So You Want to Be a Tank?

You Might Be a Fighter If …

Welcome to the first in a series of articles designed to help new players, and maybe not so new players, better gauge which class to choose. This is based on my own play experiences, the advice of online friends and strangers, the insights of those same people – and their follies as well.

When I began playing EQ2, I had no real idea of the structure of MMORPG play. I knew what the different classes were supposed to be, on paper. The dynamic changes somewhat when translated to the real play experience, however.

In an effort to help others avoid choosing a class and investing a great deal of time into it before realizing it isn’t their cup of tea, I’m writing this “You … If” series.

So …

You Might Be a Fighter If …

… You enjoy attacking things head-on, and being at the forefront.

… You enjoy the action and excitement of being in the middle of the battle.

… You like all the attention to be on you.

… You like to lead and give orders, and are good at communicating.

… You like the thought of your character in heavy, shiny, plated armor.

… You keep your cool under pressure.

The role of the fighter in EQ2 is one of a leader. Most often, fighters are designated group leaders because they are the ones who will be taking the forefront when exploring, the ones who are first to encounter/engage enemy mobs, and who are responsible for maintaining control of “aggro.”

Aggro is a term used in the MMO community to describe the aggression level or hate level of monsters towards players. Commonly, when in a group, monsters will try and attack the most valuable player first. In EQ2, that hierarchy typically goes something like this: Priest > Mage > Scout > Fighter. There may be some flip-flopping from time to time, but generally this is how it flows. So therefore, a fighter is responsible for making sure that the weaker members of the group are not attracting the hate of the monsters (and thus getting killed and leaving the fighter without allies to assist him – thus he dies as well.)

A fighter has a very busy and active role in the group. Managing aggro involves switching targets, activley monitoring their threat levels, knowing which targets to select first based on how much threat they are to the group, and keeping the other members safe.

A fighter must be willing to take charge, lead, give orders, and communicate with the group. If these are things that make you cringe – you probably won’t enjoy the role of a fighter. You may however enjoy the role of a mage or a scout. Communication is a must. You have to be willing to talk frequently and clearly to your group if you want to survive a long dungeon crawling session.

A fighter’s primary responsibility is to protect the group. You are the one who leads them through dungeons and engages enemies first. You are the one who checks around corners and carefully enters doorways. You are the one who communicates danger and threat to those following you.

Your role as a fighter is not to kill as fast as possible. (This is the province of the mage and scout, much as some fighters wish it were otherwise, and will be addressed in the next two articles.) A fighter cannot be egotistical. During battle, your only concern is monitoring the group members and agression, and making sure you keep the attention on you through your taunts and skills. However, the savvy fighter will know how to deal out damage and use buffs as a means to that end …

If all this sounds exciting to you, and makes you think, “This is me!” – then you should choose to be a fighter. If not, you may want to look at the other classes before you decide. In a future series, I’ll be discussing subclasses in more depth, to give a further idea of the evolving roles of each archetype as they progress past level 20.