AA Advice for a Raiding SK

[Xanoth]

I'll try not to digress too much, but basically i'm rarely needed as a MT or ST, despite having fear immunity guilds just learn to cope with the fear and move on. i knew this when i took the fear immunity, but hoped it might pay off.Main issue i have at the moment is that i dont like axes, so even though i have <a href="http://eq2.xanadu-community.com/eq2_loot_image.php?img_id=1067" target=_blank>Ascendant</a> and a few other axes, i'm reluctant to go the STR aa line simply because i'm more of a sword person and just dont really like the look of axes <img src="/smilies/9d71f0541cff0a302a0309c5079e8dee.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /> its more foolish pride than anything else, i've finally got a lot of nice looking armour that im happy with and i'd rather keep the look that experiment with AA's and try to get back the 200-300 DPS that i lost since going back to the WIS line.half the reason i went back to the WIS line was because of dueling and seeing how little damage my spells did with my int capped, all masters when trying to fight against over capped disease resists that were still over 6k when debuffed... my pride damaged by the abundance of resist gear available i went for the skill boost to try and tip the scales... yet i dont think i'd really done anything but waste AA points.Definatly a case of indeciciveness ruining my life... heh, but i seriously couldn't care less about dueling or PVP, if i did i'd be on the PVP server, so i need to seriously look at what i do enjoy about my class and what i want from it.for a long time i let all the moaning about our class get to me, so much so that i started trying to build my character to perform well as a tank, as i can now self buff my mit to 5200+ with over 7k health (more if i went back to the STA line). before i started down this quest, best i could do was about 4600... so its nice to ahve found an extra 600 mitigation from better armour and such. but yet again my efforts to do this where caused by my guild paladin making joking comments about my mit (before he retired he had some of the best tanking gear out there), so while i didnt want to let it get to me, it did. i'd always taken a back seat on MT gear, letting the warriors take it without pushing the DKP too high. so i changed my ways a little and got more mit.im sure most people are bored already so i'll not drag out the life story of my raiding experiances and differnt guilds and roles i've been in which as left me as lost and confused as i am now. but i feel a quick history is worth repeating:my SK is/was an alt, created during DoF while bored inbetween raiding with my illusionist (worth mentioning that i didnt start raiding untill part way through DoF, and i'd always seen myself as a casual player that simply spent a lot of time online). i hit 60 the day before KoS, and juggled both through the expansion, getting little help from my previous guild to level up their buff bot, i switched mains and faught for a place on the raid alongside the other SK. obviously things never quite settled, and i moved servers (with my wife) as playing on a US server living in england leave few if any options for raiding. still not sure what my play style really was finding a guild im settled in has taken a while, perhaps harcore being used as an insult so often always pushed me away from accepting that that is how i play, or want to. been in my current guild about 2 months, happy here, but the roles i've tried to fill as a SK have changed a lot in the few months since i've been raiding with him.-------------------I'm tired of trying to play catch up to other classes in areas that are their strengths before it gets out of hand, as i already feel myself loosing interest because i dont feel happy with what the game offers. I made a post similar but simpler to this a few months ago without going into too much detail and got little advice i found useful.what i really want are suggestions and opinions on what AAs apmlify our true strengths in a raid environment.

[Willias]

Since I didn't see you mention it...One thing that you absolutely MUST get as a SK is part of the INT line.  At least 4 ranks of Legionnaire's Intelligence (though 8 ranks is good too), 4 ranks of Smite, and most definately 8 ranks of Legionnaire's Wrath.  Since most Shadowknight attacks are considered spells, the massive increase in spell crit chance is quite a bit of extra damage, and since all of our heals are lifetaps, they'll crit on the healing component with this AA as well.After that, I would either go STR or STA (WIS just isn't that great IMO).  You don't have to use a Symbol, or an Axe, or a Sword to get the benefits from the AAs in a certain line.  So if you want the awesome cast time and reuse time AA at the bottom of the STR line, you don't need an axe to use it.I'd go 8/4/8 in INT, then 4/4/6/7/1(<img src="/smilies/b2eb59423fbf5fa39342041237025880.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /> in STR.<div></div>

[Vexorkane]

I tend to agree with Willias.  The Intelligence line is a must have, at least up to the Spell Crit point.  If you primarily raid I would recommened only concerning yourself with either Strength or Stamina (aside from Intelligence).  For advice I can only tell you what has worked well for me.  My AA set up is 4/5/8 Int.(my Intelligence is capped so easily I didn't know what to do with my 50th point <img src="/smilies/69934afc394145350659cd7add244ca9.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" />), 4/4/8/8/8 Sta.  My setup is scaled more for Tanking/MA, where as the Int/Str is designed for marginally better DPS.<p>Message Edited by Vexorkane on <span class=date_text>08-17-2006</span> <span class=time_text>11:38 AM</span>

[Xanoth]

<blockquote><hr>Vexorkane wrote:My AA set up is 4/5/8 Int., 4/4/8/8/8 Sta.<hr></blockquote>thats pretty much what i had untill my last respec (although i had 5/4/8 int <img src="/smilies/69934afc394145350659cd7add244ca9.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /> ).and im well aware of the implications of the spell crits, that the effect reactive procs, item procs, and jsut about anything else that isn't exactly directly cast by us.real change is untill recently i had to make do with what i had, i now have more fabled weapons than seems logical to carry around... easily enough for 100 deaths and still to have a T7 fabled weapon. but i want a spec thats going to benefit me the most regardless of trying to DPS, off tank, MT or whatever. right now i am leaning towards str/int, although i dont actually ahve a 2h axe... but i want to know waht swift axe gives at 8 ranks as far as temporary haste.

[Phank]

<DIV>INT 5/4/8 -- no brainer.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>I was a big supporter of the WIS line up until a few weeks ago.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>I loved the group regen and group skills buff of the WIS line, but it really isn't that much different from other class AA buffs.  Solo sure, 67 per tick is nice, and the Immune to Fear might come in handy every lunar eclipse.  But the 1% to everything of the WIS line just failed to impress.  I originally thought, okay 1% on every cast, every heal, every resue, every casting time would really ADD UP over an encounter.  (The WIS line is bugged however since the 1% is supposed to increase melee damage and it absolutely DOES NOT.)  This 1% doesn't compare to the pure DPS you gain from the STR line.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>I am now a firm believer in the STR line.  I parse in the top 8 almost every raid encounter.  And generally like the 10% hate gen as well for grouping.</DIV>

[YummiOger]

<P>i bumped a pretty informative thread for APs for u Xan. i stuck with Agil/Stam/Int lines and am parsing 900-1k dps with a good DPS buffs in raids.</P> <P> </P> <P>yummy izbad</P>

[Danimal24]

<P>int 4/4/8</P> <P>str 4/5/8/8/8</P> <P>Self buffed 41% haste, with swiftaxe up, 65% haste. Can easily put any axe on a hotbar, swap it in, cast swift axe, then swap your 2H back in.</P> <P>Once I set my AA's to this, i never looked back</P>

[Beldin_]

<P>Int 4/4/8</P> <P>Str 4/4/4/4/8</P> <P>Sta 4/5</P> <P>Reason .. i'm an AoE Fan .. and 5 in hammer ground is first another aoe -spell but also excatly the time you need to get tap veines casted without beeing interrupted <img src="/smilies/8a80c6485cd926be453217d59a84a888.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /></P>

[YummiOger]

<DIV>Exactly are u wanting to do in a raid Xano?. that will largely determain AP build. As far as im conserned i think DPS is our strongest Raid Function (grats for being #10 in line for that, i blame SOE). but if u are looking to Offtank ST MT  or another role in mind ill happily see what i could brainstorm.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Overall the Crusader AP lines r lack-luster to say the least, hopefully EoF will open some better doors for us.</DIV> <DIV>yummy</DIV>

[Xanoth]

<blockquote><hr>YummiOger wrote:<DIV><DIV>Overall the Crusader AP lines r lack-luster to say the least, hopefully EoF will open some better doors for us.</DIV><DIV>yummy</DIV><hr></blockquote>would have to agree, obviously you know better than most how much tastier a warriors AAs are for them than waht ours do for us. I know i'm beoing awkward, but its not that i don't appreciate the advice, but i dont want to focus too much on any one thing. you might think our DPS is our classes strong point, and your right, but we're a hybrid class with our strength in our utility (or it should be...).while i really like the wisdom line i dont feel that while still limited to 50 points that i'm getting the best "bang for my buck" as it were.as a side note its rare that there is a problem casting tap veins on a raid. most mobs hit slow and hard, or aren't effected by its stun so the advantage is lost anyway. i was stamina/int spec'd a while ago and found hammer ground offered little raid functionality as it doesnt do enough damage to really help noticably gain ae agro.i probably will split between 3 paths, but i'd like to not feel i was wasting 4 points on the weapon attacks. most end abilities just dont seem worth the points you invest in them, especially as the second last abilities on most lines aren't too great either.anyone tried agi much? i know i'm wierd, but with the right buffs RHotHP is pretty sweet, and its magic proc when your int is capped makes the proc insain, especially on a crit. but obviously with a 1s delay, that then gets hasted down to about .8 to .5 your limited to about 5 spells without missing out on auto attacks. is the agi ae proc worth it for raids? with so few large trash groups.im certainly considering str as i have some decent axes, the delay on the axe of the bloodbeast is nice, although it lacks a proc and ascention is obviously tastey when tanking. but again is haste really the best thing to try and push due to casting times? with that in mind, does the casting time haste make a noticable differance for that very reason?also anyone actually used the sword of pain much? i won it thinking it might at least look nice, it didn't so i put it my bank and left it. but with a 3s delay and 250 max damage its not that bad, especially with melee crit.finding a weapon that actually seems to work as well as the sword of shielding (despite its defencive nature) seems almost impossible, as its 3s delay means we're not limited to quick spells to make the most of auto attack damage.not entirly sure i want to drop wisdom though as the group skill buff is really nice and provides a noticable benefit to most people in the group through less fizzles and better hit rate.at the moment i'm leaning towardsSTR: 4-8-8WIS: 4-4-5INT: 4-4-8but i really dont want to respec on a whim, as i dont play a great deal outside of raids these days, so paying 13pp several times for a respec would clean me out.

[Beldin_]

<BR> <BLOCKQUOTE> <HR> Xanoth wrote:<BR><BR>as a side note its rare that there is a problem casting tap veins on a raid. most mobs hit slow and hard, or aren't effected by its stun so the advantage is lost anyway. i was stamina/int spec'd a while ago and found hammer ground offered little raid functionality as it doesnt do enough damage to really help noticably gain ae agro.<BR> <HR> </BLOCKQUOTE>Yeah .. sorry i was in the false thread .. my setup is more what i like for groups and solo. The last 8 on str may also be not that usefull for raids cause it may only bring you to run faster oom <img src="/smilies/8a80c6485cd926be453217d59a84a888.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /><BR>

[Xanoth]

depends on the fight <img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" />

[Beldin_]

<BR> <BLOCKQUOTE> <HR> Xanoth wrote:<BR>depends on the fight <img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /><BR> <HR> </BLOCKQUOTE>Yeah .. however the thing is that you simply burn you're mana faster with 10% shorter cast/recast timer .. very good for short fights because thats simply 10% more dps .. as long as the fight doesn't take that long that you run out of mana <img src="/smilies/8a80c6485cd926be453217d59a84a888.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /> I never was on a raid with my SK .. however if i see how fast i burn my mana in groups then i suppose you can quiet fast run out of mana on a hard raid-mob :smileysurprised:

[Xanoth]

not entrily, jsut becasue you can pres a button it doesn't mean you have to. 10% quicker casting means you can continue auto attacking sooner. time spent casting is DPS lost, so the less time you spend waving your arms around the more time your waving your sword around. weather 10% is worth 8 points is another matter though.

[Danimal24]

<DIV><BR> <BLOCKQUOTE> <HR> Xanoth wrote:<BR>not entrily, jsut becasue you can pres a button it doesn't mean you have to. 10% quicker casting means you can continue auto attacking sooner. time spent casting is DPS lost, so the less time you spend waving your arms around the more time your waving your sword around. <BR> <HR> </BLOCKQUOTE><BR>exactly <img src="/smilies/8a80c6485cd926be453217d59a84a888.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /></DIV><p>Message Edited by Danimal24 on <span class=date_text>08-17-2006</span> <span class=time_text>10:54 AM</span>

[Vexorkane]

<DIV>What I've come to terms about being a Shadowknight is that we are very versatile.  DPS = 1000+dps.  We can in fact do this but not all the time, we are just OK in that respect.  With the proper gear, needless to say, we can tank anything OK.. (group set-up being another story entirely)</DIV> <DIV>My point being, depending on how your actual playing skills/function in which you exel, set up your AA's around whatever that may be.  But if you are badass at either during a raid (yours truly) go with whatever you feel (some combo of Str/Sta/Int) can best contribute to the success of the raid as a whole. :smileyhappy:</DIV> <P><SPAN class=time_text></SPAN> </P><p>Message Edited by Vexorkane on <span class=date_text>08-17-2006</span> <span class=time_text>12:21 PM</span>

[Nicholai24]

<blockquote><hr>Beldin_ wrote:<div></div> <p>Int 4/4/8</p> <p>Str 4/4/4/4/8</p> <p>Sta 4/5</p> <p>Reason .. i'm an AoE Fan .. and 5 in hammer ground is first another aoe -spell but also excatly the time you need to get tap veines casted without beeing interrupted <img src="/smilies/8a80c6485cd926be453217d59a84a888.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /></p><hr></blockquote>Shalla's AAs are identical to mine. I feel like second violin, now.<div></div>