodaisho]

I have found that while it might be hard to first gain aggro, especially if your mages start nuking as soon as you pull, but it is easy to hold onto the aggro once you get it, due to the aggro over time and DoTs that we have.

[anijhranger]

<DIV>I have no problem maintaining agro on duo's and standard groups.   As mentioned earlier, all the SK woe's on aggro are usually raid oriented.   As a casual player you won't notice that much difference between Zerker and SK.  Spend cash on maxing out the level of your taunts and you should be fine in that regard. </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>I enjoy my SK.  I played pally in EQ1 for years and wouldn't trade for a pallly in EQ2.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>As far as SK ( or pally for that matter ) vs zerker I feel you have a lot more options with the crusader class.   It's not just about having spells, since warriors have combat abilities which for all intents and purposes are little different than our spells ( you click a hotkey, you do more damage ).  We, however, have more utility spells.  We have 3 emergency agro buttons vs the Zerkers one.   We can save ourselves when soloing with one of them ( FD ).   We get evac.   We get some nice AOE spells and the ability to self heal.   Basically, both crusader classes are more versatile than the warrior classes, which makes them more fun to play for the average non hard core raider.</DIV>

[Axlin]

As far as regular XP grouping, <b>all </b>fighter classes are equally good tanks, whether it be a Monk, SK, Pally, or Guardian. It's all a matter of how the class is played. Guardians, for instance, will take less effort to hold aggro than a SK.I have never had aggro management problems on my SK (once I learned how to tank, that is). Like some have said already, SK's taunts are initially weaker, but they add up because we taunt over time. We also have excellent DPS for a fighter class, as well as self-heals. All of these things contribute to holding aggro. Once you figure out the best methods for holding aggro using a combination of your spells, you will find that you will have no problems holding aggro whatsoever. As far as soloing is concerned, we are by far the best solo fighters in this game with the exception of Monks and Bruisers, as they are amazing at soloing. SK's, however, fare extremely well for soloing.We are an incredibly versatile class. Some choose to suit up for being MT, while others suit up for DPS. We perform either role very well. We also have some spells to benefit the MT should it be somebody else, such as an mitigation transfer (takes mitigation from you and gives it to the MT) and a reactive spell that can be cast on yourself or a group member which heals that person whenever they get hit and causes damage to the enemy.And yes, if you are looking to be DPS, you have to focus a lot on INT. SK's, though, rely on ALL stats.Basically, the main differences between a Pally and a SK is that:Pallies have a ward to protect them from damage. SK's have a reactive spell that heals them and does damage to the enemy (very, very handy)Pallies heal themselves and other group members with actual heals. SK's get very, very good life taps for self-benefit (unless they cast their reactive on a group member).Pallies get a ressurect spell. SK's get an evac spell.Pallies get a massive heal spell with a 15 minute recast timer. SK's get a massive damage spell with a 15 minute recast timer (and I mean MASSIVE).<font size="1">Sk's are far more badass.<font size="3">I hope this helped.</font></font><div></div>