sk starting points

[Troxx]

Guys, if we keep responding I promise we can get 400 more pages out of this. DSM’s autism mandates he will never relent.

[zaeo]

str for carrying weight alone while leveling feels really nice. the damage benefit is obviously good too. it'll overcap eventually w/ good gear and shaman buffs at 60 but it helps during the part of the game where you're riding the struggle bus.

int is obviously better in the situations where ur str is capped and getting 1 extra spell off from the last of ur mana pool will be clutch but those situations are a lot less common and normally only happens when u fuck up.

ultimately the difference is really minor either way and your gameplay / who you chose to play with will make way more of a difference than 20 stats. i cannot stress enough how unimportant of a decision ur starting stats are. i dont know how this thread got to 62 pages w/ ppl busting out the source code to prove that having more strength will make u hit harder.

[Vexenu]

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

i dont know how this thread got to 62 pages w/ ppl busting out the source code to prove that having more strength will make u hit harder.

Welcome to your first DSM thread.

There will undoubtedly be more to come.

[DeathsSilkyMist]

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

i dont know how this thread got to 62 pages w/ ppl busting out the source code to prove that having more strength will make u hit harder.

Unfortunately posters like Troxx are known trolls, who bloat threads for no reason other than self gratification.

It is a well established pattern by now. Does it help anyone? No, but he doesn't care. The other trolls don't care either.

The only thing I can do is drown their misinformation in facts.

[Keebz]

I stacked strength gear towards the end when leveling my SK. Since I mostly fear kited, I found by spending less time killing each mob, I spent less mana per mob by nature of not needing an extra fear or two. It was a solid efficiency boost. Hybrids historically got kinda boned with accuracy, so the higher ATK doubly helped, though theoretically now SKs should be better in that regard. Nonetheless, STR is very underrated for leveling indeed.

Personally, I think I'd probably dump at least some in STA, given how low Iksar STA is. If OP wasn't a twink, STR would be the move. If you plan on going for BiS INT is a good choice, but that's a pretty big if.

[Toxigen]

If 5% dps doesn't matter for solo, then it doesn't matter in a group (ever had a mob gate on you at less than 5%?), and it certainly doesn't matter in a raid (ever seen sub 5% AoW wipes?).

Get what I'm gettin at yet, DSM?

5% dps is MASSIVE compared to 20 INT lmao.

[DeathsSilkyMist]

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

If 5% dps doesn't matter for solo, then it doesn't matter in a group (ever had a mob gate on you at less than 5%?), and it certainly doesn't matter in a raid (ever seen sub 5% AoW wipes?).

Get what I'm gettin at yet, DSM?

5% dps is MASSIVE compared to 20 INT lmao.

I think you may have forgotten we are talking about SKs.

SKs don't need to worry about gating mobs, they have fear and snare. This can be used in both solo and group scenarios. Both of these spells use mana (INT), and Iksars do not have access to Blood Ember Clickies. Preventing a mob from gating completely is much more effective than slightly faster kill speeds. If you are doing a solo challenge mob that is immune to fear, that is one of the situations where the INT comes in handy! You are going to be using your full mana bar for that kind of fight, including the +20 INT from starting stats.

In a raid you have full access to buffs, which means you are STR capped anyway. You are getting +135 STR from Maniacal Strength and Focus of Spirit, which means you only need 120 STR before buffs. You simply need +40 STR from your gear on an Iksar SK if you put your starting stats into INT. I would be amazed if a level 60 melee class had less than +40 STR from gear. Please do not try and use the argument that asking for Maniacal strength is some kind of burden on Shamans lol. I have raid buffed for years, and never had an issue with buffing people with DEX and STR in addition to FoS and STA.

You are massively overestimating the small benefits you are getting from +20 STR via starting stats. Please stop telling people they are getting massive gains. This is simply false. I have provided plenty of counter evidence thus far, which you have yet to refute.

[Troxx]

Move this to resolved. The correct answer in this situation is str.

[Toxigen]

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

Move this to resolved. The correct answer in this situation is str.

[Jimjam]

My only experience is vs Vox. More broadly is the typical group composition and role of raiding SK?

How would the buff window look?