SM just feels weak...buffs on the horizon?

[MayoDaen78]

SM is currently the best pseudo-dps tank there is. You come equipped with survivability in the form of your self-parry buff, you are equipped with a M2 Wings of Heaven which can be used defensively to escape things such as Champions Challenge and is one of the best initiation tools, especially when running alongside ASW/WL (not that these classes need the extra burst you can provide them). You have a panic button in the form of WODS which can be thrown in anywhere to help dodge/disrupt burst rotations and can prolong your life for healers/other tanks to save you. You have some of the most wanted buffs/debuffs/procs in any group setting (Whispering Winds/Stat Steal/Blurring Shock).

Tl;dr: unga bunga SM good.

Wing of Heavens ( WoH) is a god send....especially when its up and you are in Tor Anroc SC, and BG just super punt you to lava, and you just realize...hey my WoH is up, you click that and voila.....you are back to safety lol..

[DokB]

As long as your baby toe doesn’t graze the lava and you lose all your morale instantly.

[MayoDaen78]

As long as your baby toe doesn’t graze the lava and you lose all your morale instantly.

yes timing is the key man

[adamthelc]

On my destro tank a 2h SM almost feels like the most dangerous thing, except for maybe a torment spamming WH.

OP said they didnt want to go 2h because the survivability was as too low. You are giving up damage to gain survivability. So... how good do you expect your damage to be once you have gained additional survivability?

I haven't played a lot of S/B SM, but on paper it seems much better with recent changes. Having said that I would never play a SM S/B, but that doesnt mean I think it should be weak.

[Diomedes8183]

I suggest running an aoe build and grinding some pqs. Find some like 4 or 5 levels belowyou and aoe grind. The levels flew for me. Mix in scs and some rvr to keep your rr up to par....

Sadely the situation you've entered into at level 30 only gets worse as bolster provides you less and less but there is light at the end of the tunnel. Once 40/40 and with a decent enough blade you will be making the impact you were meant to make as a 2hd tank.

It's mostly about understanding your abilities rather than face rolling buttons for damage with tank survivability. At your current level you are just entering the slog but I tell you it's worth the useless feeling you may be getting from the class atm.

If things become unbearable, do some rvr. The group setting there brings back the proper perspective.

[Ramasee]

R30...use SnB and stack strength.

https://officialrorbuilder.herokuapp.co ... ,2900,2874
Once you hit 31, swap out tactics rugged for potent enchantments.

Drop any RR points you have into parry (Reflexes) then block (Defender).

Blade enchant you want to run is Nature's Blade since the toughness, initiative, weaponskill, and strength saps will increase your survival and your damage.

Pull several mobs at once. Use...
Protection of Hoeth (PoH), Wrath of Hoeth (WoH), Whispering Wind (WW)
Ensorcelled Blow (EB), Sudden Shift (SS), Gusting Winds (GW)
PoH, WoH, GW (WW makes GW a 5s cooldown, thus you can use it every 1-2-3 rotation)
EB, SS, GW
And repeat.

The above will do a fair amount of AoE damage in PvE mobs and will knock them down (once) while triggering self heals and stat buffs/debuffs. It is by far the best way to level on an SM. At 31 with potent enchantments, it goes much faster.

[Allistarj]

Sm is the best tank imo. Defensive geares with hp regain gear + heal tactic + sword heal proc. U will be the King above all meele. U can easily 1 v X meele players ans win. Not Even a chosen have that kinda regain

[Doomjester921]

Vaul/Hoeth SnB SM with Vaul's Buffer and Rugged at 34/32 (Linmar), with a mix of Devastator and Duelist, and I have found that in ORVR, I can often match CR40 KOBS and IBs in survivability and deal back significant damage while guarding. The Key's in timing your debuffs. I use Nature's Blade alongside my cycles and in Scs I have little difficulty in tearing down CR39 DPS classes and still holding my own against the tanks. If you can use the Perfect Balance abilities while the Spirit Resist debuff's active, your damage is brutal. The first two attacks in your cycles don't hit hard, but that's not the point, use them to buff and debuff, then use the last one like the WH executions to cripple and finish the targets.

[Mattia1981]

All tanks are going to feel weak from a dps perspective. If you think its bad now, you should have seen SM on live after 5 years of nerfs.

While it gets a little better with endgame gear and spamming ED on low RR players, you are probably never going to do adequate damage compared to true dps. If this bothers you, Id recommend leveling a mdps now and working with what you like better. Do not try to transform SM (or any tank) into a real mdps class because you will be deeply disappointed.

In this game, the purpose of a tank is not dps, but keeping your party alive and assisting the true dps dealers.

I agree with you about the tip given to Doomjester to roll a pure melee dps or being disappointed.
About SM 2h: it just deal the highest dps of all 2handed tanks due their spirit debuff and their bunch of abilities with spirit dmg, so if someone feel weak SM dps shpuld just leave tanks be; yes on live they have been repeatly nerfed and i add knowingly.
About the role that too many players wanna fit on tanks i feel a clarification is needed (in general not refering to you Valarion): being a support class means being a support to the group, and every classes are support in that sense, which more which less; so despite the prevailing thought, aren't the dps that can give rythm to party dance when facing opposing players, but are the tanks that have to absorb to switch guard, punt, KD, stagger, slow eventually spam htl challenge etc. always depending on situation (a proper cc isn't easy!) Even if the healers are the most important to the parties and the DDs are necessary in terms of value for dps, theese last ones are the less important; due all of this the most appropriate archetype to call targets should (but sadly not many accept/understand the importance of this simple fact as statement actually) be the tanks. Personally I have enough of the many heroes (Chinesehero is a proof) that want to call targets requiring a guard because are sorcs/salv mara etc. etc. and they often fight far away you choosing their own target as if tanks wouldn't just go straight to the healers/bws... Rather the most important for a tank is switching guard even on another s&b tank if needed. You could also get much more frustrated by stupid choppas that alway avoid a good punt for their lust to spam git to da choppa (when is not aoe time or just unnecessary). So Doomjester if you go for 2h tank you can have many satisfaction due what i logically explained up here with a good party: or you can just feel weak on solo. If otherwise you aim to get the kills and deal dmg just roll another melee dps class (even because as crowd controllers the swordmasters are the worst of all tanks imo).