Is it worth sneaking into FP to get the SK merc?

I'm playing a Warden, and will heal the merc tank when we do instances. I've read the Pally merc is best at holding aggro, but the SK does more damage. Have any of you recently tried the SK, and if so which tank merc would work best with my Warden when I start doing molo instances/heroic quests?

Please no "either is fine" answers, I want to know which one works best with a Warden. Thanks.

To answer the question asked in your topic title:

If you are referring to Vittia Direshadow, she is in Neriak, not Freeport. (Near the Darklight Woods entrance at approximately /waypoint -9, 18, -35.)
If you are referring to Dashenti Lasheris (the one from attending SOE Live 2012), you can find one version of her in Qeynos (inside Fish's Alehouse and Inn at approximately /waypoint 799, -253, 34).

So you wouldn't sneak into Freeport for either SK merc.

I used the Neriak with my Qeynos-based Fury for a long time and loved her; however like most folks, I switched to the CoE pally merc for the post-90 stuff.

It might've been my level, but I am fairly sure I just invis'd in without any problem.

It's pretty easy to get into East Freeport now:

The Commonlands > The Sprawl > The Serpent Sewer > The Thieves' Way > East Freeport

You'll come out above the Seafarer's Roost *not very many guards anymore* so you should be able to go straight into the Inn and hire all the Mercs. Hire and dismiss each one and then they'll be available in the basement of the Fish's Alehouse and Inn located in Qeynos Harbor from then on

A list of what mercs are available there:
http://eq2.wikia.com/wiki/Mercenaries

Cheers.

Having never used the paladin merc I can't compare the two. However, my level 40 warden has been using Vittia Direshadow (SK merc from Neriak) and is very pleased with her.

IMO the SK is better at lower level. She does more damage than the pally and as a healer, agro shouldn't be a problem until 85+ when the merc's stats start to fall behind yours (at 92 even my Templar in quested WL gears would get agro from her as soon as I started to melee mobs)

Hiring her in Neriak can be tricky for a low level "goody" without help. Guards will see through your invisibility if you're more than 10 levels bellow them. The easy way is to have someone CoV you / plant a guild flag next to the mercenaries or just kill the guards if he/she a high level enough (Cities guards are very weak for their level). If you can't get help, you can still run past the guards with every buffs/HoT you have, pray you don't get one-shoted and use a tinkered FD item after the gate (or a self rez )
You only have to do this once tho. If you want to try another merc, you'll be able to rehire her at the Qeynos inn.

Getting to the Vittia at a lower level is a pain if you don't have help & imo not really worth that much trouble. If you can get help, she's fine at least at lower levels, if you don't have someone to help you get in just get the pally or berserker.

I always just used the paladin or the berserker from Gororwyn. Never see anyone talk about him but I didn't have any issues with him and still use him on my defiler at 90+. I have access to the CE pally but just never bothered to change to it.

It's worth sneaking in to get her because if you have to sneak in to do it, that's its own reward

Actually the entrance to the sewers just outside the main entrance to West Freeport (in the Commonlands) leads to the central area of The Thieves' Way, allowing quick access to all the sneaky sewer exits in each Freeport area. So:

The Commonlands > The Thieves' Way > East Freeport.

I'd recommend hiring as many mercs as you can at low level because they are much cheaper, and when you relinquish them, they go to the mercenary room in your local, so you never have to sneak anywhere again to swap them.

Never noticed this. Thanks!

Man that was such a noob question on my part, I probably coulda done a little research on which darn city the SK merc is at lol

At least in this forum I can get away with it

I know they got one named Kenny, but it would be cool if we had a merc for hire called Timmah

It's not PC, but Timmeh is awesome. I'd love a merc like him

Yes, it is worth sneaking into Neriak City to get the SK mercenary Vittia Direshadow,

My level 52 Inquisitor is a good aligned character and couldn't get into Neriak City, a passing-by 95 ranger helped to kill the guards and I got my Swashbuckler mercenary replaced. With the Swashbuckler mercenary, I couldn't complete the last step of a quest which required killing a named mob. But with Vittia Direshadow, the step was finished with ease.

I found that if you are a tank, it is better to have an Inquisitor.

Just an aside, this doesn't address your question about which tank merc is better ... but I had the chance to get the Chains of Eternity expansion when it was greatly discounted, prior to release. I played with both the Lujien mercenaries, there's a Paly and a Templar. Without exception, the templar Lujien mercenary (Krivok Honorclaw) is the best mercenary I've had for any class. The Paly merc would die on tougher mobs; Krivok just heals through almost everything imaginable, and tends to out-dps and out-tank even my lvl 95 (under-geared) alts. And almost never fails to rez when needed.

I only tried the SS mercs for a short trial, and I've never gotten any of the rare mercs. But compared to the normal mercs you can hire in the Inns, I wouldn't trade Krivoc. Kinda sad there's no other way to get him these days, than plop down $80.