Lets Talk PLD Add Tanking

[Soulburn32]

So I read the boards here and try to see what people are doing and I see some trends but wanted to put something on paper and see what people think works best.

Method One: "The Flash Mob"
Here I see people saying they do 1 Flash for each number of adds or each add plus 1. So with 3 adds they would do 4 flashes then go into RoH combo.


Method Two: "RoH Everything!"
I see some people saying their method is more like this where you do a flash or 2 to start with and then target cycle each weapon skill of the RoH combo onto each add and maybe tossing another flash in after each round of RoH.


Method Three: "Manual Hate Combo"
This is the one I want to look into using but seems to be the most complicated. This method I see people describe like this:
Flash 2 times at start =>
Fast Blade 1st target =>
Flash the group =>
Savage Blade 2nd target =>
Flash the group =>
RoH the 3rd target =>
Flash the group

I think the 3rd would probably hold hate the best but being on ps3 it would require me to not use macros and manually press all of those limiting my space on my first bar.

[Stryker]

As long as you keep damaging the other mobs and cycling flash you should be able to hold 3 mobs easily, the more that get added the trickier it gets. If you have shield oath activated then its fairly easy. Ultimately this is all dependent on whether or not your DD's can sleep the adds or if they're stupid and attack the wrong ones all the time. Those 2 factors make tanking adds easier or harder.

Flash adds enmity but not as much as a RoH combo, so its good for capturing the adds before you start dmging them.

But I usually label first and foremost by the potency of the target.

Shield Lob
Flash
Start RoH combo on mob #1
Start RoH combo and use RoH on mob #2
Flash
Start RoH combo on Mob #1, hit each mob #2 with SB, RoH on 3rd.

By that time your enmity should be cemented, so just keep spreading the combo and using flash in between every 2-3 combos so you can utilize the blind. This all depends on the DD's you have though. Some are better than others so you might need to focus on the first mob a little more than at other times.

One big thing with multiple adds is that you can just tab through as you do the combos and check the enmity meter. If you're completely full then you're good for now. Always check it to see where stand and which mob you need to focus on. Don't break sleep though, thats just extra dmg that you have to take.

[PiedPiper]

Dont forget circle of scorn!

Also, beacsue savage has a enmity modifier on it (1500 potency with SO) and fast does not, I would say Fast-> Savage <next target> ROH <next target> fast/savage.

Flash is also low threat per second, so you want to spend as little time using it as you can. It is not split up accross targets, so each will build the same amount per target. Normally, I pull in this fashion:

Shiled lob main target (marked) -> flash -> cos -> fast/savage -> change target
roh-> change target
fast savage -> change target
roh -> change target

Keep COS on cool down. If you notice the flash run out, use it just to redebuff them as a mitigation tool.

I Play on PS3, and dont' have a problem keeping all three steps of ROH combo on my main bar... so IDK. I woudln't really suggest macros for that anyway as you are not getting the best micromanagement that way (you will always have extra delay between steps than you would by using the combo manually).

If you are holding l2 or r2, hitting l1 or r1 will cycle targets left/right. Pretty sure its even limited to engaged mobs. If you can master this, you'll find you never have aoe threat problems (I can do the table top pulls in castrum before the airship encounter solo and hold all threat without problem.) PLD aoe threat isn't actually as weak as people make it out to be, it just takes more micromanagement than spamming 1.0 steel cyclone.

[Soulburn32]

I mainly ask because I just made it to Stone Vigil and playing with 2 SMN dps was driving me crazy.

Even doing SL => Flash => Flash

By the time I made it back to the main target cycling FB => Savage =>RoH on the 3 diff targets I had already lost hate on the main target.

[Avalon_Albrook]

Also doing PLD mob pulls on PS3...

The correct answer is really some variation of "all of the above". I mark targets, lob, then spam flash about 3 or four times, then do a combo on my first mark, flash, do combo on my second mark, flash, and so on, rotating through any other mobs there until I'm back to the first mark. By then, that mark is either already dead and DPS has moved onto my second mark, or the first one is about to be dead anyway. But, either way, if I'm diligent about the rotation and the flashes, I won't lose aggro.

[caspergrey]

Also keep in mind when there are more adds, you will be taking more damage, which means the healer will be generating more enmity. Popping one of your defensive cooldowns at the beginning of a pull is also important if you are taking a large amount of damage from a lot of mobs.

[Ruminate]

Go to your grand company and upgrade your level 35 weapon to the level 40 one. Everything will generate much more enmity, including Flash.

[Aurelious]

Generally I do the second method. Shield Lob on 1, Flash, Fast/Savage on 1 and RoH on 2. Fast/Savage 1, RoH 3, Flash. (Also level 35). This way I don't lose my single target during the rotation, but build up enough threat on 2 and 3 that usually keeps them off the healer. Then I'll do a full combo on 1 and then fast/savage 2 and RoH 3. After this I'm set. This has been my rotation at this time.

[Sentinel]

RoH? when I am add tanking, I use the Riot blade chain to get me as much MP as possible and use flash of light + Circle of Scorn for AoE aggro. When they go down to 2 targets, that's when I switch to RoH chain, I usually pop Fight or flight + Bloodbath (great for aggro generation thx to self heal), I almost never do Flash of light on 2 or less targets if I have those CDs ready. Riot blade chain is also faster burst damage, RoH might result in higher overall damage.

To me RoH seems like great on paper but I have always done a much better job spamming flash of light with riot blade to back me up on MP generation. Even when I have hasty DPS in my group that will start DoTing or AoEing right off the bat, or even with healers who cast regen on me, when I switch to the flash of light spamming routine, I can get the aggro back and keep it.

[Yiell]

You don't have to flash all the time. Always look at the hate indicator on your left and check if they are all red. If you see flashing orange triangle, Either you do a flash or shield lob. If it becomes too late and the hate indicator has turned into a yellow, Use provoke. This will save you up mana a lot!