Noob question! Hurray.

[Ventrill]

Is guardian best tank hp wise and armor wise.. at a medium level... say 30, are they the best tank?Thanks.<div></div>

[Sirlutt]

i went on a training course recently (SANS2006 for those interested) and my instructor said almost all questions have the same answer ..It depends..with the same gear, in an XP group, with good healers any of the tanks are just fine.Guards shine in my opinion against orange mobs in hectic situations where other tanks might wipe the group..i think they are the best tanks for heavy situations though.<div></div>

[Aar]

Guardians at the low levels are in general, worse tanks than the other fighters.The biggest reason for this is that the armor selection is skewed towards leather wearers.  Rare crafted armor is about the best you'll see before you get towards the high end 60+.  From my experience, sub 50, you can buy the components for a full set of leather armor for a bruiser tank, and weapons for the price of what 2 pieces of metal would cost you if you are a plate tank.The second reason is that guardians dont get their big advantages in tanking until 50+.  Reinforcement at 52 is huge for getting agro back.  Guardian sphere at 50 is nice for group protection.  sentry watch at 55 is a decent emergency spell to prevent death.  58, is tower of stone, which is very nice for absorbing big  damage when your health gets low.Guardians (and other mitigation tanks) have the advantage of more predictable damage taken rates than their leather clad avoidance based brethren, which is must be considered a bonus.Sub 50, a bezerker has pretty much the same tools as a guardian for group agro/self buffing, but does considerably more dps.  And also benefits from the stability of mitigation tanking.Essentially, a guardian gives up a lot of dps and utility for a very slight edge in tanking ability, that appears more in the later levels (50+).<div></div>

[JeffBship]

<div>How have you used sentry watch?  From the description, it's only good if your not the MT and the MT is about to die.  I've never used it a single time.</div>

[Sirlutt]

i'm not sure when to use that one either.<div></div>

[aislynn00]

<div>I have spent hundreds of hours hunting since I got Sentry Watch (Adept III) made back in September.  I have used it successfully (meaning, it actually saved someone from dying) a grand total of three times, and on one of those occasions, it killed me.</div><div> </div><div>In my view, Sentry Watch is a pretty damned crappy ability which should never have existed in its current form. </div><div> </div><div>To make the ability genuinely useful, the reactive proc component on it should It should be upped to something like 1500 hate while the buff should be up permanently, rather than a ridiculous 36 seconds, until the death of a group mate triggers the life-saving effect.</div>

[Xile]

<div>Agreed one of the most useless skills ever.  If u hold agro then u never need it.  Having it master 1 i've prob saved 2 people with it since dof came out.  Pal's have pretty much the same skill with a different twist at the end and it is just as useless.  So dont feel like we are the only one with a crappy lv 58 ;p</div>

[Aar]

Sentry watch is 55...tower of stone is 58.As for using it effectively...its generally most effective for the overnuking mage.Let them get agro, and don't bother pulling it off. Pop sentry watch to save their life...Requires a bit of coordination with the healers though so they don't burn mana and get agro trying to heal them. I find its a usefull tool on those pulls where you have a ton of mobs swarming through the camp, and the healer(s) can only keep up on healing you.Also, it seems to have a decent agro component to it as well, so you can use it as an extra taunt on incoming if you feel like it.

[Rodney]

<div></div><p>Is guardian best tank hp wise and armor wise.. at a medium level... say 30, are they the best tank?<font size="7" color="#ff3366">NO</font></p><p>If all you want is to be the BEST tank then forget guards, you will never be happy.</p>

[ZoriouzBlaze]

<div></div>I would have to say that Guardians are a few hate gain spells away from being the BEST tanks in the game. Zerks are the best I think atm for keeping agro because they can get dps agro, but you give a guardian some more hate to keep it and we are by far the best tanks for taking direct hits, mitigating that is. I have seen some insane tanks on my server with sick mitigation and avoidance. How they get 80+ avoid I have no idea but its doable.

[aislynn00]

<div><blockquote><hr>ZoriouzBlaze wrote:<div></div>I have seen some insane tanks on my server with sick mitigation and avoidance. How they get 80+ avoid I have no idea but its doable.<hr></blockquote>Only due to what I am convinced is an AA ability bug.  Otherwise, we are dealing with a seriously unbalanced AA ability.  Considering I am a plate tank, I shouldn't have the 80+% avoidance I am currently enjoying.  Period.</div>