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Sakuragi's Warrior Guide
UNDER CONSTRUCTION
Contents |
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 said 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 Ykesha in the mainhand: 8+5 = 13 hate per swing
- L40 Warrior with a Short Sword of the Ykesha in the mainhand: 8+0 = 8 hate per swing
- L60 Warrior with a Blade of Strategy in the mainhand: 14+11 = 25 hate per swing
- 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 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:
- 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 | ELETHIA!! | WHATHAVEYOUDONE!! |
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
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.
Creation
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!
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 reduces the damage you take to near zero. You can also duo with them very effectively once you get some Blood Points; as long as pulls aren't a problem Warrior/Shaman is basically equivalent to Monk/Shaman.
Enchanters, aside from being the god class of EverQuest, will max out your haste and give the cleric clarity, which both 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 tash and then root anything they mez.
Sneak in extra taunts
Switch Early
Use a mallet
Rage at your groupmates/Laugh at their dead corpses
Watch your parser
Disciplines
Evasive vs Defensive
Precision
Mightystrike/Fellstrike
Progression
1-20
Gameplay: Life is pretty easy at low levels as the monsters won't outstrip you significantly in hitpoints or damage. Your groups will be loaded down with twinks and fungi tunics and high-level buffs, 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.
Gear: Kunark has been out so long that you can cheaply acquire nice mid-level weapons like the Sword of Skyfire, Green Jade Broadsword, Fist of Zek, Ebonwood Cudgel, or Jarsath Trident. Armor wise, you should shoot for a full set of banded or bronze armor and two Platinum Fire Wedding Rings. Don't beg in the tunnel like a retard; just ask for a 10% discount as a new player.
Loot: 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
Gameplay: The game gradually starts to feel like unforgiving classic EverQuest, and you aren't as overgeared as you were before. Stay in zones a little longer than other classes so that taunt will work better.
Gear: You can start to think about acquiring proccing weapons, but unfortunately the ones that proc at your level have horrible ratios, like the Goblin Skullcrusher or the Gnoll-Hide Lariat, so probably it's best (and cheapest) to stick with what you have. You should definitely be working on the Crafted Armor quests. If you can manage the 10k, buy a Flowing Black Silk Sash.
Loot: 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, run back to EC and get someone to kill you in a duel.
40-50
This is probably the worst part of your entire leveling experience. You do get your first decent proccing weapon, the Ykeshan War Club, at 40 (You can also try hanging out in Kithicor for a Scimitar of the Ykesha which is even better) and gradually start to gear for Dexterity with pieces like Carnal Pauldrons, Cloak of Shadows, 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).
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 the Belt of Contention which is better than the FBSS anyway. You can proc any weapon in the game, so buy a Sarnak Warhammer, Silken Whip of Ensnaring, Trochilic's Skean, and two 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 (the Golden Efreeti Boots and Djarn's Amethyst Ring both 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 farming Journeyman Boots via the South Ro ancient cyclops.
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 a Howling Cutlass/Malevolent Runeblade combo over the epic in most cases, and the epic will be more expensive as you have to you buy Green Dragon Scales anyway. Your other options are the Ringed Mace of the Ykesha (moderately expensive, low dps, no stats) or the 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 the 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 a Cloak of Flames. You can also try to pair the Runed Bolster Belt with a Hierophant's Cloak.
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.
