OakKnower
New Member
I tanked CV1 last night for the first time (11 Knight) and didn't have too much difficulty keeping mobs on me. I rarely tank in MMOs opting for the support/healer role. I wanted to share some thoughts.
The group range was 8-11. We also had a Marshall (lvl 8) who would infrequently pull aggro off of me, though I believe she was consciously working not to do so. She played as if she was familiar with the mechanics of tanking, not putting out too much threat, etc. and I appreciate that! She definitely played with an awareness that's been lost in MMO mechanics (thanks Quandary!). Also had to pull off of the rare heal aggro or a DPSer putting in a real good hit but I was still able to take aggro back without much of an issue other than waiting for skill CDs. I actually had to perform my role actively to keep mobs on me and that's the Tanks bread and butter as far as I'm concerned. If a tank can passively maintain aggro, then there's really no purpose for many of their abilities that are designed for exactly that purpose. In short, the experience was fun and engaging.
I do have nominal concerns regarding a couple of things in the Knight's kit:
1. Enraging Strike CD - I frequently wanted that CD to be a bit shorter. Ten seconds would be far too short. Otherwise, it worked as intended. Quickly brought mobs back to me. Honestly, between ES and Provoke I felt really good when pulls were manageable. Not sure what other Knights think about this.
2. Protect - I rarely used this. I noticed that mobs would sometimes switch targets very quickly while aggro is lost or being reestablished, making the use of this too difficult to time appropriately. But I can see a use for it in those moments where Enraging Strike and Provoke are on CD and I had to wait to get the mob back under control. Also, to cover a puller and give them a buffer until the tank took over. But my experience is just one run of CV1 and does not reflect experience of higher-level content. Very much seems situational and user (self) familiarity.
3. Counter - Overall I love this ability! I wonder if adding a slight threat modifier might help. I've been hearing Knights having difficulty keeping aggro in higher content. And I have seen some Knight's not maintaining aggro from others (though usually an under-leveled or under-geared character). I'd love to use this ability more (especially while I solo) CD of 20s would be great!
Aside from those few things, tanking as a Knight was fun and engaging. When other group members are using their kits to manage battles congruent to their role, there is frequently a sense of synchronicity and teamwork. Love that!
The group range was 8-11. We also had a Marshall (lvl 8) who would infrequently pull aggro off of me, though I believe she was consciously working not to do so. She played as if she was familiar with the mechanics of tanking, not putting out too much threat, etc. and I appreciate that! She definitely played with an awareness that's been lost in MMO mechanics (thanks Quandary!). Also had to pull off of the rare heal aggro or a DPSer putting in a real good hit but I was still able to take aggro back without much of an issue other than waiting for skill CDs. I actually had to perform my role actively to keep mobs on me and that's the Tanks bread and butter as far as I'm concerned. If a tank can passively maintain aggro, then there's really no purpose for many of their abilities that are designed for exactly that purpose. In short, the experience was fun and engaging.
I do have nominal concerns regarding a couple of things in the Knight's kit:
1. Enraging Strike CD - I frequently wanted that CD to be a bit shorter. Ten seconds would be far too short. Otherwise, it worked as intended. Quickly brought mobs back to me. Honestly, between ES and Provoke I felt really good when pulls were manageable. Not sure what other Knights think about this.
2. Protect - I rarely used this. I noticed that mobs would sometimes switch targets very quickly while aggro is lost or being reestablished, making the use of this too difficult to time appropriately. But I can see a use for it in those moments where Enraging Strike and Provoke are on CD and I had to wait to get the mob back under control. Also, to cover a puller and give them a buffer until the tank took over. But my experience is just one run of CV1 and does not reflect experience of higher-level content. Very much seems situational and user (self) familiarity.
3. Counter - Overall I love this ability! I wonder if adding a slight threat modifier might help. I've been hearing Knights having difficulty keeping aggro in higher content. And I have seen some Knight's not maintaining aggro from others (though usually an under-leveled or under-geared character). I'd love to use this ability more (especially while I solo) CD of 20s would be great!
Aside from those few things, tanking as a Knight was fun and engaging. When other group members are using their kits to manage battles congruent to their role, there is frequently a sense of synchronicity and teamwork. Love that!