Xeno's Warrior Tanking Guide

[Ehayte]

I just ditched 2nd Wind for Awareness as well - especially pushing 2.4 content it is miles better to have the 0% crit chance than the top-off. 2nd Wind is an OhShit move, whereas Awareness should be a planned part of your CD rotation, used in specific instances - I like it on adds in T10 (the more hits coming in the better the chance that Awareness will have a smooth mitigating effect - same goes for Bulwark) and obviously on the square in T11.

Flash is still a must-have for me. Circular AE enmity generation that is TP free (or regenerative depending on how you look at it : D) is too good of a tool not to utilize.

I do have a quick question - I am starting to gear my tanks post 2.4 after deferring the decision on what jobs to gear. Are the i90 penta-meldeds really still better for WAR? I have 1 ironworks ring and 1 Dreadwyrm ring right now, is it worth itemizing around those two slots? Its hard for me to imagine that i90 even with the penta-melds can compete with the i130s. Thanks!

[Whiston]

The i90's are still a little bit better for a couple reasons.

For WAR, the skill speed is invaluable. That 421 mark that Xeno describes is pure gold. I even have mine up near 450 with a melded belt, just to be double sure I always get 9 hits in berserk.
Skill speed aside, the vitality from i130 gear is for the most part unnecessary. It could certainly have it's uses if your healers need a comfort zone, and in that case it is a better deal stats wise to re-allocate your 30 points into strength and wear vit accessories, due to i130 accessories having 27 vit, and only 24 for strength accessories.

Which brings us to the mixed main stat - i90 accessories still beat the 130 vit accessories by one main stat. You can have 13 strength and 15 vitality for 28 mixed mainstat points.

Add in the 80 total skill speed, 45 accuracy, and up 55 det (if you're crazy enough) and the accessories are still too good to pass up.
The other beautiful thing as of late is the insanely reduced prices for the Keeper's Hymn from the grand company. 250 seals to respec at any time, even in a dungeon.
I go through those things like candy now. If you go the full crafted accessories route and your healers are on point, 30 str it is. If they're having an off day or someone else is contributing to less healer focus, maybe you want to go 20/10 for the instance. The flexibility this provides in your stats is outrageous.

The only downside to i90 accessories now is that the i110 accessories may be dropping in about two months, so it is a sizable investment for what may be an inferior option in the near future.

[Ehayte]

snip

Thanks for the input - I am an extremely limited crafter so I don't focus very much on making money - I mostly just craft i46-49 accessories to sell to make about 80k / day (takes about 30 minutes). So I can't afford the crazy-expensive stuff anyways, I have to do the alternative method and lose those 10 det.

I suppose I'll bring a keeper's hymn or 7 with me next time we are on non-farm content and mess with my allocation to see if I get healed any differently.

Thanks again!

[SirTaint]

Thanks for the input - I am an extremely limited crafter so I don't focus very much on making money - I mostly just craft i46-49 accessories to sell to make about 80k / day (takes about 30 minutes). So I can't afford the crazy-expensive stuff anyways, I have to do the alternative method and lose those 10 det.

I suppose I'll bring a keeper's hymn or 7 with me next time we are on non-farm content and mess with my allocation to see if I get healed any differently.

Thanks again!

I keep a stack on me. I use 30/30 STR for everything up to T11. Then swap to 30/30 VIT for T12. (not on 13 yet)

[SpookyGhost]

I mostly just craft i46-49 accessories to sell to make about 80k / day (takes about 30 minutes). So I can't afford the crazy-expensive stuff anyways, I have to do the alternative method and lose those 10 det.

Just 2 things I'd like to say here:

1. Instead of selling the i49 accessories, I'd recommend spiritbonding them. I spend about an hour a day spirit bonding 2 sets, usually resulting in at least 200k and at most 1mil+. It's RNG, but it can pay off rrrreally well as long as you can afford an hour per day to do it. It also can result in the materia you want to meld.

2. The budget build of -10 det is honestly very very very close to the top gil build. You really will never miss that 10 det. I honestly haven't even bothered to meld Det on any of my pieces because the STR is what matters most to me from these pieces. Just make sure your priorities are in order as I've seen many sets that don't max VIT but instead choose to max Det... which is just insanity. VIT > ACC > Det/Crit.

Also, the 30 STR/VIT allotment will only affect healing received if you are not above or at the HP threshold for the content you're doing. If something smacks you down to next to nothing, your healers are going to panic, which is the last thing you want. Make sure you have a comfortable amount of health before putting points into STR and you'll be golden.

[Ehayte]

1

1hr a day is rough for me - that would be 1.5 hours total just working on farming gil. I can barely log on to cap tomes and raid currently : D - I may wake up a little early until I get the funds/materia for the below-mentioned, though. /end Off-Topic

2

Yeah if I do do this that's where I will go. Thanks for the input its appreciated.

[Gravton]

Id like to hear your thoughts on the hq X-Potion of Strength. This pot adds a max of 84 str with a 4 1/2 min CD. I was wondering if you think this would be a tool you would use in your opening? Since you will want to use it off GCD, it would be put in place of your brutal swing and brutal swing would go somewhere in your butchers block combo later on where you have nothing weaved in. I don't know if the 15s buff will be worth losing a brutal swing in your opener or not. Since it has such a long CD it would mostly just get used for opening. Also, you said you only use holmgang when you know the next attack would kill you and then use second wind and inner beast to heal yourself. Since both of them go off your attack power would it be a good idea to use the x-pot first? Something like inner beast - holmgang - infuriate - take hit/ use pot - inner beast - second wind. Was just wondering how much it would heal you up for with the 84 extra strength.

[Brannigan]

Always Be X-Potting