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I wound up going sk/shammy, kinda by default. I decided on the sk- I am content to do a little tanking on trash mobs, I have no desire to be THE main tank. I tried to roll a cleric, but name was already in use, so I rolled a shammy instead. The first few levels on the shammy were easy, as he got a killer newbie weapon from turning in his note to his guildmaster (4 28 or something crazy like that). Cleric would be nice to have so i could help on ch rot on raids, but this combo should be better for leveling as it has a lot more dps (shammy dots) than cleric sk combo. AA's will take a while, but if I get frustrated with them, I can make third account later, or better yet, make friends with a few people.

:tries to resist the urge to make a third account.

Dammur

I'm positive you will do just fine with that duo. From experience, in PoV I could duo my BL with a SK and we could basically run the golem camp and finish all the statics on one side. All I needed to do was slow the mob and things went fine. I don't see there being an issue with you doing the same thing with the shaman and SK. Best of luck!

Shm/SK is great for mob difficulty levels up to and probably including EP trash exp mobs, but you will never duo raid mobs with it. You may even have trouble with the BoT minis, which SK/Cler can handle quite easily.

It's not a bad choice for grinding exp, but not the optimum choice as far as capabilities are concerned.

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What raid mobs have you killed other than rhag 1 saen? With your duo that is.

You know, did anyone ask whether he was intending to solo raid bosses? Maybe he just wants a good box combination but intends to play with others. Those of us who heavily box sometimes forget not everyone wants to solo-box Agnarr.

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Sinnder, Enchanter of Destiny
Joshore, Druid of Destiny

I see Saenayil's point but he needs to remember that he is talking about duoing content with an SK and CLR that are both Temerity-geared mains. Unless I am mistaken, he was boxing Pane for Rhag1 etc and was not using a cleric bot of his own. There is a big difference there in terms of mana pool and focus effects. The raid rot that Temerity bots can win just does not compare to the gear a main has access to.

An SK / SHM combo will do just fine. If both are well geared you can duo BoT minis if that is what you are set on trying. More importantly, you are able to duo a lot of content AND start your own exp group anywhere. You have all three of the bases covered. SK as tank and SHM as slower / healer. Your choice is fine and you will do fine.

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Well said Tark.

I can't wait for my SK to get to 65 and get some AA's. Before I started the third account I had (still have) a monk/shaman, both 65. It may not be the BEST to duo box with, but I bet it's the most fun. I was able to breeze through the levels with both. However, once in the planes it became difficult and time consuming to bring down a single Fiend in PoV. Monks are awesome damage dealers but can't hold aggro very well - so too much time running around in circles with shaman trying to re-root. Damage mitigation is another issue - not as bad now that the Monk has all his defense AA's, but still too much down time. With an SK, holding aggro and self-healing will make things a lot easier, and I could see it being a workable two toon box for most non-boss mobs. Let the AA's fly!

@Tark: pretty sure the focus effects really don't make much of a difference when trying to duo with a SK on Rhag1. Nothing that I know of for a focus effect from Luclin or PoP actually affect a cleric casting CH. In the case where the CLR is healing the SK, I wouldn't expect the cleric to use anything but the most mana efficient spell, the complete heal.

The real difference is the mana pool of an EP toon and the attrition put on it by the quality of gear of the SK. The further you can spread those heals apart and time spent medding by the cleric lightens the attrition of using 400 mana complete heals. Hence why a slowed mob (where possible) rules the day and YaulpIV makes a wild difference if you can get it off between CH's and you can't sit to med.

Although, from my guess, I think the CLR may have had enough time to med for a tick or two between CH's on the SK or a fair play of the SK tapping while the CLR meds till the SK is OOM and that proc puts them at FM again. I wouldn't put it past someone to have a cleric melee with the dark mace of thought for 400 mana procs and just macro a /tar <insert person> /cast 1 /cast 1 /cast 1 when you have to heal the SK.

I haven't responded to this thread as he seemed to specifically be interested in a 'Tank' class as his main and seems to have chosen a great combination to go forward with.

That said I could not let Dandrewk's comment go unchallenged...

MOST FUN = RANGER + cleric!
All the 'fun' of tanking along with incredible diversity of options for leveling.
I would like to hear an argument that ANY other combo has more versatility in leveling up.
FAST fighting as rangers HAVE to kill quickly or die.
TRACKING - this in my mind is the most important skill in the game as I am an information oriented player.
Rangers are THE best all-around farmers.
Gearing paths are incredibly varied for you style of playing.
I get to kill Dragons
I can xp and farm in ANY PoP zone with ranger-cleric combo.
You get to get dirty in the fighting if you choose to and tank OR you can range kill at will.
Rangers are CRAZY fun to raid with.

Anyway, ALL in good fun I think SK/Shaman is a great choice and you will have much fun and versatility with that combo.

ENJOY!

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hunter lyrad cypresshade forest stalker + officer of destiny + r. f. g.

My main duo team is a monk / shaman and I have no issue holding aggro off my shaman. If we are talking BoT named or PoV golems/fiends, I have my shaman cast quiescence on my monk. I then pull with my monk and cast malos on the shaman once the monk gets a couple hits in. I then slow the mob immediately on my shaman, all with no aggro. The only way I pull aggro from my monk is if I get a little too dot crazy on the shaman. Even then it isn't a very big deal as the monk and shaman both have full defensive aa's.

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I would have to agree that the Ranger is possibly one of the most diverse choices for a 'tank'. A well played ranger, like many other hybrid classes can pull off some pretty unique things! Me personally, I'm trying to perfect the art of pet pulling mobs out of places I shouldn't be able to solo pull.

I do agree that track is such an awesome tool and really enables efficient farming. If I had access to track, I would be looking to kill my fair share of dragons with my BL/CLR duo.

I often wonder what I would have been capable of during my characters' leveling up stages if I had been able to box then. Right now, with rogue/druid I can do some amazing stuff most people wouldn't think that combo is capable of. Granted, both of us are very well geared and have all AAs. (Well Daria is missing some innate INT and a couple others of no consequence.) I in no way suggest that this is a combo for everyone. But it works very well for me. I can toss in a slower (either shaman or enchanter) and do even more.

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Rysia Belladonna 65 Wood Elf Rogue
Daria Vervain 65 Wood Elf Druid
Carolee Nightshade 65 Gnome Necromancer
Eraiya Meadowsweet 65 High Elf Enchanter
Kylie Santolina 65 Gnome Magician
Therma Nuclear 65 Dark Elf Wizard
Lillie Hawthorn 65 Human Monk
Karia Melilot 65 Halfling Druid
Lisbeth Artemisias 65 Iksar Shaman
Portia Carrera 65 Half Elf Bard

<Temerity>

Rysia Belladonna 65 Wood Elf Rogue
Daria Vervain 65 Wood Elf Druid
Carolee Nightshade 65 Gnome Necromancer
Eraiya Meadowsweet 65 High Elf Enchanter
Kylie Santolina 65 Gnome Magician
Therma Nuclear 65 Dark Elf Wizard
Lillie Hawthorn 65 Human Monk
Karia Melilot 65 Halfling Druid

Some army ya got there Rysia!

I'll try your method when I get to fiends and see nobody else is in zone. What I usually do is pull with Shaman using Malo, then rooting once the it gets on land. I then slow it and sick my pet on the beast. That's when I send in the Monk, let him get a few whacks in and then cripple... later casting a poison dot to speed things along. This works ok as long as root holds for a minute or so, otherwise it's off to the races. Not so much now, though, if my SK can get a snare to stick.

My only concern with the "Tark technique" would be those fiends that hit hard and fast, especially at the beginning. Even with quiescence the Monk could quickly lose half health before I can slow the mob, praying that the first one sticks. Then the only issue remaining is eating rage.

/disc stone is a monks best friend.