CUEmu - Thread Posts

Tundrastalker

Sun May 15, 2005 5:29 pm

OK, there seems to be a common question on the forums,

Why does taunt have such a low reuse timer? With our low damage output how are we suppose to hold a mobs attention?

From my experience (Simply my experience) Taunt in SWG works the same as Taunt in other SONY MMORPG's. Please feel free to test this yourself and let me know what results you are getting with it. Any extra info is always helpful.

First off Taunt is supposed to move you to the top of the "hate list" plus 1 point. For instance if a Rifleman hit the mob for 1000 points of damage they would be at a 1000 on the hate list. If a Swordsman hit it for 800 points they would be at a 800 on the hit list. if us as a TK hit it for 400 we would be at a 400 on the hate list. The mob would then charge the rifleman, here is where taunt comes in. We taunt the mob and move to a 1001 on the hate list. The mob would then return to us. If the rifleman continues to blast it for 1000 points before our reuse timer comes into play, we are then going to lose aggro again.

The CU is all about tactics. The days of spamming (Any profession) your most powerful attack or using it as often as possible are gone. You need to work as a team (or else you are soloing and taunt is useless).

Second, NO TK by itself is not going to do enough damage to hold aggro. Spamming taunt if the creature is already on you is just going to add 1 point to the hate list (and reset the timer so you can't use it quickly). Taunt should be used when it is headed to or on someone else. No offense to anyone meant but I have read several times, "I use taunt every other attack and it still leaves and heads to someone else" Yes because you are doing your damage plus 1 point onto the hate list. As a MTK we are not doing the damage to have 1 point help us hold aggro.

For taunt to be successful everyone in the group needs to understand their role. Rambo spamming whatever they have is just going to attract the mob and end up in themself and the healer (possibly more) who is trying to save them dead.

Sample successful combat (I am not often in a pickup group that does it right so some of the roles may be wrong here):
Group consists of
TKM
Rifleman
Doc
fencer
BH
Pistolleer

TK grabs a mob (or 2 here) and returns to the group (everyone needs to attack the ones the TK is on except crowd control). CoB is active and the TK has 100 points of hate on each of the two, plus 400 on the one they targeted. TK gets mobs to the group. Fencer, does a state effect (say 500 hate),Pistolleer does a root on the other 1 (cheesed them off but they are rooted), BH hits it hard (800), rifleman smacks the daylights out of it (1500). MTK taunts now the TK is at 1501 on the hate list.

next round
MTK hits it for 400 (1901 on hate list) Pistolleer uses a power attack for 700 (700 hate list) BH smacks it for less then max say 600 (1400 hate list) Rifleman uses a basic attack that does not outdo the TK 300 (1800 hatelist) and the doc heals the TK for 300 (300 hate list). Mob stays on TK.

Next round
BH hits hard 800 points (2200 hate list) mob heads to him. Pistolleer smacks for 500 (1200 hatelist) Rifleman Powershots 1000 again (2800 hatelist) mob moves to rifleman. MTK Taunts (2801 hatelist) and has control of mob again.

The combat continues with the Doc maintaining control of keeping the TK alive and the rest of the classes making sure they do not go overboard.

IF SOMEONE IS CONSISTANTLY GETTING AGGRO AND DYING IT IS THEIR FAULT. IT IS NOT THE FAULT OF OUR TAUNT OR PLAYING ABILITY. IF THEY ARE A "GLASS CANNON" AND CANNOT PICK AND CHOOSE THEIR SHOTS THEY WILL DIE AND THERE IS NOTHING WE CAN DO TO SAVE THEM OR THE REST OF THE GROUP (until they fall).

Please feel free to test this out I suggest getting a friend and a low level mob. Have them shoot it and upset it while you stand there. Have them shoot it again and run to you. you just stand there. have them smack it again and then you hit taunt (it does fail occasionally). You should see the mob attack you (You are 1 point over them but do not hit). Friend moves away and waits a few sec without you attacking. Hits mob and it should return to them. Try to taunt again and it will move you 1 point up. Keep in mind that taunt fails so no this will not work 100% of the time.

Thank you and /flame on

Samanthra MTK+
Chilastra

ckclyde

Sun May 15, 2005 6:56 pm

#2

This a very informative post, well done

...my only concern is, how often is this scenario actually going to happen? I seriously doubt that most players are capable of this level of coordination, especially when in the heat of battle, and things are happening pretty quickly. I myself have a problem trying to keep up with the combat chat-tab, it scrolls by too fast for me to read and assimilate information (and I have experimented with resizing the window...the only way I can keep up with it is to make it VERY large, thus blocking my view of the battle.)

I think that a good fix would be to either lengthen the time mobs stay aggroed on me after taunting, or to increase my hate level, so that it is more difficult for the aggro to be drawn to other players.

I realize that there is a system in place, I just don't think it is very good. I don't mind some strategy in my combat, but I don't want a "recipe" that I must always follow to the letter either.

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Tundrastalker

Sun May 15, 2005 7:46 pm

#3

Thanks for the smiley ckclyde!!

I agree that this scenerio won't happen as often in pickup groups or "newer guilds" due to the lack of coordination. I have a feeling some of the "High level content" guilds are using it (guilds that came from EQ/EQ2, fought together for years in other gamesetc..). The main thing I really wanted to get out of the post was that if a profession with the ability to do mass damage (Rifleman etc...) dosen't exercise enough control and chooses to Spam the max damage attack with full buffs/food/drink, there is nothing we can really do to save them as the "avoidance tank", until they are dead and we move to the top of the chain with taunt. Once that happens we really don't have to worry about anyone taking our aggro because we should be so high that it is irrelevant (whatever damage they did plus 1). When they start complaining about our lack of taunting/tanking ability we can let them know that it really is them that dosen't understand how their class goes vs. us that can't do our job.

Extreme damage comes at a cost of higher aggro and weaker defenses, they still have to exercise control because no mob is going to keep hitting the 400 point damage TK when there is someone standing away doing 1K plus (a smarter AI because would you in PVP?). If the high damage dealers had the ability to take damage (as I am guessing their boards are screaming about) they would have no need for us. Right or wrong SONY moved the professions into defined "roles" and the days of us being able to solo high level content are pretty much over. Regardless of my feelings on it, we do now have to group and compliment each other to take out the "higher level" mobs. Taunt is one of the tools we have at our disposal, but it isn't just us that have to understand it, it is also the other professions.

The second thing I wanted to get out was that if the mob is on you don't bother taunting it, save the action for something else.When the mob is working someone else over, then taunt can save their life.

Thanks

Samanthra MTK+

Chilastra

Message Edited by Tundrastalker on 05-15-2005 08:09 PM

Teras Kasi Archive

Thread: My impression of taunt