help: DRK tank swap

So I've been doing Sophia ex and sometimes when I tank swap during the tank buster, I can't seem to steal aggro.

What I do is:
1. Turn on Grit(wait if I have to for the recast timer)
2. Provoke(in between global cooldown)
3. Power Slash

Am I doing anything wrong? do I actually need to turn on Grit first to steal aggro?

Did u use dark arts and power lash ?

by power slash, you mean combo'd i guess. obviously make sure that other tank doesn't feel like doing his hate combo when you try to swap...

no dark arts on power slash. guess I have to keep some mp to accomodate

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Originally Posted by ZeusK

no dark arts on power slash. guess I have to keep some mp to accomodate

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Shouldn't really need Dark Arts just for a tank swap.

I noticed this in Bis Ex, even with no dots, without me hitting a mob during tank swap, and seeing provoke go off, the drk co-tank didnt get much aggro. think it mighta been a bug or smth interfering with provoke. or i coulda seen it wrong

Given you have to go through the whole combo for Power Slash, the first attack of which doesn't generate any extra enmity, the delay may be large enough that the other tank takes back aggro immediately?

Perhaps try Unmend or Unleash instead? Both of those have immediate bonus enmity.

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Originally Posted by ZhaneX

Given you have to go through the whole combo for Power Slash, the first attack of which doesn't generate any extra enmity, the delay may be large enough that the other tank takes back aggro immediately?

Perhaps try Unmend or Unleash instead? Both of those have immediate bonus enmity.

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this is what i normally do, as soon as i pop voke its lob/tomahawk/unmend
like as soon as the voke is going off, p slash after a da would probably be a good follow up if you got the mp to spare, honestly snap aggro can be tricky esp if say you voked the mob right before they slam it with a butchers block or something then its ping pong till the other tank lets off

even if you tap rage of halone/powerslash/butchers as the first hit it will give you a little better lead than the first hit of the enmity combo so if you think you wont be able to hold aggro till the full combo id even start with that, then the combo itself

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Originally Posted by Starkbeaumont

by power slash, you mean combo'd i guess. obviously make sure that other tank doesn't feel like doing his hate combo when you try to swap...

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I think this is pretty important to get an answer to in order to help out. You should always be prebuffing your power slash, i.e. getting through the the first part of your aggro combo. (If you're doing this great but I've encountered some who do not and just hit their finisher without doing the first part of the combos). The other thing is that a tank swap needs to be a two way street which a lot of people don't realize. If you Power Slash and a WAR does buffed Butcher's Block in Defiance right after and keeps going right along with their hate combo, it's going to be rough for you to secure hate. Make sure you co-tank is doing their part too.

Grit -> Hard Slash -> Provoke -> Spinning Slash -> Power Slash

Tell your co-tank not to be an idiot and press his enmity combo when a tank swap is happening.

If possible you can generate more threat with Power Slash > then "Dark Arts" +"Carve and Split", instead of DA+Power Slash. (if you're going to use dark arts for only one of them. Since this deals more damage AND generates more threat over all.)
After your power slash combo, try unleash right after, as ur next attack generates no threat, this might get the other tank to notice and turn their tank stance off.

Tank 1: upcoming swap mechanic; nonthreat rotation 1, 2, provoke happens, 3
Tank 2: upcoming swap mechanic; threat rotation 1,2,provoke >instant ability (I'm a war so I use BS), 3

Provoke matches your threat to the person with highest amount. Hitting an ability off your gcd guarantee's to put you ahead and should remove most swap issues. At least with me it does

For me I prepare for the swap by getting my enmity combo ready, it's pretty predictable when a tank buster is coming. I tend to use dark arts as well for good measure so I can switch grit off right after and keep on the offensive. Never had an issue as long as the other tank is competent and switches to offensive stance.

When against a WAR you have to remember DRK's enmity generation is weaker in comparison. The first is you need to prep your voke with a high enmity move. Hard Slash > Spinning Slash > Voke + Power Slash. Voke puts you @1 on hate and Power Slash gives you a boost. You can reinforce it further with another oGCD (DACnS is good for this) to give you a bigger lead.

Here's how I was doing the SophEx tank swap:

When I know a tank buster is about to come (did the first 50% so much I can usually tell when she's about to tank buster), I pop Grit on (serious SE take it off the GCD...so annoying to have to wait for the timer to turn on my tank stance), and when she's glowing green, I start my aggro combo: Hard Slash > Spinning Slash > Provoke > Dark Arts+Power Slash. Then I do my aggro combo again and toss in an Unleash to establish hate. I haven't had too many issues, but I've also been in Discord communicating with the other tanks when the tank buster is about to happen so they know not to use their aggro combo.

I don't use the Dark Arts+Carve and Spit here, but that is an interesting suggestion. I think I may try it out next time I do SophEx. :3

I use provoke almost as soon as I see the green aura for Sophia's tank buster followed by threat combo or Dark Arts - Carva and Split. Never fails no matter who the other tank is.

Also, if your accuracy isn't high enough, you could be missing your provoke.

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Originally Posted by SpookyGhost

Grit -> Hard Slash -> Provoke -> Spinning Slash -> Power Slash

Tell your co-tank not to be an idiot and press his enmity combo when a tank swap is happening.

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If the co-tank is not an idiot you don't even have to switch on grit to get the hate. At least not immediately.

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Originally Posted by Ilan

If the co-tank is not an idiot you don't even have to switch on grit to get the hate. At least not immediately.

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Correct, but if we're talking about PF then it's best to play at least marginally safe.

Unmend has great enmity. Use Provoke->Unmend->combo

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Originally Posted by SpookyGhost

Correct, but if we're talking about PF then it's best to play at least marginally safe.

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Thats true, PF players seem to leave their brain in bed most of the time.

For Soph EX I see the green swirly i'll voke > Hard Slash > Spinning > Power Slash she'll always use it after the AoE lightning attack. You don't need to voke when the attack goes off but you can do it before to save your co tank some unneeded damage and if she's still on you or your co tank you can move away from her a bit and she won't attack you for a good solid 5 seconds since she has to be in range of you.

You have to get into the habit of learning sophia's rotation. After enough exposure to the fight, you can get a good feeling of when the tank buster's coming even before the aura appears, based on mostly on how long it's been since she last did it. This way you can anticipate and enter tank stance earlier to make the transition smoother.

Another way to do it is to use your aggro combo, and use provoke just before power slash. You can also take hate from the tank if you tell me "just pop your CDs and sit tight until I take hate." A tank using a non-enmity combo should lose hate to the guy who's not in tank stance who does use an enmity combo, assuming you're at his aggro level.