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(08-12-2016, 12:53 PM)Sounsyy Wrote: Going to talk about warriors a little bit.

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(08-11-2016, 10:52 AM)Melkire Wrote: WAR generally doesn't need to lead most pulls with Unchained or Berserk. Sure, it helps a lot and if you can then by all means, but it's not as vital as, say, Fight or Flight to a PLD's pull.

Tomahawk (skip if facepulling, depending on positioning) -> Overpower x2 (modify quantity and/or supplement with Flash as needed) -> Storm's Eye Combo (skip if heavily outgeared) -> Butcher's Block Combo (distribute SS and BB evenly across mobs, always land Heavy Swing on a mob with Eye, land SS and BB preferably on mobs with Eye unless aggro is building fast on those without) -> Overpower/Flash (as needed) -> Gradually Distribute Eye to All Mobs -> Overpower/Flash (as needed) -> "Rotation"

This isn't a bad rotation for Trash pulls in dungeons. A few notes: be sure to be mindful of your Overpower usage. At max, you should be limiting yourself to roughly three Overpowers per Trash pull to ensure you're not overtaxing your TP. Cleanly weaving into Deliverance for Equilibrium (TP) helps manage this somewhat, but remember that AoE Enmity is primarily useful for maintaining hate against steady enmity build by DoTs and Heals. If DPS are targeting multiple enemies, Overpower spam will not hold them and will only drain you of resources. It's better to perform the single-target enmity combo on any mobs being directly attacked by DPS, but dispersing your combo evenly across multiple enemies will hold hate far better than any AoE ever will.

Compare:
Overpower: 430 dmg x 5.0 multiplier x 2.7 defiance = 5805 enmity
Skull Sunder: 950 dmg x 3.5 multiplier x 2.7 defiance = 8978 enmity
Butcher's Block: 1400 dmg x 5.5 multiplier x 2.7 defiance = 20790 enmity

An exception to the conservative Overpower rule would be during Big Pulls in which you face 10+ enemies. In this instance, combining Vengeance, Berserk, Internal Release, Bloodbath, Steel Cyclone, and Overpower spam not only generates massive AoE damage and enmity on all enemies, it also enables a WAR to almost sufficiently self-heal sustain themselves solo through the pull by ensuring HP return from each mob hit. This allows Healers more leeway to add AoE dps to Big Pulls. However, this tactic really should only be used on groups of enemies that number too many to effectively single-target combo across and is increasingly more effective the more enemies you're facing.

For MTing bosses in raids or dungeons as WAR, I recommend the following rotations:

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WAR MT Rotations
Rotations Guide:

Abilities will be divided like so " | Ability | " to demonstrate the GCD timer. When " | Ability + Ability | " appears, the first ability in sequence will always be one that activates the GCD and each additional ability added inside the brackets is a cooldown which should ideally be weaved before the GCD resets and the next ability in sequence is executed. At most, two cooldowns may be weaved in between each GCD ability without inflicting a delay penalty on the next action in sequence so long as they are used in rapid succession. In some cases, it is best to only attempt weaving one cooldown per GCD if a cooldown delays its activation. To maximize DPS potential, you should attempt to never delay the use of a GCD ability on an off-GCD cooldown ability.

Boss Opener MT (Defiance - No Stacks)
(Optional: Overpower) | Heavy Swing + Brutal Swing | Skull Sunderâ–²I | Butcher's Blockâ–²II |
Heavy Swing | Maimâ–²III + Bloodbath | Storm's Eyeâ–²IV + Berserkâ–²V + Unchained |
Heavy Swing + Internal Release | Skull Sunderâ–²I + Vengeanceâ–²II | Butcher's Blockâ–²III + Brutal Swing |
Heavy Swing | Skull Sunderâ–²IV | Butcher's Blockâ–²V + Deliverance |
Fell Cleave + Infuriateâ–²V | Fell Cleave | <PACIFICATION>

Comments: This is how I open against any solo dungeon or raid boss when I enter the fight with no Wrath stacks. Optional Overpower is for initial hate spike if you have nuke-y or trigger happy DPS. As a WAR even after nerf, the first Butcher's Block combo is enough to hold hate until the second, Berserked, Butcher's Block combo is completed. This opener generates an enormous amount of enmity, but it takes more time to prep your Berserk, which can have drawbacks in some dungeons.

Note: If you are tanking a hard hitting boss, such as Onslaughter in M4, or attempting to build hate for a Hunt A or S rank, you can elect to remain in Defiance for the entirety of this rotation and replace the ending Fell Cleaves with either double Steel Cyclone for enmity, double Inner Beast for single target damage and mitigation, or a Steel Cyclone > Inner Beast combination for additional Opener enmity and Mitigation during Pacification.

Why Overpower and not Tomahawk against a single target?
Overpower: 430 dmg x 5.0 multiplier x 2.7 defiance = 5805 enmity
Tomahawk: 475 dmg x 3.0 multiplier x 2.7 defiance = 3847 enmity

Considering the TP cost difference between Overpower (130) and Tomahawk (120) is only +10, I consider the 50% higher enmity gain to be more effective for the niche purposes of snap-gaining enmity to prep your Opener Rotation. Essentially, Tomahawk's only usefulness is panic-snapping fleeing mobs after Provoke. Though when possible, it is more beneficial to have Healer stack on you or you stack on Healer- in the case of aggro'ing mob groups entering late to a battle.

Boss Opener MT (Defiance - Minimum 2 Stacks)
Heavy Swing + Brutal Swing | Maimâ–²III + Bloodbath | Storm's Eyeâ–²IV + Berserkâ–²V + Unchained |
Heavy Swing + Internal Release | Skull Sunderâ–²I + Vengeanceâ–²II | Butcher's Blockâ–²III |
Heavy Swing | Skull Sunderâ–²IV | Butcher's Blockâ–²V + Deliverance + Brutal Swing |
Fell Cleave + Infuriateâ–²V | Fell Cleave | <PACIFICATION>

Comments: To pull this combo off, you have to aggro the dungeon or raid boss with at least 10s remaining on your II+ Wrath stack. Again, optional Overpower for initial hate grab, but opening with Overpower is counter-intuitive to the purpose of this rotation. Which is, to deploy a full Berserk rotation before the boss uses its first fight mechanic. Like clockwork, most dungeon or raid bosses in Heavensward (Neverreap, Fractal, Thordan, Midas, etc) activate their first fight mechanic at roughly 30s after aggro. By entering the fight with two stacks of Wrath, it's possible to complete your opening Berserk rotation just before mechanics begin. So if you have to disengage target or dodge AoE's you'll do so while Pacified and not in the middle of your Berserk combo.

Note: If you are tanking a hard hitting boss, such as Onslaughter in M4, or attempting to build hate for a Hunt A or S rank, you can elect to remain in Defiance for the entirety of this rotation and replace the ending Fell Cleaves with either double Steel Cyclone for enmity, double Inner Beast for single target damage and mitigation, or a Steel Cyclone > Inner Beast combination for additional Opener enmity and Mitigation during Pacification.

Additional rotations for OTing, OT Opener, and DPS rotation can be found below:

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WAR OT Rotations
Boss Opener OT (Triple Fell Cleave) (Deliverance - No Stacks)
Heavy Swing + Brutal Swing | Maimâ–²I | Storm's Pathâ–²II |
Heavy Swing | Maimâ–²III | Storm's Eyeâ–²IV |
Heavy Swing + Berserkâ–²V + Internal Release | Fell Cleave + Infuriateâ–²V | Fell Cleave + Raw Intuitionâ–²I + Awareness |
Heavy Swing + Brutal Swing | Skull Sunderâ–²II | Butcher's Blockâ–²III |
Heavy Swing | Maimâ–²IV | Storm's Eyeâ–²V | Fell Cleave | <PACIFICATION>

Comments: This I use pretty exclusively for raid bosses in which I am not the MT. More importantly, raid bosses where I have no desire to take hate. To accomplish this, I avoid opening with a Butcher's Block combo to allow the MT to build hate, opting instead for Storm's Path, though honestly if you want to open with Butcher's Block you can if you think you can avoid taking hate. Notice that unlike the previous two opener rotations, this one uses three Fell Cleaves instead of two. To accomplish this, you delay popping Berserk until after your third Heavy Swing and after immediately burning your first two Fell Cleaves using your prep stacks and Infuriate, sacrifice a defensive buff such as Raw Intuition or Vengeance for the extra stack needed to pop the third Fell Cleave at the end of your Berserk rotation. Make special note that in the OT rotation listed I popped Raw Intuition and Awareness instead of Vengeance. This is because Raw Intuition's cooldown matches Berserk's perfectly and will be again available for use in the exact same spot in your rotation every time. Vengeance's cooldown will not, and should be saved for the MT'ing combo where you can utilize the dps gain and mitigation effectively and then save Raw Intuition for the following Berserk rotation. Also important to note that because you delayed Berserk with the extra Heavy Swing, your Storm's Eye debuff will fall off before your third Fell Cleave if you do not refresh it as your second combo during Berserk like its shown above.


Repeat Damage Rotation Mid-Fight MT/OT (Triple Fell Cleave) (Deliverance)
Heavy Swing + Brutal Swing | Skull Sunderâ–²I | Butcher's Blockâ–²II |
Heavy Swing | Maimâ–²III | Storm's Eyeâ–²IV |
Heavy Swing + Berserkâ–²V + Internal Release | Fell Cleave + Infuriateâ–²V | Fell Cleave + Raw Intuitionâ–²I + Awareness |
Heavy Swing + Brutal Swing | Skull Sunderâ–²II | Butcher's Blockâ–²III |
Heavy Swing | Maimâ–²IV | Storm's Eyeâ–²V | Fell Cleave | <PACIFICATION> 5s

Heavy Swing | Skull Sunderâ–²I + Brutal Swing | Butcher's Blockâ–²II |
Heavy Swing | Maimâ–²III | Storm's Eyeâ–²IV |
Heavy Swing | Skull Sunderâ–²V | Fell Cleave | Butcher's Blockâ–²I + Brutal Swing |
Heavy Swing | Maimâ–²II | Storm's Eyeâ–²III |
Heavy Swing | Skull Sunderâ–²IV | Butcher's Blockâ–²V |
Heavy Swing | Fell Cleave | Maimâ–²I + Brutal Swing | Storm's Eyeâ–²II | REPEAT UNTIL BERSERK RECAST||

Comments: This builds upon the previous Deliverance Opener and continues the basic DPS rotation for WAR. Essentially, for maximum damage, alternate Butcher's Block and Storm's Eye combos, making sure to pop Brutal Swing whenever it is off cooldown. Why use your hate combo when you're not tanking? Because Skull Sunder has a higher attack potency than Maim, and Butcher's Block has the highest attack potency of all your combo finishers. By spamming Maim+Storm's Eye, you're losing out on DPS, and by using Storm's Path for DPS rather than utility, you are effectively gimping your max damage.

Always use Fell Cleave as soon as you reach five stacks of Abandon, especially when your next weaponskill adds another stack of Abandon. This will happen every other Storm's Eye/Butcher's Block rotation and always after using Maim or Skull Sunder as seen above. When your fifth Abandon stack falls at the end of your combo after Storm's Eye or Butcher's Block, you can postpone using Fell Cleave until after your next Heavy Swing, to profit from the extra 10% critical hit rate for that attack.

Use Berserk whenever it is available, but be sure to always properly prep your Berserk combo! Make sure your Storm's Eye accounts for your fourth Abandon stack. If Storm's Eye gives the second or third Abandon stack instead, repeat the Storm's Eye combo until you have sufficient stacks (IV+) to begin your Berserk combo.

As for Flash, use it if you wish, but it isn't recommended for WARs. Especially as it conflicts with better cross-class options. (Convalescence, Provoke, Awareness, Second Wind, Internal Release) While it uses MP for AoE enmity generation instead of TP, thanks to 3.0's Equilibrium WARs are no longer plagued by TP drain. If you find you're running out of TP quickly, the first step should be to reconsider the rotation you're using for enmity gain. Additionally, if you're finding you're actually having AoE enmity troubles as a WAR and you are using Flash, it might be the cause.

Flash Pros:
-Uses MP instead of TP.
-Can be used when Pacified. (WAR should not be hurting for enmity after completing a Berserk rotation, even in Deliverance.)
-Does not interrupt combo. (Steel Cyclone also does not though and generates way more enmity.)

Flash Cons:
-Activates Spell GCD, delaying combos which deal significantly more dps and enmity.
-Does not deal damage. This lowers WAR's dps output, party utility, and cannot be used for self healing.
-Cannot Crit and is not affected by damage buffs such as Maim, but is affected by Berserk. However, you'd never want to use Flash during Berserk because of Spell GCD.
-Generates 10% less enmity for WAR than it does for PLD thanks to Defiance.
-Smaller range & radius than Overpower and may require sacrificing frontal position against adds to hit all targets in range.
-Consumes a cross-class slot.


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(08-11-2016, 11:45 AM)Melkire Wrote: I can think of only three scenarios in which to not burn Wrath/Abandon stacks. Otherwise, burn stacks as soon as you hit five of them depending on what you need:

Like you said, in most cases you can burn stacks as soon as you earn them. Especially Wrath, the stacks of which only increase your Parry chance by 10% and essentially are inconsequential. When in Deliverance, stacks of Abandon increase your Critical Hit Rate, so if the previous combo-finisher gained your 5th stack, you should hold Fell Cleave until after your next Heavy Swing so it benefits from the increased CHR and does not generate a stack therefor no penalization. Always blow the 5th stack before using your next stack-generating weaponskill, unless you're saving for upcoming Berserk rotation as discussed above in the rotations spoiler.


Hopefully that helps if you're a WAR and you're having enmity issues. ^^