Warrior Tanking Basics

Here's a quick note about the basic function of the 'tank' in Pocket Legends...

As Daphne points out (quite astutely), the Enchantress can pull aggro very effectively by invoking her healing skill within range of roaming monsters. Additionally, the Avian Archer can pull massive aggro by doing area-effect damage with 'Blast Shot.' This is relevant to Ursan Warriors because, when he's 'tanking' for his group, the Warrior's job is to get and hold aggro, absorb tons of damage and prevent monsters from doing damage to the rest of the party.

When Enchantresses and Archers pull aggro from the Warrior he has a couple of techniques he can use to attempt to regain aggro. First on the list is the "Stomp" ability. Always good for getting a lot of monsters mad at you - this ability is great for regaining aggro. If you see your enemies turn and advance towards other party members you can fire off "Stomp" and (potentially) get their attention again. The one downside to this approach is that the knock-back effects associated with "Stomp" could push the monsters a lot closer to other group members... making the situation slightly worse :)

A more effective skill for regaining aggro is "Taunt." This ability enrages monsters (apparently Ursans are very good at pushing monsters' emotional buttons) and pulls them back to fight with the Warrior. Since this ability has no knock-back the monsters positioning doesn't become an issue. The ability doesn't do any damage... but it does give the Warrior an advantage to 'dodge' for a short period of time.

Looking forward to your comments and questions about life as an Ursan Warrior.
Thanks!

- Cinco

I was wondering. How is it that the warrior generates threat? Is it only by damage or do some of the other abilties generate additional threat? Are Stomp and Taunt only to taunt back enemies or do they generate threat aswell?

Both "Stomp" and "Taunt" will generate threat. Warriors also generate threat by having lots of armor: monsters are 'threatened' by players that mitigate a large amount of damage... and Warriors can equip the heartiest armor in the game :)

If you have ever played army of two, you will know what aggro is ;)

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Originally Posted by Cinco

Both "Stomp" and "Taunt" will generate threat. Warriors also generate threat by having lots of armor: monsters are 'threatened' by players that mitigate a large amount of damage... and Warriors can equip the heartiest armor in the game :)

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Shall we assume then the damage we cause doesn't generate threat as much as the armor we wear? Currently I am wielding a shield but the 2handed weapons are far superior I found. I want to have the best equipment to cause and keep agro if possible. I am using 5 points in Stomp and use taunt when possible. Kind of a slow recharge on that one.

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Originally Posted by Reaper

If you have ever played army of two, you will know what aggro is ;)

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Haha I think if you've played Any mmo you should know what aggro is ;)

Warriors seem broken... We need some passive abilities to throw points into, for either more health, evasion, or procs for health return on crit, etc.. Half the time I get in groups where healers are so focused on dps that I end up spending my time popping potions rather than using abilities

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Originally Posted by Cinco

Here's a quick note about the basic function of the 'tank' in Pocket Legends...

As Daphne points out (quite astutely), the Enchantress can pull aggro very effectively by invoking her healing skill within range of roaming monsters. Additionally, the Avian Archer can pull massive aggro by doing area-effect damage with 'Blast Shot.' This is relevant to Ursan Warriors because, when he's 'tanking' for his group, the Warrior's job is to get and hold aggro, absorb tons of damage and prevent monsters from doing damage to the rest of the party.

When Enchantresses and Archers pull aggro from the Warrior he has a couple of techniques he can use to attempt to regain aggro. First on the list is the "Stomp" ability. Always good for getting a lot of monsters mad at you - this ability is great for regaining aggro. If you see your enemies turn and advance towards other party members you can fire off "Stomp" and (potentially) get their attention again. The one downside to this approach is that the knock-back effects associated with "Stomp" could push the monsters a lot closer to other group members... making the situation slightly worse :)

A more effective skill for regaining aggro is "Taunt." This ability enrages monsters (apparently Ursans are very good at pushing monsters' emotional buttons) and pulls them back to fight with the Warrior. Since this ability has no knock-back the monsters positioning doesn't become an issue. The ability doesn't do any damage... but it does give the Warrior an advantage to 'dodge' for a short period of time.

Looking forward to your comments and questions about life as an Ursan Warrior.
Thanks!

- Cinco

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Cinco, the balance between the warrior, enchantress, and archer completely non existent. There is no balance. The warrior is the weakest by far, not only weak against stronger (boss like) individual enemies but weak against mobs as well. Quite frankly, warrior is "broken" to the point where it almost seems as if you guys have a bias against warrior and are discouraging its use. I know thats not true, but that's how weak the warrior is compared to the archer and enchantress. Strength which is the primary stat for warrior does not seem to contribute to damage........how is that possible? why is that? so as a warrior you have to dump points into strength and dexterity essentially. With the archer, all you need to do is dump points into dexterity and enchantress into intelligence, both no brainers. Additionally, looking at weapons and armor for warrior vs. the other classes, seriously now it seems that there is absolutely NO advantage to the warrior's weapon compared to the other classes weapon even from a melee perspective. I mean my goodness archers' sais and daggers and enchantress' staffs do as much if not more than similar level melee weapons from the warrior, then factor in the archer's dexterity and they are easily hitting more and doing more damage than a warrior. Factor in archers ability to wear armor almost similar in rating to warrior plus their dodge due to dexterity and any additional bluff, they are easily the better more effective tank than the warrior. As I see it now, warrior has no distinct advantage over any other class, by miles. Easily the weakest and most frustrating class to be using. Please fix it so that warriors can actually hold their own.

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Originally Posted by diesel

Cinco, the balance between the warrior, enchantress, and archer completely non existent. There is no balance. The warrior is the weakest by far, not only weak against stronger (boss like) individual enemies but weak against mobs as well. Quite frankly, warrior is "broken" to the point where it almost seems as if you guys have a bias against warrior and are discouraging its use. I know thats not true, but that's how weak the warrior is compared to the archer and enchantress. Strength which is the primary stat for warrior does not seem to contribute to damage........how is that possible? why is that? so as a warrior you have to dump points into strength and dexterity essentially. With the archer, all you need to do is dump points into dexterity and enchantress into intelligence, both no brainers. Additionally, looking at weapons and armor for warrior vs. the other classes, seriously now it seems that there is absolutely NO advantage to the warrior's weapon compared to the other classes weapon even from a melee perspective. I mean my goodness archers' sais and daggers and enchantress' staffs do as much if not more than similar level melee weapons from the warrior, then factor in the archer's dexterity and they are easily hitting more and doing more damage than a warrior. Factor in archers ability to wear armor almost similar in rating to warrior plus their dodge due to dexterity and any additional bluff, they are easily the better more effective tank than the warrior. As I see it now, warrior has no distinct advantage over any other class, by miles. Easily the weakest and most frustrating class to be using. Please fix it so that warriors can actually hold their own.

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Tanks soak up damage, or mitigate it through dodges depending on your preference. We are meat-walls, and in no way are we supposed to be DPS machines, that is the role of the other two classes. Getting to the top of the hate-list for a mob is done through armor and threat generating skills to make up for any DPS deficiencies when in a group. If you're losing aggro, ask your group to give you a few seconds to build up more hate before they jump in.

If you want to spec high damage, expect to take hits from a boss like a clothie, it's just how the class works in this game and in others.

Lastly, if you're concerned about DPS, look for a one-hander that has a fast swing rate. The Golden Dagger is about 0.6 or so, and only at level 14 brings my DPS to 39, higher than most End Game tanks I've seen with 2 handers.

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Originally Posted by FeralDruid

Tanks soak up damage, or mitigate it through dodges depending on your preference. We are meat-walls, and in no way are we supposed to be DPS machines, that is the role of the other two classes. Getting to the top of the hate-list for a mob is done through armor and threat generating skills to make up for any DPS deficiencies when in a group. If you're losing aggro, ask your group to give you a few seconds to build up more hate before they jump in.

If you want to spec high damage, expect to take hits from a boss like a clothie, it's just how the class works in this game and in others.

Lastly, if you're concerned about DPS, look for a one-hander that has a fast swing rate. The Golden Dagger is about 0.6 or so, and only at level 14 brings my DPS to 39, higher than most End Game tanks I've seen with 2 handers.

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Just seems counter intuitive that archers, pound for pound from a melee perspective can out damage warriors and probably be a better tank due to it's ability to dodge via high dexterity as well as evasion skills. My point still stands, warrior is grossly underpowered and lacks any significant advantage over any other class. I would have thought the warrior's advantage would be to have a far superior armor as well as melee dishing damage, however that is not the case. the advantages of enchantress with their aoe skills and archers with their ranged attacks is very obvious. warriors is less obvious, probably because there is no advantage unique to the warrior class.

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Originally Posted by diesel

Just seems counter intuitive that archers, pound for pound from a melee perspective can out damage warriors and probably be a better tank due to it's ability to dodge via high dexterity as well as evasion skills. My point still stands, warrior is grossly underpowered and lacks any significant advantage over any other class. I would have thought the warrior's advantage would be to have a far superior armor as well as melee dishing damage, however that is not the case. the advantages of enchantress with their aoe skills and archers with their ranged attacks is very obvious. warriors is less obvious, probably because there is no advantage unique to the warrior class.

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Warriors have Threat Generating Skills and Taunts.

Archers and Enchantress will always out DPS a Warrior its what they are designed to do as support roles. Archers and Enchantresses, however, cannot by definition tank effectively by pulling targets back on to them with Warrior specific skills like Taunt. Their HP pool is not viable for tanking, their dodge may be high, however for the shots that do land on them, they are catastrophic.

The evasion skill has been nerfed, so it seems like that that aspect of the game has been fixed. The only major aspect of the warrior that in fact seems broken to me, in contrast to the other classes, is that while enchantresses and archers can function by themselves fairly well, a warrior really does need at least a chantress to keep healing them as much as possible. Warriors are very good at calling attention and soaking up the damage, which is really their job. They rely on the other classes more than the other classes rely on them. This is why I feel there should be a "healing" class, so that the other classes can concentrate on their primary jobs. It's very difficult for a chantress to be both a healer and a nuker at the same time. I do like the idea of passive abilities; iron blood or w/e that skill is called is fairly expensive mana-wise and doesn't really help that much until you upgrade it, but it would make an ideal passive skill. Same with the health regen skill. These are fairly useful skills, but both have high mana costs and really need to be timed correctly to be useful.