Hybrid Gear BalanceFollow

I pulled this question off another post because a) Its is specific to hybrids and not just gear in general and b) a lot of people probably have the same questions.

Background:

I play 3 classes: Druid, Warrior and Sk. The Druid and the Warrior were the easiest for me to equip in order to do get them to do their jobs effectively and survive. But I am having real problems with the SK. I enjoy this class the most and it will likely become my main. I have tried to strike a balance between HP, AC, Sta, Str, Dex and Int in order to have him well-rounded. At level 42, I find that not one of my stats is over 200 - most are in the 140-160 range. AC and HP are decent but not stellar. Can't recall the specifics now, but I know the unbuffed HP is around 1700. AC is under 1000...maybe in the 700-800 range.

My Hybrid Tactic:

Usually, when I pull and tank, I will equip a shield. I pull with a darkness spell to give me time to cast a DoT or 2 (usually heart flutter and heat blood). If the group is not full, I usually cast a spear spell as well. Now I have decent aggro and some long term damage/debuffs going when the mob gets to the pull spot. When the mob reaches me, I melee and bash before casting a tap or another spear. The melee damage is anywhere from 20-60 with the 1HS. I bash in the 20's. I always have an "embrace" spell cast on myself, and that proc kicks in once or twice per mob, tapping some HP. If I lose aggro and can't taunt it back, I recast darkness or a hate spell. This usually gets them on me right away.

The Question:

The point to all this is, I have to use all my skills in order to be effective. This is probably the whole purpose of a hybrid, but I wonder if this balancing act bewteen "warrior" gear and caster gear is the right approach, or should I have beefed up the HP and AC more and used the casting ability as more of a secondary function.

Any help is appreciated.

Thanks Tarv - that sounds like good advice. BTW - very good quesiton on SK mana cost: its not that high, at least at this level, for most spells. That is something that should definitely factor into the equation. Fortunately, I have a DE Smith friend who has recently made me a lot of cultural items at a very reasonable cost. They tend to have HP, AC and mana mods, as well as some stat mods, so it looks like I am heading in the right direction. Basically, I just want to get him geared well enuf to be an asset to the group and and to survive in zones with decent drops to upgrade with.

Don't forget that when you are the main tank, it is more about having/keeping aggro instead of dealing out damage. If mana is an issue, look into using lower level, fast casting, low mana spells to get the aggro.

Perhaps some people with SK knowledge can chime in about which spells can really be effective.