Planning for GU 51 and dual boxing

[caeler]

<p>As many of us know, GU 51 is drastically going to affect the way that aggro is handled for many classes.</p><p>Additionally, a number of us are taking advantage of the Recruit a Friend program to try out dual-boxing since we can PL our 2nd account quickly.</p><p>Thus is my dilemma. My main is a SK, under current rule the best "box buddy" for him would be a defiler, since they both complement each other very well. This is also reasonable since the SK can currently churn out decent DPS while keeping aggro off the healer.</p><p>Based on my (limited) understanding, this appears to be out the window once GU 51 goes in, since my SK will have to stay in Def Stance to keep aggro, severely impacting the DPS and really slowing down the "kill pace".</p><p>With that in mind, would the new "box-buddy" for a SK be a dirge, since the dirge can basically be a dumb buff-bot and just trail around without gaining aggro?</p><p>Or is my understanding of the GU 51 changes completely incorrect?</p><p>What would be a good SK 2-box friend after GU 51 goes live? Or would a different combo work bettter (i have a warden also, could I start a scout to buddy with?</p><p>Trying to get it right the first time I PL my buddy <img src="/smilies/8a80c6485cd926be453217d59a84a888.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /></p><p>Thanks in advance!!</p>

[Jrral]

<p>I'm afraid that, the way GU51 is set up, the best tank in a duo is probably a swashbuckler or brigand spec'd for tanking. They'll have taunts and aggro while still putting out high DPS, and they wear heavy enough armor and get high enough avoidance that they can handle the hits from most solo content (and as fast as they kill they won't have to take the hits for long). Paired with any kind of healer they'll be able to burn through things really quickly without much risk of dying.</p><p>If you want a fighter in a duo, you're going to have to set things up to hold aggro by sheer DPS. Pair with a good healer class, get mastercrafted or better armor, and get every damage enhancement you can. Gear yourself like a scout or caster would depending on your class and abilities. Go for defensive stance only when you can pair with a high-damage class that can kill things for you. When paired with a healer, simply make believe you're a scout instead of a fighter.</p>

[caeler]

<p>Was thinking about that, my other high-level char is a warden, so was thinking of a swashy tank companion for him.</p><p>Or would there be another healer that would be better for a swashy tank?</p><p>It's sad that GU 51 is pretty much killing of the attactability of tanks for all but full group / raid situations, they are pretty [Removed for Content]-poor now for 2 and 3 char groups =(.</p><p>Guess the mad dash to SK with TSO is getting ready to swing the other way...but taking ALL the tanks with it.</p>

[Jrral]

<p>I think just about any healer will do for solo content. I've run a defiler with a swashie and it works pretty well. In general, in MC gear you'll be overpowered compared to most solo content so you've a lot of leeway and don't need to optimize very much.</p>

[Lethe5683]

<p>Almost any class can tank solo mobs quite well.  Dual boxing might make it harder but I have never done that before.</p>

[Daedalus Raistlin]

Have you tried Test Copy to see how your duo would work ? I've been playing a Monk/Mystic duo (Mystic is mentored down) on live and Test Copy, and the combo doesn't work that great on Live. Whenever my Mystic would heal, debuff, ward, or attack during a pull of multiple solo encounters (or a large group encounter), he'd pretty much always pull aggro, and my monk would spend forever trying to get the mobs back, while I'd have to just heal and ward the Mystic for a while. On Test, I managed to pull quite a few of the solo skeletons in TS (in the dried out river) and keep aggro on the monk, even when the Mystic was warding, healing, debuffing, AND dps'ing. This allowed the mobs to be killed quicker, since the monk had the mobs on him and could dps, and the mystic could dps, debuff and ward at the same time. I haven't tried anything coupled with my SK, as I don't have a high enough level healer on the second account to see see. Fear not though, as tanks CAN keep aggro purely through DPS, but it is harder. I tried that on my monk, offensive stance versus a yellow heroic encounter of gnolls in TS (4 of them), and found it was a bit difficult if the mystic went all out in debuffing and dps, though it was still do-able. Offensive stance vs a single heroic^^^ was easy, and I didn't lose aggro to the mystic when he was going all out. So before everyone starts thinking it's the end of the world, just give it a try and see how it goes. I like the changes, and haven't played my monk/mystic duo on live since copying over to Test, since I find it frustrating on Live, but heaps of fun on test.

[caeler]

<p>Interesting, so it was actually easier to dual box a tank after the changes?</p><p>Is that due to the tank not having to focus on DPS and instead letting the healer do the bulk of that work?</p>

[Generat]

<p>Try a Warlock.  I usually run with a SK tank and we compliment each other's abilities quite well.</p>

[caeler]

<p>Might try a lock, sounds like  a lot of button-spamming though =D</p>

[Azekah1]

<p>There is no way you will have to worry about a defiler getting aggro over a SK in offensive or defensive...</p><p>In fact, the sk just auto attacking might get more aggro...</p>

[Daedalus Raistlin]

<p><cite>caeleran wrote:</cite></p><blockquote><p>Interesting, so it was actually easier to dual box a tank after the changes?</p><p>Is that due to the tank not having to focus on DPS and instead letting the healer do the bulk of that work?</p></blockquote><p>The opposite actually.</p><p>Here is how a pull of multiple single encounters (about 7 or so, they're mostly blue to the monk, and he has good avoidance) at around level 25 on Live:</p><ul><li>Use his AoEs (one class AoE and the AA that gives an AoE)</li><li>Start hitting on the mobs and burning them down</li><li>After a bit of time, the monks health is starting to get low, so Mystic throws a ward or heal</li><li><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Mystic instantly pulls aggro from 1 - 4 of the mobs</li><li>Monk spends the next while getting those mobs back into himself, while the Mystic has to ward/heal himself to stay alive.</li></ul><div>This also happened to me on Live with a group encounter, though not as quickly since the group taunt was there.</div><div></div><div>On Test, a taunt aspect has been added to the monk's AoE, and in general the monk's taunts work a lot better and Mystic is pretty safe as long as he isn't putting mass wards and debuffs on.</div><div></div><div>On a group of 4 yellow heroics on Test, my monk was able to keep aggro on him while the mystic was debuffing and attacking the encounter, as well as warding the monk. On Live he would have been able to ward, perhaps debuff, but too much healing or debuffing would grab aggro, and doing any damage is pretty much out of the question.</div><div></div><div>EDIT: Apparently the most reason update to Test broke the taunt amounts, and they're not landing for what they're supposed to. I haven't logged in to see yet, though.</div>

[Azekah1]

<p><cite>Daedalus Raistlin wrote:</cite></p><blockquote><ul><li>Use his AoEs (one class AoE and the AA that gives an AoE)</li><li>Start hitting on the mobs and burning them down</li><li>After a bit of time, the monks health is starting to get low, so Mystic throws a ward or heal</li><li><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Mystic instantly pulls aggro from 1 - 4 of the mobs</li><li>Monk spends the next while getting those mobs back into himself, while the Mystic has to ward/heal himself to stay alive.</li></ul></blockquote><p>Get some better gear or upgrade your spells or learn to play your monk better tbh. If your mystic if pulling aggro after using a wards when your monk has been fighting a while then your doing something wrong...</p>

[Sharakari]

<p>If your dual boxing a toon that is just a buff bot or a healer, why would you need to be in Def Stance?  Your boxed toon is not likely to be fighting you for aggro thus you should still be able to go Offensive and plow them with DPS.</p>

[caeler]

<p>Shara, that's the issue with GU 51, offensive stance will now REDUCE aggro for a tank.</p><p>You havfe to either be in def or no stance to not actively REDUCE aggro (at least the way I read it).</p>

[Daedalus Raistlin]

The Monk is only level 25, in the Frostfell gear, and Ad3's or M1's, so he's hardly undergeared. The Mystic (was) a level 68, mentored down, and I guess the reason he kept pulling aggro was due to the level difference and the power of the spells. On Test currently, taunts are made into DE-taunts when you're in offensive. On Live, I'm just used to tanking in defensive, though there wasn't much change in going offensive - he still lost aggro when the Mystic so much as healed him. I may have been playing my monk entirely wrong; but I've been playing an SK for years, and by all accounts, I'm quite a decent tank, so I don't think I was playing it wrong.

[Jrral]

<p><cite>Sharakari@Unrest wrote:</cite></p><blockquote><p>If your dual boxing a toon that is just a buff bot or a healer, why would you need to be in Def Stance? Your boxed toon is not likely to be fighting you for aggro thus you should still be able to go Offensive and plow them with DPS.</p></blockquote><p>Because in offensive stance fighters take a major hit to aggro. Almost all their abilities that would generate aggro (taunts, threat procs) are turned off in offensive stance. On top of that, the last time I looked they take a decrease to their threat generation overall while in offensive stance, so even their damage generates less aggro than it would otherwise. With GU51 think of a fighter in offensive mode as a scout, because that's what the intended role for them seems to be. And all that makes it a lot harder to hold aggro, because the abilities are designed (according to Aeralik) to deliberately make it difficult to tank successfully in offensive mode.</p><p>Now, some classes can compensate. If you've got a class like a berserker who's got a lot of fast-firing high-damage CAs available, you can keep up a steady stream of damage to hold aggro. If you're a paladin or SK, though, with spells that take a relatively long time to cast, you run into the flip side of a wizard's aggro problem: drop-outs. Wizards pull aggro not because of their overall DPS, but because that DPS comes in huge spikes. A tank and a wizard may both be doing 2K DPS, but the tank's doing 2K damage each second for 5 seconds while the wizard is doing 0 damage for 4 seconds and 10K on the 5th second as his nuke lands. The opposite thing happens to a paladin: they stop generating aggro for several seconds while their spell's winding up, but the healer's still generating heal aggro all the while and they can pull aggro during that dead period.</p>