Yep, here we are. MA/SA 101. Tanking for dummies... Unfortunately, not all tanks have these duties hard wired into their genetics. Some of us had to figure this stuff out by trial and error... To all the unfortunate enchanters, clerics, and other innocents harmed during my housebreaking my sincerest apologies :P
(this is an ongoing project, under continual review, as "I learn = I add...")
Below is a quick summary of the duties of both MA & SA. They will be followed by either a more in depth explanation of each or a re-direct to the appropriate page to explain that facet.
Duties of Main Assist:
1) To either pull or "tag" a mob brought in by designated puller
2) To establish sufficent aggro to insure mobs continuing interest
3) To call for "Assist" in a timely manner
4) To be *at the ready* should you loose aggro at any point to re-establish it
5) To intellegently control push in a way that aids the party
6) To quickly chose next target, gain aggro, THEN break mez... ( rinse / repeat )
7) Insure sufficient mana available -before- pulling next target
8) If need be... to die with honor as a rear guard allowing others to zone/camp out
Duties of Secondary Assist:
A) Be familiar with the duties of, and ready to step in as MA at any time
B) Offtank any mobs that break mez early using only Taunt & incite/berate line of combat abilitys (non-damaging aggro) so enchanter can attempt re-mez
C) Offtank any adds that are non-mezzable doing your best until MA free to engage\par (pop defensive if need be, you will usually have your own designated healer.)
In Depth look at duties:
1) Pulling... To many laugh when I tell them I -searched- hi and low for a primer on this... I mean come on Wgu. You look around the room, nock an arrow, fire, and scream "incoming" as the mob and his buddies head your direction... nothing could be simpler. An approach that will have enchanters burning thru runes, and clerics emptying their mana pools, as both pray to their deities that you suffer harddrive failure or your ISP crashes. For a more enlighten look at pulling and the related skill of "tagging" please go here.
2) Gaining aggro, this is not the chore it was in days of yore. Taunt bumps you to top of hate list, Berate/Incite line of combat abilities generate an initial surge of hate and additional hate over time. Other abilities such as Disarm, Kick, Bash, etc... as well as damage from general melee all add to aggro generated. For more details on how Wgu generates aggro please go here.
3) Yep, simple thing like this and we still goof it up from time to time. If MA doesn't practice making the assist call *religiously* and in a TIMELY manner Maverick players (people with only the most honorable intent) will step in and assist whenever they think they are needed, causing mezs to be broken before aggro established, etc... resulting in all manner of bad things. Enchanter Deaths, raid wipes, People jumping on the mavericks for their actions. (All caused because the maverick was merely stepping up to fill a void left by MA laziness.) I lay the blame at the MA's feet if he is inconsistent, or habitually late with assist calls -HOWEVER- if the MA is diligent and timely with his assist calls then the Maverick deserves whatever rough treatment the group is willing to enforce.
4) *At the Ready* fancy name for giving the job your undivided attention. Sitting at the keyboard, ready to respond. Sometimes stuff happens... People -will- have their brainfarts, a wiz might overnuke, Healer sits too quick after that much needed Complete Heal, etc... They are counting on YOU the MA to either have generated enough hate to compensate for their oops or you being attentive enough to grab aggro back. You win no brownie points if you stepped afk unannounced to fix that sandwich real quik... or if you were ooogling your significant other.If you must divide your attention it will be better for all involved if you hand the ball to your SA till the crumbs are crunched or you did the 3 minute nasty...
5) Push is that odd thing that makes the mob 'drift' during the fight. It is a force for good and the source of much evil as well. It is detailed here.
6) When multiple mobs have been pulled or pop at your camp, your enchanter will perform Crowd Control (CC) meaning it then becomes your job as MA to choose the next target, get aggro, break mez, and call your assist. I generally chose mob's on these criteria... Non-mezzable (first), Caster's, and then proximity to my casters. Clearing those closest to enchanter/healer and working my way out. The key here is SPEED, each of those mobs parked are a time-bomb aimed at your enchanter, and the limit to how well you do is based on quickly you clear camp vs. mana cost to keep them parked... balance this with if you break mez WITHOUT establishing aggro, bang straight for chanter and if they go down, you will soon be standing in a group of wide awake mobs that have no enchanter to hate...Dawdle to long and you will hear those words of doom... Chanter OOM, usually followed soon thereafter by Cleric OOM, followed by (Now Loading...)
7) DUH ... you would think if there were ever a no brainer this would be it... As puller/MA it's your bacon in the fire so a little enlightened self intrest here will go a long way. If you are 'tagging' for a designated puller, Make sure they are aware of mana or it's lack. Should you find yourself victim of a spastic puller who insists on pulling regardless of mana lvl. tis easier to rez them than a group wipe...
8) (SIGH) now for the pound of flesh... as the biggest, meatiest, hardest to chew morsel on the raid buffet it is -sometimes- nessecary to make a sacrifice to ensure raid survival. I leave these moral quandrys to you, gentle reader to weigh for yourself..
YAY! SA stuff is simple enough... no additional explanation offered... :P