IA - Tank companions dropping out of combat during maurader fights

Jordan_Black · February 27

Does anyone know any specifics here? It happens pretty frequently, I get Isobel tanking a marauder and doing a good job and then she suddenly decides the fight is over when it very obviously isn't and my squishy dps gets 1-shotted as I kite it around and heavy attack over and over again trying to get her interested but she's just strutting around and talking about sweets. Is it just an inevitable glitch? Do other companions not do this?

Sidewaves89 · February 27

Are you using command to order Isobel to attack marauder? Does it happen with all marauders or with specific one? Cause my Sharp-as-Night has problems with taunting Gothmau.

Orbital78 · February 27

https://forums.elderscrollsonline.com/en/discussion/668300/marauder-gothmau-is-bugged-with-companions#latest

It seems they can't figure out a fix in a years time and have new world bosses that do similar since.

DenverRalphy · February 27

Azandar is the only companion that tanks reliably in IA. He's got the best taunt too since it's a ranged taunt with a short cooldown. Put a sword and board on him and he can keep 2 enemies taunted simultaneously (useful during those encounters when the marauder spawns while you still have a fabled active).

frogthroat · February 27

Sidewaves89 wrote: »

Are you using command to order Isobel to attack marauder?

Pets (including companions) attack whatever you heavy attack. OP said he's heavy attacking a lot when Isobel decides the fight is over. So, yes.

LootAllTheStuff · February 27

I've had a companion go full pacifist a couple of times both inside and outside of IA, so I think it may be more of an issue with the companion combat scripting in general? Same observation though - the fight they were specifically engaged in ended, then they completely failed to engage with a new fight. Since it's only happened a few times (and I don't remember which companions were out at the time) it's obviously hard to say what's actually going on. But maybe that combined with the known Gothmau issue in OP's case? I'm going to have to start keeping much more careful notes on this, obviously.

tomfant · February 27

Lol, players can get stuck in combat, and companions get stuck out of combat.

Bugs can be wondrous creatures sometimes.

Alaztor91 · February 27

Was it Marauder Gothmau?(the one with 4 arms). This has been an issue in IA since release, Gothmau ignores Companion taunt pretty much all the time. The same happens with Baron Zaudrus(both in IA and The Cauldron), and maybe a few other bosses.

Sadly, I don't really think this is a priority to fix for them since the latest zone has the Tidespite WB that has the same problem and the IA bug has been around for 2+years.

allochthons · February 27

Yeah, known issue, been reported for years. Multiple threads about companions losing taunt in the IA. And others about companions losing taunt on Zaudrus and other Havocrel.

As others have said, Azander seems to suffer least from this bug, for some reason. I have him using both Provoke (slot 1) and Scathing Rune (slot 4), and it helps a lot. He still occasionally loses taunt, but rarely.

(But I mostly use Zerith now, with Provoke (1) and Savage Instinct (4) and if he loses taunt, I run like hell until I can get him to pick it back up. I use Perigean armor so he pulls in adds, and Sepulchral Chill for Major Breach).

lillybit · February 27

Alaztor91 wrote: »

Was it Marauder Gothmau?(the one with 4 arms). This has been an issue in IA since release, Gothmau ignores Companion taunt pretty much all the time. The same happens with Baron Zaudrus(both in IA and The Cauldron), and maybe a few other bosses.

Sadly, I don't really think this is a priority to fix for them since the latest zone has the Tidespite WB that has the same problem and the IA bug has been around for 2+years.

Oohh that explains a lot! I've been playing with my Sharp-as-Night tank (who does awesomely btw!) and Gothmau is the only one I've never managed to kill. I put it down to it being too crowded to get a heavy attack on him but I would've sworn I did at least once or twice. I guess I'll just plod on and hope it works some day

lillybit · February 27

DenverRalphy wrote: »

Azandar is the only companion that tanks reliably in IA. He's got the best taunt too since it's a ranged taunt with a short cooldown. Put a sword and board on him and he can keep 2 enemies taunted simultaneously (useful during those encounters when the marauder spawns while you still have a fabled active).

How do you get him to taunt 2 enemies? Heavy attack them one after the other?

spartaxoxo · February 27

ZOS_JessicaFolsom wrote: »

Thank you for letting us know y'all are working on this bug. Just to let you know, this but is not limited to Gothmau. I don't know all of the bosses that it doesn't work on but I know there are other world bosses that their taunt doesn't work. The Nightmare Den comes to mind.

Thanks @spartaxoxo! The fix the team is working on should address cases of this happening with other bosses as well.

What's crazy is that @ZOS_JessicaFolsom said there was a fix in the works two years ago and then attempts to get an update since then have all failed and the bug is still there.

DenverRalphy · February 27

lillybit wrote: »

DenverRalphy wrote: »

Azandar is the only companion that tanks reliably in IA. He's got the best taunt too since it's a ranged taunt with a short cooldown. Put a sword and board on him and he can keep 2 enemies taunted simultaneously (useful during those encounters when the marauder spawns while you still have a fabled active).

How do you get him to taunt 2 enemies? Heavy attack them one after the other?

Yep. Ensure both taunts occupy the 1st and 2nd skill slots to guarantee they're first in line to fire when you need them. I keep Azandar's class taunt in slot 1, and the Sword/Shield taunt in slot 2. Since my arena builds are HA builds with lightning staff anyway, it makes it easy to manage. I keep Azandar on the primary target, letting splash damage do the heavy lifting on the rest. When the primary target is a marauder and a Fabled jumps in, all I need do is heavy attack it once, then return to the marauder. And since both taunts have a cooldown shorter than the 15s taunt duration, as long as I avoid heavy attacking any other targets, I'm guaranteed at least one taunt is available at any given time when I need it.

lillybit · February 27

DenverRalphy wrote: »

lillybit wrote: »

DenverRalphy wrote: »

Azandar is the only companion that tanks reliably in IA. He's got the best taunt too since it's a ranged taunt with a short cooldown. Put a sword and board on him and he can keep 2 enemies taunted simultaneously (useful during those encounters when the marauder spawns while you still have a fabled active).

How do you get him to taunt 2 enemies? Heavy attack them one after the other?

Yep. Ensure both taunts occupy the 1st and 2nd skill slots to guarantee they're first in line to fire when you need them. I keep Azandar's class taunt in slot 1, and the Sword/Shield taunt in slot 2. Since my arena builds are HA builds with lightning staff anyway, it makes it easy to manage. I keep Azandar on the primary target, letting splash damage do the heavy lifting on the rest. When the primary target is a marauder and a Fabled jumps in, all I need do is heavy attack it once, then return to the marauder. And since both taunts have a cooldown shorter than the 15s taunt duration, as long as I avoid heavy attacking any other targets, I'm guaranteed at least one taunt is available at any given time when I need it.

That's awesome, thank you! Would it work the same with Provoke and Savage Instinct?

DenverRalphy · February 27

lillybit wrote: »

DenverRalphy wrote: »

lillybit wrote: »

DenverRalphy wrote: »

Azandar is the only companion that tanks reliably in IA. He's got the best taunt too since it's a ranged taunt with a short cooldown. Put a sword and board on him and he can keep 2 enemies taunted simultaneously (useful during those encounters when the marauder spawns while you still have a fabled active).

How do you get him to taunt 2 enemies? Heavy attack them one after the other?

Yep. Ensure both taunts occupy the 1st and 2nd skill slots to guarantee they're first in line to fire when you need them. I keep Azandar's class taunt in slot 1, and the Sword/Shield taunt in slot 2. Since my arena builds are HA builds with lightning staff anyway, it makes it easy to manage. I keep Azandar on the primary target, letting splash damage do the heavy lifting on the rest. When the primary target is a marauder and a Fabled jumps in, all I need do is heavy attack it once, then return to the marauder. And since both taunts have a cooldown shorter than the 15s taunt duration, as long as I avoid heavy attacking any other targets, I'm guaranteed at least one taunt is available at any given time when I need it.

That's awesome, thank you! Would it work the same with Provoke and Savage Instinct?

I use Azandar's Scathing Rune and Provoke. I've never used Savage Instinct. In theory it should work the same way, but I don't know whether the companion taunt issues are specific to certain skills. So I dunno. I only know that Scathinig Rune and Provoke work well together for me.

lillybit · February 27

DenverRalphy wrote: »

lillybit wrote: »

DenverRalphy wrote: »

lillybit wrote: »

DenverRalphy wrote: »

Azandar is the only companion that tanks reliably in IA. He's got the best taunt too since it's a ranged taunt with a short cooldown. Put a sword and board on him and he can keep 2 enemies taunted simultaneously (useful during those encounters when the marauder spawns while you still have a fabled active).

How do you get him to taunt 2 enemies? Heavy attack them one after the other?

Yep. Ensure both taunts occupy the 1st and 2nd skill slots to guarantee they're first in line to fire when you need them. I keep Azandar's class taunt in slot 1, and the Sword/Shield taunt in slot 2. Since my arena builds are HA builds with lightning staff anyway, it makes it easy to manage. I keep Azandar on the primary target, letting splash damage do the heavy lifting on the rest. When the primary target is a marauder and a Fabled jumps in, all I need do is heavy attack it once, then return to the marauder. And since both taunts have a cooldown shorter than the 15s taunt duration, as long as I avoid heavy attacking any other targets, I'm guaranteed at least one taunt is available at any given time when I need it.

That's awesome, thank you! Would it work the same with Provoke and Savage Instinct?

I use Azandar's Scathing Rune and Provoke. I've never used Savage Instinct. In theory it should work the same way, but I don't know whether the companion taunt issues are specific to certain skills. So I dunno. I only know that Scathinig Rune and Provoke work well together for me.

I don't have Azander levelled as a tank or I'd try that. Didn't intend to use him much because I find him annoying, so didn't put much thought into him!

DenverRalphy · February 27

lillybit wrote: »

DenverRalphy wrote: »

lillybit wrote: »

DenverRalphy wrote: »

lillybit wrote: »

DenverRalphy wrote: »

Azandar is the only companion that tanks reliably in IA. He's got the best taunt too since it's a ranged taunt with a short cooldown. Put a sword and board on him and he can keep 2 enemies taunted simultaneously (useful during those encounters when the marauder spawns while you still have a fabled active).

How do you get him to taunt 2 enemies? Heavy attack them one after the other?

Yep. Ensure both taunts occupy the 1st and 2nd skill slots to guarantee they're first in line to fire when you need them. I keep Azandar's class taunt in slot 1, and the Sword/Shield taunt in slot 2. Since my arena builds are HA builds with lightning staff anyway, it makes it easy to manage. I keep Azandar on the primary target, letting splash damage do the heavy lifting on the rest. When the primary target is a marauder and a Fabled jumps in, all I need do is heavy attack it once, then return to the marauder. And since both taunts have a cooldown shorter than the 15s taunt duration, as long as I avoid heavy attacking any other targets, I'm guaranteed at least one taunt is available at any given time when I need it.

That's awesome, thank you! Would it work the same with Provoke and Savage Instinct?

I use Azandar's Scathing Rune and Provoke. I've never used Savage Instinct. In theory it should work the same way, but I don't know whether the companion taunt issues are specific to certain skills. So I dunno. I only know that Scathinig Rune and Provoke work well together for me.

I don't have Azander levelled as a tank or I'd try that. Didn't intend to use him much because I find him annoying, so didn't put much thought into him!

Yeah, he's single handedly the reason my Companion Reactions setting is set to Minimal.

No denying he's arguably the best tank companion though. And the best healer companion too for that matter. Though I have zero issues with Mirri as my healer companion.

Jordan_Black · February 27

It was the minotaur guy this time.

cyclonus11 · February 27

Alaztor91 wrote: »

Was it Marauder Gothmau?(the one with 4 arms). This has been an issue in IA since release, Gothmau ignores Companion taunt pretty much all the time. The same happens with Baron Zaudrus(both in IA and The Cauldron), and maybe a few other bosses.

Sadly, I don't really think this is a priority to fix for them since the latest zone has the Tidespite WB that has the same problem and the IA bug has been around for 2+years.

It's not that they lose or ignore taunt, but that your companion drops out of combat - completely putting their weapons away and running over to you with Gothmau in tow.