MT in a group .. keeping aggro

Zgog · 03-28-2008, 10:35 AM

Ok, it's very possible that I'm screwing things up, but I'd like some opinions, options and even flames.

Recently I've been having alot of trouble keeping aggro from several classes. Brigands, warlocks and even bruisers are just stealing the mobs constantly. I spam my 3 taunts (rarely the blue one for fear of pulling mobs 10 rooms away), yet I can't seem to keep the mobs on me.

I currently have the group fabled epic, and even when I dual wield the nathsar shortsword in my offhand, I can't keep the mobs on me. Taunts are all adept III.

My friend plays a 77 guardian, and he never loses aggro.

The zones my group usually do are RoK instances and chardok.

Pinski · 03-28-2008, 10:45 AM

Do these groups include some of hate-gain/hate-decrease? Like a Troub, Dirge, Assassin, Swash, or Coercer?

Shandreya · 03-28-2008, 10:46 AM

Some classes are tough with agro, and can pretty much rip at will, such as the ones you mentioned - usually they can avoid this (deagro poisons, deagro stance for bruisers, etc) to some extent, but not completely.

Make sure your group has at least one hate management class in it when you form it. Doesn't really matter which, obviously a Dirge is the best choice, but as long as you have one of Swashbuckler, Dirge, Troubador, Assassin, Coercer you shouldn't really have any problems - if you form a group with equally, or better- geared players and without one of those classes you can expect to lose agro to certain classes, we aren't paladins. Luckily that's a big list to choose from and you should be able to find at least one of the 5.. if you get invited to an already-formed PUG and it's a retarded setup, well.. grin and bear it, or leave!

Get gear like the Leviathan girdle from Chelsith, it helps a bit with holding agro when you have no buffs/transfers, it's not 100% reliable though.

Lyger · 03-28-2008, 01:08 PM

brigands are the biggest aggro whores and they can perma stun a mob so they won't get hit while they tank so i wouldn't worry about this one. warlocks in zones such as vaults will rip aggro if they go overboard and your temp AE buffs aren't up, an aggro reducer(troub) or transfer/gain(coercer/dirge) to you will help with this, if there is none then it will be a problem and the warlock has to be aware of it. bruisers using dev fist will rip aggro no matter how hard you try to control it, if they hit it too early and pull aggro and they get whacked then play them a tiny violin.

that is all.

Ruff · 03-29-2008, 11:48 AM

Another thing I found helpful is how I pull and what CAs to use.
In a group like that I try to rotate my big spells (actually most groups).

Use Destruction One fight, and Open Wounds the next. The INT AA line down to the 30 percent recast helps quite abit. Use Jaggurnaught as it is up during the battle -typically not on pull, unless you are trying to show off your dps - not that I ever did that

Destruction before the pull (since its a long cast, and is a trigger based spell anyhow.

Assuming you mean multiple mobs on pull : {Destruction or Open Wounds}, Single tuant, group taunt, the damage taunt, my blue and/or green AE damage, continute attacking until group taunt back up, and cycle through most of your CAs. Try to keep the mobs close together if you can, this allows you to hit more at once. Also, try to keep them infront of you, this helps with your reposte (assuming you took the stamina line).

I typically do not cast my two blue ae damage spells back to back, since they have a long recast, they can also disrupt your standard melee weapon. I'll usually get an extra CA or two between the two blue CAs.

If there is room, especially if its a name, use Insolence Gibe.

I almost never lost agro. If you are loosing agro you may want to point out to the group, that you need time to position the mob and flip. Have them not engage until the mob is flipped for at least 1-2 seconds. You then have more time to build up aggro, you also determine how long it takes you to flip the mob.

Laman · 04-02-2008, 01:17 PM

Make a colorful macro too, esp for encounter pulls to let trigger happy groups know the next pull might be all over the place. Make sure you include a bit about waiting a second before they go all out. But yeah the previous casting order for encounters helps a ton, other than that basic AA questions, i generally found my dps is almost always higher with a buckler than dw, but i've read lots of differing opinions on this. Also button mashing is overrated, make sure you carefully analyze
/weapon with your average haste in group to determine how often you use your CA's
this was taken from eq2forums:
Half Pint Heroes Forums :: View topic - Really good info on how Critical Hits work in eq2
good info on how auto attack stuff can be good dps.

anyways hope this helped

Laman · 04-02-2008, 01:41 PM

Wouldn't let me edit my post ^ but i forgot to mention for warrior class tank melee crit is also essential. 40%+ is really kind of necessary to keep aggro from other dps. I honestly never use my taunts except on pulls and on roamers/adds that find their way into your group. I save them for that purpose actually...lol (gotta keep em rdy for when that A.D.D ranger thinks they have to back up the full 35 meters to get a shot in lol, *ducks and runs away screaming*