- by Pilsner, Blocked, and Hodrick very tough and long-time IBs
Ironbreakers!
- by Pilsner, Master of being beat on
Ironbreakers are one of the more formidable tank classes in the game,
they can be very difficult to kill or relatively decent dps for a tank,
depending upon how you spec.
Once you hit 40, if like me you want to do rvr and pve you're going to
want to be collecting two sets of gear! One for killing players in pvp,
and yet another to main tank most pve when called upon. You'll want
to have a high wounds defensive set and a high strength offensive set.
Renown points generally are best spent in strength and initiative, with
wounds and weapon skill lesser priorities when you can afford them.
As renown rank progresses, melee crit is a good choice for dps, and
block is great for pve.
Whatever you do, collecting gear with reduced chance to be crit is KEY
for pve. Ideally you'll want it at 0% or as close as possible, even at the
expense of wounds, as it makes the damage you take more predictable
for your healers and cuts down the worst case of repeated crit bursts
overwhelming your healers.
Ironbreaker RvR:
Here's an RvR Ironbreaker build that I find effective and you might
consider testing with in parts or in total...
http://www.wardb.com/career.aspx?id=1#11:2560:0:0:10:640:25:503:1394:1408:1410::::606:1419:1420:613
Key Abilities:
- Greataxe Mastery
- Cave-In (to stop runners/focus down healers)
- Punishing Knock for the heal debuff
- Earthshatter for the snare/AoE damage
At RR50 you might consider Runic Shield to combat Sorcs.
At RR60 you might consider Ancestor's Inheritance to boost you and
your Oathfriend's strength and critical chance (note that the strength
bonus from Ancestor's does NOT stack with Inspiring Attack, but
having nothing else to spend the point on, I opt for more crit).
Ironbreaker PvE:
Here's a PvE Ironbreaker build that I find effective and you might consider
testing with in parts or in total...
http://www.wardb.com/career.aspx?id=1#0:0:13:10272:9:0:25:1397:504:716:1405::::606:611:1420:613
Key abilities:
- Oathstone for taking alpha strikes
- Shield Mastery is a must
- Oathbound for sustained survivablity coupled with Dwarven Riposte
to keep the Grudge going.
At RR50 you might consider Earthshatter for crowd control and aggro
collection.
At RR60 you might consider Runic Shield for magic casters.
Final Thought:
Remember, Oathfriend is your friend! There's nothing better that having
someone else get hit and generate grudge for you, plus, you're able to help
them out with your shared buffs.
Ironbreakers! Part II
- from Hodrick, Quick Tips
(1) To do real damage you want to balance it out so your strength is
above 700.
(2) Invader gear is a real turning point for the IB, I suggest gunning for
invader as soon as you can and getting the reknown to wear it.
Ironbreakers! Part III
- by Blocked, Tough Cookie .. the Hard cookies .. not the soft yummy
chewy ones..
Coming soon!
Dwooid Note: If there are more IB subjects you'd like them
to cover, or comments you'd like me to pass on, obviously feel
free to contact them directly or send it to me through the "Contact
Dwooid" address on the sidebar and I'll send it on to them :).