How do YOU keep aggro?

[megatra]

I am wondering what combos you all use to keep aggro. Lately I've been having issues keeping aggro and it is really starting to [Removed for Content] me off. I use power through an entire fight in an effort to keep aggro only to see the mob turn around and start attacking a caster. Of course I was killing lashers and they were red and orange to me at the time but still, we had another SK come in and he seemed to have an easier time doing it. My taunts are all at app3 (THANKS SOE FOR MAKING THE ADEPTS SO RARE). Every time I check the broker NONE to be found. Regardless of decree being app3, it is yellow to me right now so it SHOULD work like it is supposed to.

 

Anyway this is how I fight:

 

I pull with Grim Coil, cast Condemning Spirit on the run back, I decree of decay when the mob arrives, Phenzon's ruthless assault (the new unyielding advance with hate increase), then I just go down my line of skills and spells, painbringer, decrepit slam, fetid grasp, draw strength and back to grim coil. And sometimes if i remember to do so, i throw in some tainted caresses in there.

 

Is there something i am doing wrong? Do any of these spells erase hate or something? I am not getting it...

[Bannon]

Yea...your not using ALL of your taunts every time they become available.

 

 

Your the MT....not the DPS of the group....ALWAYS use every taunt you can as soon as it becomes available to hold agro.  Well...depending upon the fight =P

[m]

---

Bannon9k wrote:

Yea...your not using ALL of your taunts every time they become available.

 

 

Your the MT....not the DPS of the group....ALWAYS use every taunt you can as soon as it becomes available to hold agro.  Well...depending upon the fight =P

---

Agreed. Throw every taunt every chance you get. Us wizzies will far out damage you and draw aggro if you don't. Two hits later, I'm on the ground. Who knows where aggro is and the situation is starting to look bad.

[Bhodi]

try using a group taunt as part of your combat wheel....This is how i do it...

 

pull

Righteous Anger - whatever low power ranged spell i have....

next

start HO wheel

advance

with Grim coil(another ranged spell) ---the mob is now on me....

finish HO

area shout....

 

 

make sure your pull macro has something to this affect in it

 

/say Incomming %T. Please make sure not to INTERRUPT my first  HO to get aggro and keep YOU alive.

 

 

Also make sure that your group members are on assist to you...and not engaging other mob then primary target.....just remeber...YOU are main tank...you control the group....the speed of the pulls...the deaths adn xp loss.

 

Good Luck

 

im lvl 28 SK..have no problems in keeping aggro even when groupped with lvl31 Assasisn when my first HO goes off....

Message Edited by Bhodi on 01-07-2005 12:14 PM

[Trixst]

Here's how I do it (works 95% of the time):

 

1-Announce to group to wait until I complete my HO before using abilities.

2-Request a ward / heal over time / reactive heal before pulling

3-Pull with a ranged ability (Righteous Anger / Grim Coil)

4-Trigger HO

5-Advance HO with Righteous Anger / Grim Coil

6-Demonstration of Faith

7-Complete HO with area taunt if multiple mobs or Inflame if single. (not sure if area taunt generates 5 hate per mob and inflame generates 10 hate for a single mob but I figure it works in that type of way so I choose the taunt according to the type of pull)

 

At this point, I mash 3 or 4 of my big hate generators (Charge, Unyielding Advance and whichever decent dmg/power ratio attack I have).

 

From there, I usually have so much hate gained that I don't have to worry about it too much and I simply try to squeeze in my HO by quickly hitting the HO trigger / Faithful Swing to initiate the Wheel.

 

I then occasionally hit my charge / uniyielding advance to help save the healer power depending on how far ahead or behind I am in power compared to the mob's health and my teammates' power.

 

 

So far, that's how it works for me at 23.  As I gain new abilities, I just incorporate them into my attack strategies.  I think I get a disease debuff soon so I'll probably start pulling and/or using that right from the start.

 

 

Guln

23 Dwarf Shadowknight

Mistmoore server

[WuphonsReach]

1) If you have to *spam* your taunts on *every* fight... you're in a broken group. Now, sometimes bad things happen (messy pull, heavy stuns at the start, bugged mobs like Owlbears, mage/scout gets overzealous), but most of the time you should only need to taunt once at the start (or whenever completing an HO). A group that is forcing you to spam your taunts is not working with you to manage aggro.2) Completing an HO at the start of the pull is crucial for maintaining good aggro lock through the entire fight. Completing an HO gives you a huge boost in hate and is the easiest way to signal that you feel aggro is good for others to start in on the mob. It's especially important on messy pulls that your group waits for you to complete the HO (or helps you complete the HO). Messy pulls typically result in loose aggro, which means that the other group members need to be even more patient then usual.3) Use an incoming macro. I keep mine simple: "/g INCOMING [ %T ]".4) Make sure nobody is buffing during the pull. Don't pull until the healer has buffed you with a reactive heal / ward / heal over time. Get the group into the habit of not casting anything between the incoming call and completion of the HO.Now for practical stuff:Multi-mob pull:- select your target, wait for the healer spell- announce your incoming- pull with either [Removed for Content]/CS- ward yourself (which taunts all mobs in the encounter)- start your HO, advance with GC/[Removed for Content]/CS- use one of your AoE attacks (if safe)- complete using your encounter taunt (Decree of Decay / Shout)- use your other AoE attack- recast your ward as needed to increase hate with all mobs- use your encounter taunt only if there's a mage AoE'ing (usually not needed)- use [Removed for Content]/CS as cheap aggro on the current mobSingle mob is very similar.- select your target, wait for the healer spell- announce your incoming- pull with either [Removed for Content]/CS- ward yourself- start your HO, advance with GC/[Removed for Content]/CS- complete using your single-target taunt- chain-cast [Removed for Content]/CS for aggro- toss more wards if the healer is running out of power faster then youIf you lose aggro, it will be extremely difficult to get it back (seems to be a basic issue with all taunts for all fighters). Basically, if you lose aggro, expect that it will take 2 bubbles of power to get it back (very very very inefficient).

[Trixst]

---

WuphonsReach wrote:
Single mob is very similar.

- select your target, wait for the healer spell
- announce your incoming
- pull with either [Removed for Content]/CS
- ward yourself
- start your HO, advance with GC/[Removed for Content]/CS
- complete using your single-target taunt
- chain-cast [Removed for Content]/CS for aggro
- toss more wards if the healer is running out of power faster then you

If you lose aggro, it will be extremely difficult to get it back (seems to be a basic issue with all taunts for all fighters). Basically, if you lose aggro, expect that it will take 2 bubbles of power to get it back (very very very inefficient).

---

Looks like we pretty much use the same type of tactic although I'd recommend using your Ward after you bring up the Combat Wheel instead of before as this allows your teammates to start spellcasting as well and by that time, you've usually got enough aggro and it's more efficient to have them start their debuffs and heals and so on.  Although if aggro really is an issue by doing it the way I mentionned, I could see some tanks opting to ward first to gain even more aggro before the wheel comes up.

Message Edited by Trixster on 01-07-2005 04:44 PM

[WuphonsReach]

I'd say it's about 50-50 whether I ward first or HO first. Depends on the mob and the situation.

[olo]

Just from personal exp, if someone is warding you in grp alrdy then theirs will overwrite your's.  I usually (if a shammy in the grp) use ward when they getting lom, or oom.

[Kilo]

I pull with Consume Vitae(or Baleful Smite if I'm in the mood), hit my trusty inc macro that's been with me since level 9, throw a Zarn's Plague Cloud(Disease Cloud before traits were in) and then toss up a Shriek of Terror. That's usually all I need to do, unless I'm really getting beat on, then the mob will sometimes get mad at the healers, but 1 DC/SoT peels it off. This even tends to keep agro on more than one encounter at a time when you accidentally pull 2 or the mobs were within BAF range, don't know how it does it, but it does. I also tend to throw a few more Zarn's Plague Clouds out, as on a 5 second reset, it can't hurt on DUPs, if they're a SUP, I usually do a single more Zarn's Plague Cloud on the one I currently have targetted, if it's a group of no arrows, all I do is Shriek of Terror, they die too fast to agro on anyone else.

[Rylight]

another thing that you should remember is that call to arms and unholy....... ( oh crap i forgot what the name of the spell was!!!!) anyways, the two buffs that buff up your whole party also increase aggro slightly, so it may be better to use it in the middle of combat and not before, or even use it if you have already used it before the fight started. admittingly it doesnt generate alot of hate, but i have been known to pull mobs off healers using these two when my taunt and shout are out, and as an sk every little bit of aggro helps!

[Coercit]

Pretty much doing the same as everyone but for one point. I dual box Inqui + SK so it is quite easy for me to throw a reactive heal on SK, then pull and start OH and so on.Huge advantage is this heal won't come to build agro against Inqui, meaning it will give me some kind of "agro free" heal, thus I have most of the time enought space to land 2 OH with some other debuff / offensive spell to cast.Looks like this :- Inqui send some reactive heal, his best one as mana will regen very fast till fight occurs- pull with grim coil or some other long range attack- while I run back to group, I sens my ward, you can cast it while running (surely a bug that will be fixed as soon as some other dumb will read this and then cry for nerf / fix)- I start OH, this can be done while running as well- once OH is over, I land most of the time "tainted caress", just to get essence, this will make money if I don't use it- start another OH.At this point, mob is really on me, hard to lose agro, especially if I keep on landing some nasty spell on him (those spells that don't really hit him but will curse him, we have many like this).Of course, if the mob hit for very much, I can cast another ward and Inqui can heal me twice but not likely to happen often since the reactive heal of the beginning will allow me to "play with whites" (dunno if man call white stuff in chess "whites" but who cares ? )But I dual box, not always possible to do like that. You can even start with your ward and then, pull...you'll be able to cast another ward before ppl start the fight.

[Macki]

at 45, I put about 2-3 real taunts into the mob at the start of the fight, and use my Pariah's Mark attack which is an update to Painbringer/Faithful swing, which adds some hate every attack.. Doing that I never lose aggro.