I am curious on what the community thinks about which Tank class will on average will do a little more consistent DPS? I do realize there will be some niche scenarios where one tank type will do more DPS, i.e. Paladin vs. undead but curious one taking all scendarios based on what we know and understanding there will be more tweaks.
I expect DL will do the most damage as a tank class (except paly vs undead as you mentioned).
Just to be clear, I don't think you should go into it with the mindset that the amount of damage any tank class does will matter much. I think you worded it well when you said "a little more consistent DPS".
Phaiden said:I am curious on what the community thinks about which Tank class will on average will do a little more consistent DPS? I do realize there will be some niche scenarios where one tank type will do more DPS, i.e. Paladin vs. undead but curious one taking all scendarios based on what we know and understanding there will be more tweaks.
Are you asking which tank will do the most DPS as a normal part of tanking?
or which tank will do the most DPS if filling a DPS role in a group?
I think the answer could be significantly different depending on the situation.
The dire lord does seem like it would have an edge over the other two, or at least more potential through its abilities, but with greater risk of death when overcommitting to the full extent of its abilities.
Jothany said:or which tank will do the most DPS if filling a DPS role in a group?
I think the answer could be significantly different depending on the situation.
But with all things considered equally (gear, skill and desire to be DPS and NOT counting AoE encounters/damage) the Warrior will likely be higher raw consistent "DPS". The Paladin will have cleave and AoE abilities while the DL will be able to spread DoTs in an AoE.
I agree with Phaiden and say that the warrior will likely be higher "DPS" because I'd be willing to bet that the warrior's skills and attribute scaling will be higher than the DL and Paladin considering they don't rely on spells to generate threat and mitigate damage, but instead raw properties. This was the case in EQ as well... where an extra 5-10 skill points (like some of the racial passives) were the equivalent to an extra 1-2 levels... which made a significant difference in damage output and mitigation when compared directly to other classes' skill ranks. This (along with skill rating of things like double and tripple attack or dual weild) also seperated the DPS classes like Monk and Rogue from the Warrior and Bard.
But that is just assuming that the warrior will have higher skill caps.
Edit: I would also add that if someone wants to be melee DPS I would recommend Ranger, Monk or Rogue instead of a "Tank" though. It's a safe bet that none of the tanks will hold a candle to those classes.
I believe it will be the Warrior as they are expected to have the most versatility.
In previous games the Paladin will have resist against pague/evil/undead attacks with corresponding benefits agains mobs that use those abilities, and the DL will mostlikely be resistent against magical based attacks such as direct magical attacks, charm, fear, spell like abilites from creatures. I am also under the impression that they will chew through light/no armor mobs such as casters quickly and probably do alot of damage to mobs with low magical/fear resistance.
Then the warriors will have the rest. The ability to handle single target massive hits from big mobs and mitigate damage from groups, then inkind be able to return that level of damage correspondingly back to them through stances or builds.
I have had an internal debate about what to play for a long time class-wise. I constantly waffle between melee dps and tank. This is solely because there's not a strength-based "smash them with an axe" style melee dps offered for launch, and I typically don't enjoy the dexterity-based melee dps aesthetic as much (although I'm considering Ranger). Thus, I contemplate instead trying out a tank class until such a melee dps is added later on. However, in trying out a tank class, I often wonder whether any of the tanks will be capable of actually filling a dps role in a group. Given the nature of the ability system, I wonder if a tank could invest in damage-oriented skills to become sort of a tanky-dps that can offtank better than, say, a monk or something, but will also do less damage (though still respectable enough damage) than a dps that can offtank (unless choosing to use leather armor or something for the damage stats at the cost of mitigation). It has been food for thought for me for a while now.
If it were possible, I would consider being a Dire Lord or Warrior or whatever seems like it might do the most damage, and then be the party's "oh crap the tank is about to die" backup tank while still doing some pretty decent damage. The nature of an offtank needing to "save" a main tank in this way also makes me think using a Dire Lord for such purposes may not work well considering the nature of their taunt buillding up over time rather than being snap aggro. Thus, I'm wondering if maybe Warrior might serve this purpose the best. I don't really know how much damage Warriors are intended to be able to do, but if it's possible to specialize them for damage dealing while being an offtank if needed, I think that might be the avenue I'd like to pursue.
Naked level 1 fist fight, no spells, all drunk. WAR>DL>PAL
level 5 newbie npc gear, beginner abilities, giant spiders. DL>PAL>WAR
Everything after that will depend on gear, group buffs, specific mob, preperation, but still favor slightly DL>PAL>WAR
spell damage from DL/PAL should out dps auxillary offhand warrior attacks, without looking into resists and parries, and offhand DL attacks out dpsing a shielded hand
I've known a few Rangers and Monks out tank the other classes in group settings, and absolutely slap at dps. Some cases, A pet does even better.