oredith Posted March 26, 2012 Share Posted March 26, 2012 my BH just hit 50 yesterday. after getting all the (applicable) datacrons, and the GTN / crafted purchases, and the help of rakata stim, i'm sitting at 20k HP. pretty decent for a new 50. however, i'm just not sure about my tanking rotation. I leveled 1-50 as tanking, so my keybinds are fine, and I can manage my heat ok, but after tanking my first EV8 normal (i know the fights well as the raid leader for my guild, HM cleared, but i'm the BH healer in those), it's become obvious that my opening threat sucks. now, part of it is due to the yahoos in my guild just wanting to give me a hard time, since it's my newbie alt, and they're nuking away in rakata gear, but I just don't think i have a firm grasp on what a GOOD opening sequence is to get a decent lead on bosses. please note, I'm really only interested in bosses in this thread. I know it's different on trash and stuff. one thing i'm not sure on, does grapple apply high threat, even if you can't technically grapple the boss? anyways, please post up your personal opening tanking sequence Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
exphryl Posted March 26, 2012 Share Posted March 26, 2012 (edited) Taunt. No seriously. It gives you a few seconds for the mob to focus on you and it's permanent threat (not temporary). It's a great ability to use after opener. To further clarify Another interesting mechanic we discovered was with taunts. They set the tank's threat to how much would be necessary for the tank to pull of the current aggro target (based on his current position relative to the taunted target), even if the current aggro target is said tank! For example, if a tank (standing at max melee range, so 130% threat threshold) generates 10000 threat, then while the mob is still attacking him he taunts it, his threat would be set to 13000 threat, even though the mob was attacking him the entire time. Thus using taunts in a tanking rotation can be a massive source of threat generation, particularly late in the fight. Think about it this way. If you're halfway through a 2 million HP boss, and you've done say 15% of the damage, you've done 150000 damage, and thus generated (roughly) 225000 threat. Now, while standing at max range on the boss, you stop attacking and instead just cast nothing but Taunt on cooldown (every 15 seconds). For first taunt would generate 225000*0.3 = 67500 threat (4500 tps), 87750 threat the second cast (5850 tps), 114075 threat the third (7605 tps), and so on, and that's casting nothing but taunt on CD. Basically, unless there's a tank swap coming up, or it's early in the fight (where a dps might be pulling off you), casting Taunt on cooldown is your single highest TPS ability, and it's off the GCD! Edited March 26, 2012 by exphryl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oredith Posted March 26, 2012 Author Share Posted March 26, 2012 Taunt. No seriously. It gives you a few seconds for the mob to focus on you and it's permanent threat (not temporary). It's a great ability to use after opener. To further clarify yeah, i've read the same discovery, though I'm personally of the opinion that that probably won't be there for long? seems kinda broken. even then, a taunt would be better after a few opening moves to establish some baseline threat, because if you just hit the button, won't it be based upon zero? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Agooz Posted March 26, 2012 Share Posted March 26, 2012 my BH just hit 50 yesterday. after getting all the (applicable) datacrons, and the GTN / crafted purchases, and the help of rakata stim, i'm sitting at 20k HP. pretty decent for a new 50. however, i'm just not sure about my tanking rotation. I leveled 1-50 as tanking, so my keybinds are fine, and I can manage my heat ok, but after tanking my first EV8 normal (i know the fights well as the raid leader for my guild, HM cleared, but i'm the BH healer in those), it's become obvious that my opening threat sucks. now, part of it is due to the yahoos in my guild just wanting to give me a hard time, since it's my newbie alt, and they're nuking away in rakata gear, but I just don't think i have a firm grasp on what a GOOD opening sequence is to get a decent lead on bosses. please note, I'm really only interested in bosses in this thread. I know it's different on trash and stuff. one thing i'm not sure on, does grapple apply high threat, even if you can't technically grapple the boss? anyways, please post up your personal opening tanking sequence Death from above>Taunt>Jet charge>rocketpunch>RS>grapple...good luck to anyone trying hard to pull aggro. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pellaz Posted March 26, 2012 Share Posted March 26, 2012 My general, serious-face, never fail opening is usually Grapple -> Jet Charge -> [Explosive Fuel and Adrenal while charging] -> Rocket Punch -> Rail Shot DFA is great for pulling trash, bosses not so much imo...running down the list in my head, Foreman Crusher and Excavator are the only bosses that "comes to me" as opposed to me going to them, and other aspects of those fights keep me from pulling them with DFA. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Agooz Posted March 26, 2012 Share Posted March 26, 2012 My general, serious-face, never fail opening is usually Grapple -> Jet Charge -> [Explosive Fuel and Adrenal while charging] -> Rocket Punch -> Rail Shot DFA is great for pulling trash, bosses not so much imo...running down the list in my head, Foreman Crusher and Excavator are the only bosses that "comes to me" as opposed to me going to them, and other aspects of those fights keep me from pulling them with DFA. Yes DFA now could be situational, but the reason I listed it and am planning on using it as an opening often in 1.2 is due to the changes. Supposedly it will do damage sooner, and if the rest of the channeling stays the same, that means you still can end the channel a little early and get the full ticks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mc_Gregor Posted March 27, 2012 Share Posted March 27, 2012 If dpsers want to pull aggro off you at the start they will do it, no matter how hard you try. So when you are pulling the boss with your cooldowns active (Expl fuel and maybe dps trinket if you happen to have one, adrenal might help too) watch boss carefully. If it turns away from you smack it with taunt in the face. If it happens again (which still is possible when marauders go crazy with their cooldowns to use it again later in the fight) slap it with aoe taunt while waiting for the normal one to cool down. After that its impossible to overaggro espacially if you got some nice crits on rocket punch and free procs on it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpoeMeister Posted March 27, 2012 Share Posted March 27, 2012 (edited) My opener on any boss: DoA/Unload > Jet Charge > Rocket Punch > Sticky Grenade (while running) Jet charge: huge aggro boost Rocket Punch: Procs IGC > huge aggro boost Sticky Grenade: my filler when I'm running around Grapple, even though the boss can't be physically pulled, still generates a high amount. But I usually tend to use it to draw something in my rotation. (flame sweep for mitigation) After that you can taunt the boss, adding 110% of the aggro you already had on the boss. My two cents, I hope it helped. Edited March 27, 2012 by SpoeMeister Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
midnitemonster Posted March 27, 2012 Share Posted March 27, 2012 (edited) Explosive Fuel> Jet Charge> Rocket Punch> Rail Shot> Flame Burst> Heat Blast> Flame Thrower> Explosive Dart Throw in another Rocket Punch if it procs during your rotation. Do not waste your Power Adrenal at the start of the fight. Unless you know you will not need the Defensive Adrenal later. Only use Unload if all your other abilities are on cooldown because they ignore armor, Unload does not. Also if you notice you are having a hard time getting initial aggro because your group is going all out with dps in Rakata gear. Feel free to Taunt/Grapple after you Charge. You will still have your AoE Taunt if things get hairy after you do your rotation. Like someone said before, DFA is situational in most boss fights. I would not recommend starting with it. Edited March 27, 2012 by midnitemonster Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrIrrelevant Posted March 28, 2012 Share Posted March 28, 2012 Death from above>Taunt>Jet charge>rocketpunch>RS>grapple...good luck to anyone trying hard to pull aggro. You typically never want to open with DFA... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Agooz Posted March 28, 2012 Share Posted March 28, 2012 You typically never want to open with DFA... Did you read my followup post? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marb Posted March 29, 2012 Share Posted March 29, 2012 I find that opening with an explosive dart before the rocket punch and railshot adds a little more initial burst. I follow this with my taunt. I don't use the dart much after that though as it funks with my heat management. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheOpf Posted March 30, 2012 Share Posted March 30, 2012 Quick Question, do many of you weave DFA into your rotation after the initial attack? I heard it was our best single target damage. Plus it looks cool to pull off in the middle of a boss fight. I usually use taunt and then DFA whenever DFA comes off CD. If my heat management is going well. I do find that if I don't weave it into the beginning of my rotation, I have a beast of a time trying to keep threat. My opening is usually Jet Charge/Rocket Punch/Railshot/Flame Burst/Taunt/DFA/Heat Blast/Rocket Punch if it comes off CD. If i don't use DFA, I have found that I have a bugger of a time keeping threat on the initial Burst. Does Oil Slick work on bosses? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marb Posted March 30, 2012 Share Posted March 30, 2012 I see no reason why you shouldn't be using DfA on boss fights, as long as you feel confident you can hit the boss with it. Opening with it though is questionable. I usually save my explosive fuel for a rocket punch> DfA> flamethrower combo. And yes, Oil Slick works on all pve encounters, including bosses, though depending on their damage dealing type it may be more or less effective. Also, if you have 2 powertech tanks in your ops, rotate oil slicks with each-other, as the debuff does not stack. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
midnitemonster Posted March 30, 2012 Share Posted March 30, 2012 Yeah DFA while tanking is a good idea. Just don't start with it on bosses. Oil Slick only works on melee and ranged attacks. Not force/elemental, special attacks. Meaning its pointless to use on a boss like SOA. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts