New to tanking

ereboz · September 2017

I've been playing since first beta and have only done DPS. I really want to try tanking but I've always been intimidated. Can anyone give me advice, tips, pointers? I've looked at several videos but there's just so many different builds it gets a little overwhelming.

Thanks

Merkabeh · September 2017

1. Stam DK
2. Heavy Armor
3. ???
4. Profit

lol

paulsimonps · September 2017

Focus on these few things are you will do fine, builds can come later, mechanics is your first step.

Taunt bosses and keep them as stationary as you can.
Retaunt before the timer runs out to make sure you never lose them
On trash mobs focus taunt the larger enemies, especially 2 Handed users.
Use a lot of crowd control abilities to immobilize, snare, knock down, or chain in mobs.
Keep your stamina high, block all heavy attacks
Bash and interrupt everything you can
Learn bosses mechanics and know what you can survive and what you can't survive
In short, control the battle field

If you want some more specific hints ask away with more direct questions you might have.

Jusey1 · September 2017

Just play how you wish. I have both a normal 1h+s DK tank and a 2h tank. Both work very well. The primary thing is to work on being hard to kill and supportive to your group, don't worry about your overall dps at all.

Nestor · September 2017

This is probably the best Tanking site out there

https://woeler.eu/

And, this is an attainable, easy to make Tank Build

https://woeler.eu/apprentice/

kargen27 · September 2017

Just starting out on a new character I would suggest working on getting skill lines maxed out. You will want weapon and shield, duel wield and probably bow for the few fights that ranged works best. Also level all three armor lines, fighters guild, undaunted, some suggest being a Vampire and doing mages guild for passives. Some people use Caltrops some don't I would suggest doing enough PvP to get them just so you have the option later. Basically you want to give yourself lots of choices so when it comes time for that final build you can pick what will work best for your style of play.

ereboz · September 2017

Thanks for all the quick replies everyone. I've run all or most of the dungeons to know the boss mechanics, so I will run some normal dungeons to practice.

Jusey1 · September 2017

No problem. I will say this though, while a 2h tank may not be the most viable method of tanking... But it is by far the most fun if you have a full set of Tormentor for that charge-taunt. It is so much fun.

RANKK7 · September 2017

Nestor wrote: »

This is probably the best Tanking site out there

https://woeler.eu/

And, this is an attainable, easy to make Tank Build

https://woeler.eu/apprentice/

+1 I strongly suggest you OP to visit that site, that helped me greatly since I started experimenting with a tank char, the author gives detailed info about the builds e.g. why certain skills are used or preferred to others as much as gear sets, hence it's actually useful.
And not least, it's written! There is no need to waste time on videos blabbering and/or perfectly understand a spoken foreign language, and it's all written very clearly.
Very well done site overall from the design to the content so informative, the author made an awesome job.

Jusey1 · September 2017

RANKK7 wrote: »

Nestor wrote: »

This is probably the best Tanking site out there

https://woeler.eu/

And, this is an attainable, easy to make Tank Build

https://woeler.eu/apprentice/

+1 I strongly suggest you OP to visit that site, that helped me greatly since I started experimenting with a tank char, the author gives detailed info about the builds e.g. why certain skills are used or preferred to others as much as gear sets, hence it's actually useful.
And not least, it's written! There is no need to waste time on videos blabbering and/or perfectly understand a spoken foreign language, and it's all written very clearly.
Very well done site overall from the design to the content so informative, the author made an awesome job.

It is also very meta-like I say, which may not always be the best idea. Everyone plays differently and I rather have people play how they wish than follow the same meta pattern as everyone else.

RANKK7 · September 2017

Jusey1 wrote: »

RANKK7 wrote: »

Nestor wrote: »

This is probably the best Tanking site out there

https://woeler.eu/

And, this is an attainable, easy to make Tank Build

https://woeler.eu/apprentice/

+1 I strongly suggest you OP to visit that site, that helped me greatly since I started experimenting with a tank char, the author gives detailed info about the builds e.g. why certain skills are used or preferred to others as much as gear sets, hence it's actually useful.
And not least, it's written! There is no need to waste time on videos blabbering and/or perfectly understand a spoken foreign language, and it's all written very clearly.
Very well done site overall from the design to the content so informative, the author made an awesome job.

It is also very meta-like I say, which may not always be the best idea. Everyone plays differently and I rather have people play how they wish than follow the same meta pattern as everyone else.

At any rate, whatever is your preference, that's still useful to get insight on skills and gear, glad someone linked it since it may be useful for anyone else reading new to tanking.
GL with your build!

edited since my grammar sucks as usual and wasn't clear

Megabear · September 2017

RANKK7 wrote: »

+1 I strongly suggest you OP to visit that site, that helped me greatly since I started experimenting with a tank char, the author gives detailed info about the builds e.g. why certain skills are used or preferred to others as much as gear sets, hence it's actually useful.
And not least, it's written! There is no need to waste time on videos blabbering and/or perfectly understand a spoken foreign language, and it's all written very clearly.
Very well done site overall from the design to the content so informative, the author made an awesome job.

+1 on written guide. I hate watching videos. In rare instances that I do, I just skip over to image of gears and skills. If interesting I might type it over, but most of the time I just click off the video and be done with it.

Surragard · September 2017

Managing taunts is difficult in this game and there aren't a lot of taunt abilities generally. I do use the taunt from undaunted, which can also be morphed to a stamina ability if you're a stam build.

raj72616a · September 2017

white spark, block
red spark, bash
keep Pierce Armor and Heroic Slash up on boss and high threat targets
heavy attack to restore stam in your spare time

provide other buffs debuffs damage shield if you're bored.

ictopbasli · September 2017

It's so easy. Find heavy armor set with health bonusses. Buff yourself, taunt and wait for teammates kill mobs.
Also make sure you are using "reduce damage" skills on mobs. I recommended Redguard Stamina Dragonknight for better sustain.

heartburnkid · September 2017

I just wish they had group pulls, like 3-4 adds at a time. I’d even settle for two. Single target pulling or aggro is nonsense in an mmo. Never played one with only a single pull.

Amadis001 · September 2017

paulsimonps wrote: »

Focus on these few things are you will do fine, builds can come later, mechanics is your first step.
Taunt bosses and keep them as stationary as you can.
..

In short, control the battle field

.

* Don't worry about DPS. That's no longer your job. Put stam regen glyphs on your jewelry and heath glyphs on your armor.

* A dead tank is the worst kind of tank. Keep your shields and buffs up and manage your stamina so that you can always block when you need to.

* Your job with adds is immobilization. Save your stamina for whatever roots your class provides.

* Your job with bosses is taunting and debuffing them, turning them away from your glass cannnons and keeping them dead center of the AOEs.

* It's hard not to DPS when you tank. You just _want_ to kill things. Don't do it. Yeah, in normal dungeons you can do it. But in serious settings, you should just not. Change up your gear sets to give you max resistances, and don't worry about crit and weapon damage.

Runefang · September 2017

heartburnkid wrote: »

I just wish they had group pulls, like 3-4 adds at a time. I’d even settle for two. Single target pulling or aggro is nonsense in an mmo. Never played one with only a single pull.

ESO has more shared responsibilities than most MMOs. The holy trinity has blurry lines.

It's nice that way.

SydneyGrey · September 2017

Might want to practice on world bosses first before you go into a dungeon with a group.
I just finished leveling up my first tank a few weeks ago, and practiced on some overland bosses first. Discovered he ran out of stamina WAY faster than I thought he would. I still haven't taken him into a dungeon yet. There are definitely skills we need to master first, and you'll probably want to tweak your final build a bit before a group is dependent on you.

Niobium · September 2017

ereboz wrote: »

Thanks for all the quick replies everyone. I've run all or most of the dungeons to know the boss mechanics, so I will run some normal dungeons to practice.

Good idea! Grab a few on level folks if you can to ensure you don't miss mechanics due to high dps (or if you are running with friends, ask that they nerf themselves). Knowing the mechanics from a dps perspective is a good start, but things can look a lot different when the boss is suddenly punching you in the face instead of someone else lol.

SydneyGrey wrote: »

Might want to practice on world bosses first before you go into a dungeon with a group.

I found the Shivering Shrine world boss in Stonefalls to be one of the best to practice tanking on. Learn the importance of blocking at the right time and add control. Perfect for getting around the basics without jumping in to a dungeon.

Sleep · September 2017

taunt and block the right enemies

lillybit · September 2017

I'm definitely saving this thread for when I get brave enough to make a tank! Excellent advice, thanks

Dubhliam · September 2017

Amadis001 wrote: »

paulsimonps wrote: »

Focus on these few things are you will do fine, builds can come later, mechanics is your first step.
Taunt bosses and keep them as stationary as you can.
..

In short, control the battle field

.

* Don't worry about DPS. That's no longer your job. Put stam regen glyphs on your jewelry and heath glyphs on your armor. ...

Are you *** serious?

Who does that?

Do you people dislike "meta" so much that you would do anything to be 'special' even if what you do is complete nonsense?

To clarify: all tanks should always have 3 shield play enchantments on jewelry.
You have zero stamina regen while blocking.

Don't try to be a snowflake, go visit Woeler's site and learn the basics of tanking before trying to try something else.

DRXHarbinger · September 2017

Dubhliam wrote: »

Amadis001 wrote: »

paulsimonps wrote: »

Focus on these few things are you will do fine, builds can come later, mechanics is your first step.
Taunt bosses and keep them as stationary as you can.
..

In short, control the battle field

.

* Don't worry about DPS. That's no longer your job. Put stam regen glyphs on your jewelry and heath glyphs on your armor. ...

Are you *** serious?

Who does that?

Do you people dislike "meta" so much that you would do anything to be 'special' even if what you do is complete nonsense?

To clarify: all tanks should always have 3 shield play enchantments on jewelry.
You have zero stamina regen while blocking.

Don't try to be a snowflake, go visit Woeler's site and learn the basics of tanking before trying to try something else.

YES! Shield play wins over Magika recovery now (lol at Stamina recovery so 2014)

I do like the way everyone has switched over to Dragon Guard now, I've been using that for yonks, epic tanking set.

Although it must be said, and I fully Acknowledge Woeler as the almighty god of tanking. OP this is for you, These builds are general purpose for what he says they are for. For instance "Shredder" won't get you through Vet AA HM, the axes will destroy you on this. To tank these it's ideal to go for the Leeching / Sentinel / Curse build as it's fully self sustaining when there is no (or Minimal) support and your only role is to keep the axes away from the group and nothing else.

eso_nya · September 2017

Dubhliam wrote: »

Are you *** serious?

Who does that?

Do you people dislike "meta" so much that you would do anything to be 'special' even if what you do is complete nonsense?

Cause PvE-Meta in eso mostly fails to mention that it is only the meta, for premade hm-vet trial groups that go for leaderboardranks and might fail in any other aspect of the game. Imo, the only thing that pug-tanking and premade tanking have in common is "u should have s&b and a taunt on one of your bars".

I would recommend, when u start tanking, and plan to use groupfinder, the last thing u should do is run a meta-build.
U will most likely fail a high percentage of the runs, because, the healer doesnt heal u, and noone does dmg.

Good target practice is to solo the nirncrux troll in craglorn. They cc, they can hit hard and they have high health regen. Learn to sustain there, and than modify your build until u can sustain and also pull 10k~15k dps.
If u run with low health (25k~30k) and normal to high blockcost, u will learn which attacktypes u can shrug off, where u need to block, what u have to dodge and when u can heavy attack. U might die some times, but thats the price of learning, also thats what pug-runs r for: u might die awkward, but theres noone u know around to see it^^.

When u get to the point where u can carry whatever gf throws in your way thru a dungeon, it is an very easy step to "respec" to 70k hp and minimal blockcost, in case your raidleader demands u to run such a setup.

CP-distribution, passives and synergies between skills and passives r important. Setboni r the topping.

raj72616a · September 2017

^ right, dont be a meta tank if you use group finder to play dungeons. meta dps does over 35k damage per second. meta healer keeps you perpetually healed and buffed and throw you shards and orbs. therefore meta tank need to alkosh and ebon and warhorn to boost an already super awesome group.

PUG. anything can happen lol.

DRXHarbinger · September 2017

raj72616a wrote: »

^ right, dont be a meta tank if you use group finder to play dungeons. meta dps does over 35k damage per second. meta healer keeps you perpetually healed and buffed and throw you shards and orbs. therefore meta tank need to alkosh and ebon and warhorn to boost an already super awesome group.

PUG. anything can happen lol.

Indeed, as this morning delivered a DW Stamplar healer in VCOS. What's that scouts motto again?

RavenSworn · September 2017

There are definitely nuances to eso tanking. It takes more practice than usual but it's more rewarding than say the old school mass taunt come here and press right buttons.

It's more of knowing what you should do at a given situation and reacting to it. Also, dealing an initial aoe attack on a group usually will aggro the group to you. Don't target everyone, just the ones that are the most dangerous, ie: melee heavy armor, bosses or casters.

Nestor · September 2017

heartburnkid wrote: »

I just wish they had group pulls, like 3-4 adds at a time. I’d even settle for two. Single target pulling or aggro is nonsense in an mmo. Never played one with only a single pull.

Inner Fire from the Undaunted Skill Line. Will pull crowds of adds to you. Also has a nice Synergy for your team to use.

Queo · September 2017

New tank to a new tank, just play. Hopefully your in a guild that help you DP rather then pugs, but the key is learning and practice. you know what they say, perfect practice, makes perfect.

1. Situational awareness
2. What I've learnt, Debuff the boss, buff the party.
3. Cant control all the trash mobs focus on the big ones, and relay on the DPS to burn the trash.
4. Be self reliant, self healing and recovery can go a long way.
5. Situational awareness is KEY, if half the party is down, and the other guy is running around being chased by adds, rez
people.

ereboz · September 2017

Nestor wrote: »

heartburnkid wrote: »

I just wish they had group pulls, like 3-4 adds at a time. I’d even settle for two. Single target pulling or aggro is nonsense in an mmo. Never played one with only a single pull.

Inner Fire from the Undaunted Skill Line. Will pull crowds of adds to you. Also has a nice Synergy for your team to use.

I thought that was just a ranged taunt. I didn't know it taunted multiple mobs. That will be useful