Reasons not to Tank in ESO(Both Group and Solo Play), Is it not Attractive?

Robotmafia · February 2016

Other: Please Explain

i have a dps, tank and healer.. enjoy all 3 roles... i dont think the issue is tanking in the game... in my expirience tanks have always been the hardest to find in any mmo... people like to dps some like to heal and few like to tank... iv also gotten the feeling that some people feel tanking is a larger responsibility and you have to know the mechanics better... which can be true and a reason why people dont choose to be a tank... if i were new to mmos i certainly wouldnt choose to be a tank... even now my first choice was dps then i level a healer then a tank... i guess it can also kind of an ungreatful role... if everything goes well people say the dps was good or the healing... the praise rarely goes to the tank bc people just expect a tank to tank...

sorry for the rambling lol... i personally enjoy tanking in this game and wouldnt blame the game itself for tanks being hard to find but the general nature of the role and its popularity through out mmos

Derra · February 2016

I love PVP, and I feel there is no place for Tanks

couchkyle25_ESO wrote: »

As someone who is a Tank, I think I can say I understand the frustrations of what this game did to the Tanking play-style. DPS is God, DPS is life. DPS for the DPS God blah blah blah, the game is literally nothing but DPS everywhere and it kind of sickens me that no one besides Tank players even seem to care. Of course why would they, their play-styles are not only important, but vital in the current state of the game, why increase the chance of making themselves less useful in the grand scheme by advocating for Tanks to get a fair shake? From a game-play perspective this game has pissed me off since launch, and it does not get any better for me personally. In the beginning it was Staves Online: literally all else is pointless! And slowly it has change and morphed into DPS Online: Tanks are literally pointless!. Unfortunately, while Staves Online was quite fixable, and eventually was, DPS Online is not, because the layout of the (imo) god awful Champion Point system clearly speaks volumes about how few *** are given about Tanking. As said above, DPS can just stack mitigation and resistances through the CP system, not to mention they can get basically unlimited Armor Penetration. ZOS has made it quite clear they don't care about Tanks, everything they develop caters to DPS, and more often than not actively punishes Tanks (I'm looking at you Maelstrom). Tanks have become a worthless, rusted third wheel left to rot in the weeds that no one wants or cares about, not even the people doing the yard-work. That might not be true, but I can tell you that from my perspective as a Tank, even one who has adapted to the new methods post Stam nerf...that's exactly how it feels to me.

Would you mind explaining to me what the role of playing a tank in pvp was before the perceived nerfs to tanking?

In my opinion there never was a true tanking role for pvp in eso simply because tanking requires people to attack you or other means to interact with them. Esos combat system never offered that for tanks (light armor s&b magica DKs weren´t tanks imho - they were incredibly durable dps).
Tanks have only ever been annoying. I personally feel they should have purpose - but i think that just not dying to annoy your opponent shouldn´t be said purpose nor should that playstyle be vaible in any form.

Maybe my personal idea of what a tank is or does isn´t fitting here - who knows.

LegendaryNinja · February 2016

Robotmafia wrote: »

i have a dps, tank and healer.. enjoy all 3 roles... i dont think the issue is tanking in the game... in my expirience tanks have always been the hardest to find in any mmo... people like to dps some like to heal and few like to tank... iv also gotten the feeling that some people feel tanking is a larger responsibility and you have to know the mechanics better... which can be true and a reason why people dont choose to be a tank... if i were new to mmos i certainly wouldnt choose to be a tank... even now my first choice was dps then i level a healer then a tank... i guess it can also kind of an ungreatful role... if everything goes well people say the dps was good or the healing... the praise rarely goes to the tank bc people just expect a tank to tank...

sorry for the rambling lol... i personally enjoy tanking in this game and wouldnt blame the game itself for tanks being hard to find but the general nature of the role and its popularity through out mmos

I loved Tanking in FF 14ARR, Tanks had incentives when Tanking. MOre loot, special rewards and things like that.

couchkyle25_ESO · February 2016

Heavy Armor does not make my character more "Tanky"

Derra wrote: »

couchkyle25_ESO wrote: »

As someone who is a Tank, I think I can say I understand the frustrations of what this game did to the Tanking play-style. DPS is God, DPS is life. DPS for the DPS God blah blah blah, the game is literally nothing but DPS everywhere and it kind of sickens me that no one besides Tank players even seem to care. Of course why would they, their play-styles are not only important, but vital in the current state of the game, why increase the chance of making themselves less useful in the grand scheme by advocating for Tanks to get a fair shake? From a game-play perspective this game has pissed me off since launch, and it does not get any better for me personally. In the beginning it was Staves Online: literally all else is pointless! And slowly it has change and morphed into DPS Online: Tanks are literally pointless!. Unfortunately, while Staves Online was quite fixable, and eventually was, DPS Online is not, because the layout of the (imo) god awful Champion Point system clearly speaks volumes about how few *** are given about Tanking. As said above, DPS can just stack mitigation and resistances through the CP system, not to mention they can get basically unlimited Armor Penetration. ZOS has made it quite clear they don't care about Tanks, everything they develop caters to DPS, and more often than not actively punishes Tanks (I'm looking at you Maelstrom). Tanks have become a worthless, rusted third wheel left to rot in the weeds that no one wants or cares about, not even the people doing the yard-work. That might not be true, but I can tell you that from my perspective as a Tank, even one who has adapted to the new methods post Stam nerf...that's exactly how it feels to me.

Would you mind explaining to me what the role of playing a tank in pvp was before the perceived nerfs to tanking?

In my opinion there never was a true tanking role for pvp in eso simply because tanking requires people to attack you or other means to interact with them. Esos combat system never offered that for tanks (light armor s&b magica DKs weren´t tanks imho - they were incredibly durable dps).
Tanks have only ever been annoying. I personally feel they should have purpose - but i think that just not dying to annoy your opponent shouldn´t be said purpose nor should that playstyle be vaible in any form.

Maybe my personal idea of what a tank is or does isn´t fitting here - who knows.

No you're absolutely right, Tanks have never had a purpose in PVP, and absolutely never will. I never meant to imply otherwise. It does not change the fact however that the entire game, not just Cyrodiil, is being developed in favor of DPS.

LegendaryNinja · February 2016

couchkyle25_ESO wrote: »

Derra wrote: »

couchkyle25_ESO wrote: »

As someone who is a Tank, I think I can say I understand the frustrations of what this game did to the Tanking play-style. DPS is God, DPS is life. DPS for the DPS God blah blah blah, the game is literally nothing but DPS everywhere and it kind of sickens me that no one besides Tank players even seem to care. Of course why would they, their play-styles are not only important, but vital in the current state of the game, why increase the chance of making themselves less useful in the grand scheme by advocating for Tanks to get a fair shake? From a game-play perspective this game has pissed me off since launch, and it does not get any better for me personally. In the beginning it was Staves Online: literally all else is pointless! And slowly it has change and morphed into DPS Online: Tanks are literally pointless!. Unfortunately, while Staves Online was quite fixable, and eventually was, DPS Online is not, because the layout of the (imo) god awful Champion Point system clearly speaks volumes about how few *** are given about Tanking. As said above, DPS can just stack mitigation and resistances through the CP system, not to mention they can get basically unlimited Armor Penetration. ZOS has made it quite clear they don't care about Tanks, everything they develop caters to DPS, and more often than not actively punishes Tanks (I'm looking at you Maelstrom). Tanks have become a worthless, rusted third wheel left to rot in the weeds that no one wants or cares about, not even the people doing the yard-work. That might not be true, but I can tell you that from my perspective as a Tank, even one who has adapted to the new methods post Stam nerf...that's exactly how it feels to me.

Would you mind explaining to me what the role of playing a tank in pvp was before the perceived nerfs to tanking?

In my opinion there never was a true tanking role for pvp in eso simply because tanking requires people to attack you or other means to interact with them. Esos combat system never offered that for tanks (light armor s&b magica DKs weren´t tanks imho - they were incredibly durable dps).
Tanks have only ever been annoying. I personally feel they should have purpose - but i think that just not dying to annoy your opponent shouldn´t be said purpose nor should that playstyle be vaible in any form.

Maybe my personal idea of what a tank is or does isn´t fitting here - who knows.

No you're absolutely right, Tanks have never had a purpose in PVP, and absolutely never will. I never meant to imply otherwise. It does not change the fact however that the entire game, not just Cyrodiil, is being developed in favor of DPS.

lol, i guess it's time to make a nightblade dps. I fought a emperor stam nightblade(and lost) and even blocking full buffed, armor cap surprise attack still hitting for 10-12k per hit while blocking. And I was on my templar magicka tank and healing with breath of life.

Kippesnikke · February 2016

silentgecko wrote: »

it is just boring.

standing in block for like couple minutes. throw a horn when ready. if your stam gets low ask for a spear.

everything done....

u sound like a casual tank.

LegendaryNinja · February 2016

Kippesnikke wrote: »

silentgecko wrote: »

it is just boring.

standing in block for like couple minutes. throw a horn when ready. if your stam gets low ask for a spear.

everything done....

u sound like a casual tank.

Actually I have 3 tank builds. My first one(and failure) was a Sorcerer Stam Tank, then my second one was a Magica Templar(Awesome survivability) and now on my Stam DK Tank(Even better). And I also have 1 DPS Stam Sorc.

ListerJMC · February 2016

Other: Please Explain

Derra wrote: »

In eso tanks are only durable. They offer nothing else to a grp. While that is still needed for some pve content it´s absolutely superfluous in pvp. When i still see those magica DK tank players helplessly getting rooted in place flapping their wings while their grp gets slaughtered around them i can´t help but feel bad. Their only purpose is to be annoying and anyone knowing that will just ignore them because they can´t do any harm.

Basically my entire experience in pvp as a magicka DK tank.

I've been pvping on my Nightblade DPS more often and it's becoming painfully obvious why everyone does this. It's easier to kill things, I have better regen, my survivability isn't that bad due to increased mobility among other things... where's the downside? It's very disheartening because my tank's my main pvper.

Anhedonie · February 2016

DPS wins all Day every Day

4 stamina dds can faceroll everything. Well, except for trials maybe.

Personofsecrets · February 2016

Other: Please Explain

Thank you @Wing @LegendaryNinja , I'll post my thoughts later today. I also have an idea that could help us get some attention on the forums so keep a look out.

AH93 · February 2016

Other: Please Explain

I play as a tank because I enjoy it.

Flak · February 2016

Other: Please Explain

As I have 7 vetchars I like to play every role from time to time, but when I run Tank, ppl always want me to Tank and I don't get to play the other roles anymore.

myrrrorb14_ESO · February 2016

Nerf to Stam Regen While Blocking

I believe that the no regen while blocking got rid of most of the bad tanks and quite a few of the okay ones. It's much easier to be a bad dps then a bad tank imo.

vyndral13preub18_ESO · February 2016

Other: Please Explain

The same reason there is a shortage of tanks in every game. This problem is not ESO specific.

LadyNalcarya · February 2016

Other: Please Explain

I have both tank and dd characters. Oh, and healer as well.
Yeah, tank is not a good choice if you only have 1 char or when leveling. And of course, I leveled mine as a dd, and then respecced.

Iove · February 2016

Other: Please Explain

I prefer ranged gameplay usually. I mainly play healer, sometimes don't need a tank at all, but if I have one, you can be sure that I'll provide a supporting service like a 5 star spa.

Julianos · February 2016

DPS wins all Day every Day

tanks are useless anyone can tank who has only shield and puncture/inner fire useless in pvp too they dont die but i just simply ignore them cuz they hit like a lil girl.

RDMyers65b14_ESO · February 2016

Other: Please Explain

This is my first MMO. Before coming to the game, I had the impression that a tank served the role of
doing the heavy hits such as the Thing from Fantastic Four or the Incredible Hulk. Then I am told that in MMOs, the tank is not supposed to do anything but block. Doesn't make sense to me.

Guess that is why I play a healer... No one argues that a healer doesn't heal.

willymchilybily · February 2016

more than one of the above:

Pure Tanks in PvP = sucky (no damage/low regen/enemy penetration stacked/high block cost in pvp due to lots of hits/ everything)
DPS is Required for maelstrom DPS race boss mechanics in stages 5 and 9. with potentially the same being true for stage 1, 4 and 6 (in that order) due to add spawns and mechanics.
DPS can survive well in PvE content, so some content doesnt need a tank
it takes longer to do anything tank spec when solo'ing, why bother? Its only the armor/gear that makes you a tank switch it out and get good/mediocre dps instead making it all quicker.
you get 50% mitigation tops from the armor with alot of waste to reach that cap, but just blocking with sword and shield can do more than this (55% with no clothes on.) Heavy Armor is as good as worthless unless playing truely hard content, which there is not that much of for V16 groups.

yake82 · February 2016

Other: Please Explain

You are going to need dps spec and gear to do anything alone. So people just dont want to split their skillpoints and CP over 2 roles.

Rossphi · February 2016

Heavy Armor does not make my character more "Tanky"

Tanking still has a place. They keep forcing us out of our role with untankable bosses, but I still think a good tank is better than 3 DPS.interrupting, hitting synergies, Debuffing, Rooting adds in an aoe, and placing a boss in a certain location are vital to any dungeon. It's just those times where you can't tank that you get most complaints. Even then it's usually weak dps that's the actual problem.

Aoife32001 · February 2016

Heavy Armor does not make my character more "Tanky"

I love playing tanks and still play them in ESO. I just wish ESO liked having them too.

Zorrashi · February 2016

Other: Please Explain

Typically when I play games, I don't want to get hit and see my health bar take damage.

Thus, tanking in an MMO is foreign to me. Intentionally taking damage, expected to have shields or mitigation all the time, expected to live through it, basically being a taunting human shield. Madness.
Being a tank, for me, is basically like waving a flag over your head that reads: Kill me!

I am literally intrinsically adverse to tanking. I think of the role and all see is "DO NOT DO THAT".

remilafo · February 2016

DPS wins all Day every Day

3 dps and 1 healer gets the job done and quicker. poor tanks imo. blame zos..

Tank really are only needed for trials but all the trials are v11-V13 and drop only v13-v14 gear. Very few people still care about the trials.

Strider_Roshin · February 2016

Tanks make PvE easy. And will make PvP groups quite successful.

Kukuii · February 2016

Other: Please Explain

I play a Magicka Temp Tank. I tank in almost every MMO I play, yet this one feels odd. There is no AoE taunt. As a tank I feel I should be holding threat on everything like in every other MMO, yet this one it is ok to just let the trash/adds run wild after the DPS and Healers.

I do not like this.

WillhelmBlack · February 2016

Other: Please Explain

Heal/Tank here. 3 DPS FTW!

Purdomination33 · February 2016

I love PVP, and I feel there is no place for Tanks

The answer is simple: time vs opportunity.

It seems many people who participate in this forum are the true die hard players. For the die hard players having multiple V16's equipped with full Legendary gear is commonplace. However the vast majority of players cannot invest the time to create several high end characters each with a specific role in mind. How many times have you read "it just takes 8 hours of grinding to complete xyz, I did it in a day". Or when talking about builds "You need Gold everything, 2 monster sets, Robust Agility rings and 501 Champion points for this build". Those who can dedicate that amount of time are the exceptions not the standard.

Whether it is done consciously or not most of us are forced to create a character that can participate in as many aspects of the game as possible. Dungeons and trials can take large chunks of time so creating a character who is most effective in that style of content does not make much sense.

Obviously there will be exceptions where people have found a niche in tanking. This simply makes them rare opposed to non-existent.

Hope499 · February 2016

DPS wins all Day every Day

Where is the "all of the above" option.

TotterTates · February 2016

The issue is that there aren't a lot of great tanks in game (for many of the reasons you all have stated), resulting in many groups finding a 3-DPS setup much more efficient.

A truly great tank will make anything in pve, from questing to trials, go much smoother.

I've tanked since the november beta and have published builds since early 1.4, but I'll be the first to admit that 1.6 made me want to give up on tanking. Alas, I'm a bit of a masochist...