Aett_Thorn

I would imagine that there will be pet sets. We've only seen a fraction of the number of inventions that will be part of the system. So there is still much left to discover.

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That information is cool, but the Futurama reference is even better.

"Ohhh, it's all so complicated, with the flowers, and the romance, and the lies upon lies!"

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QFT.

"Don't worry, the lovemeister will take you under his wing."
"What, now there's a bird involved?"

Oh come on now, I only bother him about Frozen Aura. Everything else I'm quite civil to him.

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just got a reply.
"It is NOT resisted. This is as intended."

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Well son of a...

I sent in my question around noon!

I PMed Castle with this question already. Feel free to PM him as well, but I will let you all know what he says when I get a response.

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Was running a mission in Port Oakes with my lvl 15 Inv/SS Brute (i.e., NO Invincibility). It didn't take much more than one or two hits to have +1 LT Mooks with at least 2/3rds health REMAINING from running all over the place! It was like it was nearing supper time, they were a chicken, and I was some guy with an appetite and an axe.

I thought it was bizarre behavior for Mooks, but I'm sure its related.

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If those were mook sharpshooters (or whatever their snipers are called), they've done this for a while. They do it in missions as well. It's annoying, but firs with the flavor of the mob. However, getting a warehouse full of these guys is a PITA though, as they don't stop running forever.

Woot! Referenced by a Redname. I feel honored!

edit -> also, thanks for clarifying that and for continuing to pay attention to tanker issues _Castle_! We really appreciate it!

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I've found that once a certain portion of a mob is down a NPC runs. This also happens if the overall HP of a mob is low.

I'm betting they changed the AI and didn't tell us. Probably so that we wouldn't affect their experiment. Essentially is a double blind experiment, since we dont know, and they gather their data through datamining.

IF this is the case? Meh who cares, its annoying sure but i've been saved several times because an NPC ran instead of attacking me when I was close to death.

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That's not a double-blind experiment at all. That's a single-blind. Because the people conducting the study knew exactly what was going on.

I just spent an hour on live trying to reproduce these effects. With Icicles and CE running, the only mobs that would consistently try to run at low health were Behemoth Lieuts. I've always noticed that they've tried to back off and use ranged attacks though. However, as soon as Icicles hit again, they stopped trying to run, and stayed in melee.

No other group tried to run with any consistency. One Ritki tried to run, but that's one out of about 40 that I fought.

Just my results.

Hehe...you're planning on taking Frozen Aura...how quaint.

Really, it needs all 6-slots to be even mildly effective. Even then, Ice Patch and Icicles are both going to cancel it out. I'd suggest taking that one on test before taking it on live.

Also, I firmly recommend 3-slotting health for any Ice tanker, as it can benefit a defensive set greatly.

They should work fine, as they are Taunts. The problem is that gauntlet doesn't work, not the taunt mechanic itself.

With that much suckage coming at them, won't the AVs just fall over laughing so that you can just defeat them while they're down already?

First off, based on conversations with him, I know that Castle very rarely opens a link sent in a PM. Direct him to the thread, and maybe he'll look at it. But he might not click on the link.

Also, Posi's mailbox has been full a lot recently, he might have more important PMs to deal with.

I'd like a Dev or Redname response on this, but with Halloween and I8 right around the corner, who knows when we'll get one.

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Seriously, the more I read on what the Devs are doing to the AT, the more I truly believe they have no idea what the AT is supposed to be doing.

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This has been said about every hero AT. Scrappers just have it said about them by others, usually.

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Really? Scrappers seem to be one of the easiest to determine their role. They go nuts and kill stuff. They can also take a few hits along the way.

Tankers, in the Devs eyes, are supposed to take the damage from the enemies, unless there's too many enemies, or the enemy is really large and could one-shot a squishy (if you could one-shot anymore), or if the enemy deals damage you're weak to (per Statesman's example, which I don't succumb to).

I've played just about every AT to about level 20 (not that that's a definitive mark) and lowbie tankers are the only ones that seem to baffle me as to what it is they should be doing in a group. Now even high-level tankers without the ability to hold AV aggro without taunt makes me wonder what their role is.

Agreed.

Well, I, for one, still welcome our new, cynical Circeusian overlords.

I really would like to know why this kind of system was put into place though.

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I wonder what powertool they will use to "fix' this one?

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I hope it's a jackhammer, because it's the foundation that needs work.

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Controlled demolition might work better. Get some dynamite and blow the thing to hell. Then build it back up to what you want the AT to be.

Seriously, the more I read on what the Devs are doing to the AT, the more I truly believe they have no idea what the AT is supposed to be doing.

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Don't be silly folks. Taunt isn't required it just "adds flexibility"... Isn't that what the man said?

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It certainly will add flexibility to your teammates. Once their bones are broken, I'm sure they'll be very flexible.

Agreed. It really is like the Devs want tanks to take the damage at all times except when it is really necessary. If taunt is our only useful tool against an AV, then that is more than a little absurd.

No AT should be defined by a single power in any fight.

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There's a reason I don't much play my main any longer, and why I won't seriously roll up another tanker.

This is why.

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Same here. Got Aett to 50, then dipped on the AT for the most part. I only bring Aett back out when I need some influence.

Switching targets is a great thing, and is useful to a team. If another player is targetting through a Tank, that is their fault. No player should be targeting through the main tank. It's a bad idea for debuffs and attacks. That's really what every other AT should learn, not us.

Tank should be switching targets throughout combat, and every other AT should not be targetting through the tanker.

I agree with you on taunt though. It is best to pick and choose your taunt target, if you do indeed pick up taunt. It is not wise to pick an opponent at max taunt range unless they are targeting a squishy, as that will usually bring AoE doom upon your team. But taunt ain't useless unless you're really good at using gauntlet and other punch-voke tactics.

While I have the utmost respect for _Havok_ and Galcial Ice, as I learned from them too, both have left before current situations came into effect. Things have changed since they departed, and while most of what is now was around since before they left, tactics have definitely changed from when they played extensively. _Havok_ is still one of my heroes in this game, and if he were to come back, I'd support him on pretty much everything. However, I'd want him to get reaquanted with the game before that happened.

Cool...even just having that I think helps a lot.

I would agree with that, I just kinda wonder if it's almost a bit too basic. It's a great little short read for newbie tankers. That's why I suggest putting links to more advanced guides in there. That way they could read the guide, and if there was anything they wanted to read more about, the link is right there, instead of having them have to go find something else.

I think that would help to dispell most of my dissatisfaction with it. I think it's fine as is, but a little more could go a long way.

Juzam, while I agree that it is a more complicated trick, beginners don't need to learn that they need to maintain 100% of aggro all the time. Especially beginner tanks who could develop ulcers trying to do so. Invuln tankers could have problems up to level 18 if they're just relying on gauntlet. Stone tanks as well until the get mudpots.

Even Ice and Fire tanks, who get aggro auras early, need to understand that trying to hold 100% of the aggro will often get them killed. Bleeding off aggro may be complicated, but it's something every tank needs to learn, and learn early.

Also, I would have waited a bit for more feedback before putting this in the guides section, but that's just me.

I don't agree with recap number 3, nor your supporting section for it.

A good tank will hold aggro all the time. A GREAT tank knows when to hold aggro and when to bleed it off.

Also, a link to Circeus's taunt guide would be great in the aggro section, as it's way more complicated than you make it out to be.