Which soldier takes the most skill to tank effectively?

[Erock25]

I'm just wondering what other people think as I've had a few discussions about this recently. Only respond if you have significant time playing at least two of the soldiers. This also isn't a 'which class tanks the best' thread so don't be a ringofset. Really I'm just wondering what soldier people think takes the most abilities, finger dexterity, timing, and on the fly adaptation to get the max out of it. How much gear is needed should not be a factor.

[Texan615]

My personal experience is conq is the easiest, then DT, and Guard the hardest.

[KullOfValusia]

The above is correct. Guard(hardest)>>>>>>DT>>>Conq(easiest)

The main difference is between active vs. inactive abilities that result in better or worse tanking. For instance, much of the tanking is derived from toon power rather then player skill for say DT (namely crit rating or if you have vom or not.) the same goes for Conq. But, proper build and combo rotation makes DTs more complex then Conq with their 3 combo rotation + breach and really one spec being viable for tanking.

The guardian is a completely different animal during Endgame ... Endgame... Endgame. I know all of you here rolled up your alt guard,dinged 80, spam CoH and then run to these here forums and ordain "pshhh I see nothing wrong with guard aggro." It doesn't work that way toward endgame against other guards or the revamped conq or tali pajama DT.

ALL your defensive countermeasures are ACTIVE unlike say a DT where you faceroll vom your way back to full health or bubble boy conq. You need to know when to throw juggernaut, too early and you may not have it when the healer is occupied, too late and you may not fully utilize the 1 30 CD for the length of the fight. Do you use strike and guard(a combo) or will the conq going nuts on DPS pull if you do? Do you use stall in the beginning to maximize your aggro and squeeze the most out of it during the duration of the fight? or do you save it for that critical oh crap moment....and if you do decide to use it will you just end up locking aggro on yourself and eventually die. Last stand, although it sounds simple enough is an equally complex decision making process. And that's ONLY your defensive measures. Then you've got the parade of aggro/DPS boosters. When should you use hateful strikes exactly? Do I spam ardent battlecry knowing I'll add fuel to the tali DT who's pulling from me anyway? What about CtA do I use that with hateful to really jackup hate during everyone's burst phase? or do I save it so I can get a more sustained aggro over time.

Then on top of all that you've got to get the right combo rotation which seems to be more guarded by guards then the colonel's special recipe. There ARE certain tricks to really jackup aggro, X combo before Y combo during certain shield positions when to spam Z combo or do I even slot 3 step combos vs. 2 step combos and/or which combo has more innate hate built in, when do I go from provoke to defense and should I ever leave defensive stance for neutral stance so forth and so on blah blah etc.

Then of course, you have absolutely no idea if you are even producing more hate or not doing all this, since hate numbers are hidden. The other tanks use DPS to hold aggro (bigger is better ..parse!) Guard uses hate almost exclusively. I can be doing 300 DPS vs. another Guard doing 500 DPS and I can still lock aggro because of my use of irritate/coh/combos during certain moments....

Basically, if you want to be frustrated especially toward endgame where the guards cheap tricks that worked when you were running 6mans in khitai stops working, then play a guard. However, if you do manage to get past the insanity and become a great keyboard dancer a guard can be rewarding in other ways.

[Blows]

Having played all 3 soldier classes for some time, of which guard the most (T4 etc) I'd say Conq is the easiest up to a certain level. Guard is the hardest.

Conq and guard are really gear independend in the start, when rolling a guard in the start your aggro will be way better, even without knowledge of the class.

Once you reach instances with higher geared tanks, I think DT is easier, aggrowise. I know pretty good conqs, but they can't compete with Dt's with same level of class understanding and playtime.

In T4 guards are really fightdepending, for example Imp and Emperor are places where guards can rule the fight, since dt's need to nerf themself quite alot to survive reflection phase.

On most fights with the stupidly low magic resistances from bosses guards are nowhere to be found near dts aggro.

[Texan615]

Both RingOfSet's and Blackfir's reasoning mirror my own thoughts on the matter.

[Unutterable]

Both RingOfSet's and Blackfir's reasoning mirror my own thoughts on the matter.

Careful agreeing with RoS can be hazardous.

My experience is current iteration of conk is very easy to tank once certain ear thresholds are achieved. DTs have fewer tools and are very spammy with very few abilities to tank effectively but lack the o **** buttons beyond the dredge.

Guard is dull and boring and requires a lot more management of their hate gen, because if they can hold aggro just by spamming and dps then their dpsrs are doing something wrong.

[Texan615]

Careful agreeing with RoS can be hazardous.

Haha, that's very true, yet this time he actually posted a fairly accurate view.

[Chillee]

Guard is dull and boring and requires a lot more management of their hate gen, because if they can hold aggro just by spamming and dps then their dpsrs are doing something wrong.

I guess it depends on your definition of dull and boring. A s/b guard will have far more buffs, CDs, and abilities to cycle correctly and use their guard destroyer and related buffs at the right moments vs. what a dt or conq has to do.

[Erock25]

Haha, that's very true, yet this time he actually posted a fairly accurate view.

Besides the whole thing about conqs tanking with three combos or commenting that guards defensive tools are active while conq is just a bubble boy.

Maybe I'm biased (all the answers so far lead me to believe I am) but I put it as guard, conq, DT in order of most to least skill based.

Guards are clearly first. They are the most ability intensive tank and you really need to finger bang the hell out of your keyboard to get the most out of them. You also basically have two combo rotations based on whether or not guard destroyer crit buff is running or not.

I believe conqs are second for a variety of reasons. Seven combo rotation, additional debuff combo to look out for, weapon swapping is required, around 10 active abilities to juggle in my and most standard specs. I believe I also see bubbles differently than most people. Proper timing on your bubbles can in a lot of instances double their effectiveness. Remember one bubble is only 5 seconds long and knowing the right time to activate it requires a lot of knowledge of the fight. I wonder if the people commenting have conqs that successfully swap aggro with DTs in t4 or they are speaking from 6man experience.

DT is the least skill based to me because outside of working the shields, there is little choice about how and when you use your abilities/combos. Your only basic choices are when to use the dread and when to use blood pact. Outside of that, everything is a no brainer. Turn off soul barrier if low on manager and/or a lot of quick hitting dmg is incoming. Keep zone of gluttony up. When I'm playing my DT I feel like I'm just spamming combos with no real decisions to be made besides what combo to use. Tali/gen spec is even worse than the traditional dread/desecration or dread/des/gen. To me the skill part of a DT is knowing what aggro level you are at and making the decision to drop aggro or hit harder when running low on health. DT is still a step above most other classes needed skill level and miles ahead of carnage conq skill level.

Anyways just my 2 cents.

[Chass-]

Easiest: Guard, then dt then Conq... Well that's my opinion. Well, depends on how you want to play, DT might be the hardest if you are taking it really seriously.