test content
Logo
What is the Arc Client?
Install Arc
Is it normal to be asked to tank as a DC?
catmandud1971
Member Posts: 6 Arc User
My DC is 43 now and is my highest level character. Only started the game recently. The lower level instances were so easy it didn't matter to much what happened, everybody lived.
Now things are getting a bit harder. On my first run in wolfs den i think its called I was asked to tank adds while the tank was on the boss. Of course I went down faster than a dress on prom night and when a guy inspected my gear he demanded that I be kicked from the group and they would just four man it.
My gear is mostly all greens from drops and quests with the odd blue. Seems like the early 40s is way to early to start gear scoring people like its a raid or something.
But I digress, is it a normal part of a cleric's job to tank? If so I guess that means the DC get much better at higher levels. I have to kite even normal mobs when out leveling if I cant kill them in one shot.
On the up side I seem to be able to keep up with healing just fine in groups just so long as I don't pull agro and get swarmed.
I just think its a bit much to ask one guy to not only heal the group and tank for em as well.
Or maybe that's what clerics do in this game and I need to roll another class thats less prone to attracting the ire of HAMSTER hats. hah
Now things are getting a bit harder. On my first run in wolfs den i think its called I was asked to tank adds while the tank was on the boss. Of course I went down faster than a dress on prom night and when a guy inspected my gear he demanded that I be kicked from the group and they would just four man it.
My gear is mostly all greens from drops and quests with the odd blue. Seems like the early 40s is way to early to start gear scoring people like its a raid or something.
But I digress, is it a normal part of a cleric's job to tank? If so I guess that means the DC get much better at higher levels. I have to kite even normal mobs when out leveling if I cant kill them in one shot.
On the up side I seem to be able to keep up with healing just fine in groups just so long as I don't pull agro and get swarmed.
I just think its a bit much to ask one guy to not only heal the group and tank for em as well.
Or maybe that's what clerics do in this game and I need to roll another class thats less prone to attracting the ire of HAMSTER hats. hah
Post edited by catmandud1971 on
0
Comments
In this particular instance, CW(s) and melee should be keeping all adds off you.
That said, even at low levels DC's can kite melee adds. In that situation, the only real threat is if either ranged adds or the boss is targetting you. Both of those have to be aggroed and killed by others. In Wolf Den, the extra adds that spawn in at a couple of stages of the boss HP contain some ranged enemy archers that need to be killed. You should also be moving at all times in that encounter anyway. So, kiting comes fairly naturally if there are no better tactics agreed and if the team is otherwise on top of the most dangerous adds (the black shadow wolves and archers).
Good kiting largely involves strafing in a circular movement around a room just out of range of adds, to maximise movement while avoiding using up all your Stamina from dodging. You can pause for half a second every once in a while to use Sunburst or some other Divinity builder on the adds chasing you. Do NOT kite if melee are trying to take adds of you or if you go out of heal range of others (almost nothing more annoying to melee than having to chase a healer just to save their life, lol)!
Long story short, it is waaaay to early to "tank" anything, but you can always kite (just like any class can) if you needed to.
It is stupid to ask a cleric to tank mobs in Grey Wolf Den. Nothing can reliably tank those shadow wolves, even a GWF in unstoppable mode can go down in 3 or so hits. The way it's supposed to go, the tank is supposed to keep the boss facing away from the group while everyone else focuses on killing mobs. If the boss is alone, everyone is expected to attack the boss from the rear/from a safe distance. Positioning is important because the number of shadow wolves that spawn depends on how many players the boss hits with one of its attacks. Finally, everyone saves their dailies for when the boss' HP reaches the 60% and 30% mark so that the mobs that spawn then can be quickly and easily dealt with.
But in the end, a cleric is still taking some harder damage, and has also lower chances to selfheal and defend against CCs - so it's not possible to full-tank anything.
e.g. GFs and also some GWFs got chances to stand and survive in boss' void zones - a cleric will always be pushed/stunned/knocked back or down/... and take a high amount of damage. Same so on bigger mobs with attacks like that.
Also kiting as cleric needs to be learned, since we can only dodge two times and need to regen after, so you need to dance around mobs and dodge again.
But kiting is very possible and depending on mobs and team - also bosses, e.g. on Frozen Heart I often kite out all the trolls/golems spawning around the boss and guide them to the tank, who is picking these up. Also I kite 2 or 3 trolls for some time to gather a few more before bringing them out of boss' range.
Once I also met someone who's just whining about my stats, mostly about my lower defensive stats, and also he tried to force the party leader to kick me - was a total random party formed in enclave.
The party leader decided to keep me, at the end of the dungeon, I got 2nd most damage taken, by kiting a lot (was 1 GF, 2 CWs 1TR and my DC), and two deaths less, than the cheesy guy.
... ok, maybe he died two times, because I decided to heal him only when it's needed, at bosses - all heals he got been the kinda passive ones from Astral Shield and Seals...
(It was the TR btw, somehow there are many TRs out there with almost no thoughts about teamplay and tactics...)
Having a blue/green or mixed equip is totally legit, even on fresh 60's.
Also many epic (purple) items are not worth to get while leveling, since you outlevel these fast and about 3-6 levels later even most greenies are better than the lower epics.
While I'm leveling any character I equip the items with best stats I pick up - matching to my builds, so I change a lot lower blue ones for greenies, cause the greens just got the better stats.
Never bought a item before hitting 60 and knowing I can use it for a longer time than just a few levels...
So far I like the DC. I have played healers in other games and the DC plays differently. Lots more for me to do than just sit there and watch health bars. I dont get board. That's fr sure.
1) save your dodges for the attacks that may disable/kill you, I know that sounds silly but sometimes if you don't manage dodges, you end up dying
2) use foresight, the extra defense is handy
3)if you are low on divinity and have 1 bar left, use non-divine AS and divine hw, since hw can crit and has higher regen effect; Also, when you do have as down, kite in it so you reduce dmg and then go back to big circles afterwards
In your case though, your party came up with some silly strategy. The best way to do GWD is to have a cw who singularities/dazes adds and have everyone burn the boss while dodging hands. GWD is the dungeon tht separated ppl who knew how to dodge and who didn't know how to dodge, so it might take a few tries to complete:) GL!
In my opinion toughness goes GF -> GWF -> DC -> TR & CW, with the exception of the occasional glass GWF that is all about DPS. With this in mind, if there is a GF around the DC should NEVER be expected to tank. We are a medium toughness build and generally have the lowest damage output, so we cannot hold aggro and defeat mobs/adds. They will & do tear us apart. The only time a DC can be expected to keep aggro is when you are in a group that does not have a GF or a tanky GWF and even then we still cannot be expected to tank, instead resorting to kiting. Kiting I have done with some success, but at some point the train of angry adds starts overpowering my heals/potions and I need to run to one of the other party members to thin their numbers out.
On another occasion I have kited a boss while the GF kited/aggro'd the mobs and adds away from us. I just kept the boss moving and allowed the TR and CWs to tear into him.
In an ideal scenario the GF should be keeping the boss occupied while the rest of you alternate between burning the boss and burning adds/mobs. If the adds/mobs fixate on you, kite them but in the reach of your CW so the CW can thin them out.
CWs are much better equipped to kite mobs (3 teleports, Icy Terrain, Singularity, Steal Time, Shard) than DCs. I would suggest that you keep your DC free to help all, by providing healing to the party, and actually helping the kiter survive.