To play a Tank or not?

[Yak]

I am having a blast playing my Mag but I also want to have an ALT and try out other classes as part of the fun.

I am torn between a Warrior, Pally and SK. Maybe a Cleric as well. I think it would be fun and challenging to be a tank. It always seems to be a much needed class for RAIDS. Also, if anyone had any starter gear for a tank, I promise that they would get a return on their investment me as a player. Otherwise making a Warrior with out starter gear is suicide is not?

[Estu]

I am having a blast playing my Mag but I also want to have an ALT and try out other classes as part of the fun.

I am torn between a Warrior, Pally and SK. Maybe a Cleric as well. I think it would be fun and challenging to be a tank. It always seems to be a much needed class for RAIDS. Also, if anyone had any starter gear for a tank, I promise that they would get a return on their investment me as a player. Otherwise making a Warrior with out starter gear is suicide is not?

You can grind up the money for a suit of bronze and a PGT relatively easily even if a warrior is your first character (which it isn't). An obsidian shard isn't much more expensive either. It's totally doable.

[fastboy21]

problem with warr isn't getting the prerequisite gear...its that unless you have very very high end gear (and even then) a warr in classic is not going to be anywhere near as good at holding aggro as an sk/pally.

unless you are planning on joining a guild and raid tanking eventually (something a alt rarely does in any real raiding guild) then warr is not a great class in general. of course, different strokes for different folks and there are certainly some ppl who will tell you that they love just playing their warr.

[Yak]

@fastboy21 Could you please explain why Warriors can't hold aggro as well? How can this be the case, since Warriors get no spells, I thought that was the point?

[dredge]

.

[fastboy21]

warr only have a few ways of holding aggro:

1. regular damage output
2. taunt ability
3. weapon procs

warr damage output in classic is limited to the gear available and lacks compared to other classes that they need to out damage.

taunt is skill based and only works on mobs of equal or lesser level when successful. the way taunt works is that it momentarily puts the war at the top of the aggro list. once there, however, it is up to the war to keep aggro from reverting back to others. this is very difficult considering other classes damage output compared to warr.

weapon procs that have aggro on them (pgt, obsidian shard, ssoy, axe of slayers, etc.) are the best way for a warr to hold aggro. some warrs (especially non-twinks) may not have access to proccing weapons, and for those who can afford them they are dictated by the RNG giving you a proc. you can't count on a proc in the instant that the healer pulls aggro or the wizard over nukes.

this is why tank casters (sk/pally) have an advantage. they can easily gain aggro from the beginning of a fight allowing max dps almost from the beginning on most exp camps, and regain aggro easily if they lose it by casting.

the one advantage that warrs have is that their mitigation is higher than other tanks so they can take more of a beating. warrs also get significant gear and discs that allow them to be the tank par excellence by the end of velious, especially for most raid mobs. war also get to level faster than their sk/pally counterparts, but I hardly consider that much of an advantage.

[fastboy21]

i should also say this...i play a gnome warrior. with two ssoys and an fbss i do a good job of holding aggro...however:

it really helps to be grouped with people that understand how warr aggro works. you need to give a warr a few seconds to build aggro before DPS classes start throwing their bombs in---sometimes you may even wait until you see my first proc.

for some reason, maybe because of other mmos, it seems that more EQ players have forgotten how important aggro control is on p99. i often grp with folks that will start nuking and super high damage output before i have even landed my first attack. this simply does not work well in EQ.

having said that, given a good grp that knows how to play and manage aggro a warr is a great tank that can do fine compared to SK and pally.

[Curmudgen]

Is calling attack not done much here on this server? I remember "the rule" was not to attack after assist until the tank in question calls for it. Might be short wait for SK or Paladin, or longer wait to count of 10-15 for warriors.

[Kavanah]

I just started playing a tank two weeks ago when I joined the server. Loving it. The challege of aggro management is pretty fun!

Unless you are going all out to twink a tank, I would say an SK or Pally would make a much funner alt. Try one of those out first, see if you like them. If you have any questions with warrior though, let me know!

[Stunnah]

MONK!! :) they are fun

[Ralexia]

I agree, play a monk. The special attacks do a lot more damage than I remember. It feels like I'm playing a rogue that can backstab from the front and tank decently. At lvl 50 with good weapons on other classes this may be different but from 1-41, I feel like a god(at least as much as a non caster can in classic).

[Yak]

Thanks for all the feedback and explanations! This has helped me a lot in my choice!!! If I haven't said it before, I really love this community!!!

[jeffd]

it mostly comes down to whether or not you actually want to do things (sk, paladin), or hit auto attack, learn back and watch your screen until the mob dies.

[Spewys]

All good points..Been playing my warrior for a couple weeks now and though at times it is boring, if the casters wait long enough I can hold aggro pretty well. Sometimes you lose it, but its possible to get it back. My biggest issue is that it does take time to get the PP's for the proper gear to do good damage. I try to wink, hug and dance with whomever I can and hope they pass the love:). Works sometimes.

[Dr4z3r]

@fastboy21 Could you please explain why Warriors can't hold aggro as well? How can this be the case, since Warriors get no spells, I thought that was the point?

Within classic, the main benefit of bringing a warrior isn't the ability to get or hold aggro, it's the amount of damage a warrior can soak up or mitigate. Warriors get tons of health, AC, and lots of damage-mitigating abilities, which makes it possible for healers be extremely efficient in keeping them alive (i.e., lets clerics take full advantage of c-heal).

[Yak]

Within classic, the main benefit of bringing a warrior isn't the ability to get or hold aggro, it's the amount of damage a warrior can soak up or mitigate. Warriors get tons of health, AC, and lots of damage-mitigating abilities, which makes it possible for healers be extremely efficient in keeping them alive (i.e., lets clerics take full advantage of c-heal).

That makes sense. Unlike Ashimar who is hopeless, I will take all the advice given. I also look at look at this thread as well.

http://www.project1999.org/forums/showthread.php?t=22090

Clearly, there is a lot of knowledge and people that know what they are doing in this game and on this server. I am very happy to see a community giving good advice and knowing their game. I aspire to be one of those people one day that has knowledge of this game. :o

[Ashimar]

You're alias is YAK and your not playing a warrior. Epic Fail dude. Never play a Warrior.

[Ashimar]

That makes sense. Unlike Ashimar who is hopeless, I will take all the advice given. I also look at look at this thread as well.

http://www.project1999.org/forums/showthread.php?t=22090

Clearly, there is a lot of knowledge and people that know what they are doing in this game and on this server. I am very happy to see a community giving good advice and knowing their game. I aspire to be one of those people one day that has knowledge of this game. :o

You may like the community now, but if you want to start insulting other members, i promise you that will turn around very fast :)

[stormlord]

i should also say this...i play a gnome warrior. with two ssoys and an fbss i do a good job of holding aggro...however:

it really helps to be grouped with people that understand how warr aggro works. you need to give a warr a few seconds to build aggro before DPS classes start throwing their bombs in---sometimes you may even wait until you see my first proc.

for some reason, maybe because of other mmos, it seems that more EQ players have forgotten how important aggro control is on p99. i often grp with folks that will start nuking and super high damage output before i have even landed my first attack. this simply does not work well in EQ.

having said that, given a good grp that knows how to play and manage aggro a warr is a great tank that can do fine compared to SK and pally.Praise the lord. Fastboy21, dear god, you bring the truth.

If we all had to prove things to ourselves first before accepting something and moving with it then we'd probably still be making mud huts and grinding stone and reinventing the wheel everytime a child is born. We might get to the first rocket in a million years or after monkeys learn how to build computers and spacecraft themselves. Sometimes all that matters is that it works. This warrior is just trying to help.

But I know what it's like. Sometimes I am also unwilling to believe until I prove it myself.

I'm still trying to prove that gravity exists. I still don't know how a light bulb works. I'm still working on 17th century physics and engineering principles. I couldn't put a man on a bicycle, let alone something as far-fetched as the moon. I'm azz-backwards. Without smart people, I'd be drooling on myself in a cave somewhere.

I'm still trying to prove that gravity exists. I still don't know how a light bulb works. I'm still working on 14th century physics and engineering principles. I couldn't put a man on a canoe, let alone something as far-fetched as the moon. I'm azz-backwards. Without smart people, I'd be drooling on myself in a cave somewhere.

I'm still trying to prove that gravity exists. I still don't know how a light bulb works. I'm still working on 11th century physics and engineering principles. I couldn't put a man on a raft, let alone something as far-fetched as the moon. I'm azz-backwards. Without smart people, I'd be drooling on myself in a cave somewhere.

I'm still trying to prove that gravity exists. I still don't know how a light bulb works. I'm still working on 4th century physics and engineering principles. I couldn't put a man on a chair, let alone something as far-fetched as the moon. I'm azz-backwards. Without smart people, I'd be drooling on myself in a cave somewhere.

I'm still trying to prove that gravity exists. I still don't know how a light bulb works. I'm still working on 300 B.C Greek physics and engineering principles. I couldn't put a man in his shoes, let alone something as far-fetched as the moon. I'm azz-backwards. Without smart people, I'd be drooling on myself in a cave somewhere.

I think that's close enough. But knowing me, I'm inflating my self-worth and overlooking my shortcomings.

The scary thing is this is all true.

This man:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aristotle

.... is laughing his azz off.