I'm Getting More Confused about a WAR's Ability to Tank

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Originally Posted by dspguy

Take the last phase of T9 and Bahamut's Claw. The first claw (and every odd one after) is coupled with Favor. Lots of time to get ready for claw. But the in-between claws are harder to time when you are new to the fight. And the 6 second duration of IB sometimes wouldn't be enough unless I was comfortable with exactly when that "big hit" was coming.

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That's WAR in a nutshell.

The thing is, though, you won't be one-shotting any raid instance your first time in there. If you happen to get hit by something hard, you'll know what it is and when it's coming next time. That's the key to good IB usage - knowing when you'll need it and when you can freely use it before needing it again.

That said, you do have ogcd CDs you can use in panic situations. Vengeance and Thrill + Convalescence are made for them (though obviously better paired with IB).

I just used IB right after Beam would hit. I would land SP, Vengeance or ToB, then IB all around the first Beam. Second Beam I would SP, Foresight + Convalescence, IB for second Beam. I will admit that fourth Claw was the weakest point as Warrior, but it was doable. I told healers to be ready here. But as solo tank Warrior, everything lined up pretty well with exception of that one claw. I had Holmgang ready for it though.

For situations like you describe 4th claw, I string together weaker stuff. Foresight, zerk, IB (before hit), infuriate, IB (during claw hits for 900 ish cure. More with echo/gear I'm sure now), and 2nd wind. Under zerk the 2nd ib and 2nd wind on a multi hit move like that really replace mitigation well since it's not all 1 big hit. Healing yourself for 600 pot under zerk paired with foresight and 20% ib should cover it.

Alternativel, you can use that combination earlier before favor stacks get higher to save big CDs for later. This also let's you potentially save 2nd wind if you find you will live without it on an earlier one and can keep it in your pocket for later.

Two good rotations to know for WAR CD usage:

First one:
I.) Vengeance -> IB
II.) Thrill + Convalescence -> IB

Second one:
I.) Vengeance -> IB
II.) Thrill + Convalescence -> IB
III.) IB -> Infuriate -> IB

If the big hit happens every 60s+, use the first one. Less than that, use the second one. As an example, Flatten in T13 comes every 50s so you would use the second rotation. You can also use Foresight for III if it's a physical attack, or just to deal with the auto attacks in between IBs. As Izsha said, Berserk and Second Wind also combo well with III. I and II are much stronger, so your healers should be aware that they'll be dealing with a bit more damage for III.