tanking help

[Rored]

Alright, I realize this has more than likely been asked before, but I can't seem to find an answer. I frequently run into a problem where the healer will throw a big heal on me when my health is in the orange, and draw aggro from the mob or mobs that the group is fighting and I have a terrible time getting aggro back. I try all the aggro-getting skills I can think of, but it never seems to work and the healer usually ends up tanking the rest of the fight. Not such a big deal in the 20s (so far no groups wiped because of it), but I imagine later on it WILL be a problem. Am I doing something wrong, or not doing something I should be? And if it's the healer causing it, is there some way to counter-act that? Your input is most appreciated.

[Morriz]

Group buffs pull nice agro, as do your big damage skills.I can't remember when you get it, but Wisdom of Zephyl works nicely.My routine goes something like this:Pull with group taunt (even on a single mob, it has a longer recast than single taunt)AutoattackTauntWisdom of ZephylStart using the damage combat arts, recycling Group Taunt/Taunt where I can.I've also found when fighting multiple mobs (w/o a Mezer, if you're with a messer agro control should never really be a problem) that the AOE dmg skills are very worthwhile for taunt. The extra dmg never really impressed me but the taunt factor makes them great =).

[Edyil]

<DIV>Yeah there are lots of thread on this.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Pull with an agro skill.  Shout has a long range as do its follow up agro skills.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Start the battle with a slew of specials combined with your agro skills.  Doing 1/4th to 1/8th of a bubble damage before the group even gets started will almost assure you agro for the entire fight.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Call to Arms generates additional agro.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>You get shield skills and Hate Reducing buffs to cast on members of your group.  Use them.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>For grouped mobs, use your Crushing Anvil HO.  Make sure it is a single arrow on the wheel so all mobs in the encounter are hit.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>For grouped mobs, make sure to use your AOE attacks to generate further agro.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>For tough grouped mobs, tell the group that you are going to cycle thru the mobs before you settle on one to kill.  Give each mob a special attack of some kind and a taunt, then move to the next.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV> </DIV>

[Rored]

Cool, thanks for the responses. I do all of that except cycle through a group of multiple mobs, I'll try that tonight and see if it helps. Problem I've had with the group ae's is I only seem to have 1 at a time, first was assualt, now sparking cobra. Unless I got one and put it away not realizing what it was. Anyways, thanks for the help.

[Jenj]

<DIV>If the healer is pulling aggro from you, there is definately a problem (maybe could be the common scenario post-patch b/c monks seemingly takes alot more damage). Your taunts arent up-to-snuff (app3+ or recommended adept1), you arent tauntning enuff, your getting hit too often (healers have to healer faster), your weapons are sub-par, or the healer is healing to often. Assuming you have brawler's stance-up, cycling the 2 aggro skills should be more than enough to hold aggro. From my experience, you dont need to cast the group buffs or self buffs to hold aggro. Although, if you can pull with taunt or range then taunt, thats always a good way to start. Sometimes if you do a ranged attack and get whacked on the way back before taunting, theres a good chance the healer could get aggro.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>-Jenjer</DIV>

[Rored]

All of my skills are app4 or better, and my weapons and armor are all orange. I think the problem is that I'm not getting enough aggro from the other mobs in the group, so I need to cycle through them. I didn't get a chance to try it last night, hopefully this weekend will go better. I was grouping with a healer that wouldn't heal me at all till my health was in the orange, then threw a big heal on me. Will taunting each mob individually as well as the group taunts help with that? Or should I stay away from healers that do that? Thanks again for helping me be a better tank. =)

[DrMod]

I have similar problems as to what you are describing with my monk char.I find that starting with a group taunt and as stated, cycling through the group hitting them and putting on the single taunt seems to help quite well.Only problem is obviously the Monks light armour, not exactly the best for tanking, although groups of the similar sort of lvl arnt tobad with a good healer <img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" />

[Bladewind]

<DIV>You might want to hint that keeping a monk 'topped off' (healing around 75%) on health rather than waiting until they hit orange is much safer due to the fact that we can have a bad run and be hit hard multiple times on occasion.  In adition to preventing those oh so nasty wipes, as you observed, this will cause the priest to use smaller heals which prevent huge spikes in hate generated by the large heals.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>I did not have problems holding aggro at your level, but tthings have changed since I was 23.  I will tell you at 30, I very rarely lose aggro at all, and my scheme is to pull with a taunt, wisdom of zephyl, sparking cobra (if safe to use), karmic focus (forget what the lower level version is, but it is a self-defensive buff), then pour it on with damage moves and recycle taunts as they become available.  At 23, you are in the last level of what is a bit of a transition phase from brawler to monk, and as a consequence, your relatively low tranquility might be hindering your ability to use your arts effectively, regardless of how upgraded they are.  You will get rescue soon which is great for an emergency peel onto your healer, but has a very long reuse timer (20 min or so).  I am fairly sure once you get another level or two, you will see your 20+ arts becoming much more effectve as your tranquility skill increases.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Also keep in mind that some group mobs have scripted peels (owl bears in Nek for instance) and will gun for a mage or healer once only one critter from the group is left alive regardless of how much hate you have generated.</DIV>

[Rored]

Wow, I wasn't aware of the things like the owlbears in Nek, thanks for the info, it'll come in handy. Again, thanks for all the info everyone, it's been most helpful, and thanks for not flaming me for putting up a post that's been talked about over and over......I searched through probably 10 pages and couldn't find anything I hadn't already tried. Thanks again.

[DrMod]

Well i am lvl 32 at the moment and personally i think that rescue spell is pretty lame. It only works for me about 25% of the time.Although spamming off powerful attacks helps keep the agro, i do find that when soloing, my power disapears quite quick.When in groups i only use my 2 or 3 best attacks and the rest of the power saved for taunting and my single AOE attacks.Id highly reccomend doing this and let everyone else use their power for attacking unless of course your in a group of 2 with a healer then you might have to do a lot of attacks or just melee your target to death <img src="/smilies/69934afc394145350659cd7add244ca9.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" />