SK vs Pally

[tankh]

I am really struggling to find a main toon on p99, firstly I have tried the classes I played back on live, necro and bard got them to the high teens and decided to reroll, I am currently leveling a sk (about to ding 9) but in the back of my mind I am wondering if I should have rolled a pally instead.

I want to tank thats what I have done since I left eqlive many many moons ago but really do not know which way to go. pally or sk ?

Can a pally join a group as a healer(just trying to put their heals in to perspective) ? Are pallies in high demand at 60 and end game raiding ? The main draw for the SK was FD and the fact I could roll a iksar, pally races kinda suck arse :(

any input would be great :)

[Stinkum]

SKs get a lot more tools and utility spells than a Paladin. It's important to know that the Paladins spell line is extremely bland, especially at the mid-level range. Be prepared to go 30+ levels and get nothing besides slightly better heals and buffs.

With that said, Paladins get what's coming to them. You're the best of both worlds, a tank AND a pretty competent healer. I mean, from levels 39 to 52, a Paladin can heal equal to a Druid or Shaman. Not to mention at 45, you get a ~6-second-cast, 100-point free heal with Deepwater Helm. Harm Touch doesn't hold a candle to Lay on Hands. At 57, you get Superior Healing (a 600-point heal), and at 59, you get a 90% rez . You get some amazing Cleric buffs along the way, a shitloads of stuns, root, lulls, and a very easy epic compared to SKs.

At the end of the day, though.. It's always better to play whatever you think looks the coolest.

[tankh]

yeah true but I just added luclin skins and the pallies races look nice, hate what they did to the eruides forehead tho :(

[kaev]

Paladin does not heal equal to Druid or Shaman. Best heal spell does the same amount of healing with the same cast time, yes, but in all other ways hybrid is inferior to real caster:

1) no specialization, cheaper spells give the same net effect as deeper mana pool PLUS faster mana regen
2) lower meditate skillcap give slower mana regen
3) gearing as a deep mana pool caster like a druid will make you a shit paladin, and your effective mana pool + regen will still be quite noticeably inferior
4) druid and shaman both get regen buffs that paladin cannot duplicate (another 100hp/minute at very low mana cost does indeed matter in a long xp group grind)
5) shaman slows and canni allow them to laugh with infinite merriment at the notion of hybrid healing matching them

Deepwater Helm used to heal limits you to the weak ac/hp buff it casts. Standing still doing nothing for 10 seconds is not free, you give up 1-2/3 ticks of meditation mana regen. Cheap != free.

Paladin is a lot of fun to play, and makes a damned good group tank, but it cannot match the priest classes as a healer.

[Tenlaar]

Bunch of stuff that I didn't have to type.

Thanks, as soon as I read that line I thought "I hope somebody else pointed out how very wrong that statement is."

[Stinkum]

All that stuff is pretty "duh."

All that you did was cherry-pick a sentence out of a post, take the most literal possible interpretation of it, remove the context, and knock down the straw man.

[Tenlaar]

All that stuff is pretty "duh."

All that you did was cherry-pick a sentence out of a post, take the most literal possible interpretation of it, remove the context, and knock down the straw man.

You're the best of both worlds, a tank AND a pretty competent healer. I mean, from levels 39 to 52, a Paladin can heal equal to a Druid or Shaman.

Yeah, sorry, but there is no context in which that statement is true.

[Stinkum]

I was just saying that Paladins have the same best healing spell as Druids and Shamans. I see how I worded it in a confusing way though.

[Tikker]

Paladin is enchanters best friend

[mtb tripper]

I always preferred paladins for the loh, so nice to have in every single situation

[Tenlaar]

I was just saying that Paladins have the same best healing spell as Druids and Shamans. I see how I worded it in a confusing way though.

Fair enough. I just think it should be, and has been, made clear to anybody who may look at this thread in the future that having the same healing spell does not make them as good at healing. Especially compared to a shaman. I find it hard to believe, but there do seem to be people around who are playing EQ for the first time.

As far as pally vs. sk, I prefer SKs myself but being able to throw those heals really is a pretty huge thing for paladins and shouldn't be underestimated. If your healer is about to die from a bad pull or something, the SKs options are generally zone or FD heh.

[Danth]

I consider the Paladin the superior tank for full experience groups, and the Shadow Knight superior for most everything else.

I rate the Paladin so highly as a group tank because the combination of root, stuns, and emergency healing capability gives the Paladin a level of control over a battle that the other tanks simply lack. Paladins easily shut down spell casting monsters, which are otherwise typically the most dangerous opponents. Having access to the Cleric buff line also comes in handy for those groups that happen to lack a Cleric.

Shadow Knights offer superior solo capability due to having access to fear kiting plus higher sustained damage output, and also work better in most duos. Feign and feign pulling is a massive plus. Shadow Knights also have what most folks would consider a better raid role. Finally, the Shadow Knight gains more "quality of life" utility spells than Paladins--invisibility, levitate, enduring breath, see-invisible, infravision and ultravision, etc. All of these abilities can be gained via other means, but it's nice to have them innately. The Paladin of course eventually gains experience-rez.

The Shadow Knight maintains marginally higher popularity on P1999 since both classes can tank adequately for a group (the Paladin's a bit better at it, but either can get the job done nicely) but the Shadow Knight offers more versatility outside the tanking role. That said, neither class is terribly common--Paladins are possibly the least-played class on the server and Shadow Knights are likely in the bottom 3 or 4.

Paladin equipment tends to be cheaper in East Commons if that matters.

All Paladins come with a 40% experience penalty. Several Shadow Knight races come with a 40% penalty as well (Erudite, Human, Dark Elf), but the stronger races pay for it: 61% or so penalty for Ogres, and a whopping 68% penalty for Iksars and Trolls. Don't discount these penalties: A great many Paladins and Shadow Knights become frustrated at the slow progress and quit in the high 40's to low 50's level range and never make 60.

Danth

[mtb tripper]

Yes thats very true, sk are great solo, depending on the server, you may be soloing quite a lot. I'd go sk if you plan on doing plenty of soloing

[Rhambuk]

Tank order, War SK Monk Ranger Rogue bard Cleric Mage pet Necro pet shaman druid necro enc mage wiz and waaaaaayyyyyy at the bottom is paladin.

[Lojik]

Tank order, War SK Monk Ranger Rogue bard Cleric Mage pet Necro pet shaman druid necro enc mage wiz and waaaaaayyyyyy at the bottom is paladin.

This list so wrong...wiz should be above mage.

[Rhambuk]

This list so wrong...wiz should be above mage.

the most important thing is, paladin at bottom or preferably not on the list at all.

[tankh]

Why no love for the pally ?

[Rhambuk]

Why no love for the pally ?

lol it goes back a loooong ways, its more based on the People who played paladins on my live server but when p99 started savarin and I kept the hate going, ya know for nostalgia sake )

[Pint]

Pally > sk all day, however if you are burning out in the teens you honestly may not want to try hybrid tank as your main, it's a long uphill journey.

[pharmakos]

pallies solo just fine.

get a nice bit slow two handed weapon, root the mob, and only step into melee range when you're ready to swing.

[uygi]

I always preferred paladins for the loh, so nice to have in every single situation

Every situation being "every 72 minutes"? :D

[pharmakos]

idk, its pretty nice having a little get-out-of-jail-free card every 72 minutes =p

[Swish]

I'm all about the SKs, sure the saintly paladins get their LOH, but that might not save them in the long term.

Feign death + HT though? That's two OP skills :)

[pharmakos]

SK's only option for pulling is FD, and they don't get instant-FD like monks do.

SKs don't even get Root!

[DrKvothe]

When spell spam makes threat a nonissue, snare > root.

[pharmakos]

^ yeah if we're just talking about runners. not all groups are ideal 6 man groups though, and if you're short on heals or crowd control Pallys rock. i've played Warrior and SK to 50+ before. my red server pally is my first paladin though, and so far imo pally is far superior for soloing and most duos/trios.