Equipment check - Shadow Knight

[Soothsayer]

Hey! I'm a level 18 SK (new-ish -- I have a level 31 main). It's been a bit of a struggle to haggle, wheel and deal, and panhandle (joking about the last part), but here's my character's equipment thus far. How "good" is my equipment, and what are the upgrades I should be seeking most urgently?

HEAD: Skull-shaped barbute
EARS: 2x Orc Fang Earrings
RINGS: 2x Platinum Fire Wedding Rings
NECK: Spider Fur Collar
FACE: Mask of Wurms
CHEST: Dusty Breastplate
ARMS: Crustacean Shell Vambraces
WRISTS: Hero Bracers, Crustacean Shell Bracers
CLOAK: Hooded Black Cloak
SHOULDERS: Crested Spaulders
WAIST: Thin Banded Belt
LEGS: Mithril Greaves
FEET: Crustacean Shell Boots
HANDS: Crustacean Shell Gauntlets

WEAPON: Lamentation
SHIELD: Atramentous Shield

Thanks!

[Crawdad]

You're geared fine, especially for being new/no high level main. SKs don't need great gear to be great tanks, you could take the above to 60. I would keep an eye out for a better weapon with a >.50 ratio, like a Mace of the Shadowed Soul or Noctivagant Blade. A Deathbringer's Rod might help when you end up having to solo.

[darkreap]

Looks pretty good, however, if I were gearing up a SK I would focus on AC and STA over STR. I assume your troll, ogre or iksar (if your a smaller race and need the str just ignore me).

-I would look into getting some crustacean shell greaves as the AC and STA are better. I don't think they are more expensive than what your currently wearing.

- If your STR is in a decent place maybe think about replacing your hero bracers with a bracer of scavenging. Will add 5sta and I think the AC is the same as hero bracers.

- I would replace your thin banded belt with something with better stats. If you can get a few thousand plat together maybe buy a FBSS. Its not essential for an SK to have haste but it does help with aggro when your mana is low and if you solo it should speed things up.

- I would switch out your weapon to a venomous axe of the velium brood if you plan to go with 1hs. At low levels the proc is really good.

- If are looking for a little more AC, the crystal chitin gloves have 20ac and will give a little boost to str.

That being said, looks like you have a pretty solid twink setup which will probably last you to at least 50. While most of the above suggestions are only minor upgrades, I would seriously consider buying another weapon. Your aggro will not be dependent on your weapon as a SK but it does help especially if you plan to solo at all. Maybe even a Noctivagant blade if you have any left over funds (they shouldn't be too expensive now with all the velious drops out there).

[Soothsayer]

You're geared fine, especially for being new/no high level main. SKs don't need great gear to be great tanks, you could take the above to 60. I would keep an eye out for a better weapon with a >.50 ratio, like a Mace of the Shadowed Soul or Noctivagant Blade. A Deathbringer's Rod might help when you end up having to solo.

Thanks for the advice. I've currently got my sights set on a Mace of the Shadowed Soul, but it seems to be quite rare / elusive. I'll keep hunting, though -- I feel like I'm hitting like a wet noodle, at the moment. :D

[Jimjam]

I think you have more than enough AC for now. The real test is how often you avoid getting hit for max.

In the mean time the str will help you carry more loot and the MR will help you shrug off unwanted roots and slows.

However, as you level up you will want to keep working on that AC as suggested by Crawdad. I aim for 163 worn AC at level 51 and 289 worn AC at 60 as these were the hardcaps on live in Velious (eventually they got changed to have a small effect after the cap). It makes sense that similar values are being used here (but maybe not -this is an emulated server after all).

For reference, by my reckoning, you are at about 171 worn AC now. Definitely good for at least until 52. And all that +sta gear is going to keep getting better and better (sta gives more hp the higher level you are).

[Soothsayer]

Thanks for all the feedback. I actually just purchased a Mace of the Shadowed Soul, and it hits hard. :) If I've added my worn AC up correctly, I think I'm sitting at around 180 worn AC, which is presumably over the cap Jimjam mentioned. However, I've heard that shield AC somehow bypasses the cap -- is this true? Here's what I'm referencing.

https://www.project1999.com/forums/archive/index.php/t-20689.html

Under "the truth about shields."

[Jimjam]

On live (circa Planes of Power) shields were changed to count toward your capped total worn AC and then were added in a second time after the cap, essentially counting as up to double its worn AC.

Obviously, that happened after our timeline so it should not work that way here. However, there is nothing to say that on this server shields might be working non-classically and be (wrongly) double counted.

Perhaps someone can post a way to check this?

[b_rob242]

Hey! I'm a level 18 SK (new-ish -- I have a level 31 main). It's been a bit of a struggle to haggle, wheel and deal, and panhandle (joking about the last part), but here's my character's equipment thus far. How "good" is my equipment, and what are the upgrades I should be seeking most urgently?

HEAD: Skull-shaped barbute
EARS: 2x Orc Fang Earrings
RINGS: 2x Platinum Fire Wedding Rings
NECK: Spider Fur Collar
FACE: Mask of Wurms
CHEST: Dusty Breastplate
ARMS: Crustacean Shell Vambraces
WRISTS: Hero Bracers, Crustacean Shell Bracers
CLOAK: Hooded Black Cloak
SHOULDERS: Crested Spaulders
WAIST: Thin Banded Belt
LEGS: Mithril Greaves
FEET: Crustacean Shell Boots
HANDS: Crustacean Shell Gauntlets

WEAPON: Lamentation
SHIELD: Atramentous Shield

Thanks!
Well, it's better geared than my level 20 IKS SHD who's running around in donated mesh gear with a couple other nice pieces graciously donated by the folks on this awesome server!

[Issar]

You are doing exceptionally well for only having a level 31 main.

[Jimjam]

How is the shadowknight going OP?

Have you had any more ideas for equipment?

I normally like to gear my characters up slowly, so I can keep in mind a few 'in the field' upgrades as I level. I find this keeps me motivated to play my characters.

Something you can save up for in the meantime is an entry level haste, flowing black silk sash, silver chitin hand wraps or anything similar to that. These are affordable for just a few K.

I'm a little stuck for what to do after this. Velious gem/quest armour is good, but you will need faction to do the MQ turn ins. I suppose you could hang out in the Wakening Lands and piggyback off the hits from a faction group there, otherwise you will be waiting till your 40s before you can really start making faction to complete MQs for these quest armours.

The other avenue would be to keep sitting on that horde of yours and save up for an item with +hp regen. These will be the biggest boost your character will be able to get for a long time, but if you aren't able to acquire your own then you sure do need to pay for it!

[Shodo]

Looks like you're pretty set for a while, but if you want a couple more things to watch for:

Haste item like Jimjam mentioned - fbss or schw are both good, but if you want a free option check out the quests in Stonebrunt mountains. You can probably solo/duo the Heretic Invaders there around 25-30 to do a quest for a chance at a +15% haste belt.http://wiki.project1999.com/Heretic_Heads

Also keep an eye out for cheap Blood Ember pieces. The clickies will be handy at 45. Not much use to you at the moment since you already have decent armor for all of your slots, but if you see one on a vendor for a few hundred pp, and have cash to spare, it wouldn't hurt to grab it.
http://wiki.project1999.com/Blood_Ember