Since when are SKs a good class in classic EQ?

[Itap]

Originally Posted by Danth [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

A correction for Itap: SK's and Paladins have their defense skill cap raised to equal to that of Warriors with Velious.

You're right, only defensive caps. Just found the patch notes [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

[Splorf22]

Care to give some more details Danth? I guess I don't really see why the SK spells 50-60 are so much better than the Pally/Ranger spells of the same level.

I do agree that all the hybrids were much stronger in classic where they had almost the same skill caps as a warrior and there were no disciplines. A L50 Paladin/Shadowknight is simply better than a L50 warrior in my opinion.

[Danth]

Originally Posted by Splorf22 [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Care to give some more details Danth?

Sure. Note that my comment was directed relative to Paladins specifically; I'm less familiar with Rangers and totally unfamiliar with how well they do 50-60.

Shadow Knights actually gain tolerable scaling at 50+. A level 60 SK can stack up damage over time spells for more than triple the damage per tick as what he had at level 50. The SK's 52 pet and especially the 58 pet are massive upgrades over the wimpy pre-expansion era pets. A 60 SK's lifetap hits/heals for about 5 times as much as what he had at 50 and is also far more efficient. The self damage shield proves useful as well. In short, the SK ends up relatively stronger at 60 than he was at 50. This by no means makes a Shadow Knight anyone's idea of overpowered, but it certainly puts him in a better position than his knightly cousin.

By comparison, a Paladin basically loses ground at high levels. Two of the class's defining spell lines--lulls and stuns--literally don't work on high level creatures. Believe me, that's a major downer by itself. Melee damage becomes increasingly inadequate because monster hit point totals scale more quickly than your melee damage does. Few of the 50+ spells are for combat, and most of those range from underwhelming to outright trash (hello, Divine Favor). Lay on Hands doesn't even keep up with scaling player hit point pools.

Long story short, I figure like this: From 50 to 60, the SK holds its ground or even gains a little, while the Paladin falls off a cliff as he approaches 60. I say that even though the Paladin is my favorite class; just it's a class that's at its best from about levels 30-50.

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All that being said, Kunark is basically the worst period for all the hybrids. Velious and its class revamps helps a lot. That's a major factor in their relative lack of popularity.

Danth