I am having a really hard time tanking in CotF, even in the open zones. I have >89k HP, 8253AC self buffed, 7350 AAs. I'm wearing full Latent gear. I run with a merc healer and box a druid with a DPS merc, and this has served me very well for all prior content. I am able to tank a full DH HA without a tank merc, but it's close at times, especially on named. The real problem I'm having, is that I have died any time I try to take on a single Orafik Alerter in EWKarana. However, tank mercs (with no merc AA or gear), don't have any trouble at all. My merc healer can keep them up just fine. I understood mercs, when they allowed people to play without a full group. But right now, it feels like mercs are REQUIRED, and players are an afterthought. So, should I give up on tanking and just always have a tank merc out? Does this expansion assume that you already have raid-level gear (not something I'm going to be getting)? Do other people just coming into this expansion have similar issues, or should I be thinking I'm doing something wrong? Thanks!
Can you describe what you're doing with your toons when you fight? And possibly provide a magelo (or raidloot profile) for your SK? Also, how much experience do you have with EQ and these classes? You shouldn't need a tank merc, but if you feel like you can't handle the mobs, I recommend stepping back in content till you can handle it. You could farm some AC augs that you may be missing in the meantime. It may also be that the mobs need debuffs, in which case you can farm a slow proc item, play more defensively (maybe more ATK debuffs from the druid), or find a friendly slower to group with.
8200 ac buffed sounds low to me. Do you have a magelo or something we could look at to offer some advice?
I set up a Magelo profile here (please comment away and be free with advice - it's my first Magelo too): http://eq.magelo.com/profile/2095541
You need to do a lot of work on your augs. also change your weapon to the sk/pal ones, they are much better for you. Also do the shards landing quests for the charm and camp the charm aug there. upgrading your augs, weap, and charm will net you another couple hundred ac. also upgrade your shield to a tank sheild, it will net you ~20 more rAC and that = X3 any other slot because shield ac is not capped. May also consider putting an AC aug in your primary.
A higher AC aug in your shield too. Your highest AC secondary usable aug should go in shield. Your visibles look to be in good shape but your non-visibles can use some work. Those earrings should be easily replaceable and you might consider using another range item (non-bow) and just bandolier in the bow when you need to shoot.
Get a knight weapon, preferably with a rune proc if you are having survivability issues. If the weapon does not have an innate rune proc, then might consider installing a rune proc aug in primary. Some of your gear is rec/req in the level 80s, and outdated for tanking level 100 content. Start upgrading augs; shoot for as many AC35+ with knightly heroics as you can muster and reduce focus towards hp-based augs. Every SK I know is an AC for augments. As a tank, you should be scratching out every little upgrade you can. It all adds up ~ Keep in mind, your tank merc is effectively wearing a full suit of level 100 gear -- while you are not.
I think that's what I needed to hear (even if I didn't want to). I've tried to browse these forums and evilgamer and general interwebs, but it's pretty well spread out and a lot of chaff to sift through. Are there any specific posts or guides that every SK or tank should read? Or does everybody just need to read the whole Internet?
Go to Magelo, look at the top 10-20 SK profiles ranked by ac (on any given server***) and look at their augs, ALL of their augs. Write them down, keep a tally of how many times you see each aug. Look up each aug on ZAM, EQResource, or whatever. Find out what you need to do to get each one. Work on what seems like the simplest augs first, and work your way up to the more difficult ones. This is on top of the other suggestions here in terms of getting a rune weapon, getting CotF non-vis items, etc. ***It's important not to do a serverwide search as the top 20 profiles will probably all be the same, and many of the augs may be out of reach for you at this time.
I'm going to go the other way.... I'm going to say you're probably boxing your druid poorly. Depending on how you play, if you can, you should set up your druid with a heal multibind of: Sunbeam Blessing Vivification Adrenaline Rush Sterivida and always opening the fight with Rampant Growth/Husk of the Reptile just before engage. With that mutibind (which is NOT a social with multiple commands) plus a merc healer (and I would suggest a wiz merc, as your other merc), you should be able to tank anything but the most extreme named.
You need: - 2 new earings (CoTF vendor) - 2 new rings (CoTF vendor) - new mask (Bixie Warfront) - new shield (CoTF Vendor / Bixie Warfront / Neriak 4th / Xorbb) - new weapon (CoTF Vendor) - all augs to have 38 (or more) AC. Check out EQResource.com. They have a nifty AC aug query page. - If you don't have your epic 2.0 (Innoruuk's Dark Blessing), that's your first priority. When you have all of that, you should be at about 7800-8000 AC without any buffs. The other thing you're missing is your Faycites (spell focus aug on non-vis items slot type 3) Those can be bought in Shard's Landing for like 12k a piece. Get every lifetap focus you can find and then do Everfrost LDoN missions for the 8% dodge focus.
In group gear my sk (wearing all cotf gear) has about 9300 ac while fighting. He has no problem with any mob in EWK.
Check out my magelo in my signature. Group geared SK. I have tank pretty much everything in CoTF T1. I have had no problem with trash mobs or named. Just keep clicking your abilities. You have discs, use them. When not discing, life tap. My 3 box group = 100 SK (Cleric merc on reactive), 98 Shaman (Wiz merc on balance), 92 Mage (Wiz merc on balance).
Your AC is about 1400 lower then my group geared SK: Fix that - Get some real augs/nonvis/some of those random rares < Camp the crypt in neriak with a fast killing group for a few days, or beg/borrow/steal plat to purchase some of the more important ones You probably haven't finished your trophies or guild trophies for AC: Fix that - Sleep, Dreams, The Forsaken, Landing. - Guild: Hardened steel, Filth, Skirmisher Also use personal tribute/guild tribute if your having an AC issue Use AC food/drink Get every situationally useful clicky/AA And for god's sakes get rid of that 1hander its garbage, get something with a rune on it, or get your class weapon. Then after you do that: Goto War get the 10% dodge aug Do your shawl 3.0 Get moar clickies
Now we are really talking! I came back about a year ago (I think I was lvl 67), and a lot of these things are new to me. I will look them up and go hunting, but it's been a huge help pointing me in the right direction! FYI, I do have 1.0, 2.0, MPG bonuses, but I hadn't even heard of trophies. I had started LDoN, but hadn't made it as far as the Everfrost portion (very glad to know there is a reason to bother with it). Thanks for the druid tip - I did move more of the debuffs back into the lineup and things are going more slowly. I've been AE killing for so long I forgot how to take on a strong single target I think I am little ignorant as far the best times to use my combat abilities. With their long cooldowns, I tend to save them for named fights, but clearly there is more to it than that. I'm going to do some more searching for a good rotation. Thanks again, everybody!
Look up Daegun's data. You'll find that no matter how well you gear up (even with 15k displayed AC), a tank merc will mitigate better than you. As others have pointed out, your gear is wretched. It's really no surprise that you struggle. You can pick up some decent augs at the WK vendors. They might not be good augs, but 40AC and 8HInt/HWis is better than a lot of what you do have. This is all about gear, without beginning to discuss your style of play.
