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#34
12-06-2017, 04:13 PM
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Sure, let's talk about SK dps. Disclaimer, though: Since I was never in a hardcore raid guild with my SK (or any toon, for that matter), I really can't comment on what SK (or hybrid) dps looks like with ToV weapons. Anyway, I think that it is important to dispel the community stereotype that SK DPS is forever roughly equivalent to a level 4 Gnome Wizard attacking with a rusty dagger. Candidly, that popular belief isn't wholly unwarranted, since it takes a lot of dedication, practice, and thought to play a SK to his or her max DPS potential, and for the kind of effort that I'm talking about I can't blame most people for just hitting autoattack on their max-level SK, hitting a lifetap or FD from time to time, and calling it a day.
Having said that, here are a few background points. Innoruuk's Curse (SK epic) is a 40/45 two-hander (best ratio out of the three epic two-handers in the game), with a proc called Soul Consumption. Soul Consumption is a DOT lifetap, lasting for five ticks and causing/healing 50 points of damage per tick (250 damage total). Additionally, SKs have access to a self buff called Shroud of Death, and that buff imbues the "wearer" with a 50 damage lifetap proc. Importantly, Soul Consumption and Shroud of Death are flagged as being in the lifetap line of spells, meaning that they nearly never get resisted. Also note, SKs have access to Shroud of Hate, an attack tap for 20 points, and Grim Aura, another small attack buff (though in fairness, everyone has that thanks to the Shrunken Goblin Skull Earring!). At 60 with full raid buffs, an epic SK with reasonably good gear should have max strength, max or near-max haste, and max dexterity. Taken together, that means that the SK is swinging that 40/45 as fast as possible, hitting on the high end of the damage range on average, bolstered by at least a couple of attack buffs, and almost constantly causing 50 damage per tick from Soul Consumption, not to mention a generous sprinkling of Shroud of Death procs. It rains 50s! Again, the SK will not be at the top of the DPS charts, but from my time raiding with Indignation, Super Friends, and Radiant I can say that the SK can easily hold his or her own in the low middle of the DPS charts, with occasional forays into the true middle. And that's just melee (because spell DPS doesn't show up on parses, or at least it didn't when I was raiding). One might think that castable lifetaps add to SK DPS, but with the insanely high cast times of the end-game lifetaps, the SK is better off swinging (in other words, the SK should save lifetaps for keeping health up while fighting AOE mobs--I'm looking at you a Fiery Guardian). In the solo world, SK dps = dots. That might sound heretical (no pun intended), so let me repeat. In the solo world, SK dps = dots. Putting to the side good pulling methods, smart use/positioning of a pet, and generous use of cancel magic spells, in a dungeon the key to soloing camps as a SK is to face tank the mob and stack dots. Take a look at the per-tick damage generated by the combination of Cascading Darkness, Asystole, Boil Blood, and Soul Consumption Recourse (or Vampiric Curse if the SK does not have the epic--unfortunately, Vampiric Curse and Soul Consumption Recourse don't stack) and you'll begin to get the idea. Add in a 20-point damage shield from Banshee Aura stacked with Ring 8/9's clicky and things really start cooking. Toys like a fungi tunic, Eyepatch of Plunder, Blood Ember Breastplate/Greaves/Gauntlets, and Holgresh Elder Beads turns the SK into what I would argue is the most diversely solo-capable melee class in the game. Here, lifetaps become vital--together with racial and/or fungi regen and a Crown of Narandi, both kill time and downtime become very manageable. As an aside, since we're talking about Innoruuk's Curse, the SK and Paladin epics always have seemed relatively inequitable to me. All other classes (aside from rangers and warriors) have their epics' worth of stats (i.e., the stat load or volume of stats, not the exact stats) crammed into a single slot. SKs and Paladins, on the other have, have to sacrifice two slots for that same stat load. Rangers and Warriors are also a bit underserved because they too need to use two slots (dual wield and/or a 2-hander) to get the epic stat load, but at least they get an extra proc out of the deal on the dual-wield front. I suppose SKs and Paladins get shieldless bash out of their epics, but that doesn't seem to me to be quite as good! Yes, I guess I could go on about other topics! (1) How to very efficiently duo with an enchanter or, better yet, a shaman. I mean hell, coupling a 60 SK and 60 shaman is like a one of the world's greatest pairings--you know, stilton and port, raw oysters and dry stout, SKs and shamans--capable of duoing 6-necks in WW, Skyfire wurms/wyverns, and BM in Velks. (2) How to get your group from the pyramid down to CE in seb without fighting a single mob, and then how to quickly split and stagger the entire camp, all with almost no risk of death to the SK and his or her group. (3) How to mindlessly farm 1.2k per hour after level 50 with essentially no competition and no chance of death. So many topics, so little time! | ||
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#35
12-06-2017, 04:39 PM
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DPS doesn't really matter for soloing unless you're a monk, rogue, or warrior. Those classes have very little tricks up their sleeves relative to any casting class.
Nobody picks a SK or Pally for a grind group because of their DPS. They pull better than a warrior with utility spells and have godly snap-aggro. On raids their dps truly sucks but that's not why they are there. Besides a couple class-specific tricks all Hybrid Melees attend because they are part of guilds who don't take a hard stance on booting people. No serious guild is going to have 30%+ of their attendance in melee hybrids though. A SK or Pally on a raid is much more self-sufficient than most classes. Inny's Curse is great for that. So while you may not be doing a ton of damage you aren't taking a ton of heals either. A Pally might LOH and save someone. The SK might be a backup puller (I pulled Vindi once) until the monk can make it online. There are so many reasons to play a hybrid melee, for me fun being the #1 reason. Even taking a stance on DPS is (IMHO) just silly, especially without AA harmtouching ever happening. Same reason I never bragged about what my rogue could solo back on live. He had a willsapper, epic, and plunder mask...he still sucked at that. [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.] | ||
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#36
12-07-2017, 11:01 AM
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#37
12-07-2017, 04:30 PM
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Quote:
__________________
The great wave is coming. Praise be to Prexus!
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