(07-04-2015, 04:21 AM)Sounsyy Wrote:(07-03-2015, 05:16 PM)Rahal Wrote: There's a time and a place to go full STR on a tank. Main tanking a fight is not the right time or place.
Maybe this topic deserves its own separate thread, but the time is always and the place is everywhere. Main tanking is no exception. Vitality, as it stands currently, does not offer any tank anything worthwhile in the grand scheme of content in this game. Whereas STR can be used to great effect in every situation.
VIT does not increase mitigation in any way. VIT increases HP. 1 point of VIT at Lv60 equals 20.5 HP. This means, that the effective difference between a VIT spec'd tank and a STR spec'd tank is exactly 717 HP versus 280 Determination (DTR). What is 717 HP? Nothing. Less than one hit from a Heavensward dungeon mob. So let's take a look at left-sided accessories.
Currently, the highest Item Level accessories obtainable are 4x i180 and 1x i170 ring.
VIT from Fending Accessories: 177 VIT or 3,628 HP
STR from Slaying Accessories: 179 STR or 1,432 DTR
So... which would you rather have?
There is no content in which a tank with 15k HP is necessary over a tank with 12k HP. That 3k extra HP is doing you no good unless you pop cooldowns. And there's no attack in game yet, where a boss will one-shot a 12-15k HP tank. Or even get close. If you are performing the mechanic correctly and are using appropriate buffs.
So in doing dungeon content where (as of right now) big pulls are nearly impossible. And, if possible, are generally more trouble than they're worth. A tank is, at most, going to pull between 5-6 mobs per pull, usually less. Minor adds that have no HP or damage like those in Dusk Vigil or Fractal Continuum do not count.
Let's say every mob hits the tank for 1k HP.
-VIT tank: 15k HP - 1k x5 mobs = 10k HP.
-STR tank: 12k HP - 1k x5 mobs = 8k HP.
Both are still reasonably high. Even without heals, neither tank is going down with the next hit. So, if a healer is DPSing at this point, it's not a big deal. So let's bring self healing into this. We can use either WAR's Equilibrium or PLD's Clemency for this example.
-VIT tank uses Equilibrium, restores 3.3-3.5k HP @660 STR. (This was the number range that I was able to pull when I took off all my STR accessories.
-STR tank uses Equilibrium, restores 4.4-4.6k HP @850 STR. (This was the number range that I was able to pull when I wore all my STR accessories. Note that I am not full i180.)
PLD's Clemency is likewise affected by STR/Attack Power. So using the above example, the VIT tank now has 13.5k HP while the STR tank is back to full. Without healer assistance. Now combine this with Bloodbath, Storm's Path, Clemency, Equilibrium, Second Wind, Inner Beast, and the myriad of self-healing abilities tanks (WAR in particular) have access to. You may be lacking in 3k HP, which makes no essential difference in content where you're not being one-shot, but now you can also do almost twice as much DPS, as well as self heal.
Is VIT viable? YES. Is it the optimal way to tank? NO.
A VIT tank can tank big hits. So can a STR tank with mitigation. But a STR tank can also top DPS charts and self heal viably.
VIT, like Parry, is also useless if you aren't MT. Your HP is not being threatened at all at that point, so why buff into a stat that is only situationally useful? When STR is useful in all encounters, MTing, OTing, DPSing, or soloing.
I mean yes this all is logical, but when you're with some shitty pug, you're going to have a bad time without a few VIT accessories.
