BG only transfer a part of your taken damage to your pets, basicly the damage that hit you after your defence check. Defence on them wont change that at all, it merely helps on the damage they might take itself (lost agro or aoes)
Foolish i wouldnt say, but i wont call it smart. Bots can heal greatly, with the defence of FF and protector bots they have sufficient defence to last quite some time. I asume you havent fought great aoe mobs yet, like the earth casters of CoT (stalmites) or the subuccu of CoT. Not only your pets have to cary your damage, but also their own damage of the aoe.
Why would you tank for your pets? They are replaceble far easier then you are (specialy in FF its easier), if you become target of a massive attack, just pop PFF or spam forcebolt.
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(50)MaceX/(50)Encore
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Mace Mastery > Web Envelope actually has a taunt effect built in to it (to ensure you get some aggro, since its otherwise damage-less) that I have used to act as a Taunt-lite under certain circumstances.
I guess you can be a party meatshield as a Bots/FF but I wouldn't recommend it against anything that is AoE heavy like Sin says. If you have to, then ensure you direct the AoE's away from your pets (by standing off to one side, or hovering a good distance above them).
If you want to tank as an MM, you're really best off with /dark, because the PBAoE heal really boosts the usefulness of BG mode a LOT.
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If you want to tank as an MM, you're really best off with /dark, because the PBAoE heal really boosts the usefulness of BG mode a LOT.
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It's more a bit of fun than a serious effort MaX, concept over effectiveness. I'm already at level 19 so I'll see how it goes. As Master Z and Sinergy have already advised AoEs are really causing me problems. I'm trying to focus on any AoE/cone mob and take them down fast (one of the few time's i'll switch out of BG mode).
If I get fed up and find it's really not working for me I'll reroll as a zombie/dark.
Thanks for the tips guys.
I want to start be saying that I haven't had pleasant experiences with MMs. I have played Ninja (twice!), Mercs, Thugs and Zombies. All have been subject to the dreaded delete, and my Ninja and Mercs were in the 20s. I found them all to be dull to play, but that may well have been my playstyle.
I have now created a Robots/FF MM with the intention of playing as a ranged tank. I have already got it to lvl 19 and I'm enjoying it a lot.
My main idea for this MM is to be in Body Guard mode for 90% of my time. I have already picked up the AoE taunt from the presence pool and may get challenge soon.
So far so good. I start a fight by using either my assault rifle or force bolt to get the mob to attack me. The bots then defend me but also grab the agro. I'm having a tough time keeping it with just provoke at the moment. When I get to higher lvls I plan to use Force Bubble and Dispersion Bubble (i think that's the one) to keep the mobs out of melee but still focused on me.
Being defense based I'm a bit confused how defense is calculated in BG mode. I've heard that only the MMs defense is taken into account. If this is the case, and I can keep the aggro on me (the MM), then are the bubbles on the bots pointless?
Anyone out there have any practicle experience of trying to play a MM as a tank?
Any other powers I should pick as aggro grabbers?
Lastly, am I being a bit foolish playing bots/ff like this? Obviously playing a melee based MM (like zombies) and picking a secondary like DM would be far more effective but wouldn't be a ranged Tank.