Maximising the Raid SK [Archive] - EQ2 Forum Archive @ EQ2Wire

gundali

06-22-2006, 07:49 PM

<DIV>Hi there, i'm a lvl63 SK returning from the pvp servers. Although i played a zerker on the pvp side i'm returning now to my first choice toon the (mighty) SK. What i want to do more of now is the 'end game' which means RAIDS.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>So what are greatest strenghts in a raid situation and how should i look to set my SK up for them? I know i can tank in groups well enough, although it's not the zerker snap taunts we do have 6 functional taunts that we can juggle. My Dps in a group setting is acceptable, although i do admit to wearing a dress/robe to pump that up. But raiding, i'm clueless. </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Not enough tankablitity </DIV> <DIV>Not enough dps</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Seems to be what i'm fighting. At the moment i think that a role for my character would involve:</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>*Maxing the int to raise DPS through gear</DIV> <DIV>Involves a robe :S</DIV> <DIV>*Following the int line in AA for the same purpose DPS</DIV> <DIV>Symbols</DIV> <DIV>*Boosting my Wisdom AA line to serve as a functional proto bard </DIV> <DIV>No idea just throwing this one out there raiders?</DIV> <DIV> </DIV>

Xanoth

06-24-2006, 06:45 PM

<P>it really depends on the people you raid with, i think thats the first thing to overcome.</P> <P>SK is a very flexible class, but probably takes more effort than any other (tank) class to get the most out of it.</P> <P>despite what you think about int, it doesn't mean wearing a robe, but can if you want the look, i sometimes where a garb of souls (from SoS) for that cool balck/red look. can tank just fine in it unless i pull a yellow named while wearing it or something, but with more than 1 healer thats usually fine too <img src="/smilies/283a16da79f3aa23fe1025c96295f04f.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /></P> <P> </P> <P>anyway, as you said we kinda have 3 possible roles. tank, dps, buff.</P> <P> </P> <P>Buffer: if your regularly in the MT group as a buff tank, the wisdom AA line is well worth looking into, especially the 3rd choice that gives a group skill buff. with that maxed fizzels for the whole group become a thing of the past, and resists are a rare occurance. fear immunity is kinda pointless, unless you have 12 points spare, as the health regen isn't much use for raids either. the WIS AA line is gernally a pretty good line as long as the raid leader puts you to good use for it, which isn't always going to be the case. i enjoyed it while i had it anyway.</P> <P>Tank/Off Tank : i can't say i tank much on named, at the moment im second in line, so if we two tank stuff or the MT dies, i do my share. for my the end ability in the STA line is vital, the amount of times i died after a few seconds of picking up after the MT died because not enough healers where quick enough was infuriating. so the end ability gives them 10 seconds to wake up, and its usually enough. i generally get a coercer too, so hate is rarely an issue, but the STR line is probably a good choice for SKs that MT on raids, but i can't really comment. Tanking well with a SK is probably the harder of the three, as we relly on every stat for at least something, but you really want to work on increasing your stamina, as low HP is what lets us down compared to warriors, dont push it to the point that your loosing out else where though, as when raiding your stats all increase a fair bit depending on what classes your grouped with. We're also quite a good choice for holding agro against mobs that are melee immune or repost for a lot of damage, which zerkers can strugle on due to holding agro themselves through melee DPS.</P> <P>DPS: best i've done on a single mob (group encounters are very subjective) was about 963 DPS on one of the eyes of thule in the Lyceum, and despite being casters we still relly quite heavily on our melee to push us into the top 5. i've not really crunched many numbers as i hate maths! >.< but the spell crit line AA from the 3rd in line of the INT branch is well worth maxing out to 68%. i've also noticed an improvement in my DPS from picking up 8 points in the melee crit too, which maxes at about 22%. so it doesnt seem like the skill buff from wisdom really makes a big difference by increases your hit chance. my advice for DPS would be to max your spell crit, then take either str, agi or sta. the 3rd ability from the AA branch for the three of them all increase DPS quite nicely and i'd imagine it balances out. but if you get a good 2h axe, i'd probable go str, as the temp haste buff seems pretty good. but anyway apparently there is another thread discussing this, but as a personal thing i do like trying to max my DPS <img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /> as far as using a symbol goes for the INT line though, dont bother. its handy for an extra nuke if your fighting at range (corsolander mebies, although with enough heat resists and a 3s+ delay on your weapon you can melee that comfortably, backing up a touch if needed)</P> <P> </P> <P>.... wrote more than i intended, sorry for going on a bit <img src="/smilies/69934afc394145350659cd7add244ca9.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /></P> <P>hope you enjoy your SK, as i love mine <img src="/smilies/283a16da79f3aa23fe1025c96295f04f.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /></P>