Hello Everyone,
I enjoy playing Tank in every MMO I play. Looking into this game I am torn between Warrior, Paladin and Dire Lord (Yes I will prob play all 3, but unsure what to main, hopefully playing Alpha will help me decide, but I am looking to see what everyone else thinks about these three classes and what one they plan on playing / why?
thanks,
Bashnir
Well, what VR has promoted since 2014 is that the 3 tank classes will perform their primary function equally well but via different means. So we shouldn't see, at least on group-level content, any place where you cannot use any of the tank classes. Yes, one may be a bit better in a given situation, but not in every situation. It will really come down to gameplay..which class and it's abilities are of a more interest to you.
Best tank could be Monk, we'll see. I also plan on playing a tank, the one I decide on will be whichever has the most versatility. My favorite tank to date has been the EQ1 ShadowKnight, mostly due to having both types of invis, feign death, spells in general, fear kiting, a pet, and harm touch. That was a fun tank with a large and diverse tool kit. We'll see if VR can create a tank that comes within the same stratosphere of being as dynamic as that class. So far, the Dire Lord looks like a dud to me, at least in comparison to the ShadowKnight.
Best tank is definitely the Wizard, ... if they give it stoneskin and taunt spells, ... or maybe choose one out of the 3 Tank Archetypes to be on the safe side.
I feel like the Dire Lord will be the most fun, be the best against magic users, be able to hold threat the best, and depending on your build be able to dish out the most dps. Ideal for grinding group xp.
The Paladin will probably be the most under played, and the best at keeping the group safe, offering more utility than the other 2 tank classes. One of their abilities grant them a window of invulnerability as well which could work wonders verse some heavy hitting boss mechanics.
The Warrior will probably be the best against physical damage done against them and the group. They do have a AoE taunt which I don't believe the other tanks have, and they overall probably don't hold aggro as well on a single target as the other tanks do.
I personally am going to be a Warrior.
Yes Alpha will give us a lot of information. About aggro holding capabilities: Joppa stated that the Dire Lord is meant to be more threat-over-time based. They will struggle to grab mobs quickly but can more easily keep them, at least that seems to be the design philosophy. There's me counting on player skill and class knowledge to keep aggro over time when playing either Paladin or Warrior. What's important for me, is being able to quickly grab aggro when mezzed mobs break free, before they pound the healer(s) into submission. I'll worry about the rest later.
I usually try to stay away from tank classes that don't use shields. Call me old-fashioned... I'll test both Paladin and Warrior and will make up my mind based on experience with both.
One thing I'm pleasantly surprised about with Pantheon is how all the classes are looking so interesting.
I've rarely been warrior classes in the past (certainly not in Everquest), but I'm keen to try all three in Pantheon.
I don't doubt I will have at least one alt in each class if I can. I suggest, OP, you do the same!
I'm going to hazard a guess and say that class synergy and mob synergy will be a huge part of this decision.
1. If your fighting a magic-based enemy the dire lord is probably going to shine a bit more.
2. If your fighting a melee-based enemy the warrior is probably going to shine a bit more.
3. Then if your fighting undead or need a bit more healing utility the paladin is probably going to shine a bit more.
For off-tanking situations like raids, it probably won't matter much as long as you avoid doubling up on the same class. There probably wouldn't be anything wrong with taking two of the same class, but avoiding this situation would allow you to cover multiple niches.
Most of the important points appear to be covered already. VR is committed to making each of them viable overall. The exact pros & cons of each will become more apparent as we get later in testing though you can make broad guesses now.
I personally will play a Dire Lord. I specifically do NOT think it will be the 'best' tank, as I don't think any of them will be.
I have played Warriors and Clerics in other games and played the Dread Knight in Vanguard. I found that I much preferred the 'flavor' of the DK to the other classes of Tanks. While I was disappointed at first by the differences between DK and the DL in Pantheon, I still find the imagery of the Dire Lord more attractive than that of the other Tanks. The more I have learned about the DL, the more I have come to like it. Thus my choice.
But I am also an altaholic. If there are enough char slots, I'll try out most/all the classes at some point, including the other Tanks.
FatedEmperor said:I'm going to hazard a guess and say that class synergy and mob synergy will be a huge part of this decision.
1. If your fighting a magic-based enemy the dire lord is probably going to shine a bit more.
2. If your fighting a melee-based enemy the warrior is probably going to shine a bit more.
3. Then if your fighting undead or need a bit more healing utility the paladin is probably going to shine a bit more.
For off-tanking situations like raids, it probably won't matter much as long as you avoid doubling up on the same class. There probably wouldn't be anything wrong with taking two of the same class, but avoiding this situation would allow you to cover multiple niches.
Perhaps, but with the exception of Warriors.
Wall of Shields
Link shields with another Warrior in your group or raid and incite all nearby enemies to attack both of you. While Wall of Shields is active, incoming enemy damage will be mitigated using the combined Resilience of both Warriors and the final damage amount will be split evenly between them.
Jothany said:Jobeson said: Their threat is not mostly limited to 3 targets like the DL.Did I miss something in a stream or post about a limit to how many mobs a DL can have threat on at once?
I was referring to splatter and shouldn't have said limited but their ideal group size. Which is actually 4 enemies and not 3 when I went to double check. Either way that is their dot spreading threat / damage ability.
Pally healing threat can have unlimited targets and palies will have bonus threat even while healing. In groups that passive threat option will be very nice for ease of tanking, but far less important on raids.
Jothany said:sh1kel said: Minmaxers will find the best for raids sooner or later.I partly agree with you. Minmaxers will find the best Tank for each raid sooner or later.
But if VR does their job right, that 'best' will be divided fairly equally among the 3 Classes.
I would be suprised if Palls were fairly equal to the other 2 - they'll be OP in undead domains and can help heal otherwise, but in comparison to phys-def focused warriors and mag-def focused DL's their specialisation is limited.
Hegenox said:I would be suprised if Palls were fairly equal to the other 2 - they'll be OP in undead domains and can help heal otherwise, but in comparison to phys-def focused warriors and mag-def focused DL's their specialisation is limited.
Hmm. Not to say that you're wrong, but I at least hope you're wrong about this, as I really would like to see all three tanks be as equally viable as possible. I suppose it depends on how the devs balance a number of factors, including the number of undead in the world. Hopefully the fact that Pallies will have better physical mitigation than a DL (plate armor and shields) and more healing than a Warrior will bring them to the right level and make them at least solid in most encounters. I am glad that the devs are starting from the outset with the goal of making all classes within a given archetype approximately equal in viability, though. Having the right mindset is half the battle.
For me, with what we know so far, I'm leaning toward DL, just because I love life-leeching and auto-healing attacks. That said, I'm looking forward to seeing a more in-depth review of the Paladin before I make my final decision. Some of their abilities like the undead buff and Venger Hymns (if they're still planned -- they're not in the new class description) look very cool.
Bashnir said:I enjoy playing Tank in every MMO I play. Looking into this game I am torn between Warrior, Paladin and Dire Lord (Yes I will prob play all 3, but unsure what to main, hopefully playing Alpha will help me decide, but I am looking to see what everyone else thinks about these three classes and what one they plan on playing / why?