Best defensive one handed weapon

[Vorad]

What do you guys think it's the best weapon for a main tank and an off-tank?

I have managed to mention on the poll a "short" list of weapons which I consider to be defensive. However since there are so many weapons in game it would be more insightful to also make a few comments on the topic.

So far I have been toying around with +1 engagement weapons on my defensive paladin however in late-game they seem a bit lackluster. I was considering other options as well perhaps a weapon with stun proc(but then again my spell casters got aoe prone/stun/paralyze/petrify). Last but not least there are some purely defensive weapons with "lifesteal" or pure defense stats.

 

So overall what do you think which would be the optimal defensive weapon for a tank?

 

EDIT: My vote after play-testing goes to "Strike Hard", a war-hammer bought in Twin Elms which has a -5 defenses to target on hit. This practically acts as a +5 accuracy to every party member attacking the target and it stacks with other similar debuffs. On a Paladin this would practically result to a +11 accuracy for your party. Also on a barbarian this would mean a -5 defenses aoe(so a +5 accuracy for entire party) while still being able to use a buckler in your offhand.

Edited October 16, 2015 by Vorad

[MasterCipher]

Write-In: Resolution, highest damage endurance drain

My party bias uses a lot of CC from Wiz and Cipher and a low deflection crit-me tank so gear procs 

[mosspit]

Spell Tongue (WM) - It has accuracy for tanks who usually needs it, and it inflicts attack speed debuff which is fairly useful on key bosses.

Edited October 17, 2015 by mosspit

[Boeroer]

And it steals buffs too - that's even better.

Edited October 17, 2015 by Boeroer

[Ymarsakar]

For me, it is either harth harvest the hatchet for the +5 deflection or the warhammer that +1 engagement.

 

For any kind of debuff effect, I tend to give it to ciphers and or rogues, people who can actually damage the enemy without needing support.

 

I usually have a shield/weapon backup for most of my mainline, and just usually go with a dps/tank build for most classes such as Monk, Fighter, or Paladin. Chanter too, but they are different builds.

 

So a monk dps mode would be dual fists, paladin dps mode would be St Rum or Tidefall two handed greatsword using Flames.

Edited October 17, 2015 by Ymarsakar

[Vorad]

In the beginning I too was running mostly with +1 engagement(measured restraint on a Vailian Darcozzi paladin with buckler) although through mid game it was ok I now notice in lategame the enemies pile up and stay engaged to the paladin irregardless of extra engagement slots and if I throw in the 13th level aoe in there it seems those +1 engagement slots feel a bit lackluster.

[Boeroer]

A good trick is to switch off Cautious Attack, use a gun at the beginning of a fight and fire a Flame of Devotion into one's face - then let the enemy surround you. When they are engaged, switch to shield and turn on Cautious Attack. This way they don't run past you at first because your deflection is so high. When they engaged you, they don't tend to disengage. Your engagement doesn't seem to bother them.

[Teioh_White]

For my Pld's, I use Cladhalíath(great damage and +9 acc) or Shatterstar (50% stun opportunity, bleh damage) if they're both not being used by someone else, and the team works the deflection formula as part of it's plan. Otherwise, I go with Strike Hard to give the rest of the team +5 acc on the tanks target, along with it's solid enough damage from speed. Spelltounge's also nice, though I like to pair it with a Dual Wielder, since it's the rare (only?) weapon that affects both hands. Draining mods in general are underwhelming, and guard mods are more of a convenience than anything.

[Boeroer]

Spelltongue together with another speedy weapon like Sword of Daenysis (speed, rending) is indeed nice.

[mosspit]

The other thing about spelltongue is its ability to, as I previously said, apply the speed debuff. Of course you can apply the debuff with another char who can better make use of the stolen atk speed, but the most defensive tank will almost always engage and keep the attention with the strongest enemy from the start. At least in my case. Lowering the atk speed, and hence dps, of the high dmg bosses reliably will simply increase the survivability of the defensive tank.

[Ineth]

For my tank Paladins, I prefer weapons like Shame or Glory which give an accuracy bonus to another party member attacking the same target.

 

The Paladin doesn't hit much anyway; this way at least she can help the barbarian or monk land more crits.

Edited October 19, 2015 by Ineth

[Vorad]

Interesting thoughts so far, thanks for participating guys. I might have added 1-2 more weapons on the poll but I wanted to keep it as minimal as possible in order to be able to get some distinctive results. The poll will remain open of course since I hope there might be even more participation. So far from the responses what I get is that perhaps I should have included at least spelltongue in the poll to begin with.

Edited October 19, 2015 by Vorad

[Wolken3156]

Strike Hard gets my vote as my favorite tank weapon. -5 to all defenses means my party can their debuffs on easier (Or outright kill them), which also means my tanks can live longer since enemies are less of a threat when crippled. The Vile Loner's Lance is pretty much an earlier acquired version of it without the attack speed bonus, so it gets my vote as well. Both weapons are just superb on a Barbarian.

[Vorad]

Strike Hard gets my vote as my favorite tank weapon. -5 to all defenses means my party can their debuffs on easier (Or outright kill them), which also means my tanks can live longer since enemies are less of a threat when crippled. The Vile Loner's Lance is pretty much an earlier acquired version of it without the attack speed bonus, so it gets my vote as well. Both weapons are just superb on a Barbarian.

Oh by the way we need to mention it that those two stack for a wooping -10 debuff that stacks with spells from wizard/priest etc. So in a case of an offtank and  I personally run Paladin tank and Chanter off tank min/maxed moon googlike etc etc one could equip Shatterstar on one and The Vile Loner on the other add in there Outworn buckler and Little Savior as an offhand and we got some really nice endgame tanks. That's what I'm running at the moment while waiting patiently for the next part of the expansion.

[Boeroer]

Paladin's Coordinated Attacks and items' Marking enchantment stack by the way. I gave my cipher + 60 ACC against the Dragons with Coordinated Attacks (+10) and a marking weapon (+10) on my tank, then Tactical Meld plus Borrowed Instinct (both +20). So marking weapons can be a good choice when you need to stack a lot of ACC on one char.

Edited October 21, 2015 by Boeroer