Since I was kind of summoned, I will also reply on this topic)
Actually swordsman C3 has more CC in PvP (and easier to land). That’s why Swordsman C3 Cata C3 Dragoon is now the single viable for PvP swordsman class in a game.
Rodelero is a decent PvE tank, exactly because of slithering. In Korea as I’ve heard Pelt2Rod2Fen2 is a very popular tank build. I am planning to go Pelt2Rod3Fen1 as a tank myself. RodFencer is especially good tank because it has both magic immunity because of slithering(I’m pretty sure it’s not a bug, because it’s pretty hard to fail so hard in coding) and physical immunity through evasion. Also it has a good damage and access to every type of damage (lots of strike and slash attacks from rodelero and peltasta and pierce attacks from fencer).
Usually tanks don’t benefit from DEX too much, unless they have some abilities to increase DEX (I think guardian +18% is quite overrated by itself, but combined with something else it’s good). So most tanks don’t need DEX that much.
People are talking about pelt 2 hop 3 dragoon tanks. It’s a decent choice for a tank as well, and it can also be played solo (just as fencer). I’d suggest getting quite a lot of DEX for Hoplite, to compensate Finestra Eva loss and get to a decent crit chance (around 30% at least). The other variant is avoid DEX at all, but I won’t suggest it, because you risk to waste a finestra crit rate bonus if enemy crit def will be higer then your crit rate. That’s why it’s usually better to somewhat focus on crit or drop it completely.
For a tank I would suggest something like 1:4:2 STR:CON:DEX. Or maybe even 2:2:3 if you feel like you have enough HP to be safe. You won’t need more DEX then this before lvl 280. For an offtank Hoplite (like Pel1 Hop3 Dop1 Drag1) I’d suggest 3:2:2 or 4:2:1 or even 4:1:2, because Dop has a good synergy with STR. And if you won’t be a main party tank then you will rarely be in danger.
For Pelt3 Squire3 you can just go full con or 2:5 STR:CON, because it’s kind of idle type of tank, and you don’t expect to crit with his abilities. But some STR might be nice to slightly quicken the process (just use skills when they will deal maximum damage).
Also I’ve got an idea to use CryoWarlock as a tank: just pull mobs with Mastema and use Subzero shield to freeze them all) For this build I would suggest getting Thaum as well so you can go full INT and just use swell brain+transpose when you want to tank. This way you will have much more CON then any swordsman can possibly have.
For the best use I’d suggest pairing with ClericC2 Priest C3 for his Stone Skin buff and Divine might, and investing in a good shield. This way you will block almost every enemy attack and freeze the enemy with 65% chance for 5.5 seconds.
And since heals are mostly % based you can get healed to full with 1 use of heal and max heal (87% max HP + flat amount). With high level transpose you will only need to “recharge” once in every 3 minutes. You will have 80k+ HP this way without any buffs AND almost guaranteed freeze on enemies. So for those who want to play unconventional tank, here it is.