I'm bringing PuG complaining back

haven't seen a PuG complaint lately so I thought I'd mention it

I like playing with tankers. I like playing tankers.

But when a tanker thinks they are herding by aggroing group after group, then because of the aggro cap leaving them behind to attack everyone else while they go aggro the next group - it isnt much fun

I think he aggro'd 4 groups and was at the end of the hallway facing maybe 2 of them. The rest of us were stuck with a hallway of aggro'd enemies attacking us as we tried to reach him.

Don't question the Tank, he is always right. How dare you.

If you simply add a FF or Sonic Defender then the whole team is a tank.

I know when I play my sonic or FF the whole team realizes they are "tanks" and then all sense of working as a team goes away and everyone scatters in 7 directions. Then the bubbles wear off and people start dying and demanding a "healer"

First mistake:

Quote:

Originally Posted by dugfromthearth I like playing with tankers.

Second Mistake:

Quote:

I like playing tankers.

I don't mind when players rush ahead and start fighting groups of enemies if they can handle it BUT OMG BUT! DO NOT this aggreivates me sooo much DO NOT jump to the next group when you still have bosses left behind to defeat!!! Arrrg Some of my squishy characters get clobbered by bosses and none of the other enemies, its no feat to beat up minions and LTs its the bosses that cause the most trouble imo.

Why does scraplock have to extend to "Oh noes someones taking my mobs here I better rush to the next one because I want to finish off the group by myself befor they get here even though Im not done here with this mob".

I feel better

^ It's not so much "me me me" but rather "looks like these guys have it handled, might as well jump to the next group as to avoid wasting time with overkill", at least to me. Some are admittedly poor at making these calls.

The tank is just trying to help you build character. And debt.

Can we expand the thread to other PuG complaints?

I joined a PuG doing ep 5 of the sig arc the other day. I've already done it dolo slow and measured for the story. Out of interest, I asked how mamy of us (full team) had done it. 4 said no, inc the leader who's misdion it was!

It was a steamroll rush-job. After the cutscene someone asked 'why are we fighting that big genie?' and after the fight he asked 'who's the dead guy?'

Eco

Quote:

Originally Posted by Samuel_Tow [The Incarnate System is] Jack Emmert all over again, only this time it's not "1 hero = 3 white minions" it's "1 hero = 3 white rocks."

When I play as a tank, I often have to rush forward to the next group because, for some reason, the squishies like to jump ahead of me. It usually follows this pattern:


#1 I am fighting enemies in the current group.
#2 A Blapper or a defender runs forward and draws alpha from the next group.
#3 Everyone follows that toon into battle (because they can't tell the difference between them and the giant electric-pink character with the battleaxe)
#4 Half of the team dies due to the inability to widthstand the aggro.
#5 Half the team complains that I am an ineffective tank.


And so I sometimes feel like I'm have to rush ahead to the next group to stop those stupid squishies from smashing their head against the wall. Those darn things just can't stop trying to kill themselves.

I was on one of my newer scrappers the other night, pre SOs. Just killing stuff, y'know how it is. I get a tell asking for some help with a mission, usually I'm down for whatever so I agree. It's a single emp/nrg def, understandable that they want a hand. No one else is invited to the team, it's cool I'm down with a duo. Quick check of their powers doesn't raise any flags: fort and RAs are all there (not high enough for AB yet), along with vet badges up to the six or nine month mark, don't remember, I often play from my inversion table.

So the mission begins and it's fine, the emp plays pretty aggressively which is always nice to see. About four groups in I realize that while they are doing an admirable job healing, I don't have any buffs. I mention that fortitude is a really great buff. They agree that it is, then run to the next mob. Another group, still no buffs, no fort, no RAs. Lots of healing aura though.

I finally break down and ask politely for some fortitude(my scrapper is EA and pre SOs especially the +def comes in real handy), they say ok and I'm all like "Cool finally, maybe this guy just doesn't know how much easier this'll be..."

I glance up at my buff bar and I have... Clear Mind. I wait a few seconds and... He runs off and aggros two groups, we end up faceplanting.

I don't usually one star people, but...

I have learned to make the distinction between "tank" the noun, and "tank" the verb.

Just because someone is a tank (noun), does not in any way mean they have the first clue about how to tank (verb).

Has nothing to do with PuG's, it has to do with ignorance about what the job of tanking is about. New players often want to play a tank because it's the toughest thing out there, and vet players often continue to play the way they initially learned. Also, everyone is schooled in "follow the tank" and "tank has the lead!"

Between these two things, I confess that I have often wondered if this somehow mentally equates to having extra-large man parts. Does it? Is tanking a "manly" profession? I always thought of it as being rather mom-like, like a in mother hen keeping the chicks safe.

Confession: when I tank for a team, I run ahead as well. Hopefully, I have judged correctly that it's minor mop-up. Hopefully. But the pressure to rush on is pressing at me. I have learned the hard way that I really do have to be the first one to get to the next spawn, or a controller will beat me there and "helpfully" immobilize the entire group scattered all over the place, insuring that all of our collective PBAoE/AoE have become largely single target.... and that I am really only guessing about what aggro I've got, to boot. ("Spam that taunt to the four corners and pray! SPAM, I TELL YOU!!").

For the record, my least favorite AT to play is a team tank. Most favored is a controller (I skip the AoE immob, or, if absolutely necessary, place it firmly at the END of attack chain, thank you).

CoX promotes the idea, from the tutorial on up, that each of us can solo just about any mob in a mission, regardless of AT. I've noticed that this results in teams of soloists, where each feels it is his or her duty to go fight their own mob and team tactics be damned. The game gives everyone the impression they are Michael Jordan, so it should be no surprise that everyone acts like they have the ball and should do all the scoring.

The usual argument I see from vets against the idea of formal team tactics is that it slows things down and lowers the xp/sec rate. Or that it turns every mission into a dull exercise of following the same (winning) combat script over and over. Which is kinda true, but I think finding and executing a successful team combat sequence is a good habit to get into so that when you do occasionally find the situation turning pear-shaped, the team is in a far better position to handle it. Of course, this is more practical with a team of friends who play together a lot, not PuGs, but if everyone learned (and valued) their team role as much as their solo productivity, PuGs might not be so iffy a proposition.