So, starting up a Warmie after playing a Paladin, naturally I'm getting beaten up quite a bit more from hunting (fortunately coupled with killing stuff much quicker).

I figure at least part of my problem is that I am treating an armor tertiary guild the same way I was treating the armor primary. Same stancing, similar 4-armor setup...

To those with more experience in the guild, what stance do you use while hunting for training? Do you use a different stance if you just really don't want to get hit? What armor setups do you find successful for hunting/training? For reference, I'm going chain primary, but want to be able to train them all, and do not have access to an HLC who can just make/buy me a late (or even mid) game setup.

Thanks in advance!

Maybe I'm doing it wrong compared to everyone else, but it's always worked for me to rotate between two stances:

Parry 100%
Evasion: 86%
Shield 0%

and

Shield: 86%
Evasion: 100%
Parry: 0%

The theory behind this is that parry is a superior defense against melee attacks, and shield is superior against ranged attacks, as I understand it. In a PvP situation I may switch frequently in a fight, depending on what my opponent is doing. It's also important to remember that you can't parry while using a ranged weapon, and I don't believe the automatic stance shifting works for that. In PvE, I mostly don't worry about it except for setting to block when using an aimed weapon.

It's possible someone might prove me wrong on this theory. However, more important are a few other things you should be doing for defense. Personally, I don't worry much about defense in combat.

Armor: I use a 4 armor setup too, but you've got to make sure your hindrance is as low as possible. It's possible to get it down to somewhat(6) maneuvering hindrance. I, for example, use a small shield, light body armor, chain helm, brig gloves, and plate mask. Until you get the hindrance down through skill and gear, it might make sense to lock all 4 armors and then switch to a single type setup - probably light or chain.

Spells: Buff like you're a magic prime! Make a beeline for SW and SUF, and keep them up at all times, casting as high as you can to be sure of not backfiring even on the worst roll. I went with 3-5 points lower than DISCERN says until I was able to cap them. I also highly recommend AEG for the shield buff it offers.

Balance: Keep your balance. Once you've got the fatigue to support it (or use Zephyr) DRAW is a great maneuver for keeping balance and doing damage. It just costs a lot of fatigue.

Brawling: Training brawling is nice, because if you're parrying without a weapon in your hand and using a parry stick, it draws on your brawling skill. It's not a huge factor, but it helps.

Weapon Balance: Better balanced weapons are easier to parry with. Something to keep in mind.

Debilitation: AoE debilitation can make an area a lot easier to hunt in. Personally, I try to avoid this as a crutch, though. If I can't dance normally, I don't want to be there with that creature.


- Saragos

I just swap shield/parry, keep evasion at 100.

I've played around with stances where I put like 90 evasion, 90 shield, and the rest parry, and it works to keep everything learning. But honestly it's not that difficult to just type 'stance shield' and 'stance parry' every 3rd kill or whatever. Overall it doesn't seem to matter a huge amount unless you're at the bleeding edge of your skill and/or doing PvP.