Guardian Fighter, CON vs STR

sixsamsaras · May 2013

The more I play, the more I question myself.…which is more important stats for guardian tanking? STR gives more block, as you have heroic feat to increase the STR effect by 15%. Having large hp pool doesn't really help when your shield is destroyed. So I'm asking here, which stat is more important for guardian tanking?

sand1972 · May 2013

Dexterity to dodge. Then you dont need a shield or hit points.

nibbas · May 2013

dodge? there is no dodge unless you dont move your char ;p

edge1986 · May 2013

Off topic, but as a GWF I tried to ninja the native control point in PVP. The GWF was waiting for me, we did 1v1 for about 6-7 mins until his friend showed up. So I would say STR for more damage. Scales better than con

purutzil · May 2013

Honestly to me, stacking con isn't really as good as it tries to push. More HP = more for the healer to heal. HP is just a cushion to me. Extra strength can be quite helpful but also dexterity. Dex gives mitigation in deflection AND AoE damage resistance which can be very helpful. So many people seem to be fixating on just one stat when they can benefit from mixing stats more healthily. More damage is never a bad thing to have for the group so boosting strength a bit extra can be helpful.

sent8 · May 2013

Each point in CON gives u 2% hp increase and a 1% increase to you Action Point gain to use your dailies. Each point in STR gives you a 1% dmg increase a 1% increase to DoT resistance and 1% to guard meter. Each point in DEX increases your resistance ignored (armor pen) by 1% your resistance to AOE attacks by 1% and your deflection by 0.5%.

With that said I'd argue that CON is more important because most of your passive mitigation will come from your items armor value, stats and your HP. STR for the easy secondary. This just means you'll have to be be more knowledgeable about when you use your guard. This is ofc thinking in terms of PvE tanking.

kleezie · May 2013

Most healing spells are % based on your total hp so more con/hp you have the more you get healed for so Con is definately a great stat to pump for pve and pvp.

cihuacoatl · May 2013

As an earlier poster stated a lot of heals are % based. Your own companion is an 8% heal.

Now with that said most if the fights I have been in require a LOT of movement. You shield when you have too... In addition it is not very often you will not have time to let your shield recharge to a reasonable size before the next hit. This might change... I will also add that do not discount 2% hp over 1% block or .5% deflect.

I personally am going all CON because every MMO I have ever play HP is GOD in the end. Now the real question should be Dex verse Str. Personally I like AOE resist... nearly every boss does an AOE in every fight. Deflecting hits form multi adds or that huge hit that comes in when you miss your block can save your butt. With that said you cannot Deflect DOTS and DOTs HURT.

Probably as the earlier poster stated get all the CON you can muster then take a balanced approach.

I am currently all Con and Dex... more for testing and I plan on rerolling once I figure out the mechanics and find a very solid Tanking build.

drekorsilverfang · May 2013

Str.

Guard is vastly better than HP
More damage is awesome and it also means more threat.

I'd go so far as to say dex might be better than con but the action point gain is pretty **** nice still.

stagonokratoras · May 2013

I find my 18 str 18 con dwarf going way more smoothly than my 20 con 13 str thiefling. I too like the rest believe that str is of much importance but try to keep a balance between con and str...don't go full rambo on str and find yourself lacking HP.

onenine · May 2013

stagonokratoras wrote: »

I find my 18 str 18 con dwarf going way more smoothly than my 20 con 13 str thiefling. I too like the rest believe that str is of much importance but try to keep a balance between con and str...don't go full rambo on str and find yourself lacking HP.

Thats what i do even it out between str/con, so far all the gear i've seen is tanking gear anyway

xilinear · May 2013

Guard is situational, and should be used smartly. you can't compare guard to HP, they are complementary. CON gives you more HP which is overall a good thing for both you and your healer- and gives you more AP to spam those dailies which gives you more overall dps than just stacking strength.

Guard is your tool to actively mitigate/avoid damage. CON is your overall "how much punishement I can take when I do nothing". If your guard breaks, then stop holding that SHIFT button down constantly. Save your guard for when you know you will not have time to run away from that big hit or that red circle on the floor.

I see many GFs just holding their guard and sitting there like idiots thinking "I am a tank". No you are not! you are a "Guardian", your role is not to absorb all damage, your role is to defend your party. Some of that role is tanking damage, but also and more importantly, is kiting mobs away from the cleric, taunting at the right moment and then running away. Having this in mind, I would say that mobility/stunning/knocking back your foes is much more important than either CON or STR.

grahfe · May 2013

Another similar post said con does not scale with gear. That makes CON not nearly as useful.

rhineford · May 2013

hmmm imo i think the stats/ ability points doesnt really matter. For me better equips with good enchantments will determine if your Good for PVP or PVE either youre str or con

well just my opinion

and of course, The way you control your character is the most important part

cihuacoatl · May 2013

I am currently at:
Str 16
Con 26
Dex 20

First of all I didn't play Beta, and I do intend to reroll after we see a few class patches and fixes go in. See how they fix some Feats and then access how these changes impact my play.

With that said... you can easily stack more HP and Recovery as needed via gear and Enchants. There is very few things that will increase your % block. Only item that I know of is a gear set bonus of 20%.

I can also tell you threat management with my low Str seems to be a bit more problematic than some other GFs. The reason I say this and folks correct me if I am wrong. Threat is calculated based on a multiplier added to your raw damage. Str give 1% damage and Dex 1% Armor Pen. Both of which result in more threat. I am not sure if 1% damage is equal to 1% Armor Pen. I can assume it is as long as damage resistance value is not 0.

Remember, threat is one hidden stat that I have yet to see anything that increases it other than by getting a better weapon.

cihuacoatl · May 2013

BTW why did I go Dex over Str... good question.

When I rolled I looked at damage resistance (physical damage)...
Then we have DOT, AoE, and other types of magic damage.

Now I assumed Deflect works against all types of damage. Meaning deflect is your only means to reduce magic damage above and beyond your limited stats in things like Wis. I am still not sure if this is a correct assumption.

Guardian Fighter, CON vs STR

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