Tanking in ESO is based on "taunt" skills that draw an enemy's attention to you for a given period of time. There are only 2 taunts in the game: one in the sword & shield skill line, the other in the undaunted skill line. Unless there is a tank in the party using these skills on bosses and possibly trash mobs too, it will get messy, as dungeon enemies are much harder for the same level than open world enemies.

Also, many players don't know (or care) that some heavy-hitting attacks can be interrupted. When that is the case, there will be a visual cue on the enemy charging up the attack. It's a good idea to interrupt those charged attacks, such as the cone AoE from archers, and also interrupt the healers when they are self-healing or healing other enemies. You can interrupt by doing a shield/weapon bash (press your light attack while blocking) or by using specific attacks that interrupt targets.

Speaking of healers, target them first if possible, since their healing is going to make the fights much longer and harder. Enemy heals are very quick so someone should always identify the healers, get in melee range (or pull them to him) and bring them down quickly, interrupting whenever they start to heal. As you become more powerful, trash pulls become just a matter of running into the fray and spamming your hard-hitting AoE of choice to melt them in 2 seconds.

Another thing in dungeons is that there will typically be a lot of AoE on the ground. It's a sound idea to stay out of the red, if for nothing more, then at least to make your healer's life easier. Also, even if you're not using a sword & shield, it's a good idea to block heavy attacks (they also have visual cues that you'll learn to identify). Boss heavy attacks in particular can one-shot a non-tanky player if not blocked or evaded.

I think it's not the dungeon, but the people you play with. Dungeons are fun to run with groups as long as everyone is on the same page and everyone knows what their role is. I agree with above that people (I'm assuming you're in console) make their role different from what they usually are in group finder. This will make it an unenjoyable experience if you can't complete dungeons with people that doesn't know what they're doing. It's part of the experience, and later on once everyone gets a handle of the dungeons and their roles, it will make it a lot easier.

Dungeons are a lot of fun.

But there's a huge difference between going in with a group that knows what they are doing and one that doesn't.

This is particularly true for vet dungeons.

nosworc wrote: »

Hey all, first post here so go easy on me.

First off i'd like to say that i'm really enjoying Eso so far, i was on the fence about buying it after hearing all the negative reviews from other people but i'm glad i took the plunge, haven't played anything else since i bought it.
I do have an issue though and i can't put my finger on why the hell i'm feeling this way, dungeons! I'm not enjoying them at all. As someone who loves running dungeons in other mmo's this is killing me, it just seems random as all hell. From what i understand there isn't the usual aggro system in play here so every dungeon turns into pure mayhem from my experience, add to this people joining groups as healers or tanks and not actually doing those jobs it just gets worse, i don't know, maybe i just got bad groups.
Do dungeons get smoother as levels progress or is this just how Eso dungeons work? I'm loving everything else, the questing is great, the world bosses and the anchors are awesome too. I just wish dungeons were a little more organised i guess.
Thanks for reading and any feedback is appreciated.

ESO design was a bit to short sighted. Roles need to be far more defined. Tanking is very rudimentary and most everything is based of situational awareness and DPS. But with that said they are fun if your not in VR you really dont need rles so if your having problems its likely gear and playing with brand new people that are learning just like you. the VR dungeons require a bit more role specific play and co op

Tanking in this game is a joke to say the least. The tanks job is to hold 1-2 mobs at a time while the DPS and Healer run around like fools trying not to die and kill the other 4-6 mobs in a pull. Tanks need some "This causes more Threat/Hate" skills, especially some AoE ones. Dungeons in this game depend 100% on your DPS and Healer, the tank is more along for the ride. Thats not to say you dont need a tank for some (not all) dungeons because there are some bosses and trash mobs that hit pretty hard.

MikeB wrote: »

Tanking in this game is a joke to say the least. The tanks job is to hold 1-2 mobs at a time while the DPS and Healer run around like fools trying not to die and kill the other 4-6 mobs in a pull. Tanks need some "This causes more Threat/Hate" skills, especially some AoE ones. Dungeons in this game depend 100% on your DPS and Healer, the tank is more along for the ride. Thats not to say you dont need a tank for some (not all) dungeons because there are some bosses and trash mobs that hit pretty hard.

You're doing it wrong somehow. I'm far from the best tank in the game (never tanked a trial, though I've tanked all other PvE content) and I can still hold most or all enemies in a trash pull. I open with Eruption, which slows them down, then jump in the middle of the pack, throw some Talons on them and while they're rooted I spam my taunts to get them all on me. If any are too far, I chain them into the group so my mates can melt everyone fast.

That said, tanks don't even need to hold aggro on every enemy. In fact, the best tanks don't do it, they get the big bad ones and help with the group dps. Unless the dps and the healer are standing inside every aoe and taking heavy attacks without blocking, there is no reason for them to be dying a lot even if the tank occasionally goofs up a pull.

Dungeoning is were ESO splits ways from everything else the game taught. Lower level you can get by with just a Healer. However at a certain point you need a Tank and Healer. However there is nothing to enforce those rolls, and they are unlike most things in the game, unable to be done by just anyone.

A Tank needs defensive skills and most importantly taunts, and a Healer needs heals and resource support. Dungeons are designed around think the group will have all the roles filled.

How can so many people be so bad?
I've died a handful of times and have run every dungeon available at level 38. My guilders and I have made a mockery of the dungeons so far. I'll assume it gets exponentially more difficult at vr.

nosworc wrote: »

Hey all, first post here so go easy on me.

First off i'd like to say that i'm really enjoying Eso so far, i was on the fence about buying it after hearing all the negative reviews from other people but i'm glad i took the plunge, haven't played anything else since i bought it.
I do have an issue though and i can't put my finger on why the hell i'm feeling this way, dungeons! I'm not enjoying them at all. As someone who loves running dungeons in other mmo's this is killing me, it just seems random as all hell. From what i understand there isn't the usual aggro system in play here so every dungeon turns into pure mayhem from my experience, add to this people joining groups as healers or tanks and not actually doing those jobs it just gets worse, i don't know, maybe i just got bad groups.
Do dungeons get smoother as levels progress or is this just how Eso dungeons work? I'm loving everything else, the questing is great, the world bosses and the anchors are awesome too. I just wish dungeons were a little more organised i guess.
Thanks for reading and any feedback is appreciated.

This is why I don't pug. I do dungeons strictly with my guildies who are bada$$ and know the fights. They tell me what to do and I do it and all goes well. LOL If you don't have someone calling the shots who knows the fights you are just asking for heartache and pure frustration.

Group dungeons are pretty fun, if you got a good team. Low levels often don't know which skills to slot, don't have passives, wear looted armor with random traits etc.

All dungeons can be done with off tanking or off healing, and just dps dps dps, but most groups - specially inexperienced ones need at least a healer.

The thing is, even for PC users finding a good team is hard. Zonechat pugs can lead from a nice and smooth run to a 2 hours nightmare.

I once joined a team alone, where they needed a healer at the netch boss in veteran Darkshade Caverns. I grouped up with them and ran toward their place.... tried to heal - we wiped 2-3 times because the dps was too low. I finelly suggested that we did 2 runs, one dps got kicked and I got a friend dps to help out and it went smooth. We of course made a new run with the dps that had been kicked out, and got that done too - total time spent 30 minutes. Before I got into the group, the poor people had spent like 2-3 hours in there.

Slightly off topic here but what exactly is the deal with the group dungeon finder? Unless you stay staring at the screen when the group is found i literally have no idea what dungeon i'm supposed to be going to. Maybe there is a way to see this but for the life of me i can't find it, a simple teleport to dungeon would help matters.

daemonios wrote: »

nosworc wrote: »

Slightly off topic here but what exactly is the deal with the group dungeon finder? Unless you stay staring at the screen when the group is found i literally have no idea what dungeon i'm supposed to be going to. Maybe there is a way to see this but for the life of me i can't find it, a simple teleport to dungeon would help matters.

Don't you have to specify which dungeon you want to do when you use the LFG tool? If that's the case, it's only a matter of porting into that dungeon when the group is ready. But I agree, it wouldn't hurt to have an auto-port feature, possibly subject to a delay so people could finish whatever they're doing.

Na i usually pick "Any" when using it because it says the queues will be shorter when doing so. Not that they are any shorter ofc. I'm on Ps4 so it could be different Pc side.

nosworc wrote: »

daemonios wrote: »

nosworc wrote: »

Slightly off topic here but what exactly is the deal with the group dungeon finder? Unless you stay staring at the screen when the group is found i literally have no idea what dungeon i'm supposed to be going to. Maybe there is a way to see this but for the life of me i can't find it, a simple teleport to dungeon would help matters.

Don't you have to specify which dungeon you want to do when you use the LFG tool? If that's the case, it's only a matter of porting into that dungeon when the group is ready. But I agree, it wouldn't hurt to have an auto-port feature, possibly subject to a delay so people could finish whatever they're doing.

Na i usually pick "Any" when using it because it says the queues will be shorter when doing so. Not that they are any shorter ofc. I'm on Ps4 so it could be different Pc side.

I've never noticed an option to choose "any" dungeon on the PC, but it could be there. It's not as if I'm in the habit of using the LFG tool, since it's so messed up and has been since launch, and it's pretty straightforward getting a group of guildies or in zone chat