SK or paladin?

[Lethien]

Ok, i know their are probably many forums on SK or Paladin, but i am currently a 26 SK and when im soloing anything my lvl or above, i can kill them but i always have to rest after each battle to get my power back up for the next battle. I really hate having high down time which is what i currently have as my SK. So which, SK or Paladin, is a better soloer and has least downtime or if theirs not much of a difference i would like to know. Thanks<div></div>

[sorrowfool]

Well, I haven't played Pally to any significant level, but as an SK I have no trouble soloing. At level 28 I have no trouble soloing a group of 8-9 green mobs with no downtime, and if they are encounters then the EXP is really good. I went from 27-28 in less than an hour. Of course, that was with full rested state... or vitality. Just make sure that you have the best armor you can buy (or make) and try to get at least Adept 1 on all your spells. From what I have experienced, SK is the best soloer other than the Conj and Necro.<div></div>

[Arlon]

<div></div><div></div>If you want to solo I would stay as a shadowknight. Nothing against paladins... just my opinion. <span>:smileywink:</span>Are you sure you are NOT using too low level drink/food. Good drink/food makes a difference to power and health regen.<div></div><p>Message Edited by Arlon on <span class=date_text>10-10-2006</span> <span class=time_text>12:48 PM</span>

[Chaaz]

<DIV>If you're not in the caring mood about coin, buy some out of combat power regen totems to assist in leveling.  These will cut your downtime by about 50%.  I live by these when I solo.</DIV>

[Nocifer Deathblade]

<BR> <BLOCKQUOTE> <HR> Lethien wrote:<BR> really hate having high down time <BR> <HR> </BLOCKQUOTE>Like other posters said..  It sure sounds like you didn't use food/drink or used newbie food/drink..   It's no reason why any classes have high downtime at all. SOE made sure everyone with any classes with minimum downtimes thanks to food/drink and totems.. <BR>

[CHIMPNOODLE.]

<DIV>I often totems even while grouping to speed up instances, but almost all the time while soloing...helps a ton. Good drink, a necro/conj (for power shards), mana regen classes (bards, chanters), or plain 'ol high DPS groups can make your mana expenditure a non-issue as well when grouping. You get a mana tap later that helps a bit as well later.</DIV><p>Message Edited by CHIMPNOODLE. on <span class=date_text>10-10-2006</span> <span class=time_text>10:50 AM</span>

[Lethien]

Yeah i think it is the drinks im using, only around 11 per tick. ill have to buy some better ones, thanks <img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" />. So is their a better soloer between SK and Paladin? Or is one more group oriented?<div></div>

[Red_Rider]

  SK better DPS and faster kills, Paladin better heals so better survivablility.  I just betrayed my Paladain (level 30) and am in the process or re-equiping, still in app 1's right now.  Will know soon from personnal experience.

[Thumatos]

<P>SK for the win.  i was pally til 25  switched to sk and havent looked back.</P> <P> </P> <P>Well i did look back but only to haven.  I'd leave both freeport and qeynos if there was a truly viable alternative.</P>

[Hamervelder]

<div><blockquote><hr>Thumatos wrote:<div></div> <p>SK for the win.  i was pally til 25  switched to sk and havent looked back.</p> <p>Well i did look back but only to haven.  I'd leave both freeport and qeynos if there was a truly viable alternative.</p><hr></blockquote>You didn't play pally long enough to even begin to understanding the class.  Paladins don't start to shine until the mid 40's, when you get your group heal and in-comba rez.  Post lvl 50 paladins really shine.  The main difference is that paladins are very defensive, more geared toward not just survivability, but aiding and protecting the group vial several heals, ward, etc.  A paladin with master heals and master ward can act as the lone healer in a group.  I did it many, many times.  SK's are all about damage.  Everything an SK has does damage.  So, really, it depends on how you want to contribute to your fellow players.  Want to help augment and protect, and fill in as healer when needed?  Paladin.  Want to dish out more damage?  SK.</div>

[Nocifer Deathblade]

Simply put.. If you are in mood to do evil and selfish player.. Play SK.. If you in mood to do good stuff like helping comrades etc then do Paladin. Enuf said. <img src="/smilies/8a80c6485cd926be453217d59a84a888.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" />

[Wendingo]

<P>Wow.  That last post is an ad for why not to be a pally :smileyhappy:</P> <P>I will help my allies by increasing the size of the honor guard that accompanies those too weak to stand against the tide on their journey into the netherworld.  :smileymad:</P>

[Antryg Mistrose]

<font color="#ffff00">Hamervelder wrote : "You didn't play pally long enough to even begin to understanding the class. "</font>I've always had an issue with claims like this - spells cycle every 14 levels generally.  A paladin at level 20 is NOT that different from one at 70.  A player at level 70 has played the char longer, but not necessarily better.Main differences I've found:<b>Paladin:</b>Can heal OTHERSCan be relatively lazy and still keep aggro (Amends/Sigil)RezLay of Hands big healHate sink on raids, so allows a DPS class to go harder (and can get killed by the DPSers aggro if not MTing)Reasonable group healer, no cures of course, but for easy content can substitute for a real priest.Common, so expect to pay more or not get as many Masters and class specifc gear.<b>SK:</b>Does more damageHas more debuffsCannot self heal quite as well as a paladin under normal circumstances (exception is large amounts of not so bad mobs)Fake Death (on anyone in group/raid which as far as I know is unique)EvacHarm Touch (Big damage)Limited non-MT raid roleDoes comparitevely more spell damage vs meleeWhat do I know anyway - I've only played a SK for 16 levels <span>:smileywink:</span><div></div>

[Xanoth]

<blockquote><hr>Antryg Mistrose wrote:spells cycle every 14 levels generally.  A paladin at level 20 is NOT that different from one at 70<hr></blockquote>not really true as new abilities are filtered in throughout higher levels, not to mentian some of the more important ones at 50,52,55,58,65. a lot of classes are well known to be boring or sub par till they reach these levels and gain these abilities.level doesn't equate to player competance, but classes do changequite a bit.

[Nicholai24]

There's nothing comparable to Despoil at Level 20.There's nothing comparable to Sacraments at Level 20.There's NOTHING comparable to Tap Veins at Level 20.There's not -- I think you see where I'm going with this.<div></div>

[Norrsken]

<div><blockquote><hr>Nicholai24 wrote:There's nothing comparable to Despoil at Level 20.There's nothing comparable to Sacraments at Level 20.There's NOTHING comparable to Tap Veins at Level 20.There's not -- I think you see where I'm going with this.<div></div><hr></blockquote>No. <img src="/smilies/8a80c6485cd926be453217d59a84a888.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /> </div>

[Torbas]

The only reason I'd choose a pally over an sk is amends.  In every other respect, an SK is superior.  As for limited raid role, the SK on our raids regularly out-dpses assassins on 2+ mob encounters.  Their reactive lifetap they can put on the tank is also superior to paladins' wards.<div></div>

[firewolf]

<blockquote><blockquote><hr>Antryg Mistrose wrote:<font color="#ffff00">Hamervelder wrote : "You didn't play pally long enough to even begin to understanding the class. "</font>I've always had an issue with claims like this - spells cycle every 14 levels generally.  A paladin at level 20 is NOT that different from one at 70.  A player at level 70 has played the char longer, but not necessarily better.Main differences I've found:<b>Paladin:</b>Can heal OTHERSCan be relatively lazy and still keep aggro (Amends/Sigil)RezLay of Hands big healHate sink on raids, so allows a DPS class to go harder (and can get killed by the DPSers aggro if not MTing)Reasonable group healer, no cures of course, but for easy content can substitute for a real priest.Common, so expect to pay more or not get as many Masters and class specifc gear.<b></b><span></span><div></div><hr></blockquote>Some class changes a lot once you reach 50, and even more once you reach 70. The class get new spells/combat arts that are not available before level 50. I noticed this changes on my berserker and defiler. Currently I leveled a paladin to 41, and noticed the change to my combat arts too. Paladin is not just about heal and rez. I'll add something else to paladin combat arts. 1. buff group str and wis 2. give group divine damage proc 3. transfer around 200 mitigation to others 4. stuns/stifles ( 3 at least ) 5. nuke with heal (single target nuke has self heal, ae nuke has group heal) 6. combat arts does double damage vs undead Not saying paladin is better than shadowknight but paladin is not merely a healer with more damage combat arts. If you think paladin can solo better due to ward and heals, obviously you don't know much about paladin. <b></b></blockquote><div></div>

[Antryg Mistrose]

Firewolf, most of the things you mention have equivalents for SK & Paladin.I didn't mention soloing btw, but my experience is SK solo faster, but less safely than paladinMy comparison is level T6 paladin vs level T6 SK.  Identical armour, similar spell qualities, same player - me before/after betraying<div></div>

[SageGaspar]

Lots of classes play completely different at 60 than they did at 49. Some of the ancient teachings are big. Having levelled up an SK over the past month, hitting 55 for Tap Veins and getting my crit AA maxed with some points in the hammer AA have changed the game a good deal. I expect Death March to do the same, and the 65 one sounds interesting too. The level 50/70 hallmark spell and the ancient teachings are really what make a lot of the classes what they are today.As another example, swashbucklers and brigands are pretty much carbon copies of each other with a few moves tweaked before the 50s. It's only in the 50s that brigands get huge debuffs and swashes get the AE and burst DPS.Low-level pallies have [expletive haxx0red by Raijinn] for aggro transfer. High-level pallies put their 41% amends on and go to sleep. Most tanks (all tanks?) are similarly late-developing.<div></div>

[gnarkill]

<div></div>SK>Pally...trust me when I say everyone will be rolling an SK when EoF comes out...and thats all I am saying <img src="/smilies/8a80c6485cd926be453217d59a84a888.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /><div></div><p>Message Edited by ta2demon on <span class=date_text>10-12-2006</span> <span class=time_text>03:46 PM</span>

[shogun007]

Dont forget our Death march now is the best aggro puller there is(better than ice nova). In two words paladin better if u grp a lot sk is better for solo, paladin lasts longer ,sk kills faster.Why Shadowknight -excellent solo ability ,debuffs ability to heal myself while doing damage ,nuke that can go up to 10 k or even more if u put a lot on intelligence, fun pet spell that works like a dot , ability to fd anyone in the grp ,dead lock on aggro with Death March , being an evil knight etc etc.Why Paladin- excelent grp ability to heal yourself and others ,ability to rezzurect with full power and health , ability to keep aggro with amends and sigil, ability to replace priest if the mobs arent too hard , big heal that can heal up to 5k ,and of course u being knight in the shining armor etc etc.I have experience with both and sadly to say i am not playing with m,y lev 66 sk anymore i am playing with brigand cause i want to raid ,if u dont plan to raid get sk or pally grp wants either one ,they plate tanks after all , I had fun with both its reallly up to u which one u prefer that being sad sks are mix of warrior and necro, and pallys are mix of warriors and clericks. Choose your city and enjoy.

[shogun007]

Forgot to mention try to get totems with power regen and best drink/food available crusaders spend their power like crazy their are warrior spellcasters with power pool of a warrior <span>:smileywink:</span>

[Xanoth]

<blockquote><hr>ta2demon wrote:<div></div>SK>Pally...trust me when I say everyone will be rolling an SK when EoF comes out...and thats all I am saying <img src="/smilies/8a80c6485cd926be453217d59a84a888.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /><div></div><p>Message Edited by ta2demon on <span class=date_text>10-12-2006</span> <span class=time_text>03:46 PM</span><hr></blockquote>so true, poor pallies <img src="/smilies/9d71f0541cff0a302a0309c5079e8dee.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" />

[Nocifer Deathblade]

Eh? What is something about EOF that would make Sks more attractive than paladins?

[Coica]

I gotta admit, after playing 3 sk's over the last 9 months I'm really surprised there arent more of us. I feel like its almost a secret how  cool SK's are to play.<div></div>

[Xanoth]

unfortunatly i aint in beta, but even if i was i couldnt say anything <img src="/smilies/69934afc394145350659cd7add244ca9.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" />rumours drifting about... pally AA = poop. SK AA = w00t <img src="/smilies/283a16da79f3aa23fe1025c96295f04f.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" />

[Nocifer Deathblade]

<BR> <BLOCKQUOTE> <HR> Xanoth wrote:<BR>unfortunatly i aint in beta, but even if i was i couldnt say anything <img src="/smilies/69934afc394145350659cd7add244ca9.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /><BR><BR>rumours drifting about... pally AA = poop. SK AA = w00t <img src="/smilies/283a16da79f3aa23fe1025c96295f04f.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /><BR> <HR> </BLOCKQUOTE><BR>Lol. Everything in Beta is subject to change.. You can't know til final release..

[Rainkng]

<div></div>I hear ya, mugs and know exactly what you mean.  <img src="/smilies/8a80c6485cd926be453217d59a84a888.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" />I rolled an SK because I wanted to experience the game from the Freeport side for a change and haven't regretted a thing since.  In fact, I'd have to say I've been very pleasantly suprised.Granted, my SK is kinda twinked off my main but wow, what a cool class!  Next to my monk he's my favorite alt and will probably even surpass him.To the original poster - roll and play what you like.  It's pretty much been summed up already; Paly = "good" + heals, SK = evil + harm.Hope that helps.<div></div><p>Message Edited by Rainkng on <span class=date_text>10-13-2006</span> <span class=time_text>04:26 PM</span>