Aggro mechanics; tips..

'Aggro mechanics' aren't very complicated and you should learn about some til your 30lvl (first 'real' squads near Archosaur ftw) or at 40s on many Treasure Hunter (Bounty Hunter) runs. You just need to remember that mobs/bosses aren't really living creatures, they don't think :P and always act in same way.
Also, you shoud learn every class role in squad..

Okie, this not gonna be essey (essey is boring) just short tips.
In general info section you will find small glossary which will help you to understand content bellow.
Then guide is divided into 5 parts: first 4 describes every class role in squad and last is about genie skills.
Tips which are strictly describing aggro-issues are white.
Other tips which are more-like-for-newbies are blue.
BTW Read whole guide even if you don't play other classes (i didnt repeat info to keep topic shorter).

If you want to learn more - read posts bellow where you may find more detailed info added by other people




Tank - guy who realy like to be beaten by mobs; usually barbarian because of lot hp and -which is more important- has/shoud have good aggro skills which help him to hold monster aggro* on himself.
Sometimes blademasters or venomancers with tank-pet like to play tank-role which may be bit more dangerous because pure Damage Dealers like to steal aggro*.

Damage Dealer - DD - archer, wizzard, venomancer, blademaster and sometimes cleric; people that are suposed to do damage to monster tanked by someone else. More dmg they can do = better, but also better tank needed to be able to hold aggro*.

Lurer - usually venomancer with pet; if tank don't think that will be able to survive attack of few monsters, veno lure one mob from group (poke one with her pet and hide it) and tank catch it.

Aggro - "This means the monsters are mad at you and you've "activated" them to attack you. They are now in the motion of trying to reach and attack you." (by iknowmymom from "Commonly used abbreviations" topic). ^^
You can aggro "unactivated" mob by attacking it but also if you just get too close. If you are DD you can also steal aggro* from someone else and clerics may cause heal aggro*.
You can easly guess if you stole aggro because mob will try to get in range to hit you and also turn front to you.

Aggro Radius - "The radius around the monsters where they will "wake up" and attack you." (by iknowmymom).
Typical aggro radius length for mobs in many dungeons is ~10m.

Aggro Range - bigger than aggro radius; area around monster where he will chase you if you aggro him. If you walk enough far away from mob's spawn point then mob will 'reset' (yellow light around him).
Howerver, im dungeons mobs will follow you outside of their aggro range. If you die outside of mob's aggro range -and if noone from squad uses any skill which cause aggro- mob will reset.
But if you die in mob aggro range (often even 50-100m) mob will switch to closest party member.

Aggro Steal - "aggroed" monster will always switch to person who does most dmg (or most dps) or use aggro skills.

Heal Aggro - Cleric: if you will heal someone too close from unactivated mob you will aggro that mob on yourself.
But also -for example- if archer attack one monster from four mob group and they all will run after him, and you will try to heal, then 3 from those mobs will aggro on you just after first spell. Just activated (but not hit) mobs will consider your heals like dmg done to them. Mind that if you don't stop healing that archer and he hit mob just once, 4th mob will also aggro on you after some time.

Holding Aggro - making mob/mobs to focus just on you = dealing most dmg or using aggro skills.




-fav aggro skills: Flesh Ream, Devour and Roar.
Flesh Ream is your strongest aggro skill.
Devour also generate some nice amount of aggro. Plus, It is strongest in-game p.def debuff and it lowers target's attack power.
Roar is AoE 'taunt' which reset aggro and draw it on you - but isnt good in holding it for longer time.

-if you in squad with pure or higher lvl DDs mind you have to care about aggro holding more..

-if you are tanking few mobs, mind that DDs many not want to kill just one mob you are poking and prolly will use AoE attacks..
Use yours AoEs and Flesh Realm every mob often. Learn to combine them well.

-if u decided to not spam AoE on multiple mobs and just hold aggro by switching targets and poking (remember to use AoE aggro at beginning still) tell your party-mates which mob will be main target (on which one you will use aggro skills most). Even simple word like 'middle', 'right', 'green', 'black' before you rush into group is better than saying nothing [inspired by Vitenka]

-you are living shield, so always tank all mobs if someone aggroed few on whole party. Use AoE aggro skill (f.e. Roar) or aggro normally if there are chars than may be semi-tanks (mind this is more risky because cleric may die).

-when pulling ranged mobs - wait for it to get past you, then hit FR (e.n. literally bite it ***). This will make it kite AWAY from the group it just got pulled from. [by Baalbak]

-mind that you and cleric are most important in squad and should die as last on party wipe out (i.e. attacked by group of mobs). Squad can survive without DDs, cant- without tank or cleric.

-Keep cleric on your six while tanking boss. Correct your position if boss move. It is always safer if cleric can heal on max (possible) heal range.
You should obey this rule especially on AoE bosses, since -in many cases- cleric will be able to heal outside of AoE range.
Though sometimes cleric may choose different position (quite common behavior on bosses with random aggro).



-for tough times use hp pots, devour later invoke ('shell') and alacrity to cancel oponent spell-casting (usualy boss channeling is noticable)

-look around - people will aggro something sometimes and you should run to them and get mob from victim; if you lazy, slow and care just about own butt - swich to veno, buy herc and play solo-mode

-also check squad hp bars often

-even if you really epic you cant solo dungeon so.. wait for your cleric - you run twice faster than him >.<

-on AoE bosses where cleric cant BB, let him be farest possible/safe from boss. Most of AoEs are physical type which may one-shot squishy. Bigger distance gives more time to react and also often reduces dmg.

-learn buffs and debuffs to make yours and squad lifes easier

-you are the tank so you are suposed to tank mobs (not so obvious for some unfortunately) and if you're going to skip monsters (let other ppl take dmg) because of repair/mana bills you should think about changing class



-
-Let tank build some aggro - wait few hits before you start to DD.

-DD same mob tank is poking. Watch carefuly because poking barbs like to switch mobs fast to hold aggro.
And if you have problems with guessing which one tank is poking then 'scroll out' camera and watch closer to tank. Your perfect char butt don't have to be in middle of the screen all the time.
Also really helpful is Assist Attack button. Point tank and hit Assist Attack - it will switch to mob who is currently being attacked by barb.

-If are trying to avoid stealing aggro, you should use slow skills to give your tank a chance to really get mob attention. Also, if you have multiple targets and tanks on each one, you can switch targets with each attack. [by Cholla]

-don't attack 'unactivated' group of mobs with single attack skill >.< it s really good way to do much mess and get someone killed (vide: aggro heal)

-but you may attack group with your strong AoE skill if you sure you're tough enough to survive. Remember to not stop DDing without good reason - other party members will surely aggro mobs if you do so.

-don't attack pulled mob before barb aggro it - you just make barb's and cler's work harder.

-if you unintentionally aggroed something, don't run in random direction calling your mom; get to tank who should take mob off you; also never run off cleric heal range - no sane cler will leave party to heal you

-if you see tank is much lower or isnt barb then watch your dmg..

-dont use AoEs if barb dont use his and FR every single mob; how to guess how they look like? Roar demonstrate as counterclockwise spinning golden 'star' with aura on every mob (tanks use it on beginning, but mind it s just 'taunt' skill). Sometimes, tanks helps themsleves with other aoes that may cause aggro, but they arent very good at holding it (low dmg compared to DD skills). Most powerful aoe skill which tanks use is Sunder (dmg + bleed) which look like 'explosion of red crystals' (yes, i know about epicness of my skills descriptions :P)

-btw Flesh Realm (single, true aggro skill) looks like orange fire explosion on mob and minior one on barb





-if barb use Roar in middle of battle, then it probably mean something 'bad' is happening (new unwanted mobs joined, or old ones are loosing aggro) and you are suposed to stop DD [inspired by Baalbak]

-If you are trying to steal aggro to keep other people alive, use your fast skills (and save your slow AoEs for situations where you have no better alternative). [by Cholla]

-generally, you are not allowed to play hero if you are too squishy (weak, low hp). But there is one case - when cler is about to be attacked. It is really better for whole squad if you die than him. And your sacrifice will be appreciated

-stuns, sleep, paralize or any other immobilize skill will be handy when you want save someone.

-when veno is pulling, you are suposed to stay few meters behind barb (he need some space to catch mob) [inspired by Baalbak]

-DDs should always spread around tanked boss/mob if it is possible (but stay in heal range). It is way easier then to keep you alive if you steal aggro, because it s possible to notice it before you even get hit.

-also dont stand too close to mob/boss if you dont need too

-if you are causing aggro ping-pong in team then calm down- it is hard to heal you. IH need to be stacked to work well, and instant heals my be too weak/slow the keep you alive.

-when 'zhening' (killing many monsters at same time while cleric use Blue Ball) you are suposed to 'catch' mobs with your AoE before they hit cleric (BB aggro every mob in range). For example: bm with stun on physical mobs or wizzy with Dragon Breath on magical ones.
Yes, archers may use Barrage of Arrows on both..

- Archer's 79lvl skill Elven Alacrity doesn't aggro so you may use it if someone from your team is in trouble (f.e. chased by mobs while rushing).

-AoE buffs may cause aggro.






-learn to predict who will get hit - aggroed mob will try to get in range to hit victim and also turn front to him.

-pre-heal tank with 2-3 IHs, but dont do it when he is too close to mob - cancel heal with ESC

-healing too close to 'unactivated' mobs willl wake them up and aggro on you

-healing person that just 'activated' mob (didnt hit) will draw aggro on you immediately

-healing person who hit mob just once (and stoped) may cause aggro heal too; im not able to tell you precisely how much you can heal.. Regular mobs don't switch aggro too fast - but it is easier to annoy bosses.

-also remember when person aggro group of mobs by hitting one, rest mobs from this group act like just 'activated'

-healing luring veno will also draw aggro on you; wait till tank aggro mob (best if he uses Flesh Realm

-ask party members to spread around tanked mob/boss a bit (if it is possible/safe). You will have more time to react then. It is really hard to guess who you will have heal if DDs stand in same place or in one line..


-you will be next target of mobs if person who you heal die (unless somebody will be smart enough to steal them from you)

-if you aggroed mobs on yourself never attack them; use hp pots, p-shell, heals and try to get to tank if it is possible. Trick is to 'track' monster to tank, so he can get it off from you sooner.

-be aware that BB aggro

-so RB do too

-Seals also aggro, so rember if you decide to sleep monster who is running after someobody - you will be next target on mob's hate list.

-One skill that may be useful and doesn't steal aggro is Wings of Protection (79 lvl skill).

-Revive don't aggro, but remember to wait till mob/boss go far away enough so he wont aggro on revived person.

-Casting single-target buffs wont draw aggro.

-Purify will aggro.

-learn to check squad hp bars all the time and turn on 'showing buffs' option there (for purifing poisoned, burning or debuffed party member)

-btw use all your heals (well, okie - not that first one). You will use IH for most time but also - Wellspring Surge for low-hp chars and Stream of Rejuvenation to 'fix' tank's hp sometimes.

-on party wipe out situation you may consider setting up BB; but if you dont have it yet then.. act fast and rember to not get kill yourself You may also try AoE heal but mind it is slow - use if more than 3 squad members are getting hits

-ow, and your and tank's life is most important :P

-btw buffs, heals and rez to make your team-mates lifes easier.




-bramble just tanks; bramble reflect damage, so attacked squishy toon is keeping aggro mob

-casting bramble wont draw aggro on you

-mind that in some instances where player dmg is reduced (i.e. TT) your pet hit with same strength, and may steal aggro from tank. Turning off skills like bash may prevent it (don't use roar either).

-when you are luring inside BB range (15m) you may accidentally aggro more mobs.

-learn to lure: go in front of the squad, poke one mob with pet and hide it, run back to party

-but be aware some tanks are 'sleepy' and you will have to pull your pet again and catch mob before he hits you (safety trick)

-..but gotta also remember, that on ranged mobs your 'safety trick' may often make barb's work more difficult because your pet will catch mob before tank has chance to do it; just run down more than usually to get out of range of potential mob attack. [inspired by Baalbak]

-have one pet to lure (fast like: 60lvl rare Kowlin; 40lvl rare Cuddly Pup; 20lvl rare Tabby Plumdrop) and other to tank (17lvl Crystalline Magmite or new Glacial Walker is really great for tank and dmg)

-pass spark with Lending Hand to barb if you see he is often using skills that require chi (realm, devour on bosses) or invoke and sunder (uses 2 sparks!); he will ask for chi most times - but it is safer when he don't need to bother doing it

-it is also nice to chi cleric when he use BB (also 2 sparks) so he will be able to set it up again if boss cancel it; do it also in dungeon after he set up it in party wipe-out situation - maybe you all will need it again around next corner (but btw, barbs chi is more important)

-if your pet is strong enough, you should help to semi-tank mobs on pary wipe-out situation, or catch mob when tank miss it or cleric aggro heal




-Alpha Male - works like barb's Roar skill: it reset aggro of all surrounding enemies and draw it on you. Also reflects p.dmg for short period of time (overwrite bramble). Useful for catching mobs (instant cast) also helpful after loosing aggro. Quite common skill among barbs and bms.

-Earthflame (default Zeal skilll) - pulling skill that dont aggro any mobs around target. Cleric will draw aggro on himself if start to heal puller.

-Skills that can be used on/or affect nonhostile units (i.e. Absolute Domain, Expel, Blazing Shield) dont draw aggro from them.

-Interrupting skills like Light Chaser or Earthquake will cause aggro since they also deal some dmg.

-Debuffing/seal skills will aggro too.