Should a tank use Defender?

Veresko

Veresko

Retired from FFXI
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Once again, I call upon your knowledge to answer my question! Having recently turned 25 with my WAR, I am debating on wether or not using Defender as a tank. It certainly help and make the life of the healer easier, but it inflicts less damage and I assume it makes keeping aggro harder.

So, anybody have toughts on that?
 
If you job is to tank then you should be using defender. You are not there to be the main damage Dealer, but a meat sheild. So, your main objective should be to tank as much as possible with the least amount of stress on the healers. IMO :wink:

P.S. don't use Defender and Berzerk at the same time they pretty much cancel each other out.
 
For me, defender is always situational. If I have the hate, and the healer isn't straining too much, then defender is held in reserve. If things are going badly then I can step up, use my 2-hour, voke, hit the mob with a weapon skill and then throw up defender.
 
Well if you use defender you will take less damage per hit which will mean you loose less hate per hit. Now on the flip side you aren't hitting as much per hit so you aren't gaining as much hate per hit. The big thing is that since the healer isn't having to cure as much he isn't gaining hate as much either. Defender = good.
 
Ok, thanks a lot guys, it certainly clear things a little. Think I might start using defender now more often, well probably all the time when I tank.

P.S: Defender negates Berserk.... had this one already figured out, but thanks anyway! :)
 
Edit: Disregard this suggestion. The almighty level 75 has deemed it completely WRONG. Just do whatever he says instead, yeah?
 
Actually, in my limited experiences at being a tank, I have found fishkabobs to be invaluable.
 
Ugh.. tanks don't use Mithkabobs unless you're a ninja. Mithkabob = negative VIT. Use boiled crab or fishkabobs.

If you're ninja you should also eat fishkabobs on hard hitting mobs. I know we're not suppose to get hit, but it happens.
 
I'm not an expert (my war is only 30 so only 5 levels with defender) but i would suggest to begin a party without it. For me the main purpose of a tank is hate management, tanking less damage is important but far less than hate for a WAR (with a natural good def, but no so many tools to keep hate).
Its situationnal, so begin without and when you have a good idea of the amount of hate you have to accumulate to balance DDs and Healers try it.
One XP chain less is better than a dead WHM.
 
As a Tank, I only use Defender when the mob hits pretty hard.. ie. Goobbues...Golems...anything that hits me for over 100. I eat Steamed Crab whenever I tank for the VIT+5 it gives. I've tried Fish kabobs but have had better experiences with Steamed Crab.
 
I constantly have Defender up. Less mp used on me = less downtime and I don't really think me NOT having defender up is going to benefit much anyway. Maybe I'll hit for like 44s instead of 40s without it up lol. Anyway, I've got Sentinel/Defender on one macro and hit it right after i voke 1st time.
 
jazper said:
I eat Steamed Crab whenever I tank for the VIT+5 it gives. I've tried Fish kabobs but have had better experiences with Steamed Crab.
Click to expand...

Aye, Jazper ... Steamed Crab not only gives +5 to vitality but also +25% to defense ... a lot of pld's for some reason think Fish Chiefkabobs are the best when, in fact imho, Steamed Crab blow Fish Chiefkabobs away ... but then at 20k a stack it can get very costly ...

On a sidenote, Boiled Crab gives you +4 to vitality and +20% to defense and lasts about a 1/2 hour ... Steamed Crab lasts about an hour if I'm not mistaken.

As far as Defender goes, if I'm tanking I use it when playing my Warrior ... if I'm not then I use Berserk ...

PS. If any of you tanks would like to save some gil I'm more than willing to synth them for you as long as you buy the ingredients and send em to me ... just be forewarned that Steamed Crab is the HQ synth of Boiled Crab ... and I don't HQ them every time ... at level 85 cooking I believe my odds are 30-50% pulling off an HQ synth (the odds could be a tad better now, Noxxx found those odds when I was quite a bit lower level in cooking) ... what you can do though is just sell the Boiled Crab back to the NPC and you pretty much break even vs. selling the Boiled Crab at the AH ...
 
I think using fish mithkabobs pre-50 is probably just as good as using crab. I didn't notice any real difference in the damage I was taking when using the different foods (chiefkabobs vs. steamed crab). After 50 I think it becomes a different story though, I wouldn't know yet. As far as defender goes, doesn't it pull some hate to begin with?
 
um... fish chiefkabobs also give like 23 1/2% to defense plus +3 dex so you can hit more often for weapon skill purposes. All in all there's no way you can say one is greatly better than the other, it's a personal preference.
 
Edit: I had written something here but then decided to just let it go sooo please disregard this post ...

Sorry Sculli ... if you can, please delete this cuz it won't let me ...
 
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