WAR or DK for tanking HFC (resource/rotation tracking)

[Deleted]

Hey Guys,

I've been tanking for my guild as a DK, I do an OK job but the playstyle i.e. tracking runes/runic power/plague leech/blood tap etc. really get on my nerves when things get hectic. So I'm going to play around with a recently boosted Prot WAR, to see if that suits me...the proof is in the pudding after all.

I am interested in actual Prot WARs views on the just having rage to deal with and how they are finding WARs in HFC and any anecdotal commentary on DK vs WAR i.e. "I have both and I find....."

Cheers

[Deleted]

I have both and I find... DK to be much easier to survive on due to the ridiculous selection of cooldowns and the control I have over my own healthbar. There are some fringe cases where I find DK falls behind warrior, if only slightly: movement on Iron Reaver, Aura of Contempt on Tyrant.
Generating/spending rage is easier than keeping track of the DK's resources and pseudo resources, sure, on paper. What gets on my nerves though is how frugal I need to be with the warrior's cooldowns and how helpless I feel when the healers spaz out. Once you pass the cusp of the learning curve, DK's AM plays much better "by ear" compared to the strong but comparatively inflexible Block uptime gaming on warrior.

[Deleted]

Food for thought...Cheers Salix

[Valech]

Depends slightly on the content you are raiding and how ambitious/professional you and your healers are.
During hard progression warriors traditionally do better then most tanks, while especially DKs are prone to being one shot by hard hitting bosses. Algalon or current tier´s Velhari are examples for that. Then again, while you may not be in the state of farming the content, you surely do outgear a lot of the bosses you progress. That makes the DK more attractive, since you canskip the communication with the healers and rely solely on your own vast variety of cooldowns.

On the paper the ragemanagement and the simplicity of the warrior´s active mitigation appear to be easier to handle then ressource management with the DK but I personally find that they need a more foresighted playstyle, that requires knowledge about boss mechanics and a feeling for the "Rhythm" of a fight, while pressing the shiny buttons of a DK to apply a nice absorb can never be bad.

Stick with your DK. It´s easier and yields the same results with current average itemlvls.

[WarriorBP]

On the paper the ragemanagement and the simplicity of the warrior´s active mitigation appear to be easier to handle then ressource management with the DK but I personally find that they need a more foresighted playstyle, that requires knowledge about boss mechanics and a feeling for the "Rhythm" of a fight, while pressing the shiny buttons of a DK to apply a nice absorb can never be bad.

Pretty much this. Compared to DKs the warrior rotation is far smoother as every global is able to be filled without wasting resorces. However DK's are far more self sufficient.

This is how I try to plan for a fight as a warrior
Break apart my defensives into their categories.
Active Mitigation=AM; Minor cds; and Majors
AM= Sblock and barrier
Minors=Demo shout, ravager if using
Majors= Last stand (Very good with T18 4pc), Shield wall

Take note of how long you will be tanking until a swap on a fight.

<18 seconds: you will have 100% Sblock uptime while tanking
Use your minors for when healers start to fall behind. Save your majors defensives to save your life. May not really need externals if you have a bunch weave them in when you would use a minor.

18-24ish: You will either need to let your your Sblock fall off for a couple seconds before pressing it or bridge the gap with a minor cd. The best way to decide which on to do is how fast and how hard does the boss hit for.

30+ secs: The biggest questions here are: How often does the boss cast and how hard does the boss hit for?
Some bosses are relentless with fast, hard hitting attacks Blackhand for example. These fights save a Major CD to save your life otherwise try to bridge as many gaps in Sblock as possible with minors and externals. Using a major when you know there will be a burst of dmg or you healer look like they are falling apart.
Some bosses casts a ton. For example M Manny who is known for his tank mechanics not only doesn't hit very hard (outside of glaive combo, that shit hurts, Major CD and AM) but casts so much that I often found my self just letting Sblock fall off for 4-5 seconds at a time.