This happens every time in a PUG team:

[Diantane]

You're in a PUG Team and you come up to a mob and then everyone just stands there and waits for someone else to make the first move. Because of this, I always take the alpha regardless of which AT I am playing. Yes I die more often or lose a lot of health, but at least the team moves on. In order to keep things going, I'll even try to pull other mobs into the fight when it starts to die down.

 

Its amazing how many PUG tanks will also just stand there. When I play a tank I just run and jump into the middle of them and start taunting. Even my attacks have a taunt enhancement in them.

Edited June 5, 2023 by Diantane

[DougGraves]

I experience this, but not with every PUG team.

 

I am also amazed at how many tankers just stand around waiting between spawns.

 

I tend to play a tanker or a controller/dominator.  I prefer electric or ice so I can drop an AOE control from around a corner to start the fight.  What's really crazy is the number of teams that see me drop an ice slick and the enemies all flopping around - and then just stand there and watch until the ice slick wears off and the enemies charge the team.

[Snarky]

I am playing a lot of Blasters lately.  I build tough.  I build to take the alpha on a full spawn at +0.  Depending on the powers sets there are various tricks for this.  If it is a tough spawn i tend to have 3-6 med purples and i eat one of those.  If it goes sideways I eat another.  

 

I too notice the Tanks and Brutes are.... less than optimal.  Bruting used to be my thing.  I have 50d many a Tank.  Controlling the fight is the fun.  For me.  I look at some of these heavies and think the player must be huffing paint in between spawns.  It is harder to tell with support classes.  If they are good you just do great.  Without ever quite knowing why.  Since I am a fan of oddball positioning on my Blasters (way in front of the team playing like a Red Brute or way ranged and away....) I rarely get heals and buffs even with good support players.  But it is sure easy to notice the Tanks and Brutes scratching their butts, picking their noses and otherwise being useless.  When they are not dragging a crapton of agro to the squishies because they are over their head and want help.

[kito]

My favoret Quote on this "I'm to tanky to initiate battle."

still to this day have no idea how to answer that. but it was fun to see the team leader loose there mind at it.

 

[InvaderStych]

Ok, what have you guys done to the game in my absence?

 

I know I've been away for a minute, but we've gone from "OMG everyone ZERGs too fast" to "OMG everyone hesitates too much" in like 5 months or whatever?

 

Clearly we need more Devotees of the Almighty *BAMF!*

 

 

[ZemX]

13 hours ago, InvaderStych said:

I know I've been away for a minute, but we've gone from "OMG everyone ZERGs too fast" to "OMG everyone hesitates too much" in like 5 months or whatever?

 

5 months?  I'm over there in another thread right now hearing about how Tankers leave one fight too early to go start another and then in this one that they never start fights.

 

It's Schrödinger's Tank!

 

But no, seriously.  In what universe are some of you living in where your DPS squirrels don't eagerly murder themselves to nuke a fresh spawn if you're the slightest bit slow moving your Tanker to the next fight?  It sounds WAY more relaxed than my universe.

[Skyhawke]

Depends on the context for me. Some charactes I have are squishy and I will never start combat. My brutes? I'll defer to the tank until it's obvious they're hesitating then it's Leeroy Jenkins time. Same with my pistols/time blaster. If my brute is our tank? I like to wait til all zone in before starting, out of courtesy. Soon as all pop in, though, hang on cause it's go time.

[nihilii]

Merge your threads for the solution.

"players don't use their inspirations" + "players are too passive"

Instead of trying to pass inspirations to others (as you mentioned trying to do in the other thread), combine all your insps to lucks.

Defense is the most overpowered mechanic in CoH. In normal content, 3 to 4 lucks will turn any character into an efficient alpha sponge. Even a lvl 10 empath defender.

[UltraAlt]

17 hours ago, Diantane said:

You're in a PUG Team and you come up to a mob and then everyone just stands there and waits for someone else to make the first move.

 

Very rarely.

I PUG during most of my CITY gaming time.

 

When this does happen, it is often the time to start talking about team tactics or the team simply hasn't gelled.

 

 

17 hours ago, Diantane said:

I'll even try to pull other mobs into the fight when it starts to die down.

 

Oh, you are that one that always tries to cause team wipes. 

Which server do you play on?

 

17 hours ago, Diantane said:

Its amazing how many PUG tanks will also just stand there. When I play a tank I just run and jump into the middle of them and start taunting. Even my attacks have a taunt enhancement in them.

 

I would say you are playing a tank correctly in some cases.

 

I would suggest ....

If you have the star, go for it.

If you don't have the star, - at the least - make sure you are going in the same direction as the team lead before jumping in.

[InvaderStych]

1 hour ago, ZemX said:

 

But no, seriously.  In what universe are some of you living in where your DPS squirrels don't eagerly murder themselves to nuke a fresh spawn if you're the slightest bit slow moving your Tanker to the next fight?  It sounds WAY more relaxed than my universe.

 

Don't ask me; I'm not the OP, and I don't play Tanks - too much responsibility. 🤣

 

Last time I was in game I was too busy 'porting ahead of whoever was playing main tank, dropping an AS and only holding a split second of aggro before everyone else caught up to notice if people were zerging or hesitating. Stalker's lower threat value is very interesting to leverage on a team. 5 months is just an approximation of how long I've been on a hiatus; first by choice and lately because my gaming gak is still in storage ~450 miles south of my current location.

 

I don't follow the Tank unless there's a Very Good Reason^TM to do so; I charge headlong in the direction the team is heading. They'll snag the aggro when they catch up. 🤣

[Techwright]

Had this happen just last night.  no tank, brute, scrapper, or Keld on the team.  I'd just modified gust to do KD instead of KB, so I sent my grav/storm to tank.  Took some near fatal alpha hits, but kept going.  After a bit I noticed player confidence growing and blasters started leading on a few groups.  I did feel this situation was where a team lead should have spoken up to either designate or ask for volunteers.

 

As to tanks standing around, I usually get the feeling this is due to no confidence in their own ability or defense design.  I suspect some of those are farm babies, stepping out for the first time.  As to the no confidence I can relate.  When I first started the OG,  I didn't understand concepts, and desperately tried to keep my tank alive at all costs, which meant hesitation.  It was my first MMO, and I'd come from the arcade background where it was 3 strikes, you're out.  They say you have to break eggs to make an omelette and it's true here.  The tank, or any character for that matter, must push past the fear of failure and just do.  Eventually, after a few KOs, you lose that fear of breaking your character, and you begin to enjoy the game a bit more recklessly. 

[ZemX]

6 minutes ago, InvaderStych said:

Don't ask me; I'm not the OP, and I don't play Tanks - too much responsibility. 🤣

 

I don't know about that.  After generous consideration of all the many opinions of Tanks that I can find on the forums, I have decided that anything I do as a Tanker will be wrong.

 

So... I might as well do whatever I want!  So liberating!!  I'm going to Six-Slot Brawl for Accuracy and Recharge, put that sucker on auto, and watch Youtube while I PuG "tank"...

 

.... for Diantane!

[cranebump]

I’m not sure what universe the op is living in, but groups that hesitate a lot? When does THIS happen? I’ve seen many more examples of the opposite. Typical taskforces feel like a stampede of rabbits heading for Farmer Jones’s cabbage patch.

[biostem]

20 hours ago, Diantane said:

You're in a PUG Team and you come up to a mob and then everyone just stands there and waits for someone else to make the first move. Because of this, I always take the alpha regardless of which AT I am playing. Yes I die more often or lose a lot of health, but at least the team moves on. In order to keep things going, I'll even try to pull other mobs into the fight when it starts to die down.

 

Its amazing how many PUG tanks will also just stand there. When I play a tank I just run and jump into the middle of them and start taunting. Even my attacks have a taunt enhancement in them.

I don't disagree with your premise, but do the team members talk to each other at all?  I'm not pinning it entirely on you, but ask, "who is leading", or "who is going to be up-front".  Setting up and getting your team to accept certain expectations can go a long way to smoothing things out, without devolving into a tirade on how to play...

[Ghost]

I always enjoy it when a tank built for strictly farming, ventures onto a TF.  Usually it takes 3 or 4 mobs before they realize they need to relegate themselves to being the team squishy.

 

As for what the OP says, I do see it from time to time where the team tank seems hesitant to charge into battle.  Sometimes only going in after someone else initiated.  I always figure they are just learning, or don’t really have the build to actually tank.

[ZemX]

21 minutes ago, Ghost said:

I always figure they are just learning, or don’t really have the build to actually tank.

 

This.  On PuGs I always take a moment while the team is forming to check out people's info pages, note what actual level everyone is, and how many set bonuses / accolades appear on the powers page.  That gives a rough idea what to expect.  Many PuGs advertise "any level" can join, so if you see a Tanker hesitating, it might just be a low-level tank and if it's a +4/x8 mission?  Yeah, they can be pretty squishy facing +5/+6 enemies.  You can't turn off punch-voke.  🤪

 

One of the reasons why I generally avoid joining mission teams running above my level if I am leveling-up a Tanker whose build isn't finished yet.  It can work out fine if the team has decent support, but it can also be a series of Leeroy face-plants for the newbie tanker.

 

[biostem]

31 minutes ago, Ghost said:

I always figure they are just learning, or don’t really have the build to actually tank.

On top of that, it can take a little bit for a non-optimized tank to gain enough confidence in any support-oriented teammates and their ability to either keep buffs on them or react swiftly enough to keep them standing - after all, a lone tank does not a team make...

[Mythical Creature]

I design most of my builds under the assumption I may need to be the one that initiates battle and move us along (I mainly join low level PUGs so I may be the only one with a build). It is always a relief when a tanker steps up to lead the charge, this is partly why nearly 25% of my characters are tanks. 

[Clave Dark 5]

On 6/5/2023 at 5:28 PM, Diantane said:

You're in a PUG Team and

you ask "is Snarky on this team?  Yes?  Ok, EVERYONE PLAY STUPIIIID!!!"

[JasperStone]

Just now, Clave Dark 5 said:

you ask "is Snarky on this team?  Yes?  Ok, EVERYONE PLAY STUPIIIID!!!"

I was on a Cavern of Transcendence with him recently .... I swear everyone else did this

It started at +2 .....

[Neiska]

19 minutes ago, Clave Dark 5 said:

you ask "is Snarky on this team?  Yes?  Ok, EVERYONE PLAY STUPIIIID!!!"

 

If I ever found myself on a team with Snarky, I would endeavor, indeed, labor, to go out of my way to give him the PUG story to end all PUG stories. I would strap him into his coffin like a jet pilot, attach rocket boosters to it, outfit it with twin-linked belt fed tactical nuke launchers, close-proximity void plasma flamethrowers to keep the grabbers off, put a giant spinning harvester blade on the front (with side scoops to collect his preferred beverage), install an automated Blood Pudding dispenser, put on some spinning rims just because, with a pair of fuzzy dice and Ride of The Valkyries playing on Loudspeakers just to attract our enemies, and ride through every mission at break-neck speed like some sort of Santa's Sleigh of pure Snarky death. It would be cataclysmically epic, and near orgasmic in the sheer levels of shenanigans and hijinked tom-foolery that would ensure.  

Edited June 7, 2023 by Neiska

[Andreah]

I play a lot of tanks in PUGs. If I'm not pushing forward, it's because we just entered the mission and more than one other player isn't on the map yet, or the team leader want to set the pace.

[cranebump]

37 minutes ago, Neiska said:

 

If I ever found myself on a team with Snarky, I would endeavor, indeed, labor, to go out of my way to give him the PUG story to end all PUG stories. I would strap him into his coffin like a jet pilot, attach rocket boosters to it, outfit it with twin-linked belt fed tactical nuke launchers, close-proximity void plasma flamethrowers to keep the grabbers off, put a giant spinning harvester blade on the front (with side scoops to collect his preferred beverage), install an automated Blood Pudding dispenser, put on some spinning rims just because, with a pair of fuzzy dice and Ride of The Valkyries playing on Loudspeakers just to attract our enemies, and ride through every mission at break-neck speed like some sort of Santa's Sleigh of pure Snarky death. It would be cataclysmically epic, and near orgasmic in the sheer levels of shenanigans and hijinked tom-foolery that would ensure.  

This seems a bit involved. And I am folding the wash. Do we have an entry-level version?

[JasperStone]

7 minutes ago, cranebump said:

This seems a bit involved. And I am folding the wash. Do we have an entry-level version?

Just aggro stuff to him....

All the stuff

[cranebump]

6 minutes ago, JasperStone said:

Just aggro stuff to him....

All the stuff

In a pinch, am I allowed to throw him at the stuff?