Point 1:

I would probably say damage mitigation, crowd control and holding aggro all kind of go hand in hand. Certain tank classes will have different strengths and weaknesses, depending on your build. One thing to bear in mind is that though there are two taunt skills in the game, mobs do develop immunity if it's spammed too frequently. What I try to do is root > get an initial AE/DOT/AEDOT going > root again mana permitting > then begin tapping every mob in the encounter with puncture (whichever morph you choose). Cycle more as aggro is lost and do your best to keep the mobs together, grouped up, aggro on you, and try to keep them from running out of the big group.

Point 2:

Every class brings its own strengths and weaknesses to tanking (or any role). I will break down some of them here, bearing in mind that your mileage may vary quite a bit depending on your choice of secondary weapon (because you at the very least need 1h + shield for one of them ) I've tanked with every class, and here are my thoughts:

Dragonknight - probably the easiest to tank with. They have easy access to CC, self-defense, group shielding as well as some decent emergency self-heals if necessary. Probably has the most inherent overall mitigation of the four classes. This is a very well rounded class for tanking, and generally the one I prefer to play while tanking. They also have plenty of go-to AE damage sources for AE aggro. Zero ranged, which sucks, but if you keep the chain pull as an actual pull, you can spam it for ranged damage if you're forced into range. Or if the target can be pulled, well it pulls them to you, so there you go. This is the main reason I keep the pull as an actual pull. That and pulling something to you is just inherently more badass than ziplining to it.

Nightblade - probably the hardest to tank with. They have little to no CC, but they do have a lot of "taps" - power taps, magicka and stamina taps, and lifetaps. Nightblades with the right build can make the biggest recovery from the brink of death (on my nightblade I can basically go from 15% to full when I kill a target). They have the most "tricks" to escape some mechanics, as well as a mana-based dodge ability that is *very* nice. They probably have (arguably) the highest burst/single target damage, which is good for sustaining aggro in single boss fights as well as killing the boss faster. They have arguably the worst inherent AE aggro because their class AE's are not very powerful. I get around this using the stamina regen morphed whirlwind (easier to spam with that morph for more aggro) ability from the DW tree. I would still prefer to have an AE root, though - the lack of CC exacerbates the issue. They're slightly better off in the spell damage mitigation department than DK's. Likewise, they have a number of great utilities as well as a few ranged attack. High mobility relative to DK, which is helpful in trying to get around and poke things with your taunt to hold aggro

Sorc - probably the second easiest to tank with. Their abilities are very straightforward, and they are arguably the best of the tanks at holding AE aggro, if you go by sheer damage and aggro without accounting for CCs. They have some CC< but not as much as DK, but are better off than Nightblades in that department. They're better off than DK's in the spell damage mitigation department. They also have very high mobility, and TONS of ranged options.

Templar - second hardest to tank with, though still noticeably easier than nightblade. Not because you'll hold aggro way easier or anything like that, but because when you don't have aggro, you have access to a healing tree without requiring a restoration staff, which is the main thing that sets templar tanks apart. They have CCs to help, which is awesome, as well as some great spammable point blank AE abilities which also helps with aggro. But what makes them particularly unique is their ability to self-heal (making them very sustainable) and the ability to heal groupmates if they do indeed lose aggro, which can often make up for losing it to begin with. It's still preferable to use a taunt, but healing is a very viable alternative if for some reason you can run over for a taunt stab. They are about even or maybe slightly better off than nightblade in the ranged department, though they do not have as much mobility.

I think that's everything I can think of for now...

To be the best,
the very best,
like no one ever was...

Buffing them is your true test,
and War Horn is the cause!


Here are a couple of guides to help you get a feel for gear and skills endgame. The primary role of tanks today is about how much more powerful you can make your group members. Holding aggro and staying alive is the "busy work" of tanking. Buffs, debuffs, target priority, and positioning are the key elements of the role.

DK Tanking Guide
NB Tanking Guide

The key difference between a DK tank and a NB tank: DK has better CC, and NB has better sustain. Templars and Sorcerors are both viable, but (and this could be debated) have less powerful tools at their disposal, or so is the popular opinion. Personally, I think the player behind the character determines whether or not they are a great tank, but DK is the most intuitive.

For a beginner, DK tanking is probably easiest to learn. NB tanking requires mastery of light attack weaving, and once that is mastered, becomes fairly intuitive thereafter. In any case, tanking is a constant mini-game of buff management, both on yourself and your party. As I have more experience with these two classes, I'll let someone else provide further details regarding Templars and Sorcs.

Oh, more answers. And good ones at that.

Thank you for both of your explanation.
I didn't knew about the whole light and heavy attack weaving. That's an interesting mechanic. Or ''exploit'' of another game mechanic should I say, as some calls it on the internet, haha! Nonetheless, I find this to give quite the dept to the fighting mechanic concerning skill rotation.

As for Thepaleitalian,
''Now my last point I will give you is this: Play your character the way you want. There are so many builds and fun things to try in this game so you do not need to have exact cookie cutter classes like other MMO's.''

It's not that I didn't considered this point of view. On the contrary, it's the mindset I have when I start a new game. Usually .
It's just that, as I said, loosing the name I want my main to have is really, really annoying to me... If ESO had a ''change your name'' feature, I wouldn't mind at all just experiencing around. I would play characters up to 20 / 30 and decide after all that time to play with one class if I really want to have it as my main then change the name of the one (well, two, adding the other I'll have to change the name so that I can have the name I want for my main) I decided would be the one I mostly play with and lvl up jobs with. But for whatever reason this isn't a thing on this game. Talking about it, it's a damn weird decision from Zenimax not to have this feature built in their game. But anyway... I digress.

Erzats wrote: »

Oh, more answers. And good ones at that.
I didn't knew about the whole light and heavy attack weaving. That's an interesting mechanic. Or ''exploit'' of another game mechanic should I say, as some calls it on the internet, haha! Nonetheless, I find this to give quite the dept to the fighting mechanic concerning skill rotation.

Heavy attacks are largely unnecessary for sustain, with some practice.

Light attack weaving (as a tank) is only important under 2 circumstances. Either:
1. You are a NB tank, and light attacks + siphoning attacks is your bread & butter of sustain, or
2. In order to proc a weapon glyph or poison.

Otherwise, light/med/heavy attack weaving is a dps mechanic.

Hey dude!

Awsome to see someone is starting a tank!

I tank on a dragonknight because its the best supporting class u can take.
im a trial tank myself and the skills and passives from a dragonknight just out do any other class in tanking.
Chains for example is a skill wich is soooo helpfull on a tank.
Why is that? Cause as a trial tank positioning adds is so freaking important. also to sustain ur group igneous shields is fantastic and it also gives u back ur stamina. In tough situations u can pop magma shield and become near invinsible!
So if u plan on tanking trials? Plz promise me u will take DK!