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RIFT 1.6 Warrior Comprehensive Tanking Analysis (Update)
All rights are reserved to the author: Sebb in RIFT Forum
Purpose
Break down the different builds possible. If you don't want to read anymore - go spec VK/RV/WL hybrid and laugh at everything in the game.
The Testing
Attacking elite mobs in Shimmer Sand: Wanton Destroyer and Wanton Scortcher. To start, I attacked mobs naked using a 0/0/0 with no buffs up to establish baseline damage done by mobs. All passive buffs were used, but no active buffs were used (empowered strike namely).
- Gear level is full T1 raid gear
- For reaver testing, 3 stacks of wasting were active and 10 stacks of crest mastery.
- No debuffs were used (pacifying strike etc) Warlord Testing was done using Call to Entrench, but without the 5% buff it provides (by clicking off the buff).
- Some warlord magic mitigation is slightly skewed because of the +resistance buff, which will have diminished returns with appropriate raid buffs and a full source core.
- A full earth based block source core was used.
- All magic damage taken was fire damage.
- Void Knight testing is with 10 pacts up.
Live baseline: 51 VK/8PL/7 WL : Physical Mitigation: 76%, Magical Mitigation: 30%, Block chance: 72% w/ aggressive block
**NOTE** ALL #'s are all now theorycrafted. Testing has shown all mitigation to be additive. For all average mitigation values, please see Eaux's sheet.
51 Pt Builds
51 VK/15 PL/0WL – Pure Void Knight:
Physical Mitigation: 73.6%;
Magic Mitigation: 36.1%;
Block: 68%
Comments: Comes with lots of tools, easy to keep pacts up. All the usual goodies of 51 vk. The last 7 points are pretty much just for the chance to reset void summon.
51 WL/15PL/0VK – Pure Warlord
Physical Mitigation: 73.5%;
Magic Mitigation: 40.1%;
Block: 68%
Comments: A very fun build. Generals order is good for some laughs, so is killing field, but not in a good way. In general, there is no reason to go beyond 32 if you want to MT anything. Maybe 38 if you want no permission to die.
51 PL/15 WL – Pure Paladin
Physical Mitigation: 72.1%;
Magic Mitigation: 34.1%;
Block: 76.51%
Comments: The worst of all 51 point builds. This lacks the mitigation of every other build you can possibly think of. Life’s rapture sharing a cooldown with Touch of Life just adds insult to injury. I’d only ever spec this if LR was changed to a 1 min CD. In latest PTS update, LR now instant heals the paladin, making it an improved version of ToL. The only place I can see this build being useful is a fight that has minimal tank damage but lots of raid damage. Zilas maybe?
51 RV/15 PL/0 VK – The Pure Reaver
Physical Mitigation: 76.6%;
Magic Mitigation: 42%;
Block: 73%
Comments: As mentioned above, Paladin beyond 26 is a joke. This brings you Entrench caller and all the VK goodies. A minimal VK build will make pacts a little bit difficult to keep up, so count on alternating between CtE and Pact Conversion. Good all around build that brings lots of VK utility.
26 VK/24 RV/16 WL – The Death tri-brid
Physical Mitigation: 80%;
Magic Mitigation: 52.1%;
Block: 51%
Comments: An alternate to the Shielding Hybrid, this build trades the block based benefits for static mitigation. A solid build if you want to spend your APs keeping CtE up.
Niche Builds
21 RB/16WL/29VK – Blink Tank
Physical Mitigation: 77.4%;
Magic Mitigation: 41.5%;
Block: 51.5%
Comments: n alternate to my old favorite. You may be able to move points out of VK and then go 22 RV instead of WL, or put points into resistance in WL and still keep Rift summon and 5 pt devour. It’s pretty asinine that this build does better than any 51 build. The changes to surge make aoe threat a lot easier, and the hp boost we get with gifts makes this more viable in a raid.
26 RB/16 WL/24VK – The Warstalker (aka – ROFLIMAROGUETANK)
Physical Mitigation: 75.9%;
Magic Mitigation: 37.2%;
Block: 51.51
Comments: The new change to rift summon makes this build amazing. This is an awesome aoe off tank build. You simultaneously will get a pull taunt and blink every 4-6 seconds, near unlimited energy, aoe threat from surge/PC, all while providing freeze armor for your warrior DPS. Oh ya, feel free to taunt and eat a nuke using stoneshield. The only downside is you can only put 3 points in devour because of the need to pick up Rift summon.
38RV/20Paragon/8PL - The squid killer
Physical Mitigation: 74%;
Magical Mitigation: 40.5%;
Block: 62%
Comments: So you want to go WOTM tank? This is probably the way to go.
38PL/28WL/0VK - The Off Tank
Physical Mitigation: 74.3%;
Magical Mitigation: 38.1%;
Block: 75%
Comments: This spec is awesome to use for off tanking. You put preservation on the MT, and get access to Aid Command.
44 Pt Builds
44 VK/22 WL/0 PL – The VoidLord
Physical Mitigation: 75.9%;
Magic Mitigation: 39.1%;
Block: 61.5%
Comments: A really nice all around that I’ll probably have come live. You get all the best cooldowns, quality mitigation, and still a decently high block level thanks to 0 PL. Plus, with 22 points in WL you can move points around as you wish between figure head and resistances.
44 PL/22 WL/0 PL –PallyLord
Physical Mitigation: 74.3%;
Magic Mitigation: 37.1%;
Block: 75%
Comments: A decently robust build. Impassable guard is a really nice cooldown, and with this build you get a high block level. Preservation is a nice ability. This build will probably be usable in a two tank fight without very heavy magical mitigation where FoF and the rest of the VK tools are nice to have.
44 RV/22 WL/0 PL – The ReaverLord
Physical Mitigation: 79.3%;
Magic Mitigation: 53.1%;
Block: 60%
Comments: If you really want a 1 min cooldown, this blows everything out of the water. It gives you the deep reaver cooldown plus enraged essence and binding of death. Spam blood fever without ever running out of power. Oh, also infestation at 3 points is a nifty little cooldown to rotate in.
44 VK/22 RV/0 PL – The Death Knight
Physical Mitigation: 76.5%;
Magic Mitigation: 46.1%;
Block: 56%
Comments: This build gives you the best of the cool downs with most of the reaver mitigation goodness. RS keeps your block levels up along with 0 PL. Without having to keep CtE up, you’re going to spam PC all day long.
44 PL/22 RV/0 VK – The Deathadin
Physical Mitigation: 74.8%;
Magic Mitigation: 44%;
Block: 70%
Comments: One of the two ways to make 44 PL work. The mitigation is better than the 22 WL estimate with POTM active, but you don’t get the raid benefits of cutting distraction and intercept.
44 RV/16WL/6PL - Cooldown Reaver
Physical Mitigation: 79.3%;
Magical Mitigation: 54.1%;
Block: 70%
Comments: This build gives you top quality mitigation with high block levels. Cycling SoE and Infestation every minute gives you a lot more average mitigation. Same build as Reaver Lord, but trading some resistance and figure head for a lot more block.
Top Mitigation Builds
38RV/28VK/0PL - Max Mitigation
Physical Mitigation: 80%;
Magic Mitigation: 55.1%;
Block: 58%
Comments: This is going to be top non-block mitigation for anyone in T1 Raid gear. Has some really nice VK utility. No 44 pt cooldown. Once you get to 4 pc of HK gear though, you're going to want to move to the build below.
38RV/16WL/12PL - Top Average Mitigation
Physical Mitigation: 79.9%;
Magic Mitigation: 54.1%;
Block: 70%
Comments: Though on paper passive mitigation isn't quite as good, you probably have a lot more average mitigation. Once you have the 4 pc warlord crystal, then this is quite superior. You do give up the utility from VK tree. The 38/20/8 variant is probably a better holistic use of points for raiding. The presence of cutting distraction is a big boost to raid dps.
CONCLUSION
Making a build is simple - put 38 points into reaver, then decide what else you want to do. Try to keep 0 PL for the +10% block.
3 soul hybrid > 2 soul hybrid > 1 51 pt soul.
If you spec'd 51 points into a tanking soul you're doing it wrong. If the fight calls for it, go 2 souls at 44 pts and get the 1 min cooldown. Otherwise, expect see everyone running around with vk/wl/rv hybrid builds. It's obscene. Get a boat, because there will be a flood of cleric/rogue tanking tears. Warrior tanks not including 21-25 points of reaver should ask themselves what they're really doing. The mitigation levels are so high I had to go back and test again because I didn't believe what I had written down.
Closing Remarks
If you pretend that Reaver mitigation gets fixed, we've got a lot of options to play with. Assuming that's not going to happen, we're going to go 3 soul hybrid, have minimal raid utility and no cooldowns - get smacked in the face repeatedly while spamming soul sickness and aggressive block. Try to stay awake. I highly recommend you challenge yourself though and go Blink tank. It's easier in 1.6 thanks to threat changes.
I don't know why they made reaver have so much more mitigation than other classes. Even if you decide to ignore the best mitigation you can get, gimp your raid, and do something else - then you still can put something together that has comparable mitigation to pre 1.6.
Source: Forum
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