Tanking too hard or is it just me?

Mansome · May 2014

I have been trying to tank all the lower level instances so I can get a feel for how its going to be at the VR ranks. So far its been a challenge. I am used to other games like Rift/SWTOR/DCUO/Aion/COH/COV/Terra where as the tank you don't die from the initial aggro. It takes you down some but never insta-killed starting out. I am in all greens with health enchants on the lowbie gear. And even if by some miracle I survive the initial burst of damage then I can't hold aggro worth a damn. I have the one hand and shield attack that does the taunt but that only does it one of the time and its never for long. So why is tanking so frustrating? If its this bad for tanks I don't even want to think about how bad it is for the healers trying to keep tanks alive.

Liquid_Time · May 2014

It's just you.

Still_Mind · May 2014

Blocking, dodging and careful stamina management is the key to success as a tank.

If you could tank the entire pull on normal, on VR, I'd advise against it, going for the most dangerous targets, leaving DPS to take care of the weaker ones.

I love tanking in ESO, tbh. A very welcome change from WoW-model tanking.

Jochamo · May 2014

I've only tanked one low level dungeon (Fungal Grotto) a couple of times. I think the thing to know is that you can't aggro everything. You should concentrate on the most dangerous mob while your DPS takes out the adds.

Also realize that you must manage your own health more than in other MMO. The healers don't have as much relative throughput, and much of that is over time heals. The healers are also expected to DPS to a lessor degree.

Good luck and keep at it. If you can avoid PUGS, at least until you get some experience, then that would be to your benefit.

Xnemesis · May 2014

Your only responsibility is to keep the boss on you block his power attacks and interrupt his casts. Trash is trash, it does what it wants to do no matter what you do. Just be a good tank and keep it off your healer.

GreatKuma · May 2014

Not that I'm an expert but I seem to have trouble holding aggro myself. From what I've read, ESO is built in such a way that tanks just can't hold aggro in the traditional style. You can hold a few a most with Ransack from the SnB line but that's the only ability, at least for my Templar, that I can think of that actively taunts an enemy. I don't know about the other classes and their abilities though.

Wifeaggro13 · May 2014

Tanking is not tanking its far to easy. tey blurred the line so hard your just DPS that taunts. or utility that taunts depending on the boss. trash is a cluster with no real skill involved for the tank other then spamming roots snares and anything else to try to halt the mobs.

It needs tweaks and some work, it has potential but currently light armor and stamana balances makes things worse.

Rosveen · May 2014

I had no clue what I was doing in the first dungeons. Spindle was frustrating, I don't know if the spider could even be taunted because it kept jumping at people seemingly at random, not matter what I threw at it. It got better in time though.

Mobility is the key, as is stamina management. If you have a root or snare, throw it at trash groups, but let the damage dealers kill them; focus on the strongest enemies, keep them facing away from your group. Keep an eye on casters, you can bash to interrupt. It will be quite enjoyable when you get the hang of it.

Dymence · May 2014

The other taunt is Inner Fire from the Undaunted skill tree.

Travail · May 2014

It's important for the tank to have crowd control abilities on trash pulls. Since it's impossible to hold aggro on everything, instead it's often preferable to physically prevent enemies from reaching your allies.

If you are a Dragonknight, then you have Talons, which is a great skill for trash tanking. Sorcerers have Encase. Nightblades and Templars should be trying to get to Volcanic Rune (Mage's Guild) as quickly as possible. Until then, you'll have to settle for something like Piercing Javelin or Blinding Flashes with a Templar, and Nightblades have Aspect of Terror.

You an also don't need to use a sword and shield on trash pulls. Taunting specific enemies can be useful, but often unnecessary. Swapping out to a bow allows you to use Bombard, which is very similar to Encase. It's something for Templars/NB's to use until they find better AoE control, if you're having trouble with large pulls.

I didn't start tanking on my Templar until I had both Volcanic Rune and Bone Shield. IMO, both Nightblades and Templars should be learning those two skills if they plan to tank veteran content. It's less important for Sorcerers and DK's because Sorcs have Encase+Bound Armor, and DK's have Talons+Spiked Armor.

Tanking bosses is generally easier, and more in line with what you're familiar with from other games. Keep an armor buff up, taunt the boss every 15 seconds if possible, and try to block everything (if you find you're using too much stamina, then at least block heavy attacks and special moves; and look at learning Inner Fire, which is a taunt from the Undaunted skill line which uses magicka instead of stamina.)

Keep in mind, many bosses have special attacks that will target a random party member, which means no matter how much you taunt, they'll still target your allies. Learn to recognize these abilities, so you don't waste your resources needlessly taunting.

-Travail.