Apostate or Sentinel?

Theodus

So I have two characters right now around the same level, both tri-trans and a little survival. I was curious as to which you all would recommend. Which would do better without artefacts? I know apostate doesn't really require any except for stat bonuses whereas sentinel would benefit from an artefact axe. Sentinel hunting seems a tad better, though Apostate comes with a lot of defences(putrefaction, demon armour, syphon, etc). I'm not sure which one I should go for as I like both of the classes and don't want to be jumping back and forth between them. I'm really interested in combat, mostly 1v1 but will be a team player when needed. Both have a lot of raid utility I can see though I think apostate might win for group combat. I really like both of the classes but I'd like some help with choosing which to go with before I start investing more time/energy into the character.

Rangor

1v1 apostate. Teamfights and skirmishes sentinel.

Armali

IDK, Sentinel is pretty sturdy 1v1. You could frustrate your opponent to death if nothing else.

Atalkez

Traps seals it. Sentinel, ftw.

Aylek

Sentinel is amazingly diverse for group, with some potential with 1v1.

Changes to Petrify afflictions have made it harder to achieve in a 1v1 basis, and it was already difficult for a non-artied (spear/trident and handaxe) player to achieve.

Again, for dismember (?) which requires the opponent to be prone, impaled (and bound?), this only really becomes viable based on the utilisation of an ability called rattle, which knocks your opponent unconscious for a period of time based on the amount of health your opponent has at the time. Rule of thumb is the tankier they are, the harder this becomes, and normally the tankier your opponent (both level and arties) in a pvp environment means that they have pretty good curing capabilities and knowledge of when to try and escape, making it harder to achieve a petrify or a dismember.

With apostate, they have very strong 1v1 affliction capability, somewhat reduced by the application of clumsiness affecting deadeyes, meaning they can miss a single affliction (or both - @alrena may be able to clarify this).

They have solid 1v1 and good group pairing with other classes, having access to a mana-based instakill and strong lock ability, paired with vivisect.

I would say that Sentinel is the more annoying of the two, with the ability to utilise traps, good mobility, strong curing application (might/fitness), whilst Apostate is arguably stronger in a 1v1 scenario.

In group, I would prefer a sentinel, just for their ability to prone, give on-demand impatience and damage, as well as traps to hinder the target outside of the normal gravehands that Apostate has, however apostate is by no means a poor partner to have in a group fight.

Arguably, its more about if you want 1v1 with good group capability, or a more difficult 1v1 against certain people with a strong group capability.

Maybe some people (@lyrin @rangor @rom @alrena @carmain) could comment more on their combat capabilities, hunting and such, as well as offer logs?

Mishgul

Diadem for apostate is amazing. I would make sure you have buckawns on both. Apostate probably wins through versatility. Sentinel has cut and dry things they can do in group combat, which become predictable, whereas apostate can kill you with mana drain, health attacks, lock you with affs, and also have the looming threat of vivisecting you on the cards too. Keeping up against an apostate is almost impossible. Even in fights where the odds are stacked against me, I can usually take one person with me before I die as an apostate, because someone is bound to be on low mana or someone doesn't restore on a quadbreak.

Diadem helps a lot, but other than that, I couldn't really recommend arties for group combat. A willpower regen amulet helps in 1 v 1, as does health and resistance artefacts.

Anedhel

I think I'd go with Apostate, personally. Blackwind is pretty great, beckon makes you a threat (though that might not be a good thing!), and soulspears can get pretty funny, in groups. As Carmain said, kill versatility makes Apostate look like a lot of fun to play, and I suspect that the low investment threshold makes Apostate feel pretty worth it, compared to the investment that might be required in other classes. 

To be honest, though, I'd recommend going with the group of people that fits you better, rather than choosing by class! Having a class you really like is lovely, but you play Achaea with people, and being comfortable in your City/House/Order/etc. is a bigger deal, in my opinion, than the slight advantage between two really epic classes (I wish I could play either! ). 

If it's a wash and you like both groups of people equally, though, I'd go with Apostate, I think! 

Alrena

Apostate is really great for 1v1, you have a lot of options, and you're very tough with putrefaction, demon armour, passive curing with demon syphon. Not to mention Soulcage is a (mostly) free starburst with no xp loss. Apostate has great utility with blackwind, demon refuge and a lot of other small abilities. 

The main weakness Apostate has in 1v1 is the lack of prep, which Sentinel does have. As such it can be hard to fight an opponent who slowly preps you. This also means that if you're in a group fight with, for example, a dual blunt knight, you have very little synergy. But with a teammate who afflicts and high int (14-16 unartied) you could also go for demon corrupts and deal high health and mana damage out of nowhere.

Second weakness is clumsy, it can affect both your deadeye stares and can become very frustrating as your momentum literally fizzles into nothingness. I've had 5 deadeye combo's affected by it, where maybe 4 curses out of 10 actually came through. Exceptional bad luck, but it does affect Apostates quite harshly. Bright side, rebounding doesn't stop Apostate at all, and shielding won't stop curses either.

As for bashing, Apostate is pretty tanky with putrefaction, demon armour, ringmail and you have the safety net of Soulcage. You have the luxury of not really needing any offensive arties (diadem helps, but is optional), so you can focus on health arties if you ever get the credits together.

I think both Apostate and Sentinel are great choices, and hope you enjoy whichever you decide to go with a lot!

Lyrin

I don't have a lot to add, both are great classes which offer multiple avenues in 1v1 and group combat.    Apostate requires less artifact investment to improve its offensive capabilities and I'd argue that Sentinel offers more variety in strategy (several viable prep strategies, capable of very defensive play), though less immediate threat in 1v1.  

Overall, I'd go with the one whose class and city themes you like best.   I've found that to be the biggest influence on how long I want to stay with something!