Quote Originally Posted by Iagainsti View Post
There's no truth to that statement. Full slaying><Full fending brings me from 16k+ hp to 20k and change. A random Crit hit, or multiple hits from a pack knock that "advantage" right out in 1-2 seconds flat.
"Safer" refers to the margin for error that VIT provides. STR provide less margin for error. There's less room for DPS to get hit with stray adds, less time to heal if the tank accidentally eats a ground AoE, less time if someone eats a boss cleave, and so on and so on. VIT tanks are therefore "safer."

I've seen a tank more than once accidentally get bound on one of the last pulls of Fractal and eat two lasers. These pulls have stray DPS damage and debuffs that should be removed, so the healer's attention is not always on the tank. A VIT tank has a better chance to survive a mistake like that, and therefore, that option is "safer."

You would also do well to remember that not every tank is fully decked out in i190 or better at this point in time. I've said before that past 16,000 HP or so, you have enough to do most of the large pulls relatively safely, but that doesn't deny that additional VIT is still safer in that it allows for more human error.