Gunbreaker: thoughts and suggestions

[Novak_04]

I have very much enjoyed my time on the Gunbreaker. I think they have the potential to be a formidable tank. However, there are a few things that I feel need to be addressed in order for this to happen. Disclaimer: this thread is about Gunbreaker. I make no comparisons to other tanks -- I'm sure they have their own problems.

Brutal Shell: This buff could use some tweaking. My suggestion would be to make the cure and shield effect based on damage dealt, rather than a low (and weak) static potency. Given its combo potency in the rotation, I can’t foresee this ability dealing overpowered levels of damage at higher gearing. As it is, the effect is less-than-lackluster.

Superbolide: There has been a ton of commentary where this ability is concerned. It’s a bad design in general. While the logic of “you’re supposed to use your emergency buttons when you’re low health anyway” holds true in most cases, there’s a side of the coin that isn’t factored into the argument: healers have emergency buttons too. A quick anecdote to fortify my position here: I was in Akaedemia Anyder… as I was tanking a group of mobs, one of the dps accidentally pulled an adjacent group; I picked them up as well. The healer (White Mage) was struggling to keep me alive at this point because my defensives were on CD already. My hp dropped exceptionally low, so my invuln had to be used. I pressed the button merely a fraction of a second too late. The healer used Benediction on me, healing me to full…. You can imagine my exasperation when Superbolide hit immediately after. Aside from the wasted Benediction, the healer had to spend extra time healing me to full afterward wasting mana and time that could have been better spent doing other things. Other healers have similar emergency-level healing abilities (Lustrate and Essential Dignity) that could end up in the same wasted category due to this design. I have a suggestion I would like to throw out that would alleviate a lot of design issues surrounding this ability: have it heal for the damage taken while it’s active. This would dampen the burden on the healer to compensate for the hp lost when using it and justify the already-ridiculous CD on such an underwhelming ability.

Danger/Blasting Zone: For a lvl 80 ability, this is lack-luster. What “zone” am I blasting exactly? Make this a conic ability!

Camouflage: I’ve tried and tried to give this ability a fair shake… I’ve used it on as many trash pulls as possible hoping to see some sort of return. Thus far, I haven’t even noticed it’s active. I would like to see the parry increased to 100% with an increase of at least 5% on the damage reduction (100% parry, 15% damage reduction). This would make it useful on so many levels.

Sonic Break: It’s odd that this is on the GCD while Bow Shock is oGCD. My suggestion would be to remove it from the GCD to allow it to be weaved or buff the potency and make it share a CD with Bow Shock – allowing for the decision of ST vs AoE DoT effect. Either way, GCD needs to go.

Tenacity: This isn’t a Gunbreaker issue specifically, however I felt it necessary to discuss. This is pretty much a dead stat. While I understand it has merit, it serves no purpose in decision making where melds and gearing are concerned. I would suggest buffing the damage output and intake coefficients to at least allow it to compete with Determination… or just remove the stat altogether. As it stands, it is bait for new tanks (for which I have – in the past – fallen victim) to stack for little-to-no return. In SB, I fully stacked Tenacity… as much as I could muster. It resulted in roughly 12% damage reduction. While this may sound like a lot over the course of a fight, given the amount of external and internal CDs we have, it’s inconsequential.

I understand that many of these issues don’t apply in every situation – for instance, the Superbolide issue wouldn’t be a problem in organized groups with solid communication. Unfortunately, very few people fall into this category, and the changes recommended would not impact that circle at all. Furthermore, I acknowledge that not everyone will agree with the aforementioned. I encourage discussion and debates regarding the topics.

All in all, I’m loving the Gunbreaker. Despite everything you just read, I find them thematically pleasing. I'm currently in the process of grinding out the Sabertooth mount and loving every minute! I look forward to what (if anything) changes in 5.1. While we're on the topic, how is everyone else fairing in their travels with the Gunbreaker. I'd love to hear your experiences!