Chestnut_Bowl Posted January 29, 2012 Share Posted January 29, 2012 I'm pretty new to MMOs in general, so all of the MMO jargon and player roles are new to me. I've been reading the forums trying to see which play style I would like to try; tanking seems like it be pretty interesting. What would be the best way for an absolute newbie to learn this stuff? Are there guilds out there for people like me? Do I just join as many Flashpoints as possible and learn by trial and error? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gankstah Posted January 29, 2012 Share Posted January 29, 2012 (edited) What would be the best way for an absolute newbie to learn this stuff? Are there guilds out there for people like me? Do I just join as many Flashpoints as possible and learn by trial and error? You basically just answered your own question. The best way to learn is to simply do it. The jargon will come in time. Don't sweat that. Just advertise in game that you're new and are looking for a guild that wouldn't mind taking in a new comer. Believe me, you won't be looking for long. People are always eager to bring in new blood. As far as actual tanking goes, just remember this one very important thing: You don't actually become a tank until your mid 30's. Every flashpoint up until then is intentionally designed to be forgiving and easy going. So around level 40+ expect the learning curve to jump a little. This is normal. You aren't doing anything wrong. Just stick with it and you'll be fine. As far as reading material, go to the Sith Juggernaut forum and at the top of the list is a guide written by Phottek. While it's pretty much aimed at Juggernauts there's a lot of information in there as well as newbie friendly sections that is helpful for tanks of all archetypes. It's a good place to start if you're coming in fresh out the gate. Once you get a better grip on what's going on you can take a look at the link in my signature for a little bit more advanced theory/mechanics on how tanks function. Good luck and remember, above all, HAVE FUN! If you're not having fun, try something else. This is after all your pass time. Your me time. Your, "time to get away from reality" time. If you're not enjoying it then what's the point? Edited January 29, 2012 by Gankstah Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chestnut_Bowl Posted January 29, 2012 Author Share Posted January 29, 2012 Thanks very much for your thoughtful answer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XtremJedi Posted January 29, 2012 Share Posted January 29, 2012 Hey, As a personal tip, I've found that levelling using a high damage companion is useful. When you're doing your quests, treat it like you were tanking for a group. Try to keep the aggro of mobs on you (i.e. keep them attacking you). If your companion gets attacked, try to pull aggro away from them and onto your self. Practice things like moving through a group of mobs hitting them, to build up threat so that they're attacking you. When you're looking at a group of mobs, think about which ones are ranged, which are melee, which you should attack first, which will be in range of your AoE, where you should stand to keep an eye on the whole group, while fighting one of them etc etc etc... Look at the abilities that mobs use on you (hover over their icons on your bar when they land) and work out what they do and which ones are really annoying and think about tactics you could use or items you might equip that could help. look closely at your own abilities and the abilities of your companion and work out how they affect your ability to tank by switching them on and off etc etc Try different tactics a lot... go for the weaker mobs first or the harder mobs, for the the ranged mobs first or the melee ones. Try to keep all of the mobs attacking you, or let one or two attack your companion and just hold the toughest ones yourself etc etc Learn to recognise which mob types are which. If you approach your levelling like a tank, it will go a little more slowly. You'll probably find that you need to spend more time meditating in between fights etc... but you'll be getting the basic skills and knowledge you need, to get to grips with how to become a tank. Most guides assume some level of basic knowledge that you may find you're missing, being new to MMOs. They'll probably also expect some level of understanding of how MMO grouping works. and as you've probably noticed, also chuck around a lot of jargon. Getting hands on experience and practice will help you to understand what's being discussed and also help you to ask the right questions, to get you the help that you're looking for. Just a personal point of view, of course. There are, I'm sure, other ways of giong about learning this stuff. X Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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