A day or so ago I posted on some of my problems playing on Hard with a sword & board tank. Several folks gave some great comments, which I really appreciate.
Last night with some serious console commands I respeced my Hawke from tank to a dual wielding rogue. Wow, what a difference. Combat is FUN now!
My party is the aforementioned rogue Hawke, Fenris, Merril, and Anders. Despite lacking the DR, Fenris is a much, much better tank than my former s&s warrior Hawke. He's holding aggro like a champ. Even better, his companion-specifc tree contains a mode that gives a +20% critical chance bonus; together with valiant aura he's crit'ing about 40% of the time, which with Sunder means he's staggering an enemy every 4-5 swings. I took Hawke along the Shadow tree: not only is he also crit'ing like crazy (100% when flanking enemies; I can't wait to get the +critical damage ability from the assassin tree) but those crits *automatically disorient* enemies when obscured.
Put together, Hawke and Fenris are staggering and disorienting enemies like mad, practically without spending stamina, and Merril and Anders are free to sit back and pick off staggered/disoriented enemies with Chain Lightning, Stonefist, Spirit Bolt, Walking Bomb, etc. It's flat out nasty. Also with Decoy, Stealth, and Inconspicuous, my rogue Hawke's survivability is surprisingly good.
After all of this I'm pretty convinced that, as some people argued in other threads, s&s tanks are pretty bad in most fights. I'm also a little surprised, after spending some time dissecting the skill trees, dual wield rogue was was really the only non-mage class where I could make a build that was clearly superior to companions. Aveline, Fenris, and Varric's companion skill trees are just very, very good. That's not a complaint, just an observation.
Update: Respeced from tank to rogue, game is SO much better
Débuté par
bluedevil99
, mars 16 2011 02:28
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#2
Posté 16 mars 2011 - 05:29
Rathys
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I'm convinced that with the right tactics/micro manage that Fenris/Merrill/Anders is the best set up for DW rogue Hawke. Fenris and Merrill chew through the trash, while you can start destroying the tougher enemy in the group. Anders is good for buffs/heals and a little extra damage.
I mostly agree with you that DW rogue is probably the only class in the game that the player can do better than the companion trees. Fenris is arguable, he is probably the better two handed tank with the skills from his special tree, but I think player 2H can probably afford more points into damaging abilities. Anders is a better healer than the player and Merrill's companion tree (blood mage) with primal just destroys most mobs in seconds.
I mostly agree with you that DW rogue is probably the only class in the game that the player can do better than the companion trees. Fenris is arguable, he is probably the better two handed tank with the skills from his special tree, but I think player 2H can probably afford more points into damaging abilities. Anders is a better healer than the player and Merrill's companion tree (blood mage) with primal just destroys most mobs in seconds.
#3
Posté 16 mars 2011 - 06:45
Itkovian
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I am currently playing on Hard as a sword and board DPS-oriented tank, and it is working rather well.
Stacking crit bonuses with the vanguard tree makes for interesting result, reaching a point where I don't need much above Taunt to maintain aggro. The sheer DPS is enough to maintain the aggro even with shield defense on (which in any case only gives a -25% modifier... so with Cleave you still do 175% damage).
Of course, the advantage of a more tank-devoted build is the high about of fortitude from the Defender tree preventing knockback and knockdowns. But due to the fact none of the defense talents help you gain aggro, it makes maintaining aggro difficult unless you invested in the aggro sustainable abilities.
The thing is, none of these are of a very "active" nature... your contribution to the fight is mostly standing there, which doesn't feel very heroic IMO. That's why I preferred going the DPS tank route, and leave the Immovable Wall build for Aveline (who in any case gets at least gets the ability to reflect damage to the enemy, both from her talent and her gifted shield).
As it is, with upgraded sword and board talents and cleave I do tremendous damage (similar to Fenris' in fact) and still get to act as tank when needed (so far I tanked as a DPS tank the Mature Dragon, the Deep Roads Dragon, and the Ancient Rock Wraith with no trouble). It makes for a more enjoyable tanking experience, IMO.
Thank you.
Itkovian
Stacking crit bonuses with the vanguard tree makes for interesting result, reaching a point where I don't need much above Taunt to maintain aggro. The sheer DPS is enough to maintain the aggro even with shield defense on (which in any case only gives a -25% modifier... so with Cleave you still do 175% damage).
Of course, the advantage of a more tank-devoted build is the high about of fortitude from the Defender tree preventing knockback and knockdowns. But due to the fact none of the defense talents help you gain aggro, it makes maintaining aggro difficult unless you invested in the aggro sustainable abilities.
The thing is, none of these are of a very "active" nature... your contribution to the fight is mostly standing there, which doesn't feel very heroic IMO. That's why I preferred going the DPS tank route, and leave the Immovable Wall build for Aveline (who in any case gets at least gets the ability to reflect damage to the enemy, both from her talent and her gifted shield).
As it is, with upgraded sword and board talents and cleave I do tremendous damage (similar to Fenris' in fact) and still get to act as tank when needed (so far I tanked as a DPS tank the Mature Dragon, the Deep Roads Dragon, and the Ancient Rock Wraith with no trouble). It makes for a more enjoyable tanking experience, IMO.
Thank you.
Itkovian
