Originally Posted by
WhoIsThis
Bears
Against Mobs
What makes a bear is the potent crowd control abilities. You're not going to be the one that gets the most kills. Instead, your job is to go in and create the conditions in which the team can wipe out their intended targets quickly, while sustaining minimal damage.
At times, I feel that bears are under-appreciated and are treated unfairly. Experienced players will know the value of a good bear that uses crowd control and can tank effectively. On the other hand, there are some truly terrible bears out there that if you booted them, the team would actually go faster because of their tendency to scatter mobs.
Bears have become the least welcome class in the end game and there is something of a "noob" bear perception. The reason why is because the majority of bears do not tank nor use their crowd control abilities effectively. Many bears focus purely on being an attack bear. Many bears have told me that their job in the team is to spam their slashes and to fire their main weapon. In practice, bears won't be able to do as much damage as a dex bird nor an int mage with this mentality. This has contributed to their bad rep. Essentially, they are a warbird with bear skills. Warbirds will outdamage them.
The other reason why bears have a bad reputation is that there is the perception that bear players tend to "mess up" the most. The very worse thing a bird could do would be to kill a teammate by blowing a barrel up (or a fire vent) with the blast shot or to repulse a boss near death, causing them to reset. Mages can set off fire vent or barrel too (fire blast is notorious for this). But bears when they don't use beckon and stomp can routinely cause mobs to scatter. They can also taunt fire vents or stomp near them causing an explosion. Stomp, like repulse for birds can also cause a boss to reset.
As a bear, you'll have to work hard to diminish this rather unfair perception. Unfortunately, fair or not, the perception is there. Crowd control and tanking are what separate good from bad bears.
So how does a bear tank? Before you begin, bring enough health potions to last the run. Tanking can be pot intensive, especially if you are a dex bear. The objective of tanking and crowd controlling is to drive a mob into a position where they can easily be killed by AOE spells, while keeping the mob off the rest of the party.
1. Survey the area: You'll ideally want your targets to be against a wall when you tank, so find a wall (easy to do in most dungeons - large rooms like in the Bandit Boy Stronghold first room can be a bit of a challenge - drive them to "9 clock position" in that room - away from fire vents and away from the spawning point in the event that the round-up fails). Against large open areas like the Graveyard in Symphony, try hugging the walls and driving targets towards the walls.
2. Buff. Cast evade, iron blood, and rage. You'll need the first two for survivability and the last one to supplement the team's damage.
3. Approach the mob and cast taunt. The targets will have a red "glow" and will be drawn towards you. You can cast Hell Scream now to minimize the amount of damage you take. Alternatively, you could delay Hell Scream a bit until either a mage debuffs or a bird casts shattering scream to form the "terror". Up to you - experiment and see what works. In PUGs though, I recommend casting Hell Scream early as there is no assurance that your teammates will debuff.
4. Go against the wall and beckon. Remember, the objective is to drive the targets against the wall and keep them there. I know that this sounds bizarre, but when you beckon - don't select a target to auto. Beckon (strangely) works better when you do not auto a target.
5. Move away from the wall and opposite to the direction that you beckoned. In a hallway, stand in the middle of the hallway. In a room, stand about 3m away from the wall. If you didn't cast Hell Scream earlier, do it now. The stun effect of the beckon has probably worn off and if your team hasn't debuffed, they won't. (Chances are, you're in a PUG that has players who do not understand the concept of debuffing.) Ask them politely to debuff next time. If they don't, next time, cast Hell Scream as directed in step 3.
6. Cast stomp. This will combo to form "smash" and slam the mob against the wall. This is why having a wall is so critical. Otherwise, the mobs would just scatter when you stomped them, making all that you've done pointless. Putting them against a wall makes it easier to kill.
7. Assist your team in killing. By now, archers should have casted blast shot/cruel blast, mages should be nuking, and so on. You can assist your team in killing. Priority targets are enemy dex units (aliens with blasters and bandit boy birds, along with the green slime mages with fire weapons). They should be taken out with your slashes and crushing blow.
8. As soon as you see the majority of the enemies near death and you're reasonably certain that the team can kill without the need for a tank, move on. It's important that you stay ahead of your group. Nobody wants a bear that stays in the rear and is afraid to die. You won't be getting very many kills if you do that anyways - the birds will get the kills with their cruel blast and mages with their AOE. Repeat cycle for the next mob.
You'll want to always stay one step ahead of the group. Don't expect to get many kills as a bear, but at the same time, you can expect the least amount of deaths. Good bears often have much higher PvE K/D ratios compared to their squishier counterparts. Your job is not to kill, but to tank; a good party will understand that.
....
Against bosses
Against bosses, these are the goals:
1. Acquire Aggro: The ideal boss fight goes with the bear starting with aggro and holding it for the entire duration without any deaths in the party. In order to do this, the best way is for the bear to go in first, taunt, beckon, and stomp the boss into a wall or corner where available. Otherwise, spam slashes and crushing blow.
2. Hold Aggro: This is a challenge because bears do not do as much damage as other classes. If a bear did not get aggro at the start, they need to gain aggro. The best way to do this is to try to use the smash combo and to taunt the boss repeatedly. This may not succeed the first time, but a sustained barrage usually does the job.
3. Protect the rest of the team: Wherever the bear does faces the boss, they need to protect the rest of the team. At the end game, often squishier builds can be killed in one hit. The key as a bear to do this is to be able to know when your teammates are in trouble and to use a well aimed beckon (or stomp) to pull the boss towards you or push the boss away from the vulnerable target when they get aggro. Good aim is crucial as you do not want to reset the boss. Generally your comrade is in trouble if they have low hp and are being targeted by the boss. In such a situation, attempt to beckon the boss, and taunt. You can also stomp, but be very careful about where you stomp - you do not want to stomp the boss and cause it to reset.
Generally, for the bulk of the fight though, you want the boss pinned against the wall (or ideally a corner) and targeting you for the entire fight. Depending on the difficulty of the boss and the skill of the mage(s) in the party, you may or may not need to use health potions. Specific mechanics of certain bosses will require movement, but you want to hold aggro for the duration of the fight.
As a strength bear, you will want to stand your ground in your strength gear when facing the boss. In dex gear when facing the boss, you can kite, but try to keep aggro on you nonetheless unless in the presence of a warbird or pally or a bear in strength gear. Bear in mind that this is intensive in terms of health potion usage, so you'll want to stock up and not rely on the mage. It is even more intensive than when facing crowds. Int bear plays very similar to dex bear, only that gathering mobs is more critical as your relying heavily on your AOE from staff and the skill damage from your stomp.
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