Magicka Tank

EldritchPenguin

Hey, everyone.

As much as I have adored my Magicka DPS characters, I've decided that it's high time I tried something a little bit different, and go for a tank build. However, since I just adore Magicka so much, and because I really like swimming upstream, I've decided that I must try a Magicka tank.

I'm considering two classes: Nightblade and Sorcerer. I was wondering which of these two was better, and what build advice you might have for me for one or the other. In case it's relevant, I was planning on playing as a Breton, since they seemed to have a good balance of resource management, max resources, and tanking, while having the added benefit of not being in the Ebonheart Pact (since I already have 3 Dark Elves).

Thank you very much for your time. I ask so many questions on this forum.

Dubhliam

Race is not really that important for a tank. You can tank with the race you also DD on, with simple gear and skill swaps.

I would highly suggest you try the DK mag tank. It is the best utility tank, you can spam Chains and Talons to properly position the mobs for your DDs to take down more effectively. Also, Deep Breath is a great AoE interrupt.

If you still have your mind set on an NB or sorc mag tank, I would suggest NB.

Sorc doesn't bring much to the "tanking table". Encase is a great root, sure. Surge is a great self heal. Dark deal can help your stamina sustain, but it is a cast time skill - tanks sometimes don't have the luxury to drop block.
Shields are useless for tanks. A shield will take unmitigated damage, meaning the effect of a shield is the same regardless of your resistances.
If I was to tank with a sorc, I would make him a stam tank with a focus on critical damage and dots to self sustain without the need for permablocking.

NBs on the other hand have self sustain. There are many self heals available, and the one skill that manages both your mag and your stam: Siphoning Attacks. You can focus your NB tank on high damage and you won't lose sustain.
The one downside I see in NB tanks is the lack of Crowd Control. They have no roots and slows.

As you can see, both stam and NB tanks gravitate towards DD tanks.
Myself, I prefer utility tanks, therefore mag DKs take the win, followed by mag Templar heal tanks.

Autolycus

I have both a Breton Sorc tank and a Breton NB tank. Both are equally qualified for even the toughest content (I use both for vMoL). But the meta is the meta - your gear and skill selection is going to be almost the same as for any tank. For example, Tava's, Blood Spawn, Ebon, Alkosh, etc. with room for exceptions given the content, of course.

The main difference between the two is how you intend to sustain. NB tanks require more skill and practice to master, because they are riskier in terms of letting down block to weave light attacks, thus a higher chance of being hit while not blocking. With time and practice, this becomes second nature. Animation cancelling and attack weaving as a tank is relatively easy compared to a dps or healer (especially because lightning and resto staves have a tendency to channel into heavy attacks at the slightest click of the button). As a sorc, your main source of sustain is through Dark Deal, which also carries an inherent risk of dropping block, however casting Dark Deals are fewer and further between compared to light attacks with a NB, thus less risky.

From personal experience I can say that I find making time for Dark Deal between attacks and mechanics rather easy. The animation is short, the health and stamina restoration are hefty, and it can be animation cancelled by Heroic Slash, Pierce Armor, Boundless Storm, and others. Personally, I find it easier to tank as a Sorc than as a NB.

As far as skills go, the obvious tanking skills are just as necessary for Sorcs and NBs. Pierce Armor, Heroic Slash, War Horn, Major Ward/Resolve, Shuffle/Blur, Inner Fire, Defensive Stance/Absorb Magicka. Those that are unique to the class and are valuable tanking skills are:

Sorc:
1. Boundless Storm / Hurricane
2. Encase (for dungeons, flex spot)
3. Negate (secondary ult)
4. Dark Deal
5. Crit Surge (flex spot)
6. Hardened/Empowered Ward

NB:
2. A shadow skill, like Refreshing Path or Concealed Weapon, to proc Major Ward/Resolve
3. Siphoning Attacks
4. Swallow Soul
5. Blur (instead of Shuffle)
6. Sap Essence
7. Bolstering Darkness (harder content) or Soul Harvest (easier content, like dungeons)(secondary ult)

For any magicka tank, I recommend 1k+ magicka recovery to ensure you can always access your utility skills when needed. In some cases this is more than necessary. You don't need any stamina or health recovery, and if you have any Sturdy gear, you can easily afford to put one or two magicka recovery glyphs on your jewelry instead of Shieldplay, or you can use the Atronach mundus, if that's your preference. I would sooner use the Thief (yes, even for tanking) specifically for Sorcs because of Crit Surge procs, which are substantial enough to keep you alive without a healer in 95% of encounters in normal and veteran dungeons, and even some situations in trials. Simply having 1 additional mode of healing makes you almost entirely self-reliant, and can alleviate the need for a healer at all. I've used Crit Surge + Absorption Field on Mighty Chudan with all other party members dead to survive all attacks (including his poison DoT) for long enough to rez two of my three fallen party, and the result was a clear.

I know a lot of people who have criticized me for crit tanking concepts, and all I have to say is it can't work if you don't give it a shot. If you don't like it, use the Atronach or something that you are certain will be of use. Crit Surge is more valuable for tanking if you don't intend to do any damage, or in other words, a "pure" tank. Otherwise you may want Power Surge for Major Sorcery. I use the Thief on my NB for tanking too. In either case, however, for the absolute most difficult content (hardmode trial bosses), the Thief is only marginally useful, and you'd be better off switching to something else for those fights specifically. Certain sets (like Bahraha's Curse) that do not scale with max magicka or spell damage do scale with crit chance and crit modifier, and in these cases, the Thief = a big increase to self-healing.