Need some SM Advice

[Rory4]

I just wanted some advice about SMs. I have a lvl 22 SM who is mostly Darkness specced. I found her really subpar and a bit disappointing in PvE groups and RvR. She was ok in PvE solo. I see all of these other SMs using suppression and blasting everything in their path. I wanted to know if it's worthwhile in the end game to respec to suppression rather than stay in darkness. I haven't taken her past BG1 and want to know how well darkness SMs vs supp SMs do later on in the game.

Thanks!

 

[sieben_dapoet]

check camelot herald 1.62x {d} notes, think some loving for darkness spec... take a looksy before moving.

other than that i cant advise, never played one

 

[Archeon]

i wouldn't say a darkness SM is sub par, the lifetap is quite nice...

...Hmm, i'm gonna hate myself for saying this but i'd go for the PBAE mate. It really does help now that more or less everyone is aware of the awsome damage it does. I think i even heard of a H group being unable to pull because they lacked an SM (kinda like people refusing to XP without an end buff )

So yeah, i'd go supp. for groups its fairly obvious. Sit on the mobs head and PBAE (for best results stand literally right ontop of him, don't forget dmg get weaker the further from the centre the mob is) for solo, find some green - blue con mobs use your pet to pull 4-5 str/con debuff then blast away, i personally think thats a better and faster xp method than pulling 1 yellow or 1 orange and PBAEing him to death... then waiting... then more single mobs... its not much fun and doesn't take full advantage of the AE aspect of the spell.


Anyway, thats my piece.

 

[Pin]

S&M is fun!

 

[Rory4]

Thanks for your help I think I will respec. The lifetap is incredibly slow to cast even for a kobbie (though I know Mythic is decreasing the casting time by 0.2 sec). I really don't think that a 'wicked' life tap is really worth removing pbaoe dmg now that I think about it. The pbaoe mezz looks to be really expensive to buy for not much oomph. I just read a post where a full darkness spec complained about the mez being only 10 sec long at his lvl (blah).

 

[Flimgoblin]

get the fluffy handcuffs - they're less nasty on the wrists (unless you like that sorta thing)

make sure your whip is from a good brand - don't want shoddy gear.

 

[old.Filip]

get the fluffy handcuffs - they're less nasty on the wrists (unless you like that sorta thing)

rather important ! ... maybee allso consider if you really want that toy stuff where she can unlock herself with some fingerwork..

 

[Pin]

Originally posted by Flimgoblin

make sure your whip is from a good brand - don't want shoddy gear.

Masterpiece Katou-crafted here. Top of the line.

 

[Roo Stercogburn]

Darkness SM does something different for groups than simply blasting away.

You have to bear in mind that we have EVIL debuffs.

For a pbae group, what you do is cast your ae dex/qui debuff. Tanks get agro ultra fast because even my granny can hit purple con mobs then. You act as backup damage dealer assisting whoever looks in the most trouble.

If not doing pbae, darkness SM is an awesome support puller or can pull in his own right. Goes something like this:

Puller fetches mob. Dark SM debuffs mob on way to group. Mob hits the group and tanks get agro, and have a much easier time of it since their attacks will miss a lot less. Remember that your baseline dex debuff and specline stack, though you have to be careful in tight areas like dungeons (eg, don't use ae debuff on scav bridge in Spin ).

If pulling, use dex debuff for agile mobs such as Taiga Cats, and str debuff for lumbering beasties such as Hagbui Thanes.

Dark SM can do CC for group - you have all the tools. You can root or mez adds as appropriate when needed. If pac healer is present let them do their thing, otherwise you still have baseline root for when mez fails. Additionally, you have something unique in Midgard: pbae mez. This has bailed out more groups than I can count when mez fails and the healer gets agro, unable to cast mez again. (In my opinion this is when you find out if an SM has his shit together ).

When levelling I was often doing CC, and debuffing mobs. I would stand slightly forward of the group towards the direction the puller was working.

Bear in mind you don't have to lifetap everything. Sometimes the baseline nuke is more than sufficient and more friendly on power use. An appropriate focus level in your staff is of course essential.

As with all casters, go to BG1, get MCL, then continue levelling

Dark SMs have a lot to offer groups but its more subtle and you have no flashbang wizzo effects for everyone to ooh and aah at. For lvl50 RvR, we need some lovin' but it seems to be on the way at long last.

I levelled my SM before we got PBAE, but even once it was here, and despite the stacked nerfs against what Dark SMs do with all the resists and imblances etc, I still wouldn't change to a piebomber.

Pick your playstyle and enjoy

I personally am looking forward to ramming a lvl50 dark nuke down Generic Chanter 435's throat when we get it

 

[Gerta Ugbash]

Listen to da man ^^^ Knows his stoof

I Originally planned to take gertas full summon, followed advice of a guildie and respecced Supp at 20, fun 3 days in Thidranki had 400+RP's and ran round as an orange con

Throwing around ideas about my final spec atm, 50 Summon Damage shield looks Very Tempting, but atm I'm Supp spec for grouping.

/em Keeps eyes open for a respec stone for after hitting 50

 

[Rory4]

I did do a lot of CC for groups. Hardly ever used my life taps... their casting time is just too slow. I had a lot of trouble in RvR though. My mezzes didn't seem to work against stealthed assassins. I doubt that in Thidranki all assassins have uber resists, but I never managed to hit one of them with a mezz. I grew frustrated because I would see them walk right through my mezz radius as if no spell were being cast. Even if people resist a mezz they get the image of the zz's above the head. These guys didn't.. it was like they were completely immune to the spell.

 

[kinag]

Originally posted by Pin
S&M is fun!

ULTIMATE TORMENTATION!

 

[rynnor]

If you use the PBAE to kill single yellows move into the mob and try to time the start of your casting to just a moment after the mob hits your pet - the aim is to do the pbae damage just a millisecond after it hits your pet - once you pbae it will switch targets but your pbae is quicker so youll get a second in before it swings.

Swing times obviously vary for each mob but youll soon get into the 'swing' of it <groan>

2 casts usually kills a yellow but you can either run away (since it will be under 20 percent health) and let pet finish it or use your quickcast.

Bunches of blues are better xp tho but make sure you have quickcast before you start.

And always make sure you have the single bladeturn up each time - no point taking damage

 

[dimerian]

Bah thought this thread was about some completely different subject

:moon: :whip:

 

[Rory4]

To Dimerian... go make yourself a reaver if you like it so much

I am going to make a supp SM as an alt rather than erase my darkness one. I am going to see which playing style I like better and stick with that one. I am still on the search for the best main. I made a savage thinking that would be good, but there are some downsides to that class, plus the fact that I am not super fond of pure meleers. There were some good things about my darkness SM in RvR, namely that she could pelt ppl stupid enough to get into the range of her nukes. But other than that, she was a bit underpowered. Thanks for the suggestions about what to kill with a supp SM. Soloing is currently my major worry, especially if I go with the supp template putting only 3 points into the pet.

 

[Sarnat]

Note that in 1.62 the lifetap will have 0.4s slower cast time, making it only slightly less effective as a spec RM darkness nuke. The tap is also does a tiny bit more dmg than RM supp nuke plus casts whole 0.5s faster.

 

[Rory4]

Uhmmm... I thought they were making it a faster cast, not a slower cast. They're lowering the casting time of the life tap to 2.0 s like for all other realms. I think the current casting time is 2.5 s or something like that.

 

[parisienscot]

Originally posted by Roo Stercogburn

I personally am looking forward to ramming a lvl50 dark nuke down Generic Chanter 435's throat when we get it

I'll cold debuff for you hun

 

[old.Filip]

Bahh you guys made this very promising post into something UTTERLY BORING !!

:sleeping: :sleeping: :sleeping: