TOP tank sets

Nelson_Rebel

Asardes wrote: »

Anyone tried the CWC Livewire set? On paper it looks OK-ish but I don't know how good is in practice.
http://elderscrollsonline.wiki.fextralife.com/Livewire+Set

This is an interesting set. Hmm..

Jamini

Crafted Sets vary quite a bit.

Histbark and Torug's are both solid though. It's hard to go wrong with them.

For dropped sets, Ebon and Alkosh are still the best you can get. While you want infused weapons as a tank, Alkosh procs are worth more than the buff you get to your pen from Torug's (as Alkosh infused weapons still get crusher procs, just slightly weaker and less often), and the only other set that really can compare to the health boost you get from Ebon is Lunar Bastion (which is HIGHLY underrated. The LB proc is a refreshing 2k shield for the entire duration of the proc, and can get close to 100% uptime with good synergy sharing. Quite good really!)

Spacemonkey

I use TBS , 4 divines and one infused(chest), because im selfish so I'm a tank with a more or less reliable 15k dps.
It lets me carry newbies in dungeons etc.... and makes soloing MUCH more enjoyable.
The extra resources are also very fun.

idk

Jade1986 wrote: »

VaranisArano wrote: »

GreenhaloX wrote: »

You know, guys.. there are a lot of threads and conversation on tanks or tanking, such as this one. Of course, there are good, interesting, beneficial and insightful comments, and there are also wtf comments; such as "selfless tank." What the hell is this? I know there are always new lingos popping up for ESO, and who came up with this one?! Ha ha ha. Ideally, if you have to, then yes, using crafted set, such as what folks have mentioned on the thread here are fine. Any normal endgame content, rather soloing or in a group, i.e. undaunted dungeons (and even vet dungeons), and world boss pits, you will get away with and do fine with any tank; if you're actually tanking, that is. A hybrid tank that can actually adds some dps is quite beneficial as the third dpser against adds and mobs, particularly in vet dungeons. You can still taunt those higher hp adds with the Pierce Armor (you're also applying Major Breach,) and then switch to the dps bar and assist the actual dpser in knocking out those adds faster.
...
Ok, if other sets you've concocted up for a tank is working for you and the group, then, cool. However, there is nothing "selfless" about a tank and what a tank's job is; taunt, keep boss (and/or higher hp adds) at bay, applied breach and don't die. Cool, if a tank can provide extra perks, such as Torug's, but not necessary. Well.. to me, I can buff myself just fine, as a dpser, without the Torug from a tank, which is only small percentage-based, anyways.

"Selfless" and "Selfish" has nothing to do with the basic job of a tank.
As I like to say:
The basic job of a tank is to taunt the boss, hold boss aggro, and don't die. If you can do that, you are a tank.
A good tank taunts the boss, holds, boss aggro, doesn't die, holds the boss more or less still, debuffs the boss, buffs the group, and provides crowd control.

"Selfless" and "Selfish" is a shorthand for types of gear that cover one part of a good tank's job: buffing the group and to a lesser extent, debuffing the boss.

The clearest comparison is Plague Doctor with its beautiful health buff that only benefits the tank and Ebon Armory with its slightly less good health buff for the tank that also gives all the players in the group an extra 1k health. When put in terms of which gear set benefits the group the most, some players will say "Plague Doctor, because anything that makes my tank a better tank helps me fulfill my role in this group better" and some players will say "Ebon Armory, because I'm benefitting the rest of my group with that extra health and the DPS & healer(s) need that extra health more than I do." While its certain up for debate over whether either option is really selfish or selfless, I should hope that the reasoning for why each got its label is pretty clear.

In general, sets that benefit the tank and only the tank get the "selfish" label. Its not really called the tank selfish in a perjorative way though I'm sure it feels that way. Its totally valid to want to build your tank as strong and as self-sufficient as you want. Indeed, if you PUG vet randoms, I'd expect someone to build that way simply because of the nature of Vet Randoms. So the term "Selfish" refers to gear sets that benefit the tank and only the tank, which a better tank is better for the group.

In general, sets that benefit the tank and the group get the "selfless" label. A good tank is supporting the group with buffs and debuffs and although its certain possible to do that with only skills, many tanks will also do that with their gear. In competitive group content, this becomes almost a necessity, with tanks having more or less required gear to buff the group and debuff the boss. So the term "Selfless" refers to gear sets that benefit both tank and group, which a better group makes for an easier run.

Whether or not you should use "selfish" or "selfless" gear is up to you, your tank build, and the content you run. Most crafted and dropped tank sets are of the "selfish" variety as they benefit the tank and only the tank. Using those is not a bad thing! I used Whitestrake's Retribution when I was learning to tank and that damage shield saved me lots of times, enabling me to save my group. Same thing for Plague Doctor when I started running vet dungeons with my friends. I've since switched to Ebon Armory because I have enough pieces and my friends have some really squishy DPS so it helps our group have a smoother run, but you can absolutely be a good tank with plenty of buffs and debuffs without using the "selfless" gear choices to benefit your group.

Now, places where this "selfless" gear starts to get mandatory is when you get into larger groups and competitive content. The larger the group, the more benefit the buffs/debuffs give as well as the more cooperation required to complete content. There's a reason you see a healer in trials wearing Worm's Raiment, which reduces magicka costs for up to twelve players and there's a reason that one trials tank wears Ebon Armory. In a four man dungeon, Ebon Armory only gives 4K health which is minor in the face of things and why Ebon isn't the be-all, end-all set for dungeons. In a trial, Ebon Armory gives 12k health and allows the DPS to min-max their attributes and enchantments and still hit the desired 18k health.

I hope that helps explain that there's nothing really pejorative about "selfish" sets versus "selfless" sets as much as it is a way of categorizing gear for tanks based on the build philosophy.

Edited for spelling.

Are there any crafted sets good for being selfless, because from reading this i have seen a TON of dropped sets so far basically.

Torugs and it's been mentioned here.

However, a tank needs something in addition to torugs that's not crafted since jewelry is only a drop. Make sure to use infused weapons with crusher enchant. This is if your running with a decent group or are interested in pursuing tanking beyond be 4 man content.

For that is suggest Dragonguard if your a DK for more magicka regen (more shields and more chains) or plague DR though you don't really need the added health extra health in most content.

Jade1986

VaranisArano wrote: »

Jade1986 wrote: »

Are there any crafted sets good for being selfless, because from reading this i have seen a TON of dropped sets so far basically.

It looks like Torug's Pact (3 trait) used with the crushing enchantment would count as a "selfless" set because you are using it to increase the uptime of a debuff you are putting on the boss or enemies.

Tava's Favor was a potent tool for generating ultimate usually used with Warhorn, before ZOS removed Shuffle from heavy armor. If you can make it work though, its still very good.

Nightmother's Gaze, though this is more often a DPS set, could be used as a tank set reducing the enemy's physical resistance.

Redistributor, probably only effective on a Warden tank/healer

Most of the crafted sets are of the "selfish" variety, and that's not a bad thing. Crafted sets are designed for all players to have access to them and so it makes sense that the crafted sets would lean more towards making a tank a better tank than group support. Sets like Hist Bark and Whitestrake's Retribution are both very good tank sets, they just take the idea that "If my tank is stronger, I can help the group more because I'm a better tank" than giving direct support to the group in terms of buff/debuffs. There's definitely a time and a place for that. I learned to tank using Whitestrakes, then got comfortable using Plague Doctor and only switched to Ebon Armory once we were farming Crypt of Hearts regularly.

Hmmm, I will just use torugs with brass until I have ebon then. I was already using 3 torug 5 brass, but I guess I can switch them around. I am however using 2 light to help with magicka cost, regen, etc.Can you still reach the armor cap like that then? Also, how exactly does the cap work? Is there diminishing returns, or does it not mitigate after that point?

GreenhaloX

VaranisArano wrote: »

"Selfless" and "Selfish" has nothing to do with the basic job of a tank.
As I like to say:
The basic job of a tank is to taunt the boss, hold boss aggro, and don't die. If you can do that, you are a tank.

My man.. nothing basic about this. It's what a tank does. If you can do this, then "you are" a good tank. As a dps within a group, it doesn't matter to me what other buffs or perks that can come from a tank set. If you, a tank, can hold that boss at bay and continue to do so and sustain, throughout, you are a good tank to me. I got it, though.. Hey, there are peeps, like me, who is fine with a Budweiser and a piece of steak from the home grill with a splash of A1 and hot sauce; whereas, there are others with exquisite taste for aged Dom Perignon and Filet Mignon from a fancy fine dining steakhouse. Whatever works for you and your taste buds.. I've tried the latter (the fancy stuff), however, and it's not really for me. Ha ha

idk

Jade1986 wrote: »

VaranisArano wrote: »

Jade1986 wrote: »

Are there any crafted sets good for being selfless, because from reading this i have seen a TON of dropped sets so far basically.

It looks like Torug's Pact (3 trait) used with the crushing enchantment would count as a "selfless" set because you are using it to increase the uptime of a debuff you are putting on the boss or enemies.

Tava's Favor was a potent tool for generating ultimate usually used with Warhorn, before ZOS removed Shuffle from heavy armor. If you can make it work though, its still very good.

Nightmother's Gaze, though this is more often a DPS set, could be used as a tank set reducing the enemy's physical resistance.

Redistributor, probably only effective on a Warden tank/healer

Most of the crafted sets are of the "selfish" variety, and that's not a bad thing. Crafted sets are designed for all players to have access to them and so it makes sense that the crafted sets would lean more towards making a tank a better tank than group support. Sets like Hist Bark and Whitestrake's Retribution are both very good tank sets, they just take the idea that "If my tank is stronger, I can help the group more because I'm a better tank" than giving direct support to the group in terms of buff/debuffs. There's definitely a time and a place for that. I learned to tank using Whitestrakes, then got comfortable using Plague Doctor and only switched to Ebon Armory once we were farming Crypt of Hearts regularly.

Hmmm, I will just use torugs with brass until I have ebon then. I was already using 3 torug 5 brass, but I guess I can switch them around. I am however using 2 light to help with magicka cost, regen, etc.Can you still reach the armor cap like that then? Also, how exactly does the cap work? Is there diminishing returns, or does it not mitigate after that point?

As long as you have decent CP don't worry about the armor cap. Most tanks do not hit the armor cap.

Torugs is a good set. (NMG is lousy for tanks due to a low crit chance).

For more magicka regen I suggest working on getting 1pc of chokethorn and 1pc shadowrend. Both monster sets.

IwakuraLain42

kylewwefan wrote: »

Not a crafted set, but can buy cheap and interesting one to try tanking with is Baharas Curse. It’s from thieves guild stuff. Drops in all 3 weights L H or M. It may not be the best anymore I dont know, but Gilliam used to build around it for nightblade sap tank.

Still a very nice set for magblade sap tank, but very hard to as the Heavy weights only drop as TC quest rewards and from heists. I had to look for months for the last missing piece on my platform (ps4eu)

VaranisArano

GreenhaloX wrote: »

VaranisArano wrote: »

"Selfless" and "Selfish" has nothing to do with the basic job of a tank.
As I like to say:
The basic job of a tank is to taunt the boss, hold boss aggro, and don't die. If you can do that, you are a tank.

My man.. nothing basic about this. It's what a tank does. If you can do this, then "you are" a good tank. As a dps within a group, it doesn't matter to me what other buffs or perks that can come from a tank set. If you, a tank, can hold that boss at bay and continue to do so and sustain, throughout, you are a good tank to me. I got it, though.. Hey, there are peeps, like me, who is fine with a Budweiser and a piece of steak from the home grill with a splash of A1 and hot sauce; whereas, there are others with exquisite taste for aged Dom Perignon and Filet Mignon from a fancy fine dining steakhouse. Whatever works for you and your taste buds.. I've tried the latter (the fancy stuff), however, and it's not really for me. Ha ha

Don't quote half of it and act like you said something profound quoted me correctly (sorry for the insult).

"The basic job of a tank is to taunt the boss, hold boss aggro, and don't die. If you can do that, you are a tank.
A good tank taunts the boss, holds, boss aggro, doesn't die, holds the boss more or less still, debuffs the boss, buffs the group, and provides crowd control."

A good tank provides considerably more than just a taunt. But anyone who can taunt, hold aggro and stay alive is certainly a tank. Any class can be a tank and any class can be a good tank.

I main a good tank and an off-tank. I know the difference.
My good tank changes her amount of resistances and DPS for the content and the group's abilities. She can block or take the boss' big hits effectively and controls the battlefield. She hold aggro, hold the boss still, and crowd controls mobs, keeping hard hitting mobs off the DPS and healer. She keeps up buffs of the group, debuffs the boss, and is built to be a support role that does the job of a tank well.

My off-tank is a DPS/Tank. She taunts the boss, holds him still and debuffs the boss. She provides minimal crowd control, just caltrops to slow and damage enemies, and mostly focuses on damaging mobs instead of controling them for others to kill. She is focused on damage, not resistances, so she can't reliably block or take the big hits from every dungeon boss and has to be much more reactive to compensate. She's a tank, yes, and a decent off-tank/DPS, but compared to my good tank, she's very clearly a somewhat tanky DPS with a taunt. She fulfills the basic job of a tank,making her a tank, but she is by no means a good tank.

If you'd be happy with my off-tank/DPS that's fine! I have her for a reason, she holds the boss still for the other DPS to make for effective runs and that's often all that's needed on for a quick normal dungeon run. But I'd never bring her to content that requires my good tank in order to complete smoothly because I am very much aware of the limitations of running a "DPS with a taunt" style tank.

Asardes

I see a lot of confusion here over what a tank has to do. The answer is: hold aggro, stay alive, debuff the enemy, buff the group as much as possible. That is needed in trials, vDSA and vet DLC dungeons (except maybe vWGT). In normal dungeons and even non DLC dungeons it's way better to slot a taunt on a DD and go with 4 of those, and nuke everything in 10 minutes or less. For example a sorcerer with big shields can slot inner rage instead of inner light and survive the bosses easily while still putting 25K+ DPS on target, which is more than the buffs and debuffs a classic tank will provide to the group. I've "tanked" many dungeons in 5 Julianos 4 IA 2 Ilambris but that's not proper tanking, and wasn't needed anyway. On my proper DK tank I use: 5 Torug's Pact + 5 Ebon Armory / Akaviri Dragonguard + 2 Lord Warden / Bloodspawn / 1 Chocklethorn + 1 Shadowrend. Alkosh would be nice if synergies were more reliable, but I've just started doing vMoL so it will be a while until I get shields and 1H weapons to use it, but bonuses 2-4 are really not that useful for a tank. Bonuses I like in tank sets are: maximum health, healing taken, magicka recovery, maximum stamina, maximum magicka, and special buffs and debuffs. Things like slayer and useless procs are simply wasted.

paulsimonps

Its so sad to see how low of a bar some people have on tanks.... "have a taunt and taunt boss and you are a good tank" No you are a ok ish tank if even that if that is all you do.... There is so much more to the role as many people have already explained. People put a pretty high standard on healers but almost never on Tanks, why? Great tanks are rare, and teaching others is the way to get more of them, let them know in a teaching way that they can do more, and trust me, its a hell of a lot more fun to do more than just taunt and block the boss.

paulsimonps

Jade1986 wrote: »

VaranisArano wrote: »

Jade1986 wrote: »

Are there any crafted sets good for being selfless, because from reading this i have seen a TON of dropped sets so far basically.

It looks like Torug's Pact (3 trait) used with the crushing enchantment would count as a "selfless" set because you are using it to increase the uptime of a debuff you are putting on the boss or enemies.

Tava's Favor was a potent tool for generating ultimate usually used with Warhorn, before ZOS removed Shuffle from heavy armor. If you can make it work though, its still very good.

Nightmother's Gaze, though this is more often a DPS set, could be used as a tank set reducing the enemy's physical resistance.

Redistributor, probably only effective on a Warden tank/healer

Most of the crafted sets are of the "selfish" variety, and that's not a bad thing. Crafted sets are designed for all players to have access to them and so it makes sense that the crafted sets would lean more towards making a tank a better tank than group support. Sets like Hist Bark and Whitestrake's Retribution are both very good tank sets, they just take the idea that "If my tank is stronger, I can help the group more because I'm a better tank" than giving direct support to the group in terms of buff/debuffs. There's definitely a time and a place for that. I learned to tank using Whitestrakes, then got comfortable using Plague Doctor and only switched to Ebon Armory once we were farming Crypt of Hearts regularly.

Hmmm, I will just use torugs with brass until I have ebon then. I was already using 3 torug 5 brass, but I guess I can switch them around. I am however using 2 light to help with magicka cost, regen, etc.Can you still reach the armor cap like that then? Also, how exactly does the cap work? Is there diminishing returns, or does it not mitigate after that point?

Resistance on PvE Tanks is extremely overrated by beginners. I would suggest reading up a bit on damage mitigation and I think you will come to the same conclusion.

https://forums.elderscrollsonline.com/en/discussion/279426/damage-mitigation-explanation-and-list-of-options/p1

paulsimonps

Asardes wrote: »

Anyone tried the CWC Livewire set? On paper it looks OK-ish but I don't know how good is in practice.
http://elderscrollsonline.wiki.fextralife.com/Livewire+Set

I would say that with the Asylum staffs becoming more commonly used by magicka toons and DPSs are themselves working on increasing up time on Concussion and through that, off balance, I think its not something we tanks needs to worry about, and up time is not that great. However, perhaps if you run a lightning staff off bar build with this you could get some really great damage increase in trash pulls, might be a good dungeon set. Don't see it in trials but might be good for 4 man content since its an AoE concussion, and then with the lightning blockade you get 2 debuffs on all targets in the AoE. Though it would be mostly burst since the up time can tops be 40% from that set alone.

paulsimonps

Delimber wrote: »

From what I've seen, most tanks run something different than someone else.

If you are in a guild, ask them.

I like running two, 5 piece sets and a monster set. My Crafted set is Daedric Trickery, with leeching venom. But then, I've been tanking a long time.

If you are new to tanking, I thing some of the earlier suggestions should work just fine.

Why would you run Daedric Trickery?

(2 items) Adds 1206 Maximum Health
(3 items) Adds 1096 Maximum Stamina
(4 items) Adds 1096 Maximum Magicka
(5 items) While in combat you gain one of 5 random Major Buffs for 10 seconds every 20 seconds. Eligible buffs are Expedition, Protection, Mending, Heroism, or Vitality.

The up time is 50% for all buffs combined, but the up time on any given buff will be terrible. The most common Tank is a DK, which gets Major Mending and usually 2-3 combo its Igneous Shield with Dragon Blood and or Vigor for strong heals. So Mending would be meh, Expedition is all but useless on a Tank except in very specific situations and when it would be nice to have its still meh.

Heroism is probably the best of these buffs but the likely hood of getting it is so low and the up time would be so bad that it would not help you. In 4 man content when it comes to ultimates you want to try and pop your warhorn as fast as you can during bosses to keep it up the best you can, as long as Healer hasn't just done one, but if that is how you want to build there are much better sets. And in 12 man content you want to keep yourself in a rotation and the low up time on it will do nothing for you.

Protection is useless in 4 man, only really 2-3 bosses that hits hard enough to where it would help, and again up time. In 12 man the inconsistency would make it almost invisible, you would not notice when it was on, and if you spec in such a way that you expect it to be up to survive, well then you are gonna die a lot.

Vitality would be great to have but a good healer will give you enough heals to survive without it, and just like with Protection, the low up time will make the buff basically invisible, it would be really hard to know when it was even up.

So again, why would you run this as a Tank?

GreenhaloX

VaranisArano wrote: »

GreenhaloX wrote: »

VaranisArano wrote: »

"Selfless" and "Selfish" has nothing to do with the basic job of a tank.
As I like to say:
The basic job of a tank is to taunt the boss, hold boss aggro, and don't die. If you can do that, you are a tank.

My man.. nothing basic about this. It's what a tank does. If you can do this, then "you are" a good tank. As a dps within a group, it doesn't matter to me what other buffs or perks that can come from a tank set. If you, a tank, can hold that boss at bay and continue to do so and sustain, throughout, you are a good tank to me. I got it, though.. Hey, there are peeps, like me, who is fine with a Budweiser and a piece of steak from the home grill with a splash of A1 and hot sauce; whereas, there are others with exquisite taste for aged Dom Perignon and Filet Mignon from a fancy fine dining steakhouse. Whatever works for you and your taste buds.. I've tried the latter (the fancy stuff), however, and it's not really for me. Ha ha

Don't quote half of it and act like you said something profound quoted me correctly (sorry for the insult).

Don't worry.. non taken. I only quoted what was needed. I wasn't insulting you either. I'm just saying what it is and making my viewpoint. I'm sure you can respect mine, as I respect yours.

paulsimonps wrote: »

Its so sad to see how low of a bar some people have on tanks.... "have a taunt and taunt boss and you are a good tank" No you are a ok ish tank if even that if that is all you do.... There is so much more to the role as many people have already explained. People put a pretty high standard on healers but almost never on Tanks, why? Great tanks are rare, and teaching others is the way to get more of them, let them know in a teaching way that they can do more, and trust me, its a hell of a lot more fun to do more than just taunt and block the boss.

Cool, if you all put such great and high standards on tanks and/or healers. Whatever works for you.. I'm not going to knock you for being a tank artist. Be creative, fluff up the tank, dance like a butterfly and sting like a bee, put on a good show; whatever works for you. It works for me just fine keeping the boss and any other higher hp adds taunted and at bay, so the dps have easier time to kill those. Ha ha, What else are you asking for? Nothing low or high standard about it; just do the job of a tank.

paulsimonps

GreenhaloX wrote: »

VaranisArano wrote: »

GreenhaloX wrote: »

VaranisArano wrote: »

"Selfless" and "Selfish" has nothing to do with the basic job of a tank.
As I like to say:
The basic job of a tank is to taunt the boss, hold boss aggro, and don't die. If you can do that, you are a tank.

My man.. nothing basic about this. It's what a tank does. If you can do this, then "you are" a good tank. As a dps within a group, it doesn't matter to me what other buffs or perks that can come from a tank set. If you, a tank, can hold that boss at bay and continue to do so and sustain, throughout, you are a good tank to me. I got it, though.. Hey, there are peeps, like me, who is fine with a Budweiser and a piece of steak from the home grill with a splash of A1 and hot sauce; whereas, there are others with exquisite taste for aged Dom Perignon and Filet Mignon from a fancy fine dining steakhouse. Whatever works for you and your taste buds.. I've tried the latter (the fancy stuff), however, and it's not really for me. Ha ha

Don't quote half of it and act like you said something profound quoted me correctly (sorry for the insult).

Don't worry.. non taken. I only quoted what was needed. I wasn't insulting you either. I'm just saying what it is and making my viewpoint. I'm sure you can respect mine, as I respect yours.

paulsimonps wrote: »

Its so sad to see how low of a bar some people have on tanks.... "have a taunt and taunt boss and you are a good tank" No you are a ok ish tank if even that if that is all you do.... There is so much more to the role as many people have already explained. People put a pretty high standard on healers but almost never on Tanks, why? Great tanks are rare, and teaching others is the way to get more of them, let them know in a teaching way that they can do more, and trust me, its a hell of a lot more fun to do more than just taunt and block the boss.

Cool, if you all put such great and high standards on tanks and/or healers. Whatever works for you.. I'm not going to knock you for being a tank artist. Be creative, fluff up the tank, dance like a butterfly and sting like a bee, put on a good show; whatever works for you. It works for me just fine keeping the boss and any other higher hp adds taunted and at bay, so the dps have easier time to kill those. Ha ha, What else are you asking for? Nothing low or high standard about it; just do the job of a tank.

Other things you could do: give buffs, debuffs, heals, damage shields, and there are varying degrees to do this. But there are some tanks that have no utility sets or skills, no CC of any kind, just self heals and self buffs and a Taunt. They tank sure, but they are doing the bare minimum, they are not good tanks, they are ok tanks. Great tanks do far more. Cause that is how you make it easier for DPS to kill stuff.

code65536

GreenhaloX wrote: »

It works for me just fine keeping the boss and any other higher hp adds taunted and at bay, so the dps have easier time to kill those. Ha ha, What else are you asking for? Nothing low or high standard about it; just do the job of a tank.

It's really a matter of content. I'm sure you've seen the threads by people complaining about how the game is DPS-centric and tanks aren't needed. And for much of the game--all overland content including world bosses and normal-difficulty dungeons--this is true. Even in vet dungeons, there isn't much meat for the tank to sink their teeth into. And that's understandable--to make content accessible, the developers can't place a lot of demands on specialist roles.

But for endgame content--vet trials--the developers are free to put more weight on the shoulders of the specialist roles. The tank's role is much more important, their job descriptions are much more interesting, and the quality of the tanking can make or break a run.

Since the most interesting content for tanks are the vet trials, most people who talk passionately about tanking do so from that perspective and background.

GreenhaloX

code65536 wrote: »

GreenhaloX wrote: »

It works for me just fine keeping the boss and any other higher hp adds taunted and at bay, so the dps have easier time to kill those. Ha ha, What else are you asking for? Nothing low or high standard about it; just do the job of a tank.

It's really a matter of content. I'm sure you've seen the threads by people complaining about how the game is DPS-centric and tanks aren't needed. And for much of the game--all overland content including world bosses and normal-difficulty dungeons--this is true. Even in vet dungeons, there isn't much meat for the tank to sink their teeth into. And that's understandable--to make content accessible, the developers can't place a lot of demands on specialist roles.

But for endgame content--vet trials--the developers are free to put more weight on the shoulders of the specialist roles. The tank's role is much more important, their job descriptions are much more interesting, and the quality of the tanking can make or break a run.

Since the most interesting content for tanks are the vet trials, most people who talk passionately about tanking do so from that perspective and background.

Good points.. Like I mentioned, I'm not knocking what extra techniques and fluff that certain folks are putting into a tank(s) or are artistically concocting to make things easier for a group. Whatever works and makes your playing experience worthwhile or better. Sure.. there are a lot of people playing on ESO with all kinds of level and experience, and, perhaps, certain group may need a "great tank"; while others would fair just fine with a tank doing its job. All the buff and protection comes from the class abilities and should be utilized, as any class's abilities and skillsets. No brainer there. If you want to fluff up your tank, then cool, go for it.

From my experience with ESO, endgame contents (trials, vet, whatever) do not really rely heavily on one or certain shoulder. It's a group effort. Sure, a tank that can actually tank will make a run smoother, and so will dpsers and healers. So, you have a "great" tank, as what so many on here are boasting; if a group's dpsers are lacking in damage dealing, then you surely won't have that much of a smooth run. Likewise, if your healers are also lacking, but you have a great tank, then, your chance of having a smooth run may not fair so well.

Hey, I'm surely not knocking certain folks that want the "great" tank, and they put such efforts and the label on it. Likewise, a Ferrari and a Lamborghini are fine and great automobiles (exquisite, if you would), and it will surely get you to point A to point B quite fast. You will also surely be turning quite a few heads along the way. However, a Volkswagon or Toyota Camry, for example, are also automobiles that will get you from point A to point B and/or C in a timely matter. It surely won't turn heads, but it's how you use it, maintain it and drive will determine how you get to your destination safely. All the gadgets within the Volkswagon and Camry works just fine. That's nothing low standard about it. It's as practical as the Supercars to get you to your destinations. Also, if the supercars crashes, it will be a pile of junk as any other automobile. Look at all those pics of Ferrari, Lambo and Bugatti crashes that are posted online.. damn!

Anyways, great tank to those or a tank just needed to do its job.. whatever works for you. No need for those high class to look down on Volkswagon or Toyota owners. It works just fine and will do the job just fine..

Inarre

code65536 wrote: »

Every time one of these what-gear-should-I-use-for-tanking threads come up, you see a lot of sets get mentioned that are "selfish" sets--i.e., sets designed to help a tank's survivability or resource management.

Hist Bark, Armor Master, Fortified Brass, Plague Doctor, Green Pact, Seducer, etc. All sets that help the tank, but offer nothing to the group.

I find the idea that plague doctors and green pact is a selfish tank set interesting when at the height of popularity (before the nerf) sets like green pact and plague doctor were used selflessly. Specifically, a dk build for shielding teammates.

VaranisArano

Inarre wrote: »

code65536 wrote: »

Every time one of these what-gear-should-I-use-for-tanking threads come up, you see a lot of sets get mentioned that are "selfish" sets--i.e., sets designed to help a tank's survivability or resource management.

Hist Bark, Armor Master, Fortified Brass, Plague Doctor, Green Pact, Seducer, etc. All sets that help the tank, but offer nothing to the group.

I find the idea that plague doctors and green pact is a selfish tank set interesting when at the height of popularity (before the nerf) sets like green pact and plague doctor were used selflessly. Specifically, a dk build for shielding teammates.

Let me repeat the pertinent part of my very long reply about this very subject:

VaranisArano' wrote:

"Selfless" and "Selfish" is a shorthand for types of gear that cover one part of a good tank's job: buffing the group and to a lesser extent, debuffing the boss.
...
In general, sets that benefit the tank and only the tank get the "selfish" label. Its not really called the tank selfish in a perjorative way though I'm sure it feels that way. Its totally valid to want to build your tank as strong and as self-sufficient as you want. Indeed, if you PUG vet randoms, I'd expect someone to build that way simply because of the nature of Vet Randoms. So the term "Selfish" refers to gear sets that benefit the tank and only the tank, which a better tank is better for the group.

In general, sets that benefit the tank and the group get the "selfless" label. A good tank is supporting the group with buffs and debuffs and although its certain possible to do that with only skills, many tanks will also do that with their gear. In competitive group content, this becomes almost a necessity, with tanks having more or less required gear to buff the group and debuff the boss. So the term "Selfless" refers to gear sets that benefit both tank and group, which a better group makes for an easier run.

Using those definitions of selfless and selfish to refer to gear, Plague Doctor and Green Pact can vary. When used to fuel shields like Igneous Shields, that's using your gear to buff the group - aka selfless. If that's not what Plague Doctor & Green Pact are being used to do, simply building a high health tank, then its would be a "selfish" tank build.

But in comparison, I used Plague Doctor + another set and then switched to Ebon Armory + another set because Ebon Armory was better for my group. I wasn't ever building for high health or an igneous shield build, so Ebon Armory was the choice that gave my group the better buffs.

code65536

Inarre wrote: »

I find the idea that plague doctors and green pact is a selfish tank set interesting when at the height of popularity (before the nerf) sets like green pact and plague doctor were used selflessly.

Its popularity was extremely short-lived, though--it lasted for just one week before it was patched.

The two nerfs to high-health igspam was that the shield strength to the group was halved, and that Equilibrium would now halve shield strength. So the strategy of spamming Equilibrium-Igneous would yield quarter-strength shields. And these were necessary nerfs, because it was pretty cheesy. These days, Plague/Pact is just for getting a high-health tank, as it should be, which is why they're generally regarded in the selfish category.

(Again, though, this is not to say that "selfish" is necessarily bad. As I've pointed out earlier, there are situations where tanks need to be "selfish".)

Asardes

paulsimonps wrote: »

Asardes wrote: »

Anyone tried the CWC Livewire set? On paper it looks OK-ish but I don't know how good is in practice.
http://elderscrollsonline.wiki.fextralife.com/Livewire+Set

I would say that with the Asylum staffs becoming more commonly used by magicka toons and DPSs are themselves working on increasing up time on Concussion and through that, off balance, I think its not something we tanks needs to worry about, and up time is not that great. However, perhaps if you run a lightning staff off bar build with this you could get some really great damage increase in trash pulls, might be a good dungeon set. Don't see it in trials but might be good for 4 man content since its an AoE concussion, and then with the lightning blockade you get 2 debuffs on all targets in the AoE. Though it would be mostly burst since the up time can tops be 40% from that set alone.

I see a few niches for it though: running 4 man content with 2-3 stamina DDs, and certain trials with split groups where the tank sits mostly with the stamina DDs. In both cases elemental blockade may only come from the tank itself. The most similar set is Leeching Plate, which provides the same heals but has no group utility.
http://elderscrollsonline.wiki.fextralife.com/Leeching+Plate+Set

Urza1234

raj72616a wrote: »

tanks can't agree on which sets are the best one.

can try Whitestrake and Plague Doctor if you are new to dungeons.

Whitestrake is great if you aren't.

After that run Torugs. Nothing gets more mileage than Torugs.

Also nothing runs you out of soulgems faster.

commdt

Tank sets are based on situation, you may want to switch to different sets for each boss. Basically, its either defence or damage you can give to your group.

5 PC SETS

Damage set-ups:

Penetration sets
Sets like Roar of Alcosh and Torug's Pact are used to decrease bosses resistance to buff your group DPS.
- Torug gives something like -600 boss def (which effectively increases you group DPS by ~0,9%) and increases uptime, so its something like +1% group DPS. Not a big deal if you ask me
- Alcosh is a different beast. it gives -3010 boss resistance which is +4,55% group DPS, huge, but its not that simple:
1. In a good raid setup it would be overcap, especially for stamina DD (something like 1500 penetration would be wasted), and it is not a good thing to lower penetration cp because of diminishing returns in other stars and not that reliable uptime on alcosh
2. Not that reliable uptime on Alcosh. Its all about synergies you get as a tank. In a steady situation when everyone knows what to do (like fastrun in completed earlier vet trial) it could be quite solid, but when you try new content things can get messy. More than that, there are bosses, which require constant moving, which lowers synergy uptime even further. So basically know your raid and know the encounter. If things are steady, its a good set
More than that, if you use both it results in even more overcap. Surely, it they will compensate each other for not constant uptimes, but the returns are diminishing.

Ultigen sets
The other important buff to group DPS is Warhorn and the more frequent you use it the more bonus DPS you get. And not only that, the more frequent you can use your ulti the easier it is to sustain on a DK tank, so its usefull even when you are on your own. It is also tricky though, as not in every situation you can use your horn whenever it is ready, take it into consideration when planning your build, actually it is more about build your ultigen that way so youre able to use your horn right when its needed like at the start of each cycle on Vashai/Skinrai. On the other hand the good thing is 100% uptime on major force is unlikely reachable, so theres no acttual cap
- Akaviri Dragon - a Solid choice, my faforite one. Not only is it effective in saving ulti, but also it is heavy; other bonuses are very useful for any tank and it is only needed on one bar, which opens some interesting possibilities
- Werevolf Hide - nearly as effective as Akaviri Dragon, other bonuses are good too, but it is medium so thread with care
- Tavas Favor - It was useless even when it did work. It sounds good with its 3 ult/sec, but I tested it on Rakkat and uptime was like 16% with 100% uptime on Mirage, which leaves us with 3*0,16 = 0.5 ult/sec at best. For example Werewolf gives steady 1 ult/sec without any effort
- Shalk Exoskeleton - Uptime on Low slash should be always high, so the set is useless for PVE tank. And its only 0.75 ult/sec with *** other bonuses

Other damage sets
- Powerful Assault is not that powerful actually, though it is still ok especially in tank +3DD setup
- Spell Power Cure - Yes, on a tank. Very powerful set in Tank +3DD setup, requires some effort to be effective though

Defence sets
None. Imperium is unreliable and Lunar bastion is too weak. It was Plague Doctor once, but now shields on party are nerfed. And yes, why do you need extra defence when you don't die already? Better kill it faster and be done.
Plague doctor can still be used in some really hot cases for self defence, but its not really necessary

Utility/Starting sets
Seducer. You cant imagine how awesome is this set with DK tank until you try it. It gives you unlimited sustain, crazy control (Chain, Talons) and a good party support (Shields, Purge, Orbs). And it requires only 3 traits to craft, just dont forget to through some into stamina so it is higher than mana.

MONSTER SETS
Lord Warden - Unnerfed to very good defensive set with +4k phys/mag resist in 10m radius with very high uptime. Its defending set, but honestly not many other options here
Bloodspawn - Some occasional self defence + ultigen. Sounds good, but is very unreliable. You can still use it as the only one damage buffing monster set for a tank
1 Shadowrend + 1 Chokethorn = 258 mana regen, which solid boost to sustain/control/support

OTHER OPTIONS
Master 1H+Shield - Very nice self heal, which you can use with sets, that need to be only on one bar like Dragon or Powerful Assault

Lightspeedflashb14_ESO

@commdt in pve, 500 pen is a 1% increase in dps, because mobs are technically level 50, not CP 160 like players. So 3k pen is 6% dps increases, not 4 something.

Torags pact is upwards of 3k reduction with 100% uptime on one mob too, if you are good with light attacks and have an infused weapon. Not sure where you got the idea it was only 600 reduction, the crusher enchant is like 1900 reduction with out torags, with torags it is 2500 and with torags and an infused weapon it is 3000.

Wayshuba

I think first, the question should be what are you doing with your tank and what class are you tanking with. Most of the suggestions you are going to get in this thread are most likely assuming a DK as your tank.

If it is going to be open world PvE with the occasional dungeon, that will be a different setup than doing a lot of instanced Vet dungeons and trials.

Likewise, if you are going to mainly PvP with your tank, that is also going to be completely different. Ebon, Torug's, Alkosh, Lunar Bastion really do not add much for PvP benefit.

Assuming you are going to be instance (Vet Dungeon) and Trial tanking, that is going to depend on what role you are filing (main or off-tank). Torug's is probably the most used craftable (because of the ability to enhance the Crusher enchantment), but majority of gear will be dropped. Ebon is a must to have in your bag. Alkosh and/or Lunar Bastion as well. I personally prefer Lunar Bastion because the synergy proc gives damage shield to party and the set reduces damage to the tank. While Alkosh does reduce boss Physical and Spell Resistance further, extensive testing I have done with the set and group members has shown this adds about 500 extra DPS over a 3 million carry so the damage shield for the party is better for my use.

While in solo mode, Hist Bark and Knight-Errant are good sets to have. As someone mentioned above, Hist Bark is a "selfish" set, not really something you should be using in serious group content, but it is good for solo or light group content. KE gives you some added damage and also has built in heals for use with sword and board.

Now, if you are using a class other than DK, there are other options as well. For a Templar, Tormentor is a good set to use as it increases self-healing and turns your Focused/Explosive/Toppling charge into a taunt. Since you can use it while you right in a bosses face, it becomes another tool in your arsenal. Similarly, most NB tanks set up around a leeching build. So that also adds to what sets you may want to consider.

The main thing to remember about group tanking in ESO is that your job is more than just holding the boss. You also are meant to make things a bit easier for the DPS by lowering boss resistances and damage output while also enhancing the survivability of the party by adding health buffs and protective damage shields.

Flameheart

I just do 4-man-stuff with my chars when it comes to tanking and healing, but I am always amazed how you can go DD -> tank or DD -> healer with just pressing one macrokey for Dressing Room. I just swap gear and don't change CPs and usually I don't change my Mundus too and it works out very well.

I do maybe 50% of all dungeons in guild groups and around 50% in PUGs. In PUGs I get in maybe 50% of all cases groups with around 40-50k single target groups dps which is mediocre but enough. Let's say I get maybe less than 25% PUGs where it is a pain to play a support tank because of shockingly low dps. So I decided to go support tank nevertheless. For groups with extremely low dps there is still the "disband"-button and I just log onto another char to queue again.

If you take the "selfless support" route there are just a few sets who make sense:

- Akaviri (my favorite)
- Torug
- Ebon
- Alkosh (actually you want jewelry + 1hand + shield from that set to avoid as much medium armor pieces as possible..and those are not that easy to get)

- Plague Doctor might be handy for some real hard hitters like in CoS (Velidreth's HA) / Falkreath / Bloodforge but really needed ? don't think so. Plague doctor was fotm set until Zenimax realized that raid content like HoF will be trivialized, when you have DK tanks who can give a whole group shields of 15k+ and much more to itself because of the health scaling of the DK shield. Nowadays it just scales somewhat for the DK tank itself and it's 10k+ which is still fine, but has no use when it is not really needed.

When it comes to Undaunted sets:

-Either 2 pieces for ressources (Chokethorn, Shadowrend) or it's still Bloodspawn, Swarm Mother (as non Warden/DK tank) or maybe situational Lord Warden.

Raid tanks will have all those sets and swap them around to adapt to specific encounters. For 4-man-stuff I would use Akaviri/Torug, Akaviri/Ebon or Torug/Ebon. Actually I am wearing Akaviri/Ebon at moment with all my magicka chars when playing a tank. As I have tons of golden alloys I might make me a Torug set too.

Jade1986

idk wrote: »

Jade1986 wrote: »

VaranisArano wrote: »

Jade1986 wrote: »

Are there any crafted sets good for being selfless, because from reading this i have seen a TON of dropped sets so far basically.

It looks like Torug's Pact (3 trait) used with the crushing enchantment would count as a "selfless" set because you are using it to increase the uptime of a debuff you are putting on the boss or enemies.

Tava's Favor was a potent tool for generating ultimate usually used with Warhorn, before ZOS removed Shuffle from heavy armor. If you can make it work though, its still very good.

Nightmother's Gaze, though this is more often a DPS set, could be used as a tank set reducing the enemy's physical resistance.

Redistributor, probably only effective on a Warden tank/healer

Most of the crafted sets are of the "selfish" variety, and that's not a bad thing. Crafted sets are designed for all players to have access to them and so it makes sense that the crafted sets would lean more towards making a tank a better tank than group support. Sets like Hist Bark and Whitestrake's Retribution are both very good tank sets, they just take the idea that "If my tank is stronger, I can help the group more because I'm a better tank" than giving direct support to the group in terms of buff/debuffs. There's definitely a time and a place for that. I learned to tank using Whitestrakes, then got comfortable using Plague Doctor and only switched to Ebon Armory once we were farming Crypt of Hearts regularly.

Hmmm, I will just use torugs with brass until I have ebon then. I was already using 3 torug 5 brass, but I guess I can switch them around. I am however using 2 light to help with magicka cost, regen, etc.Can you still reach the armor cap like that then? Also, how exactly does the cap work? Is there diminishing returns, or does it not mitigate after that point?

As long as you have decent CP don't worry about the armor cap. Most tanks do not hit the armor cap.

Torugs is a good set. (NMG is lousy for tanks due to a low crit chance).

For more magicka regen I suggest working on getting 1pc of chokethorn and 1pc shadowrend. Both monster sets.

For the time being ( not at cp lvl yet with this character ) I am using 5 torugs now, 3 Brass and 3 Shalks. 5 Health enchants, 2 magicka, 2 health regen, and one magicka regen. And weapons crusher and weakening with infused. Seems to work really well. But I will deff replace shalks and brass with ebon eventually and use one of the many monster helms I have stored in my bank which I seem to only get the tank ones xD.

Nelson_Rebel

I personally use my tank like this in Trials


•If main tanking I'll use one of these set combo's depending on Group and Trial

-Hist bark/Dragonguard
-Hist bark/EternalYokeda (The selfish setup because sometimes, things just goes wrong)
-Hist bark/Alkosh

Yes I use histbark, and Yes I have more than enough success Completing vet trials. The exceptions being the newly released trials as most of the people I played with quit after the Morrowind resource adjustments so I've been just waiting to do them.


•If Off tanking I'll use a couple different setups

-Ebon
-Dragonguard
-Torugs

•Monster sets
-Bloodspawn (General All purpose, great ulti gen)
-Lord Warden (Nice For group and great uptime)


I usually don't use torugs because we generally have more than enough boss penetration uptime with alll debuffs going, it's really just a meh set in my opinion. I've never noticed it make any difference on trial encounters. But in dungeons it's nice

Surgee

Being a tank is way more than just standing still and taunting.
A good tank can make a huge difference.
Here's what I do as a tank:

- I significantly buff the dmg of the group (weapon power, spell power, crits)
- debuff enemies (res debuff which buffs dmg of the group even higher, I also decrease dmg of all the enemies)
- I do crowd control (choking talons help a lot)
- I shield allies (shields via skills, ultimate, set effect)
- I do pretty ok damage (sword & board, 12k single target hits from super cheap skills + lots of AOE, it helps me hold aggro on mobs)
- I heal myself slightly through item sets at all times
- I can keep healing myself pretty well if things go south and healer dies
- I can resurrect players faster, better thanks to CP
- I can sustain myself

If I do my job well, healers can have take a rest quite often.
40k hp, 34k stam, capped res, 3600 wp, 30% crit chance....aaand mostly purple items ;D