any tips for tanking?

[Eyepennies]

I tried tanking for the first time today, and I just got super overwhelmed

like I was only able to hold aggro of one mob at a time, and the puller just kept bringing more and more

no one died but I feel like I did a bad job


any tips? I'm a paladin by the way

[Shodo]

Still haven't gotten around to finishing it but I started making a paladin guide at one point.

http://wiki.project1999.com/Mandak%27s_Guide_to_Barrel_Rolling_for_Brell

Exerpt from the tanking tips section:

-Tanking:
Most of the time, your role in a group will be to tank. Your goal is straightforward, but the paths to success are many. A paladin's most basic tanking strategy is as follows: Tag the mob as it comes into camp, then use flash of light to secure aggro when the mob stops moving - do not use flash of light while the mob is still moving to camp. After you have the mob in place, apply flash of light periodically as needed. In earlier levels, one or two flashes will probably be sufficient, but if you have a super twinked rogue or a nuke-happy wizard in the group you may need to use more. Level 50+ you will often need to use 4-5 over the course of a fight.
Bonus tips to up your tank game:
1) If you have mana (or feel comfortable timing your bracer), stun on incoming to aid with aggro and positioning. If it's a single mob, try to time your stun to land just as the mob paths over the point you want to find it on. If there are two or more mobs, you can use stun to break one away from the pack.
2) Stack aggro on mezzed or rooted mobs, to keep them from b-lining for the enchanter or cleric on a mez/root break. An easy way to do this is to use flash a couple times on your current target, then turn auto attack off, then switch to the mezzed target and cast your zero-dmg stun (if at a distance) or flash of light (if in melee range) on it, then switch back to your main target and continue attacking. This is your main method for holding aggro on multiple mobs. If there are 3 mobs mezzed in camp, you should try to have at least one flash or stun on each of them before the first target dies. If stun is getting to be too much mana or the cooldown is too long, position your main target so that you can stand in melee range with the mezzed mob(s) that you want to stack aggro on, so that you can use flash instead.
3) Pay attention to positioning. Any time a melee swing hits a mob, it will be "pushed" slightly in the direction of the swing. Additionally, hitting a mob from behind will be more productive for melee dps since doing so avoids parries/ripostes. Combining those two things means you will (usually) want to position and face the mob so that the melee that are standing behind it will push the mob into camp, as opposed to out of camp (toward adds). Another thing to consider is whether or not there are pet classes in the group. If there are, you can help your dps a little by facing the mob so that its back is to the pets. Your melee dps can reposition easily; pets take a bit more work.


tldr; There's not really an *easy* way to hold aggro on multiple mobs with a paladin. If your puller is bringing tons of mobs and your enc/whoever on CC can't keep up then that's more an issue of pulling/group comp than anything to do with you. A paladin's mana can only be spread so far.

[Doctor Jeff]

If there are pets in your party and they are not attacking the back of the mob, it is your fault.

Always position the mobs for pets. Players move easily, pets are finicky.

[Freakish]

Your job is to tank, not to crowd control. Use your paladin abilities to keep aggro on the mob everyone is killing and if you have extra mana you can root adds. But your priority is keeping that single mob on aggro. At lower levels pullers bring a bunch at a time, even without a dedicated mezzer because they just don't hit very hard and anyone in group can take a few hits without danger.

[Danth]

I tried tanking for the first time today, and I just got super overwhelmed
like I was only able to hold aggro of one mob at a time, and the puller just kept bringing more and more
no one died but I feel like I did a bad job

any tips? I'm a paladin by the way

What level?

Tanking one opponent at a time generally gets the job done in EQ. You said it yourself--the group worked out and nobody died. This isn't Warcraft where tanks routinely multi-tank 3-4 opponents at a time. In this game, usually, the tank takes the "active" opponent while a dedicated crowd controller keeps control of additional opponents. Once you have several high-aggro spells you can multi-tank for a time if you wish by casting high-aggro spells and rapidly switching targets, but that doesn't (and shouldn't) normally occur in typical experience groups.

If you're a new Paladin and new to the tank job, keeping single opponents at a time on you represents a respectable first step. I'm not sure what you specifically felt like you were having trouble with. The tank job *can* feel overwhelming at first if you're used to being a low-responsibility damage-dealer. People depend on you, people die if you screw up, and to an extent you control the direction and pace of the group.

Specific considerations:

Flash of Light is your primary aggro spell; you get it at level 9 and you'll still spam it at 60.
Never cast flash of light on a target you aren't directly next to.
Do use Bash and Stun (level 30) to interrupt casters.
Stun's also great for reducing the damage you take from unslowed monsters.
If you use Lay on Hands, check your clock--it'll be back up in 72 minutes.
Don't forget you can buff yourself or other people if the Cleric doesn't have enough mana.
Be sure to have hotkeys set for targeting so you don't have to manually click stuff to change targets.
Keep sounds on; positional sounds can greatly improve your situation awareness.

Danth

[Eyepennies]

I'm level 12

p1999 is my first introduction to playing everquest, so yeah I guess I kinda was comparing it to other games where I normally see tanks holding aggro of large groups

and I am more used to playing damage dealers or healing

what're the targeting hotkeys? that's something else I was having trouble with

[Sage Truthbearer]

The best teacher in tanking is experience so just keep playing and you will get better. Always have good awareness of what's going on. Also, you can assign a hotkey in options to toggle between nearby targets. I believe the default key is tab.

[Sage Truthbearer]

tldr; There's not really an *easy* way to hold aggro on multiple mobs with a paladin.

Until you get your group heal spell*

That thing is generates an insane amount of AoE aggro.

Super useful for instantly snap aggroing a large group of mobs pulled into camp onto you.

[Shodo]

Until you get your group heal spell*

That thing is generates an insane amount of AoE aggro.

Super useful for instantly snap aggroing a large group of mobs pulled into camp onto you.

Yes, forgot to mention that one. Won't have to worry about it for ~40+ levels though :p

[teai]

my #1 issue with paladins seems that only 1/5 will use Flash of Light, the huge aggro generating spell that makes mobs stick to you like glue.

I finally stopped thinking it was rude, and just asked one why he never used the spell, and he just said no one ever told him about it. He than proceeded to tank his brains out and kept saying how excited he was to learn about a core ability of the class, and this was mid 20's.

Its less of an issue once you get root and stun I guess, but, the aggro generation is amazing with FOL, I almost always toss it on something after rooting.

[Lemonhead]

Another really nice addition for a new Pali is one of the items with this effect:

http://wiki.project1999.com/Telescope

And later a better insta-clicky. This will allow you to speed cast the spell in your first gem slot (blind probably), and cast other spells quickly but not one after another. You do this by clicking spell, then right clicking clicky, then spell again. They are 50-100p, or less at a vendor if you get lucky. And they work in inventory, but not in a bag.

Also, you'll want to find "toggle next target" in your options window, um under "keys" I think, and set that to a keyboard spot.

[Tetsuo]

1: Flash of light ...just dont use it at a distance...
2: positioning other peoples pets is probably the last thing on your to-do list if at all while you tanking, however backstabbing pets are nice to position but still you have more important things to worry about
3: Root is your friend, a rooted target will attack the closest person to it, most classes that can root will root mobs for tanking purposes if you ask nicely
4: for the most part only worry about aggro on the main target and let the chanter/bard/ect CC the rest
5: make a macro stating what mob you are fighting (assist me on %t)
6: if a monk or dps ignores you and keeps attacking some different target than the rest of the group their death is their fault

Also that puller you are talking about seems like they dont know what they are doing, chain pulling is nice, if your group can't deal with it or kill fast enough tell them to slow the pulls or ask your cleric to stop healing them they will stop eventually or die = D