Hey all, I've been lurking on forums (so much good info, appreciate that the community is generally REALLY cool and not super toxic in helping eachother out) and am coming up on lvl 50 on my Skald (first lvl 50 toon.) I know that the 2 common specs for lvl 50 Skalds are 46BS / 44HAM / 17PAR or 50BS / 39HAM / 18PAR . Other than the 50BS build getting the red DD chant, what are the actual playstyle differences between both builds? I've heard 50BS skalds say they feel they have more utility, but how does that actually play? Has anyone actually done the math to see how much DPS they gain in their DD going 50BS, as opposed to how much more DPS they get in their hammer swings going 44 hammer over 39? I've gone thru old posts and the info seems a little tough to access. I'm just trying to pick my spec before I ding, leaning towards a 50BS build, but I don't know how the 2 specs differ (if at all.) Thanks in advance for any info.
Skald specs & playstyles
Started 8 Apr 2019
by
gimmethecreeps
in
Midgard
Tue 9 Apr 2019 7:33 AM
by
dudis
DPS difference probably isnt huge either way, but 50 BS have more burst damage. 50 BS also gives all red resist chants which are really good for solo and smallman. Just macro them for max possible uptime. Health regen is occasionally usefull too, especially solo where you can mezz and sit 
I personally prefer 50 BS over slightly higher melee damage. If you duo/trio with a Dark BD like i am, your DDs can do 700 or so damage combined with the 50% body debuff - fun times
Your role in group fights isn't really to deal damage and you will generally want to run around with a fast 1-hander and just interrupt. Same goes for DDs, they will rarely be used for actually killing, just interrupting.
My spec is the cookie-cutter 50BS/39H/18P but with that said, parry is very rarely useful in group pvp. If you expect to run exclusively in groups, I guess 50 BS, 43 Hammer would be the min/max spec to go for.
I personally prefer 50 BS over slightly higher melee damage. If you duo/trio with a Dark BD like i am, your DDs can do 700 or so damage combined with the 50% body debuff - fun times
Your role in group fights isn't really to deal damage and you will generally want to run around with a fast 1-hander and just interrupt. Same goes for DDs, they will rarely be used for actually killing, just interrupting.
My spec is the cookie-cutter 50BS/39H/18P but with that said, parry is very rarely useful in group pvp. If you expect to run exclusively in groups, I guess 50 BS, 43 Hammer would be the min/max spec to go for.
Wed 10 Apr 2019 5:41 AM
by
Tad
How can I macro the resist chants?
Wed 10 Apr 2019 5:58 AM
by
Arshesmaral
My Skald is 46 BS / 44 Hammer / 17 Parry, and he does well. Dudis' reasons are all accurate, but I'll give a different perspective.
Losing Red Healie Song and the last DD is pretty turd, but it's not like you're missing out on them completely. Yellow Song regens you nicely and one Yellow/one Red DD still hits hard. Atop that, Conquer (29 Hammer) has a nice follow up called Sledgehammer (44 Hammer) that you can only get with 46 BS. It's great for whompin' casters and other squishies alike. Red Resists are good for Duo/Trio/Smallman groups without a Shaman, but getting in a Shaman group isn't difficult either.
Really, though, both specs are good. It all comes down to what you'd prefer. Hell, try them both and see which one suits you better; respec stones are not expensive, and you get a free respec at 50.
Losing Red Healie Song and the last DD is pretty turd, but it's not like you're missing out on them completely. Yellow Song regens you nicely and one Yellow/one Red DD still hits hard. Atop that, Conquer (29 Hammer) has a nice follow up called Sledgehammer (44 Hammer) that you can only get with 46 BS. It's great for whompin' casters and other squishies alike. Red Resists are good for Duo/Trio/Smallman groups without a Shaman, but getting in a Shaman group isn't difficult either.
Really, though, both specs are good. It all comes down to what you'd prefer. Hell, try them both and see which one suits you better; respec stones are not expensive, and you get a free respec at 50.
Wed 10 Apr 2019 12:04 PM
by
woody
I am also 46 BS / 44 Hammer / 17 Parry, but I've been really disappointed with how often Conquer just flat out misses.
It's making me consider flipping to the 50 BS spec. When I do land Conquer/Sledgehammer it's awesome of course... Not sure it's worth it though.
It's making me consider flipping to the 50 BS spec. When I do land Conquer/Sledgehammer it's awesome of course... Not sure it's worth it though.
Wed 10 Apr 2019 5:19 PM
by
Arshesmaral
Yeeeeeeeeeeeeah, Conquer having no to-hit is painful, which is really odd for a back style.
Thu 11 Apr 2019 1:08 AM
by
sickrotor
I run 39 Hammer, 46 Battlesongs, 26 Parry and it works well for me for solo. Through RR4 and RR5 I've been using MoParry 5-6 and I find I live a lot longer and in turn win more fights because of speccing parry rather than damage RA's. Leveling up and a little afterward I was 44 hammer for the backstyle, but found it missed more than I was willing to accept.
Fri 12 Apr 2019 7:56 PM
by
wadefosho
Has anybody seen if 50 weapon, 42 BS is ok? or is it just garbage compared to the damage you get from going 50BS?
Fri 12 Apr 2019 8:01 PM
by
chryso
At 42 you miss out on top speed and the 43 and 44 DD shouts. This is leaves you with speed 4 and DD that are level 26 and 34. this is not a good plan.
Sat 13 Apr 2019 12:32 PM
by
woody
sickrotor wrote: ↑Thu 11 Apr 2019 1:08 AMI run 39 Hammer, 46 Battlesongs, 26 Parry and it works well for me for solo. Through RR4 and RR5 I've been using MoParry 5-6 and I find I live a lot longer and in turn win more fights because of speccing parry rather than damage RA's. Leveling up and a little afterward I was 44 hammer for the backstyle, but found it missed more than I was willing to accept.
I like this idea. 50BS sounds a bit underwhelming and this seems like a good alternative.
Sat 13 Apr 2019 11:40 PM
by
Luluko
woody wrote: ↑Sat 13 Apr 2019 12:32 PMsickrotor wrote: ↑Thu 11 Apr 2019 1:08 AMI run 39 Hammer, 46 Battlesongs, 26 Parry and it works well for me for solo. Through RR4 and RR5 I've been using MoParry 5-6 and I find I live a lot longer and in turn win more fights because of speccing parry rather than damage RA's. Leveling up and a little afterward I was 44 hammer for the backstyle, but found it missed more than I was willing to accept.
I like this idea. 50BS sounds a bit underwhelming and this seems like a good alternative.
I also run this specc and its pretty good for soloing at a higher rr you can prlly drop parry a little and go 50 BS you still have like 10% resist chance on dds and mezz even with mastery of focus II with 46 BS. I really try to avoid using the backsnare because of the huge missrate and I prefer to use the site hammer combo when I hit something out of mezz which misses a lot less. Also its great to have two qbars with styles one for 1vs1 and with just anytime/snare styles, I parry a lot more in 1vs1 when I use ruiner compared to provoke but its quite endu draining so you maybe wanna use your 1h if you really wanna get that parry 2part stun combo through.
Sun 14 Apr 2019 6:33 AM
by
MacPrior
Luluko wrote: ↑Sat 13 Apr 2019 11:40 PMI really try to avoid using the backsnare because of the huge missrate and I prefer to use the site hammer combo when I hit something out of mezz which misses a lot less.
Dont know, why you all have a problem with back styles. I land quite sure the hammer back style and 44er follow has very high damage AND huge to hit bonus too! I dont want miss them!
What Race you are? Kobold? The more Strg, the higher weapon skill you have, the higher is your Weapon Ability and such, you to-hit quote and defence penetration.
For me is the spec 44 hammer, 46 the BS - the best one, followed by 50 Axe, 43 BS
Sun 14 Apr 2019 9:05 AM
by
Luluko
norse, troll sticks out too much for soloingMacPrior wrote: ↑Sun 14 Apr 2019 6:33 AMLuluko wrote: ↑Sat 13 Apr 2019 11:40 PMI really try to avoid using the backsnare because of the huge missrate and I prefer to use the site hammer combo when I hit something out of mezz which misses a lot less.
Dont know, why you all have a problem with back styles. I land quite sure the hammer back style and 44er follow has very high damage AND huge to hit bonus too! I dont want miss them!
What Race you are? Kobold? The more Strg, the higher weapon skill you have, the higher is your Weapon Ability and such, you to-hit quote and defence penetration.
For me is the spec 44 hammer, 46 the BS - the best one, followed by 50 Axe, 43 BS
Sun 14 Apr 2019 12:01 PM
by
Luluko
Efficient doesnt help much if you get spotted 3 times easier as a mid and have every grp chasing after you without that they even have to click you. If you dont mind that good for you. I dont need the extra attention already hard enough to leave the emain zergzone sometimes without getting rolled 3-5 times by a grp.
Sun 14 Apr 2019 12:11 PM
by
dudis
I'm fairly sure that dropping that 46 BS damage add for 50 weapon spec will always be a net loss in melee damage or at best about equal but with much worse DDs and worse resist chants.
You also get almost no parry with a 50/43 spec, if you intend to solo.
Personally I prefer 50 BS in all situations but 46/44 is a solid option. That said, when running in groups you should primarily just interrupt or help peeling depending on your setup, so sustained melee damage is hardly a priority. Hammer is by far the best weapon spec for group play because of the snare styles.
Like I said in a previous post, if all you ever plan on doing is to run in full groups, maybe consider 50 BS, 43 Hammer with no parry.
You also get almost no parry with a 50/43 spec, if you intend to solo.
Personally I prefer 50 BS in all situations but 46/44 is a solid option. That said, when running in groups you should primarily just interrupt or help peeling depending on your setup, so sustained melee damage is hardly a priority. Hammer is by far the best weapon spec for group play because of the snare styles.
Like I said in a previous post, if all you ever plan on doing is to run in full groups, maybe consider 50 BS, 43 Hammer with no parry.
Sun 14 Apr 2019 1:53 PM
by
Icykoz
Does sledgehammer break conquer snare?
Mon 15 Apr 2019 5:14 AM
by
MacPrior
Wake up! DAOC is quite 20 years old! If you think, you will be not identified as midi as a kobi, it is just a sweet dream.Luluko wrote: ↑Sun 14 Apr 2019 12:01 PM
Efficient doesnt help much if you get spotted 3 times easier as a mid and have every grp chasing after you without that they even have to click you. If you dont mind that good for you. I dont need the extra attention already hard enough to leave the emain zergzone sometimes without getting rolled 3-5 times by a grp.
And even if it will be the case. what the problem for you be visible? Skald can perma sprint with speed 6, So you can fly away easy or catch the enemy. And anyway doble as strong in primary attribute, which means in weapon ability, in damage, in the defence penetrance too is much more important the any belletristic dreams - "they dont know, what I am".
Mon 15 Apr 2019 11:55 AM
by
Luluko
Norseman doesnt look that much different from celts/bretons so if you havent clicked on the char yet they dont know for sure what it is if you are still at a distance, while troll is quite obvious and sure the 30 more strength and 10 more con are great but if you wanna slip by the zerg near a milegate you will have it a lot harder as a troll. But if you dont mind dying more for a little more defense penetration and being easy to click and eating most of the cc at inc sure troll is a good pick but dont argue it has no downsites choosing one. It will be harder to cap swing speed with 35 starting quick while it maybe not a problem if you use your 1h in grp fights it might be when you wanna kill things if you solo.MacPrior wrote: ↑Mon 15 Apr 2019 5:14 AMWake up! DAOC is quite 20 years old! If you think, you will be not identified as midi as a kobi, it is just a sweet dream.Luluko wrote: ↑Sun 14 Apr 2019 12:01 PM
Efficient doesnt help much if you get spotted 3 times easier as a mid and have every grp chasing after you without that they even have to click you. If you dont mind that good for you. I dont need the extra attention already hard enough to leave the emain zergzone sometimes without getting rolled 3-5 times by a grp.
And even if it will be the case. what the problem for you be visible? Skald can perma sprint with speed 6, So you can fly away easy or catch the enemy. And anyway doble as strong in primary attribute, which means in weapon ability, in damage, in the defence penetrance too is much more important the any belletristic dreams - "they dont know, what I am".
Mon 15 Apr 2019 4:27 PM
by
Icykoz
What ablut dwarf as a race for skald? What you guys think?
Mon 15 Apr 2019 6:35 PM
by
Kampfar
Mine is Dwarf. Best race
Tue 16 Apr 2019 4:49 AM
by
dudis
Best race for anyone that dont want a troll.
The extra 5% body resist and dwarf sexyness are, well... sexy
Troll, dwarf and norse are all fine, just dont make a kobold.
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