Snap Agro Tanks

[boromn]

I plan to return to the game after a long time away. I tend to like to play tank classes and I was wondering if warrior taunt is useful now that Velius is out for standard group tanking? I used to play a paladin during live, so agro was always really easy to pull. What about SKs? I don't recall if their agro became good after Velius or not.

Thanks!

[xKoopa]

Pally/sk are aggro kings but warriors are tankier

Make a warrior if you want to tank raid mobs and such. Knights are generally better for groups

[boromn]

cool thanks. I have a 28 war currently and a lvl 9 SK. I think I may focus more on the SK right now, but I am on the fence.

[khandman]

As Koopa says Wars are the big damage mitigators for the big targets.

Personally I would say dump most of your starting points into Dex for the better chance at weapons with proc procing, and not dumping them into the expected Sta stat. The extra HP is nice but a warrior can still tank well without it.

As a warrior I would say most of your aggro generation is gonna be from the tools of the trade as taunt will only get you so far. Having procs that proc regularly will help for warrior aggro. I played a woodelf warrior back in my live days and I was one of a few main tanks in our guild, so I know you don't need to dump most of the starter points into Sta.

[boromn]

Khandman...did you play in VoS on luclin? We had a woodelf tank there with a similar name.

I already made my troll war, so it's a bit late to turn back now haha.

[Troxx]

I'd argue no class in the game can rival a bard for aggro ... single target or aoe.

Downside?

Bards don't tank all that well :p

They can get the job done for xp groups, but they don't hold a candle to a monk/knight ... definitely not a warrior.

[boromn]

I like my war, it's just that I was running into issues grouping when people would want me to tank, but I couldn't hold agro, especially with all the twinks and their good weapons. Maybe I shouldn't care that much, but I used to take so much pride in the fact that no one used to be able to out agro me with my pal.

Perhaps I just need to get some good procing weps. Are there any cheap ones that proc under lvl 30? Right now I use a staff of battle to solo and a sword of skyfire / some other one hander (the one that looks like a giant cleaver). The 2 hand combo doesnt really pull agro and better than the staff and the staff hits like a truck.

[brecon]

Most dps twink classes (rogues, monks) don't master their evade / fd skills until after Mistmoore. The benefits of twink gear (like fungis) only really starts to fade off in the late 30s. By the 40s, the cleric will be yelling if she has to constantly heal the rogue, twink or not.

Just focus on getting some Yak proc weapons (SSoy starts at 37 I think) and try to grind it out until there. Things should start improving after that point.

[Lagaidh]

Don't forget the Obsidian Shard, procs at L17 I believe.

[Troxx]

One should not take pride in holding aggro as a knight. The toolset is simple, no excuse for not holding aggro imo.

Warriors require more gear and a dash of luck ... But more than anything ... A group that knows how to play.

[xKoopa]

I like my war, it's just that I was running into issues grouping when people would want me to tank, but I couldn't hold agro, especially with all the twinks and their good weapons. Maybe I shouldn't care that much, but I used to take so much pride in the fact that no one used to be able to out agro me with my pal.

Perhaps I just need to get some good procing weps. Are there any cheap ones that proc under lvl 30? Right now I use a staff of battle to solo and a sword of skyfire / some other one hander (the one that looks like a giant cleaver). The 2 hand combo doesnt really pull agro and better than the staff and the staff hits like a truck.

staff of battle is gonna be ur best bet for aggro as a war until the higher lvls(obviously discounting expensive twink weps and such)

youre better off doin dmg with that than trading off for low dps weps that might proc once every other fight. procs are just too unreliable to depend on when mobs have low hp

[Raev]

Perhaps I just need to get some good procing weps.

No. All the weapons that proc at 28 have terrible ratios and your dexterity will be miserable anyway. Get to 40 and get a Frostbringer (3.5k I guess). But you are never going to have the consistent threat of a hybrid tank. If you did, there would be 0.0 reason to ever roll a Paladin or SK.

[Kaedain]

are the wakizashi of the frozen skies in game yet ? remember those being pretty beast

[xKoopa]

are the wakizashi of the frozen skies in game yet ? remember those being pretty beast

nah theyre not. i dont think its particularly good aggro either (like 80ish cold nuke right?) althought if its a really low lvl proc and decent ratio, it could be good

[boromn]

Sounds good. I will get rid of my other weapon set then and trade the items for gear for my alt I guess. My brother is going to start playing, so I will have another class I may have to equip depending on what he rolls.

[Monty405]

Hard to out aggro rogues and monks when your doing Paladin dps. Class is broken.

[heartbrand]

i never have aggro issues with willsapper

[Fifield]

Like the others said, if you want to tank end game raiding mobs, roll warrior. If you want to have snap aggro and be a boss in group content, roll sk/paladin.

Honestly man, play what makes you happy. You will not enjoy this game playing what is the best or what others want you to play.

If you do choose to play a warrior, your aggro issues will get better in time and as you level and get more dex gear.

This weapon procs at lvl 1 for a warrior and is amazing aggro, just be careful because its a blind and you can't step out of melee range during the blindness.
http://wiki.project1999.com/Wrapped_Entropy_Serpent_Spine

[thufir]

Like the others said, if you want to tank end game raiding mobs, roll warrior. If you want to have snap aggro and be a boss in group content, roll sk/paladin.

I will add here that SK aggro is pretty ridiculous. Like Troxx said, you get no points for holding aggro as a knight class. Your toolset is designed for it and if you don't hold it you're doing something wrong.

I think SK/pal is easier to play early for sure, fwiw; even in kinda junky gear you can hold aggro, unlike warriors who have to itemize for it. Early warrior play can be very frustrating, especially if you are in groups that have no idea how to manage their aggro. Knights can also solo without heavy investitures in gear, especially SKs who can fear kite.

Nobody will ever tap on you to tank a Velious top end mob, though, if you are anything but a warrior. So if that's your goal, roll one and prepare to invest in some weaponry.

[iruinedyourday]

Enchanters prefer paly over sk cus no dots for Agro means if they want something mez'd it gets mez'd

[thufir]

Enchanters prefer paly over sk cus no dots for Agro means if they want something mez'd it gets mez'd
Good SKs will use Shadow Vortex and Shroud of Hate for aggro on anything that isn't the primary target. This lets them pre-build aggro without dots. Wave of Enfeeblement helps on groups too.

Disease Cloud is only for your target choice. Good spell, and cheap, but you can't take it back easily.

[iruinedyourday]

yea but during the chaos of a bad pull, at leas tyou know without a doubt, no dots going to be getting in the way.

also good sk is not the default pug sk

also paly can lay on some stuns to 100% guarantee that he will get agro after breaking mez on something

I mean, as a chanter, paly is just a you know you are safe by default class to pug with and it gives them some ease of mind.

a good sk is fine tho u kno

[iruinedyourday]

oh also im by no means trashing SK the true dif between an sk and a paly is this:

http://38.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m4oa7qet731r2vzrfo2_250.gif

http://stream1.gifsoup.com/view7/2890235/prince-of-darkness-o.gif

[boromn]

so just an FYI, I have a level 93 pally that raided through DoDh, so that's not the issue haha. I am fully aware of their toolset, but I totally appreciate the input. I just never played a SK before and wasn't sure if their agro was the same during velius (for some reason I thought they got their agro spells post velius). I have played a raid geared SK only to PL my other accounts chars, but never in a group or raid setting.

I think maybe I will try and level them both for fun. I like playing them both.

[thufir]

so just an FYI, I have a level 93 pally that raided through DoDh, so that's not the issue haha. I am fully aware of their toolset, but I totally appreciate the input. I just never played a SK before and wasn't sure if their agro was the same during velius (for some reason I thought they got their agro spells post velius). I have played a raid geared SK only to PL my other accounts chars, but never in a group or raid setting.

I think maybe I will try and level them both for fun. I like playing them both.

Yeah, their aggro is pretty good even at the very start of classic. It gets slightly better in velious with the addition of Shroud of Hate, which gives them another high aggro buff/debuff they can put on a mob, but that wasn't vital.

My shadowknight is definitely my favorite character, fwiw. Hope you enjoy yours. =)

[iruinedyourday]

so just an FYI, I have a level 93 pally that raided through DoDh, so that's not the issue haha. I am fully aware of their toolset, but I totally appreciate the input. I just never played a SK before and wasn't sure if their agro was the same during velius (for some reason I thought they got their agro spells post velius). I have played a raid geared SK only to PL my other accounts chars, but never in a group or raid setting.

I think maybe I will try and level them both for fun. I like playing them both.

I remember the day my friend in 1999 discovered the agro power of disease cloud on his first and main character a SK

I remember like it was yesterday, the mob was fucking up our healer and i look over at him (we played IRL in same room) and see him bashing slashing and casting disease cloud and the like "UGH!" noise he made right when it landed and the mob turned to him and he was like "FCUK YES I AM THE BEST"

[Naethyn]

Warriors add DPS to the group and they never need downtime. Get two yaks at 37 and two blood points at 50 and you'd be fine. Before that a Jarsath Trident and Green Jade Broadsword are great. A warrior with a bag of 10 wooly spider silk nets can snap aggro if taunt/proc doesn't happen in time.

[Trelaboon]

Venomous Axe of the Velium Brood procs at level 1 (approx 3k)
Wrapped Entropy Serpent Spine procs at level 1 (approx 5k huge aggro)

[khandman]

Khandman...did you play in VoS on luclin? We had a woodelf tank there with a similar name.

I already made my troll war, so it's a bit late to turn back now haha.

Nah, I was on Cazic Thule server and played from Kunark up until A few months after LDoN was released and then quit for EQ2 and WOW.

[khandman]

As a Troll war you could take advantage of the relatively high Str your race gets and try for a good dual weapon combo instead of relying on procs for aggro retention.

I always used to like a wurmslayer in my main hand and a lamination or a ssoy in my offhand until I got my epics.

Edit : Ironically my main on this server is a paladin and I have to say I am chuffed with the snap aggro ;)

[captnamazing]

Don't let lowbie warrior aggro get you down. Get a caster to root the mob your'e tanking, and stand right next to it. No twink can rip aggro off unless they get closer in proximity to the mob.

At end game, most paladins give up cause they aren't strong raid tanks, and SKs find their place more as pullers/kiters than tanks (except for group). If you can get your war to 50, you're golden.

Lots of good advice on weps. Go for dps... yaks are pretty good aggro with the proc, but seek velious weps when the time comes.

[Sadre Spinegnawer]

At the end game, if yer job is to get snap aggro, you will be using clickie items. Just don't forget, when you think of tanks, always think Ogre.

http://cdn.meme.am/instances/500x/62106570.jpg

[kaev]

At the end game, if yer job is to get snap aggro, you will be using clickie items. Just don't forget, when you think of tanks, always think Wood Elf.

ftfy

[Cecily]

I just need an epic wood elf warrior / bard and I'll have the whole set. Imo as a rogue, go for high dps weapons early on. Low level procing weapons (BAD ratio) won't be able to hold agro off of even equally geared rogues since evade won't work consistently-ish until 40 and you can't expect procs all the time. I never had trouble pulling off of monks and they only have dps going for them. Same idea would work with dps warriors.

[portbitch69]

ranger

[Thiefboy777]

[QUOTE=brecon;2160188]Most dps twink classes (rogues, monks) don't master their evade / fd skills EVER.
/QUOTE]

As a Warrior just accept the fact that most players are pretty bad.

[fadetree]

Of course, a ranger in the group who knows how to play is handy at tanking for pugs below 45 or so, and after is still good at peeling from chanters and clerics and parking...IF they know how to play.

[Cecily]

just accept the fact that most players are pretty bad.

Including warriors. Fun fact, gear can't fix bad warriors. I've played with some regular champions leveling up. Tanken was by far the most horrible, followed by Hydro. Be super aware of incomming mobs and understand positioning or your DPS will hate you. I can forgive your yaks losing agro. I won't forgive you walling mobs constantly or slow engages.

[Cecily]

Of course, a ranger in the group who knows how to play is handy at tanking for pugs below 45 or so, and after is still good at peeling from chanters and clerics and parking...IF they know how to play.

I'd say 1-50 and probably the absolute best tank option for those levels.

[Xxmethodxx]

Khandman...did you play in VoS on luclin? We had a woodelf tank there with a similar name.

I already made my troll war, so it's a bit late to turn back now haha.

I know of whom you are speaking. I was on Luclin and in Heroes for about 7 or 8 years.