Response by:  Andorion, Dwarven Paladin, Level 44
                         Cazic-Thule server
                         berjd@ucla.edu

After reading through this ENTIRE piece, I couldn't help but make some observations and modifications...  I've left the original lines with >sin front, and have added my text under each one.  For the record, I play a level 44 Dwarven Paladin.  Mekor`s SK bias was very evident in the original, I hope my bias isn't present (or at least, as evident :P) in my response.

> CLASSES
 

>I'll just be covering the six classes that use the 'step in and apply a beating' method of playing Everquest. First and foremost, you should realize that everyone in your team has the ability to contribute. Your abilities as a tank fall into three categories: pulling, taunting, and damaging/impairing. You might have other spells or skills that a team finds useful (i.e., healing, tracking, foraging, etc.) but you will find successor failure in how well you do your primary job. Failure to do any of thesethree will cause your team to hate you, disband, evac, or possibly die. I'll
cover each in detail from the perspectives of each tanking class, rankingthem.

Well put... most of the other stuff is must trimming =)  As a note, before we go class by class, let me say that how well you do these 3 things is decided almost ENTIRELY by how well you know how to play the class you play, as opposed to what class it is you play.  This is true with any class, and especially true with tanks... Sorry if it sounds cheesy, but pulling is an art... knowing when your group is ready, knowing how much is too much, and knowing how to pull without dying.  Same goes for the other things a tank is supposed to do.

ALSO, I'm not going to put my little rating system in... read the above paragraph, you'll see why.

> - Tank class: Warrior

> Pulling: C+. As a warrior you should have some sort of bow to pull with. While it does some initial damage, you have no abilities to slow or trick the monster. However, you have no reason to meditate so mise well be pulling
another mobile experience point package.

How is it that a warrior has a better `rating` for pulling than a Paladin? Higher archery skill?  So he does a couple extra points during the actual pull?  Warriors are worse than Paladins when it comes to Paladins, both ofwhom are worse than rangers or shadowknights.  Also, not having to meditate is irrelivant... a pull usually only takes a couple seconds, any other classis hardly going to gain a noticable amount of mana during the pull.  It'strue, though, that warriors (and monks, and rogues) are better at running around looking for spawns while the other classes meditate, unless the hybrids are FM (which they often are =)

> Taunting: C-. While the warrior gets the 'taunt' skill, it really doesn'tdo jack to the monster's hate-list when you have spell casters nuking the crap out of the enemy, or healers casting spells for that matter. Your only hope is to cause enough damage quickly that combined with your 'taunt' skillit will be enough to leave an impression on the monster.

The taunt skill works extremely well, as long as the caster who dealt massive damage isn't standing right next to the mob... all you have to do is slam the mob, giving the caster time to back off if he couldn't before, andtaunt while he's slammed.... Paladin has an even better way of doing this, with stun.

> Damaging/Impairing: B. Once you get your executioner's axe you should be able to dish out some decent hits. It's also a tremendous advantage if youhave selected a large race so that you can use slam instead of kick.
Slam gets to stun and we all know how great it is to beat on a defenseless monster. Lastly, disarm is a great way to slow up those dagger/rapier/spear wielding NPCs.

Sorry, but the executioner's axe isn't the end-all weapon for warriors, or for anyone... the ratio is about 1:1 (25/50)... you can get a Tainted Steel Bastard Sword from Kithicor that's 20/42, almost the same ratio... the
haste effect on the exe axe is a joke.  Possibly the best combo Joe Warrior at the moment is 2 Ykeshas... if you've ever grouped with one, you'd know they deal massive damage with that setup.  They also have *crazy* 2h swords they can get from various (high level) places.

> - Tank class: Paladin

> Pulling: D. Max archery of 75. No ensnares or nukes worth mentioning, and root sure isn't a pull spell.

First of all, what does archery skill have to do with anything?  Who cares how many points of damage you do with one arrow?  Secondly, the only way I ever pull is with the Stun spell.... more likely than not, it sticks, causing the mob to stand there for a couple seconds as you scamper off towards your party.  You can also cast this from a huge distance (more than any bow can reach.)  Another advantage of stun.... taunting.  The creatures comes at you pissed at *you*.

> Taunting: C. While you can heal yourself to make the monster hate you the most, this won't take it off of your poor druid while it screams like a barking dog.

No paladin in his right mind heals himself as a taunting method... My `taunt` skill is *very* effective... it almost always pulls the mob off anyone it's attacking (including a wizards who has cast *two* ice comets.) Stun works as an excellent taunt as well, both if it's resisted, and if itsticks.  If it sticks, and you taunt the mob while it's stunned, it
will almost *always* attack you.... meanwhile, the caster has time to back away from it (hate list depends on range as well...)  Another rarely used taunt method: root.  If you root a mob, it almost always switches its target... away from you if it's on you, and on you if it's not on you (don't ask mewhy, but they do.)

> Damaging/Impairing: D. No beat down races are available for the paladin, no kick or slam unless they use a 1h weapon (stop laughing), no nukes worth using. But hey, root can be semi-useful if you screwed up and failed as a
puller. Stun is decent as well.

Kick and slam aren't sources of great damage, they're more for disrupting spells... the Paladin`s main 1h slasher, the Ghoulbane, is 15/34 with a 162 point anti undead proc.  Arguably one of the most powerful 1h slashers in the game, *especially* against undead (Bloodfire 1h or 2h?)  Of course, Paladins can't dual weild, so many choose to use 2h slashers.  Mithril 2h, Razing Sword of Skarlon, Glimmering Bastard Sword.... sure, they're hard to get, but they're out there, and they deal massive damage.

> NOTE: Paladins are more suited to tiny teams where they are the healer and the tank. Also, paladins: Use your lay on hands. When confident your team is doing fine, and you can't die, (4 wizards with evac memmed) just use it
when it's handy, it comes back ya know.

First of all, you don't count on a Paladin as a healer... they only become viable healers at level 39, with greater healing, and even then, it's only to top members off after a battle, or in case of extreme emergencies (cleric is oom.)  They deal very good damage, tank extremely well, and can buff themselves and others, taking some load off the cleric.  And that bit about using LoH?  DO NOT USE LOH UNLESS YOU NEED TO.  You never know how the situation will change... and you'll end up kicking yourself when you or someone else really needs it but you just wasted it.

> - Tank class: Ranger

> Pulling: A. Snare is a great spell. It costs almost nothing, there's almost no reason to not ensnare everything you ever decide to kill (provided it will flee). Also, great bow usage. While pulling with ensnare you normally have time to lower the monster's ac with that fire spell from level 9 or stick an arrow in it's face.

I don't know what he thinks is so special about bows, you do barely any damage compared to what you'd be doing hand to hand or with spells.... snare rocks, and they can dot or dd meanwhile.

> Taunting: B. Again, snare is a good resource here. Then again, it'd better be good since damage won't be moving the monster onto any rangers I've ever met (well maybe Delbin but that's coz he's intimidating). It is not easy for a ranger to keep a monster on them although with ebony blades and ahigh dexterity it becomes simpler.

No higher level ranger in his right mind uses an Ebony Blade... entwine overrides snare spells, and you don't want to do that.  A rangers best resource for taunting is the taunt skill or his DD.  Dots might also help, but if the group has a Druid, his dots will take effect.

> Damaging/Impairing: C+. Ranger races lack strength big-time. If you have to dual wield, go get +100 STR gear so that you hit for more than an average of 10. And don't rely solely on a cheesy special to do your damage. Most the time I meet a ranger with DEX of 130+ and a ykesha, the special fires 3-4xper hour. That's just sad, get some 2h skill until Verant decides that 1h weapons are allowed to deal damage. I will however give it up for your level 9 AC debuff. It's a lot more useful than most rangers give it credit for in the team of beat down.

No ranger in his right mind uses 2h weapons at higher levels.... They use Ykeshas, Runed Falchions, and other goodies like that.  They dual weild *and* double attack, the best of the hybrids.  They give up plate to have both of those skills, but they deal massive damage because of them, especially if you consider their DDs and DOTs as well.

> - Tank class: Monk

Pulling: B+. Throwing stars are a must and if things get bad, you can just feign and save your whole team (although feign currently seems to do nothing, I'm having level 7 monsters see through it and I'm level 35). You can also break groups of NPCs in this style if you know what you're doing. No slowdown, however.

Verant is messing with Feign, and I hear it's not as effective as it used to be, but monks are the best pullers in many cases.  If there is a single mob that you can pull alone to your group, most tanks pull almost as effectively
as the others (with the exception of the SKs and Rangers damage spells.)  If there is more than one mob, and you only want one, or you're pulling for an area where you're not sure what you'll get, noone beats a monk.  They can
split up the creatures pulled (usually with the aid of another person,) something which *needs* to be done in most crowded high-level situations (planes, giants, etc.)  SKs have feign, but it takes time to cast... they can be almost as effective as monks.

> Taunting: B+. Monks have to rely on their damage dealing to get a monster's attention. Then again they hit like trucks. While their normal swings can't quite keep up with a good 2h weapon, the specialty kicks hit as hard as a 2h weapon's hit so they are over the top.

What makes monks good at taunting is the speed and number of attacks... they don't hit like trucks, they're fast and average (in terms of damage.)  But monks often get 3 or 4 attacks a round, something which really pisses mobs
off.  Kick just adds to that.  Monks do *NOT* taunt better than the other classes, though.  They can't pull something off someone else *now*, the mob just tends to stick on them in general.  In my experience, Paladins, SKs, and Warriors are the best at taunting something that's time critical (aka the wizards will die in a couple more hits.)

> Damaging/Impairing: A. It's about all they can do, and they've been tuned to do it fairly well. They take the eating also, but hey, offense wins fights, and too much offense can compensate for lower defense at times.  Monks don't take a great beating, despite popular belief.  They do, though, deal damage extremely well.  However, rangers and warriors come close or beat monks with the proper equipment (2 1h slashers with good ratios, or
procs, or a 2h slasher with an insane ratio.)

> - Tank class: Shadowknight

Pulling: A+. Low cost damage over time spells that also ensnare! Feign death. The ability to get your second dot in before the monster reaches the team so you can kick butt once it arrives, and cast vampiric embrace as well.

SKs pull as well as rangers, their advantage being that they can feign on a bad pull..... *BUT*, if you DOT a mob, then decide to feign, you're out of luck.... your dot keeps doing damage, the mob still comes after you, so it's one or the other.  SKs sometimes replace monks when pulling in those high risk high level situations listed above.

> Taunting: A+. A lot of cheap casting cost taunt spells. Disease cloud, clinging darkness, when cast repeatedly alternating will steal monsters from any cleric or wizard. Harm touch seems to get some attention as well.  Your
damage dealing with a 2h weapon is also high enough to taunt at times if you decided to be a large race that can deal real damage.

First of all, damage high damage numbers with a 2h slasher doesn't mean themob will hate you more.... it's usually the other way around.  Many smallattacks make a mob mad at you (like with warrior and rangers with 2 1h slashers, or monks.)  I've never personally seen a Shadowknight stop to cast Disease cloud on a mob in an attempt to taunt it off, and there's a reason for that... "when cast repeatedly alternating" he says... In almost every situation I've been in that requires the tank to get a mob off someone else and onto himself, it's becuase that someone else will die very very soon if he doesn't.  You don't have time to cast multiple spells, unless those spells are going to help the situation immediately.  Example... a Paladin would cast Stun, stopping the creature from attacking the guy it's attacking (already saving him some damage, and giving him time to back off) then use his taunt skill.  When the mob is unstunned, it will almost *always* be turned on the paladin.  Simularly, a SK would slam, then taunt.  Also remember casting something like Disease Cloud wastes potential combat rounds, in which a SK with a big 2h would have dealt a good amount of damage.

> Damaging/Impairing: B+. Monks can somewhat outdamage them, but other thana monk, no other melee class is going to take you to damage school. If youhave a reaver your strength leech makes up for the 5 less offense you
have than warriors and then some. Vampiric Embrace can be amazing, and disarm,slam, dots, and more can contribute to a quick wipe. Harm touch is a goodpanic button also. Just remember to use it from behind a monster as it regularly does more damage when used properly
.
It's true that Shadowknights share the throne with Rangers in terms of damage, but only when Soloing.  In group situations, SKs often don't usetheir dots because there are probably other group members whos dots override
the Sk's.  A Shadowknight doesn't have any super special ability that makes him deal more damage... he's a tank with a 2h sword, just like a warriormight be, or a Paladin. Although SKs are usually large races with reavers, giving them high strength and bash, you have to remember that there are plenty of extremely strong warriors, with better 2h slashers than reavers. Warriors or rangers with 2 extremely good 1h slashers almost always outdamage their 2h counterparts, and SKs for that matter.  Harm Touch is nice for dealing damage, but isn't more than a wizard`s single nuke at higher levels... you can hardly consider it when counting an SK`s ability todeal damage in any given battle.

> - Tank class: Rogue

> Pulling: C. Throw a knife or something, not going to do significant damage. No great tricks or slowdown, but since they don't meditate, might as well do something.

Rogues shouldn't be pulling... the less pissed a mob is at you, the more often you're going to be backstabbing him.

> Taunting: F. A rogue who has successfully taunted is a rogue who has wrecked his or her chance to deal decent damage. They use sad, sad weapons so that they can stab for high damage. It's almost like having a half wizard who uses no mana, at times.

Obviously, rogues don't want to taunt mobs.... but the truth of the matter is, they often *DO*.  As has been stated multiple times before, this is because of the high speed / medium power nature of the weapons they used, topped off by the powerful backstab (which works as a taunt, even if it misses.)  By the way, rogues don't use `sad sad weapons`... check the ratios on the various daggers and spears rogues have available to them, they're comparable to good 1h slashers, and they often proc cool effects.  In fact, they deal very good damage (as is admitted below,) causing the mobs to tendto attack them.

> Damaging/Impairing: B+. Disarm is handy versus piercing foes, and if instill doubt would ever get 'un-nerfed' I suppose it could have uses aswell. Backstab is amazing damage, and the recent upgrade to it's minimum damage helped a lot. If you can play the role of secondary tank, rogue is nice, great with a shadowknight who can keep the monster on them throughout many stabs. Multiple rogues stabbing and alternating tanking is fair, I don't recommend it. Lastly, the serrated bone dirk (the dagger with engulfing darkness) is a great weapon. That weapon's special does a dot/ensnare spell that the shadowknight uses regularly. Very handy indeed.

Rogues do *not* make good tanks... they can take less of a beating than rangers and monks.  What they *are* good at is dealing large amounts of damage, especially with a good group that can keep the mob taunted off the
rogue (immediate taunting... the mob turns on the rogue, you get it off right away, he has another shot at backstabbing.)  Like I said, lots of cool weapons with a lot of cool procs.
 

> Next, I'm going to cover the statistics of being a tank. There are many, many misconceptions about the stats importance for a tank, and what race or items you want to select. I've spent a lot of time asking level 35+ tanks
all over the Karana server how they feel about certain stats. While a few deviate from the normal reply, the typical answers are overwhelmingly the same. Dexterity, AC, and Strength. Less than 5% of the individuals asked said that Agility was even a factor for them. I too have noticed agility being somewhat worthless. My parry, dodge, and riposte seem to increase minimally when my agility is boosted by a margin of 45-55 points. On the other hand, My max damage and frequency of hitting hard raises significantly with a 10 point boost. I notice this boost often, however, as my reaver currently leeches 23 points of strength.

Just as a note.. there are a *LOT* of myths about how various stats effect various things...  you'll find people who swear by certain stats one way or another, and you'll find certain stats that might actually do something very useful that noone notices.  People are hardly quantatative in their analysis of the effects of various statistics, and untill there is a THOUROUGH study done using /log and different configurations, it's all guesswork.
 

> RACES
 

> A lot of races have bonuses other than stats. I'll mention them briefly, and if I leave out something you feel is important, well, bear it in mind when you create your next beat down machine. I am NOT including the following comparisons: Role-playing, Faction, Looking Cool in certain armor.

> - Human. Pathetic stats. It doesn't get much harder to make a character out of. Then again, some tank classes are not able to select races with decent stats. Hey at least you get to walk into a variety of towns.  Most people that select human do it because they make experience quickly. All it does for me is make me dislike teaming them since they decided their experience point rate was more important than their future team's ability to survive and prosper. While some argue well rounded is a bonus I disagree completely, polarization is the way to succeed.

Starting stats don't really mean much in all but the extreme cases (ogre warrior strength, for example.)  There are stat modifying items up the whazoo, and tons of different setups you can have.... what matters is how well you play in a team, because you're going to be spending almost your entire life in groups as a tank. One downside to picking a human is the lack of night vision.

> - Half-Elf. See human above. Not a whole lot of difference. Again, even if you use your initial points to try and "fix up" this race, you just wind up with less than others. Again, some classes can't use good tank races so this might be what you're stuck with.

> - Wood Elf. Ugh, what good is being able to wear good armor and have a nice agility when you are always encumbered and your agility goes to pot?

Read above.... also, some people, believe it or not, like to Roleplay.  I chose a Dwarven Paladin because I wanted to be a dwarf... i didn't find out that they had the best stats for a Paladin till after i made the character.  If i were to make a warrior, he was going to be a.....

> - Gnome. Ok stop laughing, they can be leCloak.jpg --> everquest.gamestats.com /var/home/everquest/web/equipment/graphics10 WhiteDragonscaleCloak.jpg 99.12.16 00:09 B A:\equipment\graphics10\Split_Paw_Hide_Gloves.html --> everquest.gamestats.com /var/home/everquest/web/equipment/graphics10 Split_Paw_Hide_Gloves.html 99.12.16 00:09 B A:\equipment\graphics10\splitpawhidegloves.jpg --> everquest.gamestats.com /var/home/everquest/web/equipment/graphics10 splitpawhidegloves.jpg

> - Barbarian. Like an ogre but with less stats, but hey, you get to wear a kilt and walk into places like Rivervale unmolested.

Again, no night vision.  This is your only choise for a good shaman, though.

> - Troll. Amazing. Triple regen actually allows you to solo and not have downtimes. While not having an ogre's STR, it has higher DEX and it's STR can be taken fairly high also. Rather large exp tax, but I firmly believe that you get what you pay for. I'd bet 95% of level 50 humans would demote themselves to level 46 to become a troll and fix their stats.

First of all, it's double regen, not triple.  This is really great when you're soloing as a tank, but in a group, you almost always have an alternate means of healing (cleric, shaman or druid with regen) so it doesn't really come into play.... if you want to camp items by yourself, you probably want to play a troll, or get a rubi BP, or both.

> - Ogre. Mighty, ton of hit points. While it doesn't regen like a troll, if you're always teamed due to being so powerful, chances are a cleric will be healing you anyway. If only they could have somewhat higher DEX it'd
have no true comparison.

High strength is awesome, they deal massive damage at higher levels.... It's also fun to rollplay a dumb ogre :) They have Ultravision

Oh, and he forgot Dark Elves... They have Ultravision too, and average stats.  If you want to be an underdog, be a DE SK.

> It seems that for some reason the game was created with the idea that if you use a powerful race, your faction stinks. That's perfectly fine by me, As I can carry 190 pounds, I have enough food, plat, drink, toys, specialty items, and trade items in 8 backpacks to last me a long time. I don't bother to even visit town save once a week (real time) unless it's time to go spell-shopping. I would also like to say that if the game gets to the point where a race with horrible stats, can eventually run around the outer plains and get enough amazing equipment to get 200s in all their stats, then race selection won't matter at all. I personally know human wizards who laugh at the thought of erudin as they already have items giving them 200 INT, and thus erudin is useless to them. It'd be harder for tanks as you have more than one important number to worry about.

In my opinion, not visiting cities is a BAD THING.... part of the enjoyment of this game is experiencing new things, finding new places, meeting new people.... in fact, the way I see it, that *is* the point of the game... i want to level so I can move out of the `same old` environment and into a new one.  Don't look at the stats, punch numbers into a calculator, and come up with the `ideal` race for your class.  Just pick one, and if you find yourself envying another class, admit that you're a powergamer =)

> ITEMS

> The first thing I'd like to point out is how to decide if a weapon is worth buying, camping, and using. The amazing weapons in the game seem to be the powerful 2h slashers with ratios of 1damage to 1.5 delay. This is, of course, outer planar, and it's much more realistic to try and find something with a ratio of 1:2 until you become a plane-hopper. If you decide to try and use 2 weapons, you need to make sure that their ratio is about 1:3.  This
is because you should get 3 hits while the non-dual-wielders are getting 2. The delay seems to be fairly balanced between quick and slower weapons so what your delay seems to be at the end isn't all that important. Higher level spell casters ignore damage and are really only interrupted by moving or being bashed out of spellcasting, so once you reach level 30-35 you can not worry about using 2 quick weapons to knock a gnoll shaman out of his next root spell. I recommend trying to obtain the following weapons, theitems I list are all obtainable with platinum, so once you're level 30 there's really no excuse for not having them, here goes:
 

> - Warrior: Executioner's Axe. A 25/50 beating that will occasionally quicken your attack. At level 35 you are hitting for a max of about 82-84, provided your stats are nice. They sell for approx 2000 plat, and higher level chars in Lower Guk just give them away.

First of all, noone gives away Executioner's Axes, so don't go flooding Lower Guk.  Although it's true that the axe is nice for a mid ranger warriors, there are *plenty* of other weapons for mid to high level warriors... check eq`lizer if you don't believe me, look under 2h slashing. Don't want to do 2h slashing?  There are a ton of cool 1h slashers too=)

- Paladin: Ghoulbane or Soulfire. They both have decent ratios, although Ghoulbane will allow you to bash as well, and wear a shield to raise your wisdom with. Paladins seem to be almost more spellcaster than beat-machine, so experiment, Soulfire is also a real pain in the ass to get. Ghoulbane drops in Upper Guk, a team of level 30s can go harvest them.
Ghoulbane has an amazing ratio for a 1h slasher, and the proc is also amazing.... there are items from the two planes that have better ratios than the GB and are one handed, but none have the high damage of the Ghoulbane (I
don't know about you, but I like seeing myself hit for 56 damage.)  Soulfire is nothing more than a toy as a 2h slasher.. there are many alternatives that are better, and some much easier to obtain that are almost as good (Tainted Steel Bastard Sword from Kith, for instance.)

>  - Ranger: 2 Ebony blades. 7/24 I believe with a root special. The root special is actually sort of annoying as you'd rather use ensnare, but hey, that's the price for a decent ratio. I'd list a 2h slasher but there are not an abundance of weapons for ranger in that fashion, seems they are brainwashed to using 1h.

Don't use Ebony Blades, you'll cause trains because you'll break snare, then twine will break and the mob will run.  Ideal ranger setup at the moment is 2 Ykeshas... they can also use the various 1h slashers out there, either from Norrath, or from the planes (like the Runed Falchion, Spined Dragon Claws, etc)

> - Monk: Ok just kidding.

=)

> - Shadowknight: A Dark Reaver. 20/42 provides light and Steal Strength. Note: this is not your level 9 spell, Siphon Strength. This is an upgrade version that leeches 22 STR at level 30, and goes up from there. Very powerful, at level 35 you'll be hitting for around 72 if your stats are nice.

Again, this weapon has an average ratio and stats... there are lots of things that are better, that a higher level SK should start looking for.

> - Rogue: Serrated Bone dirk, and another weapon (bloodclaw?) with a different special hit that still has decent ratio (1:3.5 or nicer). Engulfing darkness is about 80-100 damage and it snares as well, great weapon.

There are a lot of new piercing weapons that were added or found recently.... again, check eq`lizer.

> Whatever weapon you decide is best for you, keep all your skills up, you never know what will be available tomorrow.

Very true =)
 

> The other items you can obtain with platinum that are worth retrieving are listed below and sorted by the level of your character. Compare and contrast, there are many ways to choose what to use.
 

> - Newbie levels. Get yourself to level 9 and hoard your platinum. Buy banded or bronze armor whenever you can until you're at least wearing something on each slot. Try and find a level 30+ friend to guide you and answer your questions and perhaps, donate you a plat here or there. Wear anything you loot, and spend a few plat on rings and earrings so that you at least have something in those slots, I recommend using the strength jewelry at that point. If near blackburrow, get the shoulders from the commander and the 3 strength collar from the elites.

> - Levels 10-20. Complete your set of bronze or banded or cured silk. Get a semi decent weapon. If using 2h slash, buy a Shiny Brass Halberd(SBH 16/48) or a Bone Bladed Claymore(BBC 17/45) for around 100 plat. They're decent and will keep you hitting hard until you can get a Blackened Iron Bastard Sword(BIBS 20/47) for around 350-400 plat. Obtain items that give decent ac and stats, here's a list with decent price and location: Lizardscale
Cloak(200 cazicthule), Barbed Armplates(30 befallen), Grotesque Mask(35-50 runnyeye), Snakeskin Gloves(15 splitpaw but hurry), Blackened Iron Crown(150 crushbone), Thick Leather Apron(25 unrest), Bloodstained Mantle(60 unrest), upgrade your jewelry to silver fire emeralds, electrum sapphires, and silver sapphire, pay no more than 150-175 each.

> - Levels 21-30. Deck yourself out in plat jewelry. Plat fire emerald, either plat saph neck or gold black pearl neck, elec sap earrings, and plat ruby veil, it's only money, and less items seem to be easy to buy, most people want to just 'trade' their crap into something nicer. Here's someitems to work on obtaining. Whether you buddy up to a level 50, camp some dangerous zones, or pay outrageously for them, either way get:  Executioner's hood, Quest specific items (a note: read the pages and do your quests, the items you get are better than the fabled rubicite and most level 50s wiping what you want for your quests will just let you loot what you need to complete a quest, if not, bribe them to let you do it), Crested Spaulders, Dwarven Workboots, DarkMail Gauntlets, and more.

> - 31+ Platinum is fairly worthless now, visit lower guk and obtain a variety of spellcaster junk to trade them and pry your nicer items from their hands. Really work on leveling and making 46. Get into a strong guild or make one yourself so that you will be able to go visit my pal, Cazic or his sidekick Innoruuk.

All of this sounds about right.... although it's amazing how the level scale has shrunk compared to when I was a newbie (lol, yeah, i sound like a grampa... "back in my day....")
 

> When you hit level 30 or so, and your old armor is sitting in the bank, think about the newbies, the potential guildmates, teammates, and friends they are. I've caught up to some of the people that told me which stats to
pick out when I made my favorite character and now we team and have fun. I just drop bronze, platinum, fine steel weapons and other misc goodies on them, someday they'll grow to appreciate it.

YES, definitely do this.... donate to the real newbies you see (not the twinks, they've already played) and help them along, they'll appreciate it, and you should enjoy it.. I know i do.

> FINAL ANALYSIS
 

> For the most part, later on in the game you will team of one of two things: experience or items. Most teams won't be making both at a reasonable pace, other than coincidental drops in a decent experience place. The spell casters of Norrath are not looking for a person to run around in circles screaming for heals or spirit of the wolf. They are not seeking someone to sit around until fully healed. They are trying to find level-headed people who are capable of taunting, dying, and walking so that they can blow up, disable, and destroy monsters worth nice experience points or loot. Really learn your role, and don't try something amusing at the expense of your team's demise. Once you hit level 30, things that are green to you, in a group, could reasonably kill you. This is something spell casters have to
worry about from level 5. Learn how to interact with them and supply as much damage as possible while making it easy on them. We're the tanks, we're the walls of expendable meat, we're the damage-absorbing maniacs that have
to let the monsters of Norrath beat on us, learn to enjoy it, and make the most of everything you have been given in your class. And if you find out that what you're doing really stinks, try something else.

I couldn't put it better myself

> I apologize if your opinions contrast or completely contradict what I've said above. The statements I made were taken mainly from what other people have told me in teams. It's a great thing to be known as the best puller to hit a zone in a month, or the tank who doesn't let clerics get hit even with 5 active brutal monsters while chain-healing. I've had great success with the information above, I hope you do as well.

Everything i've written has been from my experience... and yeah, it's a great feeling knowing that others think of you as a really good *Tank* =)

> Mekor da troll.
 

Response by Valhakar Sarajin  (Veeshan)

Hello,

I have supported and submitted to this board for long time now.  Good work.

While your editorial helps the masses see the difficulty of playing a paladin it is a bit too harsh on the abilities of the paladin.

Pulling - No augment there but we aren't meant to be specialty puller.  I do feel that we are at least equal to a warrior in pulling though.  You don't have to HIT your target with the bow.  Just shoot at it.  A little know fact about bow is this.  NON magic it looks at the arrow and the bow and takes the lesser range of the two.  Magic bows add the two.  For this reason I use Larktwitter and my personally class 2 bone arrows to pull from 300 paces.  We also get lull/sooth which allows us to calm down the blue targets around a red or yellow target we want to pull for the group.  A "D" is way too low

Taunting - A Paladin has the Ultimate taunt weapon of any class and one that has allot of rumor but no hard data on it.  Flash of light.  Flash of light blind the target.  This allows me to pull any creature off a caster by blinding him then having the caster take one step back.  Then the caster can nuke till my spell wears off as long as I taunt and bash.  Flash if light also works well for emergency crowd control.  I can use Flash of Light in a pack and pull one off then Root.  At level 36 this buys quite a bit of time for us to finish off that healer or casters that may have come with the tank. No Warrior, SK, rogue, or monk and separate and immobilize like a paladin.

Melee.  Your totally right.  Maybe with the introduction of the newer weapon we will have a fighting chance.  I have noticed that the new weapons are less powerful then expected for all classes except the Paladins.  Woe be to any Paladin that only worked up slash and 2 hand slash.  Our best weapons will most likely be 2hb weapon we share with our cleric brothers.  Also our weapons right now are designed to be use with a shield.  Considering that slam is a racial skill capped at 1 and kick rarely interrupts a caster, you may want to reconsider that comment.  My 36 Paladin is the tank of choice against any caster.  Also shield bash at 35+ acts like a baby root.  Many a Zol Knight has lost the last 1/8th of his HP stunned and with his back to me and 2 other melee whacking away.  At higher level shield stun is a complete break from lower level stun/instant release bashes.  I find I use shield stun and the spell stun more often then Root now when dealing with a fleeing critter.

As for stats.  My level 36 paladin is not twinked by a guild.  He is Human.  I have won in battle or made with my enchanter every piece on me.  He has 136 str, 140 dex, 100 agi, 90 wisdom.   I expect I will be able to send you a 200 str screen shot soon.  A paladin is meant to be with a Druid or shaman as a healer.  Basically Paladins are that missing piece in most party's puzzle.  Good damage, crowd control, and caster protection rivaled by none of the tank classes * sorry Sk but our taunt spells are cheaper and faster to cast*.

Thanks for reading.

 Anonymous response

Mekor da troll's guide to being a tank mentions all melee races except Erudite. Paladins can be Erudites and they make damn good ones too... they can wield all the weapon types easily because their high int makes their skills go up fast, and this also means they can augment their finances and items by taking up trade skills (where trolls/ogres/barbs cannot). They cast their paly spells well, and they look damn cool in that banded dress :)

BTW I'm not an erudite, I'm a troll :)

Resonse by FiveFinger Discount

Boy am I disappointed that you even posted that piece of junk. I don't know how other classes have reacted to this article, but I know the rogue community is up in arms. Any newbie reading that would think that a rogue is worthless to even play. I wish you would take this TROLL SK biased piece of junk off your site.

Anonymous Response

An excerpt from the editorial- "Taunting: F. A rogue who has successfully taunted is a rogue who has wrecked his or her chance to deal decent damage. They use sad, sad weapons so that they can stab for high damage. It's almost like having a half wizard who uses no mana, at times." and several comments that "bash" a rogue in the damage dealing and tanking department.  In every case, a rogue will outdamage a SK- given the same equip and weapon level.  Not many people know that a rogues' poisons can do 310+ direct damage in one application, or that the rogue fear effect (Instill Doubt) has been beefed up. Harm Touch? well, once it is used, they become a ranger with necro spells. If you visit the Safehouse, a rogue dedicated message board, you'll see what really happens with a rogue.  They taunt equal to, or better than a cleric healing a player.  The damage they do with those "sad" weapons? well, a rogue has 2 regular attacks, plus double attack on those, which equals 4 so far. Plus he/she gets a backstab attack/normal attack. That is 5 hits per round (not even going into the attack instill doubt will give a rogue).   So, if we take out harm touch as an attack, then lets do some math. At lvl 30, a rogue with dual SBD (8/27+proc) can do 24dmg per hit. 5x24=120. An SK with a BIBs can hit 2 times for 54 per hit. 2x54=108. Go figure. Since my rogue can out-taunt 3 equivalent warriors, I tank for 80% of the fight. I get missed on average 40% more than any other tank- when they get swung at. The only negative on a rogues behalf as a viable tank, is the Hit Points. We taunt more, we tank more, we damage more, yet we have the same hp as a shaman.

Response by:     Mayne Attraction
                            29th Bard
                            Bertoxxolous

WHERE IS THE BARD!?!!

Yet another example of how misunderstood the Bard class is.

PULLING:  A+ Bards make EXCELLENT PULLERS.  They can be out and about looking around, healing while searching.  They can go invisible while looking for their EXACT target without worrying about getting aggro'd by greenies.  The tools they have to pull are numerous.  They can use throwing stars, the can Bellow, they can Snare, they can Charm just as a few examples.  A bard can even pull and drag a mob around until his group is ready without the fear of taking any damage while doing so.

TAUNTING:  A+ There is NO tank out there that can out taunt a Bard.  Again, our tools are many in this respect.  There are VERY FEW creatures that will NOT turn their focus onto a Bard after three pulses of Selo's Consonant Chain.  Singing the Hymn Of Restoration places the Bard so high on a monster's hit list that many parties request that song is NOT sung during battle.  And the MOTHER OF ALL TAUNTS, the Charm.  If your caster is a sliver away from death, no amount of warrior taunting is going to pull that agro mob off of them, but making that mob a cuddly pet for the next 10-15 secs will make that mob forget ANYONE nearby, even so much so that the rest of the party can hack the mob down from behind as the Mob aggressively tries to sink it's claw's into the Bard.

Damaging/Impairing:  C Well, it is true we are the best at dishing out the weapon damage, but put instruments in our hands and we can dish out a heavy steady stream of DoT that doesn't MISS.  We can decrease a Mob's attack speed by 20%, drop the Mobs AC, we can increase the parties attack speed by 10%, We can provide a party Damage Shield, etc.  We can charm the extra Mob, that is indiscriminately pounding on the party for 40pts a whack while they dispatch another mob, into attacking it's companion.

Note:  Bards get equivalent or better armor then other tanks, Bards can use a wide variety of weapons, Bards DON'T have the greatest amount of HPs.  Should the bard be the Primary Tank, no way.  But the bard definitely has tanking ability that is very commonly overlooked.
 

Responsze by:    Teppen Wolfe
                            Druid of the 29th Circle
                            Chancellor - House of Serenity
                            Povar

I feel that the druid has been left out of the tanking class.  I would just like to add this as part of that thread so those druids, like myself, who are  very effective at tanking, won't feel left out.

I feel that the Druid class has been left out of this.  Even though we are not tanks, I feel the need to speak these words as there are many of us mid to high level druids who are effective tank "assisters" if you will. For a better understanding of what I mean, consider the druid as a tank for a moment:

Pulling - A-/B+
Druids have very effective spells for pulling mobs such as Snare, DD and  Dot spells.  All of these are very effective in pulling.  Also, much like  their hybrid partner the Ranger, they get Harmony at a very early level which makes for easier pulling when multiple mobs are present.  The druid can harmony the mob, and pull one solo, thereby increasing the party's chance of survival (depending on the type of mob being pulled).  In my opinion, the  druid ranks up near the top in this category.

Taunting - D
This is not one of the stronger points of being a druid, but I have been able to effectively pull a mob off of my casters using Careless Lightning and Dizzying Wind with about a 60% chance of success.  I would have to say these  chances/odds increase slightly as the druid gains more experience, but definitely a weak part of our class.

Damaging/Impairing - B+
Druids are very good in this area.  At level 29, the druid gets spells such as Combust (171 points full damage), a DOT called Immolate (awesome when it's not resisted), as well as impairing spells such as Sunbeam (an outdoor blindness spell).  These in conjunction with the other various spells the druid has at this level make them effective in delivering the damage when needed.  And the amount of damage or impairing a druid can do increases as the druid raises in levels.

In conclusion, even though most don't view the druid as a tank, we are effective in this role just as much as any other class.  We can effectively pull mobs, damage them using our spells, impair them with different spells, and try to pull them off our casters using a variety of other magic.  I can't begin to list the countless times where I've been told "you're a great puller" or "thanks for checking our mana" before pulling a mob.   Communication is they key to being a good tank, not how much damage or compairing you can do.  Without effective communication, the tank won't know when his casters/nukers are out of mana, or the status of the other party members (i.e. members being diseased, poisoned, rooted, etc).

Response by Manga

Not once does it mention the RARE few of us which are the Dark Elf Warriors, masters of dodge, parry and ripose!

Response by     Geno Kanan
                           www.houseofkarana.com
                           geno@housofkarana.com

Some things I think I, being a ranger, should clarify.  For reference I play a level 37 Wood Elf

PULLING: Well, I personally agree we are some of the best pullers out there, and the bow can deal some good starting damage.  I usually snare the target, then provided the snare held, shoot at it with my bow for a few shots. I can deal 20 to 30 damage regularly, up to 47 with a critical hit.Depending on where you are pulling from, you can sometimes get many shots off before you reach your party.   Harmony, one of the best ranger/druid spells. It is AoE with a very high success rate and lasts a good amount of time (plenty for an experienced puller).  I have harmonied many higher level creatures(seems to be resisted only on the VERY high magic resistant creatures)

TAUNTING: I seem to think that most the classes with the TAUNT skill all work about the same once you get it up there.  It all really depends on thecreature you are attacking.  Some creatures, the Ogres in West Karana forinstance, seem to taunt very well even after a wizard has been "nuking" it non-stop.  While others dont taunt very well.  Maybe it has something to do with the intelligence of the creature? :)

DAMAGE: I personally have a wide array of weapons for use.  For when I am duel weilding I have two ebony blades which I am very happy with (AND I am in my right mind! <looks at Andorion>).  I hit for as much as 23 with each and my proc will do a decent amount.  They fixed the proc so you can now re-root your target if the proc cancelled the previous root.  I usually cast snare after my proc goes off, its a low mana and quick casting spell so you dont lose much(if any) combat time.  And, as was mentioned, can possible taunt the creature.
 

Response by       Velamon Poingfer
                            Monk level 50
                            Karana server

Mekor,

I have read your text on the melee classes and found out some slightly inaccurate facts about monks.  As we are on it,  I might as well put on a small text on my views on monks with it.

Pulling.   B- now A+ before

You have  qualified the monk as a second rate puller and I think its true.  Monk used to be the "Best" there was for pulling  A+.  A well trained and experimented monk puller could easily get any creature alone from a pull while taking only slight damage from it.  Problem is, Feign death Changed.   Nowadays the only way to pull a creature for a monk is using throwing weapons which put monk on about the same basis as warriors except with less hit points, no stun ability ( im talking about the big races here ) and only jumping as a protective ability.  Monks have no ability to soothe creatures, no ability to snare, slow, stun crits.  The only thing that puts monks on a equal level with warriors and rogues as puller is that we can "cancel" our pull if things go badly.

Taunters.  C+

Monks dont hit like trucks.  The big advantage that monk have over other class is attack speed.  Monks get more attacks with Dual Wield and Dual Attack that all other classes.  Overall, the damage output a monk can give is only slightly higher that someone with a good 2H weapon (without proc) of the same level.  A "big myth" about monks is that all Special maneuvers are Taunters... Thats false.  In fact, most of the time all other class with taunting ability will get the creature off a caster really much easily that a monk will.  So the taunting ability of the
monk is very limited.  One of the things i've observed is that monks have 2 things that can help taunt.  Disarm and Intimidation Skill . When you target a crit with disarm its like a small taunt.  If you succeed it will probably turn its attention on you ( for a short time). With Instill doubt, its about the same,  But be careful because its very dangerous to make a crit run away from a fight ( which is usually that makes that skill useless ).

Damage Dealing B-

I can say that on that point you are right on some level.  Monks can deal some nice damage mainly because of their high attack rate.  They compare to warrior on the damage dealing level, except the fact that warrior can stun, can almost double their damage ability with critical hits.  Yes  monks are good damage dealers,  but as the record goes many classes are better, mainly because of high-level items that are available to other classes.  Dex is an important attribute for a monk because it improves attack probability as a monk have many attacks many will miss.  If you can improve the chance of them hitting you improve your damage dealing capability.  Strength is not a very important factor for monks,  mainly because as i found out strength increases the Attack caracteristic beyond level possibility thats what gives you more damage potential. The atttack stat for monk is already one of the highest of all the character classes and increased strength does not increases attack significantly.

Damage taking: B+

Stats are very important here.  Agility is a critical stat when talking about monks.  Monks blocking, riposting and dodging ability is agility based.  This means that the higher the agility the less often you will get hit.  The factor of change is very surprising.  A 20 points increase in agility is a MAJOR change on the block/dodge/riposte ratio.  On the level of Armour class, a Monk with high level soft gear is only slightly less capable than a warrior of the same level. On the tanking power of a monk and a warrior, the problem is Hit points.  A warrior of equal (high level) as a monk will have Twice the hitpoints of the monk.  This is a little extreme considering that both classes are front-liners and both have the same tanking skills.  The problem here is the lack of high-level armour items for monks,  Most other character classes have nice attribute increasing armour and monks must contend with trying to
get some items from other classes package.  As i tried to explain stats are critical for monks, and items which increase those stats are not available ...Yet...

Overall

Its sad  because Monk is a very nice class but there like forgotten in the big scheme of things.  There are almost no monk- only items,  no inticing monk quests.  Strangest even,  it seems like its very normal to most people.  I think this hampers greatly the playability of monks.  As i see it, monks have no goals whatsoever after the level 35 ( when we get our last skill ).  No Equipement, No new skills, No spells, No Quests,  No "Enticing" items to get.