Palus Knight Gear

Currently I am a 23 PK with full Brig gear and Elven accessories. my question is what is the best solo build for weapon? I have a Claymore atm. not using a shield.

At 40 my thought was to go full plate and binding acces staying with a 2hander (berserker blade) and again ignoring a shield.

suggestions?

20-40 soloing not using a shield is fine. After that, the advantages of using a shield, in conjunction with masteries lessening the gap between one- and two-handed weapons, probalby outweigh not using one.

I'd say stick with your claymore till 40, then grab an SLS and a shield.

You're twinked out nicely for D-grade. It should go very fast and easy.

Didn't say if you're going S knight or bladedancer. Bladedancer gets dual-sword masteries and needs duals to dance.

A knight without a shield is annoying to healers, unless you're always in DD/support role. But if you're not tanking, why not go BD?

I was planning on going SK.

SLS = what? not entirely fluent with the acronyms yet.

Samurai Long Sword.

As SK at lvl 40, if you tank you will want FP set w/shield and SLS w/focus.

Full plate with the shield will get you a bonus to shield blocking rate.

SLS is how lazy keyboarders type samarai longsword, top c weapon. You can get a focus SA on it. Not cheap, but neither was the brig and claymore...

I went with a Sword of Delusion (SoD) with health SA, the health bonus is good for a tank. And it is alot cheaper then the SLS.

Must say you are very well equipped for low 20 :)

I was going to mention Delusion or nightmare for health SA. Obviously, it'd be a lil bit less damage output than a focus sls.

If you're grouping, it doesn't really matter to have the health SA most of the time.

no, but if he's tanking a 25% health bonus is nice :)
And darkelf have little HP as it is, I have even gimped my str to get some more con on my SK.

You will not PvP or raid much in C Grade. The health SA is pretty much worthless for every day grinding - it's better to grab a focused or hastened weapon to help you keep aggro.

Some of the best PvE tanks have dumped their HP through the floor to take strain off healer MP (more attack equals more HP healed via VR, and less aggro slipping off to squishy targets).

Hate is what you use for aggro control ^^
Eventhough archers with ss will be a problem since they do so bloody much damage.

For PvP health might not be "all that", but for PvE it means fewer heals --> less MP draining the healer.

Hate is not sufficient, nor should it be the main tool, for controlling aggro.

And you have it wrong - for PvP, health might mean survival. For PvE, where the vast majority of heals heal a fixed amount of HP. This, in turn, means that the more STR you have, the less you need to be healed.

CON only helps survive sticky situations (and AoE pulls, w hich will be pretty much a thing of the past tomorrow) - but if you're a good tank, it's your job to make sure they don't happen. It's all in your control.

I play an SE. I have no cares if a tank has extra hp or not during regular hunting. It doesn't matter for downtime.

I imagine that melee who solo could benefit from hp bonus. Potions are slow, and when you run out of hp solo, bad things happen.

And if the OP solos to 40, it'll take a while to build a friend-list of people to party.

I don't necessarily want to solo to 40. however, I am planning for that contingent just incase. downtime via lfg or any other form will be minimized as much as I can help it.

I do not see any items that grant permanent haste to items. just some haste potions in the library. how is perma-haste added to an item then?

thanks for all of the information so far. it is teaching me some things.

SK's also have cubics that help keep him healed... health SA is not ideal for a SK until higher levels. 40-61 damage is all that matters. With vampiric cubic, life leech and vr the amount of HP matters very little. Focus SA is a SK's friend. You can't play SK the way you would play a Paladin or DA.

I don't necessarily want to solo to 40. however, I am planning for that contingent just incase. downtime via lfg or any other form will be minimized as much as I can help it.

I do not see any items that grant permanent haste to items. just some haste potions in the library. how is perma-haste added to an item then?

thanks for all of the information so far. it is teaching me some things.

You add a special ability (SA) to a weapon using a soul crystal of the appropriate level and many gemstones. The weapon must be at least C grade.

righteo PD :)

I noticed a post about Tattoos. is that a viable option also and if so at what level?

fast damage and relying on the cubics sounds fun.

Wait with tatoos.

I went the health SA way, i depends on you're playstyle abit, to be honset mine isn't the fastest, but it works for me.
Cubics are great, but they do cost money to keep running, and ever since C3 i have had a hard time running manor system so money is an obstacle.

And hate is more aggro building then hits, i have always used it when i have tanked, it's there for a reason imo.
But archers are a pain in the butt when they spam ss, you're bound to loose aggro whatever you do it seems.

But archers are a pain in the butt when they spam ss, you're bound to loose aggro whatever you do it seems.

Anybody tried to use a bow for the tank as well? Or a dagger? The idea being to crit often enough to let you keep the agro?

nope didn't try that, doubt it will work so good at higher lvls, since i got good masteries for sword, and bow would probably be bad since i wouldn't use a shield.
Problem is best solved by the archer saving money and don't spam ss :)

What I've seen is a tank* pulling with a bow, and the group waiting until the tank has switched back to sword and shield before attacking.

'A good sleeper is a no good CCer without DDs who know what to hit.'

'A good knight is a no good tank without DDs who don't understand aggro.'

* our ever-passionate Taraza - she isn't even a proper tank, but a SwS, thus not having good Hate levels.

Shouldn't an SK pull with hex? What good is a bow?