GW: I'm Missing Something Here...

So we actually had five people on Guild Wars last night and dove off into the wilderness on a longer quest. We died. Lots. In the end, it wasn't pretty and it was a frustrating few hours as we didn't really accomplish anything (save acquisition of XP). But, heck, if we won all the time there wouldn't be any challenge, neh?

I am, however, finding that I don't know how to tank. Playing warrior? Check. Managing creatures? Uhh... that's where I'm clueless. I understand the relationship between damage/healing and threat in WoW and how to "hold aggro" of mobs or pull them off other people (I don't always succeed, but I understand how it works). But it's not working the same in GW. I've seen them focus on someone to the utter exclusion of the warrior pounding away at them. If there's a way to get the attention of a critter reliably after it's started attacking someone else, I haven't found it. I guess it's something to try researching, but...

Comments

  1. kueidanApril 7, 2008 at 1:09 PM

    Actually, something was drawn to our attention: AOE spells will scatter GW mobs, and once they've scattered out of the AOE, they will usually rush the caster. I don't know if this is absolute truth, but it was pointed out, and that seemed to be what happened last night. Paul kept dishing out the AOE attacks, causing the groups to break up and rush him.

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  2. tashiroApril 7, 2008 at 1:15 PM

    In GW, there is no 'tank' role. The monsters in Guild Wars tend to have a priority on who they attack based on who they can 'see' before combat starts. In other words: If the monster sees the warrior and nobody else, they will start attacking the warrior. After that, other people can attack the monster and it will usually remain focussed on the warrior if he is fighting back. If the monster rushes towards a group and sees a 'soft' target, even if the warrior attacks him first, he may ignore the warrior and go for the 'soft' target. There is a chance he will turn and attack the warrior, but it isn't a given. When you deal with mob groups, it becomes a problem. The warrior can't distract everyone, so one or two might go for him, and the rest will chase after soft targets. A tactic I've heard has the front line rush ahead, and engage the enemy, way out of the 'circle' of the rest of the group. Once the monsters have dedicated attacking the warrior, the rest of the group then approaches and begins to attack. AOE effects will disrupt this tactic, though, since it causes 'break away'.

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  3. marinredwolfApril 7, 2008 at 1:49 PM

    Somehow smart and silly at the same time. For the mobs, it makes sense that they'd want to get out of an AOE spell. For the caster, it seems to spoil having an AOE spell in the first place (unless you use it to make them scatter, but seeing how that equates to suicidal tendancies...).

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  4. marinredwolfApril 7, 2008 at 1:49 PM

    May have to do this in the future. I've read there is an ongoing priority process, but not seen any numbers involved. Lower armor/non-melee weapon/lower level (among other things) is said to draw more aggro, but is it enough to pull a mob off a warrior who they're already engaged with? That's the sort of thing I don't know. It's also looking like I should tromp off and upgrade armor, even if it's not a style I prefer. Though I don't think I have the funds (and maybe not the craft materials) for a full 80 AL set.

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  5. kueidanApril 7, 2008 at 4:11 PM

    Yeah.. heard some whining about that when it was first added. People didn't like the idea of mobs scattering. Well if people do it, why can't mobs?

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  6. kyn_elwynnApril 7, 2008 at 4:57 PM

    WoW: 1 GW: 0

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  7. marinredwolfApril 8, 2008 at 7:30 AM

    I don't really know the game overall quite well enough to argue the point, but as an academic answer: Because mobs are only in-game AI(s) and don't care if the game is fun to play. ;)

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  8. marinredwolfApril 8, 2008 at 9:20 AM

    That seems to be how the scoring comes up in my book more often than not. In all fairness, though, this particular issue may be more a matter of my own (and/or the group's) inexperience. Even at level 70, there are WoW players who don't display any grasp of managing the threat system to let the tank take the hits, instead opting to just unload.

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  9. kyn_elwynnApril 8, 2008 at 3:57 PM

    Often to the swearing and consternation of the mage >.>

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  10. marinredwolfApril 10, 2008 at 12:29 PM

    I think everyone in WoW should be (somehow) made to play both a tank and a healer through a few level-appropriate dungeons, if only to get a feel for how the system works. Maybe I'm biased, but I think tank, healer, and DPS classes would all benefit from that.

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