Why isn't a tanking spec using DPS pvp gear considered an exploit?

[JP_Legatus]

I can't remember the last time I saw a rated team beat another good rated team without a real tank Edited January 18, 2013 by JP_Legatus

[Lithy]

I play a tank spec assassin in tank pvp gear.

 

I don't go out to do damage, my job is to be the turret/door/bunker boss, and I can't do that in DPS gear.

 

I like having full pvp gear and having 28k HP too...

 

You wont reach 28k, but you can stack health still and still have stats more useful than all shield absorb. My shadow runs around 22/30/30 and about 24k HP. Perfect use of CC *pulling smashers away so they waist the smash* and overall protection through perfect use of taunts, guard switch, CC, KILLING WHATS ON YOUR HEALERS is what makes a tank a tank. All the survivability in the world is useless if you cant protect your healers/team in ways other than just standing next to them.

[Groncho]

Sounds like a balanced issue to me that needs to be resolved, I think it's insulting when your preferred spec isn't using the proper pvp gear.

 

mai god

[vactus]

No, I'm saying stick to your spec and use it as it was intended, if you want to dps, play a dps spec with dps gear, don't go around and use dps gear when you should be tanking for your team, your not helping your just making matters worse, a tanking spec should not be wearing dps gear or vise versa.

 

I realize critical chance always has the advantage over shield chance which is unfortunate for tanks, but until bioware can come up with something where balance is no longer a problem for tanks, it's best to stay the course that we were assigned too.

 

I could see you being insulted if gear dropped at the end of a match and a tank rolled need for the gear over a DPS that actually needs it, however, this is just sad. I can tank in DPS gear for PvP and I can tank in tank gear for PvP. With DPS I can actually help my team kill people vs just standing there and only guard switching and using Harpoon when it's off CD.

[jgoldsack]

You wont reach 28k, but you can stack health still and still have stats more useful than all shield absorb. My shadow runs around 22/30/30 and about 24k HP. Perfect use of CC *pulling smashers away so they waist the smash* and overall protection through perfect use of taunts, guard switch, CC, KILLING WHATS ON YOUR HEALERS is what makes a tank a tank. All the survivability in the world is useless if you cant protect your healers/team in ways other than just standing next to them.

 

I have to laugh at this. Sorry.

 

I do all of that. My damage is supplemental to the DPS, which is supposed to be the ones killing people. You ask the people I play with regularly if they think I would be more useful to the team if I rolled DPS gear, and they will tell you no, because they see the value in the kind of tank I play.

 

You seem to be under a misconception that all tanks can do is stand there and keep guard on the healers and AOE taunt. That is all bad tanks can do (which a large number of tanks are unfortunately) but good tanks can do all that you mentioned, and still do it all in tank gear.

 

And 22/30/30 sounds a bit overpowered

Edited January 18, 2013 by jgoldsack

[RaithHarth]

I could see you being insulted if gear dropped at the end of a match and a tank rolled need for the gear over a DPS that actually needs it, however, this is just sad. I can tank in DPS gear for PvP and I can tank in tank gear for PvP. With DPS I can actually help my team kill people vs just standing there and only guard switching and using Harpoon when it's off CD.

 

If your changing your build/spec to DPS I see your point where DPS gear comes in handy in those situations, but as a tank using dps gear not so much, because it's the tanks job to protect his/her team, they aren't designed to kill.

[lucianobck]

Sounds like a balanced issue to me that needs to be resolved, I think it's insulting when your preferred spec isn't using the proper pvp gear.

 

Proper pvp gear? Is the almost stupid thing I've ever heard in this game....

[BrianDavion]

It's not an exploit to stack the stats you want for PVP. that's honestly the entire reason why we have moddable gear (well that and end game gear looks like crap)

 

besides just becuase a guardian is in soresu doesn't mean he's defence specced. on my guardian I "stance dance" frequently. if I'm carrying the ball you better belive I'm gonna be in soresu

Edited January 18, 2013 by BrianDavion

[RaithHarth]

It's not an exploit to stack the stats you want for PVP. that's honestly the entire reason why we have moddable gear (well that and end game gear looks like crap)

 

besides just becuase a guardian is in soresu doesn't mean he's defence specced. on my guardian I "stance dance" frequently. if I'm carrying the ball you better belive I'm gonna be in soresu

 

Sure it's not, but why would a tank want to use critical augments? When they should be stacking on Endurance or Defense? If you want to go the other way that's fine, just be sure your doing it with the proper setup

[DarthBloodloss]

Top 6 biggest exploits so far:

 

1) Tank spec using DPS gear

2) A light sider with the "Darth" title

3) Jedi using Red crystals

4) Bounty Hunter wearing Juggernaut helm

5) Stacking HP as a DPS

6) Using any form of hybrid build

[vactus]

Sure it's not, but why would a tank want to use critical augments? When they should be stacking on Endurance or Defense? If you want to go the other way that's fine, just be sure your doing it with the proper setup

That's just small minded.

 

You're better off asking for tank stats to matter more in PvP. End/Def can only go so far in actually being useful. When almost every attack goes through straight to my HP then I'd at least like be able to do some damage back. I'm plenty useful as a tank. Guard switching, Cryogrenade, Harpoon, stun, taunts. None of those are affected greatly by my gear. /shrug

 

Balance > mandatory gear. This isn't vanilla WoW where you roll on my Warlocks T0 gear as a rogue and get laughed at because it's useless to you. This game offers variety and demands it in PvP where most of my stats are not that useful.

[Altheran]

Perfect use of CC *pulling smashers away so they waist the smash* and overall protection through perfect use of taunts, guard switch, CC, KILLING WHATS ON YOUR HEALERS is what makes a tank a tank. All the survivability in the world is useless if you cant protect your healers/team in ways other than just standing next to them.

 

You can effectively switch guard, making you consistantly receiving a good amount of damage, if and only if you have enough survivabilty. A character without a good enough survivabilty can't be a good guard.

[Warshades]

I think my shadow spec is 27/12/2. Now at first you might say thats mostly tank, except that all the abilities I picked up in my first line was for dmg and force regen. I didnt spec tank to be a tank. I specced it for 30% faster regen, force pull, crit project with 15% more dmg, 2 secs longer res....etc.

 

Now Im sure people will hate on my spec but force pull is just too much fun to give up =)

[DarthOvertone]

Sounds like a balanced issue to me that needs to be resolved, I think it's insulting when your preferred spec isn't using the proper pvp gear.

 

In all fairness to the specs I believe you are criticizing, most are running hybrids, (if they're smart), and not in a true tanking spec anyway.

 

But you do have a finger on something...namely that Tanking stats aren't as effective in PvP as they should be, and that is a balancing issue of sorts that BW has known about since EGA. Tanking stats work great in PvE though.

[Altheran]

I think my shadow spec is 27/12/2. Now at first you might say thats mostly tank, except that all the abilities I picked up in my first line was for dmg and force regen. I didnt spec tank to be a tank. I specced it for 30% faster regen, force pull, crit project with 15% more dmg, 2 secs longer res....etc.

 

Now Im sure people will hate on my spec but force pull is just too much fun to give up =)

 

And me, I specced 33/0/8 in order to be a tank, and all I got was something half-tanking and half-DPS. Sad, isn't it ?

[PoliteAssasin]

In all fairness to the specs I believe you are criticizing, most are running hybrids, (if they're smart), and not in a true tanking spec anyway.

 

But you do have a finger on something...namely that Tanking stats aren't as effective in PvP as they should be, and that is a balancing issue of sorts that BW has known about since EGA. Tanking stats work great in PvE though.

 

Tanking stats are fine for pvp. Not every player has the calling for it that's all. On Begeren we probably could count on one hand the great pvp tanks who can be really annoying. (Funny enough none of them are imps though). They're few in number, but they know their roles and are tough to take down even without a healer, and these individuals always play the objectives, not like many bad tanks (most of whom tend to be imps) who think they're dps, while still in tank gear. So looking at these individuals, and another full tank in this thread who seems to be on the same level, I'd have to say you're wrong about tanks not being viable for pvp in full tanking gear. Well played/geared tanks will be a pain to deal with especially if you're trying to capture an objective.

[stephenalandavie]

Exactly I feel your not doing your job as a tank when your going out in dps gear when it's your duty to be tanking for your team

 

Seriously what you smoking? i want some!!!! DPS tanks aren't new to Swtor so in no way is it an exploit.

[RaithHarth]

That's just small minded.

 

You're better off asking for tank stats to matter more in PvP. End/Def can only go so far in actually being useful. When almost every attack goes through straight to my HP then I'd at least like be able to do some damage back. I'm plenty useful as a tank. Guard switching, Cryogrenade, Harpoon, stun, taunts. None of those are affected greatly by my gear. /shrug

 

Balance > mandatory gear. This isn't vanilla WoW where you roll on my Warlocks T0 gear as a rogue and get laughed at because it's useless to you. This game offers variety and demands it in PvP where most of my stats are not that useful.

 

The only stats that matter to me at the moment are the one's that do nothing in pvp for tanks, when absorb and shielding aren't working I'm very concerned because it doesn't make sense why critical chance always gets the upper hand and shield chance does nothing in return.

 

I don't care about damage, sure we get power points with our endurance and defense augments but really that's all we really need, I don't need to prove to anyone else that wearing dps gear will get me brownie points, tanks aren't made for that we are designed to secure and protect our team.

 

What tanks could really use are abilities that can absorb/shield and redirect the damage back to the user such as Force Deflection or Force Absorb we should have those abilities to push off the damage and send it right back at them, not to cause it ourselves.

[Warshades]

And me, I specced 33/0/8 in order to be a tank, and all I got was something half-tanking and half-DPS. Sad, isn't it ?

 

Ultimately, and what alot of people have alluded to, is that tanking in PvP has never been the optimal performer or required class vs. PvE.

 

In Pve you must have a tank and healer for end game because fights last longer than your health even with heal pots. If in pve you could burn down all the main bosses without needing a tank, tanks would cease to exist. Well thats what PvP has already done. Because you can burn down that opponent faster than say an elite mob or in some cases even strong mobs?

 

What does shield give ya really? almost no reason to have it. So same with abs. hell even armor rating has a minimal impact. And the extra 4k HP? Thats barely an extra hit from a DPS. Hell my healing sage could aoe hit people for 3.5k in BM gear.

 

And you can taunt and guard without being in tank gear so that role isnt gone.

[Naej]

I think some people want to be in that spot where you can contribute to the team's DPS effort, while having the extra survivability of the Tank stances + the extra Defensive CD and utility.

 

Some people on the other hand like to be that invincible force with 26k HP that just never dies, while killing the other team's damage with Taunt and Cover. Or to carry that ball across the map in Huttball. Or defend single-handedly a door in Voidstar.

 

It all depends on what you wanna do and what is your playstyle. IMO the later is the harder of the 2 to play, hence most people going Tank in DPS gear.

 

I know I hated to be a full tank (in Tank gear) as a Guardian, but loved it SO MUCH with my Vanguard.