Solo Guard AA

Verlaine · 11-28-2007, 11:43 AM

Up and comming guardian lvl 31. I am mostly soloing quests as I level. What would be the best setup? Currently I am specced sta 4 4 8 8 1 and am going down STR currently. Would it be better to change my aas and dual weild or should I stick with sword and board?

Xalmat · 11-28-2007, 02:02 PM

You're fine right now. For STR, I'd stop at STR 4-4-8, then put the rest of your points into INT (4-3).For the record, soloing with a buckler is better than soloing with a dual wield setup in most situations. Buckler boosts your DPS to that of dual wielding, without sacrificing all of your defense (you have a shield, after all).

Tybr · 11-29-2007, 10:29 AM

^*Nods* I would agree the buckler is better for solo. As far as the AA line I cannot attest as I haven't used that particular set up. But it sounds good.

Anyone else?

Dejetdude · 11-30-2007, 06:50 PM

I'd have to agree Str 4/4/8, Int at least 4/1, Sta 4/4/8 are all excellent choices for soloing. I've found the belly smash debuff from the wisdom line is very nice for increasing your burst damage while soloing. An even con mob I can normally kill in about 8-9 ca's, just use your aa strikes to set up your regular ca's.

Tybr · 12-01-2007, 12:10 PM

(Unsolisited advice below highlight to read)....

I just wanted to throw this out there to perhaps save you some time. Please keep in mind that this is my own opinion and I'm sure you will find many to disagree with me. (Which is just fine.)

While I know it is "possable" to solo (PvE), our class really shines in groups.

Once you start getting into the 50-60's the DPS of the encounters you are going to be fighting are going to mean long wait times for your HP/mana to come back up. (Use totems and good food and drink to mitigate this issue.)

Also please remeber, people tend to stick to Tanks they have grouped with in the past. If you want the really high end gear you will need to be building your "contacts" now, so later you can get into good groups.

I just wanted to make sure you know that you are choosing a long.... hard road, regardless of your AA set up.

Good luck.

TuinalOfTheNexus · 12-01-2007, 11:36 PM

Verlaine wrote:

Up and comming guardian lvl 31. I am mostly soloing quests as I level. What would be the best setup? Currently I am specced sta 4 4 8 8 1 and am going down STR currently. Would it be better to change my aas and dual weild or should I stick with sword and board?

It's funny really, as a raid tank I hadn't soloed much in ages before RoK, and I think I learnt a lot about Guard soloing in the week it took to level up.

I repecced AA a few times to maximise soloing speed. Really as a Guardian you're never gonna be taking orange-con ^^^ mobs down (unless you can use a snare hex doll and bow-kite for a half hour), so the focus was on the best way to set up for non-stop killing of yellow solo mobs.

I found the buckler line the best option, by a long way, even though I don't favor it that much for raiding anymore. I remembered back in the day that maximising DPS was the best way to solo without question; but strangely in RoK I found I got more milage from using defensive stance since it really cut back on downtime (ending fights with ~80% hp rather than ~40%). And with heroic mobs, the only way I could solo them was with a tower shield and heal proc gear out.

For a solo spec I'd take Str 86802 Sta 4486 Int 48822 or similar. The crits from Str help on tougher fights when health drops, the reuse from the Int endline means faster Bind Wound and utility reuse as well as CAs, and the Sta line gives you DPS without compromising too much on avoidance. In terms of Guardian AAs (which I'd spend points in last), Slaughtering and Crippling are obvious choices. Crippling especially is handy solo, but so is the double attack from Slaughtering.

Fuury · 12-08-2007, 03:20 PM

Is STA the best line to go down 1st and get to Buckler?

DrOctober · 12-10-2007, 04:43 PM

First line I'd work would be Str (448) then respec to Sta and go (44882) then back to spending points on Str (448). Then mix in either Int (41) for faster attack speeds, or Agi (41) to add a extra aoe attack.Once you get 50 points into the warrior line (you can't put more than 50 points in this line till you are 70+) move to the guardian line and run the slaughters line till you get the extra 9% double attack.edited to remove smilies

11-28-2007, 02:02 PM	#2
Xalmat EQ2Achieve.com Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Phoenix, AZ Posts: 5,895	You're fine right now. For STR, I'd stop at STR 4-4-8, then put the rest of your points into INT (4-3).For the record, soloing with a buckler is better than soloing with a dual wield setup in most situations. Buckler boosts your DPS to that of dual wielding, without sacrificing all of your defense (you have a shield, after all). __________________ EQ2Achieve - Your guide to all EverQuest II Achievements

11-30-2007, 06:50 PM	#4
Dejetdude Loremaster Join Date: Nov 2004 Posts: 56	I'd have to agree Str 4/4/8, Int at least 4/1, Sta 4/4/8 are all excellent choices for soloing. I've found the belly smash debuff from the wisdom line is very nice for increasing your burst damage while soloing. An even con mob I can normally kill in about 8-9 ca's, just use your aa strikes to set up your regular ca's. __________________

12-01-2007, 11:36 PM	#6
TuinalOfTheNexus Loremaster Join Date: Nov 2004 Posts: 589	Verlaine wrote: Up and comming guardian lvl 31. I am mostly soloing quests as I level. What would be the best setup? Currently I am specced sta 4 4 8 8 1 and am going down STR currently. Would it be better to change my aas and dual weild or should I stick with sword and board? It's funny really, as a raid tank I hadn't soloed much in ages before RoK, and I think I learnt a lot about Guard soloing in the week it took to level up. I repecced AA a few times to maximise soloing speed. Really as a Guardian you're never gonna be taking orange-con ^^^ mobs down (unless you can use a snare hex doll and bow-kite for a half hour), so the focus was on the best way to set up for non-stop killing of yellow solo mobs. I found the buckler line the best option, by a long way, even though I don't favor it that much for raiding anymore. I remembered back in the day that maximising DPS was the best way to solo without question; but strangely in RoK I found I got more milage from using defensive stance since it really cut back on downtime (ending fights with ~80% hp rather than ~40%). And with heroic mobs, the only way I could solo them was with a tower shield and heal proc gear out. For a solo spec I'd take Str 86802 Sta 4486 Int 48822 or similar. The crits from Str help on tougher fights when health drops, the reuse from the Int endline means faster Bind Wound and utility reuse as well as CAs, and the Sta line gives you DPS without compromising too much on avoidance. In terms of Guardian AAs (which I'd spend points in last), Slaughtering and Crippling are obvious choices. Crippling especially is handy solo, but so is the double attack from Slaughtering.

12-10-2007, 04:43 PM	#8
DrOctober Loremaster Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Pits of Hades Posts: 48	First line I'd work would be Str (448) then respec to Sta and go (44882) then back to spending points on Str (448). Then mix in either Int (41) for faster attack speeds, or Agi (41) to add a extra aoe attack.Once you get 50 points into the warrior line (you can't put more than 50 points in this line till you are 70+) move to the guardian line and run the slaughters line till you get the extra 9% double attack.edited to remove smilies __________________ Hellespont - Hemmlock - Jorgen Vinsent - Gabriellan - Sirocco Draconic Legion -Unrest There are 10 kinds of people in the world: .....those who understand binary, .....and those who don't.

11-28-2007, 11:43 AM	#1
Verlaine Loremaster Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: MN, USA Posts: 113	Up and comming guardian lvl 31. I am mostly soloing quests as I level. What would be the best setup? Currently I am specced sta 4 4 8 8 1 and am going down STR currently. Would it be better to change my aas and dual weild or should I stick with sword and board?

11-29-2007, 10:29 AM	#3
Tybr Loremaster Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 218	^Nods I would agree the buckler is better for solo. As far as the AA line I cannot attest as I haven't used that particular set up. But it sounds good. Anyone else?

12-01-2007, 12:10 PM	#5
Tybr Loremaster Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 218	(Unsolisited advice below highlight to read).... I just wanted to throw this out there to perhaps save you some time. Please keep in mind that this is my own opinion and I'm sure you will find many to disagree with me. (Which is just fine.) While I know it is "possable" to solo (PvE), our class really shines in groups. Once you start getting into the 50-60's the DPS of the encounters you are going to be fighting are going to mean long wait times for your HP/mana to come back up. (Use totems and good food and drink to mitigate this issue.) Also please remeber, people tend to stick to Tanks they have grouped with in the past. If you want the really high end gear you will need to be building your "contacts" now, so later you can get into good groups. I just wanted to make sure you know that you are choosing a long.... hard road, regardless of your AA set up. Good luck.

12-08-2007, 03:20 PM	#7
Fuury Loremaster Join Date: Nov 2004 Posts: 42	Is STA the best line to go down 1st and get to Buckler?