Maintancing Aggro as hunter tank.

[wargandi]

I have a question for you all. I am a lv 56 hunter. since day one in this game I play a tank by choice because I like to challenge myself more. I do have 2nd tree for my hunter and fighter classes so dpsing is always an option for me I just like to tank reason I got 2nd trees. Well I always thought I was doing a good job at tanking with my 2 buddies but as of late we gotten more people in our team. now that the newer people are catching up to my lv and doing lots of damage I am finding it harder now to keep the aggro. I have it for like a min then lose it and have to fight back for it just to lose it again in like 10 secs. So my main question is for the people who try to tank as hunters and are good at it, how do you maintance the aggro?

[wargandi]

either not alot of hunter tanks in this game or no love lol.

[gigawuts]

Both.

Try a gunner aggro tank instead. Better evasion, better attack canceling, better range, better mobility, better precision for maintaining damage on a boss, and better rewards for playing well (gear is a 40% damage bonus at level 3, and your PAs aren't slowed down or otherwise limited if you have no gear). Gunners also benefit from hunter's damage skills (JA Bonus specifically), while hunter doesn't benefit from gunner's main damage skills (perfect keeper and aerial advance do work, but neither are really tailored to an aggro tank).

This, combined with having both showtime and war cry to activate for an aggro grab upon activation.

A GU/HU is probably the best aggro tank in the game due to those factors.

[Coatl]

Hunter doesn't have the dps or control to really take away aggro from a BR or GU.

[Rayden]

I was under the impression that War Cry guarantees aggro for its duration, ever since it was changed in a patch ages ago.

[wargandi]

can someone come in here with info to help instead of putting my class down?

[gigawuts]

Er, it's not about putting your class down. It's the reality of the game.

[wargandi]

I know what u saying but sadly I know it can be done.

[Coatl]

Use Wary Cry then. What is the problem?

[MetalDude]

It can be done, sure. It's just largely inferior to GU/HU aggro tanking. If your sole interest is pulling enemies onto you, then it is simply the better option. Otherwise, just live with sticking to just War Cry then. Not our fault the game can't decide whether it wants tank builds to be viable or not.

[wargandi]

I see what your saying at least u was nice about it lol

[Ciel~Homura]

Play a Hunter + Fighter on a maximum dmg output built.(Full Fury&JA)
Go with full unit of Snow soul + Body III + Blow resist III and Elder pain with 3 potential unlock then keep OE the boss. None of the boss will ever leave you now.

OR

You can try Hunter + Braver since katana allow you to counter any attack and nullify all dmg ( if you activate it at the right time ) and you can keep the target under your arms because you are most likely the one that deal the most damage in the team.

But as @gigawuts explained already. Gunner is the best class for tanking atm since you can control the target hate accumulation while keep the distance and the target however you like to.

[Emp]

Boy, you can get as many responses as you want but I can guarantee they all gonna be the same. This is the time where u log onto the game, take the advice and use it. If it doesn't work, that's fine because with a little experimentation and common sense, maybe u will make a build that others could not suggest.

Remember, types of gameplay are built using thing outside of skill trees such as weapons and units. Consider set bonuses, hidden bonuses, and affixes.

[wargandi]

ah that makes sense. I will look into it. question though should I bother getting halfline at all at least?

[Ciel~Homura]

ah that makes sense. I will look into it. question though should I bother getting halfline at all at least?

If you mean "Automate Halfline"

NO !!!!!!!

[Maninbluejumpsuit]

ah that makes sense. I will look into it. question though should I bother getting halfline at all at least?

I wouldn't bother anymore.

I used to when the left side of the hunter tree wasn't stupid strong.

Also having over 800+ HP stops most double-hit-dead shenanigans from full HP, which further reduces the need of having an auto-heal (I've taken a double kick from a goldrada during a boosted wave in tower defense with 857hp as Hu/Br. Lived with 9hp. Would be even better if I wasn't using XQ units.).

[wargandi]

at moment I am over 900 hp. I rarely die at moment. going to give a build try without halfline. just be werid having to stop and heal.

[Drifting Fable]

Automate Halfline for the most part to me is a "you mileage may vary" kind of skill.

Sometimes it'll save your life, other times I'll just be wasting your supply of mates for the real emergency. It also has a bit of delay which can be the death of you if the damage piles on too quick.

Honestly, it would be more cost effective to just load your mag with 8 ability slots and fill them with HP B if you want that emergency auto Healing as there a better places to place those ten skill points.

[wargandi]

oh didnt know u can add more ability slots on my mag. I will go look now about how to do that thx you.

[MetalDude]

Automate Halfline will be a more common pick once the level cap is raised high enough to use it without sacrificing from near-full Fury HU main trees.

[Walkure]

Play a Hunter + Fighter on a maximum dmg output built.(Full Fury&JA)
Go with full unit of Snow soul + Body III + Blow resist III and Elder pain with 3 potential unlock then keep OE the boss. None of the boss will ever leave you now.Yeah, that'll hold hate really well against a Braver mid-katana combat spamming shunka just as brazenly.

[UnLucky]

How to reliably keep aggro:


Be geared to the teeth with a pure DPS build and hope nobody outbursts you.
Use War Cry on every single enemy.
Use War Cry AND Showtime with an otherwise pure DPS build to have infinite Hate.

Don't even bother with +Hate potentials, a +Damage one on a stronger weapon would be better for aggro purposes anyway.

[gigawuts]

Use War Cry AND Showtime with an otherwise pure DPS build to have infinite Hate.


This is what I do, but sometimes I don't have war cry due to tree tweaks (I have 3 hunter trees, so resets kind of give me all I could want and more for experimenting and minmaxing).

It's pretty spectacular at its job. Also, Guld Millas are advised to maintain continuous damage on the target even when taking hits, but they're far from necessary.

edit: Here's my current tree without war cry
http://ryuhiroshi.funpic.de/pso2/skillcalc.php?06eebnIkbnIkbnIkbnIkbnIkbnIkbnIkfdt0 ebIoqnGKsN6JiGA000007b000009b000000lb2QHSmsIofGAgB bp0000ib000000lb0000000Ib000008

Here's the tree I used with war cry
http://ryuhiroshi.funpic.de/pso2/skillcalc.php?06eebnIkbnIkbnIkbnIkbnIkbnIkbnIkfdt0 IbInqnGKsNIpjJiGA000007b000009b000000jdB2QHSm2IofG AgBbp0000ib000000lb0000000Ib000008

I don't play with the ultimate goal of grabbing aggro, however if I'm in a position where it's possible and a good idea I do it. I tried a zero range crit & showtime star build, but really I didn't find it entirely necessary.

[Sealco555]

A tank build is completely useless in 99% of the game.

If you're soloing, it's far more efficient to go glass cannon and kill everything quickly before they can hurt you. Even if you build tank you won't survive more than 3 hits from bosses anyways.

If you're in a group, why do you need to keep aggro when most mobs die in under 3 seconds? Any competent player should be able to solo all bosses, so there is no reason for a party to need a tank for any boss fight. Again, you're just lowering overall efficiency because of your lower damage letting the boss live longer.

[WildarmsRE5]

A tank build is completely useless in 99% of the game.

If you're soloing, it's far more efficient to go glass cannon and kill everything quickly before they can hurt you. Even if you build tank you won't survive more than 3 hits from bosses anyways.

If you're in a group, why do you need to keep aggro when most mobs die in under 3 seconds? Any competent player should be able to solo all bosses, so there is no reason for a party to need a tank for any boss fight. Again, you're just lowering overall efficiency because of your lower damage letting the boss live longer.._.

someone doesn't appreciate tanks. I remember those times when we needed a tank for luring away the boss while killing the mobs at A3 to S-rank boss time attacks. . .

[Arksenth]

._.

someone doesn't appreciate tanks. I remember those times when we needed a tank for luring away the boss while killing the mobs at A3 to S-rank boss time attacks. . .

Why would you even need a tank for this situation? All you need is someone who can hit the boss once, run to the other side of the room and dodge for two minutes. No tank specialization needed.

Actually, why are you even delegating more than one person to kill the mobs in the boss room? A single TE will demolish all of the mob spawns instantly without the interference of any other class, and then the rest of you can just time the boss kill to the mob spawn finish.

:-?

[Daemyn]

Tanking is as technically dead as sega's care for game balance in pso2. :c

It's fun though just stay solo almost no one will want a tank in a party in pso2 unless it is maybe extreme quests.

beats the hell out dieing every 5 seconds though which I watched some shunkaciders do in lilipa this morning.

[Emp]

Games all bout damage now. If your not kicking but fast, u got a problem.

[Coatl]

eeyup

[wargandi]

lol thx for reply guys. I got two trees for both hunter and fighter. I made one of them for tanking because it does getting boring when everything dies in a sec. I only tank when I am group up with my friends so we can have a challenge and actually play the game. my dps damage just fine guys lol I just wanted to see if anyone had ideas on it when I play with my buddies. we play for fun lol.

[SociableTyrannosaur]

even then Gu/Hu is a better tank. Just build for aggro instead of damage.

[wargandi]

that actually is a hugh help SociableTyrannosaur thx you so much!

[UnLucky]

Pretty hard to recommend a fun build for a challenge. That's all in your head, so we can't know what you want.

[wargandi]

its ok Unlucky. this is more of a fun topic so everyone can give out ideas, builds and such. Anything a big help like that link I just got. major help. somethings I will change around and see if it works.

[MountainLynx]

Ignore the haters, fewer Mates and Moons are used when there's a tank in the group.

http://ryuhiroshi.funpic.de/pso2/skillcalc.php?06gEb3IkIZIkbnIkbnIkbnIkbnIkbnIkfdt0 IbkIqBj5QgXIdfcKfcA00000jebrbqnHNqsHnjbn0000ib0000 00lb0ib0000lb000000lb0000000Ib000008

This is my current tanking build, as I haven't actually gotten to the level cap on either class yet. Despite that, I've already picked up all the essentials. Tons of HP boosts (the last 5 points in Hunter will finish maxing out that first one), and Absorption. If you're lucky enough to have a Techer around with Deband Cut, You'll be laughing maniacally the entire run as every boss struggles to get up to 300 damage trying to hit you. If there's a constant stream if enemies being killed, you pretty much can't die, because Absorption will be healing you for more damage than you're receiving.

As for gear, make sure you have Vol Soul (Every little bit of S-Atk helps) and Stamina 3 on EVERYTHING. All 3 units and your weapon. Extend them only if you don't have Bulb Irene, Ing Plate and Kings Arms. You don't want to lose the innate HP bonuses on those. (+100 innate HP on Bulb and Plate, +55 on Arms). Stamina Boost is expensive, so make sure it's going on a piece of equipment that's going to be around for a LONG time. Without Stamina Boosts, I'm already seeing 1400 HP after a Guts Drink EX, which means there isn't a single attack from any enemy in this game that can one-shot me (I intentionally face-tanked every notorious one. Was laughing at the arm train from lv70 Falz over the weekend. I'm popping a Sol instead of a Mate after Quartz Dragon's laser rain now). I'm using the second-tier 8-star Bulb/Plate/Shield set (red stuff), fully extended, and a Red Sword, also fully extended. Damage is okay-ish, but that's not what's holding threat. I would love to upgrade that sword to a Zapper Edge if I can ever get it to drop. Unlock it once, but don't extend it, as it'll lose base S-Atk, even at Ext.Lv4. The extra 5% health back whenever something dies is a great addition to the 10% you're already getting from a maxed out Absorption!

War Cry is your agro magnet. Use it, and everything in range will be attacking you for its duration, or until someone else uses it and puts themselves on the top of the threat table. There are a few bosses with attacks that can bypass the threat table, but for the most part, they'll be back on you once that attack is over. Worth noting, however, is that rather than having to work your way back down in threat, once War Cry expires, you'll be placed at where you would otherwise be had it only been granting its threat bonus. This means that if you're like me, and don't max it out, there will be a few seconds when the Shunkaciders risk getting their backsides handed to them. Luckily, you'll have plenty of HP to be able to drop a Moon and rez the lot.

Good luck with your future tanking!