GF - Dungeon Tanking, I R Newb

kulrig

First off, if I missed a good leveling guide feel free to point me that way. I tend to be blind and Search loves to get me nothing.

So just ran Cloak Tower on my GF (waited til 15 for Enhanced Mark), and gotta admit I had some fun with it. Think I did fairly well as tank, since I took more damage than the rest of the party combined and they were all higher level so I imagined their Threat would be more... threatening. Didn't seem to have aggro issues til the last boss, and even then an Enforced Threat to get the minion swarm on me (mostly) seemed good enough; they died rather quickly so I was able to save Guard for Vansi's attacks. The one time I didn't... hoo boy. Must have scared the cleric too!

Anyway, to make sure I got the general order of things right; start the fight by Marking via tab, use encounter powers to finish things off or try to get a big enemy attacking me, and Guard the power attacks/red circles. Eat the minion's attacks, if getting overwhelmed use Fighter's Recovery. This sound about right, considering I'm level 15?

If my focus is solely PvE, what stats should I try to focus? Power/Defense I imagine, but I've been wrong before.

Finally, a question of At-Wills. Is Crushing Surge any good? From the description it sounds like a slower Cleave that heals on the third hit, so I'm just wondering if it's a good power to use until Threatening Rush is available? Not sure if I'll ever want to get rid of Tide of Iron since it restores Guard.

tang56

Hit things, move out of red instead of guarding when possible since higher level dungeon mobs will melt your guard like nothing, spam AOE powers and mark. Slot enchanced threat for PvE otherwise you'll have a hard time pulling mobs of party members at higher levels.

If you're going for a protector build you'll want to max your CON stat and stack defense, deflection and regen until you hit the soft cap. Knight's Valor should give you all the threat you need. I haven't tried the updated crushing surge.

fondlez

Levelling GF:

- put all points into DEX and CON
- on gear, get as much Regeneration as you can
- Villain's Menace and Enforced Threat should always be on your bars until 60 in PvE/questing
- spec Conqueror Paragon as your main Paragon
- Crushing Surge can be ok when you know you will only be solo tanking bosses or the endboss of solo instances. But you will drop using it entirely when you finish speccing into Cruel Cut Style feat. So, many GF's do not take it or respec out of it at level 60
- learn to turn 90 degrees to the center of aoes to avoid being hit through guard
- keep moving when being swarmed by mobs, to keep them in front of you. You lose all tankiness if mobs gain Combat Advantage on you.
- if you pvp a lot, stack Armor Penetration as your main offensive stat
- if you do not pvp a lot as a levelling GF, you are missing out on easy achievement points since this is when you are strongest. You will feel weaker than a kitten in pvp the second you hit 60.

That is all, have fun!

kulrig

Hm, guess I'll have to break the habit of guarding red stuff now if it breaks more easily at higher levels and I get more damage with a fuller meter. Thanks for the replies folks!

ordensmarschall

Also be aware that different parties will have different expectations. Some will want you to tank the boss, keep and soak up the damage from it while they burn adds. Others will want you to be the Clerics protector, pull the the adds off the of him and keep them off. That can be very difficult to do so be sure you keep your threat levels high, as a Cleric can out aggro you in a heartbeat when they cast. I have seen mobs bounce like a yo-yo between me and the cleric. If you have a good CW in your group, it will make things a bit more difficult, not intentionally, they are doing their job, just pay attention and spam your threat as soon as their spell ends.

facexcontrol

Man instead of wasting your time posting in forums you should put your focus on getting to 60.
Then start with the questions.

ordensmarschall

facexcontrol wrote: »

Man instead of wasting your time posting in forums you should put your focus on getting to 60.
Then start with the questions.

Not everybody likes to max level in 18 hours. Also better to ask before getting to 60 so you invest in the right powers/feats. It's cheaper than having to pay $6 to respec after you found out your 60 level GF is built all wrong.

kulrig

That, and perhaps more importantly it's more difficult to break a bad habit than it is to avoid forming it in the first place. Why suffer through trial and error myself when there are knowledgeable people who might give guidance and clear up any confusion? No need to learn the hard way when someone else already did and can share their experience.

Anyway, I appreciate the advice given in this thread so far and have taken to doing a "guarding retreat" out of the combo-type power attacks (like Vansi's) instead of just sitting there with the shield up. Seems to work, hardly lose any Guard and I don't take huge hits by simply running (tried that too).

facexcontrol

BS go level up then open threads

hlago

How do you level up in 18 hours? It took me over 10 days doing quests to get to 60

facexcontrol

Yes, how do you level up in 18 hours ?!

dkcandy

With foundry XP farming nerfed it's fastest to level via questing.

1-60 is between 24-30 hours /played.