Guide to Anchor Powers (FAQ & Screenshots)

deadboy_champion · 11-11-2004 08:26 AM

Guide to Anchor Powers (FAQ w/Screenshots)

Greetings. The following thread is a compiled discussion on powers that use "anchors" and the Archetypes that use them (Defenders/Controllers). This is suggested reading for anyone who uses anchor powers and especially for anyone who teams with people who use anchor powers. Some of the best Debuff powers (powers that weaken opponents) require an anchor and as many know Debuff powers are what can turn that Level 41 Warwolf into a Level 41 puppy.

First let me say a big thanks to everyone that helped to put this thing together - it's a group effort - so there's quite a few of you and you know who you are Ok on to the good stuff.

This discussion will address the following main points:

1. Definition of an anchor

2. List of powers that use anchors as well as a screenshot to identify the anchors

3. Sample anchor bind

4. Tips and strategies for solo and group play

1. Definition of an anchor

Certain powers that heroes and heroines use will cast an Area of Effect Debuff targeted on a specific mob within a group which in turn Debuffs all the mobs in its proximity. That mob is often called the anchor . As long as the anchor is alive, the Debuff effect will remain. Thus, it's a good idea to arrest the other mobs in the group and save the anchor for last.

2. List of powers that use anchors as well as a screenshot to identify the anchors

The following list are powers from the Defender and Controller Sets that use anchors. Also included is a link to a screenshot to identify what it looks like.

Darkest Night (from the DarK Miasma Set) reduces Damage and Accuracy

Darkest Night - mob on left is anchor

Radiation Infection (from the Radiation Emission Set) reduces Defense and Accuracy

Radiation Infection - mob in the center is the anchor

Enervating Field (from the Radiation Emission Set) reduces Damage and Resistance

Enervating Field

Snow Storm (from the Storm Summoning Set) reduces Recharge Rate and Movement

Snow Storm - mob on left is anchor

3. Sample anchor bind

Here's a sample bind for an anchor suggest by Shino_Yami

/bind g "group $target is my anchor - kill it last!$$powexec_name Darkest Night"

4. Tips and strategies for solo and group play

The following tips and strategies are taken directly from a thread or responses that were PM'd to me.

Detention Field (from the Force Field set) can be used to prevent the anchor from being arrested.

(suggested by DodgerTA - tested and confirmed by my SG mates)

Erratic:

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Of course there is some debate as to what is the "best" anchoring strategy. Some people (Rads mostly) with multiple anchors like the split them up, and regardless of multiple there is the question about what to anchor to in general.

Solo I anchor to the toughest mob around as its going to die last anyway.

In group I tend to also anchor to the toughest. He may be group priority but in the mean time I can lay out some hurting on other nearby things and if for some reason there are a ton of AEs being used he'll last longer.

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Chazzmatazz:

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Another tip for finding the anchor is to fight using a higher view (from above). You can more easily seem the center of the area of effect. Some of these toggle effects have MUCH larger AoE than others. Shadowfall has a huge one for instance. Very surprised when I saw how big the Shadowfall AoE was from the birds eye camera.

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@Deadboy

deadboy_champion · 11-11-2004 08:30 AM

SavageHenry:

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While the WoW Beta client's installing (shut up, we all get to cop out sometime), my hamster-brain sayeth:

-Dropping RI+EF on the same target is usually a good idea; however, in those cases where you're grouped with such rockheads that the Pumicites themselves cringe it might be safer to spread the love so to speak. Pick some poor gimp to drop RI on, and leave EF for the largest source of damage.

- As a followup, folks please don't get too mad when your anchors get blown up real good. Arrests happen, and as easy as you think it is to pick out your RI anchor in a herd of seisure-inducing special effects, it isn't. My old "first week of play" D3 just came out of cold storage, and Darkest Night can actually be rather troublesome to identify with 5-8 mobs huddled around the anchor. For RI, tell people to watch for the mob that the cocentric rings are eminating from on the floor. DN, not so sure yet as it's a lot harder to nail for me.

- For the love of Statesman people, USE LINE OF SIGHT! I like to travel around in city zones, just taking in the views and notice a lot of (new) Rad or Dark Defs just engaging right on the spot. You'll get mobs that flee, mobs that refuse to group within the anchor radius, and all sorts of other fun problems that leave you looking at your x-rays in 'ozzy. Try using the old jump trick; hop up, hit RI in midair and when you land sometimes you'll have instant mobility while still in the cast animation. Use that second or two to duck out of sight from your anchor target. Let them charge your position hidden around a corner, obstacle, etc and then engage when they're nice and huddled. Perfect time to drop Lingering Rad, keeping them as is. Just running in, and expecting everything to stay in position as you plink away is simply absurd.

There's a lot more to touch on, as this is one of the most subtle yet fundamental aspects of playing with an anchor power. We need them up, but have to respect the fact that they won't always be when we need them to be. I've been overly guilty in the past of verbally flogging players that took mine down three times in a row (yeah, three strikes, works for me), but we'll never get anywhere without education.

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LongReach:

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Wow, a Matt Howard AND Young One's fan? too cool..

Anyway, on to anchors. This is how I play w/ my Rad/Dark, YMMV.
I don't make a big deal about my anchors being nuked, I just adapt my gameplay. w/ hasten up, the regen time for EF is negligable. RI is an annoyance, because of time you stand there with your hand in the air like you're asking permission to go to the lavatory, but if I find I'm in a group that keeps nuking my anchors, I adapt in one of two ways.

1. Team is so Ub3r that they wade through the mobs too quickly: In this case, I just don't use RI, unless it is on a boss or something that will stick around.

2. (More common, alas) Team has collective IQ of a hammer, and they just don't get it. What is it they say "never wrestle with a pig. You'll just get dirty and the pig might get excited." I'll tell them about how anchors work. If they just don't get it, and the team isn't doing much for me, then I adapt by leaving. If the group has other redeeming features, then I'll deal with the anticiplated down time by using more crowd control: As soon as RI hits, I'll use LR to slow them, TT to grab them (that's in all my attacks) and DP to disorent some of them. This way if (when) my anchor gets dropped, the mobs are defanged enogh that there isn't much damage output for the interval in getting the next one up.

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DodgerTA:

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My Rad/Rad's current duty at lvl 33 is powerleveling my SG's low alts to 14. One of my SG mates scoffed at the idea that a DEFENDER could PL people, but shut up when she saw me in action last night. This is really easy since we have a lvl 25 for them to SK to, all I do is go to the south end of indy port (28's and 29's) and herd the entire south end of the zone into one spot using RI+EF to aggro all the mobs I'm training the old ones through (gotta turn off Stealth and SS or they don't keep aggro and can't keep up running). There's a specific set of crates with a little corridor leading in between them that works beautifully for stacking them up... the railroad box cars over by brickstown also work wonders. Once they're all there, I Aim+EMP the lot of them and then just Irradiate until they're all dead. Which, by the way, is LONG before my EMP wears off. :-)

(funny enough I did die once yesterday - a mekman landed a lucky stun shot on me. RI went down and the sheer number of 29 bosses and grenades around me hit me enough to kill me while I decided to EMP... I got the EMP off but died in the process. The EMP lasted long enough for a SG mate to LOG IN her blaster and FIND ME in the south end of IP, and Trip Mine the baddies into obliteration. I love this power. )

I could probably do it with Even-+3 cons once I get Tough and Phase Shift. :-)

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DodgerTA:

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I usually notify my teams simply not to kill my targets, but that AoE is OK. Then I pop my debuffs on a LT, keep him targeted, and tell everybody to check my target. The boss almost always dies first, because the Single Target guys go for him, and then any LT's and then minions, whereas the AoE guys do the opposite, killing all the minions, then LT's. If my buddies are worried about that LT, I just demonstrate Cosmic Burst to them and inform them that he won't be doing much of anything except maybe running away very, very slowly.

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@Deadboy

deadboy_champion · 11-11-2004 08:32 AM

Scientist:
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I play a rad and a storm, so know the effects of some of the debuffs.

Radiation Infection; large green swirling ring of green sparkles, the anchor has a smaller green ring just around him.

Enervating Field; has radiating lines/rings of green shooting out from the anchors feet. As mentioned earlier, this one is easier to see.

Snow Storm; I've used it regularly for several levels now, and I still can't figure out who my own anchor is once I lose track of them. :-P There *may* be a bit more of a bluish cloud around the anchor, I'm not sure, but the whole effect is pale enough its hard to see who the center of the ring is unless there are just a few mobs in it. Fortunately has a pretty fast casting time (though not recharge).

The advice about panning camera view up to "look down" on the fight, and setting default distance to at least 20 feet, is good; I use this a lot to refind my own anchors and warn people not to hit them with a keybind.

Another unrelated tip; if you look down and set camera distance to a large number, say 400 feet, you get a helicopter view that makes it a lot faster to find specific mobs for "defeat X" type missions (such as CoTs on roofs in KR).

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For anchor "labeling" my group has also used Fire Circle (a Fire blaster immobilize power of some kind). Not only does it prevent the anchor from running away and carrying the debuffs, which can be quite deadly, but the little fire circle is easy to spot.

This also has the advantage of giving the AoE fire blaster something to do for the first attack while the rest of us establish aggro, so he doesn't get blown up by counter-fire from the mobs. Aggro is rotating between the melee-rs (in first) to me (area debuffs) to blaster (AoE), which spreads out the damage nicely. Otherwise, caution is indicated if you lead off with area debuffs, you can get a lot of shots back at you, even if many miss due to RI.

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@Deadboy

deadboy_champion · 11-11-2004 08:36 AM

Shino_Yami:

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Occasionally I forget that I'm assisting, and end up announcing that one of my teammates should be killed last. It's very amusing.

I also tend to focus on using it on the bosses, since the rest goes down so quick, it doesn't really seem worth it most of the time.

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Retrogression:

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snow storm: there's a HUGE whirling storm around the anchor, and small ones around everyone affected, anchor or not. Sometimes the huge storm is hard to see if you are close to it. Snow storm is the only one of the four that is not under the anchor' feet. It's around and above his head instead.

RI has a sort of star green thing under the anchor's feet, and EF has a concentric ring radiating under the anchor's feet. I never put them both on the same target unless it's an archvillain or upper type boss thing that will do horrible damage. By the way, RI seems to keep the Vahz's embalmed cadavers/abominations from exploding. Not sure why, but it does.

The Dark and Storm anchor toggle debuffs have larger radius of effect than Radiation. That's why I put them on different targets; likelier to get more of the bad guys in one or the other at least that way.

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Psychlone2

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By the way, RI seems to keep the Vahz's embalmed cadavers/abominations from exploding. Not sure why, but it does.

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Debuffs interrupt interruptable actions, such as Vahz and CoT kamikaze attacks, Skyraider engineer FF generator deployment and Malta auto-turret buildings. DoT attacks are also handy for this.

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@Deadboy

deadboy_champion · 11-11-2004 08:40 AM

krushnor:

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i'm a lvl 16 dark/dark def and I love the guy hope the devs don't change him for the worse ever cause i'm so freakin powerful right now and will only get stronger. Having the ability to lock down 14 guy a few lts and a boss is something i'm very proud of. Also watching my teams life bar almost never dip down rocks.

As for anchor yeah black goo around him for shadow but hardly notice it myself and can lose track of anchor very fast if he's not on a boss or something.(wish it would turn anchor in to big black fluffy lookin guy, would make it easier for teammates and myself to see anchor)

I choose anchor by a few options
1.Is it all minions and a lt then usually a minion in the back middle and lock everyone down next to him(TT)
2.monster,AV,boss named or othewise
3.if teammates are idiots then I choose and its always the first thing to die even if is way in the back

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Night_Reaper:

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I always pick the biggest bad guy in the group (boss/lt) for my debuff anchors. They'll die last, and they are the ones I want to make sure are debuffed. Rad debuffs just turn them into teddybears, so I don't worry about them hitting me much

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RazorBluewing

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As for not using two different targets for RI and EF... I do a lot. I pick two guys next to each other. That way when one dies the other effect is still running (in case someone gets target happy) and if they are the last two left losing one of the debuffs is not that big a deal.

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@Deadboy

deadboy_champion · 11-11-2004 08:49 AM

Well it's lengthy reading but if you got this far I thank you for taking the time to look over it

Again many thanks to all the peeps for input and feedback

@Deadboy

Alur_Sarol · 11-11-2004 12:24 PM

I'm having problems getting that bind to work. I keep getting unknown command and the name of the mob I target.

deadboy_champion · 11-11-2004 12:56 PM

/bind g "group $target is my anchor - kill it last!$$powexec_name Darkest Night"

Hmm.. Do you have Darkest Night? If you do check the spacing between the words. In my experience binding powers it has to be exact - try it with the crey pistol hehe. What type of Defender/Controller are you?

@Deadboy

Alur_Sarol · 11-11-2004 02:20 PM

ok I got it to work, I missed the close quote - thanks

Bonehead · 11-11-2004 05:21 PM

Best. Guide. Ever. So, I'm a little biased as a Rad/Rad and Dark/Elec defender.

(darn double posts)

But still I fear and still I dare not laugh at the madman!

One man's "meh" is another man's "zomg". - Leatherneck

Procrastination meter coming soon.

Bonehead · 11-11-2004 05:22 PM

[ QUOTE ]
By the way, RI seems to keep the Vahz's embalmed cadavers/abominations from exploding. Not sure why, but it does.

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Had a funny, but deadly experience with this today. Walked up to a group of Vahz saw an Embalmed in the group. Somehow, though, I missed the Murk. So, I figured I'd put RI on the Embalmed Anchor, hit the Embalmed every once and a while just in case, and just kill everying else first starting with the Morts. No prob, right? So, I hop in after setting up RI and notice a dark effect on me. I shrug, switch targets and start wailing on the Murk and get him to about 1/2 health. Just about this time there's an explosion and I realize I'd been neglecting something...the Embalmed Anchor...it blew up. I blink for a couple, slightly surprised, and then try and cast RI again. Can't. Can't move either. I got stunned by the Murk and/or blast. Then I was dead suddenly. Not sure how the Embalmed Anchor blew himself up, but it was quite a shock when he did.

But still I fear and still I dare not laugh at the madman!

One man's "meh" is another man's "zomg". - Leatherneck

Procrastination meter coming soon.

Retrogression · 11-12-2004 09:46 AM

When you got stunned by the Murk, your toggles shut off. Then the Embalmed was free to explode.

Bonehead · 11-12-2004 07:23 PM

It's entirely possible that I missed the order the stun and explode happended in, though I didn't notice the stun until after the explostion. Ah, well. It was funny either way.

But still I fear and still I dare not laugh at the madman!

One man's "meh" is another man's "zomg". - Leatherneck

Procrastination meter coming soon.

Cowthulhu · 11-15-2004 08:56 AM

The best advice I can give you:
Always be prepared to turn your anchors off at a moment's notice.
Toggled anchor powers stay on until a) you disable them or b) the target is defeated.

If you get a runner with an anchor on them, they will aggro anything they come in contact wiith. Normally, you don't want to have that happen and you should be on the lookout for this. Also be wary of anchors getting knocked off ledges and railings and making the denizens below unhappy.

There will also be situations where you may want to shut off a toggle because the anchor has been moved and is no longer in an advantageous position.

The corollary to this is that you must have a target in order to shut off a toggle. If there is an enemy in line of sight, this will never be a problem. If, however, you have no enemies in sight (imagine being in a cave tunnel and your toggle runs around a corner) and you lose your target lock on him you will not be able to turn the toggle off. If you have a teammate or an NPC handy, though, you're in luck, because targeting them will allow you to disable that debuff.

[url="http://tinyurl.com/4ylgy"]The Wanderers[/url] of Virtue
We farm fun!

deadboy_champion · 11-15-2004 02:34 PM

Ah very good points that I didn't even mention. Thanks!

@Deadboy

EViLHomer_ · 11-16-2004 06:06 AM

Managed to get a fire/rad controller to 12 since friday and have been learning about anchors. All very good advice here -think the bind to explain who the anchor is - is great

Have picked RI and EF (end hog apparently :, but not smoke, as both affect acc and def rather than just acc.

Thanks - just need to put all into practice now

quietech · 12-10-2004 01:23 AM

Prepare yourselves for my completely shameless self plug.

Heheh. A big thing that came out from that was being aware of your teammates when picking an anchor. Blasters tend to wipe out minions first, so anchoring the strongest is fine for those times. If you're teamed with Scrappers or Tankers, it's the opposite. They will take out the toughest foes first, then deal with the minions. That's when a weaker target would make a good anchor. If you've got Blasters and Tanks/Scrappers on the team, then go for the middle of the road or pick somebody who'll survive an initial AoE and make sure you announce it. An exception to this would be any time you've got villians with status effect powers, in which case they need to be 'arrested' first.

Toxic_She_Devil · 12-20-2004 10:27 AM

Just thought i would mention, i have added this thread to my sig.

I was groped with a blaster this weekend and he shall remain nameless, shot down my anchor at least 6 times in one fight. It got a little frustrating. It was like she was targeting any the was green and glowie. Lol, i need to make her read your guide!

Cowthulhu · 12-20-2004 12:50 PM

Just a note to all that there is a change to toggle debuffs in Issue 3. These powers now have a max range of 300 feet. If you get further away from your anchor than that, the toggle will shut off.

[url="http://tinyurl.com/4ylgy"]The Wanderers[/url] of Virtue
We farm fun!

deadboy_champion · 12-21-2004 08:14 AM

[ QUOTE ]
Just thought i would mention, i have added this thread to my sig.

I was groped with a blaster this weekend and he shall remain nameless, shot down my anchor at least 6 times in one fight. It got a little frustrating. It was like she was targeting any the was green and glowie. Lol, i need to make her read your guide!

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Thanks TSD but lets call it "Guide to Anchor Powers" - as it is a work compiled by many.

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Just a note to all that there is a change to toggle debuffs in Issue 3. These powers now have a max range of 300 feet. If you get further away from your anchor than that, the toggle will shut off.

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Yes - I'm pondering on re-editing the guide.

Additionally I think Snowstorm is being offered as a Blaster Epic.

@Deadboy

Myndstar · 03-11-2005 09:10 AM

An interesting tactic some friends and I have been experimenting with is using a confused target as your anchor. The idea is that the mob that has been confused will attack other mobs thus keeping the anchored power near those other baddies. Our experiments have shown that it can be a little hit or miss depending on the distribution and location of mobs in the area, but when it works it really works well.

Rufus_NA · 03-11-2005 10:36 AM

I believe that Telekenesis is also an anchored toggle AoE. Good luck figuring out which one is the anchor with that one though.

ILLINI · 06-10-2005 01:04 PM

I used these binds and love them.

/bind y "team The villain with the green aura is a debuff anchor. He is radiating an effect that severely weakens all nearby villains. Try to avoid killing him."

/bind u "team $target is the anchor for Radiation Infection!!!$$ powexec_name Radiation Infection"

/bind i "team $target is the anchor for Enervating Field!!!$$ powexec_name Enervating Field"

Arlanni · 12-17-2007 09:46 PM

For Skyraiders, I'll anchor AOE debuffs on the ff generator if they have one. It's programmed to remain near the other mobs, and if you have enough firepower to blow the Raiders up anyway, you can leave it for last, since it can't hurt you.
Can't say I made this up, I got it from a friend, but it often works very well.