[PS4]{WAR/MRD} - A Few Questions

Hey,

I recently started playing marauder and I've got a few basic questions...
I'm level 26 and have access to these skills.

1. What is the best basic single-target low-level enmity generating rotation?
   
   People have told me: {Skull Sunder} only. Others have said {Heavy Swing} - {Skull Sunder} combo is better. Both seem to keep me holding aggro well enough. Often I'm scared to use {Heavy Swing} as I fear it won't give me the additional enmity needed to hold for the following 6 seconds.
   
   
2. Does {Tomahawk} grant more enmity than {Skull Sunder}?
   
   Is there a chart showing which skills produce the most enmity, or is it purely based on damage dealt coupled with a modifier for certain skills with the additional effect: Increased Enmity?
   
3. What method do you use to monitor enmity on the mobs?
   
   Do you have any special hud layout or is it simply rotate through the mobs occasionally looking at this:
   
   http://i341.photobucket.com/albums/o...ps0a9f4e61.jpg

PS4 USER SPECIFIC

1. How do you tag mobs with <1> <2> <3> <4>?
   
   Are there decent macros?
   Do you just put the icon on your hotbar and manually click them?

Thanks in advance!

I can't really answer the combo one but when I was doing PLD and WAR I just used the combos, someone else might be able to give a more detailed explanation.

What I can answer is the marking, press: Options -> Party -> Signs and it will give you a box of all the symbols you can mark with, the easiest way to mark on a console is to add these to your hot bar, select the monster, press the corresponding key in the hot bar and it will be marked.

As for looking at agro I just use the party bar, in a large group I just abuse flash/overpower more and estimate agro if I can't tab around fast enough.

1. HS->SS provides more overall enmity than just SS, because of the combo damage. The way all +Enmity moves (except Flash) work is that they have a multiplier on the damage they do. Since SS does a good deal more damage in a combo, the multiplier is much more effective then. As long as you're using Overpower first, that should give you enough of a cushion to use HS->SS without losing threat. If you find that it's not, just Overpower (and/or Flash if TP is an issue) more before you start going single target.

2. Skull Sunder in a combo > Tomahawk > Skull Sunder by itself. This is outdated by now, but it's still a decent rough guide to how these things work in general. Overpower, Steel Cyclone, Flash, and Circle of Scorn have all gotten significant enmity boosts since that was updated, and other moves have had small tweaks here and there as well. I'm not aware of a fully up to date chart.

3. Yup. Keep an eye on the enemy list, and cycle through in between GCDs. Be aware that with a gamepad, switching sub-targets is not enough to update the enmity gauges in the party list. You have to fully switch targets (hit X). The gauges blink like they're switching to show your sub-target, but they're actually not.

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1. /marking attack1 through /marking attack5 (or /mk or /enemysign; all the same command). If you just use "attack" without a number, it will use the next available number. So you can use /mk attack again and again to assign the next number. I'm not sure what makes that reset back to 1, though. Personally, especially when I play with a gamepad, I only mark #1 anyway, and switch it to the next mob I'm going to focus when the current one is almost dead.

I'm new to this game but I can provide some advice, things I have learned so far:

1) Dont use skull sunder only, it will not provide extra enmity, because combo effect is exactly provide extra enmity AND extra power. It should be (attack power x 3 = enmity generated to you), or something like that. If you use skull sunder only, you don't get x3 factor, plus you put only a 100 pot attack.

2) Enmity generation wise: Butchers block >>> Skull sunder > overpower > tomahawk. Use tomahawk just for opening.

Well, that is what I have noticed. I can be wrong xD

Quote:

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Originally Posted by UlricCraft

[*]What method do you use to monitor enmity on the mobs?

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Yeah, I'm just using that tiny bar you put there. It's enough, I think

Wow, thanks very much for the great responses!
After doing some super speedy number crunching, I can clearly see the difference in theoretical enmity (and damage!).

@Bixby: That enmity link you provided was absolutely marvellous. It really highlights potential changes to my rotation.
Also thanks for the heads up about that macro. I was sure there was something like that, but couldn't figure it out. Ha...

@Ignnis: That's really handy, I'll keep it in mind when trying out different ways. From what other people are saying though, I'll most likely stick to just marking #1 or foregoing the process entirely. (A lot of tanks seem confident in holding EVERYTHING no matter what)

Thanks again!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by DSaint

If you use skull sunder only, you don't get x3 factor, plus you put only a 100 pot attack.

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The multiplier still applies even outside of a combo. Doesn't make it worthwhile, just getting the facts right. Rage of Halone and Butcher's Block can occasionally be worthwhile (e.g., right after a Provoke or an add spawn if you don't have a combo available and/or you need to avoid AOEing) because the higher multiplier is enough to give a little breathing room even with the lowered damage.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by UlricCraft

(A lot of tanks seem confident in holding EVERYTHING no matter what)

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This is also why I only mark #1. I figure if I don't have threat locked on everything by the time #1 is dead, I need to tank harder. Helps keep me a little more alert.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Bixby

The multiplier still applies even outside of a combo. Doesn't make it worthwhile, just getting the facts right. Rage of Halone and Butcher's Block can occasionally be worthwhile (e.g., right after a Provoke or an add spawn if you don't have a combo available and/or you need to avoid AOEing) because the higher multiplier is enough to give a little breathing room even with the lowered damage.

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I was tricked for skill info then, lol.
Butcher and SkullS skill info says something like: " Combo bonus: Increased enmity. " So, I thought multiplier just get applied during combo. My bad.

What's the consensus on stat allocation by the way?

30 VIT/STR?
Fending or Maiming accessories?

30 STR til you're 50, then you can decide one way or the other. 30 STR is fine for first and second Coil, but you'll want to change to VIT for the final Coil. If you just plan on running dungeons with it, go 30 STR + STR accessories.

While you're doing your enmity rotation stuff... try to remember that any lead-on-enmity you have on the first mob is wasted enmity when that mob dies. It's wasted because it could have been spent on the 2nd or 3rd mob getting you ready for when DPS finishes with the first. It takes a bit to get a feel for it, so don't worry too much about it... but for best efficiency you'll want to have "just enough" enmity on mob 1 to hold it until it's dead. If you're attacking only #1 until it's dead... then you're wasting enmity that should be spread around some. You should be attacking #1 until you have "enough of a lead" and then switching to #2 and #3.

Yup, those little white bars are all we get :)

If you like the macro for tagging, then stick with it.
For me, I don't like macros.
I'm on PS4 and have 3 hotbars sets for my warrior:

Set 1 - Left 8 are useful mechanics like provoke, tomahawk, wrath-spenders... Right 8 are my combo buttons and stun.
Set 2 - Left 8 are the defensive cooldowns and defiance... Right 8 are my combo buttons again exactly as setup on Set 1
Set 3 (actually Set 8) - includes my numbers for marking and general stuff used mostly in solo-ing.

I start with Set 3, mark my numbers, switch to set 1, tomahawk into the group and begin a combo, switch to set 2 to fire off a cool-down mid-combo and can continue the combo on set 2 because the exact same buttons (right side of the hotbar) are still there. Then I toggle between Set 1 and 2 depending on if I want to focus more on cooldowns or mechanics.

This is my method for being able to continue my combos while using mechanics or cooldowns throughout the fight.
You could also use the L+R hotbars to do the same thing... it might even have less swapping involved... find what works best for you. Have fun!

To Qualify myself : I am a 100% Self-Sustaining Tank. I have all crafts to 50 (OK, slow on Culinarian but still) I gather most of my ore, craft it into armour, which I can wear as tank, and I'm an active endgame tank (*Cough,* So I don't even wear that armour I crafted, b/c I wear the highest tier dropped equipment as soon as I can get my hands on it) but I can and do repair all my own gear. I have 2 PC's, a PS3 and a PS4, and play this game on all 4 systems. (my laptop and PS3 can be painful, I don't raid on them anymore) On all 4 Systems I prefer to use gamepad, I enjoy the style of play a lot more. There are certain circumstances where a mouse would greatly improve situational awareness / joystick to rotate camera is too slow, but I make do.

1.What is the best basic single-target low-level enmity generating rotation?
As you gain access to the skills, Tomahawk as you run in, Overpower if there's more then one, Heavy Swing > Skull Sunder > Butcher's Block. Each swing, make sure one of the attacks in the combo's hits the other mobs in the pull, to make sure you have SOME threat for when that pesky DPS doesn't follow your marking. (See below) (They never follow your marking anyway)


2.Does {Tomahawk} grant more enmity than {Skull Sunder}? Tomahawk should only be used to get initial snap-threat while at range, or to pull threat back on a mob you lost threat on that is getting away from you.

Is there a chart showing which skills produce the most enmity, or is it purely based on damage dealt coupled with a modifier for certain skills with the additional effect: Increased Enmity? http://valk.dancing-mad.com/methodology/ go to Enmity Tables. I don't think this data is current anymore / because I don't know if it gets updated, but that's the data from 2.0 release.

3.What method do you use to monitor enmity on the mobs?

• Pay attention - that seems obvious, but it's really not. a good tank will develop a sense for enmity.
• Use the HUD - with the HUD set to default, there is a monster list beneath the party list. If you are the tank, all of the things should have red circles to the left of their names. If it is not red, then somebody else has threat. You can use this same Menu to target the monster, by pressing and holding L1, and then tapping up/down on the D-Pad. Once you are on the correct target, you can either use an ability, or Press X to make it your new primary target, and begin assaulting it. If you lose threat on more than one mob, consider Overpower or Flash, but don't overspend your MP/TP.
• your screen shot is perfect for Single Targtet, or threat on a specific mob. In connjunction with the party list, this is very useful.

1.How do you tag mobs with <1> <2> <3> <4>?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Bixby

Personally, especially when I play with a gamepad, I only mark #1 anyway, and switch it to the next mob I'm going to focus when the current one is almost dead.

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This.

For reference, this pic seems to have the default hud, you can see the Dullahan below the party list, it is not red. (So you would want to get threat on it, as a tank)

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-H-naQw73_t.../FFXIV+HUD.png


Are there decent macros?

Code:

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/mk attack <t>

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Do you just put the icon on your hotbar and manually click them? @ 50, your hotbar will get quite full. I have this macro on a second hotbar, so I tap R1 to get to the hotbar it's on, tap the macro, and I do not expect anybody to follow that instruction. I hope they do, but I assume they won't.


Hope this helps, See you in the Flats >:D

If you are a Pad Player I posted a WAR Pad setup with Macro's that may be helpful to you as you reach 50 and run out of space on you a single Crossbar for all your awesomeness