Low and Mid Level Warrior agro

[Mazeri]

Hi all,

I am still very new to p99 and had a quick question. I really like the idea of duel wielding as a Melee so war is at the top of my list when looking at the tank classes. My only concern is not being able to hold agro in groups in the low and mid levels. Is agro really as bad as people say it is when compared to an sk or pally? With a small amount of twinking can this problem be solved?

Thanks in advance!

[kaev]

Yeah, it's an issue for Warrior...

So many twinked Rogues and Monks out there, hell so many twinked everything out there. Very little disciplined play, because so many chars are so overgeared that until you're 40+ often the only "penalty" for all-out attack all the time is maybe getting bitched at by a lazy healer. (Well, people do manage to wipe in Mistmoore at L30+ despite being absurdly overgeared, mostly because they haven't had to actually start playing half-competently until then and it takes time to get used to it.)

Agro is just tough for a Warrior on p99 until you've got a haste item and good weapons. Even then there'll be groups that overwhelm content with gear 10-15 levels higher than anything they could possibly earn, and so the Monks and Rogues (and Shamans) won't bother to play very disciplined and will draw a lot of unnecessary agro (it's hard, very hard, to feign or evade or wait a few seconds to slow, don'tcha know...)

Dual wield, btw, definitely appears to be the correct way to go for agro from my experience. Even without agro procs dual wield appears to produce noticeably more agro with less damage output than using a 2hander.

I'd recommend avoiding dd proc'ing weapons (stun+dd proc like ykesha is ok), as your casters can root mobs to allow you to hold agro via proximity. dd procs give the mob extra chances to break root while adding comparatively little agro to your melee threat. Stun+dd like ykesha is ok because it is a very high agro generator.

Good luck.

[Mazeri]

Thanks for the reply. What level do ykesha weps like ssoy or the club proc? If I waited until I could afford a few twink items like ssoy would I still have problems keeping up with agro?

If I don't plan to raid, would I have a better experience with a knight class or even a bard/ranger if I really want duel wield?

[Lojik]

Most decent proccing weapons dont proc until 35-40 range

[Strifen]

Just worry about good ratio weapons before you can start using Ykesha procs in the high 30's. There are some proc weapons before that but the ratios are so bad you're generally better off not using them. I would honestly say just grab a staff of battle (31,37), its the best value for a low-mid twink.

edit: read you prefer dual wield, staff of battle really is your best bet for a while but If you want to dual wield jade mace, lammys, wurmslayer are good options but more expensive.

[Strifen]

Originally Posted by kaev [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Dual wield, btw, definitely appears to be the correct way to go for agro from my experience. Even without agro procs dual wield appears to produce noticeably more agro with less damage output than using a 2hander.

In the case of dual wield vs 2h I'm pretty sure the speed of the weapon has no barring on the aggro it generates, it all comes down to the amount of damage dealt so a higher DPS 2h would be more aggro then faster, less dps dual wield set ups.

[kaev]

Originally Posted by Strifen [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

In the case of dual wield vs 2h I'm pretty sure the speed of the weapon has no barring on the aggro it generates, it all comes down to the amount of damage dealt so a higher DPS 2h would be more aggro then faster, less dps dual wield set ups.

Doesn't match my experience in-game. At L43, comparing Jade Mace + Bloodpoint vs. Staff of Battle, I do more damage with Staff of Battle but hold agro better with the Jade Mace + Bloodpoint (Bloodpoint doesn't proc until 50 so its proc is not relevant to the comparison.)

No formal testing, just how it's gone for me in-game. Other similar level Warriors have reported similar experience when I've chatted with them about it.

[Splorf22]

I have done the formal testing. The hate generated by a 1H weapon is damage+damage bonus per swing (hit or miss). 2H is the same except there is a roughly 70% penalty. I don't think that's correct but I bumped the post several times in the bug forum and no dice, so whatever.

Kaev has it right - the problem is not warrior aggro per se as much as the ridiculous number of relatively cheap monk (tstaff = 50k) or rogue (ragebringer mq = 50k) twinks. Meanwhile warriors are doubly screwed: to really hold aggro in a group you need either a Blade of the Black Dragon Eye/Ringed Mace of the Ykesha combo (250k), epics (350+ for scales, and then hope your guild loves you enough to poopsock maestro), or VP weapons (hope TMO likes you). And even if you have the dough to buy this stuff, you'll STILL suck 1-50 because they won't proc! If Kunark wasn't out things would be much more reasonable: you could twink your warrior with dual SSOYs and the rogues would be using dragoon dirks and the monks would be using their fists and it would all work out.

Really as a new player if you want to play a tank I would recommend a Shadowknight or especially a Paladin. Both can use their spells to generate more aggro than even a twinked rogue, and these spells make them much more flexible and fun to level than a Warrior.. Both can be geared fairly cheaply (Blood Ember/Deepwater in all slots except BP and legs should be like 5k). The paladin will also have an easy time with the epic quest as well. The disadvantage will be a reduced raid role if you make it to 60, but before you get your heart set on doing a lot of raiding you should read the numerous posts about variance and how the raid scene works here.

If you are determined to go warrior my advice would be to go Jade Mace+Fist of Zek (SCD if you could afford it, but you said you were a new player). I would much rather have 9/18+18/30 or so ratios than use shit like the 6/25 obsidian shard (procs at 20 or something). This way at least you are doing pretty solid dps even if you aren't actually tanking (and tbh, they probably have a fungi anyway, so . . .).

[runlvlzero]

Jade Broadsword and Vilks will pull agro off level 40 ish slow spells, yak + kunzar kujuch just as good if not better.

A solid 2hander works good too. If rogues/monks dont want to let you tank, just let em tank and ignore it, they can reduce their agro by waiting or evading/fd mid fight.

[Vega]

Originally Posted by Splorf22 [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

If you are determined to go warrior my advice would be to go Jade Mace+Fist of Zek (SCD if you could afford it, but you said you were a new player).

Jarsath Trident is an even cheaper alternative to Jade Mace at lower levels when piercing is still the same as other weapon skills (assuming you really are strapped for cash).