know your aggro! a guide for DPS.

[Sixteen]

Some people don't seen to realize that tanking is not faceroll in this game. There are situations where as a DPS you should actually stop and think a little before going all out on every target. If tank pulls a group of 4 and starts off by using aoe abilities, the DPS are likely to pull threat on main target. If the tank starts off using single target abilities, the healer is likely to pull threat from all the other ones. With a 2.5 second GCD and no consistent taunt it is difficult to gather up targets once they break off from initial pull, don't assume tanks can just instantly pull enemies off of you.

[Kewhi]

Thanks for posting this, I was not even aware of the color coding on these bars. As an up and coming tank, it's much appreciated.

After coming from nearly a decade of World of Warcraft, it's a breath of fresh air to actually have to try hard to hold threat while tanking. I'd almost become accustomed to just rolling my face around on my keyboard while the DPS do what they do best.

[CrisGer]

Yes it is not easy to keep them mad at us as tanks, takes focus and thinking and balancing what is most important, i try to focus on the main boss and gather in as many of the others as possible at the same time which is not easy if they are running all over as some do. Some times we have to just work on the most important and trust the rest of the team to take care of thesmelves for a bit. Tank cant be everywhere but we do try.

[V1V1]

good too see that this is helping some people

[Nukocafe]

and all this time I thought that was a mini HP bar of the enemy ..oooopsie daisy! lol

[crbngville2]

To the Op: Thanks for the info and post.

I have only run one dungeon so far. At the final boss, I managed to pull aggro away from the tank near the end of the fight (the tank we had did an excellent job, btw). What I did was kite the boss in a circle around the tank. This seemed to help him redraw aggro.

[Ohkami]

The other thing you can look at is the party box. Next to a person's name is a small bar that increases as you generate threat on a target. There is also a number next to the bar showing where you are on the threat table.
If you are number 2 and the bar is increasing then either stop dps on the target or switch to a different target if possible.

[Shadowblind]

I give it my best to tank it just sucks at lower levels they dont give much for pulling hate i try to cycle two skills then flash and i try to make sure that mob doesnt take their eyes off me im willing to die first if it means the rest can get a chance to survive

When I'm tanking I'm always the first to die, although I've only died during bosses twice to this point. I always have a buff or two on out of six (taken from lot of classes), and I have all plundered armors.

I'm not an experienced tank, but from other MMOs, you know you've tanked well if you've kept the group alive as long as you can and you're the first to go. 'Course it's even better if no one dies.

[Ohkami]

People dying is always the healers fault...In fact everything is the healers fault. =P

[Darkrotor]

Do these bars show differently if you are the tank as opposed to the healer? as a healer i only see the green yellow red like posted. I remember it differently when I tanked in beta 3