Gearing VG/PT Tank post 4.0

[TheGamingPancake]

I haven't look super much into the stats and gearing that much, but somehow i almost feel like HP is the way to go.

HP > shield > absorb > defense. ATM I'm 78490 HP stimed and buffed, 45% shield, 35% absorb (needs to be a bit higher), 25% deference, with a 52% dmg reduction. All this in almost full 216 rating (bought with) with some 208 pieces.

The reason i believe that HP is king is; during 3.0 and also 4.0 I've played with healers that say that HP tanks are really easy to play with, as you're not so prone to spike dmg, and therefore don't need as much attention from healers in tight situations. And yes i know "if you're a good group and everyone knows what to do that's not going to happen", but we all know how MMO's are.

But what do you guys think? while we wait for dulfy to get their guide up.

[Pokupo]

This is taken from Goblin_Lackey Post:

Powertech - Shield Tech || Vanguard - Shield Specialist (216 Level Gear)

Average Damage Profile: 68.5% Reduction: 5331 Endurance | 2639 (0xAug) Defense | 1569 (9xAug) Shield | 973 (5xAug) Absorb

High M/R Damage Profile: 75.2% Reduction: 5331 Endurance | 2639 (0xAug) Defense | 1569 (9xAug) Shield | 973 (5xAug) Absorb

Mid M/R Damage Profile: 67.5% Reduction: 5331 Endurance | 2639 (0xAug) Defense | 1569 (9xAug) Shield | 973 (5xAug) Absorb

Low M/R Damage Profile: 60% Reduction: 5331 Endurance | 2639 (0xAug) Defense | 1557 (13xAug) Shield | 985 (1xAug) Absorb

 

Depending on the content you are doing, you do not want to go all Endurance, if you do you just become a big Mana Sponge like Druid Bear Tanks in WoW (that may have changed by now?).

[Corran]

become a big Mana Sponge like Druid Bear Tanks in WoW (that may have changed by now?).

 

hrm. based on the current meta in both games

 

druid/dk = assassin/shadow/jug/guardian. cooldowns to manage, can be one-rounded if played poorly

 

paladin/warrior = pt/vanguard. steady profile least prone to spike

 

monk = pt/vanguard+jug/guardian ie. god tier.

[GabDube]

This is taken from Goblin_Lackey Post:

Powertech - Shield Tech || Vanguard - Shield Specialist (216 Level Gear)

Average Damage Profile: 68.5% Reduction: 5331 Endurance | 2639 (0xAug) Defense | 1569 (9xAug) Shield | 973 (5xAug) Absorb

High M/R Damage Profile: 75.2% Reduction: 5331 Endurance | 2639 (0xAug) Defense | 1569 (9xAug) Shield | 973 (5xAug) Absorb

Mid M/R Damage Profile: 67.5% Reduction: 5331 Endurance | 2639 (0xAug) Defense | 1569 (9xAug) Shield | 973 (5xAug) Absorb

Low M/R Damage Profile: 60% Reduction: 5331 Endurance | 2639 (0xAug) Defense | 1557 (13xAug) Shield | 985 (1xAug) Absorb

 

Depending on the content you are doing, you do not want to go all Endurance, if you do you just become a big Mana Sponge like Druid Bear Tanks in WoW (that may have changed by now?).

 

What would be more useful to know for newer players who are only starting to get max-level PVE or PVP gear is which armorings, barrels, mods, enhancements and augments we should get and just how many of each.

 

Every post or guide I've seen on the subject just lists vague numbers, but never actually explains how to obtain and balance those numbers. An example build listing which gear pieces and item modifications should be used would be much more enlightening.

[Fallerup]

I just recently got back to the game. I have tried researching the PT/vanguard class and what stats to aim for and such.

 

in the videos I've seen, and this also makes sense. you will want to focus on getting as much shield rating as possible. you spec is called shield tech after all. absorb of course follows this, they go hand in hand. how much of each you want I'm not really sure, but your aim should be about 50% shield. defense isn't something you need to focus on at all, but you will get some regardless and this cannot be helped unless you switch out the mods and enhancements individually, so around 15% defense is more than enough. Endurence comes after all of these.

 

Personally, I go for MK-8 shield rating and power augments.. power will mean more damage a.k.a. more threat. this is also why you want a dps barrel in your main hand weapon instead of a tanking one. Mastery > endurence for threat. You just need enough endurence to not get 1-shotted by boss abilities and thats it. your aim should always be to take as little damage as possible, which is why shield and absorb are your priority. your vanguard / powertech spec is called shield specialist / technician (tech), that should say everything. the % of each I'm not too sure of right now, so don't take my word for it, calculations for 4.0 are needed, maybe someone has done them already, Keyboard Ninja did the ones shown in thevideo below). watch the beginning of this long video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=98wmy7ev5hU

 

one note.. that is 3.0, so you might want to check the 4.0 changes to your class if you don't know them. for everything else, there is dulfy. he has guides n ****.

Edited November 6, 2015 by Fallerup

[Tenacity]

From the start I always saw us as the shield-focused tanks (while assasins are the absorbtion focused tanks, and juggernauts are the defense focused tanks). Powertechs have a lot of heat management, threat, and damage tied into how often they shield attacks. The more you shield, the more absorbtion you gain, the quicker your heat blast comes off cooldown, the more often you can use heat blast, the more threat you generate with it, the more heat you dissipate with it. Shielding also resets rocket punch's cooldown. We have oil slick to cover a lack of defense when needed, and we gain a ton of absorbtion through heat blast and shielding attacks. You also deal return damage to attackers when you shield attacks.

 

Similarly, assassins can easily get shield chance up through dark ward, but to make that shield chance effective they need to gear heavily for absorbtion. Juggernauts can use retaliate more often as they defend against attacks, and have their threat tied into that.

 

So, that all said, I always focus on maximum shield chance above all else with my powertech, then absorbtion, then defense, then power/etc.

 

EDIT:

 

It should be noted that we actually want -low- defense chance, as low as possible anyways. Defense rolls for incoming attacks precede shield rolls, which means the higher your defense chance is, the less often you're going to shield an attack. With so much of our resource management, damage, mitigation, and threat tied into shielding attacks, it's counterproductive to build defense, since it's actually reducing your ability to shield attacks and set off all of those procs.

Edited November 6, 2015 by Tenacity

[Corran]

 

EDIT:

 

It should be noted that we actually want -low- defense chance, as low as possible anyways. Defense rolls for incoming attacks precede shield rolls, which means the higher your defense chance is, the less often you're going to shield an attack. With so much of our resource management, damage, mitigation, and threat tied into shielding attacks, it's counterproductive to build defense, since it's actually reducing your ability to shield attacks and set off all of those procs.

 

I don't agree with this based only on your reasoning. resource management if you are weaving hammer shots in between everything is non-existent, and threat is a non issue.

100% avoiding an attack is a good thing for this class.

[gsummers]

So I have gone down the path of earning radiant crystals for 220, but also building up my armormech crafting to the point that I can now craft a couple 220 tank armors (bracers and gloves for now, working on pants).

 

I have compared the stats on what I can craft to what I can buy with radiant crystals, and it looks like the difference is what I craft gives less endurance and more mastery/defense/shield or absorb. But mostly more defense. Take the gloves for instance. Compared to the crystals-purchased gloves, the crafted gloves would give 70 less endurance, for about 30-40 more mastery, 8 more absorb, and over 100 more defense. Since I'm not sure defense guards against anything but the most basic attacks, would it really be worth it to give up 700+ life to get a little more absorb and mastery?

 

Or maybe defense is actually good in 4.0 and can protect against more than just hammer shot equivalent attacks? It does seem like there is little way to avoid stacking up massive amounts of defense if you are getting tank gear because it is on all tank gear. (Which means guardian tanks must be loving life)

[LukeTheGeek]

To me the "optimal stats" bs posted makes no sense. What I've done and it has no problems to date is take all comms mods and enhancements. So far I have 2k defence, 1.3k shield 1.05k absorb. This roughly maps out as 26/45/43. I believe I have 6 shield and 4 absorb enhancements and augments, with the remaining 4 augment slots being high endurance.

[Feanar]

To me the "optimal stats" bs posted makes no sense. What I've done and it has no problems to date is take all comms mods and enhancements. So far I have 2k defence, 1.3k shield 1.05k absorb. This roughly maps out as 26/45/43. I believe I have 6 shield and 4 absorb enhancements and augments, with the remaining 4 augment slots being high endurance.

 

Yeah, I've done similar. I'm on 1900 def, 1500 SR, and 1k absorb, with 6x tier bonus in a mix of 216/220 gear, with 216 absorb trinket and 224 on demand shield+absorb trinket (thank you Soa!))

 

Defense is nice, don't get me wrong, but I'd rather have 80k HP than dodge basic attacks(which get absorbed anyway) Besides, it's the T/F attacks that hit the most, rendering all that defense useless, and on Raptus you can't even mitigate half of his ****, so having really really decent health pool is benefical.

 

I just feel comfortable being a meatshield with tons of absorb, I feel a lot less spikey. And we all know, it's the spikes that kill the tank.

[PrincessShAmy]

It is so frustrating when guides only give me stats based on 216/220 gear. What about when one is starting out with 208 gear? I'm a casual player but I still want my stats to be accurate in case I decide to dive into more hard core content. Can someone please point me in the direction of a guide that is meant for someone starting out? Edited November 24, 2015 by PrincessShAmy

[Iffyluse]

It is so frustrating when guides only give me stats based on 216/220 gear. What about when one is starting out with 208 gear? I'm a casual player but I still want my stats to be accurate in case I decide to dive into more hard core content. Can someone please point me in the direction of a guide that is meant for someone starting out?

 

Go with proportion. If 216 stats say 1500 shield and 1200 absorb just keep in mind that you need a bit more shield than absorb. So like if you can get 1200 shield make sure you're at least at like 950 absorb

Edited November 24, 2015 by Iffyluse

[ThatGuyToo]

It is so frustrating when guides only give me stats based on 216/220 gear. What about when one is starting out with 208 gear? I'm a casual player but I still want my stats to be accurate in case I decide to dive into more hard core content. Can someone please point me in the direction of a guide that is meant for someone starting out?

 

For 208 gear it's almost a mute point since you will not be wearing that gear long. That's why no one wastes time considering the stat layout.