A Hunters Role in Fellowships and Raids

Hunters are usually one of the main damage dealers as they can produce huge amounts of damage per second far away from the tank and limited crowd control options. This makes hunters the killing blow of the fellowship but also brings danger of pulling the mobs of the tank onto yourself. With this guide I want to explain a bit about doing max damage without pulling the aggro of the tank.

Abbreviations

DPS     -           Damage per second

CC       -           Crowd control

WT       -           Weapon threat

TOT      -           Threat over time

FT        -           Forced taunt

HS       -           Heart Seeker

SB       -           Swift Bow (including improved version)

RAT      -           Raid Assist Target (one person gets selected to target the mobs for the rest easy targeting)

AOE     -           Area of effect skills

While in solo play a hunter usually stands far away like 30-40 meters from your target and starts of with huge damage skills like Heart Seeker and Swift bow. These skills have the longest inductions (time to prepare) and do very good DPS. They also build up a massive amount of threat on the target. But that is no problem… for solo play! When you start with HS and SB in fellowship… you die!

The healers main priority is him/her self, then the tank, then the melee fighters and as final the hunter. So if you want the enemy’s attention you’re welcome to it and handle it yourself.

In order to understand the dynamics of threat and aggro a little information on the tanks is required.

Of the nine classes in this game, only two are dedicated to tanking. The two obviously are Guardians and Wardens. There are several differences of note between Wardens and Guardians, but the most relevant to know for a hunter is:

*  ToT (threat over time) vs. forced taunts and instant threat – Warden threat is generally built over time while Guards generate immediate threat and force mobs to attack them. Wardens do have one force taunt which is derived from a legendary trait but can be used only sparingly.

Guardians can force the enemies on them for several seconds neglecting all other aggro. Wardens practically don’t have that luxury and need time to build up their threat. In the beginning it is very easy for a hunter to over aggro a warden. When a guardian is tanking then you can get the aggro with a delay if your DPS is too high. So caution is needed for both. A warden has some very effective AOE taunts that use threat over time. This can be utilised when you are working on multiple targets for some time.

This makes it important to be easy on DPS at the beginning of a fight and only move to your heavy hitters after 10-30 seconds or as a killing blow. Even then several bosses can be over aggroed easily and require constant controlled DPS from the hunter in order for you to stay alive.

The following strategies may make as a good rule of thumb but some instances requires different tactics.

Trash mob fighting

Let the tank run up on a group of trash mobs and give him a few seconds without DPS (warden requires a little more time then the guardian). This will give the tank time to draw aggro and position the mobs with their backs to the rest of the fellowship. Target the RAT, start of with quick shot and or barbed arrow and when morale is below 70% you can attempt swift bow. Use HS only as kill shot or not at all. Work mobs down one by one. When a mob gets out of the group and walks to the healer(s) use Rain of thorns to root it and allow the champion or tank to pick it up again (or kill it when morale is low enough). When there is still a group left after about 15-20 seconds (especially on warden tanking), you can use Rain of arrows and possibly split shot to do massive AOE damage while the tank holds aggro. Note that to do this effectively you need both rain of arrows traits equipped.

Boss/troll fighting (general)

Allow the tank to pick up the boss and position it with the back to the rest of the fellowship (this to prevent healers getting hit by AOE effects). When the boss is in position start with Barbed arrow (does nice bleed damage and pulls little aggro) and auto attack, wait until you need to refresh barbed arrow. After 2^nd barbed arrow, use penetrating shot and quick shot but don’t fire them to fast after each other. When the morale of the boss gets under 70% you can include SB in the rotation but keep about two full seconds between each skill (excluding induction). When health is under 20% you can pop a merciful shot and HS if you want to. Kill the basterd.

This is a general rule of thumb applicable to most bosses in Lotro. Now a few very specific bosses

Smelting room ork in Foundry,

At first stage DPS carefully like described above. After the first time “The slag will protect me” and debris falls on him, you’re free to DPS as hard as you want. Don't DPS when he has "The slag will protect me" buff on, as you will burn out power without damaging him.

Foundry ring forge,

When DPS on the ring forge, go as hard as you can. It does not react to aggro. Bare in mind that you should hold at 20k morale until the ork is at the same level, then kill the forge.

Draigoth,

Just stay in the group, out of the fire and DPS as fast as you can, just not on the head.