New Tanks: A Beginners Guide to Aggro Part 1 & 2

[Asteldian]

I have recently been hearing grumblings from friends regarding tanks not keeping their aggro. So, I thought I would put up a post on ways to keep aggro based on my own experience. While I don’t pretend to be a know it all, I have had a lot of experience tanking in games, more importantly I have also had to deal with trigger happy Mages in my own Guild who believe the 1.5s cast time to Fireball counts as giving the tank a head start for aggro.
Warning, this will likely be far too long and I apologise in advance for it being a bit of a Noddy’s guide, but I want to be thorough.

If you are used to tanking in MMOs, this first half of the Guide is likely of little interest to you, in which case you may prefer to skip to the second half which is more detailed on strategy to keep aggro.

Firstly I will explain what aggro and the ‘aggro list’ is. Aggro is the amount of hatred a mob/mobs have for you. Everyone involved in combat will be on the mobs ‘aggro list’ what they do during combat will dictate where they are on the list.

Essentially the list is built up by numbers behind the scene (note I am making up the following numbers!): Bob does 100 damage to the mob, the mobs hatred for Bob is now at 100 and therefore Bob has aggro as he is on top of the list. Bob is hit hard, Kyle heals Bob for 500, assuming Bob has not done anything since the first hit, Kyle is now top of the aggro list and Bob is second. Meanwhile Ken has come along and crit for 1000, he is now top of the list, Kyle is second and Bob is third.
So, you see the list is ever changing. The key to success for a tank is to ensure he is always on the top of that list, the fact the other 4 players are moving up and down the aggro list is irrelevant as long as the tank is always number 1 and alive. In order to ensure the tank is on top, we need to understand what gets you on the list:

1) DPS causes aggro, the more done the more aggro built and this is why high DPSing party members get killed ESPECIALLY if they do not give the tank time at the start to build aggro.

2) Healing causes aggro, this is why healers can steal aggro and die, especially if you take lots of damage fast and they have to heal big. Warden healers are particularly problematic as they tend to start the heals before combat starts, this puts the tank on the back foot. In fact, unless you have a Reaver build, a Warden healer will often cause many initial pulls to be uncontrolled

3) Aggro Radius (aka ‘Body Pulling’), mobs have a certain range where if a player gets to close they will get aggro. Whoever gets too close first will immediately go to the top of the aggro list. In Rift the aggro gained from such a pull is minimal so aggro can easily be taken from whoever accidently pulls

So, those are the basics of what creates aggro, so the question for the tank is how to be at the top of the aggro list when the reality is:

Tank DPS is very low, there is no way that you can rely on DPS to keep aggro when others do much more.

Tank Healing is irrelevant – even with a heal trinket, heal essence and Soul Sickness, you are not going to be generating enough aggro from self healing to stay on top of the list. Combining this with your DPS is also not going to be enough (afterall, a Chloro healing is still healing more than you and out DPSing you)

Body Pulling seems to assign a very small ‘Hate’ number to you, in other games the amount of hate gained from pulling was significant and in some cases a key part of aggro, but in Rift the number is so low that a tick of a Heal over Time will take aggro – This is tricky against packs of mobs as if you hit one, the others are essentially ‘body pulled’ and so unless you are quick, aggro will be lost to them ( Ranged and casters are a particular problem with a Warden healing because as soon as you are in range they start attacking the Healer so at least one hit will land on them)

The answer to this question is to be aware of what you have at your disposal:

1) Certain attacks state ‘causes additional threat’ These attacks are ESSENTIAL to a tank – they have a threat modifier attached to the ability which allows you to overcome the shortcomings of your DPS and healing. Be sure to take note of which have this statement and which do not – (HINT: Many Tank AOE attacks state ‘Causes Significant Threat’ these attacks generate more threat than all single target attacks you have and therefore even when against a single mob you should make use of AOE’s)

2) Force Taunts (These abilities force the enemy to focus on you for 3 seconds. But more than that, they put you on top of an aggro list! Be aware that force taunting and then ignoring the mob will do you no favours – if the person you force taunted off so much as farts at the mob they will grab aggro again because the taunt literally puts you just at the top of the list (So if Bob has 5000 hate on the mob and you as tank have only 400, upon using the force taunt the mob must attack you for 3 seconds and in addition your hate is now 5001. But you need to build on that or else one hit from Bob will take aggro again).
Because of the way force taunt works, you do not want to be wasting it when you are already on top of the aggro list as gaining +1 hate is a poor gain when a normal attack would have given you 200 or more (It may be possible that the force taunt gives more than ‘Top of aggro list +1 hate’, but certainly +1 is all it has been in other games, but if it is more, it certainly is not a lot).
This is the reason I do not like to ‘waste’ my AOE force taunt when pulling. While it does give you a few seconds to build aggro which is helpful, it in itself does not give much aggro and so I prefer to save it for in case things get ugly as a 1 min cooldown is a long time in a fight (note: a lot of tanks do like to use this and it can be a valid strategy, I just don’t believe it is efficient or wise to rely so strongly on a 60s cooldown ability)
Update: In Rift apparently Force Taunt gives you 30% more hate than the person top of the hate list (or 2nd if you are at the top) and therefore, in longer fights, even if you are at the top of the list it can still be worth using to gain substantial threat. I personally still prefer not to use the Force Taunt as I want it available in case of surprises, but it can be a valid way of boosting your hate higher.

3) Your Leadership – You are the tank and you are in charge. Do not be afraid to tell the party to wait a few seconds after a pull for you to grab aggro. If during combat a mob breaks away or is yo-yoing back and forth between you and someone else, tell them to stop DPSing! Those dirty DPSers need clear instructions, if they keep pulling aggro from a mob even after you taunt it back, it does not occur to them that by stopping DPS on said mob they give you time to build up proper aggro, they need guidance, so give it to them

So, that's the long winded basics covered. Next is an attempted explanation on keeping aggro.

[Asteldian]

New Tanks: A Beginners Guide to Aggro Part 2


Before I talk about specific ways of holding aggro, I will explain some of the terminology:
Firstly, as a tank you will have a number of AOE attacks, depending on soul selection it will be some of the following: Promise of Steel, Sweeping Strikes, Tempest, Ragestorm, Plague Bringer/Blood Fever. Whatever combination of skills you are using, you will likely combine them into a macro, this macro I cleverly refer to as ‘AOE Macro’.

Secondly, when I mention Spark, I am actually referring to any ranged force taunt attack you have (excluding Sergeant’s Order and Rift Summon), I just didn’t want to keep typing ‘Ranged Force Taunt’.

Finally, if you take nothing else from below, at least take this key message: Don’t be too quick to apply your buff/debuff attacks – yes they are important and you want them up and running asap, but NOT if doing so is going to result in you losing aggro – your block/mit being maximised is meaningless if your backline is killed. Focus on the aggro lockdown, then worry about adding buff/debuff attacks into your rotation.

Ok, so lets look at a typical combat. In this example we are attacking a typical group of 4 mobs. 2 casters, 2 melee.
This method assumes you are not using Reaver (unlikely as Reaver is so powerful a tank, but just in case, I wanted to cover it first as it is more complex)

• Target caster. Run towards mob and use spark, keep running. Melee mobs will run towards you and likely try to run past towards party assuming DPS is over eager or a Warden healer. Be aware the second caster will likely start casting at the Warden. (If you use a build with a charge, instead of Spark, simply charge the caster)

• As the mobs go past you should be within 10m range of caster. Use AOE macro, this will aggro the melee who should still be in range (NOTE: If for any reason you are too far from caster when melee run past, activate your AOE macro anyway to grab aggro from melee mobs)

• By now you should have reached the caster(s). Continue using your AOE macro followed by your Finisher (Either a Call if you use Warlord, or Pact Conversion if VK, otherwise hopefully some kind of damage AOE Finisher). Keep an eye out for wandering mobs or a caster too far away from pack.

• If there is a wandering mob or a caster too far away, target and use spark while moving towards them, continue using your AOE macro while moving the pack (alternatively, if using high VK or 10+ Warlord, use Sergeants Order/Rift Summon to pull mob towards you). If there were no stragglers or wandering mobs, at this point you can start applying buff/debuff attacks such as Aggressive Block etc.
Against single targets, aggro should be far easier to manage. I personally still use my AOE macro initially for extra aggro (and its extra range allows me to initiate earlier) just so that the DPS with itchy trigger fingers can get started. So, I pull with Spark, run in and use AOE macro a couple times, use my Finisher, then I get on with applying my buff/debuff attacks followed by AOE macro again.

It’s worth noting that Warlord’s Call abilities (Entrench, Battle) Don’t provide the kind of aggro that Spotters Order used to, as a result I prioritise my AOE macro over my Finisher even when sitting at 3 Attack Points. Also make sure you are aware that Spotters Order itself casues NO aggro, therefore you do not want to be using it early in combat as it is a waste of a Global Cooldown when trying to build aggro.

This next example will assume you are using Reaver as one of your souls (as it is such a powerful tank soul it is likely)

• Run towards the mobs and cast Plague bringer followed by Soul Sickness and Necrotic Wounds (likely you have a macro). Alternatively, if you have eager DPS stealing aggro, don’t use Soul Sickness as it does not generate extra aggro and I find often the additional cooldown results in a slight delay before you can start using your AOE macro.

• Reach the mobs and use your AOE macro . Use your Finisher, apply your buff/debuff attacks

• Continue to use your AOE macro. Throw in Necrotic Wounds and soul sickness if you remember (you may have Soul Sickness in your AOE macro).

• If you see wandering mobs or an annoying caster far away, throw Necrotic Wounds and Soul Sickness at them and then move towards the mob while using your AOE macro (alternatively pull them in with Sergeant’s Order or Rift Summon)

As you can see, the Reaver version is pretty much the same strategy as the non Reaver, the big difference being on initial pulls/wandering mobs you build aggro much more easily than the non-Reaver, this is especially useful when a Warden is healing. It requires much less consideration to timing of your AOE attacks as on pull no mobs should be trying to run past you thanks to your AOE DoTs.

This ends the epic novel regarding aggro. I know it may seem silly for some, but I hope at least someone, somewhere will find this useful.