Tanking w/ Hero Commands - Guild Wars Forums

VishnuOdin · Jan 22, 2009, 03:15 PM // 15:15

Last night a friend and I tried to make our way Beacon's Perch to Camp Rankor, and didn't have much luck to say the least. It probably doesn't help that I'm only 18 and missing a bunch of my pet spells (MM), but part way through I tried to teach her how to pull mobs using her hero Fighter (I don't have one yet) and it seemed to go a lot smoother. Until we hit the level 28 boss that is but that's another story lol.

Does anyone have any tips on how to pull mobs with their fighter / brawler? I've never had to do it before in GW so it was really hard to give her instructions on what I think she should in team chat. Presumably you want to stand out of the mobs reach, set a solo marker for your tank near the front of the swarm, then once he aggro's the first 2-3 mobs set a marker back near your party and pull them towards you to break the swarm into smaller more manageable pieces.

In EQ2 and WoW it's really easy to do this with your pet and aggressive / passive modes, but GW doesn't seem to have the equivalent to them (or I don't know how to do it).

Is that theory correct? Are there any other in game commands that make this process easier? I'm sure practice makes perfect, I'll have to say I was quite impressed she actually started to get pretty good at it after we did it a few times.

Thanks in advance!

crazybanshee · Jan 22, 2009, 06:03 PM // 18:03

Pulling with a hero tank isn't the easiest thing in the world - when I need to, I pretty much do it like you guys are. Problem is, you don't really have control over how many the tank aggros. First make sure your heroes are set to guard (default on tanks is attack which will make them run after everything even close to you and over aggro) To do that have your friend click on the little symbol next to their name that shows their skill bar, and you'll see on the right of that how to set them to guard.

A far better option since you have 2 people is to have one of you pull. If you have minions, let him to it. Basically, flag your heroes back away, get any kind of longbow (doesn't matter if it does no damage, or if you're a monk or warrior or anything) Run forward, shoot the nearest enemy, and run back. They'll follow you. Much easier than trying to use your hero.

*Darcy* · Jan 22, 2009, 06:52 PM // 18:52

You really can't pull well with a hero. Once you let one within aggro range of a mob, the hero usually loses all common sense. (If they ever had any.) If you got that far, you were doing a great job of micromanaging.

As crazybanshee said, either you or your friend should get a longbow (any req, dmg doesn't matter, don't need ranger secondary) and do the pulling. If you are a caster, then just bring them as far as your front line heroes and kite away.

All of my characters have longbows for this purpose.

VishnuOdin · Jan 22, 2009, 07:47 PM // 19:47

We were watching the mob's movement patterns, then when we knew we could safely aggro 3-4 at most send in our tank, then pull back just as the mob's started chasing. By the end of it worked most of the time, but in the cases it didn't we got steamrolled into oblivion lol.

I only have one set of weapons, but she said you can have multiple sets and click the boxes in the bottom right corner to swap sets. Can you do this mid-combat? If so I'll get a bow and recommend she do the same so we can each pull then swap (were both casters, I'm a Necromancer/Elementalist and she's an Elementalist/Ranger).

Thanks for the replies!

Antares Ascending · Jan 22, 2009, 07:48 PM // 19:48

.

I agree that a real person should do the pulling. As far as bows, I prefer a flatbow. Flatbows have the same range but a slightly longer flight time which gives you more time to run back to the flagged group

Quaker · Jan 22, 2009, 08:06 PM // 20:06

Quote:

Originally Posted by VishnuOdin

I only have one set of weapons, ......

Hit "I" to bring up you inventory screen. On there, just below your picture and your gold, is a button marked "Weapon Sets". Hit that and a little box will pop up where you can enable up to 4 weapon sets.

Quote:

.... but she said you can have multiple sets and click the boxes in the bottom right corner to swap sets.

You can also select the sets by using F1-F4 (if you haven't reassigned the keys). This may be easier in some cases.

Quote:

Can you do this mid-combat?

Yes.

Here's a little hint about pulling with a bow. When you fire the arrow at the target, start backing up before the arrow hits and your pets and/or heroes will not run in and ruin the pull.

tcratty · Jan 22, 2009, 09:40 PM // 21:40

pulling with a bow is far more effective then any other way IMO just like quaker said shoot the arrow and start backing up and as far as your heros/pets just flag them all at a spot behind you were you want the battle to take place at

Raven Wing · Jan 22, 2009, 11:58 PM // 23:58

I just did rand + thommis part in Slavers with Jora body-pulling. It takes carefully watching movement patterns, and then flag her (or other hero) so the monsters are just likely to react. Then flag hero back a few steps at a time.
The other half is positioning yourself well behind, so the mobs will stretch thin and their AI is on the edge of having them disengage. Then hit them.
In all of the rand/thommis trip I only once had her pull 2 mobs and i had to flee and only at Thommis she died once, but could be rezzed.
So, being careful and patient its fully doable. Appointing a monk to cast protective spirit etc on the tank helps too.

Jan 22, 2009, 03:15 PM // 15:15	#1
VishnuOdin Academy Page Join Date: Jan 2009 Profession: N/E	Tanking w/ Hero Commands Last night a friend and I tried to make our way Beacon's Perch to Camp Rankor, and didn't have much luck to say the least. It probably doesn't help that I'm only 18 and missing a bunch of my pet spells (MM), but part way through I tried to teach her how to pull mobs using her hero Fighter (I don't have one yet) and it seemed to go a lot smoother. Until we hit the level 28 boss that is but that's another story lol. Does anyone have any tips on how to pull mobs with their fighter / brawler? I've never had to do it before in GW so it was really hard to give her instructions on what I think she should in team chat. Presumably you want to stand out of the mobs reach, set a solo marker for your tank near the front of the swarm, then once he aggro's the first 2-3 mobs set a marker back near your party and pull them towards you to break the swarm into smaller more manageable pieces. In EQ2 and WoW it's really easy to do this with your pet and aggressive / passive modes, but GW doesn't seem to have the equivalent to them (or I don't know how to do it). Is that theory correct? Are there any other in game commands that make this process easier? I'm sure practice makes perfect, I'll have to say I was quite impressed she actually started to get pretty good at it after we did it a few times. Thanks in advance!

Jan 22, 2009, 06:52 PM // 18:52	#3
Darcy Never Too Old Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Rhode Island where there are no GW contests Guild: Order of First Profession: W/R	You really can't pull well with a hero. Once you let one within aggro range of a mob, the hero usually loses all common sense. (If they ever had any.) If you got that far, you were doing a great job of micromanaging. As crazybanshee said, either you or your friend should get a longbow (any req, dmg doesn't matter, don't need ranger secondary) and do the pulling. If you are a caster, then just bring them as far as your front line heroes and kite away. All of my characters have longbows for this purpose. __________________ That's me, the old stick-in-the-mud non-fun moderator. (and non-understanding, also)

Jan 22, 2009, 06:03 PM // 18:03	#2
crazybanshee Desert Nomad Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Look out! Profession: E/	Pulling with a hero tank isn't the easiest thing in the world - when I need to, I pretty much do it like you guys are. Problem is, you don't really have control over how many the tank aggros. First make sure your heroes are set to guard (default on tanks is attack which will make them run after everything even close to you and over aggro) To do that have your friend click on the little symbol next to their name that shows their skill bar, and you'll see on the right of that how to set them to guard. A far better option since you have 2 people is to have one of you pull. If you have minions, let him to it. Basically, flag your heroes back away, get any kind of longbow (doesn't matter if it does no damage, or if you're a monk or warrior or anything) Run forward, shoot the nearest enemy, and run back. They'll follow you. Much easier than trying to use your hero.

Jan 22, 2009, 07:47 PM // 19:47	#4
VishnuOdin Academy Page Join Date: Jan 2009 Profession: N/E	We were watching the mob's movement patterns, then when we knew we could safely aggro 3-4 at most send in our tank, then pull back just as the mob's started chasing. By the end of it worked most of the time, but in the cases it didn't we got steamrolled into oblivion lol. I only have one set of weapons, but she said you can have multiple sets and click the boxes in the bottom right corner to swap sets. Can you do this mid-combat? If so I'll get a bow and recommend she do the same so we can each pull then swap (were both casters, I'm a Necromancer/Elementalist and she's an Elementalist/Ranger). Thanks for the replies!

Jan 22, 2009, 07:48 PM // 19:48	#5
Antares Ascending Wilds Pathfinder Join Date: Aug 2008 Profession: E/	. I agree that a real person should do the pulling. As far as bows, I prefer a flatbow. Flatbows have the same range but a slightly longer flight time which gives you more time to run back to the flagged group

Jan 22, 2009, 09:40 PM // 21:40	#7
tcratty Frost Gate Guardian Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: 6 feet under Guild: forever angels Profession: E/	pulling with a bow is far more effective then any other way IMO just like quaker said shoot the arrow and start backing up and as far as your heros/pets just flag them all at a spot behind you were you want the battle to take place at

Jan 22, 2009, 11:58 PM // 23:58	#8
Raven Wing Jungle Guide Join Date: Nov 2005 Guild: The Imperial Guards of Istan [TIGI] Profession: N/	I just did rand + thommis part in Slavers with Jora body-pulling. It takes carefully watching movement patterns, and then flag her (or other hero) so the monsters are just likely to react. Then flag hero back a few steps at a time. The other half is positioning yourself well behind, so the mobs will stretch thin and their AI is on the edge of having them disengage. Then hit them. In all of the rand/thommis trip I only once had her pull 2 mobs and i had to flee and only at Thommis she died once, but could be rezzed. So, being careful and patient its fully doable. Appointing a monk to cast protective spirit etc on the tank helps too.