Curse

Moonstalker · Jun 30, 2007, 07:22 AM // 07:22

So... I've had my Warrior since the beginning of time... I have had him for over 2 adventure filled years, but something has been bothering me throughout that time...

WE DON'T TANK!

No matter what it is I do, there is almost no way I can actually "Tank" things. I can hold them for a couple of seconds, or maybe hold a mob or two at most, before they go run off to attack the Ranger or Mesmer or whomever is in my team. Is it really necessary for Warriors for certain things? There is no such thing as real "aggro" in the game, meaning a Warrior cannot tank things to keep away from the healers, we can't get them off the healers, we have to actually kill them while the healer is being attacked. So for the skills (for PvE, not farming, but actual fighting) are things like Defensive Stance, and the other self-casting Warrior skills useful at all? And is there any actual way to hold aggro without them running at the squishy Assassin and casters?

Thanks in advance.

Derthark · Jun 30, 2007, 07:31 AM // 07:31

1. Make sure you run in first (your team matesshould not be touching your aggro bubble when you gather the mob).
2. DONT MOVE, this usually causes the AI to think you are fleeing, and there's a chance they'll retarget.
3. Try not to use many AOE spells and abilities, many of them tend to scatter enemies.
4. Attacking an enemy for a time will usually 'persuade' it to turn and attack you.

That's about it...

Stormlord Alex · Jun 30, 2007, 07:29 PM // 19:29

Well, it *is* possible to tank in GW - however, to bunch up a mob, keep them aggro'd/blocked, etc. etc., requires 2 things:

1) Half-decent team mates. Sadly, next to non-existant in PvE. There's no way you can 'tank' when the 'tarded ele/ranger/mesmer wants to be a sword swing's away from the enemy. Tanking requires team co-operation, at the basic level this means your team stays out of yours (and the monster's) aggro.
Doesn't happen, ever - despite every jonny scrub screaming for a 'tank' for mission + bonus.

2) Time - it reqires a fair deal of walking round, to ball up the enemies for a 'clean' nuke. By the time the tank and his team have done this, a pack of SF and a dragon slash warr could have slaughtered the mob, and be on to the next. It's a mere waste of time to tank mobs for 99.9% of PvE.

In short, screw tanking, bugger all the lame warrior defense crap, and slaughter stuff as a Dragon Slasher.

farmpig · Jun 30, 2007, 07:36 PM // 19:36

Agreed enuf said

Cathode_Reborn · Jun 30, 2007, 08:17 PM // 20:17

[skill]Grasping Earth[/skill]

If an enemy is chasing a caster, he can chase for a pretty long time. If the enemies' speed movement is decreased though, they'll usually stop and chase whatever's closest to them. I'm sure we've all seen somethin like this: warrior runs up first, yet the mob still ignores him. With somethin to slow their speed movement, they're kinda less motivated to slowly run past the warrior just to chase the caster. Still even in areas where aggro is controlled carefully like in DoA, it's not always perfect.

Kern Wolf · Jun 30, 2007, 09:50 PM // 21:50

"Tanking" used to be a fairly common technique in FOW, when the book trick was viable (before it was nerfed). Same for Sorrow's Furnace, and the gear trick. The technique seems to be making a comeback in FOW--I've been going into FOW as a caster (I've been a W/E since October 2005; I've made an Ele/mesmer about 2 months ago), and I've been with groups that have had the warrior aggro a group, wait for about 5-10 seconds for the agro to "set in", then nuke the group from a distance.
Surprisingly, the majority of groups I've seen use this technique effectively has the the often slammed "PUG", and they've done it with surprising success (I've gone in PUGs with a few people on my friend's list, and the rest are literally random people.)
I had asked a long time ago, whether the definition of "Tanking" needed to be modified. It seemes that the technique, not the definition, needed to be. Tanking may still be a viable option in some given places, but now, it seems that it is not the automatic "first choice" to clear an area that it used to be...

iridescentfyre · Jul 01, 2007, 04:56 AM // 04:56

Use terrain to your advantage. Use corners and bottlenecks to trap enemies and give them as few target options as possible. It also helps if your teammates stay the hell out of your aggro bubble. If you just simply cannot hold aggro (because it is hard sometimes), do your best to bodyblock and slow down enemies chasing your teammates.

Also, ignore your team when they bitch at you for not going after the Monk first--you're there to tank and protect your teammates, you have Elementalists and Necromancers and stuff to kill enemy casters. If you run in and start pounding on enemy casters first, like probably 99.8% of warriors do, your casters are on their own.

Moonstalker · Jul 01, 2007, 05:19 AM // 05:19

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stormlord Alex

Well, it *is* possible to tank in GW - however, to bunch up a mob, keep them aggro'd/blocked, etc. etc., requires 2 things:

1) Half-decent team mates. Sadly, next to non-existant in PvE. There's no way you can 'tank' when the 'tarded ele/ranger/mesmer wants to be a sword swing's away from the enemy. Tanking requires team co-operation, at the basic level this means your team stays out of yours (and the monster's) aggro.
Doesn't happen, ever - despite every jonny scrub screaming for a 'tank' for mission + bonus.

2) Time - it reqires a fair deal of walking round, to ball up the enemies for a 'clean' nuke. By the time the tank and his team have done this, a pack of SF and a dragon slash warr could have slaughtered the mob, and be on to the next. It's a mere waste of time to tank mobs for 99.9% of PvE.

In short, screw tanking, bugger all the lame warrior defense crap, and slaughter stuff as a Dragon Slasher.

Usually, I actually bring Sun and Moon Slash, and Dragon Slash, with Frenzy, and spam the frikken' heck out of monsters with those because I'm never the target. And after reading everything it's not as simple to get people to do certain things. They're not smart enough. Not to mention for a lot of quests I have to do it with Henchmen. Surely I succeed, but in a slow and boring process.

Shadis · Jul 01, 2007, 05:53 AM // 05:53

The most common reason I've seen for "Tanking" failing is that party members don't stay outside the Tank's aggro bubble. Make sure everyone understands that aspect before attempting to Tank.

Div · Jul 01, 2007, 06:24 AM // 06:24

You have to go in first, way before your teammates to grab the aggro. If not, the monsters will easily jump off of you and onto your team. Plus perfect tanking really isn't that vital (or possible in PuGs) outside of farming.

iridescentfyre · Jul 01, 2007, 03:08 PM // 15:08

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shadis

The most common reason I've seen for "Tanking" failing is that party members don't stay outside the Tank's aggro bubble. Make sure everyone understands that aspect before attempting to Tank.

In FoW last night, we had a monk that thought his staff was an appropriate weapon for pulling groups of enemies, while the Warrior was trying to get us out of his aggro bubble to tank properly. Reminded me of this thread.