Tera Online Level 65 PVE Warrior Tank Build and Strategy Guide

Here's an end game PVE build and strategy guide for Warriors who are more focused on a tank build. This guide is written by BowlingBall of Tera Rising forums.

General PvE Warrior Tank guide for level 65 patch. I’m not going to hold your hand 100% of the way and tell you there is only one way to play it; what you use should depend on the situation. I’m also not always right, but here’s my opinions:

Important things:

1) Gear, Accessories and Stat Rolls

2) Crystals

3) Glyphs (and master glyphs)

4) Skills and Rotations (will depend on glyphs)

5) Consumables

Each of the aspects above play an equal role in your overall effectiveness with any class so don’t neglect any of them. But your skill and hands-on experience is by far more important than your equipment. Item level is not a representation of skill.

1) Gear, Accessories and Stat Rolls:

This is not a guide on getting gear itself, do your own research on what you want to get - there are a lot of resources out there.

Don't underestimate the difficulty of Warrior tanking. It is definitely a challenge but it's a rewarding one as it's a role that's always fun. So don't get discouraged if it's really difficult at first, that's just how it's supposed to be.

Build up white damage (non-crit damage) and don’t rely on crits for RNG aggro. You want power, and you definitely want attack speed. But how much attack speed is enough? Get just enough so that you are comfortable. Don’t go overboard as attack speed has diminishing returns and becomes less and less potent the more you stack it. Combine power and aggro jewelry sets. No matter what gear you have it will suck unless you have it rolled to suit your needs.

Your weapon should either be Intense (DPS and Tanking hybrid) or Quick (pure-tanking weapon) or have both for either role. I use Intense and have no problems using it for tanking.

Here are some good rolls for your gear:

• Weapon: Enrage dmg, overall dmg, aggro - but you probably won’t want to roll for this if you DPS/Tank with the same weapons, (and attack speed if you have a 4th roll). Do not roll for crit dmg. Crit rate does no harm here if you don’t want to roll for aggro. Obviously you want to avoid back damage on weapons you want to tank with.

• Chest: Max HP, decrease enraged dmg, decrease (overall) dmg, (and increase incoming healing if you have a 4th roll).

• Chest (Class Skill): Blade Draw dmg.

• Gloves: You NEED aggro gloves for tanking. This is non-negotiable. The aggro gloves are the best trade-off from power:aggro out of anything. And +12 aggro gloves (~20% boost in aggro) are simply amazing. As for the rolls, get aggro, crit rate, attack speed. If you do not have these rolls, re-roll your gloves. Endurance is not something you want to rely on and you definitely don’t want it on your gloves just to take up space.

• Boots: Movement speed, endurance (it’s fine on boots), for 3rd I would get MP regen.

• Necklace: Aggro. Make sure you have a necklace with built-in +6% attack speed.

• Rings: Crit rate and crit dmg if you can use semi enigmatics. Aggro rings have built-in aggro rolls.

• Earrings: Max HP and Reduce duration of stun (or decrease poison damage - either is fine) if you can use semi enigmatics.

• Brooch: Aggro.

• Belt: Preferably double power.

• Innerwear: The best power bonus you can afford.

2) Crystals

Weapon: 1x Focused, 3x Threatening. Always have a Focused on, it also works for normal mobs.

Armor: 4x Hardy

Jewelry: 4x Power crystals

3) Glyphs

First thing’s first, get Master Glyphs. To earn Master Glyphs, simply run Sabex Armory (level 61) and Macellarius Catacombs (level 64). Master Glyphs are going to be easy to get now, and you should not ignore them. Get them, there is no excuse now and they help you significantly.

Here’s my build, done manually since glyph builder is bugged:

Evasive Roll: Unending (3)

Rain of Blows: Power (5)

Combative Strike: Sanative (2)

Defensive Stance: Grounding (5)

Cross Parry: Pump (4)

Torrent of Blows: Threat (6)

Pounce: Swift (2)

Death From Above: Swift (3) + Energy (2) + Grounding (5)

Blade Draw: Power (4) + Brilliance (2) + Persistence (5)

Charging Slash: Energy (3) + Powerlink (4) (50% bonus version)

Reasons: Not everyone will agree with some of the decisions but it works great for me. DFA can proc extra attack speed which is awesome. I chose not to use Lingering on Traverse Cut since the duration is long enough for me to use it naturally. I also get MP reduction on Blade Draw, I usually avoid these types of glyphs but here it can actually be worth it when Blade Draw has a reset streak. And once I had done it 16 times in a row and even with a good healer your MP will be in the gutter. The one most people question here is Powerlink for Charging Slash. When you get the master glyph for this it’s a 50% dmg boost on Combative Strike. So if you use Charging Slash (then Blade Draw if it’s up) the Powerlink will still be there for you to use Combative Strike even if it’s not the next skill you use. You should already have the Sanative glyph for Combative Strike in your build. You don’t need Lingering on Combative strike ever, you’ll be spamming that a lot. It also gets overwritten by a Lancer’s Debilitate - more on that later. Also, the endurace on defensive stance and DFA is my preference for now since I'm an aggressive tank on Warrior and don't have much attack speed with my current gear. I also removed everything on the shout since it's just too expensive to glyph and it's mostly useless.

4) Skills and Rotations

This is strictly a Warrior tanking guide, check my Warrior DPS guide if you want DPS. First thing I’d like to say is that you shouldn’t underestimate the difficulty of being a Warrior tank for a group of good DPSers. It is definitely challenging but fun. There are 3 main skills you want to use as soon as possible: Torrent of Blows, Blade Draw and Rain of Blows. Everything you do will be based around setting those skills up.

• First thing to do is get Combative Strike > Traverse Cut going. The debuffs will boost the entire party’s DPS by 15.55%. Combative Strike and Pounce will both chain into Traverse Cut and give you all 13 hits.

• Torrent of Blows needs to be spammed as soon as it comes off CD. This is priority. This is the Warrior’s equivalent of a Lancer’s Challenging Shout. It regenerates a good amount of RE, and reduces incoming damage while casting by 50%.

• How to get to your Blade Draw (spam as they come off CD):

Charging Lunge (must hit a target) > Blade Draw (fastest chain)

Combative Strike / Pounce > Traverse Cut (can cut it short) > Blade Draw

Rising Fury (last hit) > Blade Draw

DFA / Evasive Roll > Vortex Slash > Blade Draw (only use if you happen to DFA / Evasive Roll)

• If Blade Draw is not accessible, get a chain that goes into Rain of Blows.

Pounce > Rain of Blows

Combative Strike > Rain of Blows

• Pop in 1-2 auto attacks if you need MP. If you really need MP, use the glyph on this. But if you are using that glyph as well as the MP reduction on Blade Draw and are charmed and buffed. The only other way you’re running out of MP is if your healer is asleep or busy healing someone who thinks their face is a shield (hopefully, this is not you).

Edge building skills (+1 Edge each when you land them on target):

Charging Slash

Combative Strike

Rain of Blows

Death From Above

Rising Fury (last hit only)

Poison Blade (the only real use for this skill)

Blade Draw (additional +1 Edge with glyph)

Backstab (additional +1 Edge with glyph)

Remember that the Edge UI takes about a second to update after you hit. You will be building Edge for your DPS Warrior’s Scythe. If there isn’t any, you make the decision on what to do with your Edge.

Some skills will actually reduce incoming damage on Warrior, know them:

Rising Fury (20%)

Rain of Blows (30%)

Torrent of Blows (50%)

Pounce (50%)

You can semi-face tank (don’t tell anyone I said that) if you utilize these for their mitigation. If you are familiar with the BAM’s moves and know which of their attacks you can get away with this on, go for it. You’re already losing health from popping off Combative Strikes anyway, your healer should be aware that your health is not always 100%.

Your iframes (super important to know):

Evasive Roll

Death From Above

Backstab (if well-timed)

It’s possible to iframe 6 times in a row as a Warrior without stopping (utilizing RE regeneration on skill use).

Optional Skills:

• Smoke Flanker is something I don’t find myself using. It feels like a really cheap attempt at a Lancer's Infuriate, but you have to build aggro up for when the flanker disappears and get back into position. It’s a very clumsy skill for tanking.

• Battle Cry can stun and generates decent aggro, and is slow unglyphed. This will NOT regenerate RE like a Lancer’s shout. The only real purpose for it is really to pull scattered mobs together, the aggro it generates is terrible compared to Torrent of Blows and is incredibly slow.

• Scythe - Don’t use this if there’s a Warrior DPSer in the party who can do it. Their damage will be better than yours even if they’re not quite as geared. You’re able to hold aggro without using Scythe, and those glyph points are needed elsewhere, sorry buddy.

• Backstab is mostly for repositioning bosses as a tank. Don’t use this if the boss is facing you...

• Poison Blade is filler for building Edge when other skills are on CD. The DoT is terrible.

• Leaping Strike is purely for repositioning and evasion in PvE. The damage is terrible and there is a slight animation lock.

• Deadly Gamble can really help with shield/burn phases. This is a good skill though, don’t forget about it. If you use it throughout a fight, make sure you have it off CD for when you really need it.

• Mangle - In PvE I never find myself using all 4 auto attacks in a row to get this debuff on the enemy which doesn’t last long, and many bosses are resistant anyway. It also sips on your MP. Leave this off.

• Staggering Counter is a skill I’m not a fan of since you have to be hit and it's very difficult to use as a stun for boss mechanics.

• Cascade of Stuns has use, but the PvE scenarios are limited. It will NOT stun on its own.

• Smoke Aggressor - Mostly useless. Use when you need a distraction or to get the newspaper idk.

• Reaping Slash - Get out of Assault Stance, you’re tanking.

• Binding Swords really feels useless and clumsy. This is nothing like a Lancer's giga-leash.

5) Consumables

• You should have your own set of charms: Power, Enduring, Infused.

• Bring HP potions & draughts as well as MP elixirs & restoratives. I don’t care who you are, you should bring a handful of these always. Each has a separate CD. Tier VIII or better, we’re level 60+ this shouldn’t be a problem if you don’t spam them.

• Nostrum of Energy V and Scroll of Savagery V (or better) are necessary. Savagery is always best for a melee DPS.

• Noctenium Infusion is not a MUST in most dungeons but it will help you greatly in any case.

• You can also bring Scrolls of Dash to give you extra combat movement speed if you need to relocate in a hurry (such as Rift’s Edge gate at final boss).

• Warding scrolls are nice, but not needed.

• Bring Panaceas, don’t be a scrub.

Closing notes: 

• Remember to turn on your stance!

• Don't think of Cross Parry as a block like a Lancer's (hardest thing for me to get used to from coming from a Lancer main), use it when you need to but remember you have DFA and damage mitigation skills for the weaker incoming attacks. DFA has a very short CD when glyphed and procs to give you attack speed, try to use that unless it's an attack that will push you (so you can be pushed) or that lasts too long for DFA, etc.

• Know all of your skills and what they do even if you rarely use them. Know what generates Edge, what mitigates damage, what can be used for movement, etc.

• The first use of Rising Fury is a great movement skill.

• You can use Edge to help you tank, there's no harm in Scything if you're the only Warrior.

• Rising Fury (last hit) and Torrent of Blows generate significant RE in a pinch.

• Second hit of Rising Fury can produce a KD. Scythe will also be able to KD when patched.

• Chain your skills whenever possible. It puts you in less danger, speeds up DPS, devours MP and impresses the ladies.

• Remember that you can chain your chain skills together for chain-ception.

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