Hi all ! My name is Elehy, I am Jedi Guardian TANK on the Darth Nihilus server and I serve the Titanomachy guild in PvE HL. I insist on the capital writing of TANK signifying a true philosophy of life because I like to adorn, deflect, absorb and recently reflect… in short, I like everything that hits me!
I offer here a point of view on tanking with a guard and its evolution since 2.0. Many aspects are personal visions and I hope they will spark a heated discussion.
- What about the TANK keeper in 2.0?
- Modification of powers
- New Defense Template
- Cycle modification
- Mitigation
- Defense / Shield / Absorption?
- Mitigation / Endurance ?
- Advanced improvements 28
What about the TANK keeper in 2.0?
On April 9th, I shed a small tear when I discovered that I had lost my pommel strike… that nice bamboo blow that we put on already controlled targets! But above all, I literally convulsed when I discovered my secondary statistics! After having worked so hard to obtain 30% defense and 50% shield and absorption, I was left haunted and dazed at the misery of my equipment dread / hazmat full increased with 15% defense, 30% shield and absorption . I felt drafts in my armor… it was going to sting… I was going to be in pain!
And yet! After a month of hot spots and intensive operations, I come back to you with a shining eye and a smirk… Yes, the keeper has indeed been increased! Hurt me plenty! yek, yek ...
Modification of powers
We lost the pommel strike… OK, let's not talk about it anymore! In exchange, we win the extreme hit in the skill tree available all the time and which generates a lot of animosity!
Here, on the other hand, is a new monstrous power: the saber reflection. It returns all damage from ranged Force or tech attacks on a single target to the sender for 3 seconds (level 51). It feels like an operations boss with a deflector shield! Really ideal for starting a pack, avoids damage when it stings the most and allows a good grip of aggro on the whole.
Soresu Form no longer generates Focus Points when attacked? No big deal! We replace that with a new passive power: the visionary which grants 1 point of concentration in the event of an attack suffered every 6 seconds.
Our sacrosanct fatal strike has been changed! If she now has a 15 second cooldown, she now immediately applies the maximum 20% Armor Reduction for 45 seconds and grants 5 Focus.
Finally, be careful! Our flagship move of the skill tree has also been changed ... protective slit In 2.0 deals more damage, activates retaliation and increases damage reduction by 3% and generates a large amount of animosity, yum, whatever we love! Small trap though… it is ineffective on a sleeping target and when it hits a target with the armor debuff it also deals damage to 4 additional nearby enemies! It's very nice on any pack but it can prove to be fatal in operation when the group has taken care to set up CCs (crowd control) ... I was of rare bad faith in looking for several times the one who used an AOE in the raid when ... it was me! (Can I finally talk about it in public today?)
New Defense Template
Like all skill trees, this one is personal and purely defense oriented. I am sure that we will quickly see variants and hybrid trees emerge.
I am using a tree: 36/10/0 in soresu shape.
This talent tree is based on the strengths of the tank guard by increasing his defensive skills, animosity but also on the armor debuffs and the loss of precision of the enemy that he allows and which will be appreciated by the whole raid. even if we often praise the “inspiration” of the sentries, forgetting the basic work of the guards to optimize the dps and the resistance of the group ;-).
- Defense
- Vigilance
- Concentration
- Victorious Deluge (2/2) : Unmissable, improves the concentration yield of the Fatal Strike when it is our main supplier and it causes an armor debuff.
- Dust Storm (3/3) : yes, reduced accuracy on packs with force sweep and cyclone slit that we repeat in this situation.
- Expert focus (2/2) : not convinced of his interest in tanking even if it is always appreciable to hurt a little more… I take it only to be able to reach the top of the template and that it is the least worse. I will carefully consider the other proposals.
- Battlefield Control (0/2): Probably useful in PvP, no interest in PvE.
- Startle (2/2) : reduces the cost of the riposte and increases its damage so that we will repeat it as soon as it is available!
- Defensive stance (1/1) : 15% armor! Who hesitates?
- On guard and thrust (2/2) : more frequent responses, nice!
- Purifying Balayage (2/2) : reduced area armor.
- Protective call (1/1) : a major defensive CD with a bit of a long cooldown.
- Blade Barricade (2/2) : Makes the retaliation an essential hit with 5% bonus defense.
- Mastery of Stasis (1/1) : no need to channel stasis by force, at the risk of losing aggro.
- Courage (2/2) : the more we parry and deflect, the less our shots cost.
- Blade barrier (2/2) : Improves Blade Storm with a small defensive bonus.
- Surveillance (2/2) : The provocative call grants protection to the entire raid, ideal in the final burst phase on a boss.
- Jedi Guardian (0/2): Possibly useful in PvP, no interest in PvE.
- Extreme Strike (1/1) : our new strike of the pommel, it hurts and generates a lot of animosity.
- Shield Specialization (2/2): 4% more shield and speeds up the return of our main defensive CD, a must!
- Inner peace (2/2) : Inescapable damage reduction and increased plumb duration.
- Cyclonic gusts (1/1) : essential for concentration management.
- Expeditious Protector (0/2): No interest in PvE.
- Intimidating presence (2/2) : makes the interrupt available after a force jump and increases the animosity of the saber reflection, it starts to get interesting.
- Power vector (3/3) : optimizes all important shots.
- Protective slot (1/1) : the ultimate move of the TANK keeper. I will not go back over its advantages and its small pitfalls mentioned above.
- Unique Saber Mastery (3/3) : a must have for all tank or dps guardians in all forms. Optimizes defense and animosity.
- Improved Fatal Strike (2/2) : Reduces the cooldown, that's good, we like the fatal strike that gives us concentration!
- Precision (3/3) : 3% more precision, yum! We don't have a lot of them since 2.0, it saves us white strokes and the loss of aggro that we risk with.
- Perseverance (2/2) : debatable, I hesitated with the stronger winds of the concentration special ... More vigor therefore more damage and therefore more animosity ...
- Reinforced winds (0/2): tempting by optimizing the force sweep and the cyclone slot which should undoubtedly improve the grip of aggro on a pack… I preferred the 6% vigor…
All in all, as announced by the designers, the modification of the templates of the Guardian Jedi really invites to push to the top. It now seems less obvious to try hybrid specializations as the top-of-the-tree options are so beneficial. The guardian TANK still sees in this new tree, a nice improvement of his animosity in particular on the packs but also of his dps (yes yes, incredible not?). Once again, the armor debuffs on targets and the protection offered to the group are not negligible although it will take time to be appreciated for their true value.
Cycle modification
To tell the truth, I have always been uncomfortable with the idea of talking about cycles for tanking as this business requires responsiveness and adaptation ... My vocation as TANK is based on an interesting gameplay where the way of playing and knowing your character will also make the difference than the rest! In the midst of changes of target, modifications of placement and the many CCs that one takes, it is rare to unfold a regular cycle during a fight. Also, can we just be satisfied with recalling the priorities.
Saber Throw / Force Leap : how to start a fight differently? The duo gives the necessary concentration to the start, dps, cc with a little luck and interrupt! What more ?
Saber reflection: new and classy, ideal for wowing the gallery! Snap early when aggro from a pack for zero damage for 5 seconds and maximum animosity.
Fatal strike : Occurs as early as possible for armor debuff and as often as possible to generate focus
riposte : an essential blow that provides 5% defense for 10 seconds
Protective slit : The ultimate power of the guardian special defense with a bonus damage reduction for 20 seconds, a response available. Whatever happens, the Protective Slash must occur after the armor debuff on an awakened enemy.
Concentration in combat : when you want to increase your dps and your concentration is low without a fatal strike available
Blade storm : improves absorption
Defensive CD: saber return (2min30), protective call (2min30), absorbent dopant, defense relic
Taunt mono target: provocation
Zone Taunt: Provocative Call
We therefore build small cycles adapted to each situation, here are some personal examples:
- I engage a pack of mobs: saber throw - force jump - saber reflection - force sweep - fatal strike - protective lunge - tripper - cyclone lunge and very clever the one who takes the aggro from me on a single mob during the sequence!
- I hire a boss: saber throw - force leap - fatal strike - protective slit - retaliation - blade storm - extreme strike (animosity) - force stasis (generates concentration regularly) - fatal strike and retaliate as soon as up ... the single target taunt becomes almost useless!
- Final of a boss (burst dps and maximum damage to the group on enrage): fatal strike (debuff armor and concentration) - provocative call (protection of the raid) - protective slash (the total) - extreme strike (animosity) - rispote ( defense) - elimination (dps) - expert strike (dps)
- Burst of damage to my head: saber return or provocative call - risposte - fatal strike - protective slit - blade storm - poise if life begins to drop and a defensive CD immediately behind.
Mitigation
Nothing to do with the update 2.0, this new concept is however contemporary and begins to make a lot of noise on the Anglo-Saxon forums. But what is this contraption?
Mitigation is a mathematical principle used in the field of risk or impact studies to designate systems of means and measures to mitigate effects ... From there to apply it to tanking, there was only one not ! It is done with an illuminated named KeyboardNinja who set fire to the English forum.
Defense / Shield / Absorption?
To put it simply, the mitigation answers a question: when I am hit with a constant dps over time, what is the most optimized distribution between my secondary statistics? To calculate that, nothing could be easier! Calculate your budget or the sum defense + shield + absorption and simply refer to the corresponding line to obtain the ideal distribution.
Budget
{0,{defense->0,shield->0,absorb->0}}
{100,{defense->64,shield->36,absorb->0}}
{200,{defense->127,shield->73,absorb->0}}
{300,{defense->191,shield->109,absorb->0}}
{400,{defense->254,shield->146,absorb->0}}
{500,{defense->318,shield->182,absorb->0}}
{600,{defense->381,shield->219,absorb->0}}
{700,{defense->445,shield->255,absorb->0}}
{800,{defense->508,shield->292,absorb->0}}
{900,{defense->572,shield->328,absorb->0}}
{1000,{defense->635,shield->365,absorb->0}}
{1100,{defense->699,shield->401,absorb->0}}
{1200,{defense->762,shield->438,absorb->0}}
{1300,{defense->826,shield->474,absorb->0}}
{1400,{defense->889,shield->511,absorb->1}}
{1500,{defense->917,shield->547,absorb->36}}
{1600,{defense->928,shield->583,absorb->89}}
{1700,{defense->939,shield->620,absorb->141}}
{1800,{defense->951,shield->656,absorb->193}}
{1900,{defense->963,shield->693,absorb->244}}
{2000,{defense->977,shield->729,absorb->294}}
{2100,{defense->990,shield->766,absorb->344}}
{2200,{defense->1004,shield->802,absorb->393}}
{2300,{defense->1019,shield->839,absorb->442}}
{2400,{defense->1034,shield->875,absorb->491}}
{2500,{defense->1050,shield->912,absorb->539}}
I stop at 2500 budget insofar as no equipment allows for the moment to go beyond. And there, it is the beginning of the surprises and the end of the received ideas (at the guardian at least):
- While it was long believed that it made sense to trigger the shield as much as to absorb with it, it is not! It appears more profitable to trigger it more often, even if it means absorbing less! It therefore seems unnecessary to have the slightest additional absorption to the base statistics before reaching a budget of 1500!
- The defense saw its performance modified with a very marked hard cap at 19%, i.e. an index close to 1200.
- The shield retains its performance profile and could become the target to be reached as a priority since it takes advantage of the basic absorption performance of the goalkeeper.
Mitigation / Endurance ?
So there are two schools! The debate will certainly be heated ... Should we, with the goalkeeper, favor endurance or secondary statistics (and the budget allocated to our famous mitigation)? I have personally already made my choice for Elehy, but I believe that everyone will have to make their own according to their style! I only summarize here the advantages of the two attitudes:
- Stuff optimized endurance
- Stuff optimized mitigation
- Am I going to tease the 43 hp and be able to strut proudly on the fleet without being ashamed to come across a shadow tank?
- I am a real health bag that the healers can fill at their leisure without being surprised by a burst dps on my head.
- I will be able to brag more often to parry, absorb in front of the group!
- After 2 minutes of fighting on a boss (calculation made in full stuff 72 but fairly reproducible on all levels of stuff), I will have roughly caught up the 7000 PV that I have less by avoiding taking them and allowing, from there, it is up to the healers to offer them to someone else. In short, I am the friend of the scholar Artenis (nod to the previous guide) and the thug Barah'zeezda (nod to my GM, it's always good for advancement).
Advanced improvements 28
Even though the fashion among the Tank Guardians I hang out with seems to be stamina optimization (in which case the buffs are all Advanced Fortitudes 28), some of you may want to try out enhanced mitigation. It is obtained on a homogeneous stuff without moving modification (full 69 or full 72) by 11 advanced entrenchment improvements 28 (defense) for 3 advanced shield improvements 28.
Here ! I think the Jedi Guardian TANK remains a very good character in damage management, he has made significant progress in taking multi-target aggro and remains effective in all areas of HL tanking. I have observed its effective and complementary association with other tank classes, especially with the Vanguard (isn't that Nei'lin?). Thank you for considering my point of view so patiently. I hope it will give rise to an enriching debate and that you will want to check out the legendary effectiveness of the Jedi Guardian TANK in operation! ... Have a good game everyone!
Elehy
