My DK tank requires a little nudge in the right direction, please.

Prof_Bawbag · December 2016

Hi, even though I have played this game for around 2 years I have never once contemplated running a DK or even a tanky character, however, with the incoming double xp fest, I thought I'd fill the last remaining hole in my character slots with a DK. I've looked up different sites just to get an idea of builds etc and whilst I prefer to learn which skills are ace and which suck through trial and error on my own, something that is confusing me is there seems to be a split between stamina and health builds. One thing they all have in common is they state magicka regen is good to have. This has me all confused. I can see the merits of having that if I went all health, but it doesn't quite compute in my head if I decided to go all stamina. I don't want a magicka orientated character as I already have a Templar and Sorc that do this already.

I'm not looking for a "meta" build because I play the game for fun, not to number crunch, but at the same time I don't want to unnecessarily hinder myself either. I am a complete novice all over again now I'm creating a class I have never gave a second thought. I guess I'm just looking for a nudge in the right direction. My character is a dunmer. No doubt there are better DK races, but like I said, I'm not after a number crunching build.

Any help appreciated.

pattyLtd · December 2016

You need magicka recovery because some of the skills you will most likely end up using are magicka based like talons, relenting grip and some more some of these skills aren't cheap.

I only have one magicka recovery glyph on the necklace i use and max health on bloodspawn everything else is max stamina or tristat glyph.

I want to point out that i am nothing special or consider my self a great leet tank i do enjoy tanking alot and feel comfortable in the role now but that took me a while. The stacking of enemies is where i need magicka for and it's also what i found hardest to learn. Sometimes still don't get it all right but i'll get there and so will you

Prof_Bawbag · December 2016

pattyLtd wrote: »

You need magicka recovery because some of the skills you will most likely end up using are magicka based like talons, relenting grip and some more some of these skills aren't cheap.

I only have one magicka recovery glyph on the necklace i use and max health on bloodspawn everything else is max stamina or tristat glyph.

I want to point out that i am nothing special or consider my self a great leet tank i do enjoy tanking alot and feel comfortable in the role now but that took me a while. The stacking of enemies is where i need magicka for and it's also what i found hardest to learn. Sometimes still don't get it all right but i'll get there and so will you

@pattyLtd

Thanks a lot for that explanation. Makes more sense now. How did you spend your attributes? Health or stamina? I'm assuming if I want my DK to go full tank mode, it would be health, but I would probably get bored eventually if I hit like a wet noodle. Especially whilst levelling up to 50. Nothing worse than going through a delve heavily populated with enemies and taking 40mins rather than the usual 10mins. This is why I have never opted for a DK before. I appreciate I'm maybe reading way too much into what others have said on here in the past.

pattyLtd · December 2016

I have all my attributes in stamina with tristat food my max health and stamina are both around 32k (at work so don't know the exact numbers).

Magicka is only 15k but i am comfortable with that now so reluctant to change even though i considered it.
My damage isn't high but i have played dps for most of my playtime so i like the change of doing support role

.

I didn't spec for tank until after i reached level 50. Just used sword and shield to level the skills and a 2H sword on my other bar with hundings rage.

I also delayed for ages on making one until a friend i consider a very good tank offered to help me with learning the role and i truelly truelly love it atm so i would definetly try it out if were you.

Prof_Bawbag · December 2016

Again, very much appreciated. Will probably take the same route as you and mess around until 50 and then respec.

PokeMaule · December 2016

pattyLtd wrote: »

I have all my attributes in stamina with tristat food my max health and stamina are both around 32k (at work so don't know the exact numbers).

Magicka is only 15k but i am comfortable with that now so reluctant to change even though i considered it.
My damage isn't high but i have played dps for most of my playtime so i like the change of doing support role .

I didn't spec for tank until after i reached level 50. Just used sword and shield to level the skills and a 2H sword on my other bar with hundings rage.

I also delayed for ages on making one until a friend i consider a very good tank offered to help me with learning the role and i truelly truelly love it atm so i would definetly try it out if were you.

I totally agree with this I'm pretty new to MMO's and decided on a tank and found levelling very difficult and slow. Respec happened to change him to dps although costly for a low level but found it a breeze then. Made sure heavy armour and sword and board etc. were levelling. Finally did the respec back to tank last night gear sitting in bank ready and boom I love it. 3 manned my first dungeon as a tank and barely took a scratch.

I went 50/50 stamina/health split because I was worried about survivability but my health pool is massive now around 38k with food. I will probably move some points back to stamina to give that extra punch when grinding and clearing trash.
Magika is an issue as DK skills cost a lot to use but I found as long as shiny and spiky were up the magika usually was back up to full in time to 're apply buffs.

Armitas · December 2016

I personally like mDK tanking. half stam half magicka 30k health. Blackrose, engine guardian and knightmare jewelry (go with bastion if you have). It's the perfect set up to juggle stamina and magicka. Casting igneous shield gives you stam, and casting stam skills can give you magicka through engine guardian. You can also gain a lot of stamina while blocking through blackrose and engine guardian. If your stam gets low you can also cast igneous shield and do a heavy attack under the protection of the shield.

Run both taunts and just keep juggling resources while switching between a stam tank and a magicka tank as needed. It's a lot of fun and you can bring so much dps and utility to the group without compromising your role. In fact it increases it because you have the sustain to taunt everything, pull everything, and choking talons it.

Oreyn_Bearclaw · December 2016

Dont think of it as a magic character, think of it as a Tank with good stats across the board. I have been playing since beta, but finally rolled a tank about 2 weeks ago, and have tanked all the 4 man stuff. I am basing this largely off our trial tanks build with some small adjustments. DK tanks are the best IMO, but you are going to need magic regen to pull it off. You really don't need to push your max magic through the roof, but there are at least 4 skills you will cast a fair amount: Igneous Shield, Chains, Talons, Hardened Armor. Non of these skills really need to hit very hard, but some need to be spammed at times.

The beauty of a DK tank is the following. First, they can spam (block cast) igneous shields and regenerate stam while blocking. This is the bread and butter of DK tanking, and the main reason you want High magic regen. Second, they have chains to group up adds, which again, can require decent magic regen. Third, they have great resource managment with earthen heart passives every time the drop an ultimate. Fourth, they have the best oh crap ulti in the game for tanking in magma shell.

Really simple DK tank bars:

Pierce, Slash, Absorb Magic, Igneous Shield, Coagulating blood(Vigor), Magma Shell
Inner fire, Chocking Talons, Chains, Evasion, Hardened Armor, Warhorn.

I like to run 5 Tava's/5Dragon/2 Monster (bloodspawn). You run evasion to proc Tavas. Between that, Bloodspawn, and Dragon, you will have tons of ultimate generation. Get low on stats, pop an ultimate. You could also go more traditional with something like Hist Bark, Footman, endurance, but I think this way is better.

Prof_Bawbag · December 2016

Thanks to all that have replied. Both your time and effort to explain the ins and outs of it all have been greatly appreciated.

Kutsuu · December 2016

I'm a huge fan of this build. Giving your DPS/healer a 13k shield every time you cast a 30k igneous shield on yourself is simply amazing.

http://tamrielfoundry.com/topic/alanarres-invincible-dk-shieldtank/

pizzaow · December 2016

The reason everyone agrees on magic recovery for a tank is that you don't generate stamina while blocking. Certainly with vet trials (and many dungeon bosses) you need to hold block for nearly then entire fight (i.e. stamina regeneration is useless). You should plan to get most of your health from healing (not recovery), so health recovery doesn't matter much. Of all the regens, magic is the only useful one. Additionally, (as people ave mentioned) DK has the ability to turn magic into stam (igneous shields) making magic regen quite useful for stamina based tanks too.

Soriana · December 2016

@Prof_Bawbag I have been tanking since closed beta, somewhat crappily at first and much more successfully now...thank goodness! Leveling to 50 really doesn't matter much what you use honestly. It will be slow going so I would suggest training on your armor and weps to help level faster.

Most tanks I know focus on their front bar being a crowd control/dps/trash mob bar and their back bar being a this is some serious stuff so I better stay alive bar. If you go into it with that mindset you can play around with a bunch of different skills, leveling them in preparation for different situations. There are some dungeons you run where you never go off the front bar and others where you live on the stay alive bar.

I am speced as a pure tank so when I did my attributes I ate food first, added health until I was up around 30K, and then split everything else between stam and mag. As a DK you will use a ton of magicka so, like everyone else has said, regen on mag is key.

Do research on armor sets and make up your own mind; there are so many different combos that work really well together. Play with it, have fun! Feel free to reach out if you have any questions. I'm PC NA, @ name same as forum name.

Oreyn_Bearclaw · December 2016

Kutsuu wrote: »

I'm a huge fan of this build. Giving your DPS/healer a 13k shield every time you cast a 30k igneous shield on yourself is simply amazing.

http://tamrielfoundry.com/topic/alanarres-invincible-dk-shieldtank/

I will not sit her and say its a bad build because I havent played it, but I will say that it is wildly unorthodox. For some people that is great. When learning to tank, I would go a little more traditional IMO. You NEVER need more than 30k health for any PVE content. My stats are about 30k health, 19k magic, and 23k stam. I think 30k health is an excellent starting benchmark with food.

I think the best way to deal with stats is to run tri-glyphs on everything as they give the most total stat points. Then add Purple tri-stat food. Then setup your bars and reset your attributes. Finally add points a few at a time to get health to 30, then you can adjust the others as you see fit. I like to go for mostly stamina, that way if I have to switch to DPS mid dungeon, it's easy to do. As a Dunmer, you wont need to put much of anything into magic, but you might need a touch more into health as you dont have any passives that benefit it. I would also strongly consider going Vampire for the magic regen and go with the attro mundus stone. The Dunmer will help with mitigating any extra flame damage.

Prof_Bawbag · December 2016

Kutsuu wrote: »

I'm a huge fan of this build. Giving your DPS/healer a 13k shield every time you cast a 30k igneous shield on yourself is simply amazing.

http://tamrielfoundry.com/topic/alanarres-invincible-dk-shieldtank/

Thanks for the link. I'm always apprehensive about looking too much into the build of others simply because when I first began playing this game, I more or less copied and pasted a build I found on Deltia and 6 months later I suddenly realised even though I had been playing that character solid for 6 months, I had absolutely no clue why I was running around with skill 'X' rather than skill 'Y' other than because someone said it was better. I didn't know why it was better. I scrapped that Templar and began from scratch and second time around I fully understood the mechanics behind the Templar class within weeks because I learned first hand what was garbage/not needed and what was needed.

@PokeMaule, @Soriana, @Oreyn_Bearclaw, @Armitas and @pizzaow Huge thanks guys/gals. The time you've taken out to help me is very much appreciated. Exactly the stuff i was looking for.

slayerwins · December 2016

I'm running a mag dk tank. Sets Im using are skoria, bahrahs curse, and Syvarra. All items except for skoria can be purchased through guild traders. Grothdar or illimbris would work too. So basically all those sets proc off each other and is the source of my dps. Other viable sets are leaching plate, thunder bug, and storm knight. I shoot for 32k health (since your resists wont be at cap) rest in mag. Run magic regen glyphs until you have 2k regen then the rest in block cost reduction. Tri stat glyphs on big pieces. Focus on buff and debuff, igneous shield and burning embers, and dots on the rest of your bars. Warhorn ulti. Easy mode setup. Can tank anything outside vet hm trials and your procs will add 10k dps to the group. Everyone whipes... No problem as you can tank, heal, and let your proc finish off the boss.

Prof_Bawbag · January 2017

I'm bumping this because there are soooooooooooo many armours just now. And would very much appreciate any crafted ones people may suggest. I can make them all other than a full set of TBS, so any other than that set. I just need gear so I can begin to get the better gear everyone goes on about. Or even any overland sets. I'm lvl 49 and have swapped my DK dumner tank out for a nord. Maybe that's where i should have read up a little bit more as I soon realised I'd have had to opt for a mDK to get the best from the dunmer, but wanted all stam. So race change it was.

I must say it was well worth it. The damage reduction is nice. Have managed to solo most over land bosses since around lvl 35 with the exception of 2 or 3 (that guar caravan one being my Achilles heel thus far). Quite impressed how you're just able to stand there soaking up all the damage like a boss (no pun intended). My damage is a bit meh, though, but to be expected.

paulsimonps · January 2017

Prof_Bawbag wrote: »

I'm bumping this because there are soooooooooooo many armours just now. And would very much appreciate any crafted ones people may suggest. I can make them all other than a full set of TBS, so any other than that set. I just need gear so I can begin to get the better gear everyone goes on about. Or even any overland sets. I'm lvl 49 and have swapped my DK dumner tank out for a nord. Maybe that's where i should have read up a little bit more as I soon realised I'd have had to opt for a mDK to get the best from the dunmer, but wanted all stam. So race change it was.

I must say it was well worth it. The damage reduction is nice. Have managed to solo most over land bosses since around lvl 35 with the exception of 2 or 3 (that guar caravan one being my Achilles heel thus far). Quite impressed how you're just able to stand there soaking up all the damage like a boss (no pun intended). My damage is a bit meh, though, but to be expected.

To be fair the Nord Damage reduction passive is meh. If you were gonna race chance from a dunmer to something else I would have gone with a Imperial or an Argonian. Woeler gives you plenty of reasons here if you want to learn why and not just have me say it is better :P https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lPH4pW3zl3w I myself am a Dunmer DK Tank. Not by min max choice but because I love the dunmers ^_^

One thing thou as Bear as already said, don't think of yourself as stamina or magicka, but rather as a tank. I go stamina when I need to swap for DPS in fights like Planar Inhibitor or Engine Guardian, the later not being a must to swap but preferable, and I am a "magicka" race. Either way, the way to go is to think of what you need to be able to use your abilities and such. So you want to block cause you are a tank, so you need stamina. But how are you going to get more of it? Stamina recovery doesn't work while you are blocking. That's where you got Igneous shield to spam. It gives a nice dmg shield to you and allies and gives you back 5% max stamina. So here is where it gets interesting. So it gives back in a %, btw the Shards(25%) and synergies(4%) if you got undaunted for it is % too, so you want to have as much Max stamina as you can to get the most of it. But what if you run out of magicka? Well magicka recovery still works while blocking. So the combo Max Stamina and magicka Recovery is what you want to aim for.

But having a nice pool of Max magicka is nice too, that's why your best bet is to go with the Tri stat glyphs and the tri food. I use Tri stats on all my pieces and without Infused, so disregard those that say you need to use infused for it to be worth it. With this set up you can easily get to 30k HP with just a few attributes, especially now that you are a Nord and you can then use the rest into Stamina without having too low on magicka thanks to the tri glyphs and food. The idea is to increase your "global" resource, aka the number you get when you combine HP Mag and Stam. Try it and I promise you will see a difference, I sure did when I first flipped.

Happy Tanking!

Prof_Bawbag · January 2017

Thanks for the response and for providing the link. I'll give it a read later.

I realised Imperial was better (would never play one of the beast races, just can't relate to them whatsoever), but I already have 2 Imperials and wanted something different. I did notice the nord race have had a buff since I last played them over a year ago. I really don't feel I'm lacking too much at the moment, however, I do understand I'm only lvl 49 and soon to shoot all the way up to over 400CP. I suspect it will be then I find the real flaws in my build. As for Dunmers, they're my favourite race too, again though, I just felt I was lacking something with it as I was going forward. Just something I'm not feeling with the Nord.

paulsimonps · January 2017

Prof_Bawbag wrote: »

Thanks for the response and for providing the link. I'll give it a read later.

I realised Imperial was better (would never play one of the beast races, just can't relate to them whatsoever), but I already have 2 Imperials and wanted something different. I did notice the nord race have had a buff since I last played them over a year ago. I really don't feel I'm lacking too much at the moment, however, I do understand I'm only lvl 49 and soon to shoot all the way up to over 400CP. I suspect it will be then I find the real flaws in my build. As for Dunmers, they're my favorite race too, again though, I just felt I was lacking something with it as I was going forward. Just something I'm not feeling with the Nord.

Yea that makes sense. But I think its like you said part that you are still not maxed. I have not found anything wrong with a Dunmer tank myself. Main tanked Veteran Maw of Lorkhaj, Veterna Hel Ra Citadel Hardmode and Veterna Aetherian Archives with it no problem. But in the end it all about what feels good. And Nords aren't exactly a bad race for tanking. Top 5 still. Get to max level and see how it feels then with out the scaling, and maxed leveled gear.

pattyLtd · January 2017

I started with hist bark and whitestreak replaced whitestreak with ebon (cant craft it but easy to get in crypt of hearts 1)
Now i use tavas instead of hist bark both are craftable.

Hope this helps

Prof_Bawbag · January 2017

pattyLtd wrote: »

I started with hist bark and whitestreak replaced whitestreak with ebon (cant craft it but easy to get in crypt of hearts 1)
Now i use tavas instead of hist bark both are craftable.

Hope this helps

Thanks, that helps a lot. Just needed something to be able swap out all my mash up current low level gear. Got to 50 tonight and now shot all the way up to over 400CP. Will craft that gear tomorrow.

pattyLtd · January 2017

Cool congrats, now the tank experience can start.
I'm not the best tank out there not even close but i sure enjoy it. Hope you will too

Prof_Bawbag · January 2017

This is when I think I'll find it more punishing as I have none of my weapon skills maxed yet. That's the drawback to fast levelling, great for getting up to 50, but it rockets past some skill trees especially so as I attempted to level 2-H, S&B and bow. I think S&B is around 48, 2H which was a late comer and is around 39 and bow around 39 too.

kylewwefan · January 2017

I just finished leveling up a redguard DK in hopes of making a stamina tank. I've tried tanking with my StamBlade for some time and mostly successful but the fails have been miserable and embarrassing in front of 12 other people. I have many sets to play with here's my thoughts....I'm trying to find the best set for each occasion myself.

Ebon- adds 1,000 health for everyone...they should all thank you.
Eternal Yokeda - even with all gold jewelry this set is poo.
Heavy Kagrenacs- good for dungeon, not so much trial
Orgnums scales- interesting paired with beekeeper
Beekeeper- interesting with orgnums scale
Armor Master- great great starter set. Overpowered a little.
Leeching Plate- neat set, not worth getting perfect traits
Footman- I like it. The set gets hate for the 8% thing not being much, but I still like it.
Lunar Bastion- has cool effect, but doesn't do much for you.
Dragonguard- maybe good for trials
Tavas- I don't get it
Hist Bark- worthless on NightBlade, great on DK
Thunder bug- I like it. Adds resistance like footman, but 5 piece does a little damage.

There are a few more heavy armor tanking sets out there, but these are the only ones I've tried. I don't think there will be one perfect set or combo for all occasions, but there are tons of viable builds out there. I'm still learning also and having a blast doing it. Best recommendation I have is to have fun with it.

Liofa · January 2017

I didn't read all the things here , if I am repeating the same stuff , I apologize .

First of all , in case no one posted , read every sentence in this thread for better understanding of why some sets are worse than they look and much more useful information that will help you while theorycrafting : https://forums.elderscrollsonline.com/en/discussion/279426/damage-mitigation-explanation-and-list-of-options-updated-for-a-third-time/p1

As a firstcomer for tanking , I understand that your main priority is sustaining your stamina . Sustaining stamina is pretty easy . Don't worry about that . Smart usage of abilities and better understanding of mechanics will carry your stamina management more than any set or healer support will ever do . I also saw that you are not looking for meta build . I have a suggestion . I am running a pretty weird build right now . Item sets are same , Ebon + Alkosh + BS . I don't have Magicka Recovery . I don't have high stamina as well . I tank with 17-18k Stamina (can even go to 13k while trying different food or no-food tanking for fun in pledges) and 600-700 Magicka Recovery .

Since you are not looking for meta builds , I do have 1 different thing that changes things completely . It is called Spell Symmetry (Equilibrium unmorphed) . Located in Mages Guild skill line . At the buttom . It steals your Health and converts it to Magicka , scales with Max Health . More Health you have , more Magicka you get , more Health you sacrifice . So , why do I do this ? It is pretty simple . There are several reasons .

1- Protecting team . My igneous shields are 9-10k when warhorn is up and they go to 6 people including me . I do this so my DDs can focus more on dealing damage instead of shielding themselves . If there is need , I spam it without hesitation . This tactic did definitely good work here . I have Unlimited Magicka anyways .

2- Magicka sustain for group . Again , unlimited Magicka can make you throw thousands of orbs if needed . I went with blue one since it scales with number of enemies hit by it . Imagine your position in the trial group , you are at one side , everyone else is on the other . Enemies are in the middle . Orbs will definitely hit them . Blue orbs are the way to go for main tanking . I even tried Twilight Remedy to give range DDs Minor Force but it wasn't that good because of synergy cooldown

3- Self sustain and survivability . Unlimited Magicka > Unlimited Igneous Shield > Unlimited Stamina . High Health > High Survivability . Don't get me wrong . You can tank anything with 30k Health but extra Max Health never hurts ^^

Disadvantages

1- Low healing . my vigor is really weak due to low Max Stamina . I don't use it except specific situations anyways ^^ If I need to protect my group , I abuse Igneous Shield instead .

2- Healer dependant . A lot . If you don't trust your healers , don't even attempt this ^^ If healers are down , you gonna have a bad time . Being DK covers most of this disadvantage but it still is a disadvantage .

3- People think you are a bad tank because you have unnecessarily High Health even if you complete the hardest content with it ^^

My build is strange . Going with a meta tank build is what I recommend to be honest . Because obviously , they are much easier to play while giving all utilities in a moderate amount . Mine harms the player in order to give a bit more utility . There is no such thing as ''best'' for tanking . Just try everything and find out . Here is another off-meta build that looks fun : http://tamrielfoundry.com/topic/alanarres-invincible-dk-shieldtank/ Even though it is not my taste , it is definitely good theorycrafting .

My biggest advice will be this ---> Never , ever go with a healer you don't know . You can always carry DDs but no one can carry a bad healer or tank . I did tanking with no-meta , meta , something in-between builds for a long time . Knowing your healers will be the best thing you can have in any game while using any build while tanking .

You can find my build on my channel (in my signature) but even if you take a look at it , try to improve it with some theorycrafting . As a tank , you should always be theorycrafting . It makes you have better understanding of all aspects of the game and act correctly for your group and their needs .

Good luck !

paulsimonps · January 2017

Liofa wrote: »

I didn't read all the things here , if I am repeating the same stuff , I apologize .

First of all , in case no one posted , read every sentence in this thread for better understanding of why some sets are worse than they look and much more useful information that will help you while theorycrafting : https://forums.elderscrollsonline.com/en/discussion/279426/damage-mitigation-explanation-and-list-of-options-updated-for-a-third-time/p1

As a firstcomer for tanking , I understand that your main priority is sustaining your stamina . Sustaining stamina is pretty easy . Don't worry about that . Smart usage of abilities and better understanding of mechanics will carry your stamina management more than any set or healer support will ever do . I also saw that you are not looking for meta build . I have a suggestion . I am running a pretty weird build right now . Item sets are same , Ebon + Alkosh + BS . I don't have Magicka Recovery . I don't have high stamina as well . I tank with 17-18k Stamina (can even go to 13k while trying different food or no-food tanking for fun in pledges) and 600-700 Magicka Recovery .

Since you are not looking for meta builds , I do have 1 different thing that changes things completely . It is called Spell Symmetry (Equilibrium unmorphed) . Located in Mages Guild skill line . At the buttom . It steals your Health and converts it to Magicka , scales with Max Health . More Health you have , more Magicka you get , more Health you sacrifice . So , why do I do this ? It is pretty simple . There are several reasons .

1- Protecting team . My igneous shields are 9-10k when warhorn is up and they go to 6 people including me . I do this so my DDs can focus more on dealing damage instead of shielding themselves . If there is need , I spam it without hesitation . This tactic did definitely good work here . I have Unlimited Magicka anyways .

2- Magicka sustain for group . Again , unlimited Magicka can make you throw thousands of orbs if needed . I went with blue one since it scales with number of enemies hit by it . Imagine your position in the trial group , you are at one side , everyone else is on the other . Enemies are in the middle . Orbs will definitely hit them . Blue orbs are the way to go for main tanking . I even tried Twilight Remedy to give range DDs Minor Force but it wasn't that good because of synergy cooldown

3- Self sustain and survivability . Unlimited Magicka > Unlimited Igneous Shield > Unlimited Stamina . High Health > High Survivability . Don't get me wrong . You can tank anything with 30k Health but extra Max Health never hurts ^^

Disadvantages

1- Low healing . my vigor is really weak due to low Max Stamina . I don't use it except specific situations anyways ^^ If I need to protect my group , I abuse Igneous Shield instead .

2- Healer dependant . A lot . If you don't trust your healers , don't even attempt this ^^ If healers are down , you gonna have a bad time . Being DK covers most of this disadvantage but it still is a disadvantage .

3- People think you are a bad tank because you have unnecessarily High Health even if you complete the hardest content with it ^^

My build is strange . Going with a meta tank build is what I recommend to be honest . Because obviously , they are much easier to play while giving all utilities in a moderate amount . Mine harms the player in order to give a bit more utility . There is no such thing as ''best'' for tanking . Just try everything and find out . Here is another off-meta build that looks fun : http://tamrielfoundry.com/topic/alanarres-invincible-dk-shieldtank/ Even though it is not my taste , it is definitely good theorycrafting .

My biggest advice will be this ---> Never , ever go with a healer you don't know . You can always carry DDs but no one can carry a bad healer or tank . I did tanking with no-meta , meta , something in-between builds for a long time . Knowing your healers will be the best thing you can have in any game while using any build while tanking .

You can find my build on my channel (in my signature) but even if you take a look at it , try to improve it with some theorycrafting . As a tank , you should always be theorycrafting . It makes you have better understanding of all aspects of the game and act correctly for your group and their needs .

Good luck !

Just wanted to add that I get really happy every time someone links my mitigation thread :P Worked hard on all that

But yea its good for anyone that wants to tank to read if they want to learn about mitigation, in PvE and PvP.

Liofa · January 2017

@paulsimonps

It actually needs to be sticky thread in Player Guides section but it is not sadly

So , I just post it everytime I have the chance ^^

Btw , I think you should write some stuff about the penetration values in PvE as well . As far as I know , our and enemies' mitigation percentages are not equal for same resistance values . 1000 penetration equals 2% damage increase , I think . I may be wrong so I will just leave it here ^^

paulsimonps · January 2017

Liofa wrote: »

@paulsimonps

It actually needs to be sticky thread in Player Guides section but it is not sadly So , I just post it everytime I have the chance ^^

Btw , I think you should write some stuff about the penetration values in PvE as well . As far as I know , our and enemies' mitigation percentages are not equal for same resistance values . 1000 penetration equals 2% damage increase , I think . I may be wrong so I will just leave it here ^^

I will see what I can do. GF is at work tomorrow so I got time.

Prof_Bawbag · January 2017

A huge thank you to everyone that has taken the time out to post. It is massively appreciated.

My only concern is 'warhorn', that's a lot of PvP. I have recently got into PvP as I needed vigor for my NB and I ended up enjoying it. However, for all the time I have spent in PvP, I think my assault line is sitting at around 6. I'm assuming war horn unlocks at 10?

pattyLtd · January 2017

Nah, warhorn unlocks at rank 4

Prof_Bawbag · January 2017

Yeah, i just checked. I just assumed it worked like the mage line and opened at 10. Ooops