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Ortheri
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re: Ortheri's Warden tank tips

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Ortheri's Wardening guide!

So, I was asked the other day for advice on how to tank as a Warden... Anyone who knows me well knows that its a bad idea to get me started on my favorite topic. Happy So I decided to write a tutorial* on the subject of Warden tanking For all to see and brave the ridicule i will receive over my horrible grammar.

Threat

There are many gambits in the Wardens arsenal to generate mass amounts of threat. The trick is to find a rotation that works and you are comfortable with. The reason I underlined "works" is that if your rotation of gambits is not holding threat then it needs to be tweeked. At level 75 We have 47 gambits. There are lots of options, especially since we can only start with one queued and have to build the rest from scratch. So choose how to start wisely!

There is more then one way to start a fight and hold aggro. I used to start off with Warcry [FI/SH] because I could build it with one mastery on the the run in and it has a greater radius (10m) then Exultation of Battle [FI/SP/SH/FI/SH] and Warcy has just enough upfront threat to overcome that pesky hot the RK stuck on you while you build an EoB. However, with the addition of Battle preparation, Eob is a lot more attractive, as its up and ready to go before the fight starts while a fresh set of masteries are waiting in the wings. Although the old Warcry Method is still as effective as it used to be and even easier to execute now. I still use Warcry to start a a fight when the Mobs i need to hit are spread out farther then EoB's reach. One could also start with a traited 6 target Goad [FI/FI]. This allows for the follow up EoB to go into Battle memory, so you will have one set back for a rainy day. Not to even mention javelin skills.

Now you may have noticed In all three Scenarios posted above EoB was the meat and potatoes, There is a reason for that. That reason is that EoB pre U7 went from a really, really good threat tool to the Threat tool post U7. EoB is now Stronger threat wise on 10 targets then Precise Blow** used to be on one. So get used to that 6m radius as its the best threat gambit even for single target use. If the situation comes up where you need to threat swap remember EoB's tot stacks with its self and is very potent. So even if you think the other tank has hate there is a good chance you may get it back even though you haven't done anything.

The Threat Leaches are still potent and should still be used but have fallen to a more threat maintenance/buff roll then they were. They are still the only way we can grab and hold threat without breaking a mezz. I would be remiss however if i didn't mention Aggression [FI/SH/SP/FI] Specifically. Aggression is currently the most potent of the threat leaches by far. However, it was nerffed then restored so im guessing the powers that be will likely mess with Aggression again. In a 6 man if you die (god forbid) 3 Aggressions or so will likely get you threat back. The thing to keep in mind about recovery after death is that Aggression will only get you so far and you will want to use a EoB or two to help put you back at the top of the list. The good news is that Recovery after death is possible before the group wipes.

Buffing

Since RoI self buffs have become even more important then they used to be to bridge the gap between Guards and Wardens. Buffs are also substantially easier to keep up then previously. Back in the day, anytime I could I would want to chain pulls to allow me to keep my buffs up easier. Now Battle Preparation allows us to be buffed to the hilt before we even engage! Buffs are also much easier to maintain thanks in large part to EoBs new found awesomeness, As we can spend less time on threat and more time rotating buffs.

Impressive Flourish line: To use this to full benefit start with Impressive Flourish [Sh/FI] , Madding Strike [Sh/Fi/Sh] and capps with Dance of War [Sh/Fi/Sh/Fi]. The bonus to this chain is a sizable bump to Mitigations for the duration of the Buff. This chain buff falls to the wayside once you get gear enough to cap your Mits, but before then it can be a life saver.[Edit] This chain also has a crit defense boost so can also be very useful against had hitting bosses.

Warcry line : Warcry chain starts at WC then BoV [Fi/SH/Fi] and finaly SoD [Fi/Sh/Fi/Sh] This gives a Nice bump to Evade rating. WC all by its self gives +600 evade rating for 30 sec at 75 plus a first tier heal. This a very nice buff chain to keep up as much as you can.

Persevere line : I am not 100% this line starts at Persevere and not Safeguard but whatever. This Chain buff increases block chance besides the fact all these skills heal you so its a no brainer. Im not gonna list em cause everyone knows and loves our self heal line. Just remember that to get the max buff you have to chain them from small to large as on all buff chains.

Dance of War : DoW at 75 gives something like +1200 evade rating for 30 sec... Tolt doesn't like to use it because of the longish animation but more and more i find myself using this in place of my regularly scheduled Conviction. As you can see above there is another good Evade buff if you feel as Tolt does so the choice is yours.

Shield Mastery An old favorite every knows to keep this up at all times.


Shield Tactics : This Buff is a lot more important before you get your Mits capped as it is a big boost to your Tactical Mitigation. One would continue to use this gambit though for its Stun immunity effect. where if you know a stun ect. is coming a Shield Tactics before hand can be a lifesaver. The duration on the stun immunity is very short so if you know a stun is imminent have it stored in Memory or queued. Also the Stun Immunity has a 45 sec cool down once you would have been stunned, so if you were actually protected from a stun it has a CD not if the buff was just active.

Wall of steel : I used to think that this gambit was a waste of time and now its still hard to impossible to keep up full time but i offten have it in Memory ready to catch the odd interrupt while giving me that 20 sec parry rate increase. You may not think that this is the best use for Battle Memory and you may not be wrong.

That is about it for buffs apart from Defensive Strike (+1200 block for a few sec depending on traits) and Dark Before the Dawn (small power restore/pot).Ohh yeah, DBtD can be used at any time now rather then just when you are bellow 50% morale so its cool. Now on a new thing to a warden, Emergency Skills!

Emergency Skills


Wardens now have a 2 emergency skills we can burn in a tight spot.

Never Surrender : It is awsome! Its 15 min CD is on the longish side but if you are getting bellow 10% morale more often then that either you, the Healer or the Fellowship needs to go back to the drawing board. What makes this skill so nice though is that the devs removed all penaltys from the skill! So no more gimped Hots or lack of masteries! NS's actual buff last for five whole minuets too, So if you burn it, and then bubbled there is still a good chance at it saving your hide! Or, If you know there is some massive damage coming your way you can pop it early just to be safe eg: As your fellowship burns the last bit of the forge in foundry challenge mode. Or, just save it for the unexpected. anyway you cut it, a skill that heals for 60% of your morale and power and wont allow you be struck dead is sweet.

Defiant Challenge Our other ohh $%!# skill is a little harder to understand. It is a 5 sec force taunt However, the additional threat it used to apply is gone. The reflect is still present and in place of the threat we now have +40% to mitigations for 30 sec starting after the animation. That is +40% above cap!!!!!!!!!!!! so with caped mits that is 90% mitigation for 30 seconds. Long story short, DC isn't much of a taunt. There is a chance that the reflected damage will be enough to keep threat after the force taunt wears off but if you didnt have threat before you used DC you 9 times out of 10 wont have threat afterword. So to sum up, DC is not a emergency Threat tool its a emergency survival skill with a force taunt. DC's animation is also way to long in my opinion and since we don't get any benefits for DC until the animation is done its better you use this skill slightly earlier then you think you will need it...which means you may not have needed it at all. The good news is that its only a three and a half min CD(with a LI Leg to reduce it to 2:30) so it will likely be up when you need it again.


Traits

I believe there is much less to say as far as tanking traits go. Most class and virtue traits should be pretty obvious for a tanking build.

Legacies

Legacies are more open to preference then alot of things in this game, so use what you prefer. There is now a greater choice of good legs for warden then there used to be so if you are unsure play around with them.


That's about it for Warden 101. Though I am always up for a good discussion on the subject of warden tanking. So, if you have any conflicting opinions or observations or anything to add please post or hit me up on vent. Here is also a link to a pdf Gambit tree that I have found very helpful. http://mkweb.bcgsc.ca/lotro/chart/0.62/warden_gambit_chart.pdf

Warden Tanks are in a better position then we ever have been before. We have more tool at our disposal then ever before, This has made the Class more advanced but has also made it stronger.








*(These are my opinions on Warden tanking and as such should be taken with a grain of salt. I would also like to point out that my opinions are the better then everyone else's.) **(Precise Blow has been nerffed to Oblivion now and should be avoided)


Last edited by Ortheri on Jul 24th, 2012 12:18 am; edited 1 time in total


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re: Ortheri's Warden tank tips

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Nice update on the state of Warden tanking Ortheri!


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re: Ortheri's Warden tank tips

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Sweet! thanks Orth Happy


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re: Thank you Ortheri!

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I have some questions on Masteries and how to use them on Rellikkon, but I guess I can speak more in kin chat on that. Thank you for the info and help though!


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re: Ortheri's Warden tank tips

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Well, we can talk about Masteries any time you catch me online if you want to know how I personally use my Masteries in my rotation, though there is more then one way to skin a cat. I sometimes, depending on the situation will build EoB 3 different ways.


I will say however that, Masteries are pivotal to being a good Warden. The faster and thereby more gambits built in any given fight can mean the deference between defeat and victory. More gambits gotten off faster means more buffs, heals and threat over someone who does not use Masteries. How and where they fit into a rotation is up to the individual Warden.

They are daunting at first its true but well worth relearning how to build gambits using them. I occasionally (Frequently) have trouble building a gambit using a alternate method then I am used to, But with all the lag problems lotro has had of late I'm getting quite adept and thinking on my toes to get the gambit I need built.

The main thing to keep in mind is as I stated in the OP. If a rotation isn't working or isn't working well then tweek it. Mess around with gambit order and Mastery usage or what ever you have to to A: have threat, and B: survive.

If anyone wants to know how I use them or any subject around my albeit slightly elitist view on how to play warden I am more then willing to talk about it, just ask. I have been playing alts allot lately cause Orth has just about beat Lotro up to this point so keep a eye out for Xvincentx, Islindi or some variation of Ortheri and we'll grab a vent channel to ourselves so as not to enforce my endless Ramblings on anyone but who asked for it.


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