Dynamis Tanking guide.

From House Paladin Wiki

I wrote this for Legacy, which is the Dynamis LS that I am in. As Osiris, I have been a main tank in Dynamis for almost a year and have also been the "caller" as well. The information here is Legacy specific so it may or may not apply to the Dynamis LS that you are in (chances are these tanking strategys and responsibilitys are very different from what other Dynamis LSes do). Still some of it may be helpful to the Dynamis tank or a tank attending Dynamis for the first time. The information here may also be helpful for new Dynamis LSes starting out for the first time as the strategys contained here have made Legacy a successful Dynamis LS. As always keep in mind, every LS does things differently and there is no right or wrong way about it. Part of the fun of Dynamis is learning each zone and coming up with your own ways of handling pulls, adds, etc..

Dynamis Tanking Guide.

General dutys for all tanks.

As main tank make sure that you form up your alliance asap. The sooner you get this done the better to avoid delays plus you can create the group you like to run with. Obviously I like to run with a Whm and a fresher (brd/rdm) in my party. Also grab an assist and have them form their own party then ally with them. You can use a Pld or Nin for your assist. Usually Nins will be used to hold statues, but if needed they can also work as main or assists tanks (its all equal opportunity here). Ideally the assist will also have a Whm and fresher as well but depending on attendance they may have to go without. Once both tanks have a Whm and fresher, ally up then grab anyone else to fill out the group. It dosent matter who, just dont get greedy and grab all the Whms or freshers! The main tank may also want to have someone else form up a 3rd party to fill out the alliance.. This party set up is less critical but if possible they should have a whm as well.

Main Tank dutys.

First off form your party/alliance. Depending on attendance you may be the only tank, the only main alliance tank, or there may be a second ally with another main/assist (be sure to know if you are ally A or B). Make sure everyone is /assist on the main and make sure your assist has a decent party and knows whats up.

During runs in Legacy mobs are pulled, slept and a caller calls out the mob to be pulled to the main group to kill. You may as a main tank find yourself as the caller as well (more on that later). Be aware at all times of the kill order. Priority: Smn > Blm > Bst > Pld > rest > Nin/Whm/Mnk last. Also after Smns and Blms are down, try to hit the Pld ones soon after, as they tend to start resisting sleep. Be ready to grab the correct mobs if calls are slow or not happening..

Screw ups happen and arent a big deal if you are careful. If you pull a whm mob on accident make sure to pull it away from other sleeping mobs so its 2 hour dosent wake them. After the mob is dead be sure to announce a "clear" if you are still tanking it, so the caller can assign you the next one, or if you happen to be the caller announce a "clear" when they are all dead so the puller can do the next pull. Also keep an eye on your alliance and make sure they are not "creeping" up and crowding the mages..

Just before your mob is killed (I usually like to head out when the mob is below 10%), disengage and head out to grab the next one. This means that you should lose hate so the mob dosent follow you out. The assist tank has taken over hopefully, but usually an almost dead mob wont do too much damage to anyone if it runs free for a few seconds. But Mnk and northland mobs should never be left to run free!

Ideally you should try to have the next mob voked and headed back just as your alliance kills off the previous one. I wake slept mobs with banish if I find I am missing with my physical attacks. If you are a little early on the pull, pull it to a safe spot close by the alliance and take some hits until the alliance is ready for you. Northland mobs tend to hit harder and take longer to kill, so keep this in mind when pulling the next mob. Also its smart to wait on Mnk or Nin mobs until the Ally is clear before pulling them. 100 fists and Mijin hurts alot..

Assist Tank dutys.

I think the assist tank can and should be more then the backup tank that takes over when the main dies. There is alot that an assist can and should do to make life easier on everyone. Its time to educate and assign some dutys for all you assists..

First off as the assist, you should be following out the main tank as soon as you are able. Often on a pull the mob is slept again and because the main tank is looking ahead they miss it and reach the alliance with nothing in tow. Other times because the mob has been slept so much, hate is lost mid pull and it heads back to the mages. Be ready to wake (I use banish to wake slept mobs if my hits miss) or revoke the mob so as to continue to pull back to the alliance. Obviously there will be times were the main gets ahead and you are still busy tanking the previous mob, no sweat here.

Once the mob is at the alliance generally it is on the main tank. But it shouldnt stay there. The assist should take over and begin tanking the mob. This is really helpful so the main tank can head out for the next mob and not have to worry about the current mob following him out. If the main tank is also the caller this is especially important because he needs to head out, check the mobs and call/pull the correct one back to the alliance. Once your mob is dead, announce a "clear" over party chat (if the main hasnt done it over LS already) and head out to assist on the next pull if needed.

A little note on the "clear" call.. This is helpful because the pullers often are well out of site of the alliance making the kills. They may not know how many mobs are left and as a result may not make a pull when ready or even worse, make a pull when there are still mobs to be killed! No one should hesitate to say something if a pull is announced and there are still mobs slept that need killing.

A little note on Crowd control.. All tanks may be needed for crowd control. If a pull goes wrong or alot of mobs are pulled it may be smart for a tank to voke a mob beating on the mages. Do not ever engage a mob that is to be slept! Voke it and let it beat on you. The caller or main tank will assign/grab the appropriate mob to pull to the main group for killing. Main tanks shouldnt wait around for a call and always feel free to grab the appropriate mob asap (remember the kill order! Smn > Blm > Bst > Pld > rest > Nin/Whm/Mnk last!). Keep in mind, Eyes and statues cannot be slept, so they should be a priority for crowd control and nin tanks may want to control statues because they hit really hard..

Caller Dutys.

For times when there is only 1 alliance the main tank/caller should use a pull macro that shows in LS as well as party ( "/ls target <t>" and /p pulling <t>" ). This will inform everyone in the LS what the target is and let the kill alliance know what they are going to kill next. If we have 2 kill alliances with main tanks as callers for their alliance for their alliance their macros should be done in shout and party (/shout ally X target <t> and /p pulling <t>". This will avoid confusion, tanks pulling the same mob and cluttering the LS with pull calls.

As a caller you should stay close to the puller so as to see in advance what is pulled and to be able to quickly prioritise what mobs to kill (remember, Smn > Blm > Bst > Pld > rest > Nin/Whm/Mnk last). The assist should also be with the main tank/caller to assist on pulls if they are able to (they may be busy tanking a previous mob and unable to at times). Be ready to change mobs as they often spawn at different rates. Dont be afraid to change a call if needed because of this.

Once you decide on the first mob to kill use your appropriate macro to announce the pull to the alliance/ls. I try to engage the mob so people in the alliance can /assist and hit the correct one (everyone should be using an /assist Maintank macro). After the assist has taken over and you head out for the next mob, target it and wake it (waking will depend on when you headed out, and the type of mob you are pulling, you could wake it right away or may wait for the assist to announce a clear). I like to announce the next target well before the previous one is killed so everyone is prepared and there are no surprises or confusion. It is wise to wait for a "clear" before waking and pulling Mnk, Nin, or some other nasty Northland mobs.

Looks like I covered everything and even added some dutys for assists that I think will make life easier on everyone. Keep in mind this guide is Legacy specific and may not be applicable for other Dynamis LSes that may do things differently. But these strategys are very effective..

--FlowMaestro 17:22, 14 March 2006 (CET)