Impressions of a noob Knight tank.

[OakKnower]

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!

 

[Battlestorm]

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!

1. Enraging strike is a hard steal of the mob, but doesn’t build as much aggro as other aggro-abilities. It’s a great skill, but if it was on a shorter cooldown, you’d almost not even have to manage aggro. Always the right tool in your kit, but you have to balance your usage of it in the situation. I think that’s the intention. It’s an ability I save until I’ve popped all other aggro-abilities and either don’t need it to gain control or have ready it when 2x 3^ mobs come along and I want them both on me, stat.

Protect - I hardly use it. I usually defensive target whoever steals aggro most (or just the healer) and leave it at that, but the usage is rare. When I run out of hotbar slots, it’ll be one of the first to go.

Counter - This is a double bonus skill, use it on every cooldown. You completely avoid an attack and strike back. Less healing, more damage. Giving it an aggro boost might be a bit OP, but I wouldn’t complain.

You’ll likely pull aggro from a Marshal for some time, if not always, but they’ll usually be 2nd on the aggro table, right where they should be, at the top (just not over a Knight or a run-away striker). Marshal can pull in a more controlled fashion with their root, so it may be better to let them, a warden, or a brigand pull before you tag the highest chevron mob and hold aggro with your knight. Just something to consider as you level up and move on to greater challenges.

Sound like you had a blast. Thanks for sharing. Good hunting to you!

 

[OakKnower]

Thanks for replying, Battlestorm.

I agree, ES is a snap steal. Interestingly the tooltip doesn't show a threat component. I wonder if there is inherent (behind the curtain) threat generation in some attacks.

With Counter, I can see a very slight application of threat. Much smaller than the other abilities.

I'll try to find uses for Protect but you may be right about it getting cut off at some point.

 

[Battlestorm]

Thanks for replying, Battlestorm.

I agree, ES is a snap steal. Interestingly the tooltip doesn't show a threat component. I wonder if there is inherent (behind the curtain) threat generation in some attacks.

With Counter, I can see a very slight application of threat. Much smaller than the other abilities.

I'll try to find uses for Protect but you may be right about it getting cut off at some point.

No problem. I thought that ES had a threat mod listed on it, just lower than the other two you probably have at this point. In any case, yeah, it’ll turn the enemy to you, but won’t keep it! Best to save it if things are shady or just spam it if the coast is clear and you want to contribute to the DPS.

I think the counter aggro may just be from the damage, unless parry and riposte add threat for some reason, not sure, honestly. I’ll have to check it again.

I think I’ve used protect maybe 7 or 8 times, when we’ve clearly lost control (maybe twice), or if we’re running dual tanks and they’re tanking one of the tough ones, I’ll hit them up. Otherwise, I hit a healer with it a few times when my ES wasn’t up and then once on a zerker who was getting what they deserved. Anyways, almost not worth the precious stamina and really not needed if everything is going well.