Paladin OT Guide

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This guide is designed to help Paladins that find themselves in an "Off Tanking" or "OT" position.

The trick is snap aggro control and keeping mobs from running all over the place but, if a player steals aggro from the "Main Tank" or "MT" and is halfway across the zone and the mob positioning is compromised let the player die and the mob will return to the fray. Don't chase mobs as positioning is a fundamental when raiding. The OT should pick up the mob on it's way back to the proper position.

What makes a good OT?

1. Understanding targeting. Know when to use /assist, F8, Tab, and /target.
2. Understanding how to gain and maintain aggro. Which includes, taunts, Amends and Casting order.
3. Setting up your Achievment points to that best situates your for your raids needs.

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I would say that being a great OT is more difficult than being a great MT. The keys to being a great OT are not dependent on group but rather the individual Pally. You need /target macros, arrows, purple potions, Signets and the right food and drink. And you need to know the best position to stand during the course of every fight every second.

There are several group make ups that make sense. Having two healers, a dirge and two scout DPS is a good make up for the OT is a standard set up. This is good for encounters with 1 or 2 Epic mobs. Having two healers, a Troubadour, a Warlock and a Enchanter is great for where there are swarms of Heroic adds. Between Holy Ground Amends and Sigil of Heroism you should be able to pick up adds and keep them off the MT.

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Get the avoidance buff from a Monk/Bruiser type if you can.

The trick for good burn down is snap aggro control and keeping mobs from running all over the place. If a Ranger is halfway across the zone let him die, don't chase mobs.

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Amends

The common assumption that wizards & warlocks are the best Amends targets is not true. Rogues transfer large amounts of hate over. Pick whomever is consistently the highest DPS in your group. Remember the point of Amends is not to save a single group member. Amends should save your whole raid from getting aggro. Your job is to be number 2 on the hate table at all times. Assassins, Swashbucklers, and Brigands will be your best people for this because they do their damage more quickly. Get Master or Adept 3 Amends it is the best spell we have in the game.

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Taunts:

Don't be afraid to use your three main taunts Clarion, Heroic Dash, and Excoriation even while the mob is on the MT, but don't use Rescue, Sigil of Heroism or Holy Ground. This keeps you higher up on the hate list if the MT goes down, or if someone pulls the mob off it is easier for you to gain control. With a really good Guardian Main Tank you should not pull agro very often just using your 3 small taunts.

Understand how your taunts work. Clarion is a single mob taunt it has good amount of hate initially and a smaller amount over time. Heroic Dash is a single mob shield taunt that has a knockdown and stun. Heroic Dash is the least resisted taunt. Excoriation is an encounter AE taunt and sometimes more importantly a debuff. Rescue is a single mob huge hate gain taunt, it also moves you up the threat table 3 positions automatically. The faster you use rescue the better. If a DPSer pulls the mob off the MT you will notice after just a second or two that the mob will start switching targets rapidly, each one of those is symbolic of you slipping down the threat table. Sigil of Heroism is an AE that siphons hate for 20 seconds from everyone in your group. It is great for add control in the chaos of a raid. Holy Ground is a great spell. This will move you up the threat table 24 positions. There is a trick to this spell though. It will not trigger until you have hit the mob. You also must direct target the mob. Holy Ground will not trigger off aoes unless the mob is your target.

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Find a good casting order that works so when you go in you can launch as many spells and CAs and possible and still come out and have stuff to cast. Generally if you run in using brimstone and then immediately use group taunt as soon as you are in range that is enough to get initial agro off a tank or anyone else who might have it, this is important especially when it is on a warrior or SK tank because every time they get hit, they can generate more agro. after you have initial agro it is important to solidify it a bit before you move, use your spells at this point, relentless conviction and smite evil, when these are off and can begin pulling the mob out quickly, while you are moving you can use your CAs like holy circle and doom judgment, make sure the mobs are both in range to hit them with it. when you finally get to the tank spot, this is when the dps can start dpsing, make sure they know this and dont start dpsing before this or you could have problems, i usually have the dps assist through me on the adds so the target ive been on the whole time and auto attacking gets dps'ed first, this will make it easier to hold while everyone else is dpsing it, if there is multiple mobs, target a new one just before the old one dies and start working up more agro on that one with taunts and single target CAs.

remember that this whole time not only are you on these adds, but so is your amends target, if he is any good, you should have totally awesome burst agro good enough to hold add wave after add wave quite solidly.

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