WAR here, I can help answer these. Always astonished at how many good PLDs the RPC has compared to good WARs.
EDIT: Speaking of, I just got ninja'd by Merri. I hate typing up long responses on my phone, takes forever.
"Defiance on or off as an OT" is always a question of:
1. Do I need to be ready at any given time to tank the boss via tank swap or tank adds w/ enmity boost from tank stance and Steel Cyclone for snap aggro?
2. Optimal DPS is Defiance into Unchained into Berserk into Infuriate so that your DPS penalty is nullified, Berserk is on, and you're still benefitting from increased crit rate from 5 Wrath stacks. That said, this is only an 18s window. At all other times, Defiance Off is more DPS.
3. Are you perilously close to ripping hate off the MT? If yes, turn Defiance off.
4. Are you going to need the 20% DR from Inner Beast or the healing boost from Defiance at any given time? If yes, leave Defiance on.
Don't forget that you do not have to "set it and forget it." You can stance dance during a fight. Just be aware of Wrath stack losses.
For progression, apply Path first and then Eye. For farming or aggressive phase pushing, apply Eye first and then Path. Always apply both, even when you have a NIN to apply Dancing Edge; their time is better spent on Aeolian Edge.
Always Fracture so long as your TP management can handle it between pulls / boss-jumps.
One benefit of having Berserk on is that each use of IB/SC every 18s or so is one free GCD. This improves TP management quite a bit.
Fracture is your most costly weaponskill. If you're losing TP too fast, leave it out of your rotations for a while.
You shouldnt need to ask for Goad or Paeon unless you're in a Coil instance that calls for it or you are speedrunning content by Overpower-spamming.
There is no reason to hold Berserk until you are low on TP. Berserk does nothing for TP management other than to grant a single Wrath stack.
Use Berserk whenever you need either increased DPS or an extra Wrath stack AND you can anticipate being able to afford being Pacified for four seconds (Flash can cover all enmity needs during Pacification).
Two to three Overpowers are generally sufficient (add in a Flash if you're antsy) UNLESS you are either hideously outgeared by your DPS or they have godlike AoE DPS skills (or are dumbasses casting Swiftcast-Flare), in which case adjust as necessary.
Bloodbath+Vengeance is your best combo/source for mitigating damage fron mass pulls / multiple mobs / many groups.
Depending on the size of the pull and pull frequency, you can either blow all your defensive CDs on a single large pull or cycle through them on many small pulls.
DO NOT WAIT UNTIL YOU HAVE DROPPED TO 50% TO POP COOLDOWNS. Your healers will hate you. Exception goes to Holmgang, and in infrequent cases to Thrill of Battle and Second Wind.
You will usually need to follow up Provoke with a big hit (combo'd Sunder or combo'd Block, Overpower can work too) to keep your DPS from ripping hate. Tomahawk is rarely enough unless you are using Provoke as an opener on a distant unpulled mob.
As MT, aggro, mitigation, and TP take priority. Slot in Fracture when feasible. In current endgame content, with Defiance on, Fracture is so shitty that its not worth it.
Convalescence is an ABSOLUTE MUST on ALL TANKS. It is for your healers, it is not for you. It doesn't affect your lifesteal effects.
Uses vary. Pop as a self-heal. Pop when full HP to mitigate big hits (Meteor, Ravensbeak, etc.). Pop it to increase your max HP pool so your healers have more room to heal you w/o overhealing.
Answer is the same as it is for OT. Remember that more damage = more enmity generated as a result of multipliers.
PLDs pop HG, get healed to full, and then resume cycling CDs.
Holmgang is different. Holmgang isnt "Im invincible," it's "I'm inevitably going to dip below 1 hp pretty soon so let me have Convalescence and IB and Veng and Thrill and SW and whatever CDs I have available ready to pop so that I can make it super easy for my healer to pick me back up at the penultimate moment before Holmgang expires."
The difference between Hallowed Ground and Holmgang is the essence of the difference between PLD and WAR.
PLD is about mitigating as much damage as possible whenever possible.
WAR is about never dipping below 1 hp, mitigating BIG hits in small bursts, and then healing it all back. WAR is The Berserker. For the young ones, WAR is Tryndamere.
EDIT: And as mentioned, Holmgang is more than just a survival tool. Clutch interrupt. Also CC. Also knockback prevention.
EDIT: Speaking of, I just got ninja'd by Merri. I hate typing up long responses on my phone, takes forever.
(03-10-2015, 03:23 AM)Ice Cream Sandwich Wrote: Suppose I'm not the MT for any given run and delegated to OT. Wooh!
-Should I have Defiance on or off? Thing is even if I'm not the MT in a run I still have Defiance on for the crit boost as well maintaining an orange aggro level just in case the MT dies so I know the Aggro can easily shift to me with just an overpower or so. Well you get the question, Defiance on or off? Crit boost or flat DPS? Also Unchained.
"Defiance on or off as an OT" is always a question of:
1. Do I need to be ready at any given time to tank the boss via tank swap or tank adds w/ enmity boost from tank stance and Steel Cyclone for snap aggro?
2. Optimal DPS is Defiance into Unchained into Berserk into Infuriate so that your DPS penalty is nullified, Berserk is on, and you're still benefitting from increased crit rate from 5 Wrath stacks. That said, this is only an 18s window. At all other times, Defiance Off is more DPS.
3. Are you perilously close to ripping hate off the MT? If yes, turn Defiance off.
4. Are you going to need the 20% DR from Inner Beast or the healing boost from Defiance at any given time? If yes, leave Defiance on.
Don't forget that you do not have to "set it and forget it." You can stance dance during a fight. Just be aware of Wrath stack losses.
(03-10-2015, 03:23 AM)Ice Cream Sandwich Wrote: -Let's say the MT is a PLD, am I doing it right by simply going Storm's Eye essentially 90% of the time and just keep refreshing Storm's Path(because I think the PLD needs more mitigation) and Fracture or should I just go Storm's Eye 100% of the time because the other two might just waste my TP anyway.
For progression, apply Path first and then Eye. For farming or aggressive phase pushing, apply Eye first and then Path. Always apply both, even when you have a NIN to apply Dancing Edge; their time is better spent on Aeolian Edge.
Always Fracture so long as your TP management can handle it between pulls / boss-jumps.
(03-10-2015, 03:23 AM)Ice Cream Sandwich Wrote: -Should I be asking for goad or just auto-attack until my TP regenerates?
One benefit of having Berserk on is that each use of IB/SC every 18s or so is one free GCD. This improves TP management quite a bit.
Fracture is your most costly weaponskill. If you're losing TP too fast, leave it out of your rotations for a while.
You shouldnt need to ask for Goad or Paeon unless you're in a Coil instance that calls for it or you are speedrunning content by Overpower-spamming.
(03-10-2015, 03:23 AM)Ice Cream Sandwich Wrote: -Berserk should be popped when exactly? I mean I pop it when I'm like stupidly low on TP but should I be popping it earlier?
There is no reason to hold Berserk until you are low on TP. Berserk does nothing for TP management other than to grant a single Wrath stack.
Use Berserk whenever you need either increased DPS or an extra Wrath stack AND you can anticipate being able to afford being Pacified for four seconds (Flash can cover all enmity needs during Pacification).
(03-10-2015, 03:23 AM)Ice Cream Sandwich Wrote: Suppose I am the MT because some genius thought it would be smart to put a i105 nub as MT.Â
-Overpower>Flash>Overpower>Flash>Overpower>Flash>Overpower after I do a Tomahawk to grab the mob that is and sometimes the mob after it. Thoughts? This is under the condition that Infuriate is on CD and I just used a Steel Cyclone prior to the encounter. Question is, am I overpowering too much or am I overpowering too little?
Two to three Overpowers are generally sufficient (add in a Flash if you're antsy) UNLESS you are either hideously outgeared by your DPS or they have godlike AoE DPS skills (or are dumbasses casting Swiftcast-Flare), in which case adjust as necessary.
(03-10-2015, 03:23 AM)Ice Cream Sandwich Wrote: '-Popping CDs when I'm at like 50% HP or grabbing more than 1 mob group at a time? Or do I just hit those CDs every time they go off CD?
Bloodbath+Vengeance is your best combo/source for mitigating damage fron mass pulls / multiple mobs / many groups.
Depending on the size of the pull and pull frequency, you can either blow all your defensive CDs on a single large pull or cycle through them on many small pulls.
DO NOT WAIT UNTIL YOU HAVE DROPPED TO 50% TO POP COOLDOWNS. Your healers will hate you. Exception goes to Holmgang, and in infrequent cases to Thrill of Battle and Second Wind.
(03-10-2015, 03:23 AM)Ice Cream Sandwich Wrote: -Provoke, do I lob a hawk at the enemy if he's distant or Holmgang his ass to me? On the one hand lobbing birds at it is practical, on the other being scorpion is Kool too.Â
You will usually need to follow up Provoke with a big hit (combo'd Sunder or combo'd Block, Overpower can work too) to keep your DPS from ripping hate. Tomahawk is rarely enough unless you are using Provoke as an opener on a distant unpulled mob.
(03-10-2015, 03:23 AM)Ice Cream Sandwich Wrote: -Is it practical to slot in a Fracture in between my BB/SP combos just to boost DPS or should I keep my eyes on the prize and keep smacking the thing to keep aggro?
As MT, aggro, mitigation, and TP take priority. Slot in Fracture when feasible. In current endgame content, with Defiance on, Fracture is so shitty that its not worth it.
(03-10-2015, 03:23 AM)Ice Cream Sandwich Wrote: -On the cross class front, Convalescence..do I even need it with all my lifesteal? Not that I have any other cross class to take.
Convalescence is an ABSOLUTE MUST on ALL TANKS. It is for your healers, it is not for you. It doesn't affect your lifesteal effects.
(03-10-2015, 03:23 AM)Ice Cream Sandwich Wrote: -Thrill of Battle, when's a good time to pop it? I usually do mine when I hit like 30%ish HP.
Uses vary. Pop as a self-heal. Pop when full HP to mitigate big hits (Meteor, Ravensbeak, etc.). Pop it to increase your max HP pool so your healers have more room to heal you w/o overhealing.
(03-10-2015, 03:23 AM)Ice Cream Sandwich Wrote: -Berserk should be popped when exactly? I mean I pop it when I'm like stupidly low on TP but should I be popping it earlier?
Answer is the same as it is for OT. Remember that more damage = more enmity generated as a result of multipliers.
(03-10-2015, 08:51 AM)Warren Castille Wrote: Holmgang doesn't last as long as Hallowed, and Holmgang doesn't make you actually any easier to heal. Examples:
Warrior facepulls 30 enemies. He uses Holmgang on one and spams Overpower, but the healer just can't heal through that much output. Warrior never drops below 1hp for the duration, but as soon as it wear off, Warrior eats dirt.
Paladin facepulls 30 enemies. Right before he dies, he pops Hallowed Ground. The healer can heal the paladin to full without worry of him dying, and when it drops the paladin can then hit cooldowns to extend that full HP pool.
PLDs pop HG, get healed to full, and then resume cycling CDs.
Holmgang is different. Holmgang isnt "Im invincible," it's "I'm inevitably going to dip below 1 hp pretty soon so let me have Convalescence and IB and Veng and Thrill and SW and whatever CDs I have available ready to pop so that I can make it super easy for my healer to pick me back up at the penultimate moment before Holmgang expires."
The difference between Hallowed Ground and Holmgang is the essence of the difference between PLD and WAR.
PLD is about mitigating as much damage as possible whenever possible.
WAR is about never dipping below 1 hp, mitigating BIG hits in small bursts, and then healing it all back. WAR is The Berserker. For the young ones, WAR is Tryndamere.
EDIT: And as mentioned, Holmgang is more than just a survival tool. Clutch interrupt. Also CC. Also knockback prevention.
![[Image: 1qVSsTp.png]](http://i.imgur.com/1qVSsTp.png)
