Any Anchor reads?

Hello all

I recently started a Rad/Sonic Corrupter and I could use some help with using my anchors. I looked around and found one thread about understanding anchors but it seemed to me to be more about how groups can benefit from understanding them then what I needed to know. Like most people I'm sure I'm having the common issue of understanding who and where to anchor. I'm doing storyline quest at low levels and the same issue comes up each time I toss out RI/EF. If there is a group of three or four let's say, then either (1) my anchor rushes up to me and the others stay behind and range me (2) The anchor stays and the others melee, or three (and this one is the worst) they all run in four different directions and range me. Can anyone recommend a good read on using anchors properly for someone who needs basic help with them? thank you in advance

At first, I was going to simply suggest throwing Sonic's -Res toggle on whomever seems to be the most survivable melee character on your team; then I realized that you're actually talking about Sonic/Rad, not Rad/Sonic.

Speaking to your specific issues (range/melee and spreading mobs), the simplest fix is to use terrain and obstacles to your advantage; whether you anchor your debuff(s) on a melee opponent or a ranged opponent becomes less important if they're all grouped up at a corner. You'll still get some runners, specifically the melee ones who want to run over and punch you in the face, but there are ways around that as well, such as Hovering over the mobs.

Another important consideration in choosing anchors is "flight risk". Anything that teleports (Tsoo Sorcerors, Sky Raider, uh, Porters, etc.) is a terrible choice, since they'll take the debuff with them, both negating its effect on the mobs in front of you and potentially aggroing mobs you haven't even met yet. Also, some enemies like to run all over the place (Tsoo Blue Ink Men, Council Wolves); those are equally poor choices.

Besides using terrain to your advantage, remember that *you* are also mobile.

If your anchor closes on you and the others stay at range, take the fight to those others by closing with them. Yes, that will aggro them on you, but now they are all in the debuff, because your original anchor has followed you over to them.

Take out the other baddies, then your anchor last.

I typically pick whichever one seems the least threatening at the time when solo.

When teamed I try to pick the one that will probably live the longest.

As far as getting them to hold still....good luck with that. I usually just run around a corner and get them to clump together when they follow me. This tactic is almost mandatory when fighting Council, because they never seem to want to bunch up on their own.

As others have suggested, use terrain to force the baddies to clump up. Easier solo, on a team you usually can't get everyone else to duck behind a corner. Zoom out to the extent you can, and maintain good situational awareness in case you get an anchor runner. Put each debuff on a different anchor, so if one runs you still have SOME mitigation, and you don't have to turn both off and reset.

Your other main option is to take and use the slow that comes with the toggle debuff; Lingering Radiation, in the case of a Rad, Tar Patch in the case of a Dark, etc. That will slow their running out of debuffs (except in the case of those Council wolves, again, its pretty much pointless, if not actively dangerous, to use toggle debuffs on them unless you have a tank pinning them in place). Down side as a rad is that its sometimes nice to save that for an additional spawn that may be taking a bit too close an interest in your group, its your only pre-epic mitigation once your toggles are tied up.

I recommend the Psi epic for a rad, by the way, Mass Hypnosis is easy to make permanent, recharges for every spawn, and debuffs don't break sleep so you can set up your whole debuff string on the spawn before waking them to a nice batch of damage.

Finally, just as a note, over the years the devs have added more AI to cause mobs who are missing too much, or otherwise being debuffed, to scatter. In particular I've seen anchor mobs turn and run from their spawn, then as soon as the debuff is turned off, back they come. Having a bit of recharge in your debuffs isn't bad for that reason. I don't entirely blame the devs for doing that, it not only "makes sense" for the baddies (who aren't supposed to be idiots, after all) but also keeps toggle debuffs from being the complete Easy Button they would otherwise be. You know, "With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility blah blah blah".

Some really good advice above.

I'll add, once you hit lvl 18: Siren's Song the mob first.

For lower levels, hover, dragging the anchor around and pulling to corners tend to be my lynchpins.

And, if you're in a team and still having these issues, let someone else get the aggro before using your toggles.

Keeping the advice simple - just see what lives longest on your team through a couple of spawns and start using that.

Some teams really focus fire on bosses, this means a lieutenant is a good choice.

Some teams have incredibly heavy AoE and/or Knockback, this means bosses are the best choice.

Some enemies need to be taken out of the fight quickly, in those cases anchor them first.

I'm not sure I'd toss an anchor on a mob that's a priority for being taken out first; I guess you mean, "make sure that one gets the debuff(s)", but if it's a truly dangerous mob, and the team is tactically proficient enough to defeat it first, then you've got to retoggle.

Which is actually a good segue. (Thanks, StormDevil. Hey, no problem, StormDevil.)

Different folks have different strategies for the twin toggles; some like to cast them both on the same mob, some like to RI one, and EF another. They're both viable options; the former perhaps lends itself better to, "make sure we kill (...you are on Redside, right?) that guy last", while the latter is more of a, "we're ripping through these guys pretty fast, nothing lasts that long anyway" kind of thought process. Learning to retoggle quickly can be key for +3 and +4 mission teams; those few seconds without either or both of the toggles can get sketchy pretty quick.

One way to set up an anchor is to target your intended "anchor" mob, leap through the air to behind an obstacle that blocks the target's view of your character, and then initiate the toggle as you are in mid-air.

The effect is that your targets become aware of the anchor in their midst once you're behind an object. They can't see you, so they all come by to say "hi there!"

I've got some info on good RI/EF use in the Rad guide in my sig if you want to take a look.

/shameless plug

Another thing about anchors: You have to develop a certain tranquility. An old Dungeonmaster rule was "If you give it hit points, they will find a way to kill it. " If my anchor lasts to the second half of the fight, I'm very happy. . . I only really complain if they kill my anchor FIRST.