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Difference between revisions of "Sakuragi's Warrior Guide"
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As a warrior, your primary means of generating threat is by beating on your target monster. Every time you swing your weapon, hit or miss, you will generate WeaponDamage+DamageBonus aggro. Some examples: | As a warrior, your primary means of generating threat is by beating on your target monster. Every time you swing your weapon, hit or miss, you will generate WeaponDamage+DamageBonus aggro. Some examples: | ||
| − | * L40 Warrior with a | + | * L40 Warrior with a {{: Short Sword of the Ykesha}} in the mainhand: 8+5 = 13 hate per swing |
| − | * L40 Warrior with a | + | * L40 Warrior with a {{: Short Sword of the Ykesha}} in the offhand: 8+0 = 8 hate per swing |
| − | * L60 Warrior with a | + | * L60 Warrior with a {{: Blade of Strategy}} in the mainhand: 14+11 = 25 hate per swing |
| − | * L60 Warrior with a | + | * L60 Warrior with a {{: Blade of Tactics}} in the offhand: 14+0 = 14 hate per swing |
| − | This means that as you level up and increase your damage bonus, fast weapons generate relatively more hate than slow weapons. A 9/18 | + | This means that as you level up and increase your damage bonus, fast weapons generate relatively more hate than slow weapons. A 9/18 {{: Jade Mace}} is actually putting out more melee hate per second (ratio (9+11)/18 = 1.11) than the {{: Blade of Strategy}} (ratio (14+11)/24 = 1.05). |
Your secondary means of generating threat is by equipping a weapon that procs a spell. Your chance to proc is dependent purely on your dexterity: the game computes the number of procs per minute you get (0.5 + 1.5 (dex/255) for the mainhand, half that for the offhand) and then distributes them over your swings. Some examples: | Your secondary means of generating threat is by equipping a weapon that procs a spell. Your chance to proc is dependent purely on your dexterity: the game computes the number of procs per minute you get (0.5 + 1.5 (dex/255) for the mainhand, half that for the offhand) and then distributes them over your swings. Some examples: | ||
Revision as of 22:39, 15 October 2013
Contents |
A Word of Warning
Warriors are something of an endgame class, both in terms of levels and gear. At 60 wielding the Blade of Strategy and Sword of the Shissar and wearing toys like the Belt of the Four Winds and Cobalt Breastplate you're the best tank in the game. But during most of your time leveling (especially if you aren't twinked) you aren't going to compare to the snap aggro of Paladins and Shadowknights or the damage of monks. Warriors are the most gear dependent class in classic EverQuest. It's simply not possible to make up a large difference in gear with skill, the way you can on an enchanter or even a monk.
So from a min/max perspective, Warrior is the most hardcore class out there. You should expect to either put in a LOT of time to level and gear up, or just be a mediocre warrior. I rolled my warrior mostly to do something different and not play a powerclass after romping through the game as an enchanter; on the whole I think Sakuragi is great but there have definitely been times when I wish I went Monk.
Just to drive the point home, it's easy to think that a Warrior is one of the simple, base classes. And they are. But they are also one of the most demanding in terms of time. You should learn about the endgame scene first: to get those pixels you're either going to have to track/batphone or farm for a long time.
The Mathematics of Threat Generation
The takeaway here is that you want two fast weapons with good ratios that also proc high-threat spells, while getting as much haste and dexterity as possible. If you are allergic to math, skip this section.
As a warrior, your primary means of generating threat is by beating on your target monster. Every time you swing your weapon, hit or miss, you will generate WeaponDamage+DamageBonus aggro. Some examples:
- L40 Warrior with a Short Sword of the Ykeshain the mainhand: 8+5 = 13 hate per swingShort Sword of the Ykesha
MAGIC ITEM
Slot: PRIMARY SECONDARY
Skill: 1H Slashing Atk Delay: 24
DMG: 8
Effect: Ykesha (Combat, Casting Time: Instant) at Level 37
WT: 4.5 Size: MEDIUM
Class: WAR PAL RNG SHD BRD ROG
Race: ALL
- L40 Warrior with a Short Sword of the Ykeshain the offhand: 8+0 = 8 hate per swingShort Sword of the Ykesha
MAGIC ITEM
Slot: PRIMARY SECONDARY
Skill: 1H Slashing Atk Delay: 24
DMG: 8
Effect: Ykesha (Combat, Casting Time: Instant) at Level 37
WT: 4.5 Size: MEDIUM
Class: WAR PAL RNG SHD BRD ROG
Race: ALL
- L60 Warrior with a Blade of Strategyin the mainhand: 14+11 = 25 hate per swingBlade of Strategy
MAGIC ITEM LORE ITEM NO DROP
Slot: PRIMARY SECONDARY
Skill: 1H Slashing Atk Delay: 24
DMG: 14
STR: +10 STA: +15 HP: +50
SV FIRE: +5 SV DISEASE: +5 SV COLD: +5 SV MAGIC: +5 SV POISON: +5
Effect: Rage of Vallon (Combat, Casting Time: Instant) at Level 50
WT: 2.5 Size: SMALL
Class: WAR
Race: ALL
- L60 Warrior with a Blade of Tacticsin the offhand: 14+0 = 14 hate per swing This means that as you level up and increase your damage bonus, fast weapons generate relatively more hate than slow weapons. A 9/18Blade of Tactics
MAGIC ITEM LORE ITEM NO DROP
Slot: PRIMARY SECONDARY
Skill: 1H Slashing Atk Delay: 24
DMG: 14
STR: +10 DEX: +15 HP: +50
SV FIRE: +5 SV DISEASE: +5 SV COLD: +5 SV MAGIC: +5 SV POISON: +5
Effect: Rage of Tallon (Worn)
WT: 2.5 Size: SMALL
Class: WAR
Race: ALL
Jade Maceis actually putting out more melee hate per second (ratio (9+11)/18 = 1.11) than theJade Mace
MAGIC ITEM
Slot: PRIMARY SECONDARY
Skill: 1H Blunt Atk Delay: 18
DMG: 9
WT: 2.1 Size: MEDIUM
Class: ALL except NEC WIZ MAG ENC
Race: ALL
Blade of Strategy(ratio (14+11)/24 = 1.05).Blade of StrategyMAGIC ITEM LORE ITEM NO DROP
Slot: PRIMARY SECONDARY
Skill: 1H Slashing Atk Delay: 24
DMG: 14
STR: +10 STA: +15 HP: +50
SV FIRE: +5 SV DISEASE: +5 SV COLD: +5 SV MAGIC: +5 SV POISON: +5
Effect: Rage of Vallon (Combat, Casting Time: Instant) at Level 50
WT: 2.5 Size: SMALL
Class: WAR
Race: ALL
Your secondary means of generating threat is by equipping a weapon that procs a spell. Your chance to proc is dependent purely on your dexterity: the game computes the number of procs per minute you get (0.5 + 1.5 (dex/255) for the mainhand, half that for the offhand) and then distributes them over your swings. Some examples:
- 255 dex, 60 delay weapon, 10 swings per minute, 20% chance to proc per swing
- 255 dex, 30 delay weapon with 100% haste, 40 swings per minute, 5% chance to proc per swing
It's not that hard to put these together (along with estimates for dual wield, double/triple attack, and so on) into a spreadsheet that lets you figure out the estimated aggro for each pair of weapons. Some results (at Level 60, 255 dexterity, 100% haste):
Primary Secondary Damage/sec Hate/sec Sceptre of Destruction Sceptre of Destruction 73 95 Willsapper Blade of Strategy 68 80 Blade of Strategy Sword of the Shissar 63 79 Veldrak's Shortblade Veridix's Shortsword 60 79 Blade of the Black Dragon Eye Ringed Mace of the Ykesha 57 78 Blade of the Black Dragon Eye Dagas 60 70 Ringed Mace of the Ykesha Ringed Mace of the Ykesha 52 70 Blade of Strategy Blade of Tactics 62 66 Sarnak Warhammer Silken Whip of Ensnaring 54 65 Ykeshan War Club Ykeshan War Club 44 64 Sebilite Croaking Dirk Fist of Zek 63 50 Blood Point Blood Point 54 49 Blade of Carnage Blade of Strategy BLAME ELETHIA These numbers aren't exact: I'm using data from my tests which seem to indicate that damage is 1 hate per, debuffs are 550 hate, stuns are 500, and poison/disease procs are 750 (this is also why Willsapper doesn't score so well). You can see the testing thread at http://www.project1999.org/forums/showthread.php?t=120110 It's also possible I have a bug in my spreadsheet.
Anyway, it may not be obvious, but these are actually pretty solid numbers. For example:
Player Hate/sec Epic Monk + Stave of Shielding 55 Shaman chaining Turgur's Insects 550 hate/9 seconds 61 Epic Warrior 66 Wizard chaining Sunstrike 1615 hate / 9.25 seconds 175 So the wizard will die, but everyone else is looking pretty good. The problem is that procs (and taunt) are horribly random and fights are short. Suppose that our epic warrior is cursed by the random number generator gods and does not proc/taunt at all. Suddenly he is only generating 46 hate/sec. Our Shaman fired slow as soon as the mob hit camp, so it takes our warrior 12 seconds to generate enough threat for the shaman to sit down again. If the group is killing mobs every 25 seconds, that means our RNG-cursed warrior is tanking a whopping 50% of the time.
Fine you say, but what is the chance of being so cursed by the RNG gods? Higher than you think. For an exponential process exp[-ax] the mean is 1/a. In practice this means if you are due for a proc every 20 seconds (255 dex), you'll have to wait 20 seconds on average (not 10 as you would think). The worst case is much worse:
Dex Proc PPM Average 50% 25% 5% 255 Both 3.00 20 14 27 58 230 Both 2.78 21 15 29 63 200 Both 2.51 23 16 32 70 170 Both 2.25 26 18 36 78 255 Main 2.00 30 20 41 88 140 Both 1.99 30 21 41 89 230 Main 1.85 32 22 44 96 200 Main 1.68 35 24 49 106 170 Main 1.50 40 27 55 118 140 Main 1.32 45 31 62 134 So if you have two proccing and weapons and 255 dex, you'll have to wait on average 20 seconds for a proc. 50% of time you'll get one inside of 14 seconds, 25% of the time you'll have to wait 27 seconds, and 5% of the time you'll have to wait almost a minute. If you have only one proccing weapon and less than 200 dex, you'll be waiting over a minute between procs fairly frequently. The point here is that warrior isn't bad as much as it is inconsistent. Having two proccing weapons and high dexterity not only increases your threat but decreases its variance and makes it (well a bit) more predictable.
Defense (HP vs AC)
If you are being healed by a shaman or druid (or, god forbid, a paladin), AC is all that matters. More AC = greater efficiency.
If you are being healed by a cleric, especially on raid encounters, HP is going to be more important. Raid mobs have very high ATK and AC is not as effective. In addition, you don't care about the average case: it doesn't matter whether you average 25% or 30% when the complete heal hits. What matters is the worst case, i.e. death, and avoiding it. I feel like HP compensates for that a bit better than AC.
So I feel that 1AC is worth about 3HP for raid tanking but more like 5HP while leveling, when mobs have lower ATK scores and it is more likely you'll be healed by a druid or shaman.
Also, slowed mobs are better than any amount of AC. If stuff is slowable, the best defense is a good offense so that your enchanter and shaman can get to work earlier.
Creation
In the long run (and there really isn't any other reason to play a warrior from a min/max perspective) you'll want to max both Stamina and Dexterity. With full Shaman/Enchanter buffs you'll get +80 DEX but only +50 STA, so I suggest setting Stamina to 30 more than Dexterity.
Race Stamina Dexterity Total Bonuses Suggested Barbarian 105 70 175 +10CR, doesn't look like an ogre, slam, horned helmets 10 STA, 15 DEX Dark Elf 75 75 150 Hide, Ultravision 25 STA Dwarf 100 90 190 Barrel Roll, +5MR, great stats for a small race 25 STA Gnome 80 85 165 Wallvision, tinkering, being a gnome 25 STA Half Elf 80 85 165 Infravision 25 STA Halfling 85 90 175 Hide, Sneak, XP bonus, Wallvision 25 STA Human 85 75 160 Pornstache, Snack-like names 25 STA Iksar 80 85 165 Regeneration, AC, but no Kunark armor 25 STA Ogre 132 75 207 Stun immunity, huge stats, slam 25 DEX Troll 119 75 194 Regen, cool animations, not as popular as ogres, slam 5 STA, 20 DEX Wood Elf 75 80 155 Infravision, Hide 25 STA From a min-max perspective, Ogres are clearly the best. Aside from having the best stats, a quick back-of-the-envelope estimate shows the value of stun immunity: mobs get their secondary attack every 8 seconds, bash instead instead of kick 75% of the time, hit 50% of the time, and stun 50% of their hits. So if the mob isn't hasted you'll be spending roughly 2 seconds out of 40 (5%) of your time stunned. Depending on how fast your weapons are, that's some 2-3% of your threat and damage (your weapons will be ready as soon as you aren't stunned, so you don't lose all of the time) which isn't gamebreaking but is certainly nice.
Second best are Dwarves, Trolls, Halflings, and to some extent Barbarians which all have nice stats and special abilities. There is no min-max reason to play the other races (especially Dark Elves with their brutal 75 starting stamina AND dexterity), but of course min-max isn't everything and with some effort you'll be able to cap your stats in the endgame anyway. In the long term the lack of Slam is not that important as you'll get stunning Kick at 55.
Last but not least are the Iksar. In Velious their AC and regen bonuses will make them competitors with Ogres, but currently we have been mired in Kunark for the past three years and Iksar Warriors are still wearing ranger armor. Really they are only 5-10% worse than comparably geared Ogres in Kunark (Hakata has tanked just about every mob in Kunark, and Sakuragi has tanked most of them) but people will expect you to be horrible. To these people I have only one thing to say: hiss! hiss!
Disciplines
Warriors get the best disciplines in the game, mainly because many of ours ours last 3 minutes instead of 10 seconds.
Evasive vs Defensive
These are your bread and butter, and the big reason Warriors trump other classes for endgame tanking. A Warrior with 4000HP and one of these disciplines will outtank a hybrid with 5000HP . . . easily.
Mobs hit for DamageBonus+DamageInterval*Rand(0,20). Evasive causes them to miss more, while defensive reduces their damage interval. What this means is that if mobs have a high DI but low DB, defensive is better, while if they have a high DB but low DI, evasive is better. There is an entire [thread] devoted to which discipline to use when, but as a general rule of thumb I suggest using defensive for mobs that hit for over 400 max.
Precision
With this discipline you will basically never miss. It's good for about a 50% increase in damage for three minutes, and if the fight lasts long enough you can outdamage the rogues and monks.
Mightystrike/Fellstrike
Mightystrike is best saved for when you are in trouble and below 40% health, when all of your critical hits will be crippling blows. Unfortunately it has a 60 minute reuse time.
Fellstrike is good for the 30 second endgame kills we see on this server and refreshes a bit faster.
Useful Clickies and Procs
With zero class-based utility spells or skills, these items can be extremely useful. There is a reason I have 6Bag of the Tinkerersfilled with toys (and MR gear).Bag of the Tinkerers
WT: 1.0 Weight Reduction: 100%
Capacity: 10 Size Capacity: GIANT
Procs
Blood Point90 point lifetap,Blood Point
MAGIC ITEM
Slot: PRIMARY SECONDARY
Skill: Piercing Atk Delay: 21
DMG: 10
STR: +5 CHA: -5
SV DISEASE: +10 SV POISON: +10
Effect: Siphon (Combat, Casting Time: Instant) at Level 50
WT: 2.3 Size: MEDIUM
Class: WAR ROG
Race: ALL
Truncheon of Doom50% slow,Truncheon of Doom
MAGIC ITEM LORE ITEM
Slot: PRIMARY
Skill: 2H Blunt Atk Delay: 44
DMG: 33
Effect: Tepid Deeds (Combat, Casting Time: Instant) at Level 50
WT: 10.0 Size: LARGE
Class: WAR
Race: ALL
Silken Whip of EnsnaringSnare,Silken Whip of Ensnaring
MAGIC ITEM LORE ITEM
Slot: PRIMARY SECONDARY
Skill: 1H Slashing Atk Delay: 28
DMG: 14 AC: -5
Effect: Snare (Combat, Casting Time: Instant) at Level 50
WT: 4.5 Size: MEDIUM
Class: WAR RNG
Race: ALL
Blood Fire500 point 2 minute DoT,Blood Fire
MAGIC ITEM LORE ITEM
Slot: PRIMARY SECONDARY
Skill: 1H Slashing Atk Delay: 24
DMG: 11
Effect: Boil Blood (Combat, Casting Time: Instant) at Level 46
WT: 2.5 Size: MEDIUM
Class: WAR
Race: ALL
Journeyman's Walking StickTash,Journeyman's Walking Stick
MAGIC ITEM
Slot: PRIMARY SECONDARY
Skill: 1H Blunt Atk Delay: 24
DMG: 9
STR: +4 WIS: +4 INT: +4
Effect: Tashani (Combat, Casting Time: Instant) at Level 35
WT: 1.6 Size: MEDIUM
Class: WAR CLR PAL RNG SHD DRU
MNK BRD ROG SHM
Race: ALL
Polished Obsidian Great AxeFear,Polished Obsidian Great Axe
MAGIC ITEM LORE ITEM
Slot: PRIMARY
Skill: 2H Slashing Atk Delay: 48
DMG: 33
DEX: -10 AGI: -10 HP: +50
Effect: Invoke Fear (Combat, Casting Time: Instant) at Level 40
WT: 10.0 Size: LARGE
Class: WAR SHD
Race: ALL
Worker SledgemalletTeleport to OTWorker SledgemalletMAGIC ITEM LORE ITEM NO DROP
Slot: PRIMARY
Skill: 2H Blunt Atk Delay: 50
DMG: 6
Effect: Overthere (Combat, Casting Time: Instant) at Level 50
WT: 3.2 Size: GIANT
Class: ALL
Race: ALL
Clickies (charges)
Larrikan's MaskInvisibility,Larrikan's Mask
MAGIC ITEM LORE ITEM
Slot: FACE
Charges: 10
AC: 6
Effect: Superior Camouflage (Must Equip, Casting Time: 9.0) at Level 45
WT: 0.4 Size: SMALL
Class: ALL
Race: ALL
Wooly Spider Silk NetRoot,Wooly Spider Silk Net
MAGIC ITEM
Charges: 3
Effect: Ensnaring Roots (Any Slot, Casting Time: 1.5 seconds)
WT: 0.1 Size: SMALL
Class: ALL
Race: ALL
Ring of ShadowsInstant Self Invisibility,Ring of Shadows
MAGIC ITEM
Slot: FINGER
Charges: 3
DEX: +2
Effect: Gather Shadows (Any Slot, Casting Time: Instant)
WT: 0.1 Size: TINY
Class: ALL
Race: ALL
Greater Potion of Heat+25 STA, +25 CR,Greater Potion of Heat
EXPENDABLE Charges: 1
Effect: Aura of Heat (Any Slot, Casting Time: 4.0)
WT: 0.4 Size: SMALL
Class: ALL
Race: ALL
Blood of the WolfMovement speed,Blood of the Wolf
EXPENDABLE Charges: 1
Effect: Spirit of Wolf (Any Slot, Casting Time: 4.0)
WT: 0.4 Size: SMALL
Class: ALL
Race: ALL
Greater Null Potion+25 DEX, +25MR,Greater Null Potion
EXPENDABLE Charges: 1
Effect: Null Aura (Any Slot, Casting Time: 4.0)
WT: 0.4 Size: SMALL
Class: ALL
Race: ALL
Crystallized PumiceDispell (extremely useful on the PVP server),Crystallized Pumice
MAGIC ITEM
Charges: 5
Effect: Nullify Magic (Any Slot, Casting Time: 3.0)
WT: 0.8 Size: SMALL
Class: ALL
Race: ALL
Golem Metal Wand4 slot Dispell,Golem Metal Wand
MAGIC ITEM
Charges: 5
Effect: Pillage Enchantment (Any Slot, Casting Time: 1.5)
WT: 0.1 Size: TINY
Class: ALL
Race: ALL
Kilva's Skin of Flamelevel/2+1 point damage shield,Kilva's Skin of Flame
EXPENDABLE Charges: 1
Effect: Kilva's Skin of Flame (Any Slot, Casting Time: 10.0)
WT: 0.4 Size: SMALL
Class: ALL
Race: ALL
Leatherfoot Raider SkullcapInstant gate to WCLeatherfoot Raider Skullcap
MAGIC ITEM LORE ITEM
Slot: HEAD
Charges: 1
AC: 7
STR: +5 CHA: +10 AGI: +5
SV MAGIC: +5
Effect: Ring of Commons (Any Slot, Casting Time: Instant)
WT: 0.5 Size: SMALL
Class: WAR CLR PAL RNG DRU ROG
Race: HFL
Clickies (unlimited)
Blazing Bracer of Fennin RoFire Bolt (long range pulls),Blazing Bracer of Fennin Ro
MAGIC ITEM LORE ITEM NO DROP
Slot: WRIST
AC: 8
DEX: +8 CHA: +5
SV FIRE: +6
Effect: Fire Bolt (Must Equip, Casting Time: 4.0) at Level 40
WT: 3.0 Size: MEDIUM
Class: WAR CLR PAL SHD BRD
Race: ALL
Incarnadine Breastplateself invis,Incarnadine Breastplate
MAGIC ITEM LORE ITEM
Slot: CHEST
AC: 35
STR: +15 DEX: +15 INT: +5 HP: +25
Effect: Gather Shadows (Must Equip, Casting Time: 8.0) at Level 50
WT: 7.0 Size: MEDIUM
Class: WAR SHD
Race: HUM BAR ERU ELF HIE DEF
HEF DWF TRL OGR HFL GNM
Cobalt Breastplate100 point heal,Cobalt BreastplateMAGIC ITEM LORE ITEM
Slot: CHEST
AC: 45
STR: +12 DEX: +12 STA: +12 HP: +50
Effect: Invigorate (Must Equip, Casting Time: 15.0) at Level 45
WT: 20.0 Size: LARGE
Class: WAR
Race: ALL except IKS
Cobalt GreavesTargeted invisibility,Cobalt Greaves
MAGIC ITEM LORE ITEM
Slot: LEGS
AC: 35
STR: +8 DEX: +8 STA: +8
Effect: Invisibility (Must Equip, Casting Time: 8.0) at Level 45
WT: 7.5 Size: LARGE
Class: WAR
Race: ALL except IKS
Cobalt VambracesMR/HP buff,Cobalt Vambraces
MAGIC ITEM LORE ITEM
Slot: ARMS
AC: 25
Effect: Lesser Shielding (Must Equip, Casting Time: 9.0) at Level 45
WT: 6.5 Size: SMALL
Class: WAR
Race: ALL except IKS
Cobalt BootsStrength buff,Cobalt Boots
MAGIC ITEM LORE ITEM
Slot: FEET
AC: 25
Effect: Strength of the Kunzar (Must Equip, Casting Time: 10.0) at Level 45
WT: 6.5 Size: MEDIUM
Class: WAR
Race: ALL except IKS
Cobalt BracerShrink,Cobalt BracerMAGIC ITEM
Slot: WRIST
AC: 20
Effect: Shrink (Must Equip, Casting Time: 7.3) at Level 45
WT: 4.0 Size: SMALL
Class: WAR
Race: ALL except IKS
Journeyman's BootsMovement speed buff,Journeyman's Boots
MAGIC ITEM NODROP
Slot: FEET
AC: 1
Effect: JourneymanBoots (Any Slot, Casting Time: Instant)
WT: 2.5 Size: SMALL
Class: ALL
Race: ALL
Blood Orchid Katanaunlimited SoWBlood Orchid Katana
MAGIC ITEM LORE ITEM NO DROP
Slot: PRIMARY SECONDARY
Skill: 1H Slashing Atk Delay: 23
DMG: 12
STR: +6 DEX: +6 STA: +6 AGI: +6
Effect: Spirit of Wolf (Must Equip, Casting Time: 8.0) at Level 50
WT: 2.0 Size: MEDIUM
Class: WAR PAL RNG SHD BRD ROG
Race: ALL
Gameplay (Waving the red flag at mobs)
95% of the 'skill' of playing a warrior goes into making the orc/frog/dragon attack you instead of the robe type behind you. Aside from good weapons/haste/dexterity, your only method to increase your hate is the taunt skill. Taunt (when it works, which isn't all that often) moves you to the front of the hatelist with a value of one more than the previous owner of that dubious distinction (probably a wizard). Taunt is pointless if the monster is already attacking you.
So, how do warriors manage to keep the attention of their foes? Well, first off I have painted the grim worst case picture. Every so often taunt will fail three times and the procs will vanish at the same time, and your groupmates will be thinking 'maybe that fatty SK's XP penalty isn't so bad'. But more frequently the procs will go off or taunt will work and things will be fine. Here are a few other tips and tricks you can try:
Don't worry about it
You really don't have to be tanking 100% of the time. If your groupmates have regen/bardsong/fungi tunics it's actually more efficient to let them get beat on occasionally to maximize those abilities. And the Shaman tanking the slowed mob is going to do way better than you against the full strength version. Finally, the point is to kill stuff: as long as the cleric isn't bitching about mana you're doing fine.
Make friends with shaman and enchanters
A good shaman will make any tank look great: you get 750HP for complete heal efficiency, +50 dex for extra procs, and slow dramatically reduces the damage you take. You can also duo with them very effectively once you get someBlood Points; as long as pulls aren't a problem Warrior/Shaman is basically equivalent to Monk/Shaman.Blood PointMAGIC ITEM
Slot: PRIMARY SECONDARY
Skill: Piercing Atk Delay: 21
DMG: 10
STR: +5 CHA: -5
SV DISEASE: +10 SV POISON: +10
Effect: Siphon (Combat, Casting Time: Instant) at Level 50
WT: 2.3 Size: MEDIUM
Class: WAR ROG
Race: ALL
Enchanters, aside from being the god class of EverQuest, will max out your haste, give the cleric clarity, and slow the really tough mobs, which all make you look good. Plus all that extra damage from the charmed pet speeds things up a lot as well.
Don't be underleveled
Unlike Clerics who can not unreasonably head to Sebilis at 39 when they get complete heal, a Warrior really can't afford to be underleveled for the camp. It leads to fewer spell resists, getting hit harder, less damage, and fewer accurate taunts. Unfortunately this conflicts with getting good gear; welcome to life as a warrior.
Root a lot
A rooted monster will attack whoever is closest, which if you deliver proper instructions to your groupmates will always be you. It will eventually break (especially with a mage pet in the group) but it gives you some time to proc or successfully taunt. If you are grouped with an enchanter, they should always root anything they mez. Shamans should be slowing the mezzed mob so you only need one taunt to vault over both to the top of the hatelist.
Sneak in extra taunts
If you are comfortably tanking thing 1, taunt is worthless. You can turn off auto attack, target another (mezzed) mob, hit taunt, and revert back to the previous mob (there is a key). This makes it a bit more likely the mob will come for you when mez breaks.
Switch Early
Assuming your group is handling runners well, you should work on breaking mez and building some hate ASAP while they finish beating down the previous one. You take a bit more damage, but your threat will be a lot smoother.
Use a mallet
One or two clicks from theMidnight Malletwill solve all of your problems with threat. Unfortunately, they also will run you 100p each. The good news is your guild will usually supply you with one for the big targets where it really matters.Midnight Mallet
MAGIC ITEM LORE ITEM
Slot: PRIMARY
Charges: 5
Skill: 2H Blunt Atk Delay: 44
DMG: 14
Effect: Walking Sleep (Any Slot, Casting Time: 2.0)
WT: 11.0 Size: GIANT
Class: CLR SHM
Race: BAR DWF TRL OGR IKS
Rage at your groupmates/Laugh at their dead corpses
Even with good gear and good technique, your groupmates are still going to have to compensate for your inconsistent threat. At some point you are going to see 'You will not evade me, HastyWizardX'. About all you can do is remind people before the fight and snicker when they die (or rage out if the cleric saves them and then you have to wait 5 minutes to get some mana back).
Watch your parser
At 60 with good weapons, Warriors do quite well - 65 dps or so seems average.
Gameplay (the other 5%)
Positioning
Warriors are generally responsible for putting the mob in a good place. Unfortunately, dragging the mob around is rather difficult as Warriors are usually happy just to be first on the hate list, let alone by such a large enough margin that the mob will actually chase you with other players in melee range. Even if it sufficiently enraged, attempting to position a summoning casting mob will usually result in 'You will not evade me, WarriorX' immediately followed by 'a froglok ilis shaman begins to cast a spell' and by this time you've probably aren't first on the hate list anyway.
Therefore, you have to pretend you aren't a boneheaded Ogre and think ahead. It's not really that hard to figure out where the melee push is directed, and it shouldn't be directly into a wall. Having a few hotkeys to the effect of 'get on the other side' or 'get on my side' work wonders, although it may take a few repetitions to get the rogue out of his chemically induced Netflix trance.
Positioning is especially important for mobs which can gate; everyone needs to be on the same side with space to push for the last 20%. Stunning kick (or slam) helps there as well, but many mobs are just stun immune anyway.
Solo
Assuming you have the right toys, warriors can solo adequately. The most important ones are theTruncheon of Doomfor 50% slow, theTruncheon of DoomMAGIC ITEM LORE ITEM
Slot: PRIMARY
Skill: 2H Blunt Atk Delay: 44
DMG: 33
Effect: Tepid Deeds (Combat, Casting Time: Instant) at Level 50
WT: 10.0 Size: LARGE
Class: WAR
Race: ALL
Silken Whip of Ensnaringso that your targets don't zoom off, theSilken Whip of EnsnaringMAGIC ITEM LORE ITEM
Slot: PRIMARY SECONDARY
Skill: 1H Slashing Atk Delay: 28
DMG: 14 AC: -5
Effect: Snare (Combat, Casting Time: Instant) at Level 50
WT: 4.5 Size: MEDIUM
Class: WAR RNG
Race: ALL
Blood Firefor extra damage, theBlood FireMAGIC ITEM LORE ITEM
Slot: PRIMARY SECONDARY
Skill: 1H Slashing Atk Delay: 24
DMG: 11
Effect: Boil Blood (Combat, Casting Time: Instant) at Level 46
WT: 2.5 Size: MEDIUM
Class: WAR
Race: ALL
Polished Obsidian Great Axefor fear, thePolished Obsidian Great AxeMAGIC ITEM LORE ITEM
Slot: PRIMARY
Skill: 2H Slashing Atk Delay: 48
DMG: 33
DEX: -10 AGI: -10 HP: +50
Effect: Invoke Fear (Combat, Casting Time: Instant) at Level 40
WT: 10.0 Size: LARGE
Class: WAR SHD
Race: ALL
Blood Pointfor lifetap heals, theBlood PointMAGIC ITEM
Slot: PRIMARY SECONDARY
Skill: Piercing Atk Delay: 21
DMG: 10
STR: +5 CHA: -5
SV DISEASE: +10 SV POISON: +10
Effect: Siphon (Combat, Casting Time: Instant) at Level 50
WT: 2.3 Size: MEDIUM
Class: WAR ROG
Race: ALL
Wooly Spider Silk Netfor safety, and of course the ubiquitousWooly Spider Silk NetMAGIC ITEM
Charges: 3
Effect: Ensnaring Roots (Any Slot, Casting Time: 1.5 seconds)
WT: 0.1 Size: SMALL
Class: ALL
Race: ALL
Fungus Covered Scale Tunic. When I couldn't find a group (or just didn't feel like exerting myself) at L59, I would solo the L50 Undead Foreman in OT. I used evasive until I could get my array of procs going and did fairly well.Fungus Covered Scale Tunic
LORE ITEM
Slot: CHEST
AC: 21
STR: +2 DEX: -10 INT: +2 AGI: -10
Effect: Fungal Regrowth (Worn)
WT: 2.0 Size: SMALL
Class: WAR CLR PAL RNG SHD DRU MNK BRD ROG SHM
Race: ALL
Pulling
Nothing is more fun than a warrior announcing he has 12 mobs incoming to the group. Get a bow so you don't have to tag stuff, and strafe back so you don't take quite so much damage.
Progression
By far the most important thing as a warrior is to be social and have a long friend list. You can't solo well, and you are so gear dependent that you are going to be relying on other classes to help you with quests and such. You aren't going to level quickly anyway, so take it easy, chat, and be nice (think Road House). Expect to have to form a lot of your own groups.
Twinks
None of the high-ratio weapons will proc at low levels, so the twink warrior must choose between high-ratio weapons like theSebilite Croaking DirkorSebilite Croaking Dirk
MAGIC ITEM LORE ITEM
Slot: PRIMARY SECONDARY
Skill: Piercing Atk Delay: 18
DMG: 10 AC: 4
CHA: +2 AGI: +2
SV MAGIC: +5 SV POISON: +5
WT: 3.2 Size: MEDIUM
Class: WAR BRD ROG
Race: ALL
Wurmslayerand proccing weapons like theWurmslayer
MAGIC ITEM
Slot: PRIMARY
Skill: 1H Slashing Atk Delay: 40
DMG: 25 AC: 5
STR: +5
SV MAGIC: +5
WT: 15.0 Size: LARGE
Class: WAR PAL RNG SHD
Race: ALL
Obsidian Shard. I am firmly in the high-ratio category: stuff dies so fast at low levels that the inconsistency of proc-based aggro is extremely frustrating. As a bonus you'll do way more damage. Your twink should of course have aObsidian Shard
MAGIC ITEM
Slot: PRIMARY SECONDARY
Skill: Piercing Atk Delay: 25
DMG: 6
Effect: Obsidian Shatter (Combat, Casting Time: Instant) at Level 16
WT: 2.5 Size: MEDIUM
Class: ALL except CLR PAL DRU MNK SHM
Race: ALL
Fungus Covered Scale Tunicand a solid haste item.Fungus Covered Scale TunicLORE ITEM
Slot: CHEST
AC: 21
STR: +2 DEX: -10 INT: +2 AGI: -10
Effect: Fungal Regrowth (Worn)
WT: 2.0 Size: SMALL
Class: WAR CLR PAL RNG SHD DRU MNK BRD ROG SHM
Race: ALL
1-20
Life is pretty easy at low levels. Kunark has been out so long that you can cheaply acquire nice mid-level weapons like theSword of Skyfire,Sword of Skyfire
MAGIC ITEM LORE ITEM
Slot: PRIMARY
Skill: 1H Slashing Atk Delay: 22
DMG: 10
CHA: +5 HP: +25
SV COLD: +15
Effect: Rain of Fire (Combat, Casting Time: Instant) at Level 45
WT: 2.5 Size: MEDIUM
Class: WAR PAL RNG SHD
Race: ALL
Green Jade Broadsword,Green Jade Broadsword
MAGIC ITEM LORE ITEM
Slot: PRIMARY SECONDARY
Skill: 1H Slashing Atk Delay: 25
DMG: 11
STR: +8 STA: +8
SV DISEASE: +10 SV POISON: +10
WT: 1.2 Size: MEDIUM
Class: WAR PAL RNG
Race: ALL
Fist of Zek,Fist of ZekMAGIC ITEM LORE ITEM
Slot: PRIMARY SECONDARY
Skill: 1H Blunt Atk Delay: 30
DMG: 16
STR: +20 CHA: -10 AGI: -20 HP: +25
WT: 7.5 Size: MEDIUM
Class: WAR
Race: ALL
Ebonwood Cudgel, orEbonwood CudgelMAGIC ITEM
Slot: PRIMARY SECONDARY
Skill: 1H Blunt Atk Delay: 24
DMG: 8
STR: +5 DEX: +5
WT: 4.5 Size: MEDIUM
Class: ALL except NEC WIZ MAG ENC
Race: ALL
Jarsath Trident. Armor wise, you should shoot for a full set of banded or bronze armor and twoJarsath Trident
MAGIC ITEM LORE ITEM
Slot: PRIMARY SECONDARY
Skill: Piercing Atk Delay: 22
DMG: 11
STR: +5 DEX: -5 STA: +5 AGI: -5
WT: 3.4 Size: MEDIUM
Class: WAR
Race: ALL
Platinum Fire Wedding Rings. Don't beg in the tunnel like a retard; just ask for a 10% discount as a new player.Platinum Fire Wedding Ring
Slot: FINGER
AC: 5
HP: +55
WT: 0.1 Size: TINY
Class: ALL
Race: ALL
Your groups will be loaded down with twinks and fungi tunics and high-level buffs, and the monsters aren't that hard anyway, so just relax and roflstomp. You won't have proccing weapons at this stage and taunt will be borderline worthless, so don't worry if you aren't tanking much - you'll still be doing decent damage. Save bone chips, spiderling silk, and high quality pelts to sell. All of the major starting areas have their respective noob dungeons which are pretty solid, especially Crushbone where you can sell belts and pads for decent money. You can also farm the famous Nybright Sisters in Lesser Faydark; they frequently drop Bronze weapons.
20-40
The game gradually starts to feel like unforgiving classic EverQuest, and you aren't as overgeared as you were before. You can start to think about acquiring proccing weapons, but unfortunately the ones that proc at your level have horrible ratios, like theGoblin Skull Crusheror theGoblin Skull Crusher
MAGIC ITEM
Slot: PRIMARY SECONDARY
Skill: 1H Blunt Atk Delay: 32
DMG: 7
SV COLD: +6
Effect: Stun (Combat, Casting Time: Instant) at Level 15
WT: 4.3 Size: MEDIUM
Class: WAR CLR PAL RNG SHD DRU BRD SHM
Race: ALL
Gnoll Hide Lariat, so probably it's best (and cheapest) to stick with what you have. Stay in zones a little longer than other classes so that taunt will work better. You should definitely be working on the Crafted Armor quests, and if you can manage the 10k, buy aGnoll Hide LariatMAGIC ITEM
Slot: PRIMARY SECONDARY
Skill: 1H Slashing Atk Delay: 20
DMG: 3 AC: 3
Effect: Stun (Combat, Casting Time: Instant) at Level 25
WT: 3.0 Size: TINY
Class: WAR RNG BRD ROG
Race: ALL
Flowing Black Silk Sash.Flowing Black Silk Sash
MAGIC ITEM LORE ITEM
Slot: WAIST
Haste: +21%
WT: 0.1 Size: SMALL
Class: ALL
Race: ALL
The best dungeons are Upper Guk, Solusek A (camp near the zone to Sol B), Unrest, and Mistmoore. Get a mage to summon you some weightless bags and loot fine steel weapons and bronze armor; they'll sell for 5p each. At the end of your session, get someone to kill you in a duel - no-rent items won't poof on a corpse.
40-50
This is probably the worst part of your entire leveling experience. You do get your first decent proccing weapon, theYkeshan War Club, at 40 (You can also try hanging out in Kithicor for aYkeshan War Club
MAGIC ITEM
Slot: PRIMARY SECONDARY
Skill: 1H Blunt Atk Delay: 24
DMG: 9
Effect: Ykesha (Combat, Casting Time: Instant) at Level 40
WT: 3.0 Size: MEDIUM
Class: ALL except NEC WIZ MAG ENC
Race: ALL
Scimitar of the Ykeshawhich is even better) and gradually start to gear for Dexterity with pieces likeScimitar of the Ykesha
MAGIC ITEM LORE ITEM NO DROP
Slot: PRIMARY SECONDARY
Skill: 1H Slashing Atk Delay: 22
DMG: 8
Effect: Ykesha (Combat, Casting Time: Instant) at Level 37
WT: 2.2 Size: MEDIUM
Class: WAR
Race: ALL except ERU HIE
Carnal Pauldrons,Carnal Pauldrons
MAGIC ITEM NO DROP
Slot: SHOULDERS
AC: 9
DEX: +7 MANA: +15
WT: 4.5 Size: SMALL
Class: WAR CLR PAL SHD BRD
Race: ALL
Cloak of Shadows,Cloak of Shadows
MAGIC ITEM LORE ITEM
Slot: BACK
AC: 12
DEX: +13
SV DISEASE: +10
WT: 0.0 Size: LARGE
Class: ALL
Race: ALL
Grotesque Mask. Unfortunately, both of those weapons sport feeble ratios which may be even worse than what you have. To make things worse, your skills all capped at 200 back at Level 40 (but somehow monks get increased skills, RAGE).Grotesque Mask
MAGIC ITEM
Slot: FACE
AC: 3
DEX: +7 CHA: -9
WT: 1.0 Size: SMALL
Class: WAR CLR PAL RNG SHD BRD ROG SHM
Race: ALL
50-59
Things significantly improve over the Kunark levels. Your skills gradually match a monk's, and you get the best disciplines in the game. Join a casual guild and cover yourself with excellent hate and sky armor, including theBelt of Contentionwhich is better than the FBSS anyway. You can proc any weapon in the game, so buy aBelt of Contention
MAGIC ITEM LORE ITEM NO DROP
Slot: WAIST
AC: 10
STR: +5 STA: +5
SV FIRE: +5
Haste: +21%
WT: 0.1 Size: SMALL
Class: WAR
Race: ALL
Sarnak Warhammer,Sarnak WarhammerMAGIC ITEM LORE ITEM
Slot: PRIMARY SECONDARY
Skill: 1H Blunt Atk Delay: 20
DMG: 9
Effect: Stun (Combat, Casting Time: Instant) at Level 46
WT: 2.8 Size: MEDIUM
Class: WAR PAL RNG SHD MNK BRD ROG
Race: ALL
Silken Whip of Ensnaring,Silken Whip of EnsnaringMAGIC ITEM LORE ITEM
Slot: PRIMARY SECONDARY
Skill: 1H Slashing Atk Delay: 28
DMG: 14 AC: -5
Effect: Snare (Combat, Casting Time: Instant) at Level 50
WT: 4.5 Size: MEDIUM
Class: WAR RNG
Race: ALL
Trochilic's Skean, and twoTrochilic's Skean
MAGIC ITEM LORE ITEM NODROP
Slot: SECONDARY
Skill: 1H Slashing Atk Delay: 25
DMG: 10
SV POISON: +5
Effect: Clockwork Poison (Combat) at level 46
WT: 3.5 Size: MEDIUM
Class: WAR RNG BRD ROG
Race: ALL
Blood Points to duo with shamans. The best part is that with higher mob hitpoints, fights take longer, which means you'll be tanking a much larger fraction of the time. You should be spending your time at the Efreeti in Sol B (theBlood PointMAGIC ITEM
Slot: PRIMARY SECONDARY
Skill: Piercing Atk Delay: 21
DMG: 10
STR: +5 CHA: -5
SV DISEASE: +10 SV POISON: +10
Effect: Siphon (Combat, Casting Time: Instant) at Level 50
WT: 2.3 Size: MEDIUM
Class: WAR ROG
Race: ALL
Golden Efreeti BootsandGolden Efreeti BootsMAGIC ITEM
Slot: FEET
AC: 5
WIS: +9 INT: +9
WT: 2.5 Size: MEDIUM
Class: ALL
Race: HUM BAR ERU ELF HIE DEF HEF DWF TRL OGR HFL GNM
Djarns Amethyst Ringboth sell very well, and you can duo with a shaman), the basement/Warlord camps in Karnors, Howling Stones North, and especially Sebilis. The best thing you can do for your pocketbook is level through 59 on the myconids in Sebilis; it won't be fast, but it will be profitable. You can also try farmingDjarns Amethyst Ring
MAGIC ITEM LORE ITEM
Slot: FINGER
AGI: +9 HP: +80
WT: 0.1 Size: TINY
Class: ALL
Race: ALL
Journeyman's Bootsvia the South Ro ancient cyclops.Journeyman's BootsMAGIC ITEM NODROP
Slot: FEET
AC: 1
Effect: JourneymanBoots (Any Slot, Casting Time: Instant)
WT: 2.5 Size: SMALL
Class: ALL
Race: ALL
60
Congratulations, Warlord, you aren't done at all! You still need a decent haste item and weapons, and ideally a bit of Cobalt. If you are willing to batphone at all hours and track 20+ hours a week, you'll have little trouble joining TMO and all your gear issues will be solved after a few months.
If you aren't willing to do this or just don't want to leave your friends in CasualGuildX, your life is substantially harder. Your best option in my opinion is to try to scrape together 300k to buy Veeshan's Peak rots from TMO; practically everything in there has a solid ratio and an excellent high threat proc. I would take aHowling Cutlass/Howling CutlassMAGIC ITEM LORE ITEM NO DROP
Slot: PRIMARY SECONDARY
Skill: 1H Slashing Atk Delay: 19
DMG: 10
CHA: +4 INT: +4
Effect: Shrieking Howl (Combat, Casting Time: Instant) at Level 50
WT: 4.5 Size: MEDIUM
Class: WAR BRD ROG
Race: ALL
Malevolent Runebladecombo over the epic in most cases, and the epic will be more expensive as you have to you buyMalevolent Runeblade
MAGIC ITEM LORE ITEM NO DROP
Slot: PRIMARY SECONDARY
Skill: 1H Slashing Atk Delay: 24
DMG: 13
STR: +10 DEX: +5 STA: +10 AGI: +5
Effect: Froglok Poison (Combat, Casting Time: Instant) at Level 50
WT: 4.5 Size: MEDIUM
Class: WAR BRD ROG
Race: ALL
Green Dragon Scalesanyway. Your other options are theGreen Dragon Scales
MAGIC ITEM
WT: 2.5 Size: MEDIUM
Class: ALL
Race: ALL
Ringed Mace of the Ykesha(moderately expensive, low dps, no stats) or theRinged Mace of the YkeshaMAGIC ITEM
Slot: PRIMARY SECONDARY
Skill: 1H Blunt Atk Delay: 22
DMG: 10
Effect: Ykesha (Combat, Casting Time: Instant) at Level 50
WT: 3.9 Size: MEDIUM
Class: ALL except NEC WIZ MAG ENC
Race: ALL
Blade of the Black Dragon Eye(very expensive, no stats). If you can afford a BotBDE, you can afford VP weapons which are basically better anyway. Your ideal haste item is theBlade of the Black Dragon EyeMAGIC ITEM LORE ITEM
Slot: PRIMARY SECONDARY
Skill: 1H Slashing Atk Delay: 24
DMG: 14
Effect: Envenomed Breath (Combat, Casting Time: Instant) at Level 50
WT: 0.5 Size: MEDIUM
Class: WAR SHD ROG
Race: ALL
Belt of the Four Winds, which gives you enough haste to get Visions of Grandeur and its +20 dex/ATK instead of Speed of the Shissar and still hit the haste cap, but the same formula applies: lots of tracking/batphoning or lots of platinum. Probably your best bet is to kill Ixiblat Fer a few times and hope to get lucky on aBelt of the Four Winds
MAGIC ITEM LORE ITEM NO DROP
Slot: WAIST
AC: 5
STR: +12 DEX: +6 STA: +12 AGI: +6
SV MAGIC: +5
Haste: +41%
WT: 2.0 Size: MEDIUM
Class: WAR
Race: ALL
Cloak of Flames. You can also try scrape together enough cash to pair theCloak of Flames
MAGIC ITEM
Slot: BACK
AC: 10
DEX: +9 AGI: +9 HP: +50
SV FIRE: +15
Haste: +36%
WT: 0.1 Size: MEDIUM
Class: ALL
Race: ALL
Runed Bolster Beltwith aRuned Bolster BeltMAGIC ITEM
Slot: WAIST
AC: 5
STR: +10 DEX: +10 STA: +10
Haste: +31%
WT: 0.1 Size: SMALL
Class: ALL
Race: ALL
Hierophant's Cloak.Hierophant's Cloak
MAGIC ITEM LORE ITEM
Slot: BACK
AC: 10
STR: +4 DEX: +4 STA: +4 CHA: +4 WIS: +4 INT: +4 AGI: +4 HP: +75 MANA: +75
WT: 1.0 Size: MEDIUM
Class: ALL
Race: ALL
If you can make it to 60 and acquire good gear as well, you'll be the best tank in the game, with the most hitpoints and armor class, damage only slightly behind monks, solid threat, and the best disciplines in the game. Paladins, Shadowknights and even Monks can tank Kunark content adequately if not well, but if Velious ever comes out Warriors are going to be head and shoulders above everyone else in the tanking category.
- L60 Warrior with a
- L60 Warrior with a
- L40 Warrior with a
