Juggernaut tanking tips?

[Alhazred]

my Juggernaut has really improved both offense and defense in the last 3-4 levels or so. my biggest issue is keeping stuff interested in me. even in Soresu stance, with maxed out gear for my level, its hard to keep things from running off to attack my companion. ill start with a force charge, hit smash, AE taunt, then start chopping things up. however, the AE effect of smash and taunt is kind of small, and if a linked mob is far enough away, it goes for Quinn or whoever else i have with me.

it isnt a huge deal, because Quinn can handle light and medium mobs by himself, and has even CC'd wandering strong mobs and an elite for me, but in a flashpoint or heroic area, having wandering elites can pose a threat to a group.

anyone have any pro tips so i can be a better tank? im kinda self-teaching here.

[SoulBender]

Force leap in, run to the next mob(s) and smash and then if you still have one our of range, run to it and AOE taunt. Don't just drop all of your abilities in one spot. Also tab targeting. You need to hit everyone a couple of times. It will get easier when you get sweeping strike or whatever it is called. Jugs just aren't supper AOE tanks. If one mob goes after Quinn, don't sweat it. Just make sure it's not the elite. Also make sure you have your companion under guard.

[pfckennedy]

Also use guard when necessary

[Elivo]

Jugg is one of the best at single target tanking but it is lacking In aoe compares to the other tank classes. But you still have to work at keeping threat on your targets, it's not like wow where you hit a button or two and get permanent aggro, they will run off to the dps or healer if you don't constantly build it up.

[Alhazred]

i just picked up saber throw today, so that might help to grab something's attention, plus i can pop both taunts (AE for the biggest group, and use the single target to grab a straggler). ill try saving smash for once things are clumped up.

Quinn's healing focus was a little off today, had some close calls while he kept shooting things instead of healing (his damage abilities are turned off, but he still uses basic attacks). i guess i just have to go with the flow. i also noticed that neither he nor i have anything that make the target "slow or immobilized" so my kick ability never lights up. i tried backhand, smash, force choke... i did not try the AE freezing scream, maybe that one will work?

Jaesa on the other hand does cause it to proc quite a bit. so apparently not all companions allow all of your abilities to work. some are specific.

[Aelryc]

Freezing Scream does allow for kick ability. Personally I found it underpowered and after a few times using it rarely use it unless a specific situation calls for its use.

[Emperor Tucker]

I agree on the kick move the damage output is weak. If you are having trouble keeping aggro your taunts work well in rotation to keep it. Don't just pop once and attack one target. Also sweeping strike (think that is the name) helps with aggro. Force push helps with grouping pesky ranged mobs together.

[Izod]

To your point Quinn and other players can handle light/medium level mobs - this isn't like most other MMOs, they tank simply cannot be responsible for every single mob on the board. Weak/Silver mobs can generally go untanked without an issue. There are no true glass cannons in this game (no one is going to get 1-2 shot).

Also recent data shows that you shouldn't taunt immediately - wait until you absolutely need to taunt, since it'll raise your actual threat not just force the targets to you.

Consider specing into the free AOE slow - I've found after doing so I actually use it, and it's highly effective. It's a mandatory PvP talent as well.

If Quinn isn't healing turn him to passive for 2 seconds and then back to active, and he'll magically heal you again.

[Darth Dread]

What Level is your Juggernaut? Mine is a 38 Immortal. In flash points and heroics I usually tell people to wait until I aggro before they attack. In larger groups I taunt them to run around the corner and they will follow me because I am out of their line of sight. The only drawback with this is that you can't be healed until you aggro or the healer will get smashed or the pull will fail. I also make sure that I mark the targets in order to be attacked, this way they will down faster and more strategically, for example, healers down first, AoE attackers, etc. I also like to walk backwards and use frozen scream (I believe is the name) on melee, therefore, they will not be able to attack me due to being so slow, and I can see who is not targeting me. This gives the healer a few seconds to get my health up easier. For gear I have as much stamina and armor as possible. The only confusion I have is whether I should stack shield absorption or armor for damage reduction later on.

For solo I just use Quinn. I don't kill as fast of course, but I will not die in most cases. I hope this helps!

[Elivo]

Armor will come automatically with the gear, and you want your shield and absorb to be roughly equal. Stam isn't nearly as big in this game as other mmos, tanks don't need to stack stam, the stuff that comes on the gear is good, j have a 50 jugg tank in mostly columi gear and he's sitting around 18k health unbuffed. And I have had 0 problems in oops and hm flashpoints!

[sirwyst]

Am running Jug level 33 now and it rocks, BUT...

1) dont run in moddle of nowhere. Jugg is a good tank but not immortal

2) keep god gears, always
I stopped using orange armors because i found it too difficult to maintain them with purple mods. Not enough drops and not enough on GTN. However, with purple armors, am reaching already 18k health at lvl33 !

3) quinn
Yup, this guy is the troublesome sometimes. IA not ultimate, sometimes he DPS instead of healing, must watch carefully and keep his fear up with mission drops

4) read...read
There are lots of good threats on best rotation, talent tree and so on. I confess i would be lost without it.

5) our dps is lower
True, but who wants to look like a kitchen appliance with two blades... sooooorrry

Jug rocks !

[Malakaar]

During my time of leveling I used mainly Vette as my companion, as I took less damage as a tank I felt the need to get healed during combat wasn't all that necessary. At times on some elites I had to kill I used Quinn, but that was mostly after realising Vette didn't work. When I got high enough level I used Jaesa instead, switching between companions when needed.

As for tanking itself, yeah Vette could take agro at times, but you can control your companion to attack different targets that are less important.

Of course there's a difference in Flashpoints as you probably will need to tank multiple groups, for that you need to position yourself so that your AOE get as much as possible. You don't have to worry too much about standard mobs, unless they are attacking the Healer. Have always someone on Guard, went with the Healer basically all the way to 50, but at some point after doing HM I noticed a shift in Threat from my group so I changed the Guard to one of the DPS.

As for Gear I went with Endurance and Defense mainly while leveling, it's only after getting the different sets at level 50 that the stats have been evening out.

I love playing a Juggernaut and I've been playing Immortal ever since I hit level 10. But I too feel that the Class is lacking some stuff, I'd like to see Smash Area of Effect a bit bigger and do a bit more Threat. But overall I love it and having alot of fun with it.

[Lark]

Thanks for the tips, guys.

I rolled a juggernaut solely for tanking purposes, and so far I've had a blast. I'm currently immortal spec, and yeah I kill stuff a little slower but I like to think leveling as a tank keeps my skills sharp. lol

[FalseHope4829]

2) keep god gears, always
I stopped using orange armors because i found it too difficult to maintain them with purple mods. Not enough drops and not enough on GTN. However, with purple armors, am reaching already 18k health at lvl33!

I'm sorry, but I'm gonna have to call the ultimate shenanigans on that. I don't want to sound like a jerk or call anyone out but there's literally no possible way for a lvl 33 jugg to have 18k health. There are no armors, purple or mods or stims or whatever that'll give you that kind of endurance before level 50. I'm a pretty well geared lvl 50 tank with all end game epic armor on and I just hit 18k last week.

Definitely don't listen to this tip in particular. Mods, enhancements, armoring, etc are extremely easy to keep up with since commendation vendors carry all the armoring you'll ever need while leveling and it also allows you to stay current (a purple or blue armor, and especially green, can get outdated and underpowered extremely fast when leveling up to 50 whereas you should be upgrading your orange armor mods on every planet more or less) you won't really see purple mods until youre lvl 48 ish.

Always have heavy armor on, don't take medium regardless of how good the stats are.

Get used to knowing when to pop your defensive cooldowns because they're essential later.

Try and learn to manage your rage, you should be above 2 but below 8 at all times. Your rotations will change as you learn new abilities and whathaveyou

Use sorensu form at all times, put Guard on your healer.

Realize that tanking in pvp is different than pve so develop your strategies accordingly.

If you choose to tank from the beginning, stay a tank the whole leveling process so you get used to your role, run flashpoints and heroics often. An amazing tank at level 45 can be a garbage tank at level 50 if you don't get your stuff straight.

[Aelryc]

I'm in full aggreement with False Hope. The only way I could see a lvl 33 juggernaut rolling in around 18k health is strictly in PvP with the buff that places you at the respective gear level and stats of a lvl 49.

Just one point of curiousity False for my own benefit. Why aim for 8 rage at all times? I'm working on my rotations and some more info to that regard would be great