Tank = typically uses heavy armour and has the heavy armour line maxed, uses tank orientated set bonuses (Hist Bark springs to mind) to reduce / avoid damage taken, actively taunts and holds aggro on priority targets while holding down block, often interrupts the boss and normally uses a 1 hand and shield. Typically doesn't contribute much in terms of damage to a fight compared with a raw DPS spec.

DPS = optimised to deal maximum damage.. Pretty much it. This varies depending on class / build.

A quick example, my Sorcerer can probably tank using Bound Armour / Thundering Presence / Inner fire alongside spell fillers while using heavy armour and whatnot. If I was DPS orientated I'd use Mage's Light / Crystal Fragments / Crushing Shock / Endless Fury with light armour sort of thing.

Does that make sense? If it doesn't I completely understand, it's 5am and I probably should go to bed.

@The_Sadist gives you some TESO-related specifics.

Generally, a Tank's primary focus is to grab the attention of the monster(s) and be "built like a tank" to take the hits while the DPS focuses on killing.

The holy-trinity:
Tank : Most (if not all) monsters should be attacking me.
DPS : Kill the monsters.
Healer : Keep the group alive (mostly the tank).

The_Sadist wrote: »

actively taunts and holds aggro on priority targets while holding down block,

How does one taunt I don't remember seeing that listed in the skill descriptions of my main?

jrgray93 wrote: »

I find it hilarious that you made it that far into the game without knowing what tanking was all about.

That's not an insult to you. I mean absolutely no offense. I mean to point out how useless tanks are through most of this game's content. So useless that people can make it to veteran ranks without knowing what a tank is!

I've just been treating this game like any other Elderscrolls game, and some people are ok with it but others get down right irate when I tell them I have no clue whether or not I am tank or DPS

jrgray93 wrote: »

In that case, just identify as a DPS. Tanking is a more specialized role. It puts lets pressure on you to do what they ask of you if you're a DPS. Unless you're doing trials, nobody will even notice if your DPS is low. DPS get a free pass just about always. That is unless they stand in the fire. But then they just blame the healer and wash their hands of it.

So, in short, you're a DPS by default.

That's a great tip, Ill keep it in mind. Generally in the Elderscrolls games if I run into mobs I can't handle myself there is almost always a way to sneak around them and that helps me gain experience to level so I can kick their rear at a later date. ESO so far has been no exception. That is excluding the public dungeons and world bosses. I always wear heavy armor and sneak attack if a front on assault doesn't work.


On a side note how do I figure out what my DPS is?

The difference is huge on some other MMOs , ESO is just not one of them.

The tank is there to absorb damage and protect the rest of the team , in other MMO a boss could kill pretty much anyone AND everyone else in one atk sometimes , the tank is the one responsible for making sure the boss only hit where the boss must hit.

Ofc , DPS many times also have jobs and so on , but their true task is just hitting hard , if they make a mistake , usually only they die and while true that by having less dps many times everyone will wipe also , it is not something pretty much 100% the moment the tank makes his mistake.

There is usually a LOT more pressure under the tanks hat than the dps.

But in ESO the lines are not so fixed , hell you barely have taunts in the game and so on , so it isnt surprising that you cant notice the difference since this is your first MMO.

Iago wrote: »

The_Sadist wrote: »

actively taunts and holds aggro on priority targets while holding down block,

How does one taunt I don't remember seeing that listed in the skill descriptions of my main?

Puncture (One-handed) or Inner Fire (Undaunted). Both last 15 seconds. There are other ways of building up aggro like AoE damage or heals, but direct taunt is necessary for a tank.

Iago wrote: »

I've just been treating this game like any other Elderscrolls game, and some people are ok with it but others get down right irate when I tell them I have no clue whether or not I am tank or DPS

I have had the same experience as you when I first played MMO. I played as dps specced in heal with tank gear. ..in WoW. I was having fun, but people couldn't get over it. In this game you should be able to play whatever you please - as per their own hype claim - play whatever you want.

Most vocal people in MMOs are poor souls with no anger management, bully psychology and zero tolerance to others. Of course they never do any mistake themselves.
The fault is actually not so much in you, but in them. The more you ignore them the more you can enjoy the game.

That being said you should know in endgame what roles are and how to play them. The game itself does require the trinity - roles when joining dungeon are plain proof of this. So regarding the hype claim vs reality, I would use the famous quote: "Any customer can have a car painted any colour that he wants so long as it is black."

I'll just repeat what was said before:
Tank - your main and final aim is that every mob is attacking you and nobody else. You have huge health pool, heavy mitigation (heavy armor + shield) and tools to hold "Aggro" (Aggro/Threat. NPCs decide whom to attack based on how much "aggro/threat" each player generates. Aggro/threat is generated by heals and attacks.). Some attacks do not generate threat depending on how much damage they do automaticaly to, rather they take over aggro to you and you hold it regardless of how much threat are others doing towards that particular enemy. These special attacks are generally called "Taunts". Your first Sword/shield ability attack is doing exactly this.
What you want to do as a tank is to use taunts, block as much as possible and cc (disable enemy/NPS) if neccessary.
In practical situations it's often hard to hold aggro of EVERY NPC so you basically make sure that healr is not harrased, you have as many NPCs on you as possible and the rest is up to the dps teammates.
Many dps will tell you that you or healers are responsible if they die, but this is not true. What happens most of the time is that dps is simply a bad player who doesn't know how the game works and how to play his role. Ideally a dps should attack your target (which is most likey taunted). They should watch their threat and not overaggro you. If they do, they should cease dpsing on that particular NPC and let you take over. What they actually do is that they go on rampage on nearest/random NPC, they overragro and get themselves killed. They don't realize they screwed up and they blame you or healer.
Ofc, you should do as much as you can to put out as much aggro as you can, but you can only do so much agrro over a certain period of time. Just make sure that healer is not attacked - because if he is he'll probably have to heal himself and not you. Since he's in light armor and not blocking he's tanking LOADS more damage than you and thus have to heal himself WAY more then he would have to heal you (your mitigation helps here).
So how does a typical tanking look like? You charge in, take as many aggro as soon as you can (Probably AoE attack if there are several mobs, taunt on boss. Maybe a few taunts if mobs are not too numerous. Then block and cc until you need to renew taunts.). Watch out if the healar is not under attack, if he is, immediatelly taunt NPCs on him.
Tank usually take also care of interrupting enemy casting so if you see NPC casting it will fall to you to interrupt it unless you have arranged for a dps doing so.
Tank are typically also expected to know tactics of all bosses and should be able to explain them to others. You are considered a leader of the group. That comes with responsibility.
Being a good tank is the hardest role of all 3. You need to know at every moment what is going on, you have to watch aggro, take care of interrupts, stuns, positioning. This in practical terms also means watching your silly dps members and taunting NPCs that they have randomly attacked.

Edward000 wrote: »

I have had the same experience as you when I first played MMO. I played as dps specced in heal with tank gear. ..in WoW. I was having fun, but people couldn't get over it.

To be fair, most people will only comment on your build/gear if you're in a group with them. And if you're in a group with them as a DPS specced in heals with tank gear, then you're kind of wasting their time.

If you show up to a local basketball court, ask to join in, get put on a team, and then proceed to run with the ball, kick the ball, shoot at the wrong basket, and frequently give the ball to the opposing team because it turns out that you don't really know how to play basketball after all, then you can't really be mad if they kick you out.

Venereous44 wrote: »

I have to agree.. I miss the solid trinity... it helped knowing what your role was definitively. ESO has flattened out the trinity triangle in its quest to make all builds semi-functional in any situation. So everything is pseudo... you're sort of a tank... sort of a healer.. sort of a DPS'er..

It's the revenge of the hybrids, mwuh-hah-hah-ha! Personally, as a perennial player of hybrids, I'm enjoying not being pigeon-holed into a single activity.

Exarch wrote: »

Venereous44 wrote: »

I have to agree.. I miss the solid trinity... it helped knowing what your role was definitively. ESO has flattened out the trinity triangle in its quest to make all builds semi-functional in any situation. So everything is pseudo... you're sort of a tank... sort of a healer.. sort of a DPS'er..

It's the revenge of the hybrids, mwuh-hah-hah-ha! Personally, as a perennial player of hybrids, I'm enjoying not being pigeon-holed into a single activity.

Hybrids and Holy Trinity encounter design are not mutually exclusive.

And unless you're a Heal/DPS hybrid, you're not any better off than you are in other games on the scale of being useful.

Natjur wrote: »

Holy Trinity encounters normally means something hitting so hard only a full tank can handle and a full healer keeping them up. Hybrid tanks would get one shotted. (Well ever MMO I have played that uses the Holy Trinity has worked this way).

I like it that (as a templar) I can be any role, just swap a few skills and I can tank the vet dugn or heal it (I would say I could dps it, but .... I am a templar so I can't win all three)

Even in WoW a DPS Druid could often shift into bear form and off-tank something, or a Paladin could throw out their big heal and help out the tank in a pinch. And WoW is like, the Trinityiest MMO ever.

There's definitely a middle ground.

The first MMO I played was EQ1 and my first toon was an enchanter. CC was the hardest role and one mistake and your dead and soon after, the rest of the group is. Problem is, it was very hard to get a balanced group, now its simply (tank, healer and 2 dps) and since anyone can be a tank, dps or healer if they have the right weapons\skills, you just need 4 people. (well four people who are willing to fulfill any role)

I just wanted to take a moment to thank everyone for their input. I do appreciate it.

SFBryan18 wrote: »

My character has an good balance of health, damage, and healing. Investing everything into one category is a system taken from games that were not TES, and though they do work in group situations, I wonder if a group of players with characters like mine would do just as well. All I think of when I hear the word "tank" is someone trying to make a character that can't die. I think any player who can't die, should also not be able to kill, AKA Passive Mode in GTA5.

I have made it to VR7 with a character built like that, I believe it is viable to assume a group of people with that build could do just as well as any other group