Warrior Questions for the pros. Kitru, bokchoykn etc

[RhazeCain]

hmmm.. post explicitly asks for a few people's opinion, with an 'etc'. Well, my static runs WAR/PLD and haven't *quite* got t7 down yet, if that counts.

t5 is a rare situation where WAR makes a good MT, and PLD makes a good OT: Inner Beast for every death sentence. PLD stoneskin after death sentence. PLD stunning Dreadknights.

PLD has Hallowed Ground, which can be useful at times. And there's Rage of Halone strength debuff.

Rampart, Sentinel, and Bulwark are pretty good for mitigating damage over a longer period of time. (Longer than Vengeance + Inner Beast)

Definitely you want WAR/PLD. Oftentimes PLD gets the nod as MT, but sometimes you use both equally. And t5 is the exception that flips that rule backwards.

[Kitru]

And t5 is the exception that flips that rule backwards.

I really have to wonder why you think that "PLD is better MT" is the rule. In most of the runs that I do, I get picked as the MT, even with an equally or better geared tank, because I'm a WAR (often because the people in the group know that I'm a *good* WAR; a mediocre WAR that wastes Wrath is definitely going to cede MT to a PLD in content where all else would be equal).

[bokchoykn]

Am I late to the party?

RE: Warrior vs Paladin

Warrior's Defiance is actually very close to equal with Paladin Shield Oath.

Suppose a Warrior and Paladin each had 6000 base HP. With Defiance, the Warrior now has 7500 HP. An attack that would do 750 damage to the Warrior would do 600 damage to the Paladin (because of Shield Oath), each equating to 10% of their respective max HP worth of damage. Here is the subtle difference: To heal the damage from this attack, the Paladin needs 600 points of healing and the Warrior needs 625. Basically, what you can take away from this is that they are equal in terms of effective HP, but Paladins are 4.2% easier to heal than Warriors.

This is before you take into account other differences like: Paladins can block, Warriors cannot. Storm's Path debuff is better than Rage of Halone's debuff. Warrior major defensive cooldowns have higher uptime, while Paladin's defensive cooldowns are generally more potent. Warriors have a tiny bit of self healing.

The advantage when it comes to overall survivability leans in favor towards Paladin, but the difference in marginal. Any healer who tells you they notice a huge difference is either lying or delusional.

When it comes to who should MT and who should OT, it completely depends on the fight. For example:

• Turn 4: Paladin's more concentrated cooldowns and Hallowed Ground makes them better equipped to deal with Dreadnaughts. Warrior's superior snap aggro, AoE aggro and damage makes them better equipped to deal with Knights and Soldiers.
  
  
• Turn 5: Warrior's on-demand cooldown from Inner Beast can make sure they never take an unmitigated Death Sentence, making them the ideal MT. Paladin's no-cooldown stun from Shield Bash makes them the ideal OT for Dreadknights.
  
  
• Leviathan: Warrior's Storm's Path reduces damage from Tidal Waves while Rage of Halone does not, making them the better MT. Paladin's Shield Bash makes them better at dealing with the caster Sahagin, similar to Turn 5 Dreadknights.

RE: Stat Priority

Besides Vitality and Strength, Accuracy capping is obviously important. You don't want any chance of a crucial attack missing at the wrong time. The rest of the secondary stats are crap and whichever ones you choose, you're splitting hairs here.

Most people will tell you that Parry is more important than everything else. All "Best-in-Slot" lists are based on this concept. To put it into perspective, 50 Parry increases your Parry chance by roughly 4%. Each Parry mitigates roughly 25%. Therefore, 50 Parry increases your overall average damage mitigation by less than 1% and only against attacks that can be parried.

Offensive stats work the same way. People will tell you Det and Crit > SS. There are merits to all three of these and you'll never reach a consensus as to which is better than which. The differences are insignificant.

Overall, I honestly don't care where my secondary stats are as long as 1) Accuracy cap is being met and 2) I don't have an excessive amount of Accuracy. You can make a case between what's better between damage or parry, but it's completely encounter/role dependant and we're splitting hairs here. Absolute best-in-slot lists are silly and the people who religiously follow them are silly.

Don't waste your time. Focus more on making sure you don't waste any gear upgrades by coordinating with the other tank in your static as far as who gets what, and how to spend your Soldiery.