Shadow knight aggro

[greatdane]

Taunt only does anything if someone else has aggro. Don't put it in a macro, you'll waste it 97% of the time. You use taunt when you need aggro and don't already have it, not to build an aggro buffer. Bad tanks blow their taunt for no reason. Good tanks save it for when they need to take aggro from someone else. If your taunt is on cooldown when you lose aggro, you played badly.

[Guesty07]

Listen to greatdane. Taunt adds exactly 1 hate to a mob. Do not waste it. Hit it right after the shaman lands slow for extra Chad ness. Remember, it puts you at the top of the hate chart +1. And can only be used on blue or lower mobs

[Jimjam]

Originally Posted by greatdane [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Taunt only does anything if someone else has aggro. Don't put it in a macro, you'll waste it 97% of the time. You use taunt when you need aggro and don't already have it, not to build an aggro buffer. Bad tanks blow their taunt for no reason. Good tanks save it for when they need to take aggro from someone else. If your taunt is on cooldown when you lose aggro, you played badly.

Sure you do put it in a macro. You put it in an attack off, taunt, bash, disarm, attack on macro so you can have a successful taunt, followed by a full round of attacks and a bit more aggro from bash/disarm. When you need to take aggro you press the button.

[DeathsSilkyMist]

Originally Posted by greatdane [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Taunt only does anything if someone else has aggro. Don't put it in a macro, you'll waste it 97% of the time. You use taunt when you need aggro and don't already have it, not to build an aggro buffer. Bad tanks blow their taunt for no reason. Good tanks save it for when they need to take aggro from someone else. If your taunt is on cooldown when you lose aggro, you played badly.

You are also "wasting" taunt by not using it. Taunt has a fast enough cooldown to where it can be spammed, and then used more strategically when necessary. The main benefit to spamming taunt is you can get hate back instantly if it happens to be timed right, and you don't have to think about it. This frees up your brain to focus on other things.

Remember that SK's have snap agro, which can be used outside of melee range, and it is more consistent than taunt. A good SK is going to use snap agro when they lose agro, instead of relying on taunt. You could waste precious seconds by trying to run into melee range to taunt first before starting to cast your snap agro spell.

If your group is constantly taking agro from you (and you aren't doing anything wrong), then saving taunt can be a good strategy. But honestly the bigger problem in that case is figuring out why you are always losing agro. Your ability to hit the taunt button at the proper time isn't the issue at that point.

[Guesty07]

Lol you should never ever just spam taunt. At all.

[DeathsSilkyMist]

Originally Posted by Guesty07 [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Lol you should never ever just spam taunt. At all.

Taunt has a 6 second cooldown. Taunt will also go on cooldown if you attempt to use it on a mob that has run out of range, such as if the mob is running towards your cleric.

If the mob ran out of range, you want to use a snap agro spell since it can be cast outside of melee range. You have a better chance of success, and the 6 second cooldown on taunt will be back up by then.

If the mob is in range, such as turning to face the rogue, you still want to use snap agro to try and build a buffer. If the rogue is at the top of the hate list often, the rogue will simply return to the top of the list shortly after a successful taunt anyway. The issue at that point is either how the rogue is playing, or how you (the tank) is playing. It isn't an issue of if you are saving taunt or not.

Remember that taunt is unreliable. It isn't your primary method of agro generation.

[Snaggles]

My paladin doesn’t have disarm or taunt on the bar. The only thing I find make or break is disarming Bvellos and rogues/monks/warriors have 200 skill while we have 70.

IMHO, knowing the spells to cast, when to cast them, and using a GCD is what every knight should focus on. If you are relying on disarm and taunt you are being stingy.

[Guesty07]

Taunt is an incredible tool even for a knight

[Troxx]

Originally Posted by DeathsSilkyMist [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

You are also "wasting" taunt by not using it.

Lol.

No.

/facepalm

The only time I spam taunt or tether it to a macro is when I make a new character and want to mindlessly level it up. Tether it to kick/bash/slam and forget about it. Once you have taunt properly leveled, it should sit there unused until it NEEDS to be used.

I understand this button is a lot less crucial for knights but damn … this isn’t rocket surgery. If you’re already at the top of the aggro list, it does nothing. If you constantly spam it there’s a one in six chance you won’t have it up the instant you need it most … with a 1-5 second wait before you can use it again. If it fails the first time, you now have a 7-11 second wait for the second taunt instead of a faster 6 second 2nd attempt.

[Snaggles]

Taunt can fail.
Taunt is close range.

I tend to stay wayyyy at the top of the threat table. If someone pulls aggro IMHO it’s better to crank another quick aggro spell than chase and taunt. Any solid taunt spell will rip back a slowed mob NP.