post lvl 50 sk wtf?
 

just hit lvl 50...

headed to KC 1st time...

spent a lot of time gearing up in ecl, using full best in slot tradable gear as far as i could push it. about 900 ac, trak bp, rod of mourning, ebon mace, ogre imbued war plate, nos/hiero/rbb...
205 str
180 sta
90 agi
140 dex
105 int

as soon as the melee caps froze at 200 im now missing the majority of the time (more than 7/10 swings sometimes). procs getting resisted. seeing monks tank and dps better than me at the same time.

all ive got left is aggro it seems.

should i be disappointed? it makes me think im going to be junk in velious (never played vel). reroll/regear?

i have heard that most sks quit from 50-54 and it gets better after that. but with few spells coming im not sure what the hell im doing leveling a 60% pen chr to go from feeling like a king in COM to this. im baffled. not even sure a epic could save this. at least my new pet is better and can dw..*sarcasm*...?

youd be surprised how much difference every level can make in the 50s

Level is the single most important stat in EQ.

At your level just keep trucking along and holding aggro with spells, you're not meant to DPS much anyways.

A level 60 SK with good gear and epic is especially awesome for basically anything other than tanking the hardest raid mobs. Everything else they have better snap aggro and self healing than any warrior would have.

Could always try grouping in SolB Efreeti or BnB. And. Maybe Kedge if you form the group. Mobs are easier in classic zones.

Agro is the tanking stat around which everything else revolves. As Dald mentioned, only the very hardest raid mobs will require a tougher tank than a knight, and knights are a big deal as off-tanks in some of those encounters. In group content a skilled knight makes tanking look easy. The biggest hurdle you have atm is munchkins who fear the xp malus. Work at being a good tank and good groups will want you regardless, good players don't buy into the hybrid hate (some will troll the hell out of you about it tho.) Also, learn to pull well and you'll be loved even more.

If I have an option of tank for an exp group, I go... Paladin->SK->Bard->Ranger->Warrior.

Snap aggro is all that matters when a group is killing mobs in <60s. Hybrid spells supply that aggro potential.

Groups should only be inviting you to take hits and hold aggro. There are 3-4 other slots in group to get mobs dead.

Someone sticky this wisdom!

so much knowledge dropped. i appreciate this whole post and a lot of what other people posted. i guess i just need to keep trucking. i kind of went into this knowing most sks struggle from 50-54? really hard. i just thought twinking myself would change that.

people are starting to shut me out of duo/trio groups because of the xp pen+lack of dps, and i find myself making due with the druid folk some nights. had a cleric say to me last night "i wish you were a warrior". multiple clerics and shaman saying they dont want the xp penalty.

"were just trying to duo/trio"

"sorry"

yet i was their main tank throughout guktop/bottom, mistmoore, and the early part of com before they broke away. i remember saving every one of their asses on multiple occasions. i chain pull and my xp gain is great, and theres only 9 levels left in the game. at 60, dont u want as many friends as possible? why race thru the last few levels to be lonely at the top? maybe this was engineered for sks to decend into darkness and mystery ;).

good players dont shun hybrids...ive had grps with knight/pally/bard/ranger in the same group. the xp was slower but we all had fun. smh.

the minute i go afk with monks and warriors in the group someone dies and/or leaves. like clockwork. dying is the worst xp pen.

Glad to see bard at least included in the list, but they should be ahead of paladin and SK!

i have a similar list for group healers

cleric->shaman->paladin->bard->druid

I tanked in KC basement outside of a group while camping verix cause they were struggling to find a tank rep. At 60 with epic i had to be careful to not KS them despite them having several dps classes, I think at one point i even clicked off my haste just to be sure.

The early 50s will be the biggest struggle like you said, especially 54. It took quite awhile to grind through to 60 but I have no regrets.