(06-25-2014, 04:47 PM)Garryson Wrote: Marks are tools for communication. In this game they are very useful. I've tanked in a boatload of other games, and this game's system is its own beast. You can't just go in, AoE taunt, and call it good.
My rule of thumb is if I don't mark, I have to hold hate on everything. There are plenty of times when you just don't need to mark. When you're pulling three groups together, its not necessary.
I can't speak to how Paladin plays (I've only ever leveled it up to 31), but as Warrior I've found that, after 'hawking, two to three Overpowers into tab-targeting the enmity combo with perhaps another Overpower or Flash thrown in for good measure is almost always sufficient to hold hate on everything and anything in low level content. It doesn't have the snap of an AoE taunt, but it secures the top spot on the aggro chart for group pulls, and tab-targeting maintains that lead. Sure, the DPS can't just Set Target you and kill whatever you're killing since you're bouncing around, but at that point the onus is on the tank to cycle through the enemy list and keep these bars...
...nice and low.
I can understand marking targets so your DPS focus fire and burn down one target at a time (mind you, Focus Target is better suited for this). I encourage marking things like Caduceus so that the party can easily identify which snake is which after the split. I agree marking identical-looking mobs so that your four damage dealers kill them ASAP to relieve pressure on the tanks and healers (please don't ever solo tank Turn 5 without marking the Scourges, Garry, the thought scares me >_> )) And someone (ONE, not A BUNCH of people) had better be marking the doors in Lost City in case they're awful at Memory.
What I can't understand and don't agree with is the mentality that most, let alone every, trash pull between bosses in low level (read: not endgame) content needs to be marked. The only trouble I've ever had with aggro in said content is pre-26 pre-RoH Gladiator in Totorak with synced-from-50 damage dealers in my party... and that has absolutely nothing to do with marking so much as tunnel-vision from the DPS. If I can't keep up with Savage Blade combo and Flash, please spread your DPS around the mobs instead of focusing.Â
Focus Target solves the problem of DDs not coordinating. Mark is useful... but asking, or expecting, the majority of pulls to be marked is... excessive. And unnecessary. Is it helpful? Yes. But it's helpful in the same way that a red signal at the crosswalk telling you not to step into heavy traffic traveling at speeds of 50mph and up is helpful. "Do this, not this," etc.
EDIT: Was typing this up when TheLastCandle posted, and I agree. Mark for DPS efficiency... but even then, I'd say Focus Target serves that purpose better in most cases pre-endgame.