Shield Tank Spreadsheet v. 4.3.0.1 on Google Docs

Hello my lovelies,

After nearly a month without a computer I’m back in business, with a shiny ‘new’ desktop. Raiding is now prettier, but significantly less comfortable.

At the request of some guildies who don’t have Excel, I have uploaded the DR spreadsheet to Google Docs, and done the necessary adjustments to make it functional and user-friendly in that environment. None of the math has changed since I uploaded the Excel version of 4.3.0.1, so you should use whichever format you prefer.

Any future updates to the spreadsheet will be done in parallel on Google Docs and the Excel version.

Shield Tank Spreadsheet v. 4.3.0.1

If you’re reading this in the future, this spreadsheet may be broken or out of date. Please see the Spreadsheets category for the most recent version.

Well I have some egg on my face.

I was messing around with full shield block uptime on Ultraxion and caught a basic probability error in my Hold the Line calculation. An egregious error which brings shame upon family. (My parents met in a graduate-level math course, to give you an idea of the magnitude of this shame).

I have corrected the error, and you can find the updated spreadsheet here: damagereduction_4.3.0.1 .

Thankfully, while the fact of the error was monstrous, the amount of error it introduced into the spreadsheet’s “recommendations” was very small. Warriors talented into Hold the Line may see a slight difference in their optimum dodge:parry ratio for overall damage reduction, but paladins, warriors without Hold the Line, and warriors gearing for CTC instead of damage reduction shouldn’t be affected by the change.

Thank you for your patience, and I’d just like to reiterate how very contrite I feel for having published this error.

Shield Tank Spreadsheet v. 4.3.0.0

If you’re reading this in the future, this spreadsheet may be broken or out of date. Please see the Spreadsheets category for the most recent version.

Here’s the most recent spreadsheet: damagereduction_4.3.0.

Changes from version 4.2.2.0:

• Raised the cap on Shield Block and Holy Shield uptime to 100%, to allow modeling of the Ultraxion encounter
• Changed CTC calculation to include Shield Block if its uptime is at 100%
• Fixed a few formulas broken by the above changes.

I was also unable to replicate on my home computer a bug in the last version’s Yes/No dropdowns. Hopefully this means it resolved itself. If you experience this bug in the new version (you’ll know it when you see it) please drop me a line, either in the comments below or at uncrittable AT gmail DOT com.

A Guide to Reaching the CTC Cap as a Warrior

What is CTC?

CTC stands for Combat Table Coverage. Every time an enemy swings at you, the Combat Table is what decides whether you dodge, parry, block, etc. “Coverage” is what percent of the time the swing is not an unmitigated hit: so, your combined chance to block, dodge, parry, or be missed.

Full CTC happens when your chance to take an unblocked hit is 0%. This is called the CTC cap or block cap. It is sometimes also called being unhittable or being uncrushable.

When do I have full CTC/What is the CTC cap?

When your combined Miss+Dodge+Parry+Block = 102.4%.

Why 102.4% and not 100%?

102.4% is what it takes to be unhittable versus a raid boss. Against a level 85, it would be 100%.

Every level of difference between you and the thing that’s hitting you subtracts 0.2% from your Miss, Dodge, Parry, and Block. Raid bosses are considered by the game to be 3 levels higher than you, so your Miss, Dodge, Parry and Block are a combined 2.4% lower than their default displayed values. So we need a displayed CTC of 102.4% (against a level 85) in order to have an effective CTC of 100% (against a level 88).

Why is the CTC cap important?

The primary responsibility of the tank isn’t to take as little damage as possible, but to take damage in a predictable and healable manner. When you are below the CTC cap, melee swings can do 100% damage, 70% damage, 40% damage, or 0% damage to you, and your healers have to be prepared to heal you up from a 100% swing, even if they’d rather be helping someone who, say, lagged in the fire. Reaching the CTC cap means you’ll never take another 100% hit – the most your healers have to be prepared to heal you up from is a 70% swing. This makes it easier for them to deal with other players and mechanics, because they can trust you never to take a spike from a white swing.

That said, reaching the CTC cap is an option, not a requirement. If you decide it’s not for you, that’s fine.