Paladin is the better tank, but Warrior is the better class

[Sokerimuro]

both who replied mentioned bosses, I fully understand the place a Paladin has in a boss fight, but that is not the only kind of fight and a 40tp attack with potency 210 and a status effect is neither lackluster nor a waste - imho. It's an attack that conserves TP, maintains your RoH combo while reducing the threat posed by at least one of the enemy that you are holding hate on.

Exactly this. Shield Swipe is by no means a lackluster ability. Yes, it does not have increase in hate nor does the effect of Pacification work on many bosses. Yet it still hits with hate potency of 420, puts you on a gain of TP (a fact very useful in many fights that take long and require you to keep hitting the boss constantly) and at least to me personally feels like an ability a shield-wielding tank is supposed to have = hit the target in the face with it!

In all honesty, only points of hate that you need are the points that keep the target on you all the time. Mixing a less hate-generating attack that generates TP for you to be used later in the fight where there might come a spot for it (interrupt or the sort, even though this generally is rare while tanking a boss) contributes directly to the tanks possibly most important job: being ready for something that might surprise you somehow.

But to give credit to those who dislike Shield Swipe, I too personally feel that a system where the ability would be off the GCD and with recast timer of for example 6 - 10 seconds wouldn't be bad. It would add interaction to the actions and also serve as special move interrupting ability (which, yes, the pacification actually does), with the same pre-requirement of successfully blocking an attack (which again contributes somewhat to clever use of Bulwark)

-Me

[TaneshimaPopura]

Under normal circumstances Paladin will not be TP starved unless he overspams Shield Lob, Riot Blade or unless the fight spans through a time of 15 minutes of continuous back to back GCD usage.

If HP is all there is to tanking why don't you ask that Lancer to fit in all Vitality accessories and Materia and tank? Answer: when you have HP to survive a certain hit your next aim is eHP, which is to maximize every single ounce of HP you have. On that department Warriors lose a lot as in reduction of damage without accounting for CD usage.

Yes it is true that warrior does more DPS than Paladin, but more threat? No, cause he has to maintain Maim, SE combo which do not have Enmity increase. Maim only buffs the warrior, and only Paladins and Warriors benefit from SE debuff.

Warrior is not the better class, warrior isn't the harder class. It is just an undertuned class, refuse to believe it is as much as believing Santa Clause will fill your socks instead of your parents.

[TaneshimaPopura]

Also Shield Swipe has better DPS per GCD. 210/2.5 vs (150+200+260)/7.5 ; 84 vs 81.33. Once you are stable on threat there is no reason not to use Shield Swipe. And to those tanks who say that it is the Tanks job to generate Threat and not worry about DPS as it is not your job. If that is the case, don't pop CDs cause it is the healer's job to heal through it. Sounds dumb isn't it? If you have the potential to contribute then contribute.

It is the join effort of the party to take the boss down. Your responsibility is to be able to down the boss, second is tanking/threat.

[Garnatian]

Um, how is shield swipe lackluster?

Only 40tp, doesn't break your chain, does an attack of 210 potency, pacification cancels many attacks. How is that lack luster? it's almost a free attack with the low cost.

Flash is better. More TP regeneration, more threat.

You should be using Flash every time you're capped on MP in boss fights you feel TP is going to become an issue. I'm sorry to tell you, but the only benefit Shield Swipe presents is a net-gain in DPS, and even then, it's incredibly small compared to just the 3-combo.

[Rydia13]

Personally I've played a bit of both gladiator and marauder and I think marauder is the more fun job, even though it's a tad harder to get hate initially when fighting a group.

I wanted to to ask since I'm still new to WAR, what should I be focusing on as far as gear and attribute points placement? I've been told that STR is more important that VIT due to the parry power. Also, since DEX increases your parry rate, is that worth worrying about too? The guys.

[Lucavern]

A Warrior in the same gear will have 25% more hitpoints than a Paladin. That is the entire point of Defiance. A 5,000hp Paladin is comparable to a 6,250hp Warrior. A 7,000hp PLD would have 8,750hp as a WAR, assuming the same gear. It is slightly more due to WAR having slightly higher base VIT... and then it will be slightly lower, because you're not gearing the same as a PLD... are you?

All of the ilvl90 tank gear pieces have the same vit score across all 3 sets (Allagan,war/pld af2, hero's). So the total gained vit from full ilvl90 will be the same for PLD and WAR. The only places I can think of where you'd see a possible difference in vit are race, class, and different food options to aim for different stats (not sure which food is best for WAR, nor what the VIT gains for it is).

[Mishini_Dracoto]

All of the ilvl90 tank gear pieces have the same vit score across all 3 sets (Allagan,war/pld af2, hero's). So the total gained vit from full ilvl90 will be the same for PLD and WAR. The only places I can think of where you'd see a possible difference in vit are race, class, and different food options to aim for different stats (not sure which food is best for WAR, nor what the VIT gains for it is).

errummm, As a WAR, I spec STR. as a PLD, I spec VIT. Currently, my PLD isn't 50 yet, when it gets there, I'll be wearing almost all of the same gear as my WAR. . . (DL, and getting Allagan now) HOWEVER - a LOT of WAR's swap out a lot of the 'standard' tank gear for DPS gear / melded HQ Gryphonskin rings etc. I'm fairly certain that's what Paikis is talking about.

[Fuuljo]

WAR is just a confused job. It can't decide whether it wants to be a DPS or a Tank.

One could argue that a tank is just a dps class that sacrifices power for defense. There isn't much fundamental difference between a dps and a tank quite like there is between a healer and everything else. If not for enmity multipliers on individual skills you'd want to be doing the most dps you could.

I would hope that Berserk's Pacified effect is taken away.

I don't, it's an interesting mechanic and draw back to a powerful ability. The better option would be to give MRD/WAR something they can do while pacified, like Flash. Perhaps shouting angrily or flailing your arms in an aggressive manner. That said, you can effectively do that already with Flash and Provoke even while pacified.

Also, please, alter Hallowed Ground. I use the ability and I love it, but it's OP. In many situations, it's equivalent to free benediction, something that Warrior has no answer to. Alternatively, design an ability for Warrior that "most" (same limitations as HG) incoming damage heals the warrior, rather than hurts him, for 5 seconds. I say 5 seconds because if both tanks popped these at 10% health and got no outside help, the warrior would have more health than he started with, the paladin would end at the same 10% health.

Unfortunately the tank class design is ass backwards at the minute. Warriors take more damage passively and have little active mitigation to show for it, Paladins have the better passive and active mitigation. Lowering the effectiveness of one class is a good way to make another seem more appealing but it generally garners negative feedback. Of course playing power level hot potato with classes just causes a power creep, which is potentially even worse.

At least Warriors will always look the coolest.

[Ehayte]

You should only really use Beserk to get a better IB and you should only use IB once every 60s unless you have absolutely no choice, so that Pacification isn't really relevant.

This is why people think WAR sucks. WAR does suck, but not as bad as everyone thinks.
1) Use IB when applicable, there is no hard and fast rule. Use it for extra DPS in super easy fights, use a double IB in dire, dire situations, use it to even out your HP flow if you have infuriate up and you don't anticipate spike damage in the next 60s.
2) Berserk gives you a Wrath stack off GCD, just like Vengeance. While it can certainly be used to get a very large Inner Beast, that is more e-peen stroking that useful. The more useful way to operate is to utilize it for very fast wrath regeneration, in a recovery situation from using 2 IBs, or in trying to get as much healing as you possibly can in before a dead healer gets rezzed or something you can get 3900 potency of heals over 17.85s (weak-ass theorycrafting garbage incoming!!!!)

1) Heavy Swing
2) Bloodbath
3) IB (Start count (1)) (325% of damage healed)
Infuriate off GCD
4) IB (GCD 2) (325% of damage healed)
Berserk off CGD
5) Maim (GCD 3)
Vengeance off GCD
6) Storm's Eye (GCD 4)
7) H Swing (GCD 5)
8) Sunder (GCD 6)
9) IB (GCD 7) (325%x2(bersek) of damage healed = 650%)

For a total healing potency of...

300*3.25+300*3.25+(300*3.25)*2=3900

In (7*2.55) 17.85 seconds.

Then you recover with Foresight, Conval, and featherfoot up as you rebuild wrath.

Ignore the number and what do you get? A useful application to an ability that doesn't involving trying to hit giant heal #s for, arguably, your own sense of accomplishment.

EDIT: And I am not attacking you, Garn, personally - but I just didn't want prospective and newbie WARs reading that and thinking that Berserk should only be used to get massive IBs. I know that you probably know all this already.

[Steeled]

Never ever use Awareness. Because boss skills don't crit only melee attacks crit for at most 1,000dmg. And there is a hidden bug on Awareness (TESTED) it prevents all incoming heals from being criticals. So you are pretty much left to use Featherfoot, Provoke, Internal Release, Convalescence and Second Wind. Mantra is only +5% area healing and has too long a CD. If Awareness didn't have the heal crit prevention bug I would have taken it over Second Wind.

Interesting. I'll check this out.

This. You aren't trying to DPS, you're trying to build hate, and it doesn't do that effectively. Some bosses are very affected by pacification but most fully resist. It's just a GCD worth of time that you're falling behind in raising the hate ceiling.

We're all trying to dps, that's why we weave in circle of scorns on single target. Not to mention, Swipe allows us to stay flush on TP easier, and that's important for when something else comes into play.

A Warrior in the same gear will have 25% more hitpoints than a Paladin. That is the entire point of Defiance. A 5,000hp Paladin is comparable to a 6,250hp Warrior. A 7,000hp PLD would have 8,750hp as a WAR, assuming the same gear. It is slightly more due to WAR having slightly higher base VIT... and then it will be slightly lower, because you're not gearing the same as a PLD... are you?

And yet, I feel safer on my 5.5 Paladin than I do on my 6800 Warrior. I mean, I know you're saying what se's stance is, but I'd rather be on paladin.

But to give credit to those who dislike Shield Swipe, I too personally feel that a system where the ability would be off the GCD and with recast timer of for example 6 - 10 seconds wouldn't be bad. It would add interaction to the actions and also serve as special move interrupting ability (which, yes, the pacification actually does), with the same pre-requirement of successfully blocking an attack (which again contributes somewhat to clever use of Bulwark)

-Me

This, this, this. I've wanted this for a while. We all know we'd bury it in our Halone macro, but it would be great. Off the GCD, however, it's no longer a gain in TP, but whatever.

Under normal circumstances Paladin will not be TP starved unless he overspams Shield Lob, Riot Blade or unless the fight spans through a time of 15 minutes of continuous back to back GCD usage.

Yes it is true that warrior does more DPS than Paladin, but more threat? No, cause he has to maintain Maim, SE combo which do not have Enmity increase. Maim only buffs the warrior, and only Paladins and Warriors benefit from SE debuff.

He does "more threat" because he can do more threat. A warrior having trouble with threat will seldom switch out of Butcher's Block and walk away from a paladin in the same gear having the same trouble with threat. He also has Unchained to pop early in the fight to get a strong hate lead. (Paladin has Fight or Flight, a smaller gain, but no resource cost. Warrior has Berserk, A larger gain with, strategically placed, little resource cost)

Warrior is not the better class, warrior isn't the harder class. It is just an undertuned class, refuse to believe it is as much as believing Santa Clause will fill your socks instead of your parents.

No, Warrior is better designed, and harder. Sorry, Paladin can get away with 3 buttons on single target, but warrior can and should do so much more, because that extra dps contributes to more self healing. It is flawed in its design though, because it simply does not tank as well is a paladin.

Flash is better. More TP regeneration, more threat.

You should be using Flash every time you're capped on MP in boss fights you feel TP is going to become an issue. I'm sorry to tell you, but the only benefit Shield Swipe presents is a net-gain in DPS, and even then, it's incredibly small compared to just the 3-combo.

Small compared to Halone, but a gain on TP, and huge compared to Flash. Save Flash for things like Mountain buster, or when the OT has an add on garuda.

At least Warriors will always look the coolest.

Them are fighting words! I'm literally a white knight! You may be able to hit harder than me, but we both know I can mitigate your damage better!