Sk or Pally

Discussion in 'Tanks' started by Archanjel, Aug 19, 2021.

  1. Archanjel New Member

    What are some fun duo's for these two...thinking of going pally/necro and specifically targeting undead camps with a cleric merc or SK and something else to box or solo. Appreciate any fun combos you might consider might also have my brother playing we could duo up with.

    Also how are the servers these days...thoughts and populations of Time locked vs non, where are some of the higher pop servers or people leveling for fun
  2. Flatchy Court Jester

    Well what time zone do you live in? Im in USA and have never played on any server but Bristlebane since I started EQ. It still is one of the highest population servers, so worth checking into. I do not want to comment on time locked servers because I have never tried them. All I read on them here is not so good though. People complaining about permacampers and kill stealers and general all around rudeness. If thats your bag give it a go but its not for me.

    Finding low levels to level up with you may be doable but It may take you some time to make connections with others to do so. Most players seem to concentrate on the high end of the game.

    Good luck in whatever you choose.
  3. Axel Furry Hats OP

    SK & bard or Pally & bard. The ADPS & run speed that the bard gives is invaluable and makes you tankier, especially as one of the knight classes. With just a bard, you can expect to go from meh DPS to the best DPS.

    Once you get to harder content, you'll notice that mercs just don't cut it or decide to stop healing, or kill themseves on pull, or something, so paladin might be the smarter choice because they can heal the whole group, but Shadowknight epic can be good as long as your group is only melee.

    But no matter what, bard is the answer to any duo. Selo's, ADPS, CC, pulling, everything is included in the bard package except healing... but knights can already heal themselves.
    Shindius, Fenthen and code-zero like this.
  4. Randomized Augur

    SK + Shaman
    SK + Enchanter
    SK + Mage

    Pally + Druid
    Pally + Bard
    Pally + Necro

    I'd recommend the SK combos personally. Paladins are good and fun, but in order for them to shine, you have to be pushing lots of buttons all the time. SK's, while the same holds true, they perform better than Paladins when you wanna only half way pay attention to tanking and focus more on the DPS aspect of things.

    Just my two cents :)
    PCSS and Waitwhat like this.
  5. Hellowhatsyourname Augur


    If the OP goes the SK route they can already pull, and once they're decently geared adds aren't a problem, so CC isn't really necessary. And if you can properly pull, CC is less necessary anyway.

    So, that leaves the bard's ADPS and selos abilities. Bard's ADPS has really taken a hit these days, especially considering you'd be giving up having a real 2nd toon doing 2nd toon dps for the small personal dps boost the SK would enjoy. You'd be much better off grabbing another dps class to pair with your SK or (probably even better) grabbing a slowing class (besides a bard).

    My recommendation would be a shammy or a beastlord, with a small nod to the beastlord if you're willing to do cleric mercs. If you want to just duo, you couldn't do much better than to have a pocket shammy to haul around.
    Ozon likes this.
  6. Szilent Augur

    no it hasn't. what a nonsense claim.
  7. Ozon Augur

    SK + BST is fun, or SK + Shammy is the go to classic.

    SK + BST, there can be HUGE amount of button mashing to maximize DPS, IS Boxxer would be of great benefit here, and AFAIK it is totally ok. That being said, it does mean extra cash ($50/year), and who knows if DB will make ISB a no go. But you get and extra tank (BST pet, especially when you get EM ear), some really nice DPS, Slows, BST Focus, BST Crack, BST Brells, lion/panther/random cat proc (whatever the name is now) . If you don't have access to those buffing classes all that is super nice. Pop a Cleric merc and a DPS Merc and you have a solid group really.

    SK + Shammy, its a classic/go to for a reason, Slows, Heals, some CC, DoTs, Shammys can do it all. But again can be a bit of button pushing depending on how well geared or how far you want to push it. IS Boxxer again is a good solution. Shammy buffs, slows, DoTs, all really nice.


    I have bot combos SK/BST and SK/Shammy, if I had to choose one or the other, I would go SK BST. The buffs (Focus) isn't quite as good, same with the slows, but my gear is solid so its of very little difference when in group game, and BST feels a bit more in line with the SK, so if I decide to solo its easier for me to switch gears. That all being said I love my Shammy, but he tends to be ore of a buffbot.
    PCSS likes this.
  8. Wulfhere Augur

    Bard's can delayed heal (hp and mana) at level 75 with the Crescendo song line. It's a small heal to be sure, but with available focus from bard and knight it keeps a duo (or solo bard) going.
    code-zero likes this.
  9. Axel Furry Hats OP

    I think the only time I've used that is when I was charm kiting. In a group... Nah no way lol.

    There is so much wrong with this.....

    First. SK pulling is meh. They get 1 good FD, and a couple bad FDs. Want a single pull but have to break a pack? Takes 3 minutes. Bard? Sonic Displacement the mob you want facing your direction, fade, pull mob, ez. Bards are probably still the best pullers in the game.

    Second. CC isn't necessary, but it can prevent a wipe especially at early levels.

    3. Bard ADPS has not taken a hit, are you smoking crack? You can double an SK's DPS with Aria & War March and then the bard does similar DPS to any other DPS class. The "small dps boost" is actually the best DPS boost in the game by a mile. The best part is, you don't have to swap to the bard's screen to get the benefits of 2 toons. No other class in the game is as easy to box, nor as powerful to box as a bard.
    PCSS, Black and code-zero like this.
  10. Ozon Augur

    Ok


    Ok we do get 1 outstanding FD and a few meh ones yes, but that doesn't mean it takes 3 min to split a pack. If it does it means you aren't playing a SK to full potential, you can use a variety of tools (Hate's Attraction, Snare, Protest for Power line, rest the dead, your pet, etc etc) and you get a solo pretty easy. is it Bard easy, NOPE. but lets not make it out to be less than it is.
    Black and Flatchy like this.
  11. Skaara New Member

    Keep in mind you can make any duo work, it's a game so make sure that you enjoy the classes. They all have tools and strengths that you can capitalize on.

    That being said, by going SK/Pally + Shaman you get a Tank + Healer. In MMO's that gives you 2/3rd's of the holy trinity and makes starting groups much easier.

    Historically speaking the SK + Shaman duo is one of the strongest in the game and Pally + Shaman would function in a similar manner. Depending on what level range you are in, you can normally find an undead zone which gives the Paladin more tools but overall the SK will function the same in every zone.
    On top of that if you play on live, having a tank is extremely beneficial for later levels when the merc won't cut it (70+) and the same holds true for the healer merc and having a Shaman instead.
  12. Wulfhere Augur

    Agree about SK + Shaman power.

    One area I found lower level SK are a bit constrained is in zones with Disease resistant mobs. Eventually getting a pair of Ornate Gnollish Leather Boots is how I overcame that for my solo SK back in the day. On TLP I think the only gear option is Sarnak Flesh Harvester. Of course the shaman can start debuffing disease at level 17, so that pair's great synergy is evident even for that purpose.
  13. Petalonyx Augur

    Considered Shadowknight AND Paladin as your duo? It's rarely considered for duos, but it works surprisingly well. And if you decide you really like/hate one or the other, you can sub one out.

    Then consider a Free-to-Play Bard to autofollow with speed, buffs, track, fellowship campfire, double invis, and extra pulling tools.

    Cheers and good luck!
    Axel and Metanis like this.
  14. Wulfhere Augur

    The Crescendo heal is boosted by the bard's Heal Amount gear stat before instrument focus is applied and it can crit (e.g. with Reckless line that starts at level 93). Perhaps you might want to reconsider it's use.

    With an SK in group it can look like this every 30 seconds:

    Bard begins singing Veshma's Lively Crescendo Rk. II.
    Bard begins singing Ryken's Reckless Renewal Rk. II.
    Bard healed herself for 2383 hit points by Crescendo Effect Rk. II.
    Bard healed Xenobn for 2383 hit points by Crescendo Effect Rk. II.
    Veshma's song surges into an invigorating crescendo.
    Bard healed SK for 4766 hit points by Crescendo Effect Rk. II. (Critical)

    PS: By doing this test again, I found that some of the Crescendo song ranks are actually bugged. So I'll report that too.
  15. Hellowhatsyourname Augur


    .... uhh .... it absolutely has. There's a reason a raid bard really only plays 2 (maybe even one) song for their group while they twist dots and insults. It's because the adps those other "adps songs" give to the group is so minuscule they're not worth casting. If I recall correctly, one of your own guildmates was involved in the parsing and public discussion here about the total crap that adps songs have become. And that's not to mention you can get to permanent 17 or 18% overhaste just by clicking the effect on an item that's not difficult to get.

    For the purposes of adps, bards today are epic, aura, aria/warmarch, synergy (through insult casting), and maybe the odd cast of the dissident line.
  16. Hellowhatsyourname Augur


    You should re-rethink that.

    So, a critical heal for 4766 hps every 30 seconds (assume it crits every time, which it won't)... that's only 953 hps per tick. Shaman get a regen buff that lasts for like 2 hours that heals for 1202 per tick.

    https://spells.eqresource.com/spells.php?id=59678
  17. kizant Augur

    Plus Fierce Eye and Quick Time. Especially Quick Time ever since it started reducing cast times of spells. Looking at some SK spells it would make Abhorrent Bargain almost instant cast. I don't pay attention to tank stuff in general so maybe bards aren't as important as they used to be. If they're not that great then give them to caster groups. :D
  18. Raccoo Augur

    And Funeral Dirge...
    Those adps lines that Scorn spoke of in another thread have stagnated, but not reduced the effectiveness of a bard as adps in a group. Also that's a SPA that affects alot more than some bard songs.
    code-zero likes this.
  19. Wulfhere Augur

    Not at level 75 (the crit is 93). Of course a shaman is the strongest partner for a knight. That's not the point here.

    I'm just providing data that shows that a bard can heal, contrary to your claim. I know my bard can heal enough while solo and true duo with my SK to handle any camp in their level range, which is the OP's question.
  20. Szilent Augur

    So, the thing about the old song lines that high level bards have stopped using? Is that they were never strong, and all that's (apparently) changed is your understanding. That evolution doesn't make bard adps worse than it was. Quite the opposite. Those high level bards simply have better options now than "well I guess this other junk to fill the time in between Arias"
    Axel likes this.