_Jack__EU

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And as for that impromptu Ceremony inside City Hall at Midnight... I know it was short notice - but to those who could make it - well, it meant the world to me, I was really touched... I literally had tears streaming down my face at the send-off.

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Awww, I'm sorry I missed that, but your reaction is so sweet and really does sum up why CoH has such a fantastic community.

Look forward to your return Mum, take care during your break.

Meantime, who's going to fill the gap helping people in the Hollows?? I say Jaqueline does the first shift as penance

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you will be missed probably the most well known healer on union certainly one of the best [img]/uk/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]

Hope i8 isnt to far away [img]/uk/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img] so union can see you once again on patrol

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Of course, this means I may need you more for rezzing me on all those Infernal missions I seem to end up on [img]/uk/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]

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Just to answer the OP, NO.
I don't understand the reason why you shouldn't pick THE defining power of tankers.

[/ QUOTE ]Except that taunt isn't the defining power, not after aggro caps got implemented...Aggro aura is.

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Aggro aura doesn't do much to help the teammate who's just picked up a stray mob and is rapidly turning a horrible shade of orange. A quick taunt usually sorts that problem out. Sure, you might want to move and rely on your aura or a punchvoke, assuming you get there in time, to recapture the aggro of that stray mob, but do you really want to reposition a whole group of mobs and take them closer to the poor squishy?

I constantly keep an eye on the team's health bars and taunt whenever I see anyone picking up stray aggro they can't handle. For me it's never really been a serious consideration as to whether taunt was worth having or not.

Enjoy the break mum - at least you want have to drop the knitting as much for a while.

Still, who's going to rez me every couple of minutes next time I decide that repeated faceplanting on Infernal is some kind of perverse fun [img]/uk/images/graemlins/shocked.gif[/img]

Cya when you get back, so take care meantime.

I was teamed with another tank last night. Ok, it was a person I know fairly well in game and have teamed with a lot but as they were a Stone Tank and could take more punishment than my Inv tank the general tactic was Stone tank in and grab aggro, me in a few seconds later to releive the aggro on them. I've got no problem with playing backup to a better tank. Some team combinations are better than others, but to be honest if I know someone well enough I'll team with whatever toon they want to play and see if it works.

And of course you can level one toon and understand the perspective of other ATs. Read the other AT forums here, discuss it in your SG forums if you have them, pay attention and learn when you team.

Oh, and don't get me started on pulling.

Generally I don't find a problem teaming with another tanker, and especialy not if its someone I know fairly well. I've also teamed with the peeps Buckman mentions and because people know what they're doing it's fine.

Against an AV like Infernal I'd always prefer to have more than one tank on the team anyway, one for Infernal and one for the demons. Opinions may vary though.

I also agree with Buckman that you really don't want to be the first to go down, though sometimes it does happen, because you're giving up the aggro as soon as you do and the rest of the team may follow quickly. Tanking is great fun, but it doesn't have to be suicidal [img]/uk/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]

First proper thing I did was go to RV in a team and get my *** kicked. Still, at least I don't have to worry about the debt [img]/uk/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

Gratz Power Doll.

I seem to have tanked a fair bit with you over the last week, so wasn't surprised at all to see you'd hit 50 last night.

8PM may be kind of early for me but if the party is still swinging later I'll try to come by. I've told my SG buddies about it though so hopefully some of them will drop in.

Now all I need to decide is - cossie of tux? [img]/uk/images/graemlins/confused.gif[/img]

Thanks all, it was a truly great buzz when it happened [img]/uk/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

And you helped in the final stretch Hawk, so cheers mate it was appreciated.


And you might be right Solar, Jack Shade (guess the epic? [img]/uk/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]) is already on the loose.

Finally made it past the finishing post last night and dinged my first 50.

Huge thanks to everyone I teamed with along the way - and the last few days were pretty intense - and to those that were there helping me get there at 2:30AM.


Also, gratz to Angelique who dinged about 15 minutes before me on the same mish.


Does this mean I can get my life back again? [img]/uk/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

Now why did I know you'd be standing in Atlas plaza in the pics [img]/uk/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]

That "schliikt" noise the claws make. What more do you want?

I actually created a new claws/dark scrapper last night, which was my first experience of claws, and found it great fun. I only leveled him to lvl 6, but the low endurance costs was nice. Oh, and did I mention the "schliikt" noise?

As I mainly play my tank I love anyone that can give me a little more durability when I'm surrounded by mobs. It's not so much about the powerset though, it's the player using it. I team regularly with 2 empaths (although one is on a break at the moment) and I'm definately more effective with them. In fact, I've teamed with one of them from lvl 8 upwards (since Christmas - I'm a slow leveller ) and when you get to the stage where you can second-guess each others actions it's makes a huge difference. When that person is a really good empath the effect can be devastating. Tanking very large groups 5 levels above you isn't the debt fest it usually is.

I'm always happy to see a good empath in the team.

Whilst opinions on taunt vary, I have to admit that, for two reasons, I find it too useful to respec out of my lvl 43 inv/fire tank.

Firstly, whilst I use combustion and fire sword circle to punchvoke and keep aggro, and have a decent gauntlet, strays do sometimes get away and taunt is a good way of getting aggro off a squishy and back onto you.

Second, and this is more of an issue at higher levels, I can only really retain the aggro from AVs and GMs if I taunt them directly. Maybe I just need a stronger gauntlet, although it's generally fine for normal mobs, but I suspect not.

I tend to agree that you can tank without taunt, but I've never been tempted to drop it for something else.

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Phobos - Hee, hee, hee... I've got toons at almost every level range there is! Give me a shout and we'll team up again!

Yello - You silly guy! If you need any help, let me know!

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Cheers hunny

Jack's been kinda preoccupied as of late - but the big push for 50 will be coming soon

Yay, GRATZ SM!!!

Everyone's putting me to shame now. Better get my finger out and actually do something to get of lvl 43 I suppose

At least I now know why Polaxis is to be found grooving in Altas so much

And now that I've managed to steal...I mean borrow...a pair of headphones from somone one else's desk I can give it a listen.

LOL, well thanks to everyone who made it a night to remember.

I'll be polite and not mention the more..umm..unruly contingent though because we still had fun.

I'm just glad I had an unused waiver for the tux...not cheap I'm told

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......and been to a wedding lol

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If it was the one in PI then the bride and groom send their thanks


And if it wasn't - there was another wedding last night???

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Not only do you need the star, but I think you need taunt (or some other ranged attack) as well. Not *just* to herd and control agro but to take control of pulls.


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I don't find this too much of a problem since I seem to be teamed with quite a lot of the same people these days and usually they're pretty receptive to a change in tactics when things clearly aren't working too well. Obviously it help to state your intentions and get them accepted before you reach that situation, but as I said, generally I don't find it too bad (the odd nightmare mish apart).

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The other story was an idiot with group teleport who caused a team wipe by tping us all into a mob when we weren't ready. This was after I'd twice asked him not to group tp as he'd nearly gor us wiped out before and it's slighly disorientating when you don't know it's coming.


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I never dream of accepting an invite without prompt for TP on. Its particularly annoying when there's a retreat taking place and you, the Tank, get TPd out before the rest of the team. Tanks in first; tanks out last.

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I'm also coming to the conclusion that to be a great tank you absolutely, positively MUST have taunt, because you have to take on the duty of pulling as well. In my experience less than 1 in 5 ppl know how to pull properly. They'll fire off their shot and then stand there in full view. The mob will return fire and after a couple of exchanges the rest of the team surge forward, rendering the pull attempt futile.

So, to be a great tank, imho, you have to tell the team, I'll be pulling the mob to *here*, give me a few second to gather up the agro and then go wild. Or, whatever the specifics of the plan are.


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Though it is extremely frustrating when a blaster decides to pull, with no plan, as your're busy typing the aforementioned instructions, leaving you with a scattered group of mobs attacking at range and on obligation to try and do something about before anyone ends up face-down.

I'm not a huge fan of pulling to be honest, though it has it's place in certain situations. Maybe it's just overdone because someteams don't have enough confidence in the tanks ability to hold most of the aggro. Where possible I'd much rather get in amongst the mobs and keep them on me while everyone else gets on with doing their thing. My main use of taunt these days is getting any mobs that manage to break away back into the group. A zoomed out camera and a careful eye on the team's health bars can do wonders for keeping people alive.