Quote:
Originally Posted by Cecily
[You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]
I'm genuinely curious how the super good SKs play differently. Being a good tank in a group scenario is about target selection and positioning. It has nothing to do with skill sets and it's equally relevant to warriors and knights. And actually does require quite a bit of focus and thinking.
|
Situation awareness is indeed the most important part of the tank job. On the other hand, using all available tools also counts, and makes the difference between a mediocre tank and a good one. I don't know if I'm "super good," but I'm competent, at least. I won't write a comprehensive guide--it's beyond the scope of this thread--but I'll list a few considerations.
--Beyond snap aggro, sustained hate generation on hybrid tanks is both very high and quite consistent. Shamans can spam slow as fast as cooldown allows with no fear of death. However, disease cloud has enough of a cooldown that it, alone, cannot always achieve this.
--Unlike a Warrior, the SK (and Paladin) can build decent aggro on mezzed mobs without breaking mez. Rooted mobs too for that matter. Disease cloud won't do that; it breaks mez and also can break root.
--The SK is the only proper tank with some AE spells. While not high-aggro, it'll outaggro heals and it's invaluable for getting 4 or 5 things on you at the start of a multi-pull.
--If you have a little space to work, you have a short duration fear and quite a good snare: very good for shutting down those complete healing and gating monsters. You'd be surprised how many dungeons allow use of this tactic in perfect safety.
--You have dispell and can pull with it if you want. Nice for getting rid of annoying damage shields in particular.
--Feign is obvious. The Shadow Knight can double as a tolerably decent puller if need be, and sometimes does so even in raids for smaller guilds which don't have brigades of Monks. It's the only tank type with this capability.
--Between invis, feign, fear, and taps, you can sneak around most areas, including most dungeons. Because of this my SK gets more grouping opportunities, especially at desired camps (crypt, etc), than my other tanks ever got. Surprisingly many groups don't bother to clear their tanks down.
--Spell aggro means that the Shaman can keep Torpor running on you without significantly nerfing your threat generation. Heck against heavy-hitters you don't need to turn on attack at all and hence not suck up ripostes. Because of this you will often take less damage against heavy-hitters than a hasted dual-wielding Warrior who isn't in /defensive.
-------------------------------
You're right about the mana costs. One of the nuisances of the Shadow Knight is that it uses necromancer spells that are tuned around the assumption of having mana regen from Lich. Clarity makes a massive difference for the grouping Shadow Knight, far moreso than Haste. The lifetaps get about 50% better in Velious but for now they're a bit weak.
I'll stop there. This post is already long and should suffice for illustrating that there's more to the class than Disease Cloud spam. If you disagree about the importance of anything I mentioned, that's your right. My purpose is not to debate you, but rather to illustrate some options for players who value such things. Not everyone will--and not everyone should play hybrid tanks. I like my Shadow Knight just fine and the class gives good service for everything I ask of it.
Danth