Paladin raid off-tanking

[JickFromTholuxe]

I've heard a few times that Paladins make good off-tanks at raids but I don't recall hearing reasons why that's the case. Are there reasons that make them better than warriors at off-tanking? In practice, do guilds that have an abundance of well-geared classes ever do this? I've only been on a few raids on P99 before but I do seem to recall seeing Paladins off-tanking. I don't know if this was because they lacked a warrior to do the job, if the Paladin happened to be better geared, or what.

Besides the Fiery Defender and resist gear, is there any gear that's indispensable for Paladin raiding?

Could anyone offer any other tips for a raiding Paladin? Thanks in advance.

[Danth]

Some guilds use hybrids as trash tanks (or off-tanks) because they can rapidly lock aggro and allow the raid force to blast stuff down that much more quickly. Midnight Mallets aren't typically expended on trash. It varies from guild to guild; numerous guilds on P1999 don't really expect their hybrids to do anything except stand around and pick up class loot.

Danth

[wycca]

My personal view -

Kunark - Most mobs in this era anyone can tank, but yea, knights can lock down agro better than warriors. Raid mobs, and this includes posky mobs for the most part, knights just generally sorta get owned on, so its war tanks for the most part.

Velious - This is where knights get alot better gear, and imo, start being a bit more valid on offtanking. This is also where agro starts to come into play more.

Conclusion - Most guilds either don't need offtanks atm or don't use knights. Velious could provide more opportunties. Paladins do get a jump in desirability on raids in Velious due to the unique buff, group heal, and new HoT in addition to offtanking.

YMMV

[JickFromTholuxe]

Originally Posted by Danth [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Some guilds use hybrids as trash tanks (or off-tanks) because they can rapidly lock aggro and allow the raid force to blast stuff down that much more quickly. Midnight Mallets aren't typically expended on trash. It varies from guild to guild; numerous guilds on P1999 don't really expect their hybrids to do anything except stand around and pick up class loot.

Danth

OK, I guess I will make a guild's use of knights for off-tanking a criteria for me joining a raiding guild. I think playing off-tank would be more interesting than being one of 5+ Enchanters at the raid on my main (and I don't have my epic yet). I'll see how it goes. It might suck or it might be lots of fun.

Originally Posted by wycca

Velious - This is where knights get alot better gear, and imo, start being a bit more valid on offtanking. This is also where agro starts to come into play more.

Looking forward to it! What's some of the more accessible Velious Paladin gear that's better than Valorium / Deepwater?

[ghost182]

Originally Posted by Danth [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Some guilds use hybrids as trash tanks (or off-tanks) because they can rapidly lock aggro and allow the raid force to blast stuff down that much more quickly. Midnight Mallets aren't typically expended on trash. It varies from guild to guild; numerous guilds on P1999 don't really expect their hybrids to do anything except stand around and pick up class loot.

Danth

Pretty much dead on. Hybrids have the best snap aggro, and it doesnt require burning down charges on a 500 platinum item. In velious though hybrids get higher defensive skill caps, and can more efficiently offtank trash mobs.

On a boss mob though i think it goes without saying, midnight mallet, discs, and higher skill caps. In velious, hybrids still dont have the defensive discs, and a lot the raid targets require a cycle of warrior tanks for that very reason. A lot of stuff simply wont be tankable without a disc up.

[captnamazing]

I have nothing to add other than I wish I saw guilds letting knights tank trash more often.

[Sajan]

Originally Posted by JickFromTholuxe [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Could anyone offer any other tips for a raiding Paladin?

Regarding Velious, your raid doesn't need more offtanks to become successful. Especially Knights with no discs and bad dps. If helping your guild is your main priority I implore you to roll a Cleric and have it max level by release. The Dawn of the CH Chain is upon us...

[Daldaen]

Could also consider a max level monk who can pull.

This server has an abundance of monks, but the VAST majority of them have had their pulling skills crippled by the use of broken sneak mechanics. Once those are fixed (thanks Haynar), and the dust settles, guilds are going to find themselves lacking in the pulling department.

But honestly, Knights are solid and can tank HoT trash fine, it can be a tad dicey on the racnars and ancient Wurms until they slow though.

[Raev]

As Cobble says, the Paladin/SK itemization in Kunark is just miserable. I'm sure Paladins love that Deepwater BP with 10wis/50mana and no HP almost as much as Shadowknights love their Sky gear which has a *total* of 0 STA 0 HP. But even that is better than Paladins who get 12 different swords in Sky that proc ward undead and are only usuable by humans and erudites. In my experience most hybrids don't even hit 4500 HP and have less AC than Sakuragi in all his iksar glory. Once Velious comes out and Knights can get some decent armor (and get their defense caps raised from 230) things will get a lot better there.

That being said, no guild needs more than like 2-3 hybrid tanks tops. If you want to play a tank on raids, roll a warrior. Defensive is so so so huge in Velious; if you have 4 Warriors they'll all get switched out once Defensive drops.

[Erati]

HEY

in max HP gear and fully raid buffed I can squeeze 4500 HP out of my uber 60 Half Elf paly!!!!!