WAR-DUDE

I am sure that would work also, however I like being able to move unrestricted when my Wall of Force series is up.

It seems to fit my style of play;

I live , even with a bad healer, and hold agro.

A lot of the main line raid tanks on our server fly the Devastator Title, so its got to be worth something if they use it.

Anap KaSplat

I doubt any serious raiding tanks have any points in WIS, and if they do, please send them my way for a rectal checkup.

Unrestricted movement with wall of force is nice, I agree... Increased mitigation, who cares... but do you think it justifies all the other points you have to spend in that line in order to get there?

I'm not trying to bash you, just trying to give you reasons to open your eyes and look around at different, better, options. But like you said, it fits your play style, which is cool. Stick with it if you must, but don't be afraid to try different things - you may be pleasantly suprised

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WAR-DUDE

Ok
I had all ready stated;

While grinding thru the POK solo quests.

I found I had to drop the STA line, some reason i was just dropping too fast.

This is not being "Afraid" to try different things.

I respected about 8 times in various set ups to nail down something that would have me not get stomped when soloing.

STA dps - amazing and fun, however I was at 20% health at the end of each fight when taking on POK yellows.
If a add should show I was dead.

I found my self poping the tower in and out alot.

With this spec I am at 80% health on yellows and was fully able to take on adds.




http://eq2players.station.sony.com/characters/character_profile.vm?characterId=356415107'

Paikis

Soloing through RoK at the momment, level 73 so far and almost done with the Fens quests. My spec has been the same since I hit level 70:

STR 4-4-8
STA 4-4-8-8
WIS 4-1
INT 4-7-8-3-2

I still use a level 62 MCd buckler and I have no trouble taking on two mobs at once and I can burn them down relatively quickly. My gear is only semi-decent T7 stuff and I have T7 adept IIIs. Can I please suggest you people stop sucking and learn to play. Soloing on a guardian is rediculously easy.

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Gildamethy

Atm I'm only 51 but I went with:

BW: 1
STA: 44682
STR: 44862
AGI: 1

I was originally speced like this however:
BW:1
INT: 44682
STA: 44682
AGI: 1

Well from the looks of it the respec seems to be holding more aggro then the int/sta specs. As well as my dps does not look to have suffered at all. Im a bit hesitant to drop the STA line tho to go STR/INT as I know that would give me more att speed+ and parry but would that be worth the loss of the risp. and DA and BR? DA is sexy as all hell. BR is a power free 300ish dmg every 30 seconds. Before I knew about Buckler spec I used a tower shield and was having issues with aggro control then switched to buckler spec and aggro control as well as dps jumped signifigantly. Any recomendations?

Chumann

The reason you're holding aggro better is because of the fourth ability in the STR line which increases hate gain. While this probably sounds appealing to an up and coming guardian, know that at higher levels there is a multitude of hate transfers and hate gain buffs that other classes can provide. Generally speaking, the hate gain bonus AA is worthless for high end guards because their hate gain modifier is easily capped at high levels. The cap is 50% extra hate gain and a dirge and coercer's buffs net you 52% hate gain (note that it's above the cap). Couple that with the fact that both of these classes are considered optimal in a raid MT group (somewhat because of the afore mentioned hate generation buffs) and VOILA!... you get a worthless AA for a raid tank.

In longer fights I would argue that you'll see your dps suffering without the end INT ability. Not to mention it also means you can Reinforcment, Tower of Stone, and Stone Sphere faster.

At low levels maybe, but only because there's no real tanking buckler until you hit t7.

IMHO, BR is just a pass through ability to get to the double attack and parry/riposte increase. The 300ish free damage every 30 seconds is pretty miniscule in the long run.

I think you just answered your own question. Guards have too many tools for survivability to not merit the dps and eventual aggro bonuses with the STA line. Of course, like I mentioned before, there's really no decent buckler before t7 but it's still a worthwhile AA for any tier. The dps and aggro potential is just too good to pass up, especially since with the parry/riposte chance you get from the fourth STA ability. You can easily minimize or completely negate the protection loss from using a buckler.

Chumann

While Paikis is a complete fucking tool for this comment (only cuz I hate elitist asshats that tell people to "stop sucking" and "L2p lawlz"), it's important to note that alot changes once you hit lvl 70 and you're allowed to put 70 points into your warrior tree.

It's pretty obvious that the warrior tree is far superior to the guardian tree and being able to put 70 points in it makes things quite a bit easier for whatever your playstyle is.

Also, like most people here, I would say that the WIS is not the premier choice, with the possible exception of PvP (though I don't know much about it). It's not so much that the WIS line is worthless, it's just that points are better spent elsewhere. Consider that you'd have to give up one of the following to take the WIS line: 60% Double Attack / 12% reuse speed / 22% melee crit / 40% aoe auto attack. Personally, I wouldn't give up any of those to add defense to my offensive stance, +hit on defensive stance, and remove the speed penalty from Wall of Armor. That's just me though.

Gildamethy

Atm the best bucklers I have found have been the MC ones and been using those, but as you say they are not really "tanking" bucklers more for the AA bonuses they give me. Which buckler should I be going for at t7? MC, dropped?

Chumann

The Festering Flesh Buckler or Ironplate Shielding are the t7 bucklers you should be looking for. Those are the legendary "tanking" bucklers in t7. The alternative in that tier is the Buckler of the Howler, which is a drop from the raid zone, FTH. In t8 the obvious choice is the Virtue's Guard, but again, it's from a starting raid zone in RoK.

If you're not going to raid at all, the best t8 alternative is one you can get from one of the faction merchants in RoK somewhere. I know that's not as descriptive as you would like, I just don't know much about t8 legendary bucklers. I went straight from Buckler of the Howler to Virtue's Guard.

Falken

best t8 legendary buckler is the drop from nightmare in vualts

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