Hello dear gamers

 

In an attempt to help my fellow guildies, I have created this list of responsibilities you could have when entering a flashpoint.

 

This list is far from complete, so I ask for your help to complete it as best as possible. I have not played each and every class on Endgame content, so any advice is useful.

 

We are mainly Empire oriented, but if you feel more comfortable explaining it with Republic terminology, feel free to do so and I will translate it :-)

 

Thanks in advance.

 

Introduction

This guide is meant to show what your responsibilities are during a Hardmode Flashpoint. This is a very short general guide, so that each member of the group should have an idea what they're expected to do.

 

I will give a list of responsibilities that you get depending on your role (Healer, Tank, Damage Dealers). Then, I will give a list of responsibilities to each Advanced Class.

 

If you want to be the best, make sure you check both lists and try to do as many of those as you can. This is also a guide that can be updated when new abilities appear.

 

These responsibilities are a baseline so that you may know what your tasks could be when you enter group content in general and you have no experience whatsoever in more challenging group content or are vastly underleveled/undergeared for the content. As your abilities as a player grow and/or your gear is becoming top notch, less of these responsibilities are still necessary. You don't need to CC 2-3 elites when you can all hack them down quickly.

 

Your suggestions are always welcome:

 

General Responsibilities

• Avoid unnecessary damage by staying out of AoE abilities.
  
• If a certain ability follows you, move away from the group and keep running until the ability has disappeared.
  
• Always heal up in between encounters. The moment you are out of combat, you should first spend a few seconds to use your out of combat heal to regain strength.
  
• Never use knockbacks on enemies that are fighting around your tank. Scattering enemies makes it harder for the tank to generate AoE aggro.
  
• Always indicate who you will CC. Use a Target Marker and/or say which one you will take out of combat.
  

 

 

Responsibilities for your current role

 

 

• Reduce incoming damage (CC, assist DPS in dispatching weak mobs)
  
• Keep tank up to the max
  
• Keep DPS up
  
• Learn about the burst phases during a boss battle to predict high spikes of damage and react accordingly.
  
• Remove debuffs from group
  

 

 

• Maintain a clear visual on all mobs.
  
• Keep the strongest targets on you.
  
• Turn the boss always with its back towards the rest of the group.
  
• Prepare each encounter. (Mark CC, kill order)
  
• Guard the person who is most likely to pull aggro from you. This is NOT the healer. Here's my priority list of people that receive a guard: Strongest Melee DPS > Strongest Ranged DPS > Healer. If you notice the ranged DPS is not pulling aggro from you, you can give guard to the healer to reduce some of the incoming damage if needed.
  
• Learn about the burst phases during a boss battle to predict high spikes of damage and react accordingly.
  
• Pull in enemies that are not in your range (only applicable to Assassins/Powertechs)
  
• If possible, separate the group of mobs from the CC'd mobs so that AoE's may be used. If not, don't use AoE abilities.
  
• Interrupt the cast abilities of your targets. Tank should also dictate who interrupts when. This can either be "Player A interrupts ability X and Player B interrupts ability Y" or "Player A interrupts first, then Player B and finally Player C and rinse and repeat".
  

 

 

• Follow the kill order that the tank dictates. Usually this goes from weakest to strongest. Always take out enemy healers first!
  
• Once you have destroyed all the weak and standard mobs, focus fire on the elite mobs. The tank will have an easier time holding aggro if both Damage Dealers attack the same target.
  
• Always keep an eye on the healer when fighting trash mobs. Make sure you attack mobs that are attacking him.
  
• Always keep an eye on the healer. Make sure you are not out of Line of Sight.
  
• Always wait until the tank pulls a mob before you attack.
  
• Wait a few seconds until the tank has aggro on everything before you attack. Use this time to decide who you will attack.
  
• Respect CC. Don't use AoE abilities unless the tank has separated the mob group from the CC'd targets.
  
• Attack bosses from the back. This will avoid unnecessary cleave damage or AoE damage when the boss attacks the tank.
  
• Interrupt the cast abilities of your targets. If the tank has given an interrupt sequence, respect that sequence.
  

 

Responsibilities for your Advanced Class

 

• Before each encounter, Stealth sap 1 elite mob or higher. (Humanoids only)
  
• At the start of the encounter, CC 1 elite droid or higher.
  
• Assist your healer by removing your own debuffs whenever you can. (Evasion, cleanse)
  
• When the in-combat revive is on cooldown and a party member dies, use your vanish to put yourself out of combat and then revive your fallen team mate. Practice this to become a useful team member. A good thing to remember is that you can't be in combat during the entire revive process. To avoid getting back into combat, make sure you have no Damage over Time (DoT) or Healing over Time (HoT) ability ticking on you. HoT's can easily be removed by right-clicking them on your bar.
  

 

• Keep the armor debuff on the boss at all times.
  
• At the start of the encounter, CC 1 elite droid or higher.
  
• Assist your healer by removing your own debuffs whenever you can. (Evasion)
  
• Place your scrambling field strategically so that as many members as possible can benefit from it and that it's relevant (group of melees are more likely to take damage than a group of ranged DPS).
  

 

• Death From Above a pack of weak/normal mobs to almost completely shut them down.
  
• AoE stun is a great tool to keep the mobs in one place or reduce burst damage.
  
• Use your grapple to move an enemy away from CC'd mobs.
  
• Shieldtech: Use Oil Slick to keep mobs in one place and to reduce their accuracy. Also works on Flashpoint bosses.
  

 

• Death From Above a pack of weak/normal mobs to almost completely shut them down.
  
• At the start of the encounter, CC 1 elite mob or higher.
  
• Arsenal Mercenaries should always keep their armor debuff on the target.
   
  

 

• Before each encounter, Stealth sap 1 elite mob or higher. (Humanoids only)
  When the in-combat revive is on cooldown and a party member dies, use your vanish to put yourself out of combat and then revive your fallen team mate. Practice this to become a useful team member. A good thing to remember is that you can't be in combat during the entire revive process. To avoid getting back into combat, make sure you have no Damage over Time (DoT) or Healing over Time (HoT) ability ticking on you. HoT's can easily be removed by right-clicking them on your bar.
  

 

• At the start of each encounter, Whirlwind 1 elite mob or higher.
  
• At the start of each encounter, Bubble your tank if a Sorcerer healer is not present.
  

 

• At the start of each encounter, Stun 1 elite droid or higher.
  
• Use Bloodthirst to increase the groups damage, thus battling the Enrage timer more efficiently.
  
• Use Predation during Transition Phases and Burst Phases to increase survivability and speed.
  

 

• Put your armor debuff up at all times.
  
• You can Intercede to a friendly healer to reduce incoming damage. It will also allow you to quickly dispatch of mobs targetting your healer. This applies to both tank as dps specs.
  

 

 

This list is probably far from being finished. I have not played all Advanced Classes yet at maximum level so I do not know all abilities by heart. Any suggestions from you are welcome to keep this list updated. This may also include Spec specific abilities (like the Powertechs Oil Slick).

Edited July 4, 2013 by SpoeMeister

Very good tips. Here is a couple others I had in mind.

 

Mob's Area of Effects (AOE): everyone move away from the AOE (coloured circles on the feet) If the AOE is following you, run away from the group to avoid it damage them. As a tank, if the AOE circles remain on the ground after you moved, ensure the following ones are not scattered all over the room.

 

Interrupt: All classes have an interrupt power they shall bound on their speedbar. Tank and DPS shall interrupt enemy's casts whenever they can. Remind your fellow group mates before the fight when a boss is going to cast strong interruptible attacks.

i agree with interrupt..too often left to the personal taste and not assigned any order..

and juggernaut can also leap on the healer to reduce incoming damage and lowering threat

Thank you, I will add the use of interrupts.

 

I think it's also useful to point out that some mob packs have a healer with them. These need to be taken out first.

 

EDIT: added in the interrupt suggestion to the Tank and Damage Dealer Section. I also added "General Responsibilities" that apply to all roles and classes. Many thanks for those tips.

Edited July 1, 2013 by SpoeMeister

Not bad but some of it is overkill. For most trash pulls CCing mobs is a waste of time. Running most 50 or 55 HM flashpoints if I'm in a group where every trash pull is CCIng I'd pull my hair out.

 

A good tank knows when to CC and when to gather mobs for AOE.

 

Also I'd boot any assassin using whirlwind on every fight. 6 second CC is a waste of time and can confuse people into thinking a mob is really CCed.

 

 

I'd also amend the healer "Keep the tank at max" to "keep the tank alive". A good healer will judge where to keep the tank to avoid even coming close to death and do other things accordingly.

 

Finally I'd add in an "everyone""

- Don't stand there after a fight waiting for a healer to heal you. If the healer is recharging you should too.

i understand where you are coming from with the overkill. But I'm assuming that the people who need this guide are fresh 50/55's that are eager to gear through flashpoints. Imagine they are all still in 48 greens. in that case it is wise to eliminate as many enemies as possible and that is when a detailed job description comes in handy.

 

I just finished a Directive 7 story mode (level 49) on my 46 sorcerer with my guilds during double xp weekend. we are leveling together so the average level was 47. we managed to complete it without wipes because of these tactics. we all know what we had to do. it was the basis for writing this guide.

 

is only the sorcs whirlwind a 1 minute stun? I thought whirlwind as a base had a 1 minute duration except in pvp, where it's 8 seconds long...

I will add your general tip to the list tomorrow, when I'm not working on a mobile phone

Edited July 1, 2013 by SpoeMeister

Good initiative.

 

The only things I can think of to add at the moment:

 

*Agreeing with Margoth that members of the group should recharge when needed, especially in lowbie groups. Low-level healers do not have the skills and abilities to keep everyone topped up without needing to recharge themselves like an endgame healer can.

*Disagreeing that Sorcerer's should "bubble the whole group if a Sorcerer healer isn't present". DPS-specced Sorcerers/ Sages bubbles can be energy expensive depending on skill points spent and level. Perhaps bubble the tank at strategic times if possible.

*In the Damage Dealers section (or possibly General), I'd like something along the lines of "Use knock backs carefully and only when needed" added. It can be extremely annoying when a healer/ DPS knocks back a whole group before the tank gets aggro... Or knocks an enemy away from the tank/ melee DPS, or out of an AoE attack.

 

Keep up the good work.

Hmm, I've played sorcerer for the past couple of weeks now (leveled it to 48) and I've been in Flashpoints as both a healer and a damage dealer, but always lightning specced and I have never run out of energy in between fights because of the bubble. But I see your point that for example Madness specs can get energy starved real quick. I will edit the post to just the tank. I still believe the tank should be bubbled at all times when there's a sorc in the group, regardless of his/her role.

 

I have edited the OP to add the following things:

 

1. Changed the frequency of putting up bubbles in the Sorcerer Section.

2. Added "heal up in between encounters" to the general section.

3. Added "Never knock back a group of enemies that are next to the tank" to the general section.

 

Thanks already for the great advice.

I disagree with the CC portions.

 

The only time that would matter is if the tank and only the tank is undergeared, that or the healer is terrifically undergeared/doesn't know two nickels about his rotation.

 

All difficult pulls are instantly marginalized by knowing how to LoS the pack, thus allowing tank and DPS to unload massive AoE damage in a short amount of time on all but the most stubborn of mobs(i.e. trash snipers in SnV).

 

To be CC-ing nearly every pull(instead of when it matters, i.e. pat walks around corner, DPS positions themselves badly and aggros another pack) is an instant tell you have a bad group. My opinion at least.

Edited July 2, 2013 by artikulieren

I realize that an abundance of CC is inefficient. I also realize that CC'ing over half of the encountered pack is redundant.

 

However, the goal of this guide is to create a baseline set of responsibilities that one player has, based on his role and his advanced class. This way even my 83-year-old grandmother would know how to go about in Flashpoints. I am assuming for the baseline that I am working with people that have no idea how to handle "difficult" content and that do not have the gear to compensate for their inability.

 

Off course, when skill/gear is no issue, you don't need all this CC. I realize that. But there are people among us that have neither and are still in learning. When I guide these people through Hardmode Flashpoints (our guild is a very noob-friendly guild), we set up a baseline before we enter (x amount of enemies need to be CC'd). We reduce this number each time we succesfully finish a flashpoint. When I run with the other experienced players, we don't CC any of the targets and even pull multiple packs because we can...

 

Finally, even though CC has been mentioned many times, please realize that this is because I have given a set of responsibilities to individuals. If you are a Sorcerer healer, you will get the set of both Sorcerers as Healers responsibilities, but they overlap each other.

Just one thing to add - "mark the target you are going to CC". That really helps for DPS / tank, to know which mob you are going to put to sleep

Just one thing to add - "mark the target you are going to CC". That really helps for DPS / tank, to know which mob you are going to put to sleep

 

I can't believe I didn't put that in there! Thanks

I'd also amend the healer "Keep the tank at max" to "keep the tank alive". A good healer will judge where to keep the tank to avoid even coming close to death and do other things accordingly.

 

Max health is the best, even if not always necessary, but just "alive" isn't good.

 

When the tanks are low health, they might trigger their longest cooldown or check closely what's going on with the healer in case they are attacked by surprise or something, leading to unnecessary distraction or avoiding they pull yet another annoying mob.

 

In a PUG, you might be a good healer, the tank doesn't know it (yet.) They'll know it near the end, meanwhile show you can make the tank happy.

Edited July 2, 2013 by Nkya

Max health is the best, even if not always necessary, but just "alive" isn't good.

 

When the tanks are low health, they might trigger their longest cooldown or check closely what's going on with the healer in case they are attacked by surprise or something, leading to unnecessary distraction or avoiding they pull yet another annoying mob.

 

In a PUG, you might be a good healer, the tank doesn't know it (yet.) They'll know it near the end, meanwhile show you can make the tank happy.

 

Agreed. This guide is written with the worst case scenario in mind: 3 or 4 players that have no clue how to tackle challenging group content and do not have the gear to make up for it. Keeping the tank at max will enable him to be more relaxed and hopefully perform better. If they can't handle stress, that's when you wipe. Is it the tank's fault? Probably, but can you blame him? He just doesn't know what to do. Setting out baseline rules can help this "Worst pug ever" into a semi-succesful group.

Edited July 2, 2013 by SpoeMeister

all over the whole pack of FPs i think there aren't more than 3-4 pulls where a cc is needed( assuming that group has right rating) the rest is mainly to skip :-D

all over the whole pack of FPs i think there aren't more than 3-4 pulls where a cc is needed( assuming that group has right rating) the rest is mainly to skip :-D

 

Agreed on that with your assumption. I will update the guide to clarify that based on your gear level, some points are valid or not.

 

Thanks! I think the guide is coming along greatly!

It's coming along well OP, and everyone's made great additions.

 

I just wanted to say to previous and future posters to keep the target audience in mind- people who haven't done group content a lot. As OP has said, think about worst case scenario. For example, I'd be a lot less mad if someone CC'd too many things than if we wiped and a CC could have prevented that.

It's coming along well OP, and everyone's made great additions.

 

I just wanted to say to previous and future posters to keep the target audience in mind- people who haven't done group content a lot. As OP has said, think about worst case scenario. For example, I'd be a lot less mad if someone CC'd too many things than if we wiped and a CC could have prevented that.

 

Thanks for the support! I think it looks great already.

 

If there are Mercenaries and Juggernauts out there that could check their section and suggest additions/changes, I'd be most pleased. I have virtually no experience with those two classes as of yet (Jugg is below 20 and still need to make a merc).

since the tread isn't imp only adding Rep AC names would be nice

 

 

also... please remove

Assassins

At the start of each encounter, Whirlwind 1 elite mob or higher.

don't ask why just do it

 

 

Healer

Keep tank up to the max

! but do not screwup your Energy on Overheal !

 

 

Always heal up in between encounters. The moment you are out of combat, you should first spend a few seconds to use your out of combat heal to regain strength.

I'd recommend to watch the Healer, he/she is responsible for the group health.

if the healer stays and regenerates, do so yourself.

as long as the rule "the tank is the one who initiates the fight" is understood, if the healer moves on, do so as well.

 

 

Thank you for this feedback! I've been meaning to add in the Rep counterparts at some point, so I'll do that asap.

 

You are clearly more experienced in Assassin gameplay than I am, so I will take note of your remarks and change the guide as such.

 

This is a nice addition:

 

- The tank decides when the next encounter takes place.

- The healer decides if the group can go on after each encounter.

 

Once I have more time this afternoon, I will make the changes! Great stuff, man!

they are only "nice to have" points, because they aren't likely to cause a Death.

(and much better and simpler phrased then i ever could even in my own language.)

 

that bit about healers shouldn't overheal is more important though it can much to easily screw your energy without you ever noticing.

as a rule of thumb, for most content starting the Heal cast when the tank is at 75% is more than enough. almost everything that hits for more could have been avoided or is clearly announced by a red Text or a cast.

(if that isn't standard, in the options you can enable to see all enemy cast bars below their names even without having them targeted)

 

tell your group if someone takes unnecessary damage as the healer you are most likely the first one to notice that.

and even after a fight is successfully over it's good to pass that along, preferably with a /W (if they suddenly start moving out of the AOE that problem most likely has solved itself).

if you aren't sure if that was avoidable damage make it a question.

 

also don't hesitate to tell them when it isn't worth to move out of AOE (prime example would be the H4 in Black Hole the AOE there isn't strong enough to justify reducing your DPS.)

or if they could stand closer together to make AOE heals possible...

 

healing is just as much about communicating as pressing Buttons.

One other thing for the DPS section:

 

- Focus fire strongs/elites with the other DPS.

 

Most tanks are going to have a very bad time trying to hold on to two or more mobs that DPS have decided to solo.

 

Also, shadows/assassins should not use lift/whirlwind except as a stun. Only sages/sorcs have the 60-second versions.

- Focus fire one strong/elite with the other DPS. as soon as they have dealt with the weaker enemies.

 

Most tanks are going to have a very bad time trying to hold on to two or more mobs that DPS have decided to solo.

pls add something like that to the sentence

I have added the following sentence in the section "Damage Dealers":

 

 

• 
  Once you have destroyed all the weak and standard mobs, focus fire on the elite mobs. The tank will have an easier time holding aggro if both Damage Dealers attack the same target.
  

i agree with interrupt..too often left to the personal taste and not assigned any order..

and juggernaut can also leap on the healer to reduce incoming damage and lowering threat

 

Actually I think it's better to leave interrupt order to personal taste unless it's a fight which doesn't allow that (like HM golden fury). Why? If you have predefined order, it takes only 1 person to forget about interrupting and it causes a problem. If there is no order, people can reasonably cover for each other.