I was just wondering what the main differences between a Gladiator and a Bladedancer are? Also, I know the BD has a higher starting Dex, but is there any way that a Glad. could be as fast (like armor/weapon upgrades/enchants etc)?
And last question is about pvp'ing with a melee character: does L2 have a way for melee classes to catch up with a bow user/nuke slinger?
Any way that the gladiator can use in order to increase his speed is available to the blade dancer also, so, given identical set-ups, the bladedancer will still always be ahead.
The main difference is that the gladiator is a pure damage-dealer, while the blade dancer is a hybrid buffer and damage dealer.
Well although a BD can dish out decent damage they are mainly a support buffing class. Glads are pure DD's. Yes tatoos and armor can make you faster but i dont' think it's possible for you to ever exceed an equally buffed BD. However in Interlude, the next expansion, Gladiators are being given their own version of dash which alows you to move at blinding speeds for short bursts.
ah, thank you for the quick reply. so would the gladiator deal more damage than a BD (since the glad can't buff)?
i'm mainly looking for a class that can solo well, but also do well in a party. i'm more of a 'lone-wolf' type of player, but i hate the rogue/ranger style in just about every game. hehe, ty again
I don't know how well gladi's solo. I know one who solo'd a lot of the way to 75 but he's played since prelude so i'd say that's not terribly quick. They are an excellent DD for parties though and a riot to play. BD is an excellent class with moderate solo abilities and once you hit 58 a BD is everybody's best friend (52 if you want nuker groups). I'd suggest looking at the class skills and deciding from there. If you like using skills and being a main DD then BD probably isnt' for you. Most of your attention will be on keeping you buffs up. "song" or "dance" buffs have a fairly unique mechanics so you'll have to focus on that most the time rather than say a prophet or a WC who buffs and doesn't worry about buffs for 18-19 minutes or so.