Need Help With SK Spell Lineup!

Discussion in 'Tanks' started by Slayerwolf, Oct 17, 2019.

  1. Slayerwolf Elder

    I use the following spell lineup nearly all the time in higher level content (EoK+RoS+TBL) in order to maximize DPS and maximize survivability. I know it's not suitable for group play (and I do switch spell lineups when I'm tanking in a group or doing DPS). However, I feel like, given the difficulty of RoS+TBL, I need a little more survivability, but my damage is already so weak that I hate to lose a DoT. Especially since Reinforced Malaise + First Spire + Visage of Decay can make them go through the roof.

    Please help me prune/modify my spell lineup (if applicable) to hopefully incorporate Refute for Power so I can get that extra AC!!

    1) Dissident Fang
    2) Dire Testimony
    3) Touch of T'Vem
    4) Touch of Lutzen
    5) Touch of Falsin
    6) Duplicitous Blight
    7) Dire Coarctation
    8) Plague of Hemofax
    9) Blood of Drakus
    10) Spear of Tylix
    11) Tylix's Skin
    12) Defiant Stance
    13) Concordant Disruption

    Please also note I almost always use a healer merc. I'm looking for any tips/guidance as to how to incorporate Refute for Power so I won't be so squishy, but I want my DPS to stay high.

    Thank you!!!! :) <3
  2. Brohg Augur

    "through the roof" is a pretty questionable description for SK dots regardless of mods. Two of the mods you cite also already work on Life taps, so only the Reinforced Malaise would be benched if you decided to forego dotting. The big gain to doing so, besides the spell gems, is that you get to spend nearly all your fight time life tapping for greater survivability.

    The spell that sticks out to me as conspicuously absent is Insidious Denial. Insidious only goes nuts value-wise on damage&healing per cast time when there's more than one enemy, but it stays useful as a fast-recast life tap even against one target.

    If you do eschew dots, as most of your peers do, then besides Insidious you'll have room also for Refute for Power, Torrent of Suffering, and Xalgoz's Bite
  3. Slayerwolf Elder

    Brohg buddy! Thank you so so so much!!!

    Is there any way I can message you in game to continue the conversation?

    There are many caveats to what you stated. Firstly, is that I usually am fighting single targets in RoS + TBL, so I don't need the aoe much (but it's NOT bad), but I do think the other taps are much better for single target. However, I do see your point and it is quite wise.

    Secondly, why Xalgoz's Bite? The re-use time is like 60 seconds right? If I was going to use something there, wouldn't, perhaps, Touch of Hemofax be better so I can get the HP buff permanently?!!? Also, are you advocating I spam taps constantly for added DPS? Maybe my dps might suffer due to the delay in swing timers?

    So, either drop Touch of Falsin for Insidious Denial and keep the other three you mentioned + add touch of Hemofax.

    OR, I could drop Xalgoz's Bite and add touch of hemofax? Thank you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    Name is Slayerwolf on Firionia Vie if you ever need to message me.
  4. Brohg Augur

    Hemofax, Refute, and Torrent self-buffs last 10 minutes each once their AA is filled in. They can all swap in when needed since they don't need to be cast every battle

    Yes you should absolutely be casting all the time full speed during battle. If you have any spell worth casting (to wit: a spear or life tap), there's no call to ever see spell gems light up you should be spamming so hard. A multibind like Spear Dire Insid Touch Touch Dissident Bite is full time casting for like 18-20 spells per minute. If you haven't been full-time casting like that, you may be surprised to see that your mana bar can actually go down; Xbite (&Vbite AA) push back against that, extending how long you can constantly battle.
  5. sojero One hit wonder


    refute only lasts 2 minutes

    I would multibind 1-6

    1) Touch of T'Vem
    2) Spear of Tylix
    3) Dire Testimony
    4) Touch of Lutzen
    5) Touch of Falsin
    6) insidious denial
    7) Dissident Fang
    8) Terror if you need it (grouping), otherwise Bond of Xalgoz
    9) stance if you need it, otherwise plague of hemofax
    10) blood of drakus
    11) Tylix's Skin
    12) refute for power
    13) Concordant Disruption


    torrent of suffering and touch of hemofax can be cast once every 10 min then dememed

    dissident can be used as dps or as an oh crap for survival, the situation will determine that

    Dots are only higher dps than spamming lifetaps when you get to 3+ mobs, even then its questionable and if you are doing that drop spear and load bargin and drop blood and load the abhorrent sacrifice spell (level 93). and put insidious, bargin, and sacrifice in your top 3 slots.
    Brohg likes this.
  6. Zippie Journeyman

    What is multi-bind by the way? Are you talking about putting them all in one macro button?
  7. sojero One hit wonder

  8. Zippie Journeyman

    Interesting, but isn't the key bindings settings shared across all instances of the game you are running on that computer?

    Therefore, if you setup key binds in-game to fire off spell gems 1, 2, and 3 when you press the 1 button on your SK, you would in turn also be firing off spell gems 1, 2, and 3 when you press the 1 button on your Cleric box (alt-tabbed).
  9. sojero One hit wonder


    No, you have to have that window targeted for it to work. If you use 3rd party programs that cast throughout multiple, maybe, but i don't use those so cant speak on them.
  10. Zippie Journeyman

    No. I mean when you alt-tab to the cleric and press the 1 button, it is going to cast 1, 2, and 3 because the config for EQ is install-based rather than account-based.
  11. Xanathol Augur

    Yes - keybindings are the same if launched from the same folder where the settings are stored / eqclient.ini (ie. you could have two EQ folders and have your keys bound differently for each instance ran from its own folder). Keybinding takes all the talk of 'complexity / lots of buttons to press!' and mindlessly combines them into 1 button that you can bang on over and over again like an untrained monkey. :)
    sojero likes this.
  12. Szilent Augur

    Yes , it is like that. That's why to build your multibind on a hotbar instead of on the spell bar:
    [IMG]

    drag & droping spell gems onto the hotbar works the same as 'binding the spell bar directly - without automatically messing up your other characters. Your other characters can use the same hotbar to arrange a multibind that works for *them*, regardless of what your messed up spell orders are :p
    Zippie likes this.
  13. kizant Augur

    With two accounts in the same EQ install you can divide up the hot button bars to avoid conflicts. You get like a dozen or something? Can't really do that for a lot of character at the same time but two should be doable. Although, maybe that's only an issue with two characters on the same account. I forget why I do that lol.
  14. Leigo You come here often?

    [IMG]
    This is my normal setup, I have spell sets for other things. But the keys in the bind remain in the order I want them used
    Tarvas and Szilent like this.
  15. Tarvas Redwall of Coirnav, now Drinal


    Heh, I never thought to do it this way. I am constantly having to change my multibinds every time I log in. This will save a ton of time. Genius.
  16. Gio-Cefalu Augur

    I know I'm late to the party, but I wanted to share my method of doing this. I didn't want to run multiple installs of EQ or have to share that type of multi-keybind across characters, so I got around this a little differently. I made a macro on my SK, which happens to be the number 6 on my hotbar. It's a very simple macro.
    /cast 3
    /cast 4
    /cast 5
    /cast 6
    /cast 7
    Those are the spell gems for my lifetaps, including Insidious Denial. I don't really care which one fires off as long as I'm getting one of my taps to fire. If a spell gem is on cooldown, one of the spells that's available from that list will fire off. Then, when I'm engaged with my SK, I am usually spamming 3 and 6. The 3 key happens to be a macro which fires off discs and AAs like Spurn, Blade, Chaos Bite, etc. in a similar fashion, depending on which ones are up at the moment. T hen 6 is casting whichever lifetap happens to be up.

    On a side note, be careful if you put Insidious Denial in there like I have it because there are times where that AE lifetap gets me in trouble, so I have to be aware of it. For instance, GMM has mixed mecha-gnomes right next to orcs for part of the missions, so if you AE with Insidious while spamming your macro, you may end up aggroing a bunch of other mobs and making your pull a lot harder. You could always use single target lifetaps in your macro and leave Insidious Denial as a manual cast if you want.

    That's my $0.02.
  17. Leigo You come here often?

    Glad it was helpful.
    I know a few people that use this. However the multi-bind isn't going to mess up your other toons if you choose to use it. I my screenshot above, that's hotbar 11.. I don't use that bar for anything other than spells/discs across all my toons.
    The best thing I can say for it is that if I make a new toon right now caster or melee I could start putting their mash keys on it as I get them and never miss a beat.
    But, everyone has what works for them, despite me attempting to get a friend of mine to use the multi-bind he uses the method you have here. But it works for him and he puts up top numbers so I'm glad to see someone else that uses the social effectively. :)
  18. Shogan Journeyman

    can someone give me a pointer where "Reinforced Malaise" is from ?
    i can't find it maybe i'm just too stupid :)

    thanks in advance
  19. Szilent Augur

    that's an AA that boosts dots. It's crap cause dots are crap, don't sweat it.
  20. BadPallyGuildLeader Augur

    I would say just have a terror loaded and keep voice of thule up. Refute for power maybe. (who needs ac and aggro) Autoattack is optional as well. SK aggro so crazy that it permits inebriated gameplay where half the time you in fact forget to hit autoattack.

    Maybe put shield flash in a good spot on your hotbar in case you pull 15 instead of the usual 8 or 9 pull.