Need help choosing character traits

[Andok]

<div></div>Hello, my name is Andok, and I’m a newb <span>:smileytongue:</span><p>Well, I finally decided to take the plunge and play EQ2.<span>  </span>I’ve spent hours reading posts, researching what class I want to play, and various game tips, but I still feel very intimidated and somewhat confused with the game.</p><p>One of the things that is stressing me the most is what <b>character trait, racial tradition, enemy mastery, specialized training</b> options I should choose at each level.<span>  </span>I picked ‘brawny’ at level 8 because I thought a STR boost for a fighter class was a ‘no-brainer’, but now I think I made a big mistake and should have chosen the INT boost.<span>  </span></p><p>Could someone with more experience in this game please help me with these choices?<span>  </span>I am a Dark Elf Shadowknight, and I will probably spend most of my adventuring career soloing (one of the hazards of playing MMORPGs when you’re a dad and having erratic playtimes).<span>  </span></p><div></div>

[Norrsken]

<div><blockquote><hr>Andok wrote:<div></div>Hello, my name is Andok, and I’m a newb <span>:smileytongue:</span><p>Well, I finally decided to take the plunge and play EQ2.<span>  </span>I’ve spent hours reading posts, researching what class I want to play, and various game tips, but I still feel very intimidated and somewhat confused with the game.</p><p>One of the things that is stressing me the most is what <b>character trait, racial tradition, enemy mastery, specialized training</b> options I should choose at each level.<span>  </span>I picked ‘brawny’ at level 8 because I thought a STR boost for a fighter class was a ‘no-brainer’, but now I think I made a big mistake and should have chosen the INT boost.<span>  </span></p><p>Could someone with more experience in this game please help me with these choices?<span>  </span>I am a Dark Elf Shadowknight, and I will probably spend most of my adventuring career soloing (one of the hazards of playing MMORPGs when you’re a dad and having erratic playtimes).<span>  </span></p><div></div><hr></blockquote>No big harm done, you get respec stones when you've had the game for some time...Strength gives you power, so not a biggie there. Are you on a pvp server btw? cause you might spec differently for pvp and pve.</div>

[Andok]

I'm on a PvE server (Antonia Bayle).<div></div>

[Tarkin-Wretch]

<DIV>ill try to help you from memory cuz my work keeps us pretty locked down and i cant visit certain sites to see what the options are.  str is not bad but ceratinly int is a better choice imo, at least at pre 70.  while str and wis control your power pool, int increases the damage you do with about 80% of your abilities.  some abilties do both spell and melee dmg but 80% is a good but rough estimation.  i picked all INT choices since str gear is much easier to find than int, especially when talking about armor and weapons.  </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>racial traits depend on a few things.  you cant get them all but some you wont care for anyways.  dark elves get aty least 1 maybe 2 racial traits that permanently increases a crafting skill like scribing or alchemy.  these may or may not be important to you.  </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>i know one trait raises agility and possibly int, i cant recall.  i would pick both if possible.  triggered traits like the dmg shield and ward are very fluff and i wouldnt bother unless you had even worse choices.  i had these in the past and never found much benefit from them so i ditched them.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>the creature mastery abilities are great but ultimately not neccessary to brood over which is best.  some are more useful if youalready know how you plan on leveling.  for instance if you plan on spending a good amount of time in feerrott and temple of cazic thule, you want to pick lizardman for your 40's mastery.  since you plan on playing an sk you want to pick orc for your teens mastery since you wont be anywhere near gnolls.  you can venture to antonica to find gnolls but in your teens, why bother.  easier just to pick orc.  there is anetire venture pack that makes gnoll mastery useful but splitpaw is horrible now since they nerfed the xp to hell.  orc mastery will be more useful later on when you reach your 30's and hit the Zek zone and in the Deathfist Citadel.  i dont have gnoll mastery to check but it may become more useful later on when you fight in living tombs in the desert in your 50's.  most people dont have room for all those [expletive haxx0red by Raijinn] masteries and dont use them by choice or forget they even have them most times.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>there are a few other racial traits like the 3 min duration out of combat power regen that gives like +2 sta also.  yea this is junk.  i try to stay away from all triggered traits except the hide one.  30 min duration, 5 min cooldown and it roots and stealths you.  useful when you need to afk in a not so safe area.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>the traits that give an increase in power/health pools by a percentage are useful but i typically wait until im higher level to get them because 3% of a low pool is a poor choice.  all of the traits are fluff ultimately but some are more useful than others.</DIV>

[Nicholai24]

As far as I know, health training options are cumulative -- which is to say, you don't get a 2.5% bonus of just your current health or power at that level, but a 2.5% bonus applied in addition to stamina and base health, which also boosts the amount of health gained from items.If I were you, I'd go Stamina, Stamina, Stamina, Stamina, and Health %, Health %, Health %. Power is gained from Str. and Wis., and while Stamina is reasonably simple to increase once you're in the higher levels, it's still hard to reach the cap on your own, and the extra health at the low end helps. You'll have enough power to finish fights, no matter what choices you make, but you'll never die from an empty powerpool. You will die when you run out of HP.As far as Mastery goes, depending on if you plan on ever raiding..Skeleton, Orc, Lizardman, Droag, Cyclops, and Giant are all fine choices.Intel. will provide a minor boost to spell damage at low levels, but it's not a big deal.Racial trainings.. Go for things which provide permanent boosts, starting with whatever seems to make you more durable and better at tanking. Additional Defense skill helps, additional stamina helps, and additional agility and health helps. Supplement in everything else to taste, later on, once you've finished up the basics. Finally, make sure to keep an eye out for better plate armor, better weapons, and upgraded spells.Have fun. <img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /><div></div>

[Andok]

<div></div>Exactly the type of advice I needed.  Thanks!Do you have any advice on which spells I should pick for mastery (I'll probably never raid)?<div></div><p>Message Edited by Andok on <span class=date_text>09-05-2006</span> <span class=time_text>11:11 AM</span>