Curse

Phucian · Aug 03, 2006, 09:22 PM // 21:22

Generally new to Guild Wars, so trying to wrap my head around what build is best for me. I'm a Warrior/Monk, playing PvE and attempting to be a Tank. In the Basic Build sticky, it says that Swordship is decent to pour your points into if you're being a Tank, but looking at some of the Axe and Hammer skills they seem pretty intriguing.

During your experience, what do you guys think is generally better for a Tank? Swords, Axe's or Hammers?

Appreciate any help,
Cheers.

skreet preacha · Aug 03, 2006, 09:30 PM // 21:30

depends on ur purpose, i dont use hammers at all, just havent gotten into it yet. i use a sword when tanking small groups or powerful enemies and a axe when tanking big aggro groups (like trolls, for cyclone axe).

Xaero Gouki Kriegor · Aug 03, 2006, 09:40 PM // 21:40

i would like to say sword, sword has several decent instant condtion skills

like severa artery, and hamstring, also you have a 80ish damage non elite skill you can use to finish off things , final thrust, plus you can use builds that combine sword attack with riposte, or just use riposte alone, but i just think sword has the most versatility over the other weapons, the only thing i can think for axe in pve is cyclone axe, but has very nice adren spike with evis + exe, hammer on the other hand is killer in pvp, but not so great in pve, sure you can do pve with hammer, but really not many skills out there that will help much in pve using hammer plus you go without your shield, but hammer is my fav for pvp

sumasage · Aug 03, 2006, 10:04 PM // 22:04

I use hammer for PvE. It does massive dmg. Dont let the slow attack speed fool you but you are losing 16 armor from not able to use a shield. Sentinel or other +AL vs physical dmg is helpful. Look here for more info on hammer http://www.guildwarsguru.com/forum/s...php?t=10016625

Mournblade · Aug 04, 2006, 02:10 PM // 14:10

If you are a tank then you want that 16 armor from a shield, as well as all many HP's as you can muster. You'll most likely be running lots of tactics skills, so you'll perhaps want to get a +45hp/-2physical damage tactics shield. Your choice of axe or sword depends on what skills you have available. Axe might be easier to set up because cyclone axe is available early on and it is very helpful when used along with skills that regain energy or adrenaline.

Also, for tanking, your purpose isn't damage dealing, but damage absorbtion. Most of your skillpoints will be in Tactics and whatever other skill(s) support the skills you choose, NOT necessarily in your weapon skill.

Check out some of the Warrior builds available in this forum and you'll get a good idea of how skills work together and what weapons best support those skills. =)

Phucian · Aug 04, 2006, 03:18 PM // 15:18

Cheers for all the advice, it's much appreciated.

Rera · Aug 05, 2006, 01:17 AM // 01:17

Advice will differ depending on whether you start with Factions or Prophecies. Prophecies has an absurdly slow start-up, and you don't have access to any high-end content (elite skills, perfect equipment, etc.) until you've played most of the game. In Factions you hit the ground running - you can be lvl20 in a matter of hours, and have access to elite skills and 80AL armor almost immediately. The types of enemies and mission formats are quite different also. Factions has much higher monster density, and they inflict substantially more damage.

One piece of overall advice is to play offensively. Don't bring a defense-oriented build. You 'tank' simply by virtue of having the highest armor of any playable class. Warriors are much more effective at preventing damage to the party by killing enemies quickly and interrupting key skills. Don't bring healing skills - the monks will just laugh at your pathetic 2 pip Mending, and veteran players might /ragequit.

Many players like axe because they get Cyclone Axe and Triple Chop very early, and axes do more average damage and are better for spiking than swords. I would stay away from hammers simply because you lose the shield (and the associated armor, damage reduction, and health bonus). However, Earthshaker + Crude Swing does give you amazing crowd control - combine with "None Shall Pass!" and "To The Limit!" for hawt tanking action.