Ok. I have a question and just need honest opinions. Here's the scenario: my husband has been playing eq for 10+ years. I started 2 years ago. I didn't want responsibility in the group so I made a rogue. After playing the rogue for 2 years, getting her to level 95, and having 4000 AAs, I finally now realize how boring she is to play. My husband plays a monk and does the pulling and I just sit in group and auto attack, then backstab. Sometimes I use a couple combat abilities to spice it up... So I just started leveling a shadow knight. Currently level 31 in roughly 3 days... But now I'm thinking I'm wasting my time because I will never be able to catch up in level or AAs to my husband. I feel as though his tank merc will always be better than me. I try to talk to him and he just says 'it will take time but will pay off in the end..'. Or he says 'if its fun to play I think you should keep up with it'. And those aren't the responses I am looking for. I need to know if I put the time in will I ever be as good as his tank merc? (Btw he is level 95 with 4500 AAs right now, and just going to keep getting better while I am trying to catch up). I just don't know what to do... Rogue is up in level and works in the group but she is so boring. Shadow knight is going to take a looonnnnnggggggg time to get where it needs to be. Do I hang up the towel and just stick with boring (could probably play while sleeping) rogue? Or do I put time and effort into shadow knight because it will benefit the group and it will be eventually better than the merc, and is so much more fun to play even just in these low levels? Please be as brutally honest as you wish... Just looking for opinions here. Thank you for taking time to read (I know its long), and thank you in advance for your opinions.
Well, with access to good powerlevelling characters, getting to 95 and 4000 AA can be fairly easily accomplished within a month. At level 70 you will be able to group with level 100 characters, and at level 65 with your hustband's level 95 monk, at which point the levels will come easily (XP gets split almost evenly, so the monk can mass slaughter greens/grays that are still red to your SK). Getting AA's fast however requires the highest level person in the group to kill high light blues or dark blues. To be able to tank well you will want to get good gear and augs. Gear is fairly easy since RoF and there are cheap and huge jumps at level 90 (visible armor) and level 92 (all the non-visible slots) -- focus on getting there, don't bother too much with gear before that unless it crosses your path. Assuming all slots are filled with this 2000 hp gear, this should allow you to tank the easy mobs in Shard's Landing at 1000-2000 AA orso. At that point more levels will make the biggest difference in tanking ability (the gear stats donot make as big a jump after you reach 92), and with no further changes in gear and just some more AA and you should be able to tank everything in SL at level 100. However, I donot think that at this stage the tanking will be super or comfortable -- to be better than merc tanks and feel like you are in control of most situations vs mobs your level, you will also need to start getting AC augs in every slot and upgrade all the slots with no drop gear (t2+). One of the standard tasks for any tank is to always be on the lookout for good AC augs. If you are serious about playing a tank, you will want to visit most of the AC camps in the most recent content. Each camp can take 4-8 hours to get the aug you want. Since you want an aug in every slot, that can be a significant time investment. You can ofcourse also get AC augs from older content. Even a full set of augs around 25 ac each is well worth it, and can be gradually replaced with augs at 40 ac each from the newest content. One thing I'd do is while levelling, try to level in places that offer you something you need later -- for example, kill mobs at older AC augs camps while you still get XP from them, you'll get levels/AA and an AC aug that you may be able to use for a year or more -- you'll probably visit some places you never seen before. Or try to get one of the rare drops for the SK epic 1.5 or 2.0 while the content still gives some XP -- the SK epic is one of the most important clicks an SK can have. A tank is a significant time investment that's for sure, but if you are having fun doing it it will be well worth the reward
I don't think sticking with the rogue is an option since you find it to be boring. That leaves the option of the sk. But that brings up another potential problem down the road as you said you don't like responsibility. Tanking is responsibility. Have you considered making a different class altogether?
Ranpha: wow, great insight. I appreciate it more than you know! I didn't even think to try and gets drops for epics while leveling... Did my epic at level 93 on rogue and it was horrible, over a week to so it with zero xp. My husband has so many characters that he said he could get me up to 65 quick so I can group with him.. Then with guildies at 70. I'm so excited now because of your response, it's 330am where I live right now, my husband is sleeping curled up to my back, and now I just want to sneak out of bed and play!! LOL. Sanh: when I first started playing I didn't want any responsibility in the group because I never played before. At that time, my then boyfriend now husband, was playing for 8+ years... I didn't want to just start playing and mess everything up all the time. But now that I've gotten used to the game and learned what can cause bad situations, I think I'm ready for the responsibility. I'm ready to be a needed asset to the group rather than just a ton of DPS that isn't really doing anything, LOL! Again thank you both for taking the time out of your days to read and respond!! I do truly appreciate it, and your passed on knowledge.
You can most definitely surpass a merc tank. While not easy, and rather time consuming getting the needed gear/AA/augs, you can probably do it easier than most with dedicated folks willing to help. I'd also suggest thoroughly reading http://www.evilgamer.net/forums/index.php for different SK tips/tricks/playstyles. (but be warned, they can be rather "aggressive" on that site) Good luck and have fun!
If you take your time to learn the class, find proper augs, do some old content like DoN progression and really learn how to play an SK.. Theres no way you will feel disappointed. There isn't any other class that I would even consider playing myself. Depending on the server you play on, you might be able to find someone that can help you along and get you on the right track.
One thing to consider - as folks said, SK is a class that (like all 3 tank classes) will take more "things" to be done in game to become well rounded. For example: Shadowknight is a hybrid - hybrid classes typically require more AA than pure melee classes because they need to boost up both the 'melee' side and the 'spell' side of their AA's. Tanks have survivability AA's that are required, on top of any dps AA's or spell type AA's. Second, SK is a tank. All tank classes tend to need more AA and gearing (augments, paying attention to 'mods' on gear when you get higher, etc.) than other classes. They are the 1st line of defense against those bad/nasty mobs people want to kill. That said, while that can possibly sound intimidating and daunting, please keep in mind that SK are also one of the classes, that once you get a good start on point #2, swarming becomes an option for faster EXP/AA (which can help you spend less time on that end so you can devote more time to other things).
You'll find it challenging. A tank is a lot of work to gear/aa up. Also, be prepared to die a lot. Once you get done the slog though a well played tank can do some pretty amazing things for a group.
As others have already said, don't worry about beating the performance of the merc tank. It will happen sooner than you expect. xD Tanking is definitely a responsibility, but it's one of the more satisfying responsibilities in the game (in my opinion).
sks are a plate classed Necro ,with high aggro. want to solo any named (tho there are few rof/cotf no solo) unless you like tanking and beating a mob down with weapons and few misc dots/disc's. best solo class Necromancer with monk discs dpsing and tank/healer merc killer combo want group aa heal , group dot heal and a tanking and or rouge pet also a rezz to boot ?
Ok, you need to learn how to power level. No one straight up levels anymore, i didn't think at least. You don't have some higher level friends who can power level you up a bit?? Get your epic 2, some key AAs and start swarming at level 80 or so for incredible exp. Remember, tank classes are VERY dependent on gear and AA. If you are a person who walks around in low end group gear and not someone who gets AA very quickly, a tank class might not be your best choice. With a rogue, you need 2 good weapons, arms, legs and you are 90% there. EVERY slot counts for a tank that is trying to add ac and hps.
In short: If you are having fun with the SK at this point then stick with it. Your husband is absolutely correct. Since you are not leveling it on your own (/nudges husband) it shouldn't take to long to get relevant at the content you are use to. Don't be impatient. Most hybrid classes take additional time to learn. Side note: SKs are tanks. When the time comes to work hard on aa, focus on tanking aa. Trust me. Do your research and withstand the urge on getting anything that wont help you survive.
Oh, of course people still straight-up level. It's part of the process of how new and returning players get interested in the game in the first place. In my experience people who are new to the game don't tend to enjoy getting powerleveled anyway. (There's nothing like spending your first three to ten of hours of gameplay getting carried by your friend and falling behind on all of your combat and casting skills to make a person feel irrelevant and bored in an online game. XD) I used to have the same idea and thought that power-leveling my friends into range to group with me was the best solution to the level gap problem, but for both of the friends I tried that with, it turned out to be a horrible idea. (Both got to level 61+ in a hurry, but neither felt at all invested in either the game or their characters and really hated the draggy feeling of raising their melee and casting skills to counteract the PL burnout. Making an alt and taking them through the Hero's Journey, or through LDoN if constant dungeon crawling gameplay is more their cup of tea, has generally worked out better for me so far, although my sample size is small.)
What server do you play on? Me and a friend leveled a baby bard from creation to level 70 in just under 4 hours. That was with zero AAs but with daily tasks giving obscene amount of AAs it doesnt really matter. The biggest problem is the AA cap. The cap at level until 91 is only 30, 50 from 91-95, then at 96 it goes to 70. With the max bonus the level 90 Daily tasks give 70 aas per quest (there are two and you can get them both) That's about 140 AAs per day for killing 10 mobs. the 85 one adds another 40ish. You can quickly catch up on AAs if you get to 96. Just doing dailies you can have 4000 aas in just a few weeks. Make sure you have your merc out if you have CoTF because they will get a ton of merc exp while you level up.
Is easy to lvl up new toons with higher level ones, my main is a SK, came back playing last summer and he was lvl 80 with 1800 AA's, he is now 100 been max AA for many months now. Also made a mage box for me soon after I came back and he is lvl 100 and 200 AA's away from being max lvl. But what I think your hubby is trying to say and is true for everyone. Can take some time to find the right class, but is a class for everyone that fits them. If you have fun playing that said class, thats all that matters. Depending on playtime and others that are willing you help you, in a few months you can be 95 or 100, depending on if you got the latest expansions or not and be better then that tank merc. But will take a lot of work.
Couple of things going on here. 1. Class you enjoy playing 2. Class that pairs well with monk Not sure if any are your cup of tea, but the classes I'd be looking at: Paladin, priest class or Enchanter
