Ravven is now 29, but prior to dinging I had my first two “real” tanking experiences in the Nochsana Training Camp. Remember, I’ve only played ranged DPS in games…tanking scared the hell out of me. But this is what I wanted to do: something entirely different.
The first run was horrible. I’d never seen the instance before, had no idea what to expect, and the two pug members thought I was pulling too slow so they were pulling things themselves. I got rattled, and did a few really bad pulls of my own. Live and learn…I suppose it’s better to get a really horrible run out of the way at the beginning. It has to get better than this, right?
And so it was. the second run, with only one very capable pug member, was very smooth. No botched pulls, and now that I knew what to expect I was going a lot faster. It was really enjoyable, and made me happy that I had decided to try a tank character. I loved it.
One thing I’ve noticed in Aion is that healing aggro is really, really difficult to divert back. Once a mob is firmly fixed on a healer, it’s fairly difficult to peel them off. I have one main taunt, another one that is based on crit or a successful block or something (yeah, yeah, I’ve never been a theorycrafter!), and my new mass taunt stigma. But if all of these are on cooldown, it takes a few seconds to have anything up that will keep a healer from being beaten on. That said, clerics can wear chainmail and carry a shield – how awesome is that?
So, a fun run over all, even if for no loot from the boss. I find that very strange – in most MMOs, a boss or rare elite should always drop something. This guy has a chance of dropping a blue weapon, but on the two runs that I did, he didn’t have anything of value.
Am I a good natural tank? Not in a million. But I’m having fun.