As it stands now, the IB's AA increase is reliant on being hit by magic damage:
The issue is, however, that in order for you to be able to gain your 50% AA haste, there must be magical damage hitting you, i.e. you must be facing magic dealers.
Essentially what this means is that if you are to face a melee premade with no magic dealers, you will never gain access to your 50% AA haste, thus losing a substantial amount of DPS given that the IB is a physical damage class.
Why is this an issue?
The Ironbreaker already has enough difficulty in fitting into a group as a quasi-DPS/tank/singletarget utility hybrid: the Swordmaster is leaps and bounds above the Ironbreaker for DPS, and the KOTBS just brings so many buffs and utility with relative ease-of-use that, quite often, better those of the single-target persuasion that the IB bring.
It's mirror, the Blackguard, relies upon simply attacking enemy with a specific ability to gain his AA haste - an action that doesn't mandate a specific type of target, or being hit by a specific type of damage. Yes, it does cost a tactic slot, but it also enables the Blackguard the ability to reduce the wounds of any targets effected by a critical hit (notice I said targets.)
Other classes have AA haste tactics/abilities that do not necessitate being hit by a certain type of damage. When we factor in that: a) IB's AA haste tactic does not abide by the same formula; b) this would not elevate the IB to OP awesomesauce levels, and would simply be a QoL standardisation, it is difficult to see why it should not be changed to provide a 50% AA haste when being hit by any type of damage.
Why is this an issue - VOLGOGRAD POINTS
"Also, even when facing magic users, it is often not proccing as : it doesn't go on dots or from Oathfriend or from guarded ally. So you need to BE the target and be hit by an ability that is tagged as Hit, which is no easy task as a tank...
Corp resist is absolutely moot in a group, as you'll have a knight, RP or AM which provide a better resist buff anyway. If anything, our corp resist should become a better resist or something different altogether."
Possible counter
But what about the fact that the ability increases your Corp resistance, too?
* I refer you to Proposal 2 below (giving the ability a cost)
* Corp resistance is nice, but when you are fighting a melee premade it only really works against skullthumper, i.e. its use in anything other than a magic-dominated environment is meh.
Proposal
1) Make the AA component occur when being hit by any type of damage.
Fairly straight forward: allow the IB to use this ability and gain the 50% AA haste when being hit. It fits in nicely with the idea that the IB has to be hit in order to become more effective, but doesn't limit the IB's AA potential to magic-only environments.
2) Make the AA component occur when being hit by any type of damage. Also, Stubborn as Stone will now be on a CD.
Same as above, but giving SAS a CD.
3) Remove the AA component from this ability. Tie 50% AA Haste with a tactic.
Do away with linking 50% AA haste to SAS altogether, and tie the haste to a tactic.
I am personally in favour of either 1 or 2. It is clear to most that an IB can have a tough time in getting into min-max groups when the KOTBS and SM exist, and a few QoL changes (as opposed to an overhaul, which it doesn't need) would help to alleviate such woes.
