Tanks

[Colpach]

I want to play a tank type but I can't figure out which one. To me, it seems like it's between 2 choices, warr or sk/pally. By that I mean warr against pally or sk. Both pally and sk can keep a good aggro in my opinion with their spells, where as a warr will count on taunt and procs. I remember seeing a lot of warriors on live and even here be main tanks on raid events, why is that? when it seems like a sk/pally would do a better job at keeping aggro. Just looking for more information on the subject for making a good choice.

Thanks

[Tecmos Deception]

Warriors are the go-to tanks for raids because of defensive disc. They've got some more hp/ac/skills than knight tanks, but the main reason is defensive.

Knights have more reliable aggro generation cause they can just start off every fight with an aggro spell whereas warriors need to get lucky with procs or have the dps hold off of use clickies to get that initial aggro buildup.

Other than that, warriors can dps better, but knights have much more versatility with their spells. SK are great pullers, can add in extra dps/heals with dots and lifetaps and pets, etc. Pallies get root cc, some heals and cleric buffs, stuns, and even a rez eventually.


Imo it is easier to stay interested in a knight while leveling because you have a bunch of spells to keep you entertained, instead of just smacking stuff, but warrior disciplines and their wider variety of cool proccing weapons are neat too.

[astuce999]

#bardtankftw!

[Danth]

Warriors' aggro weakness isn't so much of an issue for raid bosses owing to the common use of mallets for the high-aggro click effect. Between that and /disc defensive there's no reason to use another tank in situations where you're worried about your tank dying. Using limited-charge mallets is impractical in normal groups and consequently when a warrior "tanks" for an experience group, usually it's the monk or rogue who actually takes most the hits. Despite this hassle, Warriors level more quickly than the other tanks, deal significantly more damage over time, and are the most popular tank class by a fair margin. Warriors usually rate mid-range in popularity while both the other tank classes typically rank lower.

Paladins do well as group tanks, but aren't very good at most other jobs. They have probably the weakest raid role of the three tank classes. Paladins vie with Rangers for the dubious honor of being the least-played class on Project 1999.

Shadow Knights solo somewhat better than Paladins, but have a few fewer defensive tools while group tanking. Usually that's not a problem and the Shadow Knight undoubtedly has a better raid role. Consequently the Shadow Knight is the more popular class of the two, although it's still usually in the bottom 4 or 5.

The experience penalty of the knightly classes should not be underestimated. All of them have at least a 40% built in penalty, and large-race Shadow Knights suffer even more. Many players find themselves unable to tolerate such steep penalties. The majority of Paladins and Shadow Knights run out of gas by the early 50's. Relatively few make 60. They're not for the faint of heart.

Danth

[Xadion]

don't be a sk

[Splorf22]

Danth with the legit info. Expanding a bit:

The big problem warriors have is a lack of weaponry. There is simply a huge difference in aggro between an epic/vp geared warrior and an untwinked warrior with something like a sarnak warhammer/silken whip. Sakuragi was a fairly medicore tank leveling up, but now with two VP weapons and 200+ dex with shaman buffs and VoG, he holds aggro pretty well. 1-50 is even worse, because even if you are in TMO or otherwise have the money to buy them, there aren't any weapons that will proc and have good ratios as well. In comparison paladins and shadowknights can spam cheap spells and hold aggro easily.

I also feel like the hybrid classes just go down hill for the first three expacs. In classic a paladin/shadowknight actually earns that XP penalty: the knight classes can actually be better defensively than a warrior by equipping a bladestopper and better threat by chaining spells. In Kunark their combat skills are trashed relative to warriors, but at least you still CAN tank raid bosses (on Red Nihilum has hybrids tank most mobs) between the low hp of said bosses and the donals bp. Velious is a defensive expansion rather than an offensive expansion and really puts the emphasis on efficient tanking/healing, and thats when the knights just become worthless for MTing compared to a defensive warrior.

Warriors unfortunately can be a bit boring (really all you do is press autoattack, taunt, and kick) while the hybrids have a few more options.

TL;DR: play a monk like everyone else

[SCB]

Be a man, play a ranger and scoff at defensive abilities.

[webrunner5]

Be a man, play a ranger and scoff at defensive abilities.

And have 2 very good friends. One a Druid and the other a Cleric. They will get to know each other well. :D Hope the Cleric has 96% rez.

[citizen1080]

Be a man, play a ranger and scoff at defensive abilities.

Weapon shield!?

[Ephirith]

play a monk like everyone else

[Estu]

Just a note about the hybrid EXP penalty and the warrior EXP bonus - since as a tank you'll be spending all of your time grouped (unless you're an SK, which can solo passably by fear kiting), your EXP penalty/bonus won't matter as much because you'll be effectively spreading it around the group. If you have a 40% EXP penalty but are in a group of five people (including yourself) of equal level each of whom has a 0% EXP penalty, what will happen is that each of you will effectively have an 8% EXP penalty. That makes the difference between a warrior and an SK or paladin much smaller. (Before anyone goes quoting Dumesh's EXP guide on me, let me note that while the actual mechanics of group EXP penalty are not exactly what I described, it ends up working the same way as what I described.)

[Uggme]

I played a warrior on live from early on all the way thorough PoP and raided all the damn time. Then on an official progression server (fippy darkpaw) I played a raiding paladin. Now, on P99 I'm doing SK.

It was a blast main tanking on my warrior. But let's be real - the defensive disc was really the only reason I was picked over hybrids. In fact, the amount of time and effort I had to put into being geared well enough to MT for a raid was crazy.

As a hybrid I didn't have to worry even as close as much. I was still a fantastic tank in high end groups on my paladin. Aggro was so much easier which made grouping more fun for me. Additionally, having roots, heals, LoH, overall more utility was a very welcome change. Perhaps my priorities changing made it a better choice seeing as I didn't have the same kind of time to devote to main tanking for a guild. I was able to offtank adds and still have fun and meaningully contriubute to a raid scene.

I expect that playing an SK now will be similar, if not hopefully a little more fun :) Having the ability to solo is a mega boon. being able to pull effectively with FD will make grouping even more easy. Travel will be a breeze with invis. and in the end I'll still be an excellent tank for the thing we do most often - group for exp!

What I'm trying to convey here is that the type of tank you want to play highly depends on what you want to get out of it. Do you want to main tank? Do you intend to put in a lot of time? Warrior would be your best bet. Looking for more utility but still want to tank? Maybe you don't have as much time to burn? Roll a hybrid.

[webrunner5]

The big problem with a SK or a Pally, Pally is worse, is they suck DPS wise. A Ranger does more than them DPS wise. I pretty much am not in love with a Pally as a Tank in the group as a healer because they have no real damage midigation or killing power so you have the heal the crap out of them. Ranger is pretty good DPS but Squishy, SK or Warrior, and yes even Monk are way better to heal. Unless there is a Enchanter in the group for Crack it is not a easy day to be a healer with Hybrids.

But any tank is better than no tank so what can I say.:rolleyes: It really all depends how many DPS classes you have in a group what really works ok with Hybrids. If you are a Cleric, Enchanter, you want to pick up a Warrior. All part of the Holly Trinity.