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SK Tank
Character: Mathafern
Guild: Order of Honor
Server: Mistmoore
Posts: 12
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Re: Newb to tanking
The main tank should be the toughest defensive fighter in the group. Any fighter who can soak up damage and hold aggro can tank. Level, gear, and judgment are also a factor. A main tank should be prepared to:
-Take point
-Set the scene
-Make the pull
-Hold the aggro
-Watch out for the group
-Communicate
If you are not willing to do all of these, do not Main Tank!
Take Point
“Main Tank” doesn’t mean “group leader”. If someone else is leading, follow instructions. As MT you have to pay closer attention than anyone else, since you will likely be out front, in the lead. For a raid in particular, someone should make sure to announce who the Main Tank is and verify that everyone is fully buffing him. There can only be one Main Tank; if someone is rescue tanking or off tanking clarify with them under what circumstances they will be holding aggro.
Set the Scene
As tank, you may or may not be leading the group. You will be out front, though, so you will be choosing where to fight just by how you move. The group relies on the tank to be smart about this. It doesn’t hurt to establish where you’ll pull to with a quick “wait here” statement. In general the group will follow about 20 feet behind the tank. When you go to pull, be sure to let them know that you’ll be going out and coming back.
Making the Pull
Pulling is an art. Everyone has a different style, and no one style is necessarily the best. In general, though, if you want a group to trust you as tank, there are a few things you can do that will make things much smoother:
-Body pull. Walk forward slowly, getting even slower as you get close to the enemy. Take a line that brings you closer to one critter than any other, and as soon as you see it react (turn toward you), back up to your group. An enemy that is taunted, attacked, or affected in any way will call other enemies within a certain distance of that enemy, so don’t cast or swing until it is away from its friends. Sometimes it is desired to pull one enemy through a group of others without aggroing the others. The only way to do this is to range attack him when he's far away from friends, and then make sure nobody else attacks him as he runs through his friends. Do not use damage-over-time spells for this because if it tics while the enemy is pathing near friends, it will aggro the friends. When attacking or taunting an enemy that is part of a linked encounter, all members of the encounter will call friends. So, make sure ALL enemies that are part of the encounter have arrived before taunting or attacking them. It is very important however that the tank gets in the first hit or taunt, so make sure you don't turn the mob until you have taunted and make sure the group knows not to attack until after you have the enemy turned.
-Don’t pull the room. You may be able to take abuse, but the squishies in your group probably can’t. If you’ve been buffed, the enemy may take a direct line to casters and healers instead of to you- and they’ll be dead before you can get the enemy back on you.
-Pull as little as possible unless your group is overpowered. Don’t assume your group can handle multiple groups until you’ve taken out at least one group and maintained aggro, and no one is having health or power problems.
-Watch your group’s power. If it’s low, consider taking a power break.
-Turn the enemy. When you pull, run back to the group, hit your taunt, and then run slightly away from the group. This will cause the enemy to turn its back to the group, presenting a good target for back attacks, signaling the group that you have done your taunt, and giving you a view of the group so you can keep track if you lose aggro.
Hold the Aggro
When you target you can also see what your target is targeting. Unfortunately this only works for a single target. If you’ve pulled a group, or gotten an add, you still need to make sure you have aggro with everyone. Scan the party health bars to see if anyone is dropping suddenly. Healers, high DPS, and rival tanks have the best odds of pulling aggro off you. Know your taunts, all of them, and hit them as often as you need to. Use an aggressive stance, and if there’s a consistant problem don’t be afraid to ask advice or request that people modify their behavior. The most common problem is that group members are attacking too soon, and it is the tank's duty to ask them to wait until the enemy is turned before attacking or debuffing.
Targeting an enemy that is attacking a group-mate can be very tricky. Using the tab key is dangerous, but can also be the most effective way to switch targets during an encounter if you understand the following things:
- TAB can only target something that is visible on your screen
- In combat, TAB only cycles between enemies that are LINKED
- After all the enemies in an encounter die, TAB will target the next closest enemy
So, once combat has started, use TAB to cycle through encounter targets and taunt them as necessary. But, MAKE SURE you don't hit tab once the last enemy dies or the group will attack and pull a new target. If you pull more than one encounter, you will have to click on an enemy in the new encounter to cycle through them, then click back on the original encounter to get back to the main fight (when using a main assist, you can just target the MA to get back to the main fight).
You can also set up a hot key to target the NEAREST enemy, but that won't help you target an enemy that has run over to the squishies to beat on them.
Turning enemies so that their backs are to the group helps you see when one of them turns around to face the group and you can see when an add comes to the group from behind. Use your mouse to target them. Another effective tactic is to use area-of-affect spells, which for tanks, usually have a range of 7m or less.
Generally when a healer pulls aggro you can get it off quickly just by laying in a couple good hits. DPS are harder to “keep clean”, particularly if they are higher level or they managed to “accidentally” hit the aggro before you did. Sometimes this is something you need to clarify with them: “Wait till I turn them, then strike”; sometimes the math just works out in their favor and they get beaten to death. If you are frequently getting into a cycle of people pulling aggro off of you, then you need to change the game plan. Have people wait longer before their initial strikes, or tune down their attacks.
If a rival tank is pulling aggro off you, talk to them; they may misunderstand their role in the group. There is a role for them, that of rescue tank (more later); they should not be rescuing YOU however unless you really, really need it. In general only the main tank should be taunting; exceptions can be made if squishies are getting too much aggro.
Watch Out for the Group
Tanking one critter at a time is easy. Tanking multiple critters when there is wandering aggro is much harder. As tank you have to be aware of the layout, and keep track of where people are positioned. Try to keep the squishies away from where new aggro is likely to show up. If you know there are patrols, try to take them out first. Don’t be afraid to ask people to move.
Communicate
Get vent! If not everyone has vent, be prepared to type from time to time. When tanking, particularly leading and tanking, you have to let people know what is going on. If you don’t, don’t be surprised when everyone else is going one way when you go another. Normally, the group should be following the main tank about 20 feet behind, but sometimes the group is still busy with loot or with refreshing buffs or something and they can miss you running off into the next room.
The worst problems I’ve seen in groups have come from lack of communication. Mental telepathy only works when people have grouped often and have a routine. Otherwise, you have to tell people what you expect. Do not assume that people will magically follow you just because you head away from the group. If you hate to type, set up some macros:
-We’ll fight here
-Area clear, advance to here, we’ll fight here
-Danger, aggro close! Check your positions.
-To me my minions! (for boss charges)
-Going in 5 (enough time to hear and respond to objections- and get buffs)
-Power break
Rescue Tank
When there’s more than one tank in a group, a rescue tank can be assigned. Their role is to handle the aggro that the Main Tank can’t get to, or to pull the aggro off the main tank in an extreme situation, where the main is charmed or almost dead. In general you should rescue when:
-the main tank is busy and one of a group of critters is on the squishies
-an add shows up and goes right to the squishies
-the main tank’s health has been steadily declining and they are about to die
Remember to use Intercede if the tank is taking a beating. It is better for you to intercept a little damage than for the enemy to switch to you and making healing harder.
Off Tank
Off tank is another assigned role; off tanking implies a deliberate plan for more than one person to hold aggro at a time. In a group this is generally only during boss fights as part of a specialized strategy. In a raid, the off tank serves as the rescue tank. The off tank should be clearly identified so that healers know who they are.
Other Tanks
Not every tank will be in a tank role. Working in a group requires checking ego at the door; if your pride requires that you be the Main Tank you should consider more solo adventuring. If you are not in a tank role:
-Don’t taunt. Pulling aggro off the main tank wastes healer power, tank aggro, and slows everyone down.
-Configure for DPS.
-Buff the tank. If you have a mitigation transfer buff, use it.
-Stay with the group. Only the main tank should be running out to body pull; while your instincts may scream to grab some aggro, if you do, you will be hurting your group. Odds are the aggro you tag will run right to the healers and wipe them out.
Last edited by Mathafern; 12-03-2008 at 09:40 AM.
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