Tanking and boss spinning

WhatshisName · October 2016

Shoot, I tanked a whole lot through both Vision Maker sets back in the day,

Not sure why people are saying chase the front,
Your first and most important job is simply to keep the boss in place.
Moving the boss around only when needed for better positioning or due to mechanics of the fight.
Chasing the front sounds a lot like doing the DPS's job, its their job to stick it to the back and if your always chasing its front side this is really indicative of two things
1) There is a lack of confidence in someones skills, yours or your teammates.
2) Your micromanaging someone elses job. They have Iframes for a reason.

Don't get fancy until the mechanics call for it, just pick a spot and keep the BAM tethered there. Hold the Agro ring and the rest is up to everyone else, don't worry about your output numbers only worry about holding the red circle. Tanking is plenty easy after that.

Montblanck · October 2016

WhatshisName wrote: »

Shoot, I tanked a whole lot through both Vision Maker sets back in the day,

Chasing the front sounds a lot like doing the DPS's job, its their job to stick it to the back and if your always chasing its front side this is really indicative of two things
1) There is a lack of confidence in someones skills, yours or your teammates.
2) Your micromanaging someone elses job. They have Iframes for a reason.

This does not apply to everything; for example, when Nightmare Pahoegar says "Must rest.." and he's not facing you at that moment, just be a good guy and go to his front.

In the end, it's all still up to you and how you make judgement calls, and I guess that is what makes you a better tank, run after run.

Otorinth · October 2016

I just let the DPS chase the back since they`re a lot more mobile than I am. Only time I bother to re-orient myself is when a boss is doing something that involves a long animation while it's facing away from me. I didn't pick the Lancer to constantly hop around like some kind of fairy.

Aulon · October 2016

Depends,

-If you have a full melee comp sure do it as Melee will more than likely chase the back

-If you have a full Range Comp it is a bit harder, NOT impossible, for them to chase the back as well as Melee. This is where you may just want to relax and allow the boss to turn back to you instead of forcing range to reposition. As well Range have skills that lock them down for long periods of time.

-If I am in a pug, which rarely I ever pug as a tank, I will just play safe and stay as locked down to one spot as possible to try and make the life of the healer easier.

-If I am in a full group with people I know I judge on what to do by who the group plays and their skill level

-Boss Mechanics vary too much,

--Take Last Boss SShm, I adapt to the healer, I chase them so when the res spam they don't turn the boss and at the same time they try their best to do so as well but we work with each other. 1sy boss I circle tank so that DPS and healer stack totems in Mid as well stand close to them, with in 10 metters off the bosses shoulders so chasing his front would cause too much re positioning in which people would be scattered come totem phase. 2nd boss I chase his front always More so right after specials so every one else doesn't have to guess where he will face for his next attack and they can focus on burst

--DF I just stay

--KD I don't care and just do what ever

--FI 1st boss I keep centered and facing the back, 2nd I try to keep centered and facing the back 3rd no matter what I do I can't get that lazy mumbling boss to turn so.......

So there is not one yes or no answer, just play and learn what works best for you

Side note I Lancer and Warrior tank, no idea what Brawlers do besides force lag on the party with GF

Obs · October 2016

WhatshisName wrote: »

Shoot, I tanked a whole lot through both Vision Maker sets back in the day,

Not sure why people are saying chase the front,
Your first and most important job is simply to keep the boss in place.
Moving the boss around only when needed for better positioning or due to mechanics of the fight.
Chasing the front sounds a lot like doing the DPS's job, its their job to stick it to the back and if your always chasing its front side this is really indicative of two things
1) There is a lack of confidence in someones skills, yours or your teammates.
2) Your micromanaging someone elses job. They have Iframes for a reason.

Don't get fancy until the mechanics call for it, just pick a spot and keep the BAM tethered there. Hold the Agro ring and the rest is up to everyone else, don't worry about your output numbers only worry about holding the red circle. Tanking is plenty easy after that.

You have iframes too. Use it to get to the front and make the boss turn less. You have a block and the 4th damage reduction roll. They don't.

I don't care how often the boss moves as long as he doesn't turn. Sometimes he has to turn because of mechanics and that's fine. But I don't think anyone's happy that you're turning the boss again and again because you didn't want to go to the front. The whole point of this is the same reason that healers take retargets (so they can walk back out and keep Imperator still) and do res tricks (so Imperator doesn't do some mechanic while keeping the boss facing forward).

This isn't 2012 anymore. Tanking in this game isn't about aggro anymore. It's about positioning (that means making the boss turn as little as possible) and DPS. Keeping the boss still will happen naturally.

Obs · October 2016

Just look at how this Lancer keeps the back of the boss away from pillars (safe DPSing for ranged DPS), sticks to the front instead of just letting him naturally turn back (DPS have to use 1 iframe instead of 2), and overall maximizes backtime for the DPS, since that's what the role of the tank is. It's not the keep the boss still or whatever.

dinners · October 2016

Normally. you don't.. Just try to hold the position for ranges dps and healer. Change the position only if, the boss will face that direction for a long time.

Yamazuki · October 2016

Tanking on Tera isn't like tanking in some other games. It's more than just hold aggro and sit in one spot. Your position along with the boss's position is important, and ensuring the dps get as much back time as possible is important. To the comment about dps being more "mobile" than a Lancer, that isn't true. Lancer can easily move around some bosses without even back stepping, and even then, back step has no cool down and is resolve based, which restores quickly if you aren't unnecessarily blocking. You would have more of an argument if you were Brawler as they have just one way of going through the boss, but even they can go around some bosses with abilities. Some classes are also slow and lack mobility, like Gunner, then others suffer a lot if the boss is turning often, like Sorc. If your group is Slayer/Ninja/Warrior for dps, then I guess you can be lazy since they all have double rolls, or infinite rolls in the case of Warrior, but it's still going to be annoying and still results in less dps due to spending a lot of time moving back and forth.

Haloist · October 2016

Like many ppl have said already whether you chase the front of the boss depends on so many variables that you have to make the decision yourself and take responsibility for it.

There's no hard and fast rule that says: "Tanks must always chase the boss's front"

Imagine this scenario:
You're fighting SSNM/HM 1st boss Pahoegar.
You keep on chasing his front using backstep or w/e skill you have when he does secondary aggro attacks.
Then one moment, right after you use your backstep, he targets you with the laser.
You have no RE left to use backstep / your evasive skill is on cooldown.
GG you're dead.

Starryskys · October 2016

natia wrote: »

As a tank, should you move around the boss when they do secondary aggro attacks and turn their back to you? When I tank, I usually just wait for them to turn back to me but as I watch the dps move to the boss's back and then move again when the boss turns back to me, what should I do to make life easier for the dps in my party when there's a boss that does a lot of secondary aggro things and turn around a lot?

Let me simplify this as much as possible for you, move as little as possible often times when a bosses turns around it will turn back. The same thing can happen when a boss moves More often than not on most bosses. In addtion, On skills that you can't block move to the left or right directly not to the side of the boss and then move back if there is not time to move back before you block moving to the left or right 90 degree angle (rather than to the back so the boss turns only a little and backshots are still very possible without have to spend time moving) will turn the boss only slightly. After you have time again move back to the original position. Also lastly keep the boss away from walls if he turns it sometimes creates impossible situations to smash back crits and dodge safely if not then it will still lower the dps of most people from not being able to see views are rough in this game something to keep in mind.

Drawing a little diagram to help illustrate
The boss
http://prntscr.com/csjc5d

feazeshero · October 2016

That 1st boss sshm ktera video is a great example there.

At first when I was learning sshm before, I was waiting for boss to turn around most of the time. But as I got more experience, I realized it's better to chase the front after a secondary aggro but I've encountered some parties may differ a bit at times. What I mean is that some people get confused thinking if the tank might stay and others might think the tank will chase, therefore at times not placing the pillars correctly sometimes/consistently. Could it be that they have had different experiences through with other tanks maybe?

I also found that if they don't place the pillars correctly, it makes it harder on the tank because not only positioning is important but at the same time figuring out to make it easier for dps, watch out for if boss target the tank on laser and also watch out for any aoe/laser attacks from the pillars. If pillars are put in nice straight line, it's very easy to deal with and makes the tank's job so much easier. I also realized the tanks positioning also will affect pillar placement and how to position after wards to give back time for them and getting ready in case boss aim laser at tank.

Like I mentioned earlier, I'll admit I used to wait for him to turn when learning sshm. But as I been chasing him when I can after secondary aggro, I feel most people expect it now and it's easier for a lot of dps. I've also seen my overall dps increase at him as well. One of the things I noticed is that I have to be more careful in positioning if I'm dealing with more ranged dps like gunner/archer/sorcerer for example.

feazeshero · October 2016

When I was learning how to deal with Imperator in sshm long ago, I never knew that healers can control the boss. At first I was confused why it's so hard to control him as a tank and then later, I learned that it's best to follow the healer that is controlling the Res mechanic.

What makes me sick is that at times I encounter a healer who keeps moving sideways when using res instead of going in one direction. I rarely encounter this but when I did before, it was annoying because I have to position myself again and the dps has to position themselves too. This lowers dps for all of us. I don't know why someone would do that making everyone's job more difficult.

With most parties that I have had double heals, they do such a great job and I learned to follow either the mystic or priest (whoever handles the res); the other healer would always sync well with that healer and makes it so much easier to control the boss. When he does retarget (when this happens, he faces the highest aggro person), I always make sure I'm facing the same direction that we have been facing and make sure boss doesn't turn. I step back a bit and let mystic take the retarget and then I resume doing my thing. The only time he may turn is if some people die and aggro resets, he will do that if someone else gets aggro, which is annoying lol.

Obs · October 2016

Haloist wrote: »

Like many ppl have said already whether you chase the front of the boss depends on so many variables that you have to make the decision yourself and take responsibility for it.

There's no hard and fast rule that says: "Tanks must always chase the boss's front"

Imagine this scenario:
You're fighting SSNM/HM 1st boss Pahoegar.
You keep on chasing his front using backstep or w/e skill you have when he does secondary aggro attacks.
Then one moment, right after you use your backstep, he targets you with the laser.
You have no RE left to use backstep / your evasive skill is on cooldown.
GG you're dead.

Because you have more than just Backstep. For Lancers, you have Shield Barrage to move forward enough to get to the front or at least a 45 degree angle. For Brawlers you have RHK, Bull Rush, and Piledriver.

5H96Y49G6D · October 2016

well you could always be lazy and just not chase.

I mean unless u doing speed runs and depending which boss, you don't have to chase his front and can just wait for him to turn back.

I only chase Pahoegar thats it.

The rest honestly who cares not like chasing will cut the run time of dungeon in half or boost ur overall DPS by 100%

Tanking and boss spinning

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