MIDGARD UNDER ATTACK!!..again!

[old.Tohtori]

Well ok, again no attack towards midgard but since you're here, gimme some pointers about skalds.

Race? Any big difference or go with your guts.

Skills? Is 10 more points to dex better then 10 more points to strength?

Spell/chant/song lines? Any special way to go or go with our gutties?

Weapons? Is there really need or are you a barehander?

Clothes? IS there really a special color you should wear and is a cloak really that necessary?

Killzones? Where on earth should one go to get non stop killing action?

Invites? Will you get them, are they easy for a skald, do people generally love you?

Anything, everything, what ever you can think of! Post it, tell a tale, give some advice for the first time Skald!

 

[Solid]

Troll|Norse|Dwarf skald : Stats +10 Str +10 Con +10 Cha
Kobold Skald : Stats +5 Str +5 Con +5 Dex +5 Qui +10 Cha

46 Songs 47 Weapon 5 Parry is accepted best build for skalds.

Your are very group friendly

Kill tasks are eeeeeeeeeeeeasy as a skald

Any weapon, tho Swords got the cool factor with skalds, esp Norse

Go have some fun

 

[erl]

Never played a skald, but almost all posts I've read about starting stats say that there is not need to put any points into cha. It's the skald's primary attribute and skald's hardly run out of power anyways.

Oh, and for RvR, you'll have absolutely no problems finding a group. Everyone want speed. You'll have a quite easy time to find gruops in pve too because you're a descent tank and have the regen and damage song.

 

[old.chesnor]

No need to put points in DEX or QUI for a Kobold skald. Your base DEX and QUI is 70. If you really want to play a Kobold Skald, put your points into STR and CON. Skalds are not the strongest tank, and Kobold skalds are worse, so these extra points will really help.

And hammers are the weapon of choice for Skalds (and all of Midgard for that matter) due to the RvR bonuses. Hammers are a great choice for PvE too, as there are many mobs weak to crush in Mid.

 

[old.Breydel]

It's the skald's primary attribute and skald's hardly run out of power anyways.

Uhm, LOL. My 42 skald ran out of mana ALL the time, whether it was RvR or PvE. But the +10 cha is debatable, now that realm abilities are in. If I had a skald on the US servers I think I would put my first 3 realm points into MCL (Mystic Crystal Lore). That thing is uber for classes that are heavy mana users.

One funny thing I remember about playing on the Euro servers and that's about this topic. Jeron once said in a scav group he should have named his character Jeron POMPlease instead of what he has now.

 

[old.chesnor]

lol. Yeah I play a Healer, and after casters it's always the Skalds asking for POM. The power usage of the 2 skald shouts is very high. Skalds will be out of power most of the time at high levels.

However, putting points into CHA won't change that much, you've just got to live with it

 

[Solid]

lol Brey

Well I said Kobbie skald and +5 Dex/Qui just so he can Evade and parry more

I said +10 cha as Cha makes your shouts hit harder and increases mana pool and both are very important, in 1.48 at least anyway.

Does Very browse these boards? I would be interested to know how much she evades in RvR and PvE

 

[old.Breydel]

No need to put points in DEX or QUI for a Kobold skald. Your base DEX and QUI is 70. If you really want to play a Kobold Skald, put your points into STR and CON. Skalds are not the strongest tank, and Kobold skalds are worse, so these extra points will really help.

So very untrue. Since skalds can't spec shields and they only get small shield they usually choose for 2 handers (but get a fast 1 hander too or my warden will eat you for breakfast ! ). So unless their opponent has PBT they get a nice 2 hander with decent parry (I think the 5 parry from Solid's template is way too less but OK). If you want to parry a lot, the more DEX, the better. The only reason to make a kobold skald is for the high DEX and QUI, but if you then don't put points in it you're sort of neglecting that advantage. For a kobold skald I would go with +10 in DEX/STR/CON or +10 DEX/STR/CHA, depending on what realm abilities skalds have (which I don't know, never looked at them for skalds).

More about skalds for realm abilities. If you are planning on getting serenity (similar like PoM) you already need Augmented Acuity 2 as a prereq. For skalds Aug. Ac. 2 is like +12 in charisma. Note that this is not counting towards any cap (unless hard cap but you'll prolly never reach that anyway). Then you could perhaps not spec in CHAR at the start. But if you plan to put many points in Aug. Constitution or other 'fighting' abilities then I would STRONGLY suggest putting +10 in CHAR at the start too. But whatever race and whatever template, +10 DEX is the most important one.

 

[old.Breydel]

Hey Solid. Ooh right, I forgot about the evade 1 skalds get. Well indeed, the higher DEX, also the higher chance to evade. And in the case of a 1H+shield, also the more chance to block.

Quickness doesn't affect the chance to parry/block/evade though. It makes your weapon swing faster and also increases your dmg/time a little bit. The styled dmg stays the same but I read somewhere the base dmg (as if you were not using styles) increases a bit. But as an effect of faster swinging it looks as if you styled damage drops.

As a skald you will most likely barely see the effect. But with my warden's 38% self-haste the effect is huge. Haste and quickness buffs are somewhat the same I believe, only in a haste buff the component that increases your dmg over time is a lot bigger as it is in quickness.

Still I think as a skald upping STR makes you do more dmg/time than when you increase your QUI. Midgard is heavily STR based.

 

[old.chesnor]

A Skald in RvR with 1h and a shield is dead meat, regardless of who they are fighting. Skalds can't spec shield, therefore they shouldn't use one in RvR. The fastest bladeturn is 6s. Just get a 2h weap that swings faster than this, bobs your uncle EDIT : If there is one

You can switch between your ultimate 2h weap (slow) and your faster 2h weapon as need dictates.

Also as you approach 50, the inital differences in stats because of class become almost meaningless. My rationale for not spending points in DEX or QUI for a Kobold was because in Solids orignal post, he spent nothing in DEX or QUI for Norse/Troll/Dorf, yet these classes get 20-35 less DEX/QUI than a Kobold by default. So the Kobold Skald will ALWAYS be better than any other race Skald at blocking/parrying/not missing. Where Kobolds are painfully weak is in their STR and CON. Clearly that is where you should spend your points.

 

[Solid]

Chesnor:

Blocking, parrying and NOT MISSING!

Dex does NOT effect your to hit chance

Breydel:

I said Qui not for weap speed, but because Evade is 50% Dex 50% Qui based

Also lots of funny yank statistics have shown a Kobold benefits more from +Dex/Qui at start up than a Troll would, dont ask me to explain it, its too complicated, but basically the benefit of 35+10 Dex is less than 75+10 Dex when it comes to things like blocking and evade, or so I have read by the stat monkeys on IGN

If you wanetd to do more damage over time, why on earth would you pick a Kobold?, I would pick a kobold cos Kobbie skalds are arare, cos I evade more, whihc is always cool, and cos I can swing 2H weaps faster and PBT is less of a problem

 

[old.chesnor]

Originally posted by Solid
Dex does NOT effect your to hit chance

Wow, I never knew that.

 

[old.Breydel]

Skalds can't spec shield, therefore they shouldn't use one in RvR.
...
You can switch between your ultimate 2h weap (slow) and your faster 2h weapon as need dictates.

I think the fastest 2H weapon might have a 4.2 delay. With healer haste buffs and good equipment, let's say you can make it a 3.5 delay weapon. If you think you can win fighting people with a 6s PBT in RvR with that, you are very wrong. I have a PBT warden, believe me when I say I eat skalds/warriors/thanes/armsmen/paladins alive when they use a 2H weapon. Wanna pierce through my bladeturn? Get a 2.2 or 2.8 delay 1 hander. Whether you are weak in shield or not has NOTHING to do with this subject. Don't wanna get ready to sawp to a 1 hander in RvR? Good, but prepare to get frustrated and die often.


Solid,

Didn't knew Qui is half dex/qui based. Still I'd take 10 dex over 5 dex/qui any day because the DEX affects block/parry/miss/evade and the QUi only evade then.

Sames goes for your kobold, when you meet a PBT, don't stick with the 2H weapon! There is 1 class in the game that can beat a warden with a 2 handed melee weapon, it's a friar. Friars have the same insane haste buff and can swing about 2.5 delays with a 4.x staff. And their styles hurt big time. Even a kobold skald with maxed QUI and the best healer haste buff has to swap to a 1hander to be much more efficient against a PBT. The thing pulses every 6 seconds. With a 2.2 speed weapon you only miss 1 out of 3 swings (33% miss ratio), with a 2 hander you miss 1 out of 2 swings (50% miss ratio). And that is even assuming your opponent is standing nicely still. If they start strafing and moving around you will even miss more hits.

 

[Uncle Sick(tm)]

Originally posted by old.Tohtori
Well ok, again no attack towards midgard but since you're here, gimme some pointers about skalds.

What a way to get attention...tsktsktsk...

 

[Perplexed]

I thought 46/44/17 was the accepted best build for skalds?

You only need 44 to get the style anyway and you'll easily have 50+ with items/rr, after 50 the extra points do feck all. Might aswell put some into parry in the hope that Mythic make it half useful in RvR

 

[erl]

Best build? Is there such a thing? I thought it was all up to how you wanted to play the ga...
Oh wait, I've heard that so many times, no need to say it once again

 

[old.Breydel]

after 50 the extra points do feck all

Not true, overspeccing does have an effect too.

 

[old.Tohtori]

Sickofit... very true but atleast got my ten cents worth of info.

From what i've been reading, i will be going this way:

Kobold: The added dex/qui seemed more reasonable.

Hammer: Simply cause of the added bonus towards plate and scale, also true with the crush crush monsters out there. Probably 2h as the non-shield speccing would tell me.

Stats: +5 str(just for a bit more), +5 con(would be dead in a heartbeat, now it takes two ) +10 DEX, having a gut feeling about it. +10 CHA, i just want the spells to have that little extra.

At level 5, wich isn't much but it's a goal, 3 on hammer to keep the damage fairly up and 4 on battlesongs to get the needed spells. All but group damage add, wich will come at 6.

So there, comments? Changes? Do tell why if you don't agree.

Oh and a big thanks to all for being helpful.

 

[old.Krusha]

Skalds and warriors are the two cookie cutter classes in Mid

and yes 44/46/17 is the norm for tha CC-Skald

I rolled a Kobbie skald and i love the little bugger to death =)

 

[Solid]

Very sound plan my friend.

Oh and perplexed you are quite right friend, there is no real accepted best build, guess I get used to the zillion skalds with one of 2 builds, yours being the other accepted build

I would reccomend what Perplex said for a Kobold Skald spec as with his high dex and 17 parry (+10 from items is easy at level 50 to bring it up to 27) he will parry and evade quite well.

 

[klavrynd]

Originally posted by Solid

I would reccomend what Perplex said for a Kobold Skald spec as with his high dex and 17 parry (+10 from items is easy at level 50 to bring it up to 27) he will parry and evade quite well.

Evade 1 is triple nada in RvR , in my entire rvr "career" my zerk with evade 3 has maybe evaded 3 times so that should not be a reason to pick a kobo

 

[1234Taz]

I got a high level kobold skald and they are very good in RvR and abit iffy in PvE solo.

I did 10 str/10 con/10 cha

With items I hit my cap on Dex/Str/Con/Cha anyways have around 1.2k HP unbuffed both parry and evade 1 suck in RvR Hammer Spec.

RA's I have is aug dex lvl 2 aug str lvl 2 aug con lvl 2 and MCL.

But if you want the best race for skald I would pick norse.


Keep Battlesongs one of your true level and put the rest in Weapon spec but at level 43 max Battlesong so you get the last speed buff and dont go over 46 Battlesong and +battlesong items do nothing at all ever +cha is your damage output/pow pool.


Best RvR class in Migard imo Speed+mez+snare+DDs+chain+viking damage table cant go wrong and they are very easy to level altho two many skalds in the same group is kinda usless

 

[inqy]

I think a great reason to be a kobbie is the fact that many will see you as an easy target. Expecting you to be a hunter, shadowblade or runey. What a surprise they'll receive

 

[old.Tohtori]

Ok.- Now i'm quite done with the planning of the first five levels of the Kobby of the boards. Gonna name the guy Tohtori, possibly, when i get home and start on with his epic journey

Now, if Tohtori is taken, any good name ideas for this..all around..boardspawned Kobby, Midgards soon to be hero...no really

Also noticed that this thread, possibly 'cause of the topic, has gotten almost as many views as the Dragons. *snickers*

 

[Uncle Sick(tm)]

Originally posted by old.Tohtori
Also noticed that this thread, possibly 'cause of the topic, has gotten almost as many views as the Dragons. *snickers*

What about "Free Porn!" next time? Should get you about 300 views in ten minutes.

... and that was a sarcastic remark. Don't you dare...

 

[old.Tohtori]

I would never! I atleast have the decency to use style in my smokescreens

 

[old.Tohtori]

Ok here goes. You're all gonna kill me for doing this but tonight, in approxemetly 2h if not less, a new skald is gonna arrive into Midgard/excal.

The name i'll post later so everyone will know who's running around but this is the big bomb here...

It's gonna be a dwarf! Yes! Those little guys that arn't Kobolds!

The way is same as with my kob there earlier, only with stat changes. Still going hammer, still those skills at level 5 but the stats are gonna be like this.

+15 DEX, +10 CHA.

And before you kick me out of this forum and earth itself, listen out.

Dwarfs have a base con of 80, that's a lot of ehalth considering the Kob only has 50 or so. Extra 5 basepoints to add from that.

Also the strength is 60 wich would be 5 more then with the Kob +5 basestat increase.

Now +15 dex might seem like a lot but it's far better then the 50 that the Dwarfs have.

+10 Cha is only because, as stated before, the extra NGH! into the spells.

Now at this rate, when i reach level 50 (yeah lol) My stats will look a bit like this:

STR:83 CON:95 DEX:65 QUI:50 INT:60 PIE:60 EMP:60 CHA:115

Now if i took the old Kobbo style i thought of, they would look like this:

STR:78 CON:70 DEX:80 QUI:70 INT:60 PIE:60 EMP:60 CHA:115

So basicly it comes down to being faster or being stronger/durable.

With the Kob i would get, naturally, the DEX and QUI up into a nice amount. I would hit more often, evade more and parry a bit more.

Now with the Dwarf i owuld only, and i mean only, get more health and a touch of STR. The STR is only 5 more but the con is 25 more, also as i understand there are more DEX/QUI items then there are STR/CON items.

Do tell i'm wrong and i'll listen but i'm having a "gut" feeling that the dwarf will be better all rounder, maybe not fast but hell, won't die. Also makes Leveling and money gather much easier with a stronger and healthier char in the beginning...no? Then tell.

 

[old.Hendrick]

You'll get joined by a norse skald somewhere over the weekend

 

[old.Tohtori]

Great! Just lemme know a name and we'll sing a song or two together...err..and kick some ass! Just think of a dwarf singing..not very sobre is he? *snickers*

 

[old.Hendrick]

You are tempting me to make a female troll skald....