I am looking to start playing LOTRO and I would need some help on deciding which tanking class would suit me the best: Guardian, Champion or Warden. Since I am looking for a class which would allow me to main tank pretty much everything but also allow me to go DPS from time to time, I must say that Guardian is currently at the bottom of my list unless someone can tell me that it is quite possible to achieve acceptable DPS on Guardian. I usually like the whole "paladin / holy knight" style but it doesn't seems to exists in LOTRO, so I would really appreciate a fair input on the 3 classes above to help me choosing.
-Are they all able to main tank ?
-What do they offer that others don't ? As far as I understand it, Champion seems to be able to DPS really fine while Warden seems to be solo master due to self-heal...
My girlfriend will be playing a ministrel, so it would be great if my class could pair up well with her while adventuring.
Warden and Guard can main tank in anything, Champs can tank in 3-mans and maybe full fellowships(Only Easier Ones), but not raids. Champs are more multi target DPS but have some really cool stances that benefit them.
If you are willing to pay for it, I would get the Warden because it can do the most things, tanks dps, it can even heal a bit.
sounds like a Captain to me...
Problem is they can only main-tank so much.
They can pretty much tank anything for a short period of
time especially with their couple of seconds invincibility.
They also have the power to off-heal, or main-heal in
some instances, they buff and are capable of dealing
pretty high DPS in the process.
If you feel you can master a difficult class, take warden.
If played well, they are great tanks and with a different
build, no matter what some people say, they can really DPS.
On the other hand: a reasonably well played Warden sucks.
At least at tanking they do.
If you do not have the time to REALLY learn your class,
you'd better go Guardian, easy to learn, pretty difficult
to excel at the class, but imho even harder to REALLY suck.
Champion is just about the opposite of what you describe
that you want to do, more like:
"I wanna DPS and off-tank a bit every now and then..."
I would have said: level each class for a bit and see what
you really like, but then again, the classes here never fully
give you the feel of what it will be like until lvls 30 -> 40... :P
I tried Champion, enjoyed it but I really need something which can main tank raids.
I like challenge so Warden sure seems interesting. Only minus I see with Warden is that they wear chain instead of plate... Might sound dumb, but the look of a character plays a big role when you play it for hundreds - thousands hours.
However, after trying the game a bit I know that my next interrogation will be about server. I tried Elendilmir since it has a tons of posts thinking it would have a huge population only to find out what is probably the worst community I've ever seen in a game -.-
Well, things may change. A big expansion comes out in a month with the possibility of major class revamps.
Guardians have a stance called Overpower that focuses around 2-handed weapon use. Their DPS is somewhat lacking for single-target even if they build specifically for Overpower, but they can do more than respectable AoE DPS when set up correctly.
Wardens are sort of the opposite in that they don't really have much AoE DPS but can do good single-target DPS if built correctly. Wardens can do some amazing stuff if played well, but being squishier than a heavy-armored tank makes them somewhat finicky. They can also be a tough class to play well.
Champs are awesome DPS and capable tanks. We do have some distinct disadvantages (mainly that we lack crit defense compared to other tank classes) but, again when set up correctly, can tank anything under raid-sized and are well suited to main tank a number of current raid bosses even at the highest tier.
It's easy to re-trait your character in this game, quickly and cheaply resetting your focus toward different tasks, but to get the most out of any of these three classes you will definitely have to carry swap gear when changing roles from tank to DPS and vice versa. Out of 18 equipment slots, only 3 are pieces I share between tanking and DPS roles on my champ.
I can correctly speak of champs when i say this : champs have great dps and can pretty much tank in glory stance, if traited right, can last a looooong time, and you can also aoe and tank, which will generate threat and keep the mobs on you, while you're killing them. I can say that champs can be AoE half tanks, and if you have a mini by your side, roll a champ for the most dps of the 3 classes, the mini will keep you healed and you will have no trouble killing the hardest of mobs. You can pretty much solo to end game on champ and warden, idk about guards never played one. Best combination with a mini would be a champ because of his crazy dps, and it's higher than the other 2 classes ( I constantly play with wardens, and since i PvMP i know which classes do crazy dps, champs being on that list )
Wardens are walking fortresses at end game, guards are easier to kill than wardens at end game, and champs can survive a lot, but wardens survive the most against enemies at end game.
Summary :
Order of dps of the 3 :
-champ
-warden
-guard
Order of tanking of the 3 :
-warden
-guard
-champ
Champ : crazy dps, half tank
Warden : moderate/good dps, tank/fortress ( depends on the player's skills )
Guard : moderate/good dps, tank, mainly support so since mini is a great support class, you'll need a champ or a warden and since champs do more dps than wardens and dont need to survive as much as the wardens because a mini is there ( even tho they can survive for a long time if you wanna solo ), its better to roll a champ.
Sorry for my bad english and confusing text, I tried ! :P
Surprise~The Greatest Weapon in a Battle
It's all in the stuns, and more importantly, their timing~Me
I think that the warden will suit you. I have hit some pretty big numbers (4.5k), and have even out DPSed a decent champ. I am not going to repeat what others have said, but I did notice that you were that the warden lacks "plate armor" but uses "chain armor" instead. I assume that you are talking about heavy/medium armor. I totally understand that you want your character to look a certain way. Fortunately, you can have your warden look like he is wearing heavy armor. Just hit CTRL-left click to preview armor pieces, and when you have collected the pieces of armor that you want, you can access the cosmetic window by clicking on the Cosmetic tab in the character panel, then "equip" the armor in the cosmetic slots and wear it.
Note: If you cannot put a piece of armor in a cosmetic slot, put it in your wardrobe (from the Vault-keeper), and cosmetically equip it from there.
Other toons (Elendilmir): Lorespark Man LM, Sparkness Dwarf RK, Bowspark Man Hunter, and Leadspark Man Captain.
I am looking to start playing LOTRO and I would need some help on deciding which tanking class would suit me the best: Guardian, Champion or Warden. Since I am looking for a class which would allow me to main tank pretty much everything but also allow me to go DPS from time to time, I must say that Guardian is currently at the bottom of my list unless someone can tell me that it is quite possible to achieve acceptable DPS on Guardian. I usually like the whole "paladin / holy knight" style but it doesn't seems to exists in LOTRO, so I would really appreciate a fair input on the 3 classes above to help me choosing.
-Are they all able to main tank ?
-What do they offer that others don't ? As far as I understand it, Champion seems to be able to DPS really fine while Warden seems to be solo master due to self-heal...
My girlfriend will be playing a ministrel, so it would be great if my class could pair up well with her while adventuring.
Thanks all !
This is not rocket science here.
If you want to tank, with a little bit of dps on the side, the answer is Gaurdian.
It's like asking if there is a better tank in wow than a warrior, forget about it.
I have a lvl 34 Gaurdian and not only is he a beast when it comes to taking damage, he can dish it out too.
Gaurdians are alot of fun and go perfect with a Minstrel, roll one and you will see. ;o}
If you ask a Warden which is best, they'll probably say Warden. Ask a Champion, Guard, or Capptain and guess what they'll say? The good news it that this means we are all happy with our classes and none of them are very deeply flawed.
I play a Guardian and after four years of just playing solo and fellowship content, I have been raiding for the past year or so. Recently I've been doing Tier 2 raids. There is a big difference to how each class plays in each of these environments (i.e., solo, fellowship, tier 1 raids, tier 2 raids). You should not only think about each class attributes, but also about what kind of content you plan to play.
As far as comparing Wardens and Guardians, I would say that Wardens are more complex.. Their special skill combinations (called gambits) are more difficult to master, but critical to successful play. For end-game raids however, especially Tier 2 difficulty, timing and combinations become very critical for both Guardians and Wardens and I think the difference is greatly reduced.
Guardians are rather slow to level solo (at least for a while when we get Overpower stance), although they can actually move quickly if playing together with someone.
Overall, I usually play in a group and I love the Guardian and its role in this enviornment. However, if I were going to play solo most of the time, I would most likely choose another class.
haha, good joke... 95% of Wardens out there can't play their class and their medium armour makes them really undesirable as raid tanks... also it's the class that gets changed the most, seeing as it's also the most difficult class I find this ridiculous since playing it as an alt is now nearly impossible... tanked almost everything with my Warden back at lvl 65 (meaning BG and FD T2 except for Gortheron and Balrog T2), now at 75 I can't really tank most stuff with my Warden, I don't like what they've done with the class... it was complicated enough, now if you don't play it as a main, you probably shouldn't play it...
But yeah, Guardian is the best tanking class still, but don't be fooled by "class difficulty: beginner" or whatever it says there... you wouldn't believe how many &&&&&& Guards are out there... but if you know your way around tanking, I guess you should be fine, Guard is a fun class, only our dps is lacking sadly...
Junior Member Online status:
Reputation:
Senior Member Online status:
Grand Member Online status:
Member Online status:
Century Member Online status:
Originally Posted by Kaigen
Junior Member Online status:
Reply With Quote
Posting Permissions
