Party tanking for fighters - Updated

[Stryfe]

Sorry for the late response lol, I just now read your message.

First of all, great job with the guide. There are only a few Fighters I know of that can fully utilize the Mock/Taunt skills and truly be a good tank. This guide should help a lot of parties in the future.

Second, I dedicated my entire Closed Beta Fighter to test out the capabilities of all 3 weapon types, not just 2Hand sword and 1Hand Sword. When tanking, 1Hand swords are obviously more superior when compared to 2hand swords, and 2hand Axes. However, just how much of a difference are there between the 2Hand Weapons, and 1Hand Weapons in terms of damage output, and tanking power? Also, what's the difference between 2hand axes and 2hand swords in the same aspects? I focused my build around determining the differences between the weapon type, and hopefully coming up with a conclusion before the CB phase ends.

The following information is very rough, for I haven't put in the exact statistics as of yet. When CB2 comes, I'll be sure to post more accurate information.

1Hand Swords Vs. 2Hand Swords
-The Attack speed difference between the two is .3 seconds.
-The average damage difference between the 2 weapons are 20. The damage difference between the 2 can go as low as 10, and as high as 40. The damage tends to lean towards the "High" point usually, but the average remains the same throughout lvls 30-40. I'm not certain wether this pattern will stay through during the 50's and 60's, though I have a pretty good idea that it will.
-The difference in damage received is around 30~40. Combine this with the "Toughness" skill of 1hand swords, there is a huge difference between the tanking capabilities of 1hand swords and 2Hand swords.
-I've yet to determine the difference of average damage between 2hand swords and 1hand swords when taking Attack Speed into consideration. (In other words, which one will do more damage overall as time goes on? This little comparison will be the absolute factor in determining which build is the best against bosses)
-The conclusion I've come to so far is that the damage dealt, isn't enough to warrant the loss of such defensive advantages, atleast for the levels involving 20~40. I'm almost sure that the statistics and ratio between the two factors will change dramatically, in the 60's. 2Hand Sword fighters doing really good, strictly depends on the Stat Build, therefore, won't show its true "potential" until in the later levels. However, this is pure speculation for I've yet to reach that said level. Hopefully, in CB2, I'll be able to make some final observations.

1Hand Swords Vs. 2Hand Axes
-The comparisons are pretty much the same, except it's even slower by .3 seconds. However, the damage is more unstable, and staggers a bit more with its min and max damage.

2Hand Swords Vs. 2Hand axes
-I haven't spent too much time comparing these two, for honestly, I'm not a fan of axes. However, I find myself doing better against bosses and high DEF monsters with an axe, compared to the 2Hand Sword, while 2Hand swords are more optimal against monsters that have less defense.

I'd like to add one thing, although Taunt was originally made to help parties and make sure that the tank stays the tank, Taunt also has its uses when soloing. I apologize if this was already mentioned.

Also, Andy's right. The Builds don't really play a big role in terms of tanking as of yet anyways. A good cleric is more important. I don't really see a big difference of change with different "Builds". I've experimented with the use of rings. However, I have a pretty good speculation that builds become really important near the end. For example, 2Hand Sword/Axe pure offense builds will start to see the fruits of their labor when the Dmg+ Starts to accumulate, and 1Hand Sword pure Tank builds gets a significant HP/DEF/Block boost with high END in conjunction with a high lvl toughness skill.

Anyways, I decided to post everything instead of simply answering (The answer's in Bold if you want to bypass all the text) the question because I believe that this'll contribute somehow to the guide.

[AndyB]

Thanks Claude, nicely put. ;D

I didn't realise just how much you had compared the weapons. Might be an idea to copy and paste that information into a separate thread as I think people will find the information useful for deciding which way to go in terms of weapon choice.

[Stryfe]

I plan on doing so eventually, perhaps sometime around CB2. This way, I can include the actual stats, as well as provide the differences in the later levels and the final conclusions.

[Kitager]

@ Stryfe

Nicely done. I'd always wondered how axes would fare against 2h swords. Your stats are a bit rough, but the overall product outweighs this! =)

[CyborGamer]

Thanks a lot :O That's a lot of information from a short question. :P
Looks like I'll have to get Taunt for CB2. :3 And so far it's safe to say that it'll be a better choice to use 1-H swords because the damage dealt on the other weapons isn't enough to make up for the defense lost? At least from lvls 20-40.
Well, I'll still probably choose a 2-handed weapon, personal preference. XD

Thanks again, both pros AndyB and Stryfe :P

[Revy]

Nice guides both Claude and AndyB. I suggest putting Claude's post into the guide if possible? ^^

For those who didn't buy/use Snearing Kick (aka Taunt O.o): get it ASAP, even if you aren't partying. It's a highly usefull skill, basically this is what makes you able to solo, since it's like a ranged attack - you can pull one monster out from an agro crowd with this, so you can stick to 1v1 fight instead of 1v3++.

Also, 2 little things i'd like to add:
Mock: It has a cap; maximum amout of monsters affected is 5.

Demoralizing Hit (or w/e it's called): An AoE skill which reduces the damage dealt by the monsters around you. Can be lifesaver when your cleric spaces out.

[Skeith]

Claude that is a really long Guide! lol
I wonder why isn't anyone building a guide for Archer's! that will really help!

[AndyB]

Claude that is a really long Guide! lol
I wonder why isn't anyone building a guide for Archer's! that will really help!

Heh, Skeith as the highest level archer are you volunteering?

[Skeith]

AndyB, i don't know what to write or the topic of my guide. lol

[Stryfe]

@Everyone: Thanks for the compliments.

@AndyB: I was just about to say that, lol.

@Skeith: I'll be glad to help with the format, I'll just need your input on a couple of things.