Tank skill change

Slayven

I see the tank has a cone of protection..cast and every thing behind you takes less damage and transfers to tank…I see this as being good for PvP..in PVE this not an ideal spell in my optimistic foresight as most dps want to stand behind the boss..
I propose being able to change the direction of the protection cone…cast and cone protects behind you first click of it. Cast again and cone shifts to what’s in front of you. I'm proposing, when pulling boss, you grab threat turn it away from group and double cast your protection shield cone so your group behind the boss still get protections from you,, as it is you stand in front of boss while being dps to get the benefits of tank protection cone, As it stands now your party has to sit behind you and in front of boss. Flip the cone both ways behind tank and in front of tank and let the tank choose which direction they want.

Slayven

Aegis is the skill from Wiki and tank preview.

George_Black

Why should this skill which finds use in PvP be changed to something clunky, for a situation you described that doesnt need it?
You make that change, you take away from both PvP and PvE the difficulty factor.
Dps stand behind the boss to avoid damage. That means there is no need for increased defence. If the DPS fail to move out of the way when the boss does a backwards attack, that's their mistake. Such designs are what make content more challenging.
Your suggestion would void that, making the encounter more mindless.
"Oh, free defence boost...."

The point I want to make is that skills should be of situational nature, not a rotation faceroll.

Lodrig

The skill is clearly intended for ranged attackers and supports to stand behind Tank and get protection. It is not for Tank to cover forward attackers like Fighters. The request is both illogical and unbalanced.

Slayven

What's the difference of protecting what's behind you or in front of you? the skill benefits all in cone period says nothing about range attackers or fighters lol..Being able to protect what's behind you is logical and balanced?
lol give me a break.

Noaani

Slayven wrote: »

in PVE this not an ideal spell in my optimistic foresight as most dps want to stand behind the boss..

That would only be melee DPS that wants to do that.

Everyone else should be standing where ever is most viable for them to stand - which may or may not be behind the tank.

Mag7spy

Prob will have a augment that makes it into a dome, that is just my speculation though.

Haxzploid

Slayven wrote: »

What's the difference of protecting what's behind you or in front of you? the skill benefits all in cone period says nothing about range attackers or fighters lol..

Lodrig was talking about the positioning, he used the word "intended".. Lodrig didn't say: "can only affect range attackers".

Lodrig

Tanks already have skills that can defend his melee DPS companions in the front ranks of the fight. "Protect" allows the Tank to take half the damage hitting a single friendly target within 10 yards. This is clearly intended for both offensive, or defensive usage.

Aegis dose largely the same thing but over an area, and that area should remain behind the Tank because it is both logical (the tank is body blocking incoming fire) and because it more defensive in nature, the Tanks positioning in between the threat and their allies means the tanks short range damage, grapples and other effects (which are mostly fired forward and not omnidirectionally) are available to incercept and block enemy movement towards his allies who have properly positioned themselves with Tank between them and the threat. That proper positioning of both the tank and allies is rewarded by allowing this skill to cover multiple allies at once.

Allowing the Tank to simply direct the area backwards would remove the need for allies to position themselves logically and this would nessesitate weakening the skill because the current counter-play of getting behind the tank would be void. Currently if you can get hind them while Aegis is on you force the tank to turn around to engage grappling skills or attacks would swing the Aegis off the allies. Removing counter-play from skills may make the skill 'better' but it makes the game worse.

In PvE if your melee DPS is on the opposite side of the mob as the tank then they are presumably ALAREDY being protected because Tank should have aggro and no attacks are landing on the DPS which is backstabbing the mob, it is the job of tank to make sure the mob keeps facing them. If the mob puts out radial AoE blasts then use Protect or stand beside the tank to get in the Aegis zone, as well as deploy the absorbtion field of the Tank over both of you.

Blaspherian

Just think of skills like tools. Need the right one for the situation. Plenty of use cases for this tool. Zoning in PvP, Engaging in PvX, Positioning in PvX, stacking mechanics in PvE, covering a DPS that pulls aggro, covering healer during a res, protecting a flag channeler, etc. to name a few. I'm sure there are (or will be) other tools in the Tank's kit that will be more apt for protecting party members in the situation described in your proposition. This skill is fine.