[Guide] Barbarian builds & tips

Dai - Heavens Tear wrote: »

VI. Additional Tips - Read if you dare!

A. In-depth guide to Tanking - a Barbarian's #1 role in PVE parties
--The tips above are a little too brief, so I'll go more into detail here.

Spamming Flesh Ream definitely is the #1 rule for tanking. Just remember that your Chi will run out if you keep spamming Flesh Ream continuously without also adding in extra attacks/skills (Frighten, Alacrity of the Beast, and Surf Impact for example) that do not consume Chi. This becomes more important later on (lv 60+), when you need to build up your Chi to use highly useful skills such as Invoke the Spirit and Sunder (requires 2 Spark each). Keep Beastial Rage activated while tanking to help build up Chi.

And whenever you need to aggro multiple mobs quickly, use Roar (aka Talk is cheap), then spam Flesh Ream on each. You will lose aggro more easily if you do not spam Flesh Ream after every few attacks. Max Flesh Ream and Roar to make your job easier.

I hardly ever use Devour because it requires a lot of Chi (nearly twice as much as Flesh Ream), and Flesh Ream is better at keeping aggro. Plus, the physical defense reduction from Devour only lasts 10 seconds on regular mobs and even less on bosses. If you really like using Devour, just use it once in awhile - whenever the mob's physical defense needs to be reduced. If there are no physical attack dealers in your party, then there's no point using Devour.

The main focuses while tanking are: Gaining Chi, Maintaining Aggro, and Staying Alive. Let your party members handle the damage dealing/killing. If there's no need for a tank, change back to humanoid form and join in on the mass destruction.

B. Tanking Magic Bosses - Use Alacrity of the Beast To Cancel Their Ultimate Attack

Using Alacrity of the Beast is an important part of tanking. If you are able to cancel the boss's skills, especially the AoEs, then you can save your party from certain death .

Timing Alacrity of the Beast to cancel the boss's skills does take a bit of practice. The general idea is to use it immediately when you see that the boss stops attacking and a casting aura appears underneath the boss. Some bosses, such as the Myriadial Wyvern in FB 51, do not have a casting aura, yet you can cancel the skill. All bosses have a set attack pattern they follow every time. A boss's casting time varies, so you may have to time Alacrity of the Beast before you notice the boss casting.

Figure that out, as well as how the boss moves before/during/after it's casting skill, to time your attacks. And remember, using Alacrity of the Beast too early or too late will not cancel the boss's skill. You've only got a couple seconds or even 1 second to cancel it successfully. A common mistake is when you're in the middle of another skill animation when the boss starts casting. You'll be too late to cancel with Alacrity of the Beast. So you need to be prepared to use Alacrity of the Beast before the boss begins casting, while also making sure that you don't use it too soon.

Anyways, here's an example:
The 3rd boss of FB51, Myriadial Wyvern - it attacks 5 times before it uses it's AoE/cursing skill. So use Alacrity of the Beast after it does 5 normal attacks. The normal attacks look like headbutts and slaps, while the AoE/cursing skill looks like a stomp. So your goal is to prevent the boss from stomping :P .

Usually, the boss uses its casting spell after the cooldown time of Alacrity of the Beast. So this makes it possible to cancel every casting skill that the boss uses. There are some exceptions though, like the bosses that cast continuously (such as that Herc Trioc boss in FB39) or re-casts very quickly (like the HH 1-1 squad drum boss when it's at 5-10% HP). Those are either impossible or very difficult to cancel..

Also, mobs like to use their casting spell continuously if you have some distance between you and the mob. So a nice way to set up your timing for Alacrity of the Beast is to stop a few meters away from the mob, then see if it begins casting. If it does, immediately run up to it and cast Alacrity of the Beast. Now you'll know that the mob will cast again when the cooldown time of Alacrity of the Beast is over, so get ready for the next cancel when the cooldown is almost up!