Thread: Skirm Soldier

I just hit level 20 and was wondering what soldier I should go with? Seems like most of the other classes do well with the herbalist. Are there any other suggetions or should I just go with that?

The powerful aoe and damage dealing spells that lms gain do not come into their own until late in your character development. I find the herbalist the best late game, they have abilities that complement each other very well. Other classes use the herbalist for power sharing in addition to healing, lms are far better at power sharing than herbalists so the herbalist can be traited purely for healing and have their power topped up with a quck share the power. Lore master self healing is kind of limited so the herbalist is a good choice in that regard, herbalist heals will also pull aggro, pulling mobs from the lore master and acting as heal tank.

Early on a melee soldier can be very useful as it will help with dps and controlling aggro.

Try a sage. They are good too. Their damage is good, their debuffs are useful (though weaker than ours ) and they can weaken mob resistances.

I am accompanied by a towelcarrier with finesse towel.

Im no skirm vet. but I probably wouldn't use a herbalist for a Lore-Mater. Heals would pull a lot of agro and they'd probably be swarmed. and with no pulls would probably die often mid fight (specially before you get earth lore or sword and staff). If your worried about health go for something to prevent you from taking the hits in the first place that has more survivability then you. A lore masters biggest weakness is survivability once we pull aggro so best to get a warrior who can cover that. (We basically got every other aspect covered pretty dang well).


I personally use a guard. I'm traited for pet and heal so I can send my pet in to give the hits. my tank in to take the hits and I'm in the back managing it all with CC, debuffs and attacks with heals where needed. Once I get sword and staff I may swap though doubt it.

We have pretty high survivability: it's called flanks, debuff and CC
MoNF is not my kind of style, but i guess they could need a herbalist. I don't need one.

There'll be a lot of opinions about this.... so dont get overwhelmed....and since the cost to buy and advance skirm soldier traits has been really reduced lately, you can try some of them which you think might be good options for you....

Personally, I use a Warrior.....and I've found it quite a nice pairing.....the idea with which I went is, our dps is a bit on the low side in the earlier levels until we get some of the more useful traits.....till then, the warrior's dps compensates nicely for this lack and and also keep unnecessary aggro off by tanking a bit here and there.....all I needed to do was debuff and control the field of battle and concentrate my dps on select targets instead of being swarmed.....and later on when we do become powerful AoE demolition machinces, the warrior (who is a AoE melee type) and I both dove into the front lines tearing and blowing apart everything

Originally Posted by Tatharil

We have pretty high survivability: it's called flanks, debuff and CC

We do have survivability but we just do everything else better. XD and the problem comes once the pet dies thus my recommendation for a tank. An aggro puller with survivability to take on some of the hits you would rather you and your pet not take like a tank or DPS.

Tho play style is also a factor.

The reason why there are so many opinions is that you don't really need a skirmish soldier. You could run all of the content without a soldier and traited any way you want. A soldier does make things easier and quicker, of course.

There is one thing to consider, however. At end-game, a herbalist is often welcome in 12-person skirmish raids, whereas most other soldiers are not. Hence, you can save yourself some skirm marks (and money, if you opt for the reset scroll) by going herbalist from beginning.

for burning through solo skirms, NOTHING beats going all Master of Nature's Fury with a Warrior. Give him good regen and build him sturdy to keep him alive. use the bear or the lynx until level 56 and give them a trait or two to make them stronger. when you get the saber cat.... oh dear god.

AoE auto attacks + strong Warrior AoE + lots of fire and lighting = best skirming ever.

I chose an Herbalist. Not only do I know they'll be accepted (my Minstrel alternates between a Bannerguard and Protector depending on the size of the group), but I figure it can also compensate a bit for my spending morale on skills. That also frees you up to use your flanks for Staff-strike and minimize my need for Power of Knowledge. I only trait 3 deep into MoNF when solo, so I don't have to worry too much about a massive overrun in a smaller group because Blinding Flash still has some duration on it.

Ive got a maxed out Archer not sure thats the best option
But i don't need healing in my skirmishes so would Warrior for more aoe be a good idea?

I know I like my Bannerguard here. Mostly because it gives a benefit that I can use, no matter how I trait for a skirmish.

First off, I should note that I trait the Bannerguard rather defensively. For skills, it has the Ultimate Banner of Protection (+Evade & Resistances), the small HoT, its AoE Threat Shout, and a Heavy hitting single target skill. For its traits, it stands with +Evade/Parry, +Heavy Armour training, and +Max Morale. Basically, I wanted something that could wade into the middle of an encounter's skirmish and last without any healing or help for a bit while I take on a priority target. Note, that I do enter in skirmishes in a variety of traits rather then just MoNF.

Solo skirmishes? The Bannerguard goes in first and aggroes everything. This is to pull off inductions easier, decide whether to go full AoE happy or single target burning, CC possible targets if needed, or anything else that hits me depending on the fight. Combine it with the Bear pet to tank the Lieutenant, while the soldier tanks the extras, and its rather safe to go through an encounter. The Bannerguard won't keep aggro off of you completely, especially when in a burn-happy MoNF, but its just enough for my own tastes to usually kill something without worrying about induction knockback.

In fellowship/raid skirmishes, the distraction bit is useless to be honest. Thus its more for its +Evade/Parry & +Armour for the party, especially the tank. Otherwise, its there for a bit more DPS and its tiny, tiny HoT that shows up from time to time. Its never going to save anyone, but its a small help at times. Still, it has proven useful for keeping a few enemies occupied for a few moments at the opening of an encounter before the tank can capture the group's attention.

Bannerguard is definitely a Jack-of-all-trades Soldier, a preference for me as my tactics/traits tend to change depending on my mood. Its Ultimate Banner of Protection is a nice little boon in Fellowship/Raid fights, as it seems to be a rare Soldier for anyone else to have.

I used to run skirmishes in MoNF with a warrior. However, with my will approaching the 1800 mark, even a single cracked earth is usually enough to pull aggro from my warrior. Which requires me to start working with roots to avoid skill interruptions and is just annoying. I have since switched to a protecotor, traited for maximum AoE threat generation. Even tho he does essentially zero damage, me being able to get of 3-4 inductions without being disturbed by the mobs makes solo skirmishes slightly faster then with the warrior, and much more hassle free

Originally Posted by Herongol

.....being able to get of 3-4 inductions without being disturbed by the mobs makes solo skirmishes slightly faster then with the warrior, and much more hassle free

Exactly why I use it. I don't have herb lore yet (2 more levels WOOOO), tar or any if the other amazing CC moves you get later in the game so it is quite possible to get swarmed and with inductions taking so long its just a mater of time before I get over whelmed and I cant get off a good attack thanks to set backs. ( though I will admit I'm not the best at kiting so it may be less of a problem for others )

Herbalist not close. It allows you to faceroll tier 2's in MoNF traits without having to pay much attention.

Thanks for the replies. I went with the warrior and was balanced in my skirmish mark spending instead of initially focusing on the level and armor (big mistake) I did Tuck and things went great until one of the counterattacks. I sent in my soldier and my bear, somehow they died rather quickly and a #### load of npcs charged me. Needless to say that after not being able to pull off any inductions and popping WOTC and spamming wizards fire (prob not right skill name) and kiting I eventually died. I almost let this deter me from the class as I started to think that maybe I was not LM material ( i hadnt died up till that point and have been undergeared). I did put that aside and tackled it again and was successful and have been multiple times since then. I love the class. I will probably never be a leet LM as I click and don't use key binding but it has been very fun and challenging so far( currently lvl 22). I cannot wait to get to the moors as I think from all the complaints about it I will be at home since I've never had a freep at end game and have only creeped. I imagine that I will go out there and feel like I have a R15 creep, being able to kill most things yet still getting killed some but still feeling invicible since I have had a R6 WL, R5 BA and weaver, and R4 warg and Defiler. None of which are very dominating in PVP( not at those ranks anyways). In the words of Bart Scott "Can't Wait".

Glad you went for another attempt at the class and were successful.....its a very intricate class and there is so much to know and learn that even now, a year and a half later, I keep finding new things about my LM

Originally Posted by fyafyta07

I love the class. I will probably never be a leet LM as I click and don't use key binding but it has been very fun and challenging so far( currently lvl 22).

Also, clicking, as compared to using the keyboard, wouldnt hinder you from being elite in any way....I am a clicker too and always have been and I have had no issues whatsoever.....even in the moors

Used a herbalist almost from the start and still happy with how she performs

I went with a warrior. But I limited him to single target skills. This is because I have refused to become a pyro LM and enjoy using my boglurker and CC, so this way I get aditional dps without the risk of him messing up my CC. *shrug* just another option depending on your personal play style.

Is 12 days enough for thread necromancy?

My level capped LM uses a Sage and have had no issues. The extra DPS and debuffs fit nicely. My LM traits all over the board depending on my mood and playstyle that day. Curiously my Warden also uses a Sage and again it has worked great.

As for 6/12 man skirmishes preferring Herbalists, I have not really seen that. What i have seen is usually a request that Protector soldiers be unsommoned for the last boss fights in bigger raids. Apparently the Protector soldiers pull aggro at the wrong times? Whatever.

Using a sage myself. The skirmishes I run are either lvl 1 solo or lvl 1 raid ones. That are just "kill as fast as you can" skirmishes, so I thought a DD class as soldier might make the most sense. I chose sage over warrior, because the sage skills deliver a debuff for tactical damage on mobs.

If I would run harder T2 skirmishes I would probably switch to a herbalist.