Hi everyone! Most of you know me. It's Ankh, the manic tank that loves doing pulls that makes people cover their eyes and freak out. How do I manage to do such massive pulls, as a regular tank, and survive, even with a non-infernal geared healer? I am explaining it all in this post, and giving you all my actual build.
Armor;
The silver set should have 3 melee dodge rolls, Zirconia and Tourmaline. I will explain why.
Dodge:
Dodge is an extremely useful thing. With dodge, you don't reduce damage, but you negate it, meaning you take 0 damage. I have seen many tanks go for max defenses and use HP obelisk, or another obe of their choice. Let me ask you this... Is it better to gain +5% hp, or use armor obe and have the chance to receive 0% damage? I know that re-rolls are expensive, and it sucks, but, it's worth it. Melee dodge is very very useful.
Zirconia:
Zirconia is very important for a tank. The faster you run, the lesser hits you receive. That's why my first perfect gem was a Zirconia. I knew it since I started using it that it is a great gem for a tank. Now, some people tend to worry about the healer "not being able to catch up". You do not need to worry about this. The trick is to be close to the tank from the start of the pull. There will be a distance, eventually, but it's nothing to worry about. But please, healers, don't get caught in the ASV spires and get wrecked . Also, healers should have a zirc as well, but that's a personal choice. However, a tank should have a Zirconia.
Tourmaline:
I know a lot of people hate those, and find them worthless. They are very useful, and quite powerful. The most important thing about tourmalines, is that you gain hp per second in combat. Look at it this way; with my build, and a Pure tourmaline, you gain 23 hp per second in combat. You gain this hp while you are running and during combat, too. I would like to mention, that the actual regen you receive, is NOT the regen displayed when you put your mouse over HP or Mana in the character window. You gain a lot more. Feel free to test it on your own. Also, tourmaline stacks with Health on Hit, and works with Snowfall. This gem is Extremely useful, and I am so happy I chose to use it. Do not underestimate Tourmalines. They are great.
NOTE: Maxing ranged defense is NOT a requirement for huge pulls!! I have 73% ranged defense with a perfect diamond. You all know my pulls : ) Night has 71% ranged defense (Pure), and she can do the same pulls I do. So, go up to a Pure and leave it be, or, go higher if you want. I went higher, because I wanted to.
Weapons;
Your sword should have an Almandine and a HoH roll. Your throwing weapon should have a Helio and a haste roll.
Almandine in the sword+HoH roll and why it's a good idea:
Health of Hit means you gain hp per hit. The amount of hp you gain is based on the HoH in the sword, and, Marauder (which is based on your total HP). The reason why HoH is better than haste is simple: would you rather reduce damage faster, or gain back some of the damage you took? Obviously 2nd choice. It's only logical. Do the math, and you will see that HoH is a better choice. I currently gain 240 hp per hit, with a Flawless Almandine (97 HoH), plus the HoH roll on my infernal sword (60 HoH) and plus the hp from Maraunder. This is without HP food, HP elixir or vday candy. Now, if I were to put a Radiant helio instead of the Almandine (Radiant helio gives ~5% haste). Now I would be gaining 143 HP (240-97 and 97 is the Flawless Almandine I removed to put the Radiant Helio) from the HoH, but I have +5% haste. 5% haste is -1.5 seconds on righteous defense. Is it worth it? Nope. You lose a whole 97 HoH for a mere 1.5 seconds faster righteous defense. It is not worth it.
Another benefit of HoH is that you gain hp not only from auto-attack, but also from skills. Impale, tremor, spires and bloodbath all give you some hp. The amount of hp you gain is: HoH from sword (this does not include Maraunder) x 3. It does not go higher than x3, regardless if you hit 20 mobs with tremor. This is also another reason to get an Almandine+HoH roll on your sword. You also regain hp from single-target attacks, but it doesn't get multiplied by 3. I should mention that spires give you hp on with the instant damage. The bleed effect does not heal you. LC does not heal you at all.
Haste:
Haste on your throwing weapon is useful. You can use skills faster, and generate threat faster. Ambers are not a good idea for my build, as you need haste to keep threat. You don't need a lot, though. I personally use a haste draft, but you can use an attack power draft if you want.
BUILD;
Here is my build: http://talenttheory....1Wb2c3i2l2p3v3/
This is my build, 100% as it is right now. I do not use phalanx, as the cooldown makes it worthless. It does help, yes, but when it runs out, you are receiving an extra 2% damage that you could reduce with maxed Brawler.
Attributes;
I am full melee. This means that I have added 0 points into Vitality. You do not need to add points into Vitality with my build. If you want hp, you can use an HP elixir and hp food. I have done all of my insane pulls with Full Melee. Also, full melee means more Haste, and, more Melee Dodge. Don't worry, you won't die super fast with full melee.
Threat Combo;
My threat combo is: Despair the ranged mobs (archers in ASV, basilisks in ARG), Impale, Tremor, Spires, Rush, Incite Cry and LC. The first skill that will be off cooldown is Impale. Use it. And then, after that, use any of the above skills as soon as they are out of cooldown. Spam them all. Eventually they will all be out of cooldown at the same time, and you can repeat the combo. You are NEVER going to lose threat (unless you lag, of course). Crit healers without pacifist don't have to live in fear, wondering if they will get everything and die or not. Rangers can spam without concealed. This combo 100% works. Also, a warning, DO NOT FORGET SPIRES AND LC! Those two make the difference in my combo.
Extra information: Don't forget to use a stamina potion before you enter into combat!!!!!!!!!
Well, now you know my build, how I hold threat, and why I chose my current set-up. Enjoy! Have fun tanking!
: )