OK Ive decided to write out a detailed tanking guide from my experience in lin2. This is to help people understand tanking and the responsability it requires.

This is based on my experience and is aimed towards DA's mainly, BUT also it is VERY IMPORTANT for classes that alt tank, as some of the points are important for any party leader.

Some of the points I will list will have a * on them, this simply means that:

a) MORE care should be taken with small groups and groups that do not deal that much damage/do not have sufficient healers and..

b ) LESS care should be taken with groups that deal an insane amount of damage (ie. Blade Dancer/Sword Singer/Prophet) in the group, and if healers are not a problem, in which case the tank must focus more on the other points.

The points that have *** are ESPECIALLY important when tanking


GENERAL RULE -A tank is responsible for his whole party. Tanking takes the role of a leader, and is responsible for coordinating, taking care, and protecting the entire party.

(The following points are to be followed after the party has been made, and is ready to hunt. Also it is assumed that the party knows who is the MT).

1) MOVEMENT

a) General- It is important for the tank to always be at the lead, always guiding the parties direction.

b ) Fighting and Moving- A tank must move to the next mob before the current mob dies, in order to give the party an idea of what mob is next, and to prevent others from running off to another mob.

*c) Attacking- After a target has been chosen, the tank MUST move around the mob in order to ensure that the partys Damage Dealers are attacking the mobs back (Note: hitting the back of mobs increases critical rate, therefore dealing more damage).

d) Looking out- A tank must STOP if a party member is left behind, either because of lag or any other reason, and wait for them. This also makes it easier to know the spot where someone disconnects, and wait for them there. (Sometimes the tank has to tell the party to wait). This ties in with the next point..

e) Moving and Looking- A tank must look around and behind him when moving, as mobs can spawn anywhere and at any time in a spawn zone. This is important when someone is left behind, and mobs spawn between them and the party. Whoever is left behind will likely agro the mobs into the group.

2) ON THE LOOKOUT

***a) 360 Degrees- A tank must constantly check the partys surroundings in a 360 degree check. This is important for the last two points covered, as well as spotting any surprises (ie. trains) (Note: This is especially important in a fast spawn zone).

***b ) Radar- This is the tanks best friend, as it makes it easier to know where the party is without having to look all the time. A tank must check this when moving, in order to see whether a member is being left behind/disconnects/is afk.

***c) Party's MP- A tank must always monitor the parties MP (especially the healers) in order to make 3 decisions.

>First, is what skills the tank will use and when to use them so that the >healers mp can be saved, or to optimise the parties performance.
>Second is to ask the party to begin ALT tanking, so that the healers mp >can be greatly saved (Note: full parties with 3+ ALT tanks and 1 healer can >successfully hunt in most areas this way).
>Third is to ask the archer(s) to kite, in order to save the healers mp.

This should be done at the first few minutes of the hunt, or when a lot of people join/leave, in order to set up the pace of the party and strategy of the tank.

3) BUFFING/HEALING

a) General buffs- The tank is responsible for stopping the whole party in order to buff, either by seeing his buffs fade, or by seeing a member type it out on chat. Also, a tank has to take the party to a safe spot to ensure that no agro will attack while buffing is performed.

***In the case of dances and songs, a tank must look to see when dances/songs are fading, in case the BD or SWS forget to keep on dancing, in which case the tank can call out ds or dance/sing so that the party can continue killing at the right pace. (Note: In C2, dances and songs do not agro as much as C1, therefore a tank can aoe hate after a dance/song, while fighting mobs).

*b ) Healing- after a couple of mobs the healer will heal the tank, it is important for the tank to wait for the heal (either by hearing it, or seeing it) before running into a mob, as sometimes the mob will agro the healer after the spell has been cast. (Note: This is more important for tank with no hate, as they cannot pull the mobs off the healer). Also when a group heal is being performed, it is MORE important to wait, as this spell agros much more than a normal heal.

*****SKILLS (DA ONLY)***** (alt tanks can skip this)

a) Hate- In C2 hate is more useful, as it has a longer range than in C1, therefore it should be used primarily to lure mobs. It should also be used if a mob targets a vulnerable member in the party (Note: mp can be saved if the mob chooses an ALT tank as its target, in which case, the tank can choose not to Hate).

b ) AOE Hate- should be used when many mobs (2+) agro the party for any reason. Should also be used in conjunction with UD when a train succeeds, and mobs are hitting other party members. This should also be done 1 or 2 times if someone in the party has cast a hate related skill .

***IMPORTANT*** In the case of facing a train that has succeeded, or a ton of mobs, the tank must look at the rate at wich the party is dealing damage/ loosing life. He then must judge wether the party will survive or not. If he thinks the party cannot survive, he must use aoe hate, on EVERY MOB POSSIBLE, and run away. Immediately after this he must type DO NOT FOLLOW ME as many times as needed, so that the party remains behind. This will ensure that only the tank dies, instead of the whole party. After doing this tell the party to run back, because after a while the mobs will move back to their original spot, and will agro new targets.

c) Ultimate Defence- Should be used after AOE Hate, if many mobs (depending on the Tanks defence) agro. (Note: SAVES healers mp). It is recomended that a tank save this for an emergency, as the recharge rate is very slow.

d) Shield Stun- Its NOT recommended using this on one mob when the party is very big, because the chance of cancelling it increases greatly. A better use of this skill is when 2 or more mobs have agroed. In this case, assuming the party has allready assisted the tank, he must switch to the other target, stun it, and return to the first mob. This way, if stun succeeds, the second mob will be paralized for a long period, meanwhile the group attacks and kills the first mob.

*e) Energy Drain- Should be used when the tank has a surplus of mp, or when there are 2 tanks, the one not tanking should use it.

*f) Life Scavenge- Used in order to save the healers mp, or if everyone is ALT tanking, to recuperate the tanks hp faster.

*g) Corpse Plague- Should be used when 3 or more mobs have been agroed and after the first one dies. (Note: Blessed sps is needed for this to me more effective)

*h) Divine Heal- Used to save healers mp/for better ALT tanking. (Note: In C2 blessed sps can be used on this to heal more hp)

*i) Horror- This can come in handy when fighting near walls. The tank should place the mob between the wall and himself, and cast it. After the mob hits the wall, the entire party can finish it off, by hitting its back without worrying about any mob attacks. Also it's funny to watch (Note: Blessed sps is needed for this to work better). This is also a good solo tactic.

This also can be used when many mobs are incoming, in which case the tank must use a Blessed sps before casting (to cast the spell faster), target a mob wich the party will not hit, and cast it.

j) Self Buffs and Panther- self buffs should be activated at all times (Iron will/Reflect damage/majesty/Deflect arrow) to maximise tanking. Deflect arrow should be on the tank if the party is in a very public hunting spot, regardless of wether the mobs shoot or not. This is to ensure that the tank is ready against any surprise attacks by other clans/players where archers are involved.

A tank should summon the Panther if the party lacks damage. A panther can also be used to alt tank, or in the case of being rooted, to attack a mob and pull it back to the DA. (Note: When using the panther, try to turn the mob around in order to make it attack the mobs back, to maximize panther criticals).

4) CONCLUSION (Adaptation)

The most important thing when tanking is to adapt to the groups potential, and make the decisions based on the party's capability. With experience and learning a tank can get used to all these factors and do them as an instinct. Every party is different, and every party member thinks differently. That is why it is the role of the tank to take leadership and be able to control the party without having to worry about any problems that might come.

END (V1.1)

Alaby - Dark Avenger