Well - not sure how much traffic these forums get... BUT... I'm returning and going to try my hand at tanking. For those of you who tank in VG: If you were starting new (or again in this case) in VG... which tank would you play, and why?
Having played all 3, if I was to grind up another, I really don't know which one I would choose as they are all viable and can do the job. A very small amount of fights have a disadvantage for warriors - but they have benefits that make up for this - imo. If you see me in game please give me a shout if you want to go into it in detail.
I would recommend a Paly if you've not tanked much - that's what I did since I prefer caster types to tanking. I also have a DK - good tank and a warrior - very difficult to lvl IMO - but then again, I'm a lousy tank - which is why I prefer the Paly
I've been guild MT in other games.... I'm confident in that aspect. I'm curious about things like fun factor, agro management, ability to mitigate damage, etc...
I could answer your questions with more detail if I had a bit more detail. All of the tanks can MT everything bar a couple of mobs. They can all do the job of holding aggro, taking damage in a group or raid environment. What makes tanking fun for you?
Good question. I like to need to work toward becoming a point of stability for groups I tank for... Meaning: Working on the exact right gear to mitigate things like damage spikes along with general damage absorption... along with mastering the skills and learning how they synergize with each other so that I know what to use and when to use it. Things like that. I then like BEING that point of stability in groups.... I prefer classes that have abilities that can be used creatively - beyond what is printed on the ability listing. I don't really like things like overtly complex cast chains to get the best effect - rather, I like it when I can learn which subsets of abilities work best in given situations... more, I like it when you HAVE to use different types of abilities in different situations. That help?
Oh - when I tanked in WoW (vanilla on a warrior) - I used to watch the "damage taken" meter... If I didn't take at LEAST 50% of the total group damage (taking stuff like AoE damage into account) - I didn't feel like I was doing my job. I like to absolutely OWN agro... but not on a "one push win" button. In WoW during vanilla, owning agro meant combining things like sunder cycling, shout usage, etc...
Are you planning to solo or play in a group mostly? Do you have a static group or friends whom you know can support you in a grouping capacity?
Most of the damage you will come across as you level up will be melee damage. As you gain the upper levels spell mitigation will become more important. There will be a significant decrease to your actual mitigation tanking a mob 3 levels higher than you Vs tanking a mob 1 level higher than you. You can look in your character sheet and target a higher level mob and see how your spell and melee mitigation changes. Mitigation caps so it is worthwhile doing this exercise to understand how squishy you will be against different level mobs and different types of damage. Warrior gets a block chance for wielding two 1h weapons, a DK for wielding a 2H and a pally has a sword and board (with a block component on the board). As you are talking groups here - I am assuming there is a healer in the group so a number of the negative issues surrounding soloing will not be relevant. My feeling from what you state is that you might like a warrior - however I feel they don't really come into their own till around level 40. Tanks in Vanguard don't tend to operate on combo's but you certainly have freedom in the order that you push buttons (or macro them).
I will likely solo a lot leveling up (because I have no idea how much lower end grouping there is in VG at this point) - with the idea of tanking for groups more frequently once I hit 45 - 50 (where I assume groups are more prevalent) I came back to VG after all of my MMO playing friends stopped playing MMO's... coming back to VG was coming back to an old school game for me. I was here at beta, here a bit after launch - and then got pulled away by friends. At this point, I think I'll be here until EQN launches. If the only drawback solo with warriors is downtime between fights - That's not too much of a concern for me. I will likely settle into the game and then look for a guild... I'm guessing that would help with groups across the level curve.
The bulk of dungeons in VG is pre 50. Pick almost any level you want and the amount of dungeons at level X will be like 10 times the amount of dungeons at 45-50, and like 50 times the dungeons at 50+ I really like my warrior. He did very well in dungeons up until like like 35 when I just decided to power level him to 55 real quick.
Well OP.. My main is a Paladin, so I'm biased. Pally is my favorite.. My warrior is only 50 and my Dk is only 50. Each class gets the job done just In A different way.. Look I to the play styles and pick one.. Dk.. 2hander.. Aoe's..lifetaps.. Pally sword n board,no aoe's.. Heals,lay of hands.. And awesome virtue skills, warrior duel wielding, nice aoe's, better dmg, I didn't have a problem with any of them, at any lvl.. Also.. You'll need to wait till after 20.. To see what a class is like
Thanks everyone. I started with a Paladin. I feel tanky with a shield... and I've always liked the whole "holy warrior" thing. We'll see how I like the game play.
Pallies are awesome...of course, I plan on making all tanks at some point...just returned, so focusing on pally
Suggest group tanking prior to 45. Probably around 25. Aggro management is going to vary by group and in a lot of cases it doesn't matter. Psi, who cares. Clerics and most healers can pull aggro with no worries. Only a few classes get in trouble quick. Of course, that's different from you wanting to hold an iron fist on it all. Usually, when tanking and I pull some trash and a ranger hits it immediately with some huge destructive force, the mob runs right at them, and I just let it happen as it is also the job of any dps to keep their threat under yours. If it's a longer fight and dps eventually pulls it, then sure, I try to save them. Healers rarely get it unless they have to spam heal. If you can find many early encounters where spam healing is required and you have to constantly struggle for aggro, let me know. There is no one touch button, each class has a number of hate abilities that need to be set off pretty regularly. Add in the highest damaging weapon you can get, but keep armor mostly oriented towards defense. You can't really do Crit/AoE/Spell mitigation until the highest levels. You might come across some gear that gives arcane resistance or something like that, but it shouldn't be a determining factor in the quality of the armor, almost any other stat is more useful. You don't need the very best stuff to level with, but you don't want junk either. A lot of quest rewards are not very good. Random dungeon loot usually is. A "big" quest item like the Trengal Keep cloak is a huge advantage to tanking--level 40ish item you can get around 26-27. If you don't get it till 32, well, perhaps it's already served half it's lifespan.
From my experience after the pally nerf lil time ago, the DK might be the one who is strongest in keeping aggro. First of all it doesnt matter what kind of tank if not played well. Second comes gear and third might be your grp members. Myself playing a monk.Would consider me high dps, so its really hard for most tanks keeping aggro, thats why we back on grp members. Ppl tend to start burn mobs and not let tank get any aggro! "Never take aggro if you can stand it". If im on DK on named runs etc, i dont mind if any classes taking aggro, as long they can stand it. i wouldnt force from any monk, Bm, Clr or such IF theres no real danger they die. Save em for the squishys. Endgame i personally think tanks needed for Raid. Not really needed for named runs, APW runs, etc... As there enuff classes that can do the same job. All classes i played will experience a change with hit lvl 50 and much more if get there epic from pota. There may be classes you dont like to lvl but endgame they so much fun.
