Thread: The Tower of Orthanc what is your opening Gambit

Having done this fight many times (both as Mini and Warden) I am still getting very frustrated / annoyed / ********* (add your expletive here) with the start of each phase it seems so random whether the tanks pick up aggro straight away.

As warden I usually am tanking Frost and Lightning - It does not seem to matter what opening gambits (can always see the Red Arrow appear on them) I use 50% - 60% of the time one or both wander off into range of a) the other tank or b) the dps group & healers who are spanking Shadow.

Pulling off the other tank is a pain since he is using aggro tools too and I need to becareful since I don't want to pull his targets . getting a stray one away from the DPS group is slightly easier but I still don't like dragging the one I have got aggro on into that group

For Phases 1-4, it is not a major issue 20-30 secs and all is usually under control but Phase 5 it is a real pain.

Using any of these as an opening Gambit - Goad , WarCry , Conviction even EoB is not a cert that they will come to me (yes I am in Determination :P , and have Terrible Visage traited ) , Chasing after them and remembering to avoid being silenced is a pain and has resulted in a squishy falling over.
i have even tried pre-empting when they become active and firing DC so they are active just as the animation ends

I am sure there are some out there that have he answer

For phases 1-4 I position myself where one of my Sarumans is going to spawn and right when he does I throw an EoB. I pull the other one using some javelin attacks.

For the 5th phase there are a couple of options. One little advice for phases 4 and 5 is, since you are not getting out of combat, to load into BM an EoB, then activate potency and build another EoB. This way you have 3 EoBs ready for the begining of the next phase.

The easiest way to pick up 4 Sarumans in the 5th phase is probably with a LM or hunter rooting 2 of your Sarumans. You EoB the other 2 right when they spawn and then move to the other two and take them easily. I usually do this without the root. You just need to be aware of the EoB radius to know when you can use it and when you can't. If you can't just throw some javelins and SoV and they will be on you really quick.

Think that these Sarumans have almost no aggro on them so they are very easy to pick up.

I open with WC because its simple and it works. The key is using whatever opening gambit when the mobs are ACTIVE not when you are in combat as it takes some secs after they have spawned to be active. Simply wait for them to move then use ur gambit. Just because they are spawned does not mean they are attackable at the start. This is the reason why you are having problems. If this is not the problem then maybe someone is using their ring's damage skill at the start as it will generate allot of aggro.
Try to analyse your game and find out who you are loosing aggro to. If its a dps and your mob isnt the dps target then likely that person is using the dps skill on their ring maybe too early or not following target and is not ur fault. Loosing aggro to healer should not happen often if you follow the advice i had written at the start which leaves aggro to the other tank which is not a wipe situation.

You can not toss EoB or Defiant Challenge before the clones move. Once they become active; you will see a sqiggly line animate for a second above their head and then they will move.

You can not time a skill so that the animation will end once they become active.
The skill actually activates when you click Defiant Challenge; not when the animation is finished.
You can cast DC in front of the mob; run clear across the room and you will still get the force taunt off on them.

I'm pretty sure this happens with all of our skills. The targets are acquired instantly but we don't get the bonus/special effects until the animation finishes.

On my warden, I would rather solo tank the Saruman fight. Phases 1-4, I pick up everything and tank them while the dps just AOEs and kills everything real quick. This way, we can finish each phase (except 5) in usually about 3-4 minutes. However, that is with a kin run. In pugs, I'll stick pick up everything but may kite in phases 1-4 if I notice I'm not getting the best heals or if the DPSers are getting owned. In phase 5, I pick up everything and kite. It is possible to tank all 10 sarumans though and have done this a few times. It's too scary to do everytime though :P

If you guys insist on using two tanks, I would have the warden pick up everything that is not on the DPS target assist and have a champ force taunt and then have a guardian engage.

As for getting aggro at the start of each phase, I hate when people CC things. Also, the group should all be together at the start of each phase so all the sarumans run to the same area leaving the warden without having to run all over. Frost ring buff also helps a TON. This is just how I like to tank it. Makes it easy for me. Oh yeah, once all the Sarumans run to the group and I have established aggro, I will move to a different area so all the sarumans will group up in melee range.