Teach me how to WAR!

[ExarKun007]

He's talking about learning WAR, not tanking coil. Im just trying to get him through a WP.

[Sciwolf]

Its not rocket science. Use your abillities to generate threat, self heal and dps.

[SpookyGhost]

WAR is very "learn by doing". The only things you need to know are really basic, like keeping Storm's Path/Eye up, opening a boss battle with Infuriate -> Unchained, popping Berserk + Bloodbath when spamming Overpower, etc etc. There's a lot of situational uses for all your abilities and you just need to react in those situations with the correct ability. Just remember to have fun and learn as you go~

[Zell]

Also, Macro Bloodbath and Mercy Stroke to Heavy swing.

Two abilities you don't need to think about. They will automaticaly be used when you spam heavy swing when the situation arises. I think of Bloodbath healing as a form of steady damage mitigation through predictable health regen. So i try ot have it up 100% of the time it comes off cooldown, hence why it's macroed to heavy swing.

Also, Inner Beast and Steel Cyclone are off the global cooldown. You can use them and not lose your combo chain.

[Quor]

Also, Inner Beast and Steel Cyclone are off the global cooldown. You can use them and not lose your combo chain.

That last part is correct. The first part is not. But how I wish it were true....

[Abbycat]

That last part is correct. The first part is not. But how I wish it were true....

And it totally should be. Only SE knows why its not..if they even do.
It was true pre 2.1 and even more so now since it has a 6sec DR CD on it...

[OmegaSinX]

WAR from day 1 Tips.

1. First Priority is always Threat. If you can't hold threat your party will most likely wipe on bosses or even trash mobs. That said, never ever pull with provoke unless your confident in your threat management skills. Provoke should be save for those oh sh*t moments to pull off healers/dps or to swap with other tank in specific fights.

2. Stun ( Brutal Swing ) can be used for more than just stunning. It is a good tool to use to lock down stunable mobs that DPS pull off. Most DPS/healer first reaction is to run away from you when a mob starts attacking them. If you stun the mob, they cant move, giving you time to use your threat combo. Provoke + Tomahawk should get you threat back most the time, but if it doesnt, stun it. If your a Threat Managing Boss and never lose threat, then feel free to weave brutal swing whenever its up for extra DPS. You could also use Holmgang to do this too but only if you know you wont need it in the next 3mins.

3. Have a plan of attack before you start the battle. Think about which moves will best suit the fight, which mob to take down first, etc... Also, Learn how to Mark Targets, espcially in dungeons you never experienced before, its important you and dps are on the same sheet. It makes things run much smoother.

4. Learn to Prioritize Your Moves. This piggy backs off point 3. WAR uses combos to maximize on their potential so its good to prioritize your moves. For example: " I know I'm going to get hard in this fight, probably best to use Inner Beast instead unchained and Storm Path over Storm Eye". Or "This fight is a DPS check I should prolly use Unchained+ Storm Eye + Berserk + Internal Release asap". Or "Well this is a weak mobs AOE fight but Unchained isnt up, guess I'll use Steel Cyclone > Infuriate > Steel Steel Cyclone". With practice, this will become 2nd nature.

You will be much better WAR if you know what your going to do before you do it instead of just reacting. Most fights are scripted so if your ready for things before they happen, you will look so bad ass making the mobs your B.

5. Learn to capitalize on Abilities + Combos that best fit the situation . Some moves are good on their own, But Godly when combined with other skills.

Examples:

Storm Path + Inner Beast = Great for Predictable Big Hit Mitigation

Foresight+Bloodbath+Featherfoot+ Unchained + Berserk Overpower Spam = Great for AoE Trash Pulls

Storm Path +Vengeance+ Inner Beast + Infuriate (wait 6) > Inner Beast = Haha, Silly mob that tickled. (Note dont do this for bosses, spread out your mitigation)

Thrill of Battle + Convalescence + Mega Potion of Vitality(Cheap since 2.1) = 1 Hard to Kill Mofo

Unchained+Berserk+Internal Release+ BB Combo = Catch Me if you Can (Huge Threat Buffer).

Internal Release + Berserk + Maim + Storm Eye+ Butcher's Block/Inner Beast = {1000+ Crits ?} { Do you Need it ?}, {Yes Please}!!!

6. MACRO, MACRO, MACRO . Learn to use them, makes WAR life so much easier.

Hope this helped

[Richiealvian]

Thanks for all the replies! After some tanking on Qarn I realized how hard life as a tank is. Need to watch aggro, need to damage.. need to interrupt and place monsters' AOE away from party.. But is it really just situational? So far my perception has been that I have to keep all CDs up (for example, maim) while tanking and keeping an eye on interrupts as well. How "perfect" am I required to do stuff? Must I keep all my offensive CDs on while tanking or as long as the threat holds it is alright? Won't people be disappointed at my damage output if I forgot a maim here and there?

Another thing, which macros would definitely make your life easier?

[Kuwagami]

your job is to tank. Forget the dps, there are plenty to do this job for you. Just do things in order : threat, mitigation, damage.

You're not required to be perfect. If you hold hate, you're golden. If you ease your healer's job, you're the one I want to heal. If above that all, you manage to give a little extra to dps, fights go quicker and everyone loves it. But still, your job is to hold hate, and mitigate as much as possible in between. Extras are extras.

as for the macros, you can still make 3 for the combos, with the /wait 2.5, but it isn't necessary. Most CDs being situationnals, I don't use them at all, and instead I pop the CDs whenever they are useful.