Soundinfinite wrote: »Imperial or Nord
Imperial's reduce the cost of EVERYTHING 3% not a huge reduction but considering Tanks use Ultimate, Stamina and Magicka but have varying resource pools the reduction is a great thing for a tank.
Imperials also now Passively feed back all 3 resources, again making sustain, easier.
Imperials have the highest Max Stam + Max Health you can get in a Race.
Nord
Gives both Max Stam + Max Health, though at lower values than the Imperial
Has built in Phys and Spell resistance, meaning you can reach 50% cap much easier allowing for a more diversified build.
Ultimate regeneration synergies very well with Tanking roles, Especially Dragon Knight Tanks and Necro Tanks. It also makes it strong in changing over to PVP and running a Stamina focused Damage build.
You can still choose Argonian because they still have the BEST built in Racial Sustain. However, their low initial max stats and having nothing in the reduce cost or improve damage output leaves them a bit behind now, not by much, but its there. If you want to try your hand at a rare Magicka Tank Build the Argonian would hands down be the best choice.
Some people are claiming Orc, but this is a no. You can do it, you can do it with any race if you want. But the Orc is focused on DPS and Speed. Orc tanks are more OFF-Tanks or back-up tanks, or People who really want to DPS but queue as a tank. In truth the Orcs having Health Racial Passives is what makes them the Overpowered Race of the game. But no, they are not as strong as tanks as the other 3 here.
CMDR_Un1k0rn wrote: »I do fancy the idea of an Orc. After Redguards they're my favourite race from a cultural perspective.
Also, when I last dabbled in tanking, it was indeed with an Orc. Did pretty well all things considered.
Hmm. BiS or favourite race...
Also orc has a built-in self heal.
CMDR_Un1k0rn wrote: »
So it does. And I'm guessing that heal is initiated with a simple LA every few seconds?
Yep and if you do it right can put on master sword and shield and safe a bar slot.
Soundinfinite wrote: »Yes, again, "The Orc having Health Racial Passives is why it's the most overpowered Race in the game." was a statement I first made. If you took the Max Health and Self heal from the Orc there could not be any argument at all that it can be used in a tanking role.
If you also took these things from an Orc it would still have 258 Weapon Damage, 2000 Max Stam, and 10% movement speed with 12% reduction of movement cost. Meaning it would still be a balanced Race excellent for Damage and tuned in equality with the other races of the game and would still likely retain it's current #1 spot for Stamina DPS in both PVE and PVP.
It is an unbalanced race that is vastly over-perfoming and overpowered.
With that said. It does lack any form of cost reduction and any form of resource regeneration and hasn't any true qualities that pare well with a tank build...other than the mentioned "can get out of the way faster." However a roll-dodge by another race will get the job done and on a race that features reduced cost and regen to get the roll-dodge resource back well fare better.
The orc will have an uphill build battle in reaching mitigation cap, sustain resources, especially magicka resources, and has nothing to help pare with needed Ultimate use of tank (especially the Dragon Knight for sustain) or the new Necro which lives off its Ultimate.
Again any Race can be a tank, and one can argue the passives of a race on its helpfulness as a tank, and yes the Orc does have some. But they are vastly sub-par in the role compared to the other options. Namely an imperial, Nord, or Argonian.
But yes you can do it, and if you want, go at it. It's a game, you do it to have fun. And if the Orc is your favorite race GO FOR IT!!!
But what was asked was what race is BiS....and the Orc is NOT Bis for a tank.
CMDR_Un1k0rn wrote: »
That's fair enough, and you're right. You are only answering the question I posed. Now my desires may have changed some since then, but everything you said is helpful. Most helpful.
And for that I am grateful.
I am wondering though, if I wanted to take this Orc into say, vMA, with a revised build specifically for solo content, would an Orc be one of the better choices for a race who can do things aside from pure tanking?
Consider this an extension to my question, in light of new thoughts I've had over the last few hours.
TIA.
Littlebluelizard wrote: »The top three are equally good: Imperial, Nord and Argonian.
Argonian for sustain
Imperial a bit of sustain and max stats
Nord for ult gen and max stats
Depends on what you prefer. I'd go Nord but I like Lizards so much in Dromathra skin
This is a good explanation. I saw someone suggest orc for speed and dps. DPS is not part of your job as a tank. If you are interested in serious tanking then that is the last thing that will be on your mind.
It’s actually not uncommon for offtanks in score-runs to practically just be another dps with a taunt and higher resists. And there are a number of dungeon encounters where another dps is ultimately more beneficial than a tank.
My impression is op is just starting out and so it’s probably better to focus more on traditional tank duties for a while, but when you get to a very high level of play, a tank with decent damage output is feasible, helpful, and sometimes even expected.
He is not asking about OT, but tank. My comment was in direct response to what the OP was asking. Further, most score runs that need an OT do not require the OT to do DPS. What you are speaking to is core teams, not pug groups from within a guild.
Your ending comments are more in line with what OP is seeking.