BLM (and to a greater extent DPS) threat and tanks

[Eli85]

Hi everyone.

I play a BLM, but in other games I come from a healing background. I just hit 315 iLevel, and I'm starting to notice a problem (I do mostly run pick up groups): whether in AOE or single-target situations, I am jumping up the enmity metre very quickly (even when using abilities that decrease threat). I mean, when I pop them I get the benefit of it then (or if things go south, can use Lucid Dreaming, I think it's called, to half my threat) but I'm often pulling threat when they're on CD (more than once I've gotten the blue marker on Lakshmi, ouch). Now I don't hold back, admittedly. I always let the tank grab first, and in AOE situations, focus on the main target.

So my question is this: am I just running into bad tanks or do I need to hold back before going nuts?

[Kabooa]

Bad tanks. The moment Tank threat starts throttling the DPS, they need to start hitting the threat buttons.

[Greedalox]

It's the tanks, you still don't want to be pulling threat if you can help it.

[Marianno]

It could be a combination of things, bad tanks or hold back a little before going nuts. In truth, with the enmity increases and potency increases for tanks, there should be no reason they are losing threat to you. Even if they are losing threat, I always try to wait until I see the tank do the second attack of their enmity combo then go all out. Try that and it does help if the tank is starting out in tank stance and not dps (encountered this too much in pugs in PF/DF). Start out with diversion, then after your initial set of F4 use LD. If the tank is not switching back (DPS->Tank vice versa) to monitor enmity then it is on the tank. As a DPS we can only do so much. Stuff still needs to die.

[VitalSuit]

Usually with Diversion and Lucid Dreaming I never rip aggro or get even close to the tanks I've ran with in DF even pushing 4.5k dps.

However in large pulls DO hold back just a tad til the tank secures aggro before you slam the group with Foul right off the bat.

[Waliel]

Last time I ripped aggro from our tank in V1S I was told to spec Lucid ;<. I spent the next ~75 seconds on the ground dead until the boss died probably as a punishment.

[NovaLevossida]

If you're using Lucid and Diversion and still pull the mobs off tanks without doing something silly like Foul on a pull before the tank even has the mobs rounded up, then the tank needs to learn how to play better. You've done all you can do other than hold back damage which you wouldn't have to do.

[Shiroe]

only if the tanks are under-geared compared to you, you can still pull agro even when using LD or/and Diversion..

but like others mentioned, give the tank a sec or two to build up agro, before procing t3/t4 procs or swiftcasting flares/fouls...

[Eli85]

Thanks for the feedback, all. I've done some more runs since my original post (while doing what I did previously) and while I came close to ripping threat, it did not happen. Good to know my prior experiences were simply bad tanks.