What advice would you give new Tanks?

Tasear

* Taunt if you can do nothing else but this then we won't hate you (get aggro fire, puncture first
if you make a effective frost tank build publish it and show us otherwise prepare for some cristcism

* Buy some food
*
* Hist bark, amour master or are good starter sets

* sometimes mobs can lost aggro so re- taunt if you see if going away from you.

Arbitrator

Don't play Templar would be my first suggestion.

Use AoE CC (Area of Effect Crowd Control) to control adds and keep them off your allies. Again, don't play Templar (they have no AoE CC).

Try to LoS (line of sight) adds so they will all bunch up together. That way your group can AoE them down quick. You'll learn what pulls are beneficial to do this on. Some really won't need it but some can be made 10x faster just by bunching them together.

Interrupt archers, mages and healing enemies when you get the chance and if you use voice chat (which you should) call out telegraphs, and call out enemies to interrupt so your allies can step in and help. It's not SOLELY your job to interrupt so don't let people tell you that. Everyone should be trying to interrupt enemies to help the whole team out.

Blocking against a heavy attack will set target off balance, which in turn will allow you to heavy attack them and knock them down.

Try to position enemies so that your allies won't have to stay in red circles or dangerous spots on the ground. Sometimes certain enemies just won't move so just try the best you can.

If you notice healer is unable to throw a heal or something try to have some kind of utility on your bar to help the team stay up.

Armor sets just depend on your class and build. There's always going to be "meta" sets because someone somewhere will say "this does this better" but if it doesn't fit your play style and it doesn't really make much of a difference to your ability to tank, then use what feels right to you.

Always use food. Doesn't have to be the best if you can't afford it but try to get whatever you can and keep it active at all times.

Dont play Templar...

Silver_Strider

Arbitrator wrote: »

Don't play Templar would be my first suggestion.

Use AoE CC (Area of Effect Crowd Control) to control adds and keep them off your allies. Again, don't play Templar (they have no AoE CC).

Try to LoS (line of sight) adds so they will all bunch up together. That way your group can AoE them down quick. You'll learn what pulls are beneficial to do this on. Some really won't need it but some can be made 10x faster just by bunching them together.

Interrupt archers, mages and healing enemies when you get the chance and if you use voice chat (which you should) call out telegraphs, and call out enemies to interrupt so your allies can step in and help. It's not SOLELY your job to interrupt so don't let people tell you that. Everyone should be trying to interrupt enemies to help the whole team out.

Blocking against a heavy attack will set target off balance, which in turn will allow you to heavy attack them and knock them down.

Try to position enemies so that your allies won't have to stay in red circles or dangerous spots on the ground. Sometimes certain enemies just won't move so just try the best you can.

If you notice healer is unable to throw a heal or something try to have some kind of utility on your bar to help the team stay up.

Armor sets just depend on your class and build. There's always going to be "meta" sets because someone somewhere will say "this does this better" but if it doesn't fit your play style and it doesn't really make much of a difference to your ability to tank, then use what feels right to you.

Always use food. Doesn't have to be the best if you can't afford it but try to get whatever you can and keep it active at all times.

Dont play Templar...

Only classes with good AoE CC for Tanking are DK and Sorc. NB have fear but that's counter intuitive for tanking, while Cripple and Agony are single target. If nothing else, I'd say Templar House with its AoE snare, purge, DoT and HoT is much more effective as a soft CC than anything a NB tank can offer in that department. The reason Templar tanking is bad is due to poor self sustain, not from a lack of CC, which if you are really hard pressed for, Volcanic Rune from the Mages Guild could suffice for that.

geonsocal

is it also the tanks job to buff, support resource recovery and debuff?

Silver_Strider

geonsocal wrote: »

is it also the tanks job to buff, support resource recovery and debuff?

For expert tanking, yes.

For beginner tanking though, it's more about building yourself to be self sufficient and bulky enough to not get killed instantly when an enemy looks at you funny. Sets like Histbark are great for introductory tanking as it helps in both departments by giving them more bulk naturally and the extra dodge makes it so they waste less resources blocking. You can't honestly expect someone to just equip Ebon/Alkosh and be a godly tank, you have to ease them into the role.

Baby step people, baby steps.

Waffennacht

I'm running a Templar tank... CCs you say, I'll keep this in mind and may make another toon later.

Is maim a must for tanks?

Fracture is easy, same with taunt, (outside of trial gear debuffs) what else is mandatory? What else is recommended?

Silver_Strider

Waffennacht wrote: »

I'm running a Templar tank... CCs you say, I'll keep this in mind and may make another toon later.

Is maim a must for tanks?

Fracture is easy, same with taunt, (outside of trial gear debuffs) what else is mandatory? What else is recommended?

Maim is a nice thing to have but it's ultimately up to you to decide if it's best to use for your tank. Heroic Slash is often required in most tank set ups to help build up Ultimate for a stable War Horn rotation but if you're able to do that without Heroic Slash then it's fine to pass up, though others will disagree. Unfortunately, the community isn't overly open to builds outside of the meta in Trial setting so it's going to be naturally harder for you to be accepted until you can actually prove yourself to them (really hate the meta mentality this game has honestly. It's beyond stupid IMO)

As for what's recommended/required for a Tank

Ebon Armory from Vaults of Madness
Aggressive Warhorn from PvP Assault Skill line
If you can't get Alkosh (the Trial Debuff set) Try incorporating Power of the Light for the Minor Fracture/Breech it offers (Do not force this in. If you have a spot for it on your bar and can spare the Stamina to do so then by all means do it but if you cannot do so, then do NOT use this skill; I cannot stress this enough. Templar sustain is already tricky enough without forcing your stamina to go dry maintaining this debuff, you'll only get yourself and your group killed if you do).

Not really recommended but I personally enjoy using Sentinel of Rhakugaz, just because it offers a more reliable method of self sustain than Engine Guardian by giving guaranteed Stamina and Health back as opposed to a 1/3 chance and Templars has just so many ways to proc this set that it's very consistent, at least from my experience with it.

Personofsecrets

Dont be any race other than Imperial

Personofsecrets

Waffennacht wrote: »

I'm running a Templar tank... CCs you say, I'll keep this in mind and may make another toon later.

Is maim a must for tanks?

Fracture is easy, same with taunt, (outside of trial gear debuffs) what else is mandatory? What else is recommended?

I think that at least one tank per group typically uses a Crushing enchantment right now.

wahoozie

Aside from previous suggestions, I wouldn't suggest tanking until you are familiar with the content you are looking to tank. Tanking is sort of a leadership role, and it can be very difficult if you don't understand underlying mechanics of the dungeon/content you are trying to tank. The best groups I've ran with is when the tank knew exactly how to perform the other roles as well, so they could best help them with proper positioning etc.

FlyLionel

Silver_Strider wrote: »

geonsocal wrote: »

is it also the tanks job to buff, support resource recovery and debuff?

For expert tanking, yes.

For beginner tanking though, it's more about building yourself to be self sufficient and bulky enough to not get killed instantly when an enemy looks at you funny. Sets like Histbark are great for introductory tanking as it helps in both departments by giving them more bulk naturally and the extra dodge makes it so they waste less resources blocking. You can't honestly expect someone to just equip Ebon/Alkosh and be a godly tank, you have to ease them into the role.

Baby step people, baby steps.

Doesn't take an expert to use the ebon set or use warhorn/spam igneous during big add pulls, chain ranged adds into the mix. Just tell it how it is and they'll understand.

My advice OP is to throw yourself at a big wave of adds and try to infinitely sustain once you figure out what setup you'll be using 5Hist/5Ebon/2Bloodspawn for example. It'll give great practice, watching tanking videos also gives some more insight on techniques like moving an entire mob into a DPS' epic fail of an aimed nova/destro ult and just improving situational awareness. Honestly I believe one of the pinnacles of tanking is VDSA, so watching those runs from a tanks perspective will help...a whole lot, maybe try DSA on normal?

Also use atronach mundus..it's amazing. Imperial/DK is still the best..lol gotta love it.

Edit: Infinite sustain while maintaining block throughout most of the fight, using shield wall ultimate and spamming heavy attacks helps as well(remember most of the time healers will provide shards/orbs so they will help you in terms of sustain, being more self reliant though is just something everyone should accomplish). Try and never let go of block, only if need be(You know certain mechanics to a boss to drop it).

Waffennacht

FlyLionel wrote: »

Silver_Strider wrote: »

geonsocal wrote: »

is it also the tanks job to buff, support resource recovery and debuff?

For expert tanking, yes.

For beginner tanking though, it's more about building yourself to be self sufficient and bulky enough to not get killed instantly when an enemy looks at you funny. Sets like Histbark are great for introductory tanking as it helps in both departments by giving them more bulk naturally and the extra dodge makes it so they waste less resources blocking. You can't honestly expect someone to just equip Ebon/Alkosh and be a godly tank, you have to ease them into the role.

Baby step people, baby steps.

Doesn't take an expert to use the ebon set or use warhorn/spam igneous during big add pulls, chain ranged adds into the mix. Just tell it how it is and they'll understand.

My advice OP is to throw yourself at a big wave of adds and try to infinitely sustain once you figure out what setup you'll be using 5Hist/5Ebon/2Bloodspawn for example. It'll give great practice, watching tanking videos also gives some more insight on techniques like moving an entire mob into a DPS' epic fail of an aimed nova/destro ult and just improving situational awareness. Honestly I believe one of the pinnacles of tanking is VDSA, so watching those runs from a tanks perspective will help...a whole lot, maybe try DSA on normal?

Also use atronach mundus..it's amazing. Imperial/DK is still the best..lol gotta love it.

Edit: Infinite sustain while maintaining block throughout most of the fight, using shield wall ultimate and spamming heavy attacks helps as well(remember most of the time healers will provide shards/orbs so they will help you in terms of sustain, being more self reliant though is just something everyone should accomplish). Try and never let go of block, only if need be(You know certain mechanics to a boss to drop it).

I've read magicka tanks are suppose to provide a ton of wards, so with my mTank I've been doing that very thing, I'm going to assume blocking 100% of the time is not recommended for magicka tank?

I haven't tanked any trials (I don't wanna be "that guy" and mess it up for 11 others) yet. But haven't had any difficulty with PUGs in Vet Dungeons, is a mTank gonna work for a trial?

Another question, I notice a lot of tank sets have more of a health or debuff status that I can get elsewhere, can I say, forgo the Alkosh/Hist/doc etc if I can achieve those same minimum stats and debuffs?

For example I really wanna try a Swarm Mother + Shield Wall combo to deal with my lack of CCs

Malic

Like everything else in life I approach tanking the same way.

I always try my best and hope for a good outcome. You should try it, because to be honest thats often all it takes.

JonnytheKing

Go magic simple

WalksonGraves

Silver_Strider wrote: »

Arbitrator wrote: »

Don't play Templar would be my first suggestion.

Use AoE CC (Area of Effect Crowd Control) to control adds and keep them off your allies. Again, don't play Templar (they have no AoE CC).

Try to LoS (line of sight) adds so they will all bunch up together. That way your group can AoE them down quick. You'll learn what pulls are beneficial to do this on. Some really won't need it but some can be made 10x faster just by bunching them together.

Interrupt archers, mages and healing enemies when you get the chance and if you use voice chat (which you should) call out telegraphs, and call out enemies to interrupt so your allies can step in and help. It's not SOLELY your job to interrupt so don't let people tell you that. Everyone should be trying to interrupt enemies to help the whole team out.

Blocking against a heavy attack will set target off balance, which in turn will allow you to heavy attack them and knock them down.

Try to position enemies so that your allies won't have to stay in red circles or dangerous spots on the ground. Sometimes certain enemies just won't move so just try the best you can.

If you notice healer is unable to throw a heal or something try to have some kind of utility on your bar to help the team stay up.

Armor sets just depend on your class and build. There's always going to be "meta" sets because someone somewhere will say "this does this better" but if it doesn't fit your play style and it doesn't really make much of a difference to your ability to tank, then use what feels right to you.

Always use food. Doesn't have to be the best if you can't afford it but try to get whatever you can and keep it active at all times.

Dont play Templar...

Only classes with good AoE CC for Tanking are DK and Sorc. NB have fear but that's counter intuitive for tanking, while Cripple and Agony are single target. If nothing else, I'd say Templar House with its AoE snare, purge, DoT and HoT is much more effective as a soft CC than anything a NB tank can offer in that department. The reason Templar tanking is bad is due to poor self sustain, not from a lack of CC, which if you are really hard pressed for, Volcanic Rune from the Mages Guild could suffice for that.

But that swee

Waffennacht wrote: »

FlyLionel wrote: »

Silver_Strider wrote: »

geonsocal wrote: »

is it also the tanks job to buff, support resource recovery and debuff?

For expert tanking, yes.

For beginner tanking though, it's more about building yourself to be self sufficient and bulky enough to not get killed instantly when an enemy looks at you funny. Sets like Histbark are great for introductory tanking as it helps in both departments by giving them more bulk naturally and the extra dodge makes it so they waste less resources blocking. You can't honestly expect someone to just equip Ebon/Alkosh and be a godly tank, you have to ease them into the role.

Baby step people, baby steps.

Doesn't take an expert to use the ebon set or use warhorn/spam igneous during big add pulls, chain ranged adds into the mix. Just tell it how it is and they'll understand.

My advice OP is to throw yourself at a big wave of adds and try to infinitely sustain once you figure out what setup you'll be using 5Hist/5Ebon/2Bloodspawn for example. It'll give great practice, watching tanking videos also gives some more insight on techniques like moving an entire mob into a DPS' epic fail of an aimed nova/destro ult and just improving situational awareness. Honestly I believe one of the pinnacles of tanking is VDSA, so watching those runs from a tanks perspective will help...a whole lot, maybe try DSA on normal?

Also use atronach mundus..it's amazing. Imperial/DK is still the best..lol gotta love it.

Edit: Infinite sustain while maintaining block throughout most of the fight, using shield wall ultimate and spamming heavy attacks helps as well(remember most of the time healers will provide shards/orbs so they will help you in terms of sustain, being more self reliant though is just something everyone should accomplish). Try and never let go of block, only if need be(You know certain mechanics to a boss to drop it).

I've read magicka tanks are suppose to provide a ton of wards, so with my mTank I've been doing that very thing, I'm going to assume blocking 100% of the time is not recommended for magicka tank?

I haven't tanked any trials (I don't wanna be "that guy" and mess it up for 11 others) yet. But haven't had any difficulty with PUGs in Vet Dungeons, is a mTank gonna work for a trial?

Another question, I notice a lot of tank sets have more of a health or debuff status that I can get elsewhere, can I say, forgo the Alkosh/Hist/doc etc if I can achieve those same minimum stats and debuffs?

For example I really wanna try a Swarm Mother + Shield Wall combo to deal with my lack of CCs

Swarm mother and beckoning steel works great together.

Turelus

Remember you're awesome.

No one is going to sing your praises, no one is going to remember the reason they can stand still and score OMGWTFWIN DPS is because of you holding agro, the healer isn't going to be grateful you know when to block or dodge.

Suck it up, remember your awesome and keep on going. Also if you die a lot and people say it's your fault listen, you could not be awesome and think you are.