Should I tank (trash) with Punturing Sweep?

jesterstear · July 2014

I've not quite gotten over the veteran difficulty nerf yet. This morning, I was fighting a pack of 3 vamps, accidentally backpedalled into a group of 3 more. I ended up panicking and just blindly stabbing the same old skill rotation instead of coming up with a strategy to get me out of there, yet to my surprise I found myself surrounded by 6 corpses a few seconds later. It seems Puncturing sweep, combined with Rune Focus, is a very effective heal and it occurs to me it would hold agro on trash mobs pretty well.

So should I leave it on for trash fights, rather than swapping it for Inner Fire like I normally do?

Troponin · July 2014

For trash, I think that's a great idea. The key to trash is staying alive and AoEing. On my DK, every slot is an AoE for trash and two of them give health back, which is a great combo. When it comes to the boss though, I like to use Ransack every 10-12 seconds, and every other ability is about survival. My job as the tank is to keep the hard hitters' attention and not die. So basically, ransack every 10-12 seconds (Just to be safe), and focus on defending and keeping my health, well, healthy. I do only light attacks in between to make sure I always have enough magicka for those moments I need health etc. I would def use puncturing sweeps, however, you want a heal that also doesn't depend on your hitting a target. Nothing stinks more than needing a heal, but not having a target in front of you to pull it off.

jesterstear · July 2014

The skill's basically a melee AoE and it returns a percentage of the damage I do back as health to me. The more targets it has, therefore, the more of a heal I get. The question is, how many mobs do there need to be for it to become more effective than honour the dead, in terms of heal per second and heal per magika?

If veteran dungeon trash are stronger than landscape trash mobs, then by the time it exceeds honour the dead in effectiveness, I have too much incoming damage to survive anyway.

Koensol · July 2014

I use the following set-up for tanking trash/boss on my templar tank:

Trash:
- Turn Undead
- Carve
- Puncturing Sweep
- Solar Barrage
- Repentance
U: Empowering Sweep

Boss:
- Purifying Light
- Ransack
- Extended Ritual
- Restoring Focus
- Blazing Shield
U: Empowering Sweep

Build:
http://esohead.com/calculator/skills#mozz9s8Lxkn8wAvz8bznQ8rFTd8ffkr8b0p18rHnY8fXGM8ffqC8frav8bzvj8b0p18N7JrDm6LDG6LDT8j7GLU06rUR8n7JLWF6LWU6LWZ6LW38y7MrR3r8x7Mrsfd8P7mrdYf8zc7zzgeXm8zf7zzNbo8zu7zzHfYE6zHfZd8zG7zzHQ3F8zI7zzJIoX6zJIkL8zN7zzJZcY8zA7zzKpUN8zL7zzK4EX

With this build I can effectively AoE trash quickly. This is due to Carve and Solar Barrage (with passive) getting me ultimate really fast on AoE trash and being able to use Empowering Sweep every couple seconds. In combination with Solar Barrage it deals massive damage. Then I also get health back from both Puncturing Sweep and Repentance. Puncturing Sweep is awsome! Even on lower amounts, because you also damage the mobs and stagger one of them. Turn Undead for group survivability and the occasional fear on undead mobs.

On bosses I use Purifying Light for a grp damage boost, and more importantly a steady pool of healing that heals me and others for a moderate amount. This is a cheap skill and should be kept up at all time. Extended ritual can be used from time to time for a nice AoE HoT and a cleanse if needed. Then I try to keep up Restoring Focus as much as possible for the 15% healing bonuss (goes well with the healing mentioned before) and the extra armor/spell resist. Blazing Shield is only for emergencies.