Warriors Thoughts

[Marxam]

I have heard this alot, that peak war was in Hw is that true and why?

-Defiance increased parry rate by 2% per wrath stack (max 5), 25% hp increase, -20% dmg dealt, 20% healing
-Deliverance increased crit rate by 2% per abandon stack (max 5), 5% dmg dealt
-Certain cds gave wrath/abandon i.e. Vengeance, Berserk, etc
-Unchained negates Defiance penalty while in Defiance (20 sec)
-Berserk was 50% attack power increase (20 sec) but you were pacified for 5 secs afterwards. Note that it is Attack Power and not damage dealt so look at how much atk power you have now and multiply 1.5.
-Bloodbath was 25% heal on dmg dealt (30 secs)
-Fracture was a gcd 30 sec dot
-Maim gave you 10% dmg buff
-SE put up slashing 10% debuff (synergy with nin, and other tanks)
-SP put up 10% dmg debuff
-Only tank to have TP and HP self-utility
-Used to share cross class with pugilist and had access to mantra, featherfoot, internal release, second wind
-Mercy stroke was a niche ogcd that dealt dmg if enemy was <20% HP but was great in PvP like seal rock because it healed you if it was that killing blow and a warrior could easily solo a healer/light party if they had their cds.
-RI gave 100% parry rate from the front but dmg dealt from rear and flank is all crit. Great synergy with Awareness.

These were probably the more notable things of the WAR in HW and you had to build up for your Berserk window, which always seems to be the crux of most WAR nostalgia. It felt more impactful, two or three FC's depending on if you are MT or OT in your Berserk window with fracture. However, at the cost of being more punishing to newer players if you mess up. WAR had a high skill ceiling compared to the other tanks and had no mitigation baked into its stance unlike PLD/DRK. Xeno's aggressive style of tanking was also pretty much mandatory in most endgame tanks leading to the whole tanking in your dps stance, but the devs are also at fault for Gordias. Unchained meant that it could pull and tank a boss with no dmg penalty. Wrath/Abandon stacks meant your FC's were more calculated in the Berserk window since you had to make sure all your cds are lined up properly. 3.0 WAR was a job of risk and reward and those who risked and won were able to do more dmg than some dps while still tanking. I guess the best analogy I can give is 3.0 WAR is like driving manual, you had to work for your tanking but you had the more control vs the other tanks.