Guardian = Shieldmaster?

[Druidbl]

<DIV>Greetings all, trying to decide earlier rather than later which route I'm taking my warrior- traditionally I roleplay him as a 2H-axe high damage type, but I am a very very large fan of the Shieldmaster concept too.  If the enemy can't hit you- you can't lose the fight (plus it makes for longer fights which are more fun imo).</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Anyone who got higher up in beta able to tell me how guardian stacks up as a Shieldmaster concept during solo play?  I rarely rarely group, so I'm not as concerned on how guardians work for others- only how they help my own defense.  </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>If you're not familiar with the term Shieldmaster, it's a type of warrior that focuses entirely on defense to the point that even when taking on about 4 mobs, only one is hitting you about 25 percent of the time, because you are blocking or parrying.  </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>I need to figure out if EQ2 will support this playstyle (like it is in DAOC) or if I should give up the Shieldmaster concept and just go Berserker and grab my 2H axe per usual... </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Anyone able to help on this? </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Thanks much,</DIV> <DIV>Druidblue</DIV>

[Obl]

Shields do give a chance to block. The bigger & better the shield, the more it blocks. It's very noticable by level 20, actually. In fact, I try to tank right to left to keep the extras on my shield side, lol... THAT I'm not sure helps, but it feels like it does. Kinda crazy sometimes tanking 3 or 4 orange mobs, or several orange ^ or several orange ^^, etc. Only time I switch to dual wield or 2H is when I'm fighting stuff that doesn't hit hard at all, like farming greens or greys for writs or something, or when I'm not the main tank... which right now I'm always main tank...

[Troy Spir]

Im not sure how it works in EQ2. But in EQ 1 i always had dual weild swords for DPS / Agro mode, and Sword / Sheild for tank mode. I'd assume you could do something similar in EQ2.

[Obl]

doesn't seem to matter what I'm wielding for aggro... just have to use your taunt abilities on a regular basis. Also seems that if my group is capable of chaining HO's, I don't seem to lose aggro. The groups that just spam skills, I end up taunting a LOT.

[Kuda]

<DIV>Correct Oblix, it seems as if taunt, shout, and anger are.... well actually useful and definately extremely effective.  Much more so than the aggro generated by your damage unless of course you are using Hold the Line.  </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>I'm going to stick with sword and board, I just can't justify the loss of ac and blocking that I would get by dw or 2h, not to mention you can't use the (cant remember the name) block for someone else skill and shield bash.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Kudara</DIV> <DIV>19th Warrior</DIV>

[Troy Spir]

Hrmm the scout/rouges classes that i've grouped with seem to be able to steal agro from me fairly commonly and they dont even have taunt. I'd assume this means DPS generates agro fairly well. Thus dual weild (theortically) would generate addtional agro to a (seemingly) substantial level.

[Obl]

Dual wield isn't substantial aggro over sword and board, by that fact alone. Scouts steal aggro because they're doing around twice the damage you are. And half the time, if you watch, they aren't evading frequently. I grouped with a scout regularly on my trek to 20 and the only time he would really steal aggro was when I was taunting multiple mobs and he was complaining that his evade was failing.Not to say it can't happen, but that it shouldn't be the norm. We can lose aggro to anyone, no matter what we're wielding. Your job in a group isn't to put out DPS, or hit really fast. It's to survive the mob(s) DPS and taunt. Dual Wield and 2H are not always going to be a viable choice, due to mob DPS alone. I highly suggest getting used to 1h + shield. It will save your life, your healer's mana, and get you used to holding aggro with slower, single wield weapons.And I can't stress enough how important group-ho's are. Any group you get in, work out how HO's will be handled. When the group is focusing on HO's, you won't lose aggro nearly as much, and you'll end fights with more hp and more power.

[Fable_E]

<BR> <BLOCKQUOTE> <HR> Oblix wrote:<BR>And I can't stress enough how important group-ho's are. Any group you get in, work out how HO's will be handled. When the group is focusing on HO's, you won't lose aggro nearly as much, and you'll end fights with more hp and more power.<BR> <HR> </BLOCKQUOTE> <P>Oblix is pretty much dead on.</P> <P>Slam, Concussion and Shield Bash are your friend.</P> <P>Especially when soloing.  Before attempting an HO use one of the above.  You will find that the initial kickoff strike (Fierce Swing, Mangle, Wound. etc) actually activates more often.  </P> <P>This is becuase if a creature can block or parry your blow you lose the opportunity.</P> <P>Dual Wielding is really not a tremendous amount more dmg when compared to a weapon like Skullcrusher.  Your ability to parry dmg is also improved by the use of the shield.</P> <P>Simply put: Guardians use shields 95% of the time.. im sure there will be those times that break the 100%.. so we will go with 95%.<BR></P>

[ToAsh]

<DIV>HO's are paramount in efficiently taking on those nasty high level mobs.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>The Fighter/Scout duo HO is pretty decent, but Trickster's Grasp is an awesome DoT :smileyhappy:</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>I group regularly with the same 5 guys every night and we are all on ventrillo calling out HO's and the difference between a group using HO's and a group not using HO's is painfully obvious.</DIV>