Combat Methodology and Spell Progression

Guardian Guide Contents

• href="http://eq2.tentonhammer.com/index.php?module=ContentExpress&func=display&ceid=137">Chapter
  1 - Basics
• href="http://eq2.tentonhammer.com/index.php?module=ContentExpress&func=display&ceid=183">Chapter
  2 - Guardian Abilities List
• href="http://eq2.tentonhammer.com/index.php?module=ContentExpress&func=display&ceid=138">Chapter
  3 - Combat Methods
• href="http://eq2.tentonhammer.com/index.php?module=ContentExpress&func=display&ceid=139">Chapter
  4 - Quests
• href="http://eq2.tentonhammer.com/index.php?module=ContentExpress&func=display&ceid=140">Chapter
  5 - Equipment
• href="http://eq2.tentonhammer.com/index.php?name=PNphpBB2&file=viewtopic&p=5792#5792">Chapter
  6 - Where to Hunt (Solo)
  

3.0 - Combat Abilities Progression

These charts will give you an idea of what abilities make lower-level abilities obsolete. Use these charts to determine the usefulness of making an adept III or buying an upgrade to your existing spells too.

Direct Damage (DD) Attacks

Damage over Time (DoT) Attacks

Area of Effect (AoE) Attack

Hate Increasing Abilities

Single Target Buff

Group Buff

Protection / Intervene Abilities

Stances

Special

3.1 - Using Your Combat Abilities
Effectively

3.1a - Combat Methods

(Thanks to Dwar of AB
server for these comments on tanking!)

MT - Main Tank or Main
Taunt and MA – Main
Assist; here is the
difference...

MT - His /Her Job is to get aggro and keep aggro off the
"squishies" (Casters/scouts/healers). His job is sometimes the MA also,
but it might be wise not to have the MT be the MA. The reason: the MT
may need to switch targets to peel mobs off of the squishies while the
others in the group still focus on one
target. This means the MT needs to switch targets randomly
throughout the fight, especially when a another group of mobs aggro/add
to the pile. As MT you MUST be aware of all the mobs around you, which
entails spinning your camera angle around to the rear and side.
This will allow you to spot threats
to the group farther out.

MA- His sole goal is to pick the next target and stay away from
mezzed targets. MA can be casters but usually are a back-up tank or
Scout
type. I myself give this responsibility to Scout types; it makes them
feel
special and give them a more active part in a group other than
DPS/Chest
opener. Scouts also fight from the back and
side usually, making them
out of the range of Over Swing (randomly being hit when you don’t have
aggro). When you're the MA, you must stay away from using the
next/nearest
target Key because this cycles through the target and you might hit a
mezzed mob and wake it, bringing its Hate and the Enchanters hate down
upon you.
Also, if the MT is having a rough time pulling aggro off the
squishies
you need to get on his target and or targets and kill them before
squishes fall.

Other important terms...

Mob Tango – Yes, its a dance. As MT, being aware of our area,
sometimes you must move the mob(s) out of the aggro range of wondering
aggro or respawn. Make sure you inform everyone that if you move,
they must
move too. Nothing worse then a Squishy that stands there
and
gets more aggro.

Aggro Range - All Mobs have an aggro range, some small and
some
large. Knowing this range will help when pulling/Leading the
group
around/ staying alive. THERE IS NOTHING WORSE THAN following someone
through a zone that hits all the aggro mobs. So learn the range
of
aggro and avoid it.

Here are some key tactics to be coming a great tank!

Fighting for Aggro – This usually happens with the secondary
tank taunts and tries to get aggro because he envies you. DON’T LET
THIS happen. This usually happens with Berserkers/Crusader Types
because they think it a challenge . STOP THIS QUICK. Inform those guys
that you are the MT and to not use Hate increase abilities/taunts
unless in dire need. If they keep it up, kick them out of the group. No
need having the healers working over time to try to keep you and
foolish
healed. Controlling aggro should not be a contest, it makes
things
harder and sucks more power from the MT trying to keep aggro.
There's nothing worse then the MT running out of Power, well, except
the healer running out of power!
before fight ends.

Abilities to upgrade first: All your Taunt/hate increasing
/ Defense abilities. As a Guardian don’t worry about Damage your not
the best at it and there are other classes that need to worry about
that.

Pulling – Before you pull,
allow your groupmates to buff you fully with short duration heals and
stat boosters. Then, there are 2 ways to pull: Ranged Weapon and
Taunt Pulling:

• Pulling with ranged weapons has a
  greater range than taunting. After
  using ranged pulling, follow up with a taunt for single mobs and Area
  Of
  Effect taunt (shout) for group pulls. See GET THE AGGRO FIRST.
• Taunt Pulling. Shorter distance
  pull But effective. Area of Effect
  Taunt Pull group mobs. See below GET THE AGGRO FIRST.

Get the
Aggro First - before the other players can get it with
that late
heal/buff. Again, allowing your group to buff you before you go grab a
target should cut down on the late heals / buffs. There's
nothing worse then having your healer give late heals before you have
aggro. When the healer gets the aggro he
usually has to continue healing himself, gaining more aggro to himself
then you can take off. AOE (area of effect) taunt every group
mob
right off the bat. Healer should not get the aggro with the first
heal, try
not to let this happen. This was an endless source of frustration
for me, coming from a guardian and
playing a Healer alt.

Hope this helps you become the best Guardian you can be! Thanks
to Dwar of AB server for the preceding comments on tanking!

I would add the importance of the Engage and Assist Calls...

Horses - Literally worth their
weight in gold when pulling. Outrunning the mob back to the group
means you'll begin the fight with less damage and a smaller chance of
debuffs / DoTs, which makes healers happy!

Engage Call - A hotbutton
comment something like "/g %T inbound in 20 seconds." where %T is the
target you're preparing to attack. Twenty seconds gives a good
healer time to stack two or three good heal-over-time/reactive
heals/wards on you and the group, and plenty of time for mage buffs as
well. While it might slow down chain pulling, it's a must when fighting mobs that give a challenge.

Assist Call - Something as
simple as "Kill," this is the green light for your group to attack the
target and heal you with abandon. Hit this hotbutton after a
round of your choicest taunts. Old habits are hard to break, and
if your healer and you are working overtime to fix things for
groupmates who can't seem to get the notion, its probably time for some
stern instructions from the group leader or even a boot (if the
situation can deteriorate very rapidly, like it can deep in a dungeon
zone or raid-only zone).

3.1b - Abilities Discussion

[Thanks to Alaric of Oggok/BlackBurrow for the
following comments!]



Stacking
Your Taunts - The following taunts can be stacked at level 50
and should be upgraded to Adept III as soon as possible (though the
upgrade effect is small, every bit helps). Protect (lvl50- AoE
taunt), Deafen (lvl 45-single-target), Taunting
Assault (lvl 44 - AoE), Vengeful Strike(lvl 38 - single-target),
Taunting
Challenge (lvl 24 - single-target), Taunting Blow (lvl10 - single
target). Note that Protect and Smothering Cry cannot be used at
level 50, in which
case you can use Shouting Cry (lvl22).

The Defense Buff / Taunts - Commanding Presence (lvl40), preceded by Battle Cry (lvl26), and
Rallying Cry (lvl12) are short term AC buffs which are also taunts, and
ought to be used on every kill while you're waiting for your other
taunts to cycle.



Other Buffs - These buffs can
be stacked to add every last bit of AC, attack buffs, and HP to you and
your group- Return to
Battle (lvl 47),Call of Protection (lvl 38), Call to battle(lvl 37),
Iron
Conviction (lvl 42)<60sec>, Guardian's Call (lvl23)<timer>, Do or
Die(lvl33), Call to Arms (lvl9)<timer>, and Battle Tactics
(lvl19). Using the right buffs amounts is almost like having a
second
tank, for example: Return to Battle (adept1), Do or Die (adept3),
Battle Tactics (app4) add up to around 1210 hps alone!



Anchor- a level 46 ability with a precendent skill (Entrench at 32)-
is also
very effective at pulling mobs as it has a huge range, around about
50m. As it slows the attack and movement rate of the mob, you'll
want
to use this to pull the mob back to the group but be sure to cancel as soon as your group begins the attack. Otherwise you'll be
fighting
against the defense buff to the mob, which is a side effect of the combat
ability. Very effective against named mobs with underlings,
as it
slows the NM down and your group can begin to take out the lesser mobs
while the NM is still inbound.



The Root-Taunt - Hold the Line
(lvl 15) remains useful through the higher levels. Use this
ability to hold aggro on longer fights (like named mobs) or when you're
struggling to hold aggro on any encounter. Though it only lasts 3
minutes, it taunts the entire encounter for like 33% of each hit (app
4).



[Thanks to Alaric of Oggok/Blackburrow for the
preceding comments!]

Protection Line Spells - These spells are actually buffs which deflect damage from a groupmate onto you. This works best on a low mitigation class which is likely to draw the attention of the mob. Who gets voted "most-likely aggro thief" in your group is something you'll have to determine (usually healers and mezzers tie for it). Nice in concept, but limited in practical use: this spell currently does not proc enough to make it worthwhile.

Have any suggestions??? I'm always
looking for new ideas for this guide, and if I include yours, you (of
course) get the credit. Email
your thoughts to me or href="http://forums.tentonhammer.com/forumdisplay.php?f=196">post
them in the TTH Guardian forum, and thanks in advance!