Unchained, when do I use it?

[Xariann]

It's situational I'd say. If you see you are not taking a lot of damage and/or have other cooldowns that will take care of the incoming damage, then use Unchained. Try to think of yourself as someone trying to push out a lot of damage whenever you can, while still being able to handle tank busters and incoming damage.

As you get familiar with boss patterns or when the high damage comes in, you will start to feel more comfortable about using Unchained. There is actually a boss in the Aery I tank almost entirely in Deliverance stance. I pull while still in Defiance, pop Unchained, build some aggro, then swap to Deliverance and deal as much damage as I can, as the other cooldowns will keep me up and the healers don't break a sweat. I have a friend who likes to troll me when I tank and so she threw a smoke bomb while I was in Deliverance (DPS stance) and still I didn't lose aggro, thanks to the initial pull with Unchain (and making sure I don't forget my threat combos).

Next time I went into the same instance, I knew I could tank also the next boss in Deliverance, although I stance danced there. Again opened with Unchained + Defiance.

So trying to think ahead with the incoming damage, and that will help you decide when to use Unchained, or even when to swap to Deliverance.