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09-12-2013, 04:42 PM
Hey guys! I've seen lots of threads in the Tank section with some new warriors being sick of their lack of taunt and/or general uselessness with regards to DPS or levelling in general until they're geared out so I wanted to make a post here to explain a little something about zerker tanking.
What is it?
Zerker tanking is where a Warrior (needs to be warrior) is brought down below 40% so that he/she has a chance of getting crippling blows (level 13 is the level I believe warriors get this ability at). Crippling blows hit for I believe 4x the normal max damage so this can be a pretty powerful tool, even if you have crap for weps.
How to get started:
- As a warrior, find a healer (Shaman works best due to slows) and figure out somewhere you can do some fairly safe single pulls. I emphasize singles because at less than 40% health you are going to be fairly gimped if things go tits up.
- Start fighting mobs. The lower con dark blue mobs are the best because you will be able to successfully taunt, score more hits and successfully taunt more often.
- Keep swinging. At this point, I would switch over to allow the healer to make pulls and judge the battlefield as your job is to keep that autoattack on and land big blows.
As the Healer:
Your job of healing is now extremely important. It is highly recommended to keep your warrior between 20 and 40% as letting him go below that initiates low-hp agro. Here is how you can effectively manage pulls and keep things moving at a nice clip for you and your warrior.
Buffs:
You will always want to keep your warrior buffed. This is a must - he will need AC, HP, STA, STR, AGI, Regen if possible and most importantly (in terms of dmg) DEX. Critical hits and crippling blows feed off of DEX so keep all those buffs up.
Strat:
If you are a Cleric or a Druid I would suggest having the warrior do the pulls as you do not need to debuff or anything else. Just keep thorns and snare up (if possible) to maximize damage and minimize risk. Druids will have the hardest time so I would consider only doing low-hp trios in this case.
As a Shaman, you have a slightly more complex job, however, you can accomplish this task quite a bit more efficiently leading to the ability to chain these pulls and get CRAZY xp. The strategy that has worked best for me has been to pull with slow and root park in front of the tank using my lowest root (30m lv 5 I think). This root allows you the ability to take no damage and therefore, stockpile your hp for mana. 90HP is the cutoff - if you think you're going to take more than 90 damage before the warrior takes agro, root him. The mana you spent on root just saved you more in HP for canni than it cost to cast.
Also, keep in mind that at level 34 and beyond you have a pet. Get a mage focus item and be ready if things go bad to reclaim that badboy for mana.
Notes:
Here is a list of subtle hints I've figured out since doing this:
- Slow is like spike agro in that it seems to have an extremely high initial agro. I have found that if I slow first, the warrior maybe needs to taunt once and get a round of attacks off before they take agro. If the warrior engages first, there are lots of times when I could drop slow at 70% and still grab agro from him for 1-2 rounds. Slow first, let warrior work.
- If you decide to chain enemies, do not chain enemies that are on the same agro table. As you pile enemies around the warrior they are emboldened and will not flee. Remember: the last 20% of their life is free time. Use it wisely.
- Low Dark Blue mobs are the best mobs to fight. Mobs equal to or higher than the warrior will be very difficult to taunt. See below for mob range and suggested level range.
- Casters are not worth it. Period.
- This practice is best done in safer outdoor zones. Don't try this in dungeons or full groups - it's not worth it. This is a great way to earn experience quickly in a casual way.
EXP spots and level range:
Like I said before, DB mobs are best so here is a list of places you can/should go that provide safe, abundant pulls. Once things go lb/green, move upwards and onwards:
13-19 - Oasis doing Orc Highway or Crocs.
19-23 - LOIO near the ruins and windmill. Watch out for the wandering crusader but the rest is fair game.
23-30 - Warsliks Woods Giant Fort. Place is awesome. Figure out the routine and go go go.
30 - 38 - Frontier Mountain Giant Fort. Place is even better!! Sit just outside of the fort or to the side if you want to afk. There are no pathers in those areas.
38-43 - Overthere at Skyfire Mountain zone line. Great spot to pull. Can also substitute Yeti's in DL (Tundra not Glacier).
43-52 - Dreadlands against KC wall. You'll figure it out but there is a large range of enemies, always go for the lower dark blue ones and avoid the spiders.
That concludes this lesson. Shoot me a tell in game if you have any questions.
Safe hunting with your new and improved warrior friends!!!
Yums
What is it?
Zerker tanking is where a Warrior (needs to be warrior) is brought down below 40% so that he/she has a chance of getting crippling blows (level 13 is the level I believe warriors get this ability at). Crippling blows hit for I believe 4x the normal max damage so this can be a pretty powerful tool, even if you have crap for weps.
How to get started:
- As a warrior, find a healer (Shaman works best due to slows) and figure out somewhere you can do some fairly safe single pulls. I emphasize singles because at less than 40% health you are going to be fairly gimped if things go tits up.
- Start fighting mobs. The lower con dark blue mobs are the best because you will be able to successfully taunt, score more hits and successfully taunt more often.
- Keep swinging. At this point, I would switch over to allow the healer to make pulls and judge the battlefield as your job is to keep that autoattack on and land big blows.
As the Healer:
Your job of healing is now extremely important. It is highly recommended to keep your warrior between 20 and 40% as letting him go below that initiates low-hp agro. Here is how you can effectively manage pulls and keep things moving at a nice clip for you and your warrior.
Buffs:
You will always want to keep your warrior buffed. This is a must - he will need AC, HP, STA, STR, AGI, Regen if possible and most importantly (in terms of dmg) DEX. Critical hits and crippling blows feed off of DEX so keep all those buffs up.
Strat:
If you are a Cleric or a Druid I would suggest having the warrior do the pulls as you do not need to debuff or anything else. Just keep thorns and snare up (if possible) to maximize damage and minimize risk. Druids will have the hardest time so I would consider only doing low-hp trios in this case.
As a Shaman, you have a slightly more complex job, however, you can accomplish this task quite a bit more efficiently leading to the ability to chain these pulls and get CRAZY xp. The strategy that has worked best for me has been to pull with slow and root park in front of the tank using my lowest root (30m lv 5 I think). This root allows you the ability to take no damage and therefore, stockpile your hp for mana. 90HP is the cutoff - if you think you're going to take more than 90 damage before the warrior takes agro, root him. The mana you spent on root just saved you more in HP for canni than it cost to cast.
Also, keep in mind that at level 34 and beyond you have a pet. Get a mage focus item and be ready if things go bad to reclaim that badboy for mana.
Notes:
Here is a list of subtle hints I've figured out since doing this:
- Slow is like spike agro in that it seems to have an extremely high initial agro. I have found that if I slow first, the warrior maybe needs to taunt once and get a round of attacks off before they take agro. If the warrior engages first, there are lots of times when I could drop slow at 70% and still grab agro from him for 1-2 rounds. Slow first, let warrior work.
- If you decide to chain enemies, do not chain enemies that are on the same agro table. As you pile enemies around the warrior they are emboldened and will not flee. Remember: the last 20% of their life is free time. Use it wisely.
- Low Dark Blue mobs are the best mobs to fight. Mobs equal to or higher than the warrior will be very difficult to taunt. See below for mob range and suggested level range.
- Casters are not worth it. Period.
- This practice is best done in safer outdoor zones. Don't try this in dungeons or full groups - it's not worth it. This is a great way to earn experience quickly in a casual way.
EXP spots and level range:
Like I said before, DB mobs are best so here is a list of places you can/should go that provide safe, abundant pulls. Once things go lb/green, move upwards and onwards:
13-19 - Oasis doing Orc Highway or Crocs.
19-23 - LOIO near the ruins and windmill. Watch out for the wandering crusader but the rest is fair game.
23-30 - Warsliks Woods Giant Fort. Place is awesome. Figure out the routine and go go go.
30 - 38 - Frontier Mountain Giant Fort. Place is even better!! Sit just outside of the fort or to the side if you want to afk. There are no pathers in those areas.
38-43 - Overthere at Skyfire Mountain zone line. Great spot to pull. Can also substitute Yeti's in DL (Tundra not Glacier).
43-52 - Dreadlands against KC wall. You'll figure it out but there is a large range of enemies, always go for the lower dark blue ones and avoid the spiders.
That concludes this lesson. Shoot me a tell in game if you have any questions.
Safe hunting with your new and improved warrior friends!!!
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