First time playing shadow knight (from scratch)

[Snaggles]

1. Hoard and sell bronze and FS as mentioned.
2. A silvery two handed axe would be VERY to save for and give you night vision
3. Snare/Fear kite. I suspect face tanking for xp would be painfully slow if possible at all without really gold gear

[Danth]

Gear from scratch isn't too bad if you have some modest familiarity with the game. Patchwork/leather armor can carry you into the teens. Around the early/mid teens you should be able to afford banded, and that'll carry you into the 20's where you'll be able to afford better. Finding decent weapons can be troublesome at low levels and especially on "Green." Most likely you'll have to use rusty/tarnished at first, followed by vendor-bought weapons. A ~3PP Axe, ~12PP Long Sword or ~20PP Claymore off the vendor can carry you into the early/mid teens from where you can look for something that's magical for hitting those lucrative willowisps. Lower-end 2H weapons can be had for 30-100PP nowadays.

Shadow Knights mostly solo via straight up melee from 1-15. Occasionally mix some strafe-running jousting mixed in, especially if you're using a slow 2H like a rusty halberd. You can potentially cut your damage intake about in half that way, although its too tedious to want to do nonstop. From level 9 you get spells, lifetap helps a little bit and the pet helps a LOT at this level. Equip the little skeleton with a rusty 2H or rusty halberd and watch it hit for as much or more damage than you do. At level 15 you start to be able to fear-kite, although the level 15 snare is both weak and short duration which conbined with limited mana means fearkiting isn't a staple tactic until level 22 with an improved snare.

At level 22 you get a night vision spell which improves quality of life significantly. Always carry the best lightsource you can, probably a lightstone or (better) a greater lightstone. A fire beetle eye is either marginally adequate or marginally inadequate depending on the brightness of your monitor. Lanterns work nicely but take up the offhand slot and hence require the use of a 1-handed weapon. For a couple silver, use one at the lowest levels until you get an inventory lightsource. Look for "medicine bags" for containers that can save a fair amount of weight--they're lighter than most other types of bags. For other gear suggestions, see above.

A human Shadow Knight is a nice character. I've played one for many years on P1999. Starting in Freeport is probably the easier choice due to having quick access to item sales and possibly high-level buffs in East Commonlands so as to provide a quick way to sell things like HQ bear hides or bone chips for quick platinum.

Danth