I've been a Bishop for the longest time of my ingame life.
I decided to reroll again (for the 500th time) and I was going to choose BD.
A friend asked me however if I had considered SK and I gotta say i ruled all tanks out from the first time on I even thought about rerolling.
Being a Bishop I always wanted a tank in the group because I feel the group is alot more save then, it's usually alot easier on my mana and even when bad things happen we all survive thanks to tank taking over complete aggro and me healing solely him instead of some robes or archers.
However, I rarely got any tanks in my groups even though I grouped with mostly 3rd class ppl and on 9 ppl groups.
My main questions are:
- Why is there a lack of tanks in groups, are they not wanted generally or are there too few of em
- How good is SK compared to the other tank classes, what are their advantages disadvantages.
A buddy of mine was a SK. I like tanks, that being said L2 is not a game that gives the people who are usually willing to roll tanks their due. It takes a certain personality, mental agility, and awareness to play a tank at the highest level possible and instead of rewarding people for those characteristics L2 basically leaves you feelings that you would have been much better off rolling a Destroyer.
1. Aggression is weak. Apparently on the PTS it remains weak.
2. Damage mitigation in L2 is a mixed bag at end-game from what I have seen. In PVP it's nice until some archer lands a huge crit on you and then you realize that nothing was going to save you. From what I hear raid bosses are the realms of archers(kiting) and Destroyers(Frenzy).
3. Large groups tend to be the thing of C1. Most people I know want to have the absolute minimum members in their party and simply kill mobs through superior fire power. Why tank it when you can kill it and move on?
As far as SK compared to other tanks, they seem be be slanted to the offensive side of things. Hex, their cubics, Sting, and Lightning Strike are all pretty nice. LIghtning Strike is brutal considering it has a stun mechanic that can last for an obscenely long time. The disadvantages are that being that heavily slanted towards offense means that they lack Con and some durability skills that Paladins and Temple Knights possess.
Never having played a tank: do I like them? Yes. Would I want them in groups? Sure. Do I respect people who play them really well? Yep. Does Lineage 2 reward those who play them with distinct roles that make them feel wanted, nay needed? NO.
If you like the idea of the playstyle that a SK represents then have at it. Just understand that NCSoft hasn't and probably won't ever show you any love whatsoever.
A buddy of mine was a SK. I like tanks, that being said L2 is not a game that gives the people who are usually willing to roll tanks their due. It takes a certain personality, mental agility, and awareness to play a tank at the highest level possible and instead of rewarding people for those characteristics L2 basically leaves you feelings that you would have been much better off rolling a Destroyer.
1. Aggression is weak. Apparently on the PTS it remains weak.
2. Damage mitigation in L2 is a mixed bag at end-game from what I have seen. In PVP it's nice until some archer lands a huge crit on you and then you realize that nothing was going to save you. From what I hear raid bosses are the realms of archers(kiting) and Destroyers(Frenzy).
3. Large groups tend to be the thing of C1. Most people I know want to have the absolute minimum members in their party and simply kill mobs through superior fire power. Why tank it when you can kill it and move on?
As far as SK compared to other tanks, they seem be be slanted to the offensive side of things. Hex, their cubics, Sting, and Lightning Strike are all pretty nice. LIghtning Strike is brutal considering it has a stun mechanic that can last for an obscenely long time. The disadvantages are that being that heavily slanted towards offense means that they lack Con and some durability skills that Paladins and Temple Knights possess.
Never having played a tank: do I like them? Yes. Would I want them in groups? Sure. Do I respect people who play them really well? Yep.
Does Lineage 2 reward those who play them with distinct roles that make them feel wanted, nay needed? NO.
everything he said and I would like point out that END Game SK are pretty tough in PVP.
My main is and SE and after a long time of healing and buffing I got tired of it, so I created and SK, so far I can tell you I love it, Im not 70+ yet but however I like the fact that so far I have been able to solo with self buffs and do really good at it. As far as pvp goes I have no complains, yes we do have dissadvantages agaisnt archers but if you play your toon right anything goes and lightning strike helps a great deal. Yes as tanks go we get the short end of the stick since we have the lowest hp but with proper buffs we can last a long time, in the end all I can say is play a toon you will be happy with. Me, I love my SK and would not rerolled her for nothing :)