So here are my perameters. Both sk and paladin are on the same account both lvl 87, paladin about 1500 aa and sk only at about 900 but working on him. Both will definately have a bard who will most likely be a melody/melee and puller when needed but that seems to be a rare need these days. Third box will either be a mage or necro most likely...dps+back up tank. What i want.. a powerdul tank that can sustain fair agro even if not played 100% (makes me lean sk) Looking for a high dps group and i dont mind hunting down undead locations(makes me lean pal) Looking for fun aa and a class to explore their capabilities deep into the aa pool( lean sk because offensive also =dedensive bonus) Looking for a class to take into raids to optimize gear for a gear dependent position like tanking(makes me lean paladin) A strong aa grinder (understand both can swarm...but sk is better...could sk swarm generate more aa for the other two then had they picked up some mercs and did group content. Because if that is case then no advantage. But bard and mage ds would equal good synergy for swarming. Plus bard could pull and feign more mobs. Paladin looks cooler and big crits are pretty. Sk taps are fun and against lower mobs they dont seem to touch him. So my questins about end game Of the two tanks who has an easier time keeping agro and surving esp if not being focused. How do pallies do when swarming esp undead? Exp anywhere close to sk? I know raids utilize paladins and are in higher need of them. How does their dps compare vs undead and vs living. What about your class do you enjoy?
I'd choose whichever you have the most fun with. Paladins offer more utility (heals/splash/buffs) while SK's are the king of agro. For raiding, you'd have an easier time getting in with paladin, but SK's still have a very viable role.
I really enjoy them both and hoping not to have to get them both to lvl 95+ to decide but who knows i may just have to. I feel i would like the pally more if playing solo but that the sk might be an easier tank to box sue to snap agro.
Swarming is probably at its peak right now. I wouldn't make a decision based on swarming. IMO if you can manage the requires more attention SK class and still manage a Bard in group content I'd play the SK. A better group tank IMO and solid in raids. If you like a variety of roles and being able to use secondary abilities in raids as well as tank I'd go with the Pally.
If you're boxing, the ae aggro tools of the SK make it much easier. Personally, I like my Paladin better, though, even though he needs more attention when boxing.
I'll jump in here to ask a related question. Trying to decide what character I want to work on next, split between SK/Pal myself. Leaning paladin solely because SKs have pets, and as I'm working on a BST now, I'd rather not do another class with a pet. So, how much does SK pets matter or contribute? If I ignored it, would I be at a serious disadvantage?
sk pets are completely unnecessary. to BA: swarmign is well past its peak not at it. play what you like the best. you ahve a LOT more work ahead of you on that sk to get it up to snuff than on that pally though, at that level with 900aa you are seriously seriously behind for an sk. stop looking at advantages and start looking at enjoyment factor for you personally
Well that depends on your level and your AA's, but you are still right - its glory days are over. There are good reasons to play an SK - swarming isn't one of them.
SK, due to numerous lifetap proc spells. nowhere near as well as SKs do vs. anything, undead or no. there are an unfortunate number of assumptions in this statement. raids utilize *good players* regardless of what class they are. there are a couple of very good paladins out there... vaguely somewhere, in guilds with prominent and vocal posters... therefor paladins are perceived as being an awesome class. also, "need" is an extremely strong word in this case. kinda crap to not as much crap. as an sk, i'd say that is the most self-contained and self-reliant of any in the game. an SK can go anywhere, do near anything, is probably the best at running around and exploring in the game.
[quote="Tearsin Rain, post: 2960089, member: 513" there are an unfortunate number of assumptions in this statement. raids utilize *good players* regardless of what class they are. there are a couple of very good paladins out there... vaguely somewhere, in guilds with prominent and vocal posters... therefor paladins are perceived as being an awesome class. .[/quote] I think its the other way around. Rock star sks make the class seem way more useful then they really are. Also sks(at least the guilds I have been in) tend to offer to take as many roles as possible, thus convincing the guilds that sks are vital. I am not a rock star, but I am damn good, very active attendance wise and proactive in finding ways to properly use sks on any encounter I can, but objectively I'd probably be much more useful to my guild if I was a pally.
What you mention here, is due to the fact that overall, the SK community has a lot more talent in it than the Paladin community does. You have better people behind the wheel of the SK class. On my server, the perception is that SKs are better at just about everything over Paladins. Folks starting groups, always want SKs. This is a bad perception. Any smart raider knows that Paladins bring more to raids, but sadly, there are just sooo many bad and lazy Paladins out there. For every 5 talented SKs you see and find, you'll be lucky to find 1 Paladin with equal talent. This is no exaggeration either, I mean, yeah, your mileage may vary on this subject depending on your server, but I bet its this way on a lot of servers. Its why ive always said that good players, can mask any classes shortcomings and make that class look awesome (no matter what the class is) So if your guild has an awesome talented Paladin, you better do everything possible to hang on to him. They are a rare breed. Luckily, my guild, Fu, has two good ones. RoV also has an excellent Paladin, Mr Elricvonclief!
If you are well equipped and skilled either class will do just fine. Period. That being said Sk move around faster and have cool let's as well as being almost monk like in their ability to solo explore and survive just about anywhere. The honest reason there are more SK that paladins? They look more badass and have more dazzling personalities. Really just pick a role play option that appeals to you and have fun if you are solo/molo/group. It's more fun
with respect, kelefane and automation, i think you're basically both saying "a pinto can totally beat an F1 racing car in a 500 yard straight race if the driver of the pinto is skilled enough" there's obviously differences between the two classes and due to the mechnics and spellset paladins obviously have more non-tank things they can do, and sure maybe this statement is colored by the fact that in 13 years of playing EQ i have quite literally never seen or played with a good paladin and just have no context for what i'm talking about, but i just don't see them being this amazing class that is beyond our capacity to compare to.
if i could offer another alternative: EQ players tend to, by and large, by longer-term players - especially at the high end. i'd say there's so many more SKs than paladins in the upper tiers of raiding because those players have been around since before paladins really came into their own... prior to about DoDH the class was hurting, and i'm willing to bet a lot of the class distribution is due to that.
Tearsin, I've refrained from insulting you on evilagmer, because that's the SK website. That said, do NOT call out paladins here. You sir, will be disappointed. Each class has their strengths/weaknesses. I've NEVER tried to nerf SK, Kelefane is an old friend actually. Please do not try to bash paladins, or you WILL raise my and many others' ire. It is possible you've not played with skilled paladins, I'd think it's more likely you're f'n clueless what a good paladin does...
... the hell are you talking about? A. i've been a staunch supporter of all things paladin for years and if you read any of my posts on the subject you'd know that. B. how is saying that i've never personally seen a skilled paladin in action and thus tend to think that the "omg paladins are the greatest thing to ever exist" meme is overrated a bash against paladins? so, let me get this straight... when i qualify a statement with the huge caveat it's based on having little to no experience with a good player of the class, that means i'm clueless about everquest and the reason i'm clueless about everquest is because i have little no experience with a good player of the class. because yeah, sure, that makes *any* kind of sense.
