Getting into end game tanking

[Jimjam]

Originally Posted by Soothsayer [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Warrior is not a well-designed class, admittedly. Actually, arguably the worst-designed class since they don't get any aggro abilities with which to hold aggro, which is their primary job aside from soaking up damage. Having to rely on expensive high-ratio proc weapons and good worn haste is really stupid. That's definitely something to consider if you want to roll warrior -- you need the funds to get a decent aggro loadout or you're going to look bad as a tank and have a bad time. Expecting root to be available 24/7 to solve your aggro problems is unrealistic.

In all fairness, knight classes are almost as boring in a typical tanking situation where you're basically just using disease cloud or flash of light to hold aggro along with your melee swing, and maybe a DD spell if you're facing undead. Several classes fall into the "use one or two buttons" routine in a group leveling scenario, really.

Warriors are well designed.

Bow to get strong initial aggro. Taunt for snap aggro, strong melee skills to maintain aggro and bash for a spike of aggro.

The biggest problem was implementation- bash never generated the aggro it intended to. It was planned to be equivalent to spell stun.

Late game / expansions were poorly designed ballooning the hate generated by status effect spells like snare, stun and slow due to increased mob hp. Monks and rogues getting incredible and easy melee output while warriors weren’t so easy to upgrade. Bows never improved to catch up with the inflation of that melee either.

The biggest saving grace is warriors synergise well with root (until mobs start to summon).

So yeah, warriors had a good class design but poor implementation. Other badly designed aspects made the impact of this poor implementation stronger.

[wagorf]

Once you finish raid gearing.

As war: Damn this shit rocks

A hybrid: Oh is this it?

[Lightbringer55]

For me it's not about the leveling, the design of the class, or the gear while leveling. We know it's warriors tanking the end game content in Velious. For me warrior would be something I play to have a shot of being the front line of a raid. As someone said, that rush of being the only thing between the mob and everyone softer. It's more the question of whether I'm going to get that shot without playing 24/7 in a bigger guild doing that sort of content and I guess what it would look like for raid gearing and that progression.

[Snaggles]

If max level just ask to be in the MT rotation. Most guilds will work you in. You probably won’t be first or second pick on a ridiculously tough npc without serious hp optimization (unless stuff goes sideways); basically anything that can kill anything but the beefiest max hp warrrior in a lucky melee round. Mid tier dragons and flurry drakes though if willing and eager will easily get you in the driver seat.

At max level I’d try and farm up some EC gear to fill those slots. There is a huge difference to trying and not trying on your own.

As a knight I’ve had a lot of fun tanking smaller trash fights in the planes and ToV. Some 15-32k Kunark hits. Nothing with Lord or Lady in the title but still it’s been fun. One Flurry drake pickup when no better options were available. I think I used all the raids mana and it was glorious, lol.

[Philistine]

Originally Posted by Lightbringer55 [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

For me it's not about the leveling, the design of the class, or the gear while leveling. We know it's warriors tanking the end game content in Velious. For me warrior would be something I play to have a shot of being the front line of a raid. As someone said, that rush of being the only thing between the mob and everyone softer. It's more the question of whether I'm going to get that shot without playing 24/7 in a bigger guild doing that sort of content and I guess what it would look like for raid gearing and that progression.

I mentioned earlier in this thread that if you want to play a warrior you totally should, and I stand by that. I'm not familiar with all the ins and outs of all the different DKP systems, but it seems to me you should be able to gear up a warrior without playing 24/7, it will just take you longer than if you did play 24/7, as it'll take you longer to accumulate DKP with which to buy stuff.

If you're not set on a warrior, you could consider a ranger. It may seem/be completely different than main tanking a raid, but you'll likely end up tanking in a bunch of xp groups all the way to 60, and you can get the defender-of-the-raid feeling you're after by pulling off epic bumps when the main tanks go down- no killer gear required - just be 60 and have weapon shield and you will likely be all that stands between Lord Nastydragon and your helpless guildies!

Just food for thought [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

[Allishia]

War is definitely most fun class to raid gear. I got my other melee alts basics like 41% haste / avatar and budget dps weps, casters I snagged some fun clickys etc.
But war every single slot is a noticable difference so you feel like it's dkp well spent..and clerics love ching big HP wars which makes you feel awesome an useful too [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

[Tsunami21k]

Originally Posted by Allishia [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

War is definitely most fun class to raid gear. I got my other melee alts basics like 41% haste / avatar and budget dps weps, casters I snagged some fun clickys etc.
But war every single slot is a noticable difference so you feel like it's dkp well spent..and clerics love ching big HP wars which makes you feel awesome an useful too [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

100% this. I’ve recently put my SK main on the dkp back burner to gear up a warrior. Warriors are extremely gear dependent but man they make the most of nice gear when you feed it to them.

[Stonewallx39]

If you’ll be in a true big end game guild doing only the toughest targets, warrior definitely pulls ahead. For most Kunark, planes, and a decent bit of Velious knights are great tanks (and often preferred) which allow DPS to unload and burn things down without waiting/worrying about warrior aggro.

Also worth noting a small percentage of warriors actually make it to 60 because group tanking on a warrior is often quite painful. This is especially true without a substantial twinking.

[Baler]

Originally Posted by Lightbringer55 [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Hi everyone!

I'm not a hardcore player by any means and usually only have evenings and weekends to play. With that said I've always dreamed of being a tank at a raid. I'm just wondering if I were to start a warrior and push my way to 60 on green, is it possible to become a raid tank in a raid guild without being at raids 24/7? Would I at least get the chance to offtank stuff or get relinquished to just being a DPS? Guess it's just a question of whether warrior is the way to go, hybrid, and whether the big raiding guilds are already saturated with tanks?

Thanks!

Basically High high agro weapons, try to shoot for over 4k life to start with. Get those resists up for specific targets. Just ask the officers or guild leader "Hey I want to try and tank", Can even have them get another tank prepped if you fail, that's the usual strat anyways.

Also Not everything should be something you want to tank. Pick what you want to tank wisely. The better you do (holding agro) the more likely they'll call upon you again. And of course hope to god the healers have your back.

(I would send a personal /tell to a couple druids or shamans and quietly nicely ask them to throw some spot heals on me through-out the fight. This way there is cover between the CHs)

So, you must join a raid guild that is willing to let you try and tank. Your goals will be making plat to buy the best gear possible for tanking and saving up your DKP or hoping loot council picks you.

EverQuest is not like WoW,
Warrior on EQ takes a career level of dedication to the class.

edit: 1 more thing, AC does work on p99. Raid loot items that give you insane amounts of AC are good, (40-60+ ac per piece kind of items). But don't focus on that too hard if you can't get your resists and hp up.

[Stonewallx39]

Originally Posted by Lightbringer55 [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

For me it's not about the leveling, the design of the class, or the gear while leveling. We know it's warriors tanking the end game content in Velious. For me warrior would be something I play to have a shot of being the front line of a raid. As someone said, that rush of being the only thing between the mob and everyone softer. It's more the question of whether I'm going to get that shot without playing 24/7 in a bigger guild doing that sort of content and I guess what it would look like for raid gearing and that progression.

To answer your question more precisely, you will get shots to be the main tank if you take a warrior to level 60, period. Some content just requires a warrior. It doesn’t take ungodly gear either, frankly you can main tank Vindi in full thurg armor with your defensive up. A lot of that you could get for no DKP just consistently doing platehouse with a small guild. Will you be the first choice everytime, of course not. Will you be the best option some of the time, damn right. And it will feel good. Also you’ll likely get lots of “at bats” when the first or second tanks goes down due to flurries, gaps in the chain, etc.

It feels very cool hearing the healers all call the chain on your name as you watch your hp bounce around. When you get to say in OOC/voice “Please assist …” and the DPS rushes in. Oh yeah it’s pretty badass.

My only thought is that it’s hard to get a warrior to 60 but if you’re up for it, then may Rallos Zek guide your blades brother.