Guild Wars 2

First, I would love tanking suggestions? If you can hold threat 80% of the time on a boss, and constantly survive, please show me how. That being said, I have a few tanking suggestions.

I would really like to see the ability to actually tank a boss develop in the expansion. I would love a little extra emphasis on being able to heal party wide, without affecting dps. So like a passive that increases healing with damage stats applied, and an extra heal. I feel like the boss just jumping from target to target is too chaotic for a strategic fight. I would love to see like guardians/ warriors and maybe pets of rangers and necros be able to actually taunt more often, and have higher threat in general. We would actually be able to apply tanking gear with tanking stats, and be able to hold ago.

If I am off the mark on tanking, I would love some suggestions on how your guild tank holds agro, and keeps survivability. I have tried for a couple days with different setups, and nothing seems effective. Honestly, I would love feedback if anyone has suggestions on holding agro in tanking gear(class, spec, weapons, party setup and spec, sigils, gear). If their is a way to hold agro, then I wouldn’t feel the system needs fixing. Thanks:)

If you don’t move out of close melee range (next to the target colored circle), most enemies will usually stick to you.

So does threat normally go to the player closest to the target?

It depends on location, but due to dodges people come closer to the boss sometimes then you are. Also high toughness sometimes is a way to grab aggro, and of course being the first to initiate combat.

Then again you do not need tanks in Gw2, due to the fact you can dodge and in experienced groups not having any dps output due to low crit’s/ low power could lead to a very fast unvolountary exit from dungeons.

For added dodges use either food
(Orrian Meat and Truffle Stew ( [&AgHIMAAA] for +40% endurance regen and might on dodge )
OR Vigor (Endurance regeneration increased by 100%; stacks duration) from skills/traits.

Last time I was looking into that (2yrs ago) there was theory floating around that high toughness and/or shield helps keeping aggro on you, not sure if that holds true today.

I had no idea they had endurance regen food. That’s awesome! I know the necro has an effect that converts toughness to damage, does the warrior have the same ability? I play Necro/ guardian as my primary characters, but would consider a warrior if they were able to push out a lot of damage in tanking gear. With the endurance regen food, I might try a necro deathshroud build for tanking, maybe a minion build…

nesh.7234:

Last time I was looking into that (2yrs ago) there was theory floating around that high toughness and/or shield helps keeping aggro on you, not sure if that holds true today.

Interesting… Ill have to mess around with a shield and maybe snag some cheap toughness gear, and see how it works.

Aggro in GW2 is quite a mistery. I wouldn’t be surpirsed if different enemies have different aggro behaviours.

Being closer to the boss doesn’t make you automatically the aggro bearer, but it definitely helps at holding it.
Just make sure that you get in the fight first to get the initial aggro and then try to stand your ground. Also bring a way higher armor value than your teammates.
Be careful with the dodges. Unless you have a wall to roll in place, dodging equals moving.

In any case, there are for sure some players around here with much more valuable information than me.

Threat is based on damage, higher damage higher threat. There is no threat modifiers at all in the game. It’s nearly entirely based on who gets the largest chunk of damage out in the beginning and keeps it. Until Heart of Thorns adds Taunt, there is no tank skills in the game at all and nothing to even hold threat or anything.

There is no tank.

Vargamonth.2047:

Aggro in GW2 is quite a mistery. I wouldn’t be surpirsed if different enemies have different aggro behaviours.

Being closer to the boss doesn’t make you automatically the aggro bearer, but it definitely helps at holding it.
Just make sure that you get in the fight first to get the initial aggro and then try to stand your ground. Also bring a way higher armor value than your teammates.
Be careful with the dodges. Unless you have a wall to roll in place, dodging equals moving.

In any case, there are for sure some players around here with much more valuable information than me.

Okay, I will mess around with it. Thanks a lot for your input. I have been trying to figure out tanking for a long time now. I logged on to the forums for the first time yesterday, and have been asking questions/ making suggestions ever since. I will try your recommendations next time I log on:)

From I can remember I was wearing full soldiers (PTV) karma set and exotic shield and I did got feeling that I was getting more focused by mobs than normal but I may be wrong as it was years ago.

OTOH even zerker guardian can do some anchoring with skills/CC and control flow of the fight to some degree.

heartless.6803:

Threat is based on damage, higher damage higher threat. There is no threat modifiers at all in the game. It’s nearly entirely based on who gets the largest chunk of damage out in the beginning and keeps it. Until Heart of Thorns adds Taunt, there is no tank skills in the game at all and nothing to even hold threat or anything.

There is no tank.

Heart of thorns is adding taunt? That would be AMAZING!!!!

nesh.7234:

From I can remember I was wearing full soldiers (PTV) karma set and exotic shield and I did got feeling that I was getting more focused by mobs than normal but I may be wrong as it was years ago.

OTOH even zerker guardian can do some anchoring with skills/CC and control flow of the fight to some degree.

Which weapons do you use as a guardian? Mace/ scepter and Great Sword?

Blacktalon.5681:

nesh.7234:

From I can remember I was wearing full soldiers (PTV) karma set and exotic shield and I did got feeling that I was getting more focused by mobs than normal but I may be wrong as it was years ago.

OTOH even zerker guardian can do some anchoring with skills/CC and control flow of the fight to some degree.

Which weapons do you use as a guardian? Mace/ scepter and Great Sword?

ATM I like to use hammer and staff or scepter/focus as I like feeling of it (and durability). Mace may be good 2nd set but I cant force me off the hammer and I’ll like to have some ranged option on swap.

Build is based loosely on https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/professions/guardian/Guide-30-pts-in-valor-gameplay-Hammer/532372

I am very happy to see your definition of “tank” is not that of most narrow minded players in that they absorb damage. Anything that maintains agro and prevents teammates damage is tanking. Whether is absorbing damage, blinding , CC’s or evades, they are all part of tanking in GW2.

From my experience agro target can be either the least/most tough, the most hp, furthest/closest away. it varies on enemy. Some enemies will even switch targets if they can’t hit you after so many attacks.

Blacktalon.5681:

heartless.6803:

Threat is based on damage, higher damage higher threat. There is no threat modifiers at all in the game. It’s nearly entirely based on who gets the largest chunk of damage out in the beginning and keeps it. Until Heart of Thorns adds Taunt, there is no tank skills in the game at all and nothing to even hold threat or anything.

There is no tank.

Heart of thorns is adding taunt? That would be AMAZING!!!!

Taunt just forces the enemy to target the user for a set amount of time. After that it goes back to normal. There still isn’t a tank as there is no threat mechanics in the game. Just a taunt which is itself a crowd control with extra flavor.

Eh, agro in this game is hard to predict and control. I have a few friends who will end up taking the full brunt of certain bosses (COE golem, for example) on their full zerker eles, leaving those of us who can handle more direct damage with barely a scratch on us. I’ve had many dungeon experiences where the boss will just switch its focus at random, for seemingly no reason.

Blacktalon.5681:

Vargamonth.2047:

Aggro in GW2 is quite a mistery. I wouldn’t be surpirsed if different enemies have different aggro behaviours.

Being closer to the boss doesn’t make you automatically the aggro bearer, but it definitely helps at holding it.
Just make sure that you get in the fight first to get the initial aggro and then try to stand your ground. Also bring a way higher armor value than your teammates.
Be careful with the dodges. Unless you have a wall to roll in place, dodging equals moving.

In any case, there are for sure some players around here with much more valuable information than me.

Okay, I will mess around with it. Thanks a lot for your input. I have been trying to figure out tanking for a long time now. I logged on to the forums for the first time yesterday, and have been asking questions/ making suggestions ever since. I will try your recommendations next time I log on:)

You will really only be able to hold aggro if you are at the enemy, your team is at a pretty far range, and you deal significant damage. Proximity is a very high part of holding aggro, and everyone being in melee range basically makes one of the only real ways that you can hold aggro without being a pin-cushion pretty much moot.

Aggro in this game follows the basic outlines for priority:
1. The closer you are to them the higher your aggro modifier is (ie. some unknown number that everything else is multiplied with, and a raw bonus to aggro at the end).
2. Dealing damage at all (this largely is to prevent people from griefing in the open world, though it’s still not near as big a modifier as the proximity one).
3. Dealing more damage than others (this is where the actual damage you do is factored in, not just the fact that you’re attacking the enemy at all).
4. Having higher armor or using a Shield at all (despite having no inherent Toughness, wielding a shield will cause the enemy to attack you so long as your aggro modifier is similar to the second highest from the other steps).
5. Specialty modifiers (some of these, like reviving, cause a completely massive increases in aggro (which are then made considerably lesser due to #2/#3 being set to nothing unless you have an active AoE going), while others, such as the application of boons/non-damaging conditions/healing, cause comparatively low aggro increase).

Garth Thurgen.1380:

Blacktalon.5681:

Vargamonth.2047:

Aggro in GW2 is quite a mistery. I wouldn’t be surpirsed if different enemies have different aggro behaviours.

Being closer to the boss doesn’t make you automatically the aggro bearer, but it definitely helps at holding it.
Just make sure that you get in the fight first to get the initial aggro and then try to stand your ground. Also bring a way higher armor value than your teammates.
Be careful with the dodges. Unless you have a wall to roll in place, dodging equals moving.

In any case, there are for sure some players around here with much more valuable information than me.

Okay, I will mess around with it. Thanks a lot for your input. I have been trying to figure out tanking for a long time now. I logged on to the forums for the first time yesterday, and have been asking questions/ making suggestions ever since. I will try your recommendations next time I log on:)

You will really only be able to hold aggro if you are at the enemy, your team is at a pretty far range, and you deal significant damage. Proximity is a very high part of holding aggro, and everyone being in melee range basically makes one of the only real ways that you can hold aggro without being a pin-cushion pretty much moot.

Aggro in this game follows the basic outlines for priority:
1. The closer you are to them the higher your aggro modifier is (ie. some unknown number that everything else is multiplied with, and a raw bonus to aggro at the end).
2. Dealing damage at all (this largely is to prevent people from griefing in the open world, though it’s still not near as big a modifier as the proximity one).
3. Dealing more damage than others (this is where the actual damage you do is factored in, not just the fact that you’re attacking the enemy at all).
4. Having higher armor or using a Shield at all (despite having no inherent Toughness, wielding a shield will cause the enemy to attack you so long as your aggro modifier is similar to the second highest from the other steps).
5. Specialty modifiers (some of these, like reviving, cause a completely massive increases in aggro (which are then made considerably lesser due to #2/#3 being set to nothing unless you have an active AoE going), while others, such as the application of boons/non-damaging conditions/healing, cause comparatively low aggro increase).

Thanks a lot for your input, this will help me out a lot being that I try to tank, or play support for most bosses my guild fights.

RoseofGilead.8907:

Eh, agro in this game is hard to predict and control. I have a few friends who will end up taking the full brunt of certain bosses (COE golem, for example) on their full zerker eles, leaving those of us who can handle more direct damage with barely a scratch on us. I’ve had many dungeon experiences where the boss will just switch its focus at random, for seemingly no reason.

The golem in CoE seems to have some sort of strange attraction towards elementalist. Doesn’t actually matter if it is berserker or not.