The other thing that is not being considered here is that sk class focus for inorruk's caress. being healed for 0.3% of your health on hit at low levels is kinda meh. however according to wabit, end game plate tanks should be hitting close to 10k health with group buffs in fabled gear at 50. that means it is now healing you for nearly 300 a hit. that is higher than the base heal of the single target class heals of clerics and the per tick heal of druid single target dots - which are 271 base at master level and acquired at level 40. given the current state of the tle, that is actually a decent extra layer of survivability. means nothing if you are taking 4k a swing however.
How long is it expected for bruisers/monks to have the same mitigation as plate tanks? Is this indefinite or will they fall off eventually?
unknown. it has a lot to do with the fact their defensive stance has a larger buff to worn mitigation than plate tanks. it's actually not a bad thing I the brawlers are the superior raid tanks here, as they are not used at all on live. for anything. aa's and myths will be here sooner than later.
I don't know what Dixa is talking about, monks are one of the best tanks on live and will probably be one of the worst on tle until later expansions. They don't have their temp avoid or magic ward yet, and their big mit temp buff is unusable until tso,their mit is nowhere near plate (that requires a ton of extra mit increase to match plate btw). If their mit turns out to be the same as plate on tle, the leather armor is clearly broken in how much mit it has. And as far as saying that zerkers don't have much over sk/brawlers, both guard and zerker have 2 mitigation temps, zerk also has a temp block boost, zerk has more self healing than sk btw, because avg 2.8% heal on every 2nd/3rd hit is more than 0.3% per hit. And by next xpac zerk gets a deathsave as well, sk doesn't get one till 80.
I spent the beta comparing the Guard and the Zerker (but of course all tanks are viable). Ended up going with the Zerk (although my nostalgic heart wanted to go Guard). Note my decision has was based on zero raiding, and either way I was going to Zerk when DoF hits (so I wanted to have Bloodrage mastered by then). Comparison: Offensive Zerk: has 6 damage AE's by 50 (one green, two blue, one modified by class focus, and two yellow temps) and their offensive stance encounter AE proc Offensive Guard: has harder hitting single target CAs and 2 AEs one blue (modifies with class focus taunt) one green, and their target lock Defensive Zerk: Bloodrage (damage reactive heal, better for soloing when not grouping) and 3 defensive temps (two mit (one modifies with class focus), one avoidance) Defensive Guard: 2 mitigation temps (one modifies with class focus), two group member avoidance skills (one stoneskin, one avoidance), also group proc stone skin at 50 Utility Zerk: group DPS buff, str/agi buff, and triggering dps/haste buff Utility Guard: group STA, weapon skill buffs, one group member dehate buff Now i'll have this same debate when DoF hits... leaning to zerk again however: DoF Zerk: yellow 100% AE auto temp, Vison of Maddness (ticking death save), and Insolesece DoF Gaurd: Group non tank deathsave, Reinforcement, and first controlled stone shield May change my mind each xpac (dependent on what AA skill sets unlock), though I can see me staying with the Zerk after RoK. Damn putting all this to paper makes me think maybe I do want to play as a guard again... damn it (haha). Guess I'll just roll one of my trade skiller alts as one. Have fun deciding OP
you completely glossed over unholy blessing, unholy hunger, grim harbinger and siphon strike. a zerker is not outhealing an sk on this server
No one has mentioned Paladin. I loved mine until last dmg nerf. And I say that only because it makes soloing painfully long whilst questing in the world. Dungeons fine. So, does anyone know how a paladin fairs in the TLE?
I'm thinking the SK would be a good choice. I'm loving mine. I wanted a monk but that was too painful on the new servers.
Well yeah SK is and probably has always been the most played tank in most servers. They have as far as I can remember always been very good all around tanks. Doesn't make it harder to get a grp compared to other tanks tho. A tank is a tank and gear/skills weighs heavier then class especially when there is no AA. Just form the grp yourself and it doesn't matter what class you pick. I tried out bruiser on the TLE, really disappointed in that. Avoidance is **** compared to back in the days but the leather mit is still crap and the best brawler stuff that balanced that came from AA. Also as xtra salt on wound old quests for leather still had Agi STA on em instead of STR wich gave avoidance before but does nothing for you now. Rerolled SK and I'm running around with lvl capped Mit and decent avoidance aswell as selfhealing. Sad but true AA is a must for class balance today!
Every time I've asked for a group as an SK tank whether it was in WC, FG or Stormhold I've had an immediate response. No problems here.
My first character in 2004 was an SK. They definitely went through some lean years for tanking. I'll admit I'm pondering making a new one on Stormhold though. My only reluctance over the issue revolves around those crummy years and how it will be as expansions unlock. Since the TLE servers still basically have the mechanics of live though I have a feeling things won't be quite as bad as they were for a while before they were revamped with TSO. SKs have always been popular but that has more to do with how they solo than how they tank in my opinion. Or, perhaps it would be better to say they were reasonably well rounded...even when they were the weakest plate tank they were still a commonly played class. Very good self healing, FD, evac, and a ton of blue AEs make for a great solo package.
