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Originally Posted by guitarxe
I have a problem that whenever me and my henchmen engage the enemies, they just run straight past me and start attacking my healer or my mage. Now it's cool that the AI is smart to do this, but surely there is a way to force them to attack me instead? Like in some other games there are abilities that would make an enemy attack you instead of someone else. I haven't seen any such abilities in GW yet and I'm already lvl 17 on my Warrior. But surely there is some other method to doing it?
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All I really want is for them to bunch up so it's easier to AoE
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Ok, here's some help, and some info. Firstly, forget bunching up to AoE. While this may be useful in the short term, enemies will actually run out of AoE and scatter if too many AoE spells or multi-target moves hit them in a short span, which can cause havoc. Running enemies can run into other groups of enemies and cause you to lose control and get wrecked.
Here's some info on how to properly "tank" in Guild Wars:
First, see this link:
GuildWiki: PVE Tactics. Once you've read that, come back here and read more.
Pulling:
As a warrior...scratch that, as a tank(applies to Dervish and any other melee tank really), you should always have a bow as one of your extra weapon sets. The stats on it don't matter, and a longbow is likely best for it's arc and long range. Use this to pull. If you'll be "tanking" flag your henchies and heroes and your party if there are other players in group back out of range, preferably near the back edge of your
"earshot" (
aggro bubble on the minimap). If you can send them around a corner, like a hill or whatever, even better.
When pulling, use your bow, to attack the chosen enemy, then immediately hit Esc to cancel action and switch to your other set. At no point should you run away, and do NOT break line of sight by running back to your group as this will make the mob that comes reset.
EDIT - you do not NEED to pull with the bow, but it's convenient. Running in after flagging your group back may lead to you being out of your healer's range and dead before they can get there if you pull too many.
End Edit
Once the mobs are in range and have hit you once or twice, or been attacked by you and turned to face you, your allies can come assist, unflag them. Do not run around when fighting mobs while tanking. Your skills will automatically target a nearby enemy if your current target dies, but if you click and miss one, moving aroudn that way can trigger the enemy to think you're fleeing and will target someone else. use 'tab' and 'c' (target next foe and target nearest foe, respectively) to target, and spacebar to initiate attack, you'll move in range automatically with no wasted motion.
What to do if you can't set up a pull:
Sometimes the enemies will get the jump on you. Maybe you weren't paying attention and brushed an aggro radius. They could have popped up from under your feet, or dropped in from above. It happens. Don't panic.
If the mobs are running toward other party members, you have a few options:
-attack the 1-3 enemies closest to you and hold those. No matter how well you tank, you can't hold ALL the enemies. Your party will manage.
-If you have any of the following, use them: knockdowns, crippling strikes, increased movement speed abilities. Use whatever you've got to let your party maneuver. Sometimes it's not about getting aggro off of the Monk so much as slowing, knocking, and blocking the enemies from reaching the monk while the rest nuke it.
-Run! Seriously, don't be ashamed to run away. It happens. Take a safe path, preferably one you've recently cleared and haul your butt outta there! flag your group ahead of you to make sure they don't keep fighting!
General tips
I couldn't think of a specific category to put these in, so here they go:
Body Blocking
If you can, physically keep the mobs from attacking your group by standing in the way! For example:
o oo
oo oooo <---enemies
----------|XX <---you (and maybe a co-tank)
..............|
..............|xx
..............|xxx <--- mid and backline
..............|x <--monk
Because the game allows clipping (objects can bump and block without passing through each other) you can physically block around a corner to prevent enemies from reaching your backline. If you have said backline also blocking the healer(s), even better. When all else fails (or before it can fail) body block.
Health and Armor
Having
less health sounds counter productive, but it can actually be a good thing. Using a Major or Superior rune on your gear can make the difference in whether a group will target you or ignore you. This is because the enemies tend to go for lower health targets first. Plus, that rune means bonus stats for your main damage abilities. Make sure HP boosting enchants are on your weaker targets and don't let your own HP be boosted until you've already got aggro. You may need to discuss this with your healer. If the healer is a hero, right click their boost ability on their bar to disable it, and then right click again to reactivate when you'd like them to use it (or disable it and then hotkey it for manual use).
As someone else mentioned, it sounds like you may have migrated over from WoW. I can relate, I'm a former WoW player and the transition was strange, as I rolled tanks in WoW, and the mechanics are just not the same here. GW is way different, particularly in it's aggro mechanics. Hopefully this info will be helpful to you, and don't forget to read the Wiki, there's a ton of good info in there.
Tanking (as in the high health, high armor, hold the angry things way):
Don't do this. It seems like a good idea to get as much HP as possible and to be a damage soak. This is well and good, but you can only have so many damage dealers and your monk can only restore but so much before the energy runs dry. Plus, the more HP you have, the less likely the mob will attack you. It'll run right past, kill your monk, then the rest, then you. It's better to focus on a balanced, damage dealing build with one or two control abilities (like a knockdown or cripple) and at least one rez and one self heal or damage absorber (you want Lion's Comfort if you can get it, adrenaline based heal is nice. Dolyak Signet is ok, but you'll want an option to remove it should you need mobility).
Flexibility:
...in everything. Save some useful build types as templates. You may want a pure control build, something that might be lower damage, but with multiple knockdowns, cripples, etc. You'll want a tanking build with damage reducing abilities and a self heal. You'll want a nuking damage build. You'll want a balnaced build. It goes on. Play around with your skills and don't get locked into one build or play style.
Also, try different weapon combinations and learn what works and what doesn't. Hammers, Axes, and Swords all have their ups and downs. An axe works well in a damage build. A hammer is good for it's knocking ability. Swords are good pressure. Play with them and learn what each can do.
Guild Wars is a game that rewards intelligence. There is a strategy to things that you learn over time. Rushing in without thinking or planning your pull and attack will almost always get you kill unless you are comfortably above the level of your enemies, and sometimes you can greatly outlevel the mob and still get killed by sheer numbers. Thinking will keep you alive and avoid death penalties and time wasted.
Good luck, and hope some of this helps! (Also, sorry the post got so long!)
