Strength, Stamina, or Wisdom?

[Twofeets]

My pally is currently 35.  I have a pretty even mix of solo, duo, and grouping.  When duoing I usually duo with a wiz, so I tank and heal myself,.  When in a group it varies depending on makeup. Which stat is most important? Stamina?  Do the extra hitpoints help all that much ? Strength? How much of a damage increase can I expect ? Wisdom? How much of a power increase? I plan on buying a +10-11 doll for my inventory slot, possibly two dolls depending on replies. thankyou   <div></div>

[Harovan]

<P>Don't forget Agility, which determines avoidance and accuracy.</P> <P>The answer depends on what you do.</P> <P>1) Tanking: You need health, and lots of it. And you need avoidance to diminish the chance to be hit. Dealing damage is not your main concern, managing aggro is. The importance of the stats is: STA and AGI come first, for obvious reasons. Next important is STR, as it determines your power pool needed for taunts and buffs, along with WIS to a much lesser degree. Soon the importance of WIS will be increased, as it will determine the mitigation of incoming spell damage.</P> <P>2) Offtanking/DPSing: As you won't get hit that often, STA doesn't matter that much. Try to max out STR and WIS, as power is the key. Most of your damage comes from combat arts and spells, which burn lots of power. AGI is important for the percentage of your melee hits, so it's next the important stat. Soon INT will become somewhat important, as it will determine the damage your spells dish out.</P> <P>3) Soloing: You need both, taking damage and dishing it out. Try to balance STR, STA and AGI, WIS to a lesser degree.</P> <P> </P>

[Phatt]

Well I dont think we actually have any use for Wisdom. Wisdom buffs priests power and Strength buffs our own power. I think they said that Wisdom will be useful soon, though... <div></div>

[GilfalasElaandrin]

<BR> <BLOCKQUOTE> <HR> Phattie wrote:<BR>Well I dont think we actually have any use for Wisdom. Wisdom buffs priests power and Strength buffs our own power. I think they said that Wisdom will be useful soon, though...<BR> <BR> <HR> </BLOCKQUOTE> <P><BR>Actually Strength determines our power rating and how hard we hit. Wisdom ALSO adds to our power rating but not as much as strength does. Additionally Wisdom will possibly be used as a boost to spell resistance in the upcoming combat balance.</P> <P>My theory is boost all the stats you can. That said I boost str before all else. While damage is not our #1 role while tanking, I personally think anyone who discounts just how good we are at damage even while tanking is stuck in the old EQ 1 mindset. More damage = more aggro and mob dies faster. Better for everyone. More Str = more power AND more melee damage and therefore more arts you can use to do even more damage and get more aggro from your arts.</P> <P>Unless your a hardcore raider, then maxing stamina is <EM>not critical</EM>. Yes I actually said that. Most tanks can handle the hits from pretty much 95% of game content that is level appropriate for them. While more stamina and hits is obviously good I prefer the 'best defense is a good offense' plan. While in EQ 1 that was not an option for Paladins it most CERTAINLY is on EQ 2. Obviously if your a raider this will be different as you will be opposing mobs that produce totally rediculosu quantities of damage and merely surviving is a chore, so in that case as much stamina as you can manage will be perferable.</P> <P>So my advice is boost Str first and then pump as much as you can into the rest. A balanced approach is, to me, the best. Inevitably any plan that has you solely focused on only one stat tot he exclusion of others will generate more deficiancies than advantages. </P>

[hylozoist]

<P>I agree with Gilfalas and Harovan.  You want to focus on strength, agility, stamina, and to a lesser degree, wisdom.  In what order will partially be determined by your playstale.</P> <P>At the most general level, you rarely need a ton of stamina.  Thus it's probably a choice between strength or agility.  I prefered to go with strength for more power and more damage.</P> <P>In the end game, you simply want balance, since there is a soft cap at 200, and there's more benefit for stats that aren't yet 200.  You can always get different sets of equipment, though, and mix and match.  Items like dolls and others can balance as well.   </P>