Halls of Fate Advice

[Kaz]

In my usual groups, 99% of the time I am the main tank. I have tanked almost all T7 zones and not had a problem, even when stuff was 4 and 5 levels higher than me. That is until I went into Halls of Fate last night. I had read some stuff on the boards about a shaman type helping a monk tank in there, but we couldn't find one and our group make up was 70 ranger, 70 wiz, 68 chanter, 68 temp, 69 fury and me (69 monk). Buffed I had almost 8800hp, 2600 mit and 62% avoidance and I got my [expletive haxx0red by Raijinn] handed to me, over and over...it is still sore today. We couldn't make it past the first named and that stuff was blue to me...BLUE! I was only avoiding about every other hit and when I was getting hit, it was not just a hit, but pull my guts out and wrap them around my neck type of hit from 1k up to over 3K and getting tripled in double quick time for up to 5K. I was in full def mode, all the mit gear I had on, and when it came to that named, I couldn't stay up long enough to even get the mountain line up and if I did, I wouldn't have sufficient agro and someone else dropped. I have never not been able to adjust tactics and take something down and last night was a true failure for me and I felt like crap we had to leave the zone because I couldn't stay upright. I know the obvious answer is to take a mystic or shaman, but with the group I run with, there isn't one. Wardens, furies, and temps mostly is what we have in a group. I am looking for advice, tactics, suggestions, something other than I suck, because I know I don't, well I was sure I didn't until last night. <span>:smileyindifferent:</span> <div></div>

[Sslarrga]

<DIV>A shammy will help but if you aren't getting past there with a temp and a fury you probably won't do much better with a shammy.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Some things that will help.  Make sure healers cure TRAUMA on you ASAP if you get hit by one.  Chances are it's debilitate which means your mitigation goes down to Zero.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Conjurors also help quite a bit.  Their group mitigation buff helps quite a bit.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Bring a mezzer.  A mezzer pretty much makes this zone a walk in the park for just about anyone if you have 2 healers.  Especially if they mez the right mobs.  And slows are always nice.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Later on you'll meet up with Centurions and Bezerkers who are a whole new level of pain for you.  But until then your greatest threat are Destroyers and whatever the mob is that casts debilitate (starts with an R, my memory is shot).</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Also the first named will mez you at some point during the fight if you don't kill it fast enough.  Either cure it yourself or have someone in group ready to cure mental.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>With 3800+ mit fully buffed I can do the zone with just a templar.  But pretty much will die an average of 2-5 times.  2 healers is pretty much needed for me still if I don't want to die a few times.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Regards,</DIV> <DIV>Croaker</DIV>

[Zabumt]

<DIV>Cure, cure, CURE.  As a priest, I make sure to let my other priest know that first priority on every pull is to cure trauma in hof.  Even plate tanks take a dive if they're not cured asap.  It's not your tanking ability, it's your priests.  <img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /></DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Have fun.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV>

[Kronadin]

<DIV>What Zabumtik said -- it's all about the priests being fast on cures. Also, as always, stuns and stifles are very helpful -- have everyone use them systematically to keep every mob stifled for as much of the time as possible.</DIV>

[shaolen]

<BR> <BLOCKQUOTE> <HR> Kazho wrote:<BR> I am looking for advice, tactics, suggestions, something other than I suck, because I know I don't, well I was sure I didn't until last night. <SPAN>:smileyindifferent:</SPAN><BR> <BR> <HR> </BLOCKQUOTE><BR>Believe me it is not you Kazho.  If that trauma isn't spam cured by the healers no one can tank in there, even heavy tanks.   The further in you go the more important it becomes. 

[PrimusPilus]

Uh, is that a typo, 2600 mit fully group buffed and 62% avoidence? What is your mit simply self buffed, in defensive stance? What level is your defensive stance and what kind of armor and jewlrey are you wearing?I find it fairly easy to get to 2600-2700 mit simply self buffed, with commonly available armor (some a little less common but most of it easily buyable or lootable) and minimum 66% avoidence. You should be able to reach perhaps 3200-3400 mit group buffed fairly easily.Also, is all your armor tier 7? If not, upgrade ASAP, the monsters are greying out your armor. Head to the den and get chitin rings and perhaps some armor.meanwhile, if that was a typo, and you ment to say 3600 mit group buffed, then you need the rest of the advice you saw in this thread.Also, it should be noted that update 24 is in the works. It reduced the duration of knowckdowns and stuns a fair amount. Now normally I would expect that with this change, the Halls would become undoable, even by plate tanks, since those monsters will now be able to hit you for uber damage and, being unstunned, do it again. Halls seems to be one of those dungeons that the devs optimized to give a challenge in a chain stun world, by giving monsters more damage hits more accuratly so as to still put out challenging damage despit being stunned a lot (one of the devs mentioned this, although Halls wasn't mentioned by name). Now IF the devs realise that monsters that are unstunned say 30% more often need their damage nerfed if they are not to now put out 30% more damage and be unkillable by any normal group and even some not normal groups, then the devs will nerf those super high damage hits and the spike damage will go down, the accuracy might also go down since they get to hit more often and thus do not absolutly NEED to hit every time they get a brief unstunned chance to do so. Thus, IF the devs realise the full import of the chancges to stun duration (I pointed it out, whether they will listen is another story) then Monkdom, tanking wise, should become easier. If not, then when the stuns are nerfed, Halls will become undoable, the howls will be heard everywhere, and changes will follow which will result in those nerfs to monsters I just spoke of eventually (either that or defensive improvements of some kind).At the very least, future expansion or update monsters should become more monk doable after the nerf to stuns, since the devs said that one of the things they found themselves having to do was give monsters very high damage hits to get around being chain stunned, so future monsters will hit more often for less damage which is just what a monk can handle. So the long term actually looks bright for monks.It's only the short term I'm worried about, since I'v seen this sort of thing before with sudden changes that the Devs don't realise the full effect of that can ruin the game. While they might eventually fix it, many players might have left in disgust, and that's bad.

[Gungo]

Most named in HoF are already stun immune. So the stun nerf will not have a huge impact there. Now the trash liek the bezerkers in HoF will be a bit harder to tank.

[Supp]

<DIV>Hiya Kaz, </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Self buffed alone In def stance, I have 2600 mit and 71% avoidance, and I have no fabled gear, sadly <img src="/smilies/9d71f0541cff0a302a0309c5079e8dee.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /> In group, I would expect a minimum of 3K mit, preferably 3500. Remember that deflection gear is more important than parry, and wayy more important than defense. So concentrate on that in gear. In the beginning of the zone, there is a trauma called Debilitate, as previously mentioned. It reduces your mit by 4K, and lasts over a minute. It must be cured off or you'll drop like a druid. Further, the first named is a MAJOR undercon. You've got to make use of your spirit like mountain, self heal, self cure, ward, and tsunami. </DIV>

[Gungo]

I agree with you on defnese not being a priority to cap but why is deflection better then parry. I find that in defensive stance i am alot lower on parry skill then deflection. There is only 1 class that can buff my parry (dirge) and msot brawler items have + deflection. Fewer brawler items have + parry. To me it seems you want to have the most you can in all 3 categories in order to get the most results form your skill points.

[Prothos]

Did HoF the first time tonight with 67 Monk(Me), 70 Inq, 70 Defiler, 64 Guardian, 66 Necro, and a 70 Assasin.  We went all the way to the dragon for Hat quest and won.  We did wipe 2 times before winning but we did it with a 67mnk tanking I was roughly 11000hp buffed.  I also used a 200 something hp buff potion to break 11k hp buffed.  I was right uner it with out it.  Just keep at it and you will figure out the right strats.  Its all about finding out which mob to pull from where and such.  I was positive we could not do it to begin with but in the end we got what I needed and I got to tank for my hat quest.

[Prothos]

My avoid was around 74.2ish btw.

[-UGG-Andy]

<P>grats on tanking it,i got bored trying and just used my 70 pally,and did the whole thing without wiping,using potions,and with just one healer.Even had no prob with adds.</P> <P>Thats tanking equality for you:smileytongue:</P>

[djinnz]

<P>i tank hof most nights with my bruiser, its taken a while to get to the point where i can tank through without problems. the best healer combo i found so far (bareing in mind the defiler is fixed as its my boxed char) is temp defiler. advice regarding healing trauma asap is on the ball. i noticed a good improvement when i got the later items from the claymore quest line, i have the belt and the earing, they add lots of additions to all physical damage, the shoulders are nice also.</P> <P>with the 1st named, its important to note at some point in the fight you will always lose agro as he mem wipes once that i can figure, so save rescue and be rdy for that. other wise keep him at range to avoid ae on casters</P> <P> </P> <P>2nd named again has a slight ae so keep healers at range (skip this named by pulling around him and running underneath him when he is upstairs, if u want his reward at end)</P> <P> </P> <P>3rd named nukes a bit, but other wise uneventful mob, no ae of any interest i remember i pull him up to the top area myself but its doesnt really matter. (avoid him by dropping down behind him then using a volitile liquid, loot this from sothis room on a previous run, on the clickable egg at the back of room, have group stand back and run back  off yourself once you have clicked egg, this will move the named to the egg and out the way  allowing u 2 get by without killing him. also have one player pick up the item from the table where this named was stood, they can inspect it once in inventory will give them quest to get rewards for group at end)</P> <P>edit: just wanted to add, did a run the other night and this named hit a huge ae killing one healer out right, not sure if its always been there and we just avoided it or it was just an odditiy, just didnt want to miss inform, seems he can have an ae</P> <P> </P> <P>4th named this guy is just a mofo to tank, hits like a truck, i tank in the corner by one of the the archs, i pull with taunt and my debuff, then mend on the way back, i have the healers spam absoultley everything on me, i hit recue early on, i ask everyone in the group to use every special long recast abilities they have to debuff damage or whatever and he goes down,  get one rounded by him 1 in every say 5 attempts. alternate strat i seen other groups that im not leading use, is to root with a mage and chain cast root, everyone else burns down, he runs very slowly so this is doable, but cheap. he is spawned by turning the machine off on the table</P> <P> </P> <P>5th named head left at junction, ring event dont enter room other than to pull try not to stray left or right if u can pull the mobs out from ranged, next wave will b 3 groups (these have knock back), pull them the same way, now named spawns he will kill 3 of the 6 mobs in there, stay back and watch, last 3 will run out after about 2 mins, they arnt to hard but will take your casters down so be rdy to change targets and keep agro on 3 targets. pull named he has an Ae but casts it usually only once during fight, i do nothing special tanking him really</P> <P> </P> <P>6th named is the dragon clear to him, and  the 2 roaming groups pathing up the sides, have each group member head down the side and take a volatile liquid, then have them all back right up the stairs to the door, make sure you have sow and pull sothis right back to the door, a fury with cheetah is very handy for this pull, burn him down at door, he has an ae every 60 secs ish, doesnt do much damage but knocks back and stuns, so i tank with back to doors and have the healers trapped in against the small parts of the wall that stick out. i once got no chest at all tanking here, no clue why, but otherwise always works well, adds will path up now, walking very slowly u can use volatile liquids to kill them or just fight, if u were quick u will have 2 adds if slow 3, they never reach me b4 sothis is dead these days.</P> <P> </P> <P>7th named is a ranged fight ae hits casters hard otherwise pretty easy (to skip him you will need to loot the poison at back of sothis room on table, place it in the cauldron when he paths away he will pass out and u can get by,  i wouldnt ae by him though.</P> <P> </P> <P>8th named, last guy i tank in end room by the side of the door, have healers across the otherside of door, he hits hardish and has a divine ae, otherwise i find him easier than the tabled named. </P> <P>(to finish alt way of doing hof and get rweards, person with quest they got from item earlier re inspects the item in inventory, then hails the npc that flys down, 3 more will enter all can hail these to update quests, they will drop a chest each, chest need to be looked in by all as no lotto, watch for no trade on legendry</P> <P> </P> <P>other mobs of interest: </P> <P>the cents which give the hat update are the 1st tough mobs u will hit, corner tank them keeping healers at range as they have ae and single target knockback , trauma cures a must here.</P> <P>the zerkers just following sothis are likely the toughest trash and as tough as some named, but they almost excatly the same strat as cents, except they come with 2 small adds i always take the main mob 1st and ask the group to go easy on ae and burn down the main mob with me. i let the healers know which corner il be tanking in b4 pull so they can get into postion and avoid "cant not see target" messages</P> <P> </P> <P>stances: i use defensive stance for table named last named and zerkers, always warn the group im going to and to watch agro, use mid stance for the rest, unless the 2nd healer in group is weak (pick up groups can be hit n miss hehe) and then il defensive tank the lot</P> <P>hope there is some info there of use, im sure most bits everyone already knows, but was at a loose end during downtime thought id share my xperiences in hof</P> <P> </P> <P> </P> <P> </P><p>Message Edited by djinnz on <span class=date_text>05-22-2006</span> <span class=time_text>01:06 PM</span>

[Kaz]

Wow, nice walk through djinnz! And thanks to everyone for the advice. As for mit, it is my weak spot, but I keep checking the brokers and not sure what else I can upgrade. I guess I need to finish working through Claymore. The only thing I could lay some plat down for would be a hat, but if I could finish HoF, would have my Hoo'lah hat. <span>:smileytongue:</span> I did break down and bought a couple of small updagrade items and brought self buffed mit up to around 2300 in def stance, with no potions or anything. I am getting close to 70, will give it another go at that point and perhaps some more quested gear. I am not in a raiding guild, so that gear is not an option at this point. You can check out my gear <a href="http://eq2players.station.sony.com/en/pplayer.vm?characterId=282470102" target=_blank>here</a> for any suggestions. <span>:smileyhappy:</span> <div></div>

[Raidi Sovin'faile]

<DIV>Get into some Den of the Devourer groups (as DPS if you have to). You will most likely get at LEAST the <A href="http://img204.imageshack.us/img204/3100/queenscarapace9de.jpg" target=_blank>Queen's Carapace</A>  ( aITEM 790872171 -1827781541:Queen's Carapace/a ). It's not uncommon to see TWO drop!</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Better still, there's a couple rings that can drop:</DIV> <DIV><A href="http://img131.imageshack.us/img131/5151/darkchitinring4cu.jpg" target=_blank>Dark Chitin Ring</A> ( aITEM 705444478 1581188994<img src="/smilies/283a16da79f3aa23fe1025c96295f04f.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" />ark Chitin Ring/a )</DIV> <DIV><A href="http://img482.imageshack.us/img482/2866/lightchitinring5uz.jpg" target=_blank>Light Chitin Ring</A> ( aITEM -1446646240 -1471625215:Light Chitin Ring/a )</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>I was lucky and found one dark chitin ring selling at 80gold.. and a light chitin ring selling at 4pp. That combo can give an overall +205 mitigation right there, as well as some decent resists.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>The named from the ring event in HoF (Ishi Kurrat) can drop an <A href="http://img225.imageshack.us/img225/7443/abominablemantle7ka.jpg" target=_blank>Abominable Mantle</A> ( aITEM 292209531 -181809036:Abominable Mantle/a ) as well, which is pretty decent mix of stats, mitigation and resists. An alternative is the Skywatcher's drop, <A href="http://img60.imageshack.us/img60/6534/manaclesofdarksky1ti.jpg" target=_blank>Manacles of Dark Sky</A> ( aITEM 1095915921 291098660:Manacles of Dark Sky/a ). He's found at the very top beginning pool on temple grounds in tenebrous. It's a little mini ring event to make him attackable, and should be an easy duo at your level with a healer. Placeholder is a starwatcher i think. That stifle can be pretty nice and it's even higher mitigation. Good for pre-claymore or fabled. (Hell stifle should still be nice after LU 24, unless they nerf it to hell).</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Also, there's some nice equipment you can get from doing some collection quests:</DIV> <DIV><U></U> </DIV> <DIV><U>Aviak Feather Charm</U> (sorry no pic.. +15 to str/agi/sta, 50hp/25pow, 390cold/260heat, +65mitigation) ( aITEM 117005564 1567849638:Aviak-Feather Charm/a ) ... You get this one (chooseable between this and a hooluk one for casters) by doing the bird feather collection. Need 9 feathers in all, brown/crimson/dark of aviak/hooluk/vultak, all are found off question marks in Barren Sky.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV><U>Planar Orb of the Warrior</U> (again, no pic... +20 Str, 65hp/15pow, +4 defense, procs: 5% chance of 12s buff - heals 124-186 and +130 mitigation) ( aITEM 1428976796 -2025946369<img src="/smilies/69934afc394145350659cd7add244ca9.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" />lanar Orb of Water/a ) ... This one is found mostly in Bonemire, and chooseable over the Wanderer one, which has +Agi, higher power, and + piercing for stats, and a proc that has 5% chance of 3 hits of 77-115. Nice... but honestly, it doesn't proc often, and piercing doesn't help us most of the time. I get more mileage out of +4 Defense, and the chance of a bit of healing, and short bonus of mitigation is just gravy.</DIV> <DIV>Of course... you'll eventually get better tanking ears, so if you don't want to pass your chance at a proc'ing earing, then by all means get the proc one. Not sure if that proc would compare to having 20+ strength in that slot.. but who knows.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Anyways.. with those things equipped and the rest of my gear comparable to what you have, I'm sitting at 2770+ mitigation, and over 70% avoidance. Self buffed (as a bruiser).</DIV> <DIV>Granted, I have master 1 in my Str/Agi buff (+85 Str and +128 Agi) as well as my defensive buff (+464 mitigation), but you shouldn't be that far behind even without agi buff or master 1 defensive.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>The hardest ones to get will be the rings (unless you are lucky). The rest would only take a little time or minimal cash, unless your server is nutz on broker prices... in which case a bit more time and effort on your part. You could even buy the queen's carapace on broker for dirt cheap i'm sure (seen em go for 20g with tons on market), but you should go to Den anyways for a chance at the rings and master spells.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Hope this helps some.</DIV><p>Message Edited by Raidi Sovin'faile on <span class=date_text>05-20-2006</span> <span class=time_text>06:13 AM</span>

[Kaz]

I do have the Queen's Carapace which I pull out for tanking the tough stuff. I also flip between the FBSS and the<a href="http://eq2players.station.sony.com/en/item.vm?itemId=122412" target=_blank> Ash Root Cord</a> for added HP and resists for tougher fights. I have made a few trips to the Den, just have never been lucky enough to win a roll on the rings. <span>:smileymad:</span> I will look into getting the other stuff. I have debated on whether to plop down the cash for the Mancles, they are going for between 3 and 5pp on my sever and it only gives an additional 20 mit or so from what I have or hold out for the Claymore ones. <div></div>