stance switching

**Krako** · 08-31-2008, 02:15 PM

I only discovered it at level 41 on my conqueror. I thought it was a pain in the butt to switch all the time but it's worth it IMHO.
When I realized the potential, I bounded the 2 stances on my mouse thumb buttons (just to make it easier to switch).
How I do it. By default, I'm always in def stance, even in combat. I only switch to offensive at the end of a high damage combo (Hail of furious strikes in my case). Then I switch back to defensive asap.
If timed properly, I kill mob MUCH faster that way!

Most people probably knew about this, but I thought I'd share my experience for those who don't.

**Vulcan** · 08-31-2008, 04:00 PM

Yep this is a big factor. Glad you learned it.

I have the mx400 mouse that has a side scroll function on the wheel. It's quite nice. I bound those to my left arrow and right arrow to change stances. It also works for other classes.

**TheFatKidDeath** · 08-31-2008, 04:21 PM

I'll try this. Always seem to forgot about my extra mouse buttons.

**Krako** · 09-01-2008, 10:32 AM

note: it's not a good idea to drop the defensive stance against an elite boss! I found out the hard way yesterday

**Gambit7** · 09-02-2008, 06:09 PM

I typically open up in Frenzy stance when I've got combat advantage against the target. Charge in with frenzy active, pop a quick DoT combo or defense-oriented combo, hit a knockback, and then move in for the kill. If the combat lasts longer, then I switch back to defensive stance.

In my current build it doesnt pay to EVER go stanceless, because I can do lots of damage in either stance.

Krako, I saw in your build that you were going to put points in Invulnerability feats. Interestingly, Improved Def. stance fully feated gets you 8% immunity to all dmg. types... whereas feats like Iron skin only max out at 5% melee only. Needless to say, I'll be maxing out imp. def. stance. Which should allow me to tank more effectively.

Dont waste points on stuff like Iron Skin if you plan on switching stances effectively. If you just want to be uber-tank then obviously doing ALL of them gets you quite a bit of dmg. mitigation. But if it's between one or the other, pick imp. def. stance.