I know this has been duscussed over and over,but i really cant choose.
I am between zerker and soulhound,i already have a zerker lvl 57 and a soulhound 20.I want a char that can pvp with anyone,alone or in party(basicly i dont like being a support tool,so i d say alone).
You will all tell me the same i guess like zerkers are uber dmg but soulhound are late bloomers and at 81 lvl pwn.Keep in mind that i have the the tense to lvl a char,coz i like pursuiting the perfect.
I want experienced kamael players to think from the pros and cons of both(maybe tell me to know too^^) and make me a suggestion.
I REPEAT i want a PVP kamael that can pvp alone,not in need of a party(like a cardinal for example).
soul hounds are one of the most complicated class to play efficiently. you will have the tools to counter just about any situation you might encounter in PvP, versus any class, with the exception of Doombringer.
most soul hounds are played as half-nukers and melee finisher, +120 dark AM acu as main nuke weapon, and +120dark FB-transformed focus as main melee weapon. there's a big debate going on about what tattoo should a soul hound uses in this forum, you should read that. I dont have a soul hound myself, so i'm not gonna give you any advice on it. but i do know that soul hounds are played as kiter, which is why they dont do so good vs. doombringer.
for doombringer, your main role in party pvp is rushing in head first and take out healer/nuker/archers. -con tattoo is almost dumb on a zerker, since they have low HP to begin with (watch, other zerkers are gonna jump on me for saying this). zerker have a good skills set for what they're intended, killing archers and kiters.
mobile-UD,
full heal,
resistance to mental atk,
5 different kinda rushes (1 aoe, 1 aoe bleed, 1 stun, 1 stun/aoe, 1 plain rush),
3 big smashs (dark smash, crushing pain, eluma elish),
1 conditioned smash (congation- usable only on bleeding target),
a debuff lowering pdef, and cast spd,
1 disarm,
1 mass disarm
a wide range of toggle skills that give you the upper hand
all is fine and dandy till you look at the racial passives and HP. kamael has the lowest HP out of all melee classes. you're squishier than a dagger in most cases, you can only wear light armor, you have 1/2 the mdef other classes have, you only take 60% of recovery magic casted on you, you have the slowest cast spd out of all the class (including orc mystics), but your spell have _the_ lowest casting time, so that cancel it out, somewhat.
a zerker is a glass cannon without the -8con tats, situational skills to give you the upper hand are what they are, situational skills. you can't depend on them all the time, especially while @ war. in controlled-pvp (oly, duels, party duels, ect.) you can win most of the time, in free-formed PvP, be prepared to get crushed everytime a tyrant/gladdy look at you funny. a zerker is a hit-n-run type of melee fighter. you can close in fast, do the job, and get out, with talisman, hard march, you have around 200 run spd, which is enough for you to run from most things, clan hall buffs, +dex tats give you more than you need to run from anything. running for a zerker is natural, not to get away for the most part, half of your atks are rushes, you have to put a distance between you and the target as fast as you can before rinse and repeat your atk routine. i almost always use stun rush as opener -> disarm -> violent temper -> run out -> storm assault -> slashing blade -> dark smash -> crushing pain -> run out -> rinse and repeat with bleed rush and contagion.
as a zerker, your footwork is almost important as your life. you dont charge in then run out the way you came. in controlled-pvp in tight spots, plan 3-4 steps ahead, where you're gonna run to get distance before charging back in? where you're gonna try and put the target so you have room to maneuver? that kinda things. with high enough atk spd, you're looking at dissing out a ton of spike (burst) dmg in a very short amount of time. with proper buffs, you're swinging a 2hander @ near dagger spd, you still CAN'T outdmg a destroyer, or a tyrants though. they'll eat you if you go head on against them.
all in all, both classes are extremely fun to play. it's a coin toss to be frank. whatever you decide, stick with it till the end, learn to play your class properly before giving up. kamael classes are all late bloomers, not just soul hound. you don't start to shine the moment you step into A grade gears, most kamael skip A grade anyway. you have to work toward the end-goal of S grade even before you're in C, think 40+ lvl ahead. don't buy that +16 D because you can afford it, you can get to 6x just fine with common weapon and PL armor. for SA, focus is the ultimate SA you'll want. haste and health come in as close second places. anything else isn't really needed. as a soul hound, +4 weap is good for the buff proc on crits. when PvP, DC is a good choice all around, NM is also good when you're going up against sleeper/kiter, and the passive VR couldn't hurt, +mdef is good also because of the racial passive, maj is arguable, give you no bonuses to atk whatsoever, but stun resist is needed in some situations. tyrants can mow you down in 1 stun if it lands. zerker would prefer DC, soul hound would prefer NM. it's something you gotta figure out for yourself. listen to other's advice, but dont take everything said and make it your bible.
A soulhound doesn't necessarily needs the AM... if you cannot afford it you can do well with your rapier. 150 Dark (not 120) before gracia final and +30 for self buffs giving a total of 180 Dark atribute.
The problem right now is that most ppl level up in HB so they get full dark resist armors (and some of them frintezza) making sh below 81 suffer to inflict damage.
Be aware that as kamael you always have a support role (in fact, all light armor DD's are indeed support dd's in parties) but zerker has more chances of being a main dd than sh.
You know we've talked before ingame, and I will suggest you the following: Don't aim for the "most powerful class" coz every update there are changes and you might get nerfed... just play the class you like and enjoy the most and stick to it (rerolling many alts will only get you nowhere in this game)...
Just for the record... any A grade armor works fine with either class... (even tallum)... I myself use the apella which gives no extra bonus than CP and I do fine... just gotta play smart :) Ofc, when I can craft my Draconic that's a different story because of resists.
I've stopped getting into these discussions as to 'which is better' simply because the experienced Kamaels already know the answers. I won't repeat myself but I will say this: An experienced Soul hound that understands his ranges has a very good chance of beating an equally skilled (and geared) Doombringer. The experienced know this, and that's really it.
The Soul Hound in Z1ob's video already lost the fight before it even started because he simply doesn't understand range. Remove a Doombringers ability to rush and you remove 50%+ of his threat/damage output. That is how you start. As you learn your class, you will understand what to do.
Belly (or Belialx) is probably one of the best Doombringers in NA. If you go down that route, I suggest you find his movies or try to speak to the guy himself. Z1ob is awesome but once you know the class, you will appreciate Belly. "Belly > all"...
Some misconceptions I need to clear up... In open PvP max hp/cp is almost irrelevant after a certain point (after you can achieve 7k+ HP before CoV and have about 2.5-3k CP). Learn how to use your survival skills and CP pots. It matters more in oly but is also balanced on your offensive abilities.
Soul hounds do insane damage on crits. Say somewhere like varka. You attack insanely fast, will easily hit for 2k+ crits, crit in succession often and you can one shot things of skill and mage crits. A Soul Hound is a DD through and through. Evasion also matters a lot more than people give it credit for in terms of survival. You can be MA in a melee party very easily anywhere outside of HB.
Kamaels have among the highest magic defense of all the melee classes. Only tanks will give you a run for your money. I don't know where the 1/2 value came from.
A zerker 'can' out damage a Destro and a Tyrant. Seriously... The dps potential of the class is insane, however it is incredibly costly and can't be sustained without recharges that is all. A high-end Titan is still an absolute beast though but the set-up is imortant and it generally compromises the Titan. Also a Tyrant who gets successive skill crits is also a beast, but this is rare and again usually comes at a cost of compromise. The Doombringers damage is a sure thing from the get-go.
The recovery magic issue isn't one anymore. It's like -5% now.
Pick whatever you want tbh. They are both good in different ways. The SH has a steeper learning but but higher potential. The Doombringer is a monster with simple (but few) limitations. As a Soul Hound, I'd much rather fight a Doombringer than another Soul Hound any day of the week, as I know exactly how dangerous my class is...
Just to add a comment to this... for the OP... try to focus your choice on the activity you like (or will do the most)... oly pvp is different from situational pvp or mass pvp or pve, or sieges... Again, pick the one you find more amusing to play thats all ^^ cya laterrz