tyresebro1 wrote: βMon Feb 10, 2020 12:12 pm
1. What's the main playstyle differences here?
2. I understand both work in a sort of "group buffing" way in Scenarios.
3. Are there any major strengths and weaknesses comparing the two?
4. One is easier to level, one can easily swap to DPS, whatever it might be?
5. Super interested in both, but I'd like to begin with one for now.
1. KotBS is a pure defensive tank with strong group synergy. It doesn't shine in solo, nor even in small scale, as much as it shines in big fights. Also it's highly customizable via mastery trees. SM is a fragile tank in comparison, but deploys a lot of dps and mobility. Where the KotBS is static, even hieratic, the SM is swift, nimble and gracious. Also KotBS is a lot easier to learn to use properly, while SM requires a long learning experience. Based purely in skills, you need at the very least 2 Global CoolDowns to make even a basic snare in SM, so you really need to learn to plan ahead your enemy movements cause you lack a lot of instant utility.
2. In scenario yes. Both bring their own version of auras. The KotBS is a constant buff picked by the player, while the SM requires him/her to attack enemies to trigger it and had some level of randomness except for one skill that is guaranteed to trigger them. Also both can freely use 2handed weapons in scenarios, and that's where the SM shines the most, in small scale.
3. I think I have covered them so far, but let's comment and list fast.
* KotBS:
- Pros: extremely tough to kill, easy to use, powerful de/buff auras, super punt, AoE damage via reflection instead of via direct damage that prevents CC breaks, deftard, wounds debuff build-up in 2h weapons, can sustain horrendous amount of physical damage thanks to Perseverance and Stand Strong! being core skills.
- Cons: very low damage numbers even with 2h weapons, static, hard to maneuver in fights, extremely vulnerable to magic damage concentrations of firepower, worst solo tank, basically deals physical damage that is more widely mitigated by mDPSs and other tanks that are the things s/he is gonna be hitting, extremely AP hungry.
* SM:
- Pros: very mobile tank thanks to Wings of Heaven and positional combat, low reliability in classic tank stats allowing for diff builds, extremely powerful synergies with AM and WL, shines with 2h weapons and has great damage output with them, very resistant to magic with several shields available, its damage is mostly magical so is hard to mitigate by the front line enemies, good AoE potential, reduced AP costs in full rotation, only tank that is still durable with a great weapon, great solo tank, good core tactics supplemented by even better mastery ones leads to very good progression.
- Cons: lack of CC skills, fragile, requires to be attacking to trigger her/his group buffs, indiscriminate AoE skills that requires you to break fragile CCs to debuff your damage, mini AoE punt mostly useful to help enemies to get immunities so they can't be affected by better CCs, extremely hard to use properly, requires between 2 and 3 GCDs to perform even the most basic tank duties like snare or punt, expensive to gear up and potion hungry, situational awareness required even to fight 1vs1, very poor at countering.
To sum the most important points that picture the class the most:
- KotBS: easy to use, durable versus physical, static, AP hungry, low damage, best group tank thanks to buffs.
- SM: hard to use, durable versus magic, mobile, balance stances require a lot of planning ahead to perform, high damage and synergy with 2h weapons, best solo or small scale tank.
4. Both are super easy to level and have decent synergies, just with different things.
SM doesn't start to shine until
level 21 or so, when you can finally get Protection of Hoeth and Bolstering Enchantments, that are the first good skills that the class gets, and it only shows its true colours once you hit level 32-40 and can use the full arsenal: Wall of Darting Steel, Wings of Heaven, Intimidating Blow, Whispering Wind, etc... in the mid time is not a boring class, but neither has the class nothing really special. Sure, it's funny to see people flying since level 16, but useless the vast majority of the situations, only serving the purpose to grant the enemy Immunity.
KotBS shines since the moment that you get your 3rd aura at around level 5-7. That's all its needs to start to show the colours. You may be still running in the zero level gear, and your class has by now group utility and synergy. Also it's so easy to use, with so many on-demand utility tools, that you will have a lot of fail-safes and fail-proof reliabilities for most situations.
5. KotBS is a lot easier to use. If it's your first tank it's the way to go. Don't think twice.
While SMs are a lot more rewarding in the long term, they are clearly a newbie-unfriendly class that requires a lot of things to work properly, not being the less a lot of gold to supply with talismans and potions the use of the 2h weapon and lose of durability. With KotBS just using Auras, Guard, HtL, Challenge and Shield Rush/Perseverance/Arcing Swing, and you are pretty much good to go even with empty tali slots, cause your auras work like on-demand talis to all affects, and have group-wide utility.