To intimidate or not to intimidate

[SpiderPig]

Hey guys,

I just got my intimi tank back online after a wild flood season here (last played 2 months ago), just to find that he doesn't work anymore.

I went through and kitted him out with Dragonscale armour (which was a real B to gather) and every other piece of equipment to boost AC and HP.

You guys should know the build type, High AC + High HP + High Intim, and very limited DPS ability. With the new update I have found that he just plain sucks, I would never have constructed a character around these specification if this system had been in place.

After contacting DDO about it, they responded with too bad.

So my question is, what do I do with him, he can't intimidate, he can't DPS and most of the items are bound to character so deleting him is not an option?

I don't think I should have to use ddo points to change him either, after all he worked fine.

[psymun]

Have you tried Intimidate AND DPS?

My main character is a hybrid DPS/AC/Hate Tank with about a 62 intimidate, and I was able to use intimidate for hate generation against Horoth on Hard ToD... (My Intim is too low for Elite).

That being said, I'd think between the defensive stance and some hate gear, you could likely do the same thing and generate enough hate.

OR you can switch over to Kensai and gain a lot of DPS and do the same.

[lugoman]

Have you tried? I can keep agro pretty well on my tank with a dwarven axe and shield without using intim. I only intimidate if the boss turns. Although I dont usually play with esos barbs, so your mileage may vary.

[psymun]

Have you tried? I can keep agro pretty well on my tank with a dwarven axe and shield without using intim. I only intimidate if the boss turns. Although I dont usually play with esos barbs, so your mileage may vary.

I'm not sure if this question was intended for me or not, but I have never been a fan of Turtle Tanks because I found it boring to farm for the gear needed just to stand still and hit a button every 6 seconds, so both of my tanks are hate tanks that turned into intimitanks. Therefore, no. I have not tested it on a non hate tank...

But you're right. Many have freaked out because they can't turtle tank anymore but haven't even tried tanking in other ways yet. (I'm not implying that this is the case with the OP.)

[theboatman]

The thing about intimidate now is that it is a supplemental tool.

That and every tank is a hate tank now. Damage and hate generation are the only way to hold aggression now, with intimidate being a useful tool to help that end. Especially if you have a shield out, intimidation acts as another source of hate generation to supplement your hate gear.

The difference between builds comes down to those that prefer beef (tons of hp) and dump defenses for more damage, and those that choose a more defensive posture.

An AC/Hate tank can still do moderate damage when built correctly, its the threat gear and proper use of intim that keep them in the lead of the targets attention.

[lugoman]

I'm not sure if this question was intended for me or not, but I have never been a fan of Turtle Tanks because I found it boring to farm for the gear needed just to stand still and hit a button every 6 seconds, so both of my tanks are hate tanks that turned into intimitanks. Therefore, no. I have not tested it on a non hate tank...

But you're right. Many have freaked out because they can't turtle tank anymore but haven't even tried tanking in other ways yet. (I'm not implying that this is the case with the OP.)

I turtled before u9 and didnt know if I would do enough dps swinging 1 axe while using a shield. Turns out with the hate from Stalwart and Leviks I do fine. I was just saying u9 isnt the end of the standard pre u9 turtle tank build. You have to swing now so you lose the blocking dr but you can still hold agro and do your job.

[NaturalHazard]

ok you dont want to spend TP on him and he has nice gear how about getting 20 epic tokens and tr him into something else?

its just an option im sure others can come up with better ways to make changes to your charactor to make him work better.

[MrChipinator]

It is my unprofessional opinion that the only time I ever see Intimidate being useful is when you are trying to pull end-game Raid bosses to you. So the real question imo, is do you want to be useful at end-game? Or a helpful addition to DPS mid-game? The answer is both. Seeing as though there aren't that many crucial skills you need, if you make a hate-tank, you should be able to level up points into Intim without sacrificing much other. Not to mention that for most non end-game things, all you have to do is just let the monster see you first, start smacking it, and you therefore have aggro.

Never made a Hate-Tank before, and this is coming from a caster, so feel free to /ignore anything I've said.

[Aranticus]

So my question is, what do I do with him, he can't intimidate, he can't DPS and most of the items are bound to character so deleting him is not an option?

why cant he dps? if you built him correctly he should have a high enough str ie you started with 16 min and all points into str. if this is not so, then there are a few options

1. have him become a support tank. people will still love you as long as you are contributing

2. convert him into a hate tank, get epic claw set to increase the hate generated. intim may not work 100% but hopefully you can generate enough retain agro

3. convert him into a kensai

[Kawai]

Im sorry you spent all that time creating the character that YOU liked to play, and Im sorry that THEY decided to make a fundamental change to the game that would destroy an entire characters lifetime. To be told something to the extent of "get over it" is unacceptable. Fact is, I really dont think they saw this coming. They wanted to tinker and adjust something that was working fine. Tanks were an integral part of the game long before D&D went Online. Playing a gimped from day one Archer, I can sympathize. So... adapt & overcome, because they're making the game they want to make. Or at least, they think they are.

[Khanyth]

Im sorry you spent all that time creating the character that YOU liked to play, and Im sorry that THEY decided to make a fundamental change to the game that would destroy an entire characters lifetime.

Wow.... give the dramallama a break. You're riding it too hard and will give it saddle sores.

So turtle tanks have to be snapping turtles now. Games change and so do tactics and builds and strategies are not set in stone, much less wet concrete. The game is in constant flux and thus, you can choose to ignore it and find that your character has lost effectiveness and popularity, or you can adapt it and take your gaming skills and expierence to new heights. You're right.... they did make a fundamental change: they made it so all melee-type classes have to do damage!!!!!!!! ZOUNDS!!!!! THEY BROKE THE GAME OMG***?!?!?!?!?!?!? /RAGEQUIT /BURNDOWNTHETURBINESERVERS

To be told something to the extent of "get over it" is unacceptable.

To you.... most of us can see the logic behind the changes. Those who can't... well... have a hard time getting over that.

Fact is, I really dont think they saw this coming. They wanted to tinker and adjust something that was working fine. Tanks were an integral part of the game long before D&D went Online. Playing a gimped from day one Archer, I can sympathize. So... adapt & overcome, because they're making the game they want to make. Or at least, they think they are.

Again.... you making mountains out of molehills. Tanks are not an integral part of the game anymore? Which game are you playing?

No, what they did was adapt the game to make it challenging. There's no reason why on VoD elite, that one person can stand in the corner to get Sulu's agro, and have 11 other people beat the living **** out of him. There's no reason why this boss should be ****ed off at one character standing in the corner calling him names, while 11 others are kicking the **** out of him with his back turned.

The intimidate change made the game much more awesome. As I said before, successful turtle tanks are now Snapping Turtle tanks.

As my nephew's favourite cartoon characters said in his first movie: Change is good, Donkey. EDIT: btw, I'm not calling you a donkey... I'm quoting Shrek

[joaofalcao]

Me and wife have 1 intimitank each. Not build for DPS. After U9, we were really frustrated, such as yourself.

What we did next: Focused on 1 character(for the changes were expensive), hers, and made some changes to improve her hate/DPS.

- Switched her weapon of choice for a Kopesh(got a lit2). Spent a Flawless Siberys Shard, yes.

- Got her a 45% Incite DT. She wears a red dragonplate. Such a shame not to use it, but we are hoping its only temporary.

- We are always fighting on Defender Stance, always with PA on instead of combat expertise.

- We do intimidate, only less so. From times to times, some other party member steals agro. Then we intimidate. Its handy.

What the above meant for us: We no longer do VOD on hard. AC dropped duo to the changes (using PA instead of CE, not being able to shield block), and we use LIT2 to maintain agro, so not sure we would keep it on Sully with its hard DR.

HoX can still be managed with intimidate. While Xyzzy turns the agro to the pups, the time you get the attention away from them is still handy.

So, if you plan to change something or TR in the future, as we plan to, we suggest you to get intimidate if you can, its handy. But always go for hate generation first, since hate can do the job most of the times alone, but intimidate alone now cant.

[Eladiun]

Hello OP and welcome to the world of MMOs, the only guarentee you are giving any MMO is that mechanics will change and builds will fade and rise like the tide. This is the natural order and progerssion of an MMO. I can trace you back through 10 years of nerfs across dozens of games but the reality is.... deal with it. Pay to respec, farm out what you need to respec, roll a new toon, or stop playing MMO's. This is life in an MMO. If you can't handle it without a lot of crying then MMO's may not be for you. I would be happy you at least have the option to TR or LR. For many years, the only option was to reroll. In closing, nerfs happen you move on or you don't. No one is going to pay to respec your toon. MMO's are a harsh and cold world.