Thinking about Betraying to SK

[Cohibabear]

<DIV>Good day to the Shadowknight community. I play a paladin on the Najena server, and for quite a while I have seriously considered betraying him. So I would like to pose a couple of questions to Sk community.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>First this one is directed at others who have betrayed from Paladin to SK, I would like to know how you like playing an SK and the pros and cons of both classes?</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>My next question is what is the primary stat for SK?</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>I have read through a walkthrough of how to betray from Qeynos to Freeport, but what is the best way to grind the faction so I can enter Freeport?</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Finally when dealing with AAs, what are some of your favorites, and why?</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Any help would be greatly appreciated, and thank you all for your time.</DIV>

[Norrsken]

<BR> <BLOCKQUOTE> <HR> Cohibabear wrote:<BR> <DIV>Good day to the Shadowknight community. I play a paladin on the Najena server, and for quite a while I have seriously considered betraying him. So I would like to pose a couple of questions to Sk community.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>First this one is directed at others who have betrayed from Paladin to SK, I would like to know how you like playing an SK and the pros and cons of both classes?</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>My next question is what is the primary stat for SK?</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>I have read through a walkthrough of how to betray from Qeynos to Freeport, but what is the best way to grind the faction so I can enter Freeport?</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Finally when dealing with AAs, what are some of your favorites, and why?</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Any help would be greatly appreciated, and thank you all for your time.</DIV><BR> <HR> </BLOCKQUOTE> <P><BR>I didnt betray from pally to sk, I rerolled, but I quite frankly have to say I love my SK and didnt hav one bit of feeling for my pally.<BR>The cons of the pally were, to me, the low dps. I just couldnt do stuff. As a tank I dod fairly well, kept aggro off everyone and all that jazz. (Even helped out the healer when I could.) As a sk, I do tank just as well (Took a bit to get used to it though) and self heal as good, if not better. Though I cannot offer up much utility, other than my blessing line, which heals a slight bit. I also do more damage than I used to so soloing is working nicely.</P> <P>All stats are our primary. <img src="/smilies/8a80c6485cd926be453217d59a84a888.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /> Not quite, but almost. Str is our primary power pool, int is our secondary, and pir primary dps source. STA we need for a few of our AAs to work better, and wis we use for resists, agi for avoidance.</P> <P>I did a quest with seeds of tunare again and again since it was fast and much faction.</P> <P>HEhe, the SK is a versatile class, and depending in its AAs, can fill a wide variety of slots. What do you want to do primarily? </P>

[Beagest]

<DIV> <DIV><FONT color=#ff0000>First this one is directed at others who have betrayed from Paladin to SK, I would like to know how you like playing an SK and the pros and cons of both classes?</FONT></DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>At lvl 65 i decided to betray my pali to SK, mainly cause paly was getting boring...Paladin cons are basically useless for dps...pros but they are a very good tank in a small grp with no healer...SKs have much higher dps and have life taps...but cant seem to live as long on a yellow heroic as my pali could but it might just be   me:smileyhappy:</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV> <DIV><FONT color=#ff0000>My next question is what is the primary stat for SK?</FONT></DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>imo we dont have a primary stat... ( Sta = Hit Points  -  Int = Mana/Spell dmg  -  Str = Mana/Melee dmg  -  Wis = Resists  -  Agility = Avoidance )   imo this is how my stats would go...   INT/STA/WIS/STR/AGI but decide as you see fit :smileytongue:</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV><FONT color=#ff0000>I have read through a walkthrough of how to betray from Qeynos to Freeport, but what is the best way to grind the faction so I can enter Freeport?</FONT></DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>I did same quest over and over again for faction....i dont remember the name :smileyindifferent: but went to an instance in South Qeynos behing the Mage tower.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV><FONT color=#ff0000>Finally when dealing with AAs, what are some of your favorites, and why?</FONT></DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>INT  4/4/8  is how i went...when its maxed you will crit <STRONG>69%</STRONG> of the time (includes <STRONG>life taps</STRONG>) </DIV> <DIV>Sta 4/4/8 so you crit more on melee attacks (not sure on the alount havnt maxed it)</DIV> <DIV>WIS 4/4/8 so your defence stance will have no negatives on it, its a +18 to ALL skills when its maxed</DIV> <DIV>this is just how i did mine, just cause we have end line abilitys dont mean u have to get them, imo SK ones in both KoS AA tree and EoF one  :smileysad:</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Hope i have been of some assistance mate :smileyvery-happy:</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV> </DIV></DIV></DIV>

[Krugus]

Greetings Cohibabear!  I was a 70th level Paladin.  Mostly mastered out on all my skills with a few Adept3's here and there.   I looked over all of the SK abilities and decided to betray and haven't looked backed since.  I enjoy playing a Shadowknight over the paladin alot but there are some pro's and con's you should consider:Paladin abilities vs Shadowknight<b>WARD</b>:  Paladins gets a ward spell.  Shadowknights do not have a ward spell instead they get a Reactive Life Tap:  Triggers 5 times.  Lasts about as long as the ward does unless all triggers are all used up.  This can be cast on others just like the Ward.  So if your not the main tank, its handy to buff him with it during the fight.  <b>HEALS</b>:  Paladins get 1 group, 1 self, 1 target and 1 LoH.  Shadowknights Get 2 single target life tap, 1 AoE life tap and thru AA's can make 1 of their DoT's & Harmtouch resore some health.<b>GROUP BUFFS</b>:  Group Proc buff that does more dmg vs undead, STR & WIS buff for the Paladin.  Shadowknights get Group Lifetap proc buff, STR & STA buff.<b>BUFFS</b>:  Self only HP buff, Self only proc buff that does more dmg vs undead for the Paladin.  Shadowknights get Self only Dmg shield & hate buff (they take dmg and adds more taunt to you each time your hit) and a Self only Lifetap proc buff.<b>STANCES</b>: OFF & DEF Stances:  eh? about the same for both classes.<b>UNIQUE ABILITIES</b>:  Combat Rez, Group hate Siphon for the Paladin.  Shadowknights get Targetable Feign Death, Evac, Self only AoE Mitigation Buff (short duration) and the dreaded Death March (short duration group buff that buffs INT(+127? I think at adept 3), DPS(+55 at adept 3), Spell casting speed (55% boost at adetp 3)as well as make the group immune to Stun, Stiffle, Root, Snare & Daze for 10 seconds then every time a mob dies while this buff is active it buffs the group with On the March buff which does all the above again) GREAT for Snap Aggro.  I've had a few Guardians tell me they hate this buff because it would steal all the aggro away from them when I would use it (yes I paid the price a few times for doing that, you have to learn when and when not to use it) but when I see the main healer about to go down, I'll use Death March to try to save them from going down.  I'd rather die and take one for the group than have the main healer go down and we all die)<b>COMBAT ABILITIES</b>:  Paladin combat abilities are based around Divine Damage where as the Shadowknights are based around Disease damage which means quite a few of the Shadowknight attacks have some kind of DoT effect.  <b>What I miss as a Shadowknight now that I betrayed over from a Paladin</b>.   Combat Rez, Healing Others and the Hate Transfers.   Paladins hold aggro <i><b>much easier</b></i> than a Shadowknight via hate transfers and group siphon.Paladins can save a group from a wipe via Combat Rez'ing the healer back while getting beat on (I've done this many times)Paladins can of course help out on the healing department (even save the healer from time to time)<b>What I enjoy as a Shadowknight now that I betrayed over from a Paladin</b>.  Evac, Targetable Feign Death and better over all DPS.  In the short time I've been a SK, I've saved more people from dying with <b>Feign Death</b> than I ever have with LoH (myself included) but my only complaint is that it should last LONGER than 20 seconds.  <b>Evac</b>! Whats not to like about being able to teleport yourself and your group out of harms way or just saving time to run to the Docks or zone in. Last but not least <b>better over all DPS</b>.  The main reason why Shadowknights do more DPS than a Paladin is because of our lifetaps.  While the Paladin is Healing himself he does no damage vs when the SK lifetaps he heals himself and dose dmg at the same time and the Shadowknight has quite a few lifetap abilities as stated above.<b>Advancement Points</b>:<b>Crusader Line</b>:  Out of all of the lines to go down, Its a MUST that you go down the INT line and max out on the Spell Crit (INT:4/4/<img src="/smilies/b2eb59423fbf5fa39342041237025880.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" />  for the simple reason of when our Lifetap crits so will the Heal part of the tap as well.  The rest depends on the person.   Some go down the STR line all the way from the added hate and for faster cast/recast timers, some go down WIS to cancel out the - on the defensive stance and some also go further down the WIS line for the group regen (65? 68? pts of regen) others go down the STA line for added hp's and Melee crits but out of all of them the INT line is a MUST IMHO.<b>Shadowknight Line</b>:  I'm still toying around with the AA's here but most seem to go down the Reaver and Hate lines.  Reaver is good for boosting your self healing and the Hate line just helps the SK out in holding aggro.<b>STATS</b>:  About the same, just swtich out WIS for INT and be done with it.<b>Finial Thoughts</b>:  It all boils down to the grass is greener.  The Shadowknight is a Good class but so is the Paladin.  If you like the ability to Heal others & Rez as well as hold solid aggro then the Shadowknight is not for you.   The Shadowknight is fun to play but is not for the faint of heart ><img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /><i>Krugus Runeblade</i><i>Former 70th level Paladin now 70th level Shadowknight that roams the AB Server.</i><div></div>

[Norrsken]

<BR> <BLOCKQUOTE> <HR> Krugus wrote:<BR>Greetings Cohibabear!<BR><BR><B>UNIQUE ABILITIES</B>:  Combat Rez, Group hate Siphon for the Paladin.  Shadowknights get Targetable Feign Death, Evac, Self only AoE Mitigation Buff (short duration) and the dreaded Death March (short duration group buff that buffs INT(+127? I think at adept 3), DPS(+55 at adept 3), Spell casting speed (55% boost at adetp 3)as well as make the group immune to Stun, Stiffle, Root, Snare & Daze for 10 seconds then every time a mob dies while this buff is active it buffs the group with On the March buff which does all the above again) GREAT for Snap Aggro.  I've had a few Guardians tell me they hate this buff because it would steal all the aggro away from them when I would use it (yes I paid the price a few times for doing that, you have to learn when and when not to use it) but when I see the main healer about to go down, I'll use Death March to try to save them from going down.  I'd rather die and take one for the group than have the main healer go down and we all die)<BR><BR><B>Finial Thoughts</B>:  It all boils down to the grass is greener.  The Shadowknight is a Good class but so is the Paladin.  If you like the ability to Heal others & Rez as well as hold solid aggro then the Shadowknight is not for you.   The Shadowknight is fun to play but is not for the faint of heart ><img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /><BR><BR><I>Krugus Runeblade</I><BR><I>Former 70th level Paladin now 70th level Shadowknight that roams the AB Server.</I><BR><BR><BR><BR> <BR> <HR> </BLOCKQUOTE> <P>Just a thing. With EoF, sks got a group hate siphon. Not a big one, but still. <img src="/smilies/8a80c6485cd926be453217d59a84a888.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /> Some say its a godsent, some say it sucks. I havent tried it.</P> <P>But as for the rest, nailed it.<BR></P>

[DravynX]

I play a 54 Paladin and a 34 SK, both on Nagafen, and I have to say, I enjoy the SK much more. The dps difference is incredible, and to me, the SK AA tree is far far superior to the Paladin AA tree. A mastered/adept 3 SK with the AA crit line is truly nasty in the dps department, whereas a similiary mastered/adept 3 paladin with the AA crit line does mediocre dps at best.

[Dolamaine]

<DIV>Betrayed froglok pally to sk:</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV> <DIV>First this one is directed at others who have betrayed from Paladin to SK, I would like to know how you like playing an SK and the pros and cons of both classes?</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Basically, all your heals are self centered and also do damage</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>My next question is what is the primary stat for SK?</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>```````````int/str/stam and if i add wis cause i pvp. may not be as important on pve.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>I have read through a walkthrough of how to betray from Qeynos to Freeport, but what is the best way to grind the faction so I can enter Freeport?</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>```````````the sermon quest. just train it</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Finally when dealing with AAs, what are some of your favorites, and why?</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>``````````i just maxed the int line. i like it cause it crits my damage spells and when they crit, so does the heal attached to it</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Any help would be greatly appreciated, and thank you all for your time.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>`````````np</DIV></DIV>

[seamus]

<DIV>Well I've done so ... twice. I really tried to get into Paladin and just kept coming back to the SK.  The paladin just takes a lot more effort to kill mobs therefor it does not compare to the SK for solo. I also feel the heals given to the paladin take too long to cast and frustrate me. I've looked at the EOF tree and Paladins did get some nice stuff.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Keep in mind Freeport is a dump <img src="/smilies/283a16da79f3aa23fe1025c96295f04f.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /> For a lot of people this matters and this is the reason so few people play from the Freeport side compared to the Qeynos side. I see more ogres, trolls and night elves in Qeynos then I do in Freeport. Kinda irks me that EOF gave an already popular 'side' another city to start from and live in.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>As for stats, similar to Paladin, they all matter. Str and Int help power pool and dps. Sta hps, agi avoidance and wis resists.  Devout armor is probably the best crafted set for SK's but its ugly, if that matters to you. You give up the agi of Vanguard for int.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>As for the faction grind, do the Tunare Seeds quest. Its easily reached through the sewers and you can suicide to spawn near the quest giver. Takes about 2 or 3 hours to get the faction if you are efficient.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>For AA's I think everyone goes for 4 4 8 in Int. The heal crit does not affect our taps so don't go that far. After that its gonna be personal choice. I've gone down str, not for the haste but for the additional hate which is very noticeable. I duo with my wife's wiz and compared to other specs the 10 percent hate is very helpful as my wife hates holding back. <img src="/smilies/283a16da79f3aa23fe1025c96295f04f.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" />  With EOF though we do get a pretty decent Hate line and I may respec out of str. Another popular choice is 4 4 8 in wis and sta along with int and that would be my alternative. The agi line is also nice if you want something different, all of the abilities work off a mount its just that they get better on a mount.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>In EOF I personally like the Reaver and Hate lines. Definitely get the upgrade to the blessing line, its a must have.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Keep in mind if you are interested in raiding with a min/max guild they tend to leave sk's out. We can tank everything when setup correctly but min/max guilds do their best to trivialize the content, yes I said trivialize. (I've been in such guilds in 3 MMO's now and they do everything they can to make the content boring as heck.) Most guilds are not min/max guilds despite what you read in these forums though. Warriors do have an advantage when it comes to X2 and up mobs, I have a zerker as well, and I've experienced it first hand.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>With rare crafted gear and adept 3's my sk can easily dispatch groups of orange con mobs and take on multiple 3 arrow greens ending those fights with full health and half or so power. SK's really shine taking on a group of mobs and have great survivability. SK's kill much faster solo than Paladins. I think most people will agree that once you've tried the class you'll find it hard to stop playing it.</DIV>