Ironbreaker SnB DPS builds?

[Fallenkezef]

First a disclaimer: This is not about mini-maxing, I know 2h is the best way to go for tank dps.

There is a universal rule of cool and I think an axe and shield is cooler for a Dwarf tank than a 2h weapon, that's for the Slayers. However I want a casual, fun alt for scenarios mostly that is leveled up via sc gear like merc and dom.

I rolled my engi and slayer for rvr. Mainly my IB is an apothercay alt but I want to be able to have fun with him.

How would the IB experts recomend an SnB themed dps approach? What kind of build using the sc gear and axe/shield combo?

[Darosh]

First a disclaimer: This is not about mini-maxing, I know 2h is the best way to go for tank dps.

There is a universal rule of cool and I think an axe and shield is cooler for a Dwarf tank than a 2h weapon, that's for the Slayers. However I want a casual, fun alt for scenarios mostly that is leveled up via sc gear like merc and dom.

I rolled my engi and slayer for rvr. Mainly my IB is an apothercay alt but I want to be able to have fun with him.

How would the IB experts recomend an SnB themed dps approach? What kind of build using the sc gear and axe/shield combo?

Unless you plan on grinding out Dominator/play in a proper group there is little point in trying loldps on a SnB IB ~ especially with the new strikethrough you are better of opting for all the block you could possibly get, aside from that:

The highest amount of damage a SnB IB can dish out... is that of his properly supported guardee; as deftardier you are as glassier your guardee can be.

Also, ES/PK [factually, by extension AtD and OS - tho' kinda terrible picks in their current state] doesn't take armor/toughness in account the way other abilities do, hardly any ability reasonably scales with STR ~ even if it did, without WS to back it up it's pointless unless you fight the worst of the worst pugs (= terrible gear/spec setup; no heals, no guards and no assist - no support in general; no awareness,... or just sub40's, in which case literally every approach on every class works out just fine).
You'd stack STR primarily for the strikethrough, but then again you could just learn to properly strafe without turning your back too often (and inviting punts yourself).

Abbd.: To clarify:
You don't have to build glass on IB, the only reliable abilities don't need STR or else, crit isn't an issue for an IB, especially within a group and its other potential sources of crit.
Knowing how to assist; support your guardee in general, and proper target picks > glass; the miniscule increase in pewpew is hardly worth the loss in sustain... you will <never> get to kill just about any <proper> opposition on your own (= loldps spec without any <proper dps> assisting you [= doing the heavy lifting]) outside of straight up 1v1.

Then again, it's pug paradise... go glass and hunt bads and sub40s in the lakes, it'll work out just fine; you can carry SC on any tank provided you properly use guard and have atleast one good dps and an atleast mediocre healer with you and managed to dodge the full premades.

Sidenote: If you don't care about min/max in the slightest... why don't you just play the game and figure things out as you go? More specific question would help to greatly reduce the amount of naysayers that might chime in, or atleast limit their ability to go on tangents etc..

You might wanna ask questions regarding specific abilities, gear sets and mechanics to subsequently ducttape together a loadout that matches your playstyle; compare it to buying a stock PC (= asking for builds) vs building one yourself (= asking for clarifications on mechanics etc) - you'll always come out of it with a better deal if you do it yourself.

[Bloodlet]

I've gotten some ok results from the rising anger tactic which makes your grudges gain faster and then also the other tactic that increases your crit chance when your grudges are over 50. I can't remember the name as I am not in game at the moment.

[Darosh]

I've gotten some ok results from the rising anger tactic which makes your grudges gain faster and then also the other tactic that increases your crit chance when your grudges are over 50. I can't remember the name as I am not in game at the moment.

Sweet Revenge. It's a neat tool (increases your healcrit, too, for GnM crits), but not necessary ~ you can get crit through comp (ini debuff [AM, SW, SM, by extension Engi via conq proc], buffs [kotbs, SW, your AF if trifecta]), and save the slots for utility picks which there are almost too many of on the IB.

[Eathisword]

Slot raze, then spec Oathstone. Use block tactic. Spec block in renown. Earthshatter in Brotherhood.

Become the king of AoE fluff.

abbdrstv( as Darosh said) SnB dps dont work. We rely too much on AA for any decemt damage. And in all case, unless in a premade, offensive gear will just get you killed over and out.

In dom/merc/BL IB stands mightily at about 20% chance to be crit with a whooping 170 ini. 1 ini debuff and you are toasted if anyone looks your way.

[Fallenkezef]

Slot raze, then spec Oathstone. Use block tactic. Spec block in renown. Earthshatter in Brotherhood.

Become the king of AoE fluff.

abbdrstv( as Darosh said) SnB dps dont work. We rely too much on AA for any decemt damage. And in all case, unless in a premade, offensive gear will just get you killed over and out.

In dom/merc/BL IB stands mightily at about 20% chance to be crit with a whooping 170 ini. 1 ini debuff and you are toasted if anyone looks your way.

Yeah, I know in my heart of hearts I'll go 2h, I just love shields on a dwarf.

[Darosh]

Slot raze, then spec Oathstone. Use block tactic. Spec block in renown. Earthshatter in Brotherhood.

Become the king of AoE fluff.

abbdrstv( as Darosh said) SnB dps dont work. We rely too much on AA for any decemt damage. And in all case, unless in a premade, offensive gear will just get you killed over and out.

In dom/merc/BL IB stands mightily at about 20% chance to be crit with a whooping 170 ini. 1 ini debuff and you are toasted if anyone looks your way.

Yeah, I know in my heart of hearts I'll go 2h, I just love shields on a dwarf.

I for one found myself to be locked into SnB outside dedicated small scale in the lakes, where you can properly pick engagements ~ there is little point in opting for SnB to dps, for that you'll become just an additional liability for your healers (i.e.: try guarding a glass Slayer without* maxed out avoidance, especially now that there is renown strikethrough ontop of tactics [SH] and abilities [various, most prominent BG, SH and Choppa DDB - the latter being a straight up death sentence if applied properly]), as is opting for 2h in any format that has your guardee relentlessly pummeled by +2 proper dps - you just evaporate, dead tanks not only don't deal damage, but also don't guard/CC.

Your bread and butter on SnB is the ability to apply consistently and reliably pressure (with and without guardee - either by virtue of tying people up indefinitely, using your utility or plain presence) and zone people out (e.g.: establish your presence by pushing to punt squishies into your blob, regardless of shortterm-effectiveness: people will become paranoid and run if you approach again = no freecasting, advanced control over movement... just don't hand out immunities to tanks).
Also, if you play alot of pug SCs you'll notice that people play more reliably and alot less reluctant if they notice that you, in turn, can reliably react to hardswaps etc., and if you are not a drain on your healers.

Abbd.: Note, avoidance is love, avoidance is life ~ it combats status effects.


E: Words.

[Fallenkezef]

Whatever Path I go it'll be almost exclusively sc's. I don't like rvr, never have, even on live I ran sc's almost exclusively. Other than doing it for essential gear, rvr holds little interest for me.

[Darosh]

Whatever Path I go it'll be almost exclusively sc's. I don't like rvr, never have, even on live I ran sc's almost exclusively. Other than doing it for essential gear, rvr holds little interest for me.

-> Solo: SnB full on deftard to initiate pushes regardless of circumstances ~ little point running 2h, you'll likely be the only thing living through engagements but your dps won't cut it, might aswell invest into the hidden mastery tree: mascot (as hinted at above, you'll have the biggest impact in pug SCs by playing 'rolemodel' and 'babysitter').
-> Duo with glass dps: SnB deftard(ish), with few utility picks.
-> Duo with mdps WP: SnB full utility or 2h deftard(ish) with more utility picks.
-> 6>x>+2; as offtank: full utility 2h (don't neglect defensives in any case); as main tank: SnB full utility with only utility picks.

Go about and trial and error; reading about limitations != experiencing them, depending on your playstyle etc. there might be more or less limitiations besides those related to mechanics.
You'll likely find yourself edging towards ever newer and more complex setups as you learn the class and pick up on the little things ~ in the beginning it'll be quite a pain to work out a proper buff rotation/alterations, CC, guard and oathfriend swaps, once you get used to weave your tools as the situations demand it you'll find yourself well capable of dropping various stats in favor of others, or get bored and try fancy new setups (I am atm working on 3ish new gear setups for lulz - one being healcrit, wp and hp/s stack... gonna be a trainwreck, but science demands sacrifices and hilarity).

Abbd.:
Thinking back to my time in early t4 with bad gear, low RR and no regulars to group with:
Go deftard, get as high of an avoidance (relevant to guarddamage, i.e. block/parry as possible), stack ini with talis and a good bit of FS ~ grab BL asap, run it alongside anni/merc/ruin (whatever set had the +spirit resis) and WI (Wind Impervious) until you get used to killing Sorc/Magus bursts with RB (Runic Blessing) and HtL-raving. Also, get your pot economy going - until you manage to properly cycle through your buffs run armor pots and (if you can afford it) resis linis or toughness pots, later you can swap to ele/spirit resis pots and -ctbc linis ~ heal/HoT/absorb pots don't hurt either.

See, issue with (untested or strictly unreliable) niche specs etc is that... if you run them in instanced based on RNG group content (SCs) you are ruining the fun of others ~ alongside your own, in 9/10 cases, unless you put effort into it and bring a group (+2).
I for one wouldn't bring any of my experimental stuff into SCs even if it would be interesting to see what would happen... I know how it feels to be let down by players opting to deliberately handicap themselves and their team (playing with people that agreed to testing/supporting your schtick is, of course, another story entirely), there is no point continuing that cycle of misery. So, no offense intended in any of the above or previous posts.

Best of luck with yer midget.
Dwarf master race! Hail Volgo!

[Fallenkezef]

I've watched Volgo's vids which helped allot. I'll just have to keep reading forums and learn from experience.

The Dawi community on ror is very good and helpful which makes things easier.