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Aggro Management and
You

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August 4th, 2008 - By
Dalmarus

The free account reactivation period may be over for Vanguard: Saga of
Heroes players, but people may be amazed at the number of players that
have decided to stick around. While it comes as no surprise to me, I
still feel the development team deserves a round of applause for their
efforts. At this point, some may argue with me that since it's their
job, they don't deserve any thanks. To those individuals, I say you can
<insert inappropriate insult here> and like it. They've
been busting their tails improving the game, and kudos to them for
their progress!



Rather than bug you about your thoughts on the Isle of Dawn, the
upcoming Disciple changes, or anything else of the sort this week, I'd
like to see if the community can settle an argument. Call it just a
streak of bad luck if you will, but for the last month or so, I've
quickly begun to really have issues with any Sorcerer in my group.
Maybe it's because I'm playing a tank now, rather than my necromancer,
but I think it's more than that.



alt="horse"
src="http://media.tentonhammer.com/vanguard/gallery/albums/Vanguard-Item-Pics/horse.jpg"
hspace="10" vspace="5">There's a concept I (along
with innumerable other players) learned back
in our early Everquest days called "Aggro Management". The concept
behind it is pretty simple, really. If you're playing a high DPS
(Damage per Second) class, you need to manage the amount of damage you
do throughout the battle in an attempt to assure you do not pull the
group's target off the main tank. The general method of doing this has
always been to give the tank a few moments to build some aggro before
doing much (if any) damage. As the battle progresses, you increase the
amount of damage you do, but in reasonable amounts so again, you do not
pull the mob off the tank. When the battle is nearing its final quarter
(or possibly half) is when you can really unload and damage away to
your heart's content.



Seems like a pretty simple concept to me, but recently, I've had a
string of Sorcerers that seem to think I'm going to keep the mob from
chewing through them like a Trisket when they start unloading for
7-10K+ while it's still at 90% health. I've also had some argue with me
that I'm not doing my job correctly since I couldn't either keep aggro
from them or get the mob off without using a rescue (which is on a 30
second timer now). Let's face it. I'm a new Dread Knight. This is the
longest I've ever played a tank class by a mile in any game I've ever
played, and I'm only level 30. I could indeed be playing it
incorrectly, but if so, how come I have no problems both attaining, and
retaining, aggro with any other group, as long as I don't have a
cast-happy Sorcerer in the group?



In an effort to resolve this issue myself (and for a bit of
fun-poking), I've started a Sorcerer on the Xeth server this weekend.
For now, I'll leave the name a bit of a mystery, but anyone reading
this Chronicle should be able to figure it out pretty easily if they
happen to come across me in their travels. Aside from using the name to
have a bit of fun, I'm convinced I can manage my aggro successfully
with a Sorcerer. I've played casters for years now and I can't imagine
the Sorcerer in Vanguard being so different in basic skills that I'll
be continually pulling a mob off my tanks. We'll see though. In either
case, it should be fun.



Speaking of fun, you didn't really think I was going to let you go this
week without reminding you about Fan Faire did you? The time for
pre-registration may have ended, but the event is almost upon us and
I'm giddy (yes, giddy) with anticipation. It'll be great to
finally put some faces with names and just have a generally good time
geeking out to my heart's content. Even if you haven't pre-registered,
you can still sign up and get tickets the days of the event. Don't want
to do all 3 days? No problem. You can buy a ticket for a single day if
you choose! If you're one of the people coming this year, be sure to
say hello and you may be lucky (or unlucky) enough to make it in the
Fan Faire follow-up Chronicle after the event!





What do you think? Leave a comment href="http://forums.tentonhammer.com/showthread.php?t=31932">here!

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Disclaimer:
The opinions, beliefs and viewpoints expressed are those of the author
and do not necessarily reflect the opinions, beliefs and viewpoints of
the Ten Ton Hammer network or staff.

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