[SM] tanking skills

[anarchypark]

some tips for tank role even as dps SM.

1. Challenge : 30% dmg reduction. cone shape AoE. 15sec or 3gcd.
it stacks with guard or detaunt. ( FYI, guard and detaunt don't stack. save detaunt while in guard )
although it's not -80% dmg, guard + challenge or detaunt + challenge are more than 50% reduction.
search for assist train or blob of rdps that are not targeting you.
trying to put this on enemies also improve your battlefield view.

2. Dragon's Talon : 20% dmg reduction. single target 4sec
it stacks with guard(detaunt) and challenge. not additive.
guard(detaunt) + challenge + dragon's talon. it works.

3. Taunt : undefendable interrupt
interrupt rez, group heal and channeling skill. it's priceless.
dps might use this for burst rotation.
it's also essential in keep lord fighting.
lord have channeling skills of single target and aoe( spin attack ). he uses these back to back.
CD is same as taunt. it reduces lord's burst greatly.
MT should hold aggro from taunt of other tanks.( there are attacks increasing hate )

4. Shatter Enchantment : remove buffs
there are countless buffs on the enemy. erase it and they become weaker.
armor buff, HoT, stat buff etc. mostly Shaman buffs.
you can feel it's differences. spam it with WW if you can.

5. Quick Incision : snare
basic CC. you can apply 2 with Sudden Shift.
it helps teammate kite, escape melee train.

you should avoid skills in below. use it only in absolute dire situation.

6. Gusting Wind : AoE knock back
when your guardee is 30% hp and a target of melee train. it's gamble.
another usage is mass punt off the cliff.
put this skill in the corner of skill bar. make it hard to find.
it's the only way to avoid misuse.

7. Aethyric Grasp : AoE root
it shares immunity with knock back. never use it in beginning of battle. it ends up break early and give immunity.
only usage is when escaping, when you are alone, chased by enemy.

most of these are archetype skills every tanks own.
dps or not, plz master it first before your rotation. at least Challenge

[Tomaka]

Great job, Onesword, here're some more!


Guard : has 30ft range. It's really tiny. Get GES addon.
Sudden Shift : off-gcd balance upgrade skill. USE IT!

Heaven's Blade : use that enchantment, the resist debuff stacks with knight's aura. Huge debuff for your BW&co
Blurring Shock : massive add crit damage debuff
Dazzling Strike : 50% debuff cast time on target
Wrath of Hoeth/Gusting Wind : aoe skills to spread your Heaven's Blade (don't be stupid with GW and its kb)
Crushing Wave : 3s stun + 4s group no CC
Whispering Wind : 4s silence + 10s group reduced CD (use shatter enchantment as a SM with that) -- great synergy with quite a few classes, makes bombing *awesomer*

Eagle's Flight : +25% 5s parry. Great for melee + guard damage mitigation
Hold the Line : 45% disrupt/dodge buff, gives +15% disrupt/dodge to people behind you. Stacks to 45% with 3 tanks!

Guard of Steel : M1 group 120 toughness 10s. Can be argued with champion's challenge to lock down a target
Wings of Heaven : M2 to either jump back to your guarded target after a CC or jump forward + kb dest
M3 and M4, obvious damage reduction.

Combo : Protection of Hoeth + Sudden Shift --> No target Perfect Balance
Sudden Shift + Wrath of Hoeth --> No target Perfect Balance

[tazdingo]

dazzling strike is great but you gotta find the right target. zeals often won't care, it sorta miffs doks, but it can reallly screw with shammies

[peterthepan3]

"But...I'm 2h, so I'm a DPS! How dare you assume my archetype?!"

Nice tips.

[Darosh]

-50pts for Gryffindor, OP lacks guard and had to be supplemented.

But yes, great tips otherwise.

[Martok]

I have decided to weigh in on this topic, an endeavor I rarely undertake. The primary reason for such refrain is a direct consequence of posting my videos. My spec and play style is out there for anyone to see. I figure if anyone is interested in how I spec and why they can watch my videos and take from them what they will. Or nothing, whichever. I certainly do not consider myself the best SM in game by any means. I just love the class and try to have fun with it.

In that spirit a few comments. Onesword is a good SM. I am always happy to see him in an SC or out in the lakes. Likewise Celegion and Consolation. But our styles are different. My spec is based on the knowledge and presumption I am rarely going to be in a group. I enjoy solo roaming, I have always believed it to be the most enjoyable aspect of Warhammer, and therefore don't always seek group play. If I knew every time I logged on I would be in a pre-made group I would spec differently. But given where my guild is concerned in essence I am the guild combined with my love of solo roaming, that isn't the case. Consequently my spec is crafted for the solo encounter, for the one on one fight I am usually out there looking for.

Eagle's Flight : (+25% 5s parry) I have invested a sizable percentage of my renown into Parry. To maximize that I slot EF as second in my opening trio of attacks, and try to keep it active as much as circumstance allows. However EF is beneficial to any SM player given it does inflict damage while simultaneously increasing your ability to mitigate damage. And as someone else said, it is quite useful in deflecting guard damage.

Guard: (30 foot range) Ey yi yi... In my most recent video one can see, if you chose to read the sc chat during the Battle for Praag segment, where a WH player is whining about fact I am not guarding him. I get that a lot. However as I detailed in a prior video some months ago, in order to be a successful guard-bot of any non-tank player you essentially have to follow that player around attached to his or her hip. At times this is beneficial, depending on who the player in question is. There are a few Bright Wizards, Warrior Priest, Slayers, and Shadow Warriors in game I do this for whenever they are around because they are good players and over the course of the fight will do more damage than I will. But Witch Hunters, especially one I had never seen before, are a different animal. They are meant to be on the fringe, and unless I know a Witch Hunter is going to be in the middle of the scrum with the rest of us, guarding one is a waste of time. I am speced for damage output, enough damage output I can wear down most enemy tanks and auxiliaries out in the open and truly assist a Slayer, KOTBS, or other SM I am guarding in the middle of the pile. But one must remember Guard is a two way street. I have had numerous Rune Priest, Warrior Priest, and/or Archmages berate me for not guarding them while at the same time refusing to advance to where the fight actually is. What good does it do to guard a healer who will not advance to the middle flag in the Gates of Ekrund scenario until it is totally cleared of the enemy, and subsequently refuses to advance when the fight has moved on to the far flag? What good is a SM who can't jump down and engage those destro players around the middle flag because in order to guard a healer he has to remain on the upper tier? Seriously, in the Nordenwatch Scenario, there are no points for capturing the bridge. Yet I have been the target of ridicule for not guarding someone who advances to the bridge and then refuses to move any farther.

I guess what I am saying is yes, Guard is and can be a very useful ability, but in order to take full advantage of it both the Guarder and the Guardee must be operating with some form of synchronicity. If you want a good example of how to use Guard watch whenever you find Chopmaster in an SC. For my money Chopmaster is one of the best Choppa's in the game, and he knows how to run a melee train. But those guarding him are right next to him, and not standing around on the very edge of their ability ranges hoping he can kill the enemy without their help. Yeah, yeah, at this point I am venting but I can't tell you how many times I have put guard on a Slayer in an SC only to see that Slayer park his rear-end at the spawn point or run off to the far end of the map never to be seen or heard from again.

The moral of this story? You want me to guard you, get into the fracking fight. Oh, and never bet against the Minnesota Vikings at home in the winter.

Wrath of Hoeth/Gusting Wind: As a solo roamer I make great use of Wrath of Hoeth for obvious reasons. Spirit Debuff, Spirit Damage, yada yada yada. In group play I make great use of Wrath of Hoeth for obvious reasons. As a two-hand dps my job is to be out there banging on people, and therefore the enemy needs as many debuffs on them as they can get, particularly when there are other SM's or WL's around. Gusting Wind is primarily an interrupt. Sure, one can have fun knocking people off a bridge or over a cliff into the lava lakes, but I primarily use it to stop someone from doing something they are in the middle of doing. Admittedly at times I make mistakes with it, but of all the knock-backs in game Gusting Wind is, to the best of my knowledge, the weakest of any class, and therefore it is best to use it as an interrupt as opposed to an instant.

Whispering Wind: If I were S&B I would use Whispering Wind. If I were group specced I would use Whispering Wind. Since I am neither I don't.

Dazzling Strike: I agree with what Tazdingo said. Against most casting classes it is too weak to be of any real value. But as he said against a Shammy it is of value.

Combo : Protection of Hoeth + Wrath of Hoeth: I do this quite often. My reasoning is Protection of Hoeth offsets the first 750 damage while also transitioning you to Improved Balance where you can pop Wrath of Hoeth on your enemy and then wail away with Ether Dance. Following that rotation in most cases I can determine my chance of winning a fight with reasonable accuracy. In my most recent video one of the featured fights is a random encounter with Chopmaster. Following this rotation I really thought I had him, and I believe anyone watching to that point would probably think the same. However he hung on to turn the tables, so the sequence is by no means full-proof. Over time it simply proves to be effective.

Aethyric Grasp: Aethyric Grasp is a joke and always has been. Disclaimer, this comment is not targeted at anyone and is meant as no slight against anyone. The essence of the comment is Aethyric Grasp is not a true disable, your enemy can still use any ability they wish while standing there for few seconds it is active. But against Marauders or Choppas or any other class with a charge ability, or any ranged class, or any non-ranged class, or anyone with red letters over their head, it isn't going to do you any real good. The only real value in using Aethyric Grasp is to pop it when others are trying to get away and you remain as the sacrifice.

Quick Incision: Useful against Sorc or Magus weenies who run from every fight they are in anyhow. In group play it allows your group mates time to gather on the target as well. Any good Destro tank, Witch Elf, or Marauder shouldn't and probably won't be running from the fight, which is why I have Quick Incision slotted where I do.

Challange/Taunt: Onesword covered this quite well. Given I do not use NB I have to make myself remember to use Taunt, and really need to use it more often than I typically do.

As for other aspects of specing an SM, I have invested heavily into Strength, of course, Parry, as stated, and reasonable investments into Dodge/Disrupt and Toughness. Armor values I don't worry about, just the ability boost I can get from various sets. I have different tactic sets, but each includes Great Weapons Mastery because it makes no sense to me to play two-hand without it.

Hope this is useful and thanks for reading.

[tazdingo]

i wish more people like you and posts like the above existed

seriously if anyone can link to guru posts for other classes we should make a list

[Darosh]

i wish more people like you and posts like the above existed

seriously if anyone can link to guru posts for other classes we should make a list

If people would actually read everything, yes. Most will bugger off after the first paragraph in a "seen that, done that, meh" attitude missing the shiny bits of in-depth tricks and stuff.

There are plently of people around spreading the good stuff throughout several threads, someone just gotta compile it all and hold a gun to people's heads forcing them to actually **** read it before posting/whining about stuff.

Electrocuting nipple-clipper addons for RoR, when?

[Martok]

i wish more people like you and posts like the above existed

Thank you, I appreciate that.

[tazdingo]

i wish more people like you and posts like the above existed

seriously if anyone can link to guru posts for other classes we should make a list

If people would actually read everything, yes. Most will bugger off after the first paragraph in a "seen that, done that, meh" attitude missing the shiny bits of in-depth tricks and stuff.

There are plently of people around spreading the good stuff throughout several threads, someone just gotta compile it all and hold a gun to people's heads forcing them to actually **** read it before posting/whining about stuff.

Electrocuting nipple-clipper addons for RoR, when?

i think a lack of solid information is the biggest problem. it's absolutely nobodies fault, this game is ran and driven by vets who don't need it but, as a believe i have seen devs say that they will promote the game (or promote others promoting the game) once it is out of alpha, and with warhammer vidya being very popular right now, i think the chances of getting completely new players in is very good. but they will need guidance

not "here's how the stats work" , "here's a basic rundown of the classes" or "here's some builds, rotations and gear you should use," but full, comprehensive guides saying "look, this is, by the numbers, how you actually play this friggin game." there was another excellent thread created today, you probably know what i'm referring to

i'd do it myself but i'm just an overzealous pubber. we need to bribe some top players to actually share their stuff