What do you expect from a tank?

X_NOVIA_X

What, if anything does everyone expect from your tank in a dungeon? Do you expect for them to buff you up with all your damage shields constantly, self sustain with no heals on some of the hardest bosses in game? Maybe to aggro on every little boss, mini boss, the trash mobs, and even the skeevers? Or are you a simple "just make sure you keep aggro and face them away from us"?

Now don't get me wrong, there's some things in there that I 100% feel should be done, just not always every single thing every second. I will toss buffs before a fight with a damage shield, I will hit you with Igneous weapons, and I will debuff the boss, all while trying to cc every trash mobs.

Now with that said, as a tank, I expect heals every so often so I'm not blowing all my resources for self heals. Very rarely I will ask for shards if I'm feeling I'm running too low, but it seems many Templar healers don't even slot it.

tl;dr: Non tank party members what do you expect from your tank. Tanks, what do YOU expect from the rest of your party?

Darius771

if they would have to agro everthing in a dungeon , probably they would have a area skill to do this.

one word, damage, yes! damage. help your group to kill everything and just keep the boss away from your healer face.

X_NOVIA_X

Darius771 wrote: »

if they would have to agro everthing in a dungeon , probably they would have a area skill to do this.

one word, damage, yes! damage. help your group to kill everything and just keep the boss away from your healer face.

I do throw the damage I can when I can, and drop a few dots, and a standard if the healers doing well enough to where I won't need my other ultimate. However, there are some bosses in the new dungeons or trials that you almost can't do anything but block, or suffer an embarrassing sight. Thanks for input!

KingMagaw

I play a healer or Stamblade DD. Playing with a tank im happy if he holds agro on the bosses and turn them away from the rest of group. I shards a tank all the time as healer.

If your looking to evolve into a pocket or utility tank, wear Ebon set or another set that applies a buff to the group. Same as my healer, its not enough just keeping everyone buffed and healed, i use Spell Power Cure or Merritous Service to give a group buff.

Only content that should be challenging is new DLC dungeons and vet trails.

OldGamerESO

KingMagaw wrote: »

Only content that should be challenging is new DLC dungeons and vet trails.

I live in the land of pickup groups and random normals. Believe me its is challenging. Many wipes for each dungeon. Yesterday I queued as a healer for a random normal and the group said I was their third healer and they were stuck on the 3rd boss. The tank was wielding a 2-h sword and was trying to "kite" the boss. It turned out to be a lot of fun because it presented some healing challenges. Point is.. the challenge of the content is relative to the experience, gear, CP, build and coordination of the players.

ZoM_Head

A Tank should control the situation, aggro the biggest threats to the group and should be able to survive without a healer (for as long as possible).

X_NOVIA_X

KingMagaw wrote: »

I play a healer or Stamblade DD. Playing with a tank im happy if he holds agro on the bosses and turn them away from the rest of group. I shards a tank all the time as healer.

If your looking to evolve into a pocket or utility tank, wear Ebon set or another set that applies a buff to the group. Same as my healer, its not enough just keeping everyone buffed and healed, i use Spell Power Cure or Merritous Service to give a group buff.

Only content that should be challenging is new DLC dungeons and vet trails.

My personal tank was made and golded out specifically for PVP, though I run trials with a great group, so I virtually never have had any problems. A good tank imo knows all the mechanics of every dungeon / trials, as well as every "tell" of a new boss changing phases. And I have a set of ebon for trials that I've collected. But for just a plain vet dungeon I'll run 5pc v16 Footmans, and 5 piece hist bark, and bloodspawn set. It works great, half the fight I don't even get hit because of dodge chance is so high.
Also, the 120 passive in one of the champ point lines has a high chance of setting enemies off balance if they miss. It's funny to see, even funnier to see it happen in Pvp. I've had 15-20 people trying to gib me only to give up and walk away when they realize they can't kill me. Working as intended (a great distraction for my group to do what they need to do without being harassed).

X_NOVIA_X

ZoM_Head wrote: »

A Tank should control the situation, aggro the biggest threats to the group and should be able to survive without a healer (for as long as possible).

Agreed. I'm built more for Pvp so naturally I don't count on others heals, which makes it a lot easier to do it in dungeons for a prolonged period!

Benawaw89

imma simple man. tank means taunt. so taunt boss and big mobs. and done. if u give me agresive horn, i would love to have that. if you wear ebon, emmm ok but dont need it in just normal daily. Powerful assault, well yeah baby bring it on. Night mother gaze. sureee. love it.

as for trials, vet trials HM, well this is bacially a guild run. so all person have their own purpose. like some dps wear NMG. tank on certain bosses wear powerfull assault. tank wear ebon on certain bosses. tank do this, tank do that. for trials is really dependant on team play..

for pug, just like my first sentence. IMPORTANT note : we love when its not lose aggro, addition to that is just make easier when doing pug life

Lord_Eomer

Should love the dungeon bosses, keep them closer to your self and be an undaunted to abosrb boss Love (damage).

Give DPS enough room to kill your love (dungeon boss)..

Its simple, keep dungeon bosses closer to yourself only..

idk

@X_NOVIA_X

It really depends on the content and what type of tank you are.

1. Tank should keep agro on every boss and mini boss in the game if they expect their group to stay alive. Beyond that they should not have to keep agro on every single thing. However, it helps speed things up if they bring the mele to the ranged trash.

2. What you expect from a healer in the way of heals really depends on what the group is capable of and the content.Many groups can run with a part time healer who also dishes out some decent damage, especially in the 4 man dungeons. Some groups are more challenged in avoiding damage and dishing it out and as such require more heals.

3. Buffing the group. I do not see why a tank would need to damage shield the party constantly, but buffs they can offer to increase dps, yea, keep those buffs and any debuffs on the target up for the obvious reason that the quicker the fight the less resources the tank has to spend. Some tanks take this to extreme buy running Aggressive Warhorn ultimate and sets that buff/debuff such as Alksosh, Ebon and you can add pretty much any set in the game that buffs the group damage or debuffs the target so they take more damage.

The answer to your question really depends on the group and the goal of the group. If you are in a random pug, probably going completely tankey is best.

Asata

A tank is an armoured fighting vehicle with tracks and a large tank gun that is designed for front-line combat. Modern tanks are mobile land weapon platforms, mounting a large-calibre cannon in a rotating gun turret. They combine this with heavy vehicle armour which provides protection for the crew, the vehicle's weapons, and its propulsion systems, and operational mobility, due to its use of tracks rather than wheels, which allows the tank to move over rugged terrain and be positioned on the battlefield in advantageous locations. These features enable the tank to perform well in a tactical situation: the combination of powerful weapons fire from their tank gun, and their ability to survive enemy fire means the tank can engage the enemy even under fire. In both offensive and defensive roles, they are powerful units that are capable of performing the key primary tasks which are required of armoured units on the battlefield.

The modern tank was the result of a century of development from the first primitive armoured vehicles, due to improvements in technology such as the internal combustion engine, which allowed the rapid movement of heavy armoured vehicles. As a result of these advances, tanks underwent tremendous shifts in capability in the years since their first appearance.

leepalmer95

Keep agro off boss, be able to sustain, be able to heal if necessary (only if), keep aggro off the big threats and also debuff and buff the team via armour reducing and agressive warhorn/

X_NOVIA_X

Benawaw89 wrote: »

imma simple man. tank means taunt. so taunt boss and big mobs. and done. if u give me agresive horn, i would love to have that. if you wear ebon, emmm ok but dont need it in just normal daily. Powerful assault, well yeah baby bring it on. Night mother gaze. sureee. love it.

as for trials, vet trials HM, well this is bacially a guild run. so all person have their own purpose. like some dps wear NMG. tank on certain bosses wear powerfull assault. tank wear ebon on certain bosses. tank do this, tank do that. for trials is really dependant on team play..

for pug, just like my first sentence. IMPORTANT note : we love when its not lose aggro, addition to that is just make easier when doing pug life

I do have a set of ebon I run only in trials! It's awesome.

Giles.floydub17_ESO wrote: »

@X_NOVIA_X

It really depends on the content and what type of tank you are.

1. Tank should keep agro on every boss and mini boss in the game if they expect their group to stay alive. Beyond that they should not have to keep agro on every single thing. However, it helps speed things up if they bring the mele to the ranged trash.

2. What you expect from a healer in the way of heals really depends on what the group is capable of and the content.Many groups can run with a part time healer who also dishes out some decent damage, especially in the 4 man dungeons. Some groups are more challenged in avoiding damage and dishing it out and as such require more heals.

3. Buffing the group. I do not see why a tank would need to damage shield the party constantly, but buffs they can offer to increase dps, yea, keep those buffs and any debuffs on the target up for the obvious reason that the quicker the fight the less resources the tank has to spend. Some tanks take this to extreme buy running Aggressive Warhorn ultimate and sets that buff/debuff such as Alksosh, Ebon and you can add pretty much any set in the game that buffs the group damage or debuffs the target so they take more damage.

The answer to your question really depends on the group and the goal of the group. If you are in a random pug, probably going completely tankey is best.

You speak the truth, and I most definitely assess my group after the first pull and adjust accordingly. Also, I'm in the process of getting and alksosh set, and I do run war horn with bloodspawn so it gets tooted quite often

Cously

I want my tank to keep all adds aggroed, heal the group and dps whilst he is at it. Also I expected him to trade all his rare loot and run the content with me over 100 times. Also wash, cook and make love.

Honestly, I'm happy with any tank that keep the boss in check and don't move the boss out of my standard if there is no reason for it!

Asmael

Everywhere:
1) Stay alive
2) Taunt stuff

Trialz:
3) Buff your mates
4) Debuff bosses

Dungeons:
3) Deal damage or buff your mates. Or both.

Optional:
N) Keep your mates alive (igneous shield, AoE heal as saptank and whatnot)

sekou_trayvond

I believe Robert Heinlein defined the role best:

“A tank should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for damage dealers.”

Ffastyl

sekou_trayvond wrote: »

I believe Robert Heinlein defined the role best:

“A tank should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for damage dealers.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ivtJD0t9M4

alainjbrennanb16_ESO

since its not possible to agro all in dungeons in that mobs will go for healers etc, i ecxpect the tank to hold them in place so they cant move making it easier to take them down and agro the boss away from you

Cavedog

Tank must be able to survive while tanking/taunting main bosses AND aggroing adds at same time. They need to be buffing group with damage mitigation of some kind, and CC'ing mobs. In all other instances, the tank needs to be putting down as much dps as possible. ....and a lot more dps is possible from most people who tank. My tank can hit the high 50k range in mobs....even though most of the time he's right around 12-15k dps single target.

The great thing about ESO is that, if done correctly, almost any class can be a great tank. I have my preference as a DK stam tank, but it can be done with every class. The strongest tank I think I've ever seen was a templar healer/tank.

Khenarthi

I just expect them to keep the boss facing away from the group, and have enough defences to avoid getting one-shot - anything else is good to have, but I'm not fussy.

But I am not an elite player, so I do not run the veteran trials where tanks may be expected to do much more (I just enjoy the occasional PUG dungeon, or jumping in if someone is looking for a DD on guild chat).

MaxwellC

I expect tanks to be able to do what I can do (which isn't any different), I want them to be able to self sustain their resources and if healer is down they should be able to self sustain their health for a good minute on a boss fight like kena. I'll also throw out they need to hold aggro on the hardest hitting mob.

Elara_Northwind

I have 2 dedicated tanks, a DK and a Templar, but more often than not I end up tank/healing on my healer, because not many of my friends like to play support roles, and so it is sometimes the only choice... So from me, I suppose they expect me to taunt anything that might kill them, whilst also healing and buffing them, so not allot really

Gargath

I found good way to irritate mobs at the beginning - on DK tank with 1H/S and DW I rush inside mobs and quickly hit all those three:
- Blade Cloak (Deady Cloak)
- Inhale (Draw Essence)
- Whirlwind (Whirling Blades)
Then roll dodge out and let DDs to finish. It works well with many mobs like those rats in Wayrest or spiders in Spindleclutch.