Tinkering with tanking
- Health should scale more dramatically with more Con
- Grit should be moved to the 300 Con bonus, instead of Str
- Heavy Armour should be more resistant to projectiles
- Shields should block projectiles from the back when equipped but not actively used
Can you think of a less loved class than the Tank in New World? Barely more hitpoints than anyone else, weighed down by heavy armour and reduced damage, locked to using Carnelians in their weapons, and no great bonuses in the Con attribute line.
Even with these restrictions, the one thing they do get – Taunts – aren’t particularly effective. The mobs often continue to run off and hit another player while taunted, only to then run back to the Tank in time for the taunt to wear off. The big taunt, Defender’s Resolve, has a long animation that leaves you vulnerable to all attacks and only lasts 8 seconds. This would be fine if armour worked better and Con gave more health overall.
Giving the grit bonus to 300 con is widely agreed upon among tanks, but this leaves the question of what to give to 300 Strength. I think a damage or stun duration bonus would be appropriate. Another option could be to leave the 300 strength grit when attacking and add a 300 con grit that is applied when blocking.
Let’s have a look at the current bonuses:
| Attribute points | Con | Str |
| 50 | All health consumables 20% stronger | +10% to melee physical basic attacks |
| 100 | Increase max health by 10% of your physical armour | +5% damage to melee slashing and strike damage |
| 150 | -10% critical damage taken | +25% stamina damage from melee weapon light attacks |
| 200 | 10% increase to physical and elemental armour | +10% damage on stunned, slowed or rooted enemies |
| 250 | -60% damage reduction when full health (60 second cooldown) | Stamina regen is faster when performing basic attacks with a melee weapon |
| 300 | +20% duration of stun, slow and root spells | Basic attacks with a melee weapon gain GRIT |
The 250 Str perk gives even more incentive for a Tank to take Str over Con, while the 250 Con perk is almost completely useless.
Currently, there are few incentives for even a Tank to have 300 con. Higher damage helps retain agro, so Strength is appealing and the extra health you get in exchange for your con points just doesn’t make enough difference.
Heavy armour needs some love as well. The damage and movement penalties are fair enough but it needs more bonuses to even them out. One way to do this would be to give more resistance to projectiles. Surely a plate of metal provides more protection from an arrow than a piece of cloth?
Additionally, it would be a fun bonus if the shield on your back protected you from being shot from behind. I can see how this might seem imbalanced at first thought, but if the bonus was restricted to Tower Shields only, it couldn’t be abused by light armoured opponents.
