Bruiser lvl 26 Skill Bruising Spirit

[Moski]

<DIV>This Skill increases the ArmorClass BUT drains Health ....</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>wheres the Point in this skill pls?</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>i am supposed to tank. so the ac increase is very nice because i can only wear leather an need to get every extra ac i may get. </DIV> <DIV>but this skill drains my health .... i need to tank .... i can tank better with more ac but i suffer health so i die more easily ??</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV> </DIV>

[Jezekie]

The skill is fine as it is. The increase in AC is significant (900+), and the effect lasts for about 35 seconds, while the health drain isn't that bad.

[Lyric]

<DIV>Um, did you say it increases ac by 900?  That seems alot.</DIV>

[Jezekie]

Going by memory yah, it's somewhere around 8-900 ac. Basically put me at 2k ac in beta when I used it, quite useful skill, not useless at all.

[industrock]

<DIV>Wow, 900!  i'm going to like this.</DIV>

[Dovifat]

It used to drain bout 1/4 of my health in beta, but gaining 800ish AC helped great deal with tanking. Works very well with shamans or druids as your healer ( shamans are the best for Bruisers anyway ). It is however not a skill you can just spam and use in every situation. I like that, with the new skillset Brawlers seem to be the thinking man's tank in EQ2.

[industrock]

<DIV>that;s not so bad in a group, 1/4 life can easily be healed.  Good sacrifice for that large of AC, imo.</DIV>

[Roddy]

A little advice from the wise <img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /> this is how u really take advantage of that armor skill. Have a shamen and a inq. Have shamen cast ward on you. Usually last 30 secs if u dont get hit for crazy amount. Right when ward is about to go inq should use active heal(heals you everytime you get hit automaticly) then in the middle of htat throw in bruising spirit. You can mix and match these diffrent combos. Using bruising spirit at same time with ward might work well also. But health drops way to fast with B.S.

[Moski]

<DIV>my health is drained for about 35%.</DIV> <DIV>I used it not infight and watched my heatlh. The Spell faded and i hab about 65% health left (i was at full health)</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>the ac boost is around 900ac an the spell lasts about 30 sec.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>this skill is designed to help us to tank. but the health loss is way too much in my opinion. i am loosing more then 1/3 of my total hitpoints. this is way to dangerous to use in many situations. </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>i am ment to tank. not to tank but to die cause i lost too much hp. </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>u say: hey the lost ho are healed easy in the fight. sure they can be healed. But the healed hp means healer aggro. And if ur in a difficult situation u got a aggro from a encounter u didnt pull (respawn whatever) and u have to tank u use ur AE-Taunt to get all the mobbs aggro on u. at that point u loose hp very quick. when u trigger ur skill bruising spirit to tank (ur job u are supposed to do that) u loose additional 30% hp. </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>the chance tat ur healer cant heal the damage u take from the mobs + the damage u take from ur hp-draining "tanking-skill" is as big as the chance u survive and tank the encounter.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>a plate/vanguard tank does not have to trigger a skill to tank and he does not loose 30% of health to be able to tank (to use his armor for example)</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>dont get me wrong - i love beeing different but i dont think the balance is well done</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV> </DIV>

[Roddy]

<DIV>Yes you are right it does drop way way to fast. Even with our own special ignore pain heal. Which might i add heals for alot after you recive ignore hurt i healed for 570 damage <img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /> every min but they need to slow down the health cost.  Because the health cost still is like us getting hit no matter what.</DIV>

[psubull]

<DIV>This ability is for group only.  By all means, if you think it some sort of self-test to use it while soloing, more power to you.  Just don't complain to the forums when you die.  In a group with at least two healers, this is an amazing ability.  Use it when fighting groups of monsters, recast it before it wears off or else you need to wait an additional 30 seconds (Ability is broken).  I tank better than guardians and berserkers in full groups at the moment.  Its also a good thing to have on in case of adds.  So long as aggro is staying on you, this ability's HP drain will not do as much damage to you as MOBs would do to you without the buff. </DIV>

[Moski]

<DIV>i got this skill at lvl 26 and now im lvl 32 and i may have used it 3 times in all the lvls</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>yesterday i wanted to try it out again.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>and i am very very dissapointed again. The ac gain (about 1000 ac now in 32) is very very high BUT infight i still loose 35-40% of my hp just to use this skill. So the HP drain isnt a fix ammount of hp but percentage based. I have around 2200 HP in 32 with Druid and Shaman Buffs. I loose around 850 HP to use this Skill. 850HP is very much when im at full Health and its much much more when i am already injured when i have to trigger this ability. </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>If u wanna test how much HP u loose while using this skill u have to pull a very low lvl mob (grey). the mob wont hit u but ur "infight" so u dont have natural regen. now trigger the skill and watch ur hp draining. when the skill runs out (about 30 sec) look at ur hp and compare ur total hp ..... and cry <img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /></DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>i my opinion this skill is nearly useless - i stick to Bob and Weave and to my healers </DIV>

[Bornfromdarkne]

<DIV><FONT color=#ffffff>I dont not like this skill. </FONT></DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Further complicating our ability to tank with pitifull things like "drains 99% of your health but makes you invulnerable" Irritate me.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>If were too tank, let us tank.</DIV> <DIV>If were not to tank, let us be brawlers.</DIV>

[psubull]

<DIV>Templars and Inquisitors have reactive heals, meaning that they heal you whenever you get hit for a certain amount.  Put the HP drain aside for a second.  With this activated, you will be hit for less than other fighter classes, and be getting the reactive heal from the templar, keeping your HP up.  Throw in the drain.  You get maybe 100ish taken from you each tick.  So the templar has to heal that little bit taken from the HP drain every few ticks, while the reactive heal deals with the low dmg you are taking whenever you get hit (which is already pretty rare).  So this, combined with bob and weave/toughness/bouncer keeps you pretty much set in the tanking position.  Throw in a fierce punch/eye gouge adept 3 and wowzers, you're getting hit scarcely for little.  It makes it easier against things that would normally hit you for 600, and in a few bad rolls turn you into a tasty snack.  That's just how you need to look at it.  It's a skill that makes it easier on the healer, unless the bruiser or healer is a complete [Removed for Content].  Just make a macro that says when you're using it, and tell the healer what it does before you start fighting. </DIV>

[Moski]

<DIV>Psubullet <img src="/smilies/8a80c6485cd926be453217d59a84a888.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /></DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>1st: of all AC does not make u get hit less often - AC is damage mitigation - nothing else - it effects how much damage u take when u get hit</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>2nd: we are avoidance tanks - we dont want to get hit: so the reactive heals are the worst possible for us. they heal as u said when u get hit. we dont wanna get hit we want to dodge/block/parry etc. </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>3rd: i am loosing 850 HP using this spell and i get 1000 ac for 30 seconds! I really doubt that the ac gain reduces the damage i take in that 30 sec for more than 850hp </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>in my opinion the hp loss is "a way" to much - 1 bubble (20%) of ur total hp would be balanced i guess but nearly 2,5 bubbles (45%) is too much!</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <P>Message Edited by Moskito on <SPAN class=date_text>12-15-2004</SPAN> <SPAN class=time_text>02:07 AM</SPAN></P><p>Message Edited by Moskito on <span class=date_text>12-15-2004</span> <span class=time_text>02:08 AM</span>

[justfr]

<blockquote><hr>Moskito wrote:<DIV>Psubullet <img src="/smilies/8a80c6485cd926be453217d59a84a888.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /></DIV><DIV> </DIV><DIV>1st: of all AC does not make u get hit less often - AC is damage mitigation - nothing else - it effects how much damage u take when u get hit</DIV><DIV> </DIV><DIV>2nd: we are avoidance tanks - we dont want to get hit: so the reactive heals are the worst possible for us. they heal as u said when u get hit. we dont wanna get hit we want to dodge/block/parry etc. </DIV><DIV> </DIV><DIV>3rd: i am loosing 850 HP using this spell and i get 1000 ac for 30 seconds! I really doubt that the ac gain reduces the damage i take in that 30 sec for more than 850hp </DIV><DIV> </DIV><DIV>in my opinion the hp loss is "a way" to much - 1 bubble (20%) of ur total hp would be balanced i guess but nearly 2,5 bubbles (45%) is too much!</DIV><DIV> </DIV><DIV> </DIV><P>Message Edited by Moskito on <SPAN class=date_text>12-15-2004</SPAN> <SPAN class=time_text>02:07 AM</SPAN></P><p>Message Edited by Moskito on <span class=date_text>12-15-2004</span> <span class=time_text>02:08 AM</span><hr></blockquote>Yup yup totally agree. Used the skill once, almost died. Used the skill 2nd time almost diedUsed the skill 3rd time , well i didnt die, but it still sux...<img src="/smilies/69934afc394145350659cd7add244ca9.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" />Never used the skill again... even if a master 1 came up and i won the lotto , i wouldnt use it.

[psubull]

<BR> <BLOCKQUOTE> <HR> Moskito wrote:<BR> <DIV>Psubullet <img src="/smilies/8a80c6485cd926be453217d59a84a888.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /></DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>1st: of all AC does not make u get hit less often - AC is damage mitigation - nothing else - it effects how much damage u take when u get hit</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>2nd: we are avoidance tanks - we dont want to get hit: so the reactive heals are the worst possible for us. they heal as u said when u get hit. we dont wanna get hit we want to dodge/block/parry etc. </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>3rd: i am loosing 850 HP using this spell and i get 1000 ac for 30 seconds! I really doubt that the ac gain reduces the damage i take in that 30 sec for more than 850hp </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>in my opinion the hp loss is "a way" to much - 1 bubble (20%) of ur total hp would be balanced i guess but nearly 2,5 bubbles (45%) is too much!</DIV> <DIV> <HR> </DIV></BLOCKQUOTE><BR> <DIV>1st: If you read my post and implied that I meant to say "AC makes you get hit less" you are gravely mistaken.  it clearly reads "You will be hit FOR less than other fighter classes."  This skill gives you about 1000 AC, making you have more AC than any other fighter class (up until the 40s).  With more AC, less DMG taken from each hit.  Exactly as you said, mitigation.  Please do not read my posts wrong then try to teach me what I already know.<BR><BR>2nd: Yes, we are avoidance tanks.  However, once you step in the ring with MOBs that are a few levels red, say 8 levels higher than you, then all the avoidance in the world isn't going to keep them from hitting you.  With this activated, you no longer play the part of an avoidance tank, rather you play the part of an armored avoidance tank.  And since you're now armored, the templar/inquisitor reactive heals are now useful.  Their main heals will mostly be used to heal the HP drain, which really isn't all that bad in a group.  Just be sure to recast the spell before it wears off, or else you will need to wait an extra 30 seconds to recast.<BR><BR>3rd: Yeah, you're losing 850 HP in 30 seconds and gaining 1000 AC.  Honestly, if the HP drain is nerfed to 1 bubble of HP per cast, who WOULDN'T want a bruiser to tank?  1000 AC is a lot, my friend.  Try it in EL.  Great Briarpaws, at 32, hit for around 450-600.  With this buff on, the damage drops to 160-300 per hit.  I guarantee you will get hit at least 6 times in 30 seconds, mainly from their special skills.  Instead of guessing, try logging your combat and seeing for yourself how this skill isn't useless.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>In the end, in most cases, you may be taking the same amount of damage as you would without the skill active (reread the 2nd point to get an example of when it should be used).  It is here just to make healing easier on the priests.  For a better perspective, what's easier to heal, 3000 damage in 30 seconds, or 3000 damage in 5-10 seconds?</DIV>

[Rontgen]

I'm a Ratonga bruiser and I find that in most cases the HP drain is not worth the extra AC. However, I can see how in a group with two healers you would have more than enough healing to make up for what is lost.

[Raidi Sovin'faile]

<DIV>It's not so much having enough healing. It's about changing how you are getting damaged.</DIV> <DIV>Instead of having random hits that deal high damage, causing headaches for all but the ward users, you can have much more normalized damage, and a constant rate of known damage.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Basically, you've taken the randomness out of the equation. That's good, because you can min/max a "known situation" better than you can a random one. You can prepare for, and deal with, that damage better.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>So it makes us into a normal tank for a short while. This means we can be useful in a group with a Templar/Inquisitor.</DIV>

[Southe]

<DIV>hmm, when i had this skill at 26, it was blue to me, scribed the app3 version, and i was getting 1100+ ac for 30seconds with HP drain.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>imo this skill isn't useless, its situational. I used this skill more then a few times, just gotta know when to use it =)</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Krace</DIV>

[fur]

<DIV><FONT size=1>Bruising spirit is imo one of the best buffs we get as it actually provides us the means to be a very good "bossmob" tank. BS aint supposed to be used when soloin or duoin with a shammy , its a full group tank buff to use when engaging above average group mobs aka yellow ++ mobs. And the hp drain is such a small price to pay that it insignificant, using ip the drain is less then 20% which is a small price to pay for 1000+ ac.</FONT></DIV>

[Moski]

<DIV>the drain is insignificant ??? ??? ???</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>i am loosing 850 HP due to this buff (total Hp buffed from Priest Class around 2k)</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>i really really really doubt that the damage i take in that 30 sec casue of the additional 1k ac from the buff is lowered for more than 850 dmg i loose anyways.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>if u dont beliefe the hp loss just engage a really low lvl grey mob and use the skill - and watch ur hp (the mob wont hit u at all so the loss of hp is all casue of the buff) !!</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>i am loosing ~ 45% of my HP to help me tank </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>i am still NOT using this skill at all (and i am not stoopid - i am usually tank for my groups)</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>and the thought of u making us boss mob tanks</DIV> <DIV>well for a small amount yes - with "small" boss mobs like a 2 arrow up named one. But no way to tank a boss raid encounter - casue fight lasts longer than 30 sec <img src="/smilies/8a80c6485cd926be453217d59a84a888.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /></DIV> <P>Message Edited by Moskito on <SPAN class=date_text>12-21-2004</SPAN> <SPAN class=time_text>01:30 AM</SPAN></P><p>Message Edited by Moskito on <span class=date_text>12-21-2004</span> <span class=time_text>01:32 AM</span>

[Corasik]

<BR> <BLOCKQUOTE> <P> <HR> </P> <P>Moskito wrote:</P> <P><BR>2nd: we are avoidance tanks - we dont want to get hit: so the reactive heals are the worst possible for us. they heal as u said when u get hit. we dont wanna get hit we want to dodge/block/parry etc. </P> <DIV> </DIV> <HR> </BLOCKQUOTE>I really disagree about reactive heals, at level 31, when im tanking the reactives are normally used up before they expire. And they really help during strings of luck/badluck. Without reactives the inquisitor would have to sit, finger twitching over the heal, to catch us when a mob gets lucky, and tries to one round us. But with a reactive there you have a safety buffer of a heal which will most certainly go off, the second your hit. Giving the inquisitor time to get a heal in, if its even necessary.<BR>

[Tricky Vin]

850 damage is nothin if you're in a group, and I'm only level 27!

[Brashn]

From reading this thread, it sounds like a nice situational spell. I'm only 24, but now I can't wait to get it as two of my good RL friends play a Inquisitor and a Warden (read: no shammy RL friends) and if this helps our classes mesh a little better on tough mobs, it'll be well worth the negative effects.

[Southe]

<DIV>Why dont you just use the spell in town and see how much hp you get drained, seemed like alot less then 850..</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Krace</DIV>

[Moski]

<DIV>@Krace</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>becasue if u arent infight u have natural hp regen <img src="/smilies/8a80c6485cd926be453217d59a84a888.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /></DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV> </DIV>

[Brashn]

<blockquote><hr>Moskito wrote:<DIV>@Krace</DIV><DIV> </DIV><DIV>becasue if u arent infight u have natural hp regen <img src="/smilies/8a80c6485cd926be453217d59a84a888.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /></DIV><DIV> </DIV><DIV> </DIV><hr></blockquote>good point. to test, you should pull a very grey mob and turn off attack, then hit the skill and check out how much damage it does.

[fur]

<DIV><FONT size=1>Bruising spirit IS situational and should never be used in common zone trash battles but considering i pop up to well over 2200 ac buffed for 35 secs its a good investment when tanking dual arrow oranges or high yellows, as deflection against them means diddly cause of the level differance, bruising spirit is in our skill tree so that we CAN tank that boss and dont have to step aside to let another tank do the job, thats it , and if you loose even 850 damage during those 35 secs - 250 which your ip should negate meaning you loose 600 hp over 35 secs and in turn get a ac that will actually give you a chance to negate a 900+ flurry or barrage/cb then yes you will realise that the hp invested is worth it, even if it just means one extra  miss from the mob its still worth it. </FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT size=1></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT size=1>Its a [expletive ninja'd by Faarbot] fine skill and it adds to our diversity , its not the most used skill on my 3 hotbars but its place there is firmly secured =).</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT size=1></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT size=1>Skull</FONT></DIV>

[Burinat]

<DIV>With this skill i was out-tanking a berserker at lvl28 and i was only 26. use this skill in the right group and you become a more than accomplished tank...</DIV>

[Moski]

<DIV>now at lvl 37 i gave the skill another chance</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>testet it solo while in combat with a ~lvl10 mob (just to make sure i dont have out-of-combat-regen)</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>My total Hp are 2227 my unbuffed AC is ~1350 </DIV> <DIV>I am using appIII of the skill (havent seen a adept dropping so far)</DIV> <DIV>Skill is grey (means wont become better anymore with lvls)</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>While im infight and i trigger the Skill in lvl 37 i am loosing exact 1000 HP while i get exact 1149 ac for ~30 sec.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>The  HP loss is exact 45% of my total HP </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>In the 30 sec while the Skill lasts i get hit usually max 2 or 3 times</DIV> <DIV>Does the Damage Mitigation from the +1149 ac reduce the Damage i take in that 30 sec for more the 1000 HP i loose anyways while using the Skill? Dont know but really really doubt it.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>The Skill make us better tanks? No, if u want to tank a Raid Encounter (i am not talking about [random_named_two_arrow_mon_in_runnyeye] this Skill wont really hlep you. The Encounter will last for much longer than 30 sec.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>I really hope the devs take a look at the skill again an balance it. Well if not, i will still just not use it <img src="/smilies/8a80c6485cd926be453217d59a84a888.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /></DIV>

[Kulpr]

I am am lvl 27 bruiser and already I can't count the amount of times this ability has saved my group. With my AC boosted to 2100+ with it active I have more ac then any other tank my lvl. Throw an ignore pain that takes away half the penalty. Mix it in with bob and weave and all of a sudden our tanking ability ain't looking to bad. mobs that used to hit for like 400-500 on hard hits are hitting for like 150 or less.As a backup tank I've used this along with intervene on the main tank to save the tank when the healer ran out of mana. Overall I'm very excited to have this skill and look forward to displaying its power to my guildies and group mates.I feel sorry for the above poster in not seeing the strength of this ability and as a result totally missing out.It's all about knowing when to use what abilities and how to time them to work with abilities your allies are casting. If you figure this out the world is yours.Palamar27 BruiserNajena<p>Message Edited by Kulprid on <span class=date_text>12-28-2004</span> <span class=time_text>08:59 PM</span>

[fur]

<DIV>Fact of the matter is at 30+ 1000 damage over 35 secs in a group with 2 healers (standard setup atm for 99% of the groups) is nothing, hell runnyeye or bossmobs in nek slap me for 800+, i play in the same group every day setup is me defiler inq and troubador, bruising spirit is awesome when used when its supposed to be used aka boss fights, +1000 ac means you do not only get hit a helluva lot less you will be hit for a helluva lot less and when the orange dual arrows pummel for 600+ a hit and those hit bypass your deflection 80% of the time without bruisin up even with 140+ buffed agi, bruising spirit will make the encounter manageable.  Its not useable at anytime , it is situational but its also a very good skill for its level if you use it right.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Skull 31 Bruiser Kith.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>With nek i meant nekto castle not zone =)</DIV><p>Message Edited by furok on <span class=date_text>12-28-2004</span> <span class=time_text>11:11 PM</span>

[Windy]

<DIV>I just wanted to clarify the hp lost.  It drains 10% of your life, no more, no less, every tick.  The first tick doesn't seem to count, so thats 60% of your total hp, not including any sort of regen, natural or otherwise.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>At 34, I currently have around 2000 hp.  Thats about 200 hp a tick, or about 1200 life drained.  It's currently at app2, though i've got a jasper waiting for the next patch to boost it to Adept IV.  Thats how good this ability is.  It's the equalizer for bruisers.  We have the best avoidance, even vs red ^^ group mobs.  Our AC isn't as high normally, but with BS active, my ac is higher than a plate tank.  That means i'm getting hit less from my avoidance, and taking less damage per hit from BS.  All for 200 life a tick.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Thats what you have to look at.  If it costs 200 life, but reduces the damage taken from 500 to 150 per hit, then I need to get hit only once per tick to be comming out ahead.  If you're fighting a simple white or yellow encounter, it's going to be a waste.  It's useful for the most poweful mobs, very situational.</DIV>

[industrock]

<DIV>i dont use this ability at all anymore, though i did at lower levels.  I use a combo of overtaking blows and staggering stance, while using bounder and fiery fists and rousing cry.  I can take very well with this combination with any type healer.  With a shaman class, i dont even have to worry about anything other than throwing up bouncer and fiery fists once, and rousing cry every 3 mins.  Bards are nice for haste and AGI increase when tanking, as AGI is 100x better for brusier than AC.  im only drained about 15% HP with the AC buff, and the AC is still 1K less than tanks at my level...  That said, it is much more important to dodge attacks than to mitigate damage.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>lvl 43 bruiser</DIV><p>Message Edited by industrock on <span class=date_text>01-02-2005</span> <span class=time_text>08:19 PM</span>

[industrock]

<DIV> <DIV>I just wanted to clarify the hp lost.  It drains 10% of your life, no more, no less, every tick.  The first tick doesn't seem to count, so thats 60% of your total hp, not including any sort of regen, natural or otherwise.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>At 34, I currently have around 2000 hp.  Thats about 200 hp a tick, or about 1200 life drained.  It's currently at app2, though i've got a jasper waiting for the next patch to boost it to Adept IV.  Thats how good this ability is.  It's the equalizer for bruisers.  We have the best avoidance, even vs red ^^ group mobs.  Our AC isn't as high normally, but with BS active, my ac is higher than a plate tank.  That means i'm getting hit less from my avoidance, and taking less damage per hit from BS.  All for 200 life a tick.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Thats what you have to look at.  If it costs 200 life, but reduces the damage taken from 500 to 150 per hit, then I need to get hit only once per tick to be comming out ahead.  If you're fighting a simple white or yellow encounter, it's going to be a waste.  It's useful for the most poweful mobs, very situational.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>__________________________________________________ ______________________________________</DIV> <DIV> </DIV></DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>yes, at that level, it is nice, but as you get higher, AC really starts to mean less and less to the brawler types.  for tanking, AGI > everything else.  </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>BTW, it costs WAY more than 200 hp over the course of the skill.  and even tanking red, lvl 50 mobs, this skill drains more than you actually get hit.  with bard in group, i can amass nearly 280 AGI, and usually only get hit 8-15 times over the course of the fight.  Ive got 1600AC without BS, 2650 wtih it.  there is not much difference in damage taken at this lvl, as plate tanks have 6K AC.  Therefore, 40+, even really 35+, i did not find this skill useful at all.  I only use it to show off AC <img src="/smilies/8a80c6485cd926be453217d59a84a888.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /></DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>lvl 43 bruiser</DIV><p>Message Edited by industrock on <span class=date_text>01-02-2005</span> <span class=time_text>11:45 AM</span>

[littleman17]

<DIV>it works well with our ignore pain skill, it heals 1/4 my health at app1.......... so we have our own way of countering this penalty.</DIV>

[industrock]

<DIV> <DIV>it works well with our ignore pain skill, it heals 1/4 my health at app1.......... so we have our own way of countering this penalty.</DIV> <DIV>__________________________________________________ _</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>yeah, its nice, but to better tank, you should worry more about your dodging buffs rather than AC buff.  Brawler classes are based on dodging/avoiding blows rather than taking it full force.  If you want a meatshield who can take poundings, get a warrior.</DIV></DIV>