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Comments
Aren't people just swell? All very true and irritating haha.
Thanks!
Two questions: I'm trying to practice my shield counter timing and the guide has made me wonder:
1. Is it used at all in end-game dungeons? Is it worth practicing now, or should I just focus on blocking and de-buffing/buffing?
2. Sometimes I get it just right, other times I swear I've hit spacebar at the exact moment, but I jump in place. Is it a ping-related issue, or is the skill just wonky?
Shield Counter should be used whenever it is available. Blocking comes naturally. Debuffing is easy. Buffing is on long cooldowns. Tanks in this game are all about dealing damage to keep aggro and not really caring about aggro stats or skills.
If you let go of block, you can't Shield Counter anymore.
Hm, I think you're thinking more Brawlers here. Unfortunately Lancers need their underlying aggro stats to build threat because if it was only dealing damage, there would be absolutely no way we could match up to actual DPS. As for aggro skills, tanks have plenty of aggro building skills that deal damage which are also very important (not just Challenging Shout and Infuriate.)
Hey Saitosen, thanks for the compliment. TR's a great place to play a tank these days, especially after the patch.
Shield counter timing is very important, it's another move of ours that actually builds aggro and hey it's a free attack against that pesky monster attempting to drill into you. You must focus on practicing shield counter in blocking, as well as debuffing and buffing. Early and mid game should be focused on practicing and honing these skills and being able to form a rotation (which is why I stress dungeon repetitions.) The spacebar problem might possibly be ping-related but also shield counter can stay up for a little while. It's satisfying to hit it at the exact moment but perhaps condition yourself to tap it a tiny bit after its appearance rather than immediately.
My little mini-guide (if you can even call it that) is just not extensive enough in the actual details as other guides. They can be very specific about moves, move rotations, cooldowns, and I think it's worth checking out as you progress along.
Thanks again!
You silly! It's called Shield Counter! How would you counter without the shield, otherwise blocking?
So I got that much, but whenever I tried to counter, I would release the block key and try to hit the spacebar as fast as I could. Which explains why it worked sometimes and not most other times. But, now that that's cleared up, I've been able to do it more consistently!
Woot woot!
Both Lancers and Brawlers have the same base aggro modifiers on their gear. The only difference is that Lancers have higher base aggro modifiers on skills. It still doesn't matter much because you won't have aggro if you're not dealing enough damage consistently (because of aggro decay). Neither of them "build" aggro stats/glyphs or use their non-Infuriate Shouts often, if at all.
No I agree when you must put out consistent and enough damage to hold it which is why crit is necessary, but I disagree when aggro stats and skills are fully disregarded. Or perhaps I took "not really caring" to an extreme because then, I apologize.
I do however know Brawlers have a DPS perk as well, logically, they use their fists lol and fast moves + auto blocks as skills are casted but what about Lancers? They're the boys with the big shields, shouldn't they worry more about holding position and aggro rather than DPS?
It baffles me really.
No no, it is because aggro and dps are connected. We have to care about the dps we deal in order to hold aggro because it's how tera's aggro system works. We must be concerned with actually tanking the boss (the things you described) as well as being able to put out enough dps in order to keep doing so. I do not think that it is a fight against other tanks in dps since of course Brawler was the first pure dps-tank, but rather doing what is necessary to excel in the tank role.
Don't quote me on how recently it's changed though, I don't exactly remember myself.
(also you were the first comment, I keenly remember this. Thank you :') )
Well what you're saying is logical, but players nowadays also want faster runs and not slowpoke runs anymore.
Imagine this: If you were to choose between 2 lancers, lancer A who can dish out tons of damage AND hold aggro/position boss properly, and lancer B who does very low dps but can also hold aggro/position boss properly, which one would you choose? Unless you're some masochist who likes to drag dungeon runs longer than it's necessary, the obvious answer would be to pick lancer A, or even pick a competent Brawler over lancer B.
Since bosses now have abnormally large HP pools, it starts feeling like a chore to fight them when the tank can't dps for nuts.
(To add on to this, I've actually seen lancers being able to hold aggro with just shield counter and aggro shout, with the very occasional spring attack and wallop, but this results in very slow dungeon runs unless the dps are overgeared for the dungeon.)
Another way to look at it is player competition. Who doesn't like to do better than someone else? Sure, it might be used as an ego boost, but it's healthy competition as long as it stays civilised.
I meant that the only time a tank should care about the aggro stat over damage stats (crit/power/%damage) would be if they're undergeared compared to their dps or new at the class/tanking. Every other time, you would not do things like glyph aggro on skills or put on a Threatening crystal.
Hehe yes, of course as I truly appreciate tanks a ton. Tbh, I knnow some good Lancers but they keep feeling competitive with DPS lol! However they aren't bad, can hold aggro and my parties always have Stormcry or Frostmetal and we clear really fast so I kinda feel bad that my static tank feels pressured with the need to be a "DPS" x.x; Maybe because I don't see a point since he's a good tank and our DPS are really strong lol
And you're welcome!
True and yes... I'd rather tank a lancer with decent DPS than one who loses aggro however I am not picky as I usually balance my parties, plus, it's nice to give other tanks a chance ya know?