Tanking On The PS3

[BMooseTX]

Hi All,

I have played a tank in every MMO I have played. I am going to be playing this game on the PS3 and had some questions about tanking up to and including end game content on the PS3 with a gamepad.

Is this something that can be done efficiently?

What is the best targeting setup?

Recommended macros?

Any other tips/suggestions/advice from people who are doing this currently.

Thanks!

[Estellios]

You can tank perfectly fine, I'm not on PS3 but I play using a PS3 controller.

One thing you might want to do is get in the habit of Marking your targets, at least in early dungeons when players are still getting used to partying. If you have an enemy selected, hitting Square brings up a sub-menu that has the "Mark" option that opens the marking menu. You can assign numbers to enemies so everyone knows what you are targeting and it will be easier for you to keep hate. Alternatively, you can hit Square instead of selecting a mark and you will get an option to place it on your action bar, so you don't have to open the menu every time you want to mark something.

You can make a macro that combines an action with marking (most people do this with the ranged pull skill both tanks get), but I don't know the macro commands off the top of my head.

Something else you will want to get used to using the controller is sub-targeting and the Anchor. The Anchor is the big arrow over a target and that is considered your main target. The sub-target is a circle. The circle is not a permanent target change, so if you want to switch to a new target you will have to hit X and confirm on them to move the Anchor, otherwise when you perform an action your target will return to the Anchor.

What this allows you to do is rotate different steps of your hate combos among different enemies without losing target on what you are focusing on, such as tanking a boss while grabbing hate on any adds. Also, it lets you throw out a ranged attack to grab a straggling enemy or an enemy you lost hate on without losing your target.

Before I forget, there are 2 invaluable hate meters in this game. You can read about them here.

Sorry for the long post!

[BMooseTX]

Awesome info thanks! Yeah, I always mark targets in a group, was thinking about binding those to a secondary crossbar. So it sounds like it's just learning to target effectively with a game pad.

Thanks again!

[Eislynn]

That is awesome info! Thank you! So would marking make it a lot easier for the party to follow where you intend to tank the monsters, and which to hit first so they don't accidentally pull aggro on themselves?

[Estellios]

Yes, exactly.

[Eislynn]

Another quick question, if you don't mind my asking..

which camera view is better? Third person (a bit of a distance away from your character), or first person (you staring straight at the monster?)

[Estellios]

Third person, just because you get to see more of the playfield. It's really necessary for avoiding AOE skills too.

Well, let me rephrase, Third person for any sort of "serious business". If you're just soloing and questing, first person is perfectly fine if you enjoy it.

[Eislynn]

That's what I thought, as well. It's kind of hard for me to see the AOE skills, though, since there's a lot of flash going on. I wonder if I can reduce the flashy skills via settings...