A Paladin Proposal

[Shurrikhan]

The suggestion's been thrown about before, but just keep in mind that unless the Shield GCD is especially long, it will just end up working like an oGCD, and if it is especially long, it will end up forcing you to choose between using Shield Swipe (assuming it's moved to the shield GCD) and Shield Bash readiness. Should its animation locks be extended, then it will just end up feeling like an Empyreal Arrow you cannot optimize. Alternatively, let's say they have a longer animation lock only when followed by Sword Moves (can rapidly shift from a Swipe to a Bash, but there's a bit more delay in going to a Fast Blade, etc., similarly to if a full GCD had been used). At that point what you have isn't so much a second GCD system as simply a new way of performing combos, wherein moves within the combo recover from the GCD faster than those outside the combo, allowing for faster sequential action as part of the combo benefit.

The first issue is that you'd need at least a decent variety of Shield skills. For instance, if Shelltron were moved to a no-CD forced block channel that absorbs up to X damage via blocking and uses some alternate charging resource and renamed simply to Guard, then you'd actually have some decisions to be made between pacifying via Swipe, stunning via Bash, and blocking via Guard. Minor added complexity.

The second is that these Shield choices would have to be relatively frequent or regularly accessible choices. This could be done by removing the on-block requirement from Swipe, instead improving it or refreshing its cooldown under that condition, and such things as the above "Guard" (Shelltron replacement) example.

Third would be that those choices would need to be viable, but tactically distinct from sword choices. For instance, let's say you take out the rigid combos. Rather, any Sword or Shield combo initiator or bridge generate benefits for either, to be consumed on the next in line. Neither cancels combos for the other (except maybe Shield Bash). Alternating the two allows for greater build-up, while using one side back-to-back allows for more immediacy of effect. Swipe now absorbs a portion of enemy damage, doubled if against you or whatnot as not to be too powerful of OT support, for instance, and Bash can potentially be used as a nuke hit, while Riot Blade or Bash can be turned into a knock-back, and certain abilities can cause an AoE Swipe, etc.

And then there's the issue of resources. Due to the second GCD system, a PLD would have a potentially absurd rate of fire, depending on tuning. Resources would likely have to be spent to compensate, limiting longer term potential, but that would still leave it bursty only to fall into lethargic TP starvation. And this is the tank that already most suffers from TP issues. Alternatively, you'd have to develop a new resource entirely that doesn't act as a simple T-3 minutes to 'inevitable disappointment'. Skill Speed adjustments to remove oversights, similar to the recent Sword Oath change, could certainly help, but I'd imagine the second system would be necessary as well.


All in all, if you want a more interesting style of play, this would be only one of many ways to go about it. You could always adjust the regular rotations, swap out certain skill effects, and so forth for improvement in tactical feel, urgency, skill-cap, etc.

[Reynhart]

The second is that these Shield choices would have to be relatively frequent or regularly accessible choices. This could be done by removing the on-block requirement from Swipe, instead improving it or refreshing its cooldown under that condition, and such things as the above "Guard" (Shelltron replacement) example.

Wouldn't it be easier to put Guard on current GCD, so you'd have to chose wether you do damage, stun, gain group enmity or activate your short-duration 20%+ physical damage reduction ?

Suddenly, PLD would really be the tank that will do less damage on the field for higher mitigation.

Parry could be adjusted to increase damage reduction on a block, Sheltron would just make your next block recovers MP and Bulwark would increase your mitigation by a small amount...or maybe recovering TP with each block for its duration. You could even get rid of shield items altogether and mix them with the sword, since block rate would be irelevant and block strength would be fused with with parry.

As a crazy idea, I'd even go as far as to remove damage modifiers (Dealt and received) from Shield Oath and instead make it doubles the damage reduction on bocks. No more passive mitigation and you'd reduce your damage simply by spending GCD on blocks.

[Shurrikhan]

Wouldn't it be easier to put Guard on current GCD, so you'd have to chose wether you do damage, stun, gain group enmity or activate your short-duration 20%+ physical damage reduction ?

Suddenly, PLD would really be the tank that will do less damage on the field for higher mitigation.

Parry could be adjusted to increase damage reduction on a block, Sheltron would just make your next block recovers MP and Bulwark would increase your mitigation by a small amount...or maybe recovering TP with each block for its duration. You could even get rid of shield items altogether and mix them with the sword, since block rate would be irrelevant and block strength would be fused with with parry.

As a crazy idea, I'd even go as far as to remove damage modifiers (Dealt and received) from Shield Oath and instead make it doubles the damage reduction on bocks. No more passive mitigation and you'd reduce your damage simply by spending GCD on blocks.

That's the thing though. I wasn't imagining a turtle spec tank from what I suggested — at most a tank that has that option more so than the other tanks, but would still be about as capable of damage-dealing. I wrote that it'd use some internal limiter as not to let Guard constantly be an option. But at that point I see nothing wrong with taking advantage of whatever Sword and Board procs or mechanics that might enter into the mix to better weave it in. Which GCD system, if any, it'd lie on is mostly irrelevant to me. I'm just looking for immediate and reliable mitigation options that could stand as something a bit unique among the three tanks, and would likely be introduced much earlier on. (In my example, Guard replaced Shelltron. You'd likely see an adjusted Bulwark (e.g. "Bastion") take the PLD 52 ability slot, instead.)

I would assume you'd simply convert excess block rate into strength. I would hope the same would be done with Raw Intuition for Warrior as well.

I can hardly call a removal of damage modifiers from Shield Oath a crazy idea when I've been looking for something to emulate the stylish offensive use of shields of the KotR ever since my first Vault run. Sword overwhelms you and cuts you down to size; Shield thwarts you, beats you to a pulp. Different ways of serving either function.

[Reynhart]

I can hardly call a removal of damage modifiers from Shield Oath a crazy idea when I've been looking for something to emulate the stylish offensive use of shields of the KotR ever since my first Vault run. Sword overwhelms you and cuts you down to size; Shield thwarts you, beats you to a pulp. Different ways of serving either function.

The "crazy" part is more the complete removal of passive mitigation from PLD, and the reliance only on CD to mitigate magical damage.