slicehix Posted March 18, 2012 Share Posted March 18, 2012 ...or should I say tried to tank my first Hardmode. Sweet Jesus. What am I doing wrong? Should I even be trying to tank hard modes? I've read a couple guides, thought I was following them, but I got smacked around. The hardmode was False Emperor. Is that a bad one to start out with? The group was comprised of another shadow who was infiltration (not really that geared), a healing commando (looked decently geared) and a gunslinger (decked in Rakata gear). Holding aggro proved very difficult. The commando and gunslinger were used to running HMs, so they wanted me to pull at a steady rate, which I have no problem doing. But sometimes it just got overwhelming. Especially when we were hardly doing any CC's and no targets were marked. We cleared the first boss (no thanks to me as I got wrecked at about 75% and they managed to burn him down. Then on the second boss we just kept wiping. Everyone seemed to be taking too much damage. I was taunting every cooldown, keeping kinetic shield up and using cooldowns constantly. Is there a lot of random damage in that fight with the missiles? Anyways, after our third wipe on the second boss the group fell apart. Now, I feel too intimidated to try tanking another because I don't want to establish a horrible reputation as supreme failtank. My stats are as follows: 16130 Health. 5806 Armor, 37% Dmg Reduction, 24.9% Defense, 35.81 Shield, 30.69% Shield Absorption. Am I just too undergeared for HM's? Is so, what can I do to gear up for HM's? Also, something I found difficult was trying to place my Force Breachs and Slow Times in groups where there were CC'ed targets out of fear of breaking the CC. Any tips on placing them as to not breaking the CC or is it just trial and error til you learn the radius? I'd like to stick with tanking, but I just don't want to waste peoples' time. Maybe I should just go Infiltration or Balance. Appreciate any feedback. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
viLe- Posted March 18, 2012 Share Posted March 18, 2012 I tanked False Emperor HM yesterday with a mix of Champ/BM gear so my health is higher than yours, but my def/shield/absorb is worse. On the second boss you have to use the consoles to fire at the ship, and avoid the red circles where AoE dmg is incoming. We actually screwed up and our 2 dps died, so it was just me and our healer from 55% on, but we still managed to take him down since he doesn't have an enrage timer. Always keep up your kinetic ward, and keep Force Breach and Slow time on the boss. Holding aggro also shouldn't be a problem, just use Slow time on CD, Project when PA is up, Taunt on CD even if you have aggro already (http://www.swtor.com/community/showthread.php?t=341126), and Telekinetic Throw whenever you have 3 stacks of HS. If someone in your group keeps pulling aggro off you, use guard on him to reduce his aggro gain. For more information check our this guide, its pretty good: http://www.swtor.com/community/showthread.php?t=344254 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zintair Posted March 18, 2012 Share Posted March 18, 2012 Its a difficult instance if you are running it PuG with people who aren't on the same channel and you don't know the encounters. 1) CC is your best friend on some pulls and if your group isn't interested in it then you might need to find a new one. I;d suggest a guild that is familiar with them to get acquainted but you pay the bills If you are going to AOE through the packs then you need to have coordinated DPS. Gunslinger burns down the mass weak mobs and any that spawn. Infiltration Shadow is on the Silver mob. He needs to die last. Always burn the weak mobs first then focus on the Silvers and then finally the Gold Elites and then of course Champion/Boss. 2) Stunning / distance is your ally. You know that the mobs the higher they scale the harder they hit so you should use your CC to your advantage. You don't need to start off with AoE taunt right away. Open up with a Spinning Kick on the Silver. DPS should burn down the weaks. If there are 2 Silvers/Golds regardless always attempt to CC one and Focus on the other. If they are Silver use Kick or Stun on one and then taunt the other. Having classes that's AoEs knock weak targets down is a plus and makes controlling the pulls easier as they are locked down in the CC. Don't panic either if a mob does go to the healer. Especially if he is a Trooper, they have incredible survivability and can take the hits. Don't forget you have pull for this as well to yank and gain threat. Boss Fights: The first boss is tricky and arguably the hardest boss in the place, at least until he got nerfed. The key is to watch for his AoE whirlwind. Don't tank him on the bridge because of his AoE knock back. The Pull: You taunt the boss and run back to safer ground on the platform you came from. The boss will run to you. The DPS should attack the mobs on the bridge and burn them down then come to the boss. Your job is to build up threat and get ready for the whirlwind. I don't remember if the boss drops aggro after the whirlwind just be ready in case you need to taunt back. You are not meant to stand through the whirlwind, he already hits hard if your not geared so its a very mobile fight. Just tank him with your back to a wall to avoid getting knocked. Second Boss was explained above. Third Boss: DPS Swap, very simple. Kill the one that doesn't have the light or whatever the effect is I can't remember. HK-47: Tricky fight and a bit of a DPS race. Tank and spank but there are turrets that need to be blown up by rockets. Not really tank related so Ill skip. Just be ready for burst and use your cooldowns wisely. Malgus: Easy mode tank and spank, interrupt the 1 shot ability Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RockysRevenge Posted March 18, 2012 Share Posted March 18, 2012 I just tanked my first HM on Friday . We did Taral V and wiped twice; once on the droid, once on the last boss. I think it's just the basics that make for success. You HAVE to have a good healer. The HM's are made for a tank, a healer, and 2 DPS. It helps a lot that we can put out a lot of damage...adds should only live a few seconds if you have a good team. Otherwise, ALWAYS keep kinetic ward up, use resilience to negate a champ's burst, and use your taunts so your healer doesn't get mobbed. And rule #1...if you're not having fun, you're doing it wrong . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bilirubin Posted March 18, 2012 Share Posted March 18, 2012 (edited) I have tanked both False Emperor and Taral V in HM, wearing Columi mixed Survivor and Force Master, with a Tionese shield and champion implant and relic (until I got a nice epic tanking relic that dropped partway through the FP). I had done neither but my guild mates talked me through each battle, and they went pretty well. Getting the hang of it, am having little trouble keep aggro (as long as the healer is guarded), and my health is usually easily topped off allowing the healer to toss in a little DPS. Good fun! Edited March 18, 2012 by Bilirubin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MithrilSoul Posted March 19, 2012 Share Posted March 19, 2012 Shadow tanks are in a really good spot right now, so it's not an issue with the class. First rule of thumb, your guard goes on whoever in your group is pulling the most threat. If you had a Rakaka-geared gunslinger, then guard really belongs on him, not the healer. Compared to other games I have played, healing aggro in SWTOR is actually pretty low as far as I can tell. Sounds to me that the big issue was your group overall wasn't playing smart. Sounds like the two experiened ppl were just wanting to blow through everything at light speed and that's not a good idea with a brand-new tank doing his first run through the flashpoint. I'd give it a few more tries, ideally with a group a little more patient in its approach. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kai-Eurah-Tird Posted March 19, 2012 Share Posted March 19, 2012 False Emperor HM is definately fun to tank with a group of people you're familiar with. Not for first time puggers. :\ A lot of the fights have mechanics that'll wipe any tanks. Like the Trandoshan (lizard guy) you have to get away from his cleave attack or you die, it's not a tank-n-spank yawn fest. (Although the last boss is a tank-n-spank yawn fest) The Bounty Hunter, you have to shoot at his ship or it'll kill you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tacticalshotz Posted March 19, 2012 Share Posted March 19, 2012 I tank in HM OP's and HM FP's. Shadows are very good tanks. You clearly didn't know the encounters, you mentioned you were grouped with some toons with gear, sad they didn't help you by explaining the fights. The beauty of shadows is you don't always have to be in Melee range to maintain agro. That first boss is a joke, Yes, you pull him back to where the bridge begins as someone had mentioned. Then you just kite him in a medium circle backwards spamming your ST,FB, and project and taunts. He almost never even hits you (at all). The second fight you HAVE to have a group that knows what they are doing. If your getting to missle phase three, they are doing it all wrong. I completely understand how you thought you were unable to tank if thought you could stand toe to toe with that first boss in False Emp. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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