Can someone clarify "tanking" ?

Cirantille · September 2019

So it is the only role I haven't tried.
As I read online, it is based on health right? I mean you put all your attributes into health? But mostly I see classes based on magicka or some stamina morphs.
Then which class you can choose for tanking and how can you be strong if you put everything in health???
Because damage is based on your pool is it not.
I am confused.

I thought of a Nord, heavy armour with one handed and shield + two handed
Does that work?
Can I use both of these weapons?

Major_Lag · September 2019

A good tank does all of the following (and no doubt more things, which I missed):

holds aggro (taunt) on the boss and any "elite" adds which might be present,
positions the boss (and any relevant adds) in an appropriate way,
debuffs the boss' resistances (Major Breach + Major Fracture) and damage (Weakening enchant, Maim),
CCs adds (Fear, Talons, etc.),
provides additional group utility by wearing a support set (Alkosh, Ebon Armory, etc.),
does all of the above without dying.

The bare minimum for a tank to be considered a tank, is to taunt the enemies and stay alive.

Generally speaking, a tank should have at least 30k HP, but this depends on the content being tanked.
You can easily reach 30k HP with 0 attribute points into Health.

White wabbit · September 2019

You want about 38k to 44k Health I run with about 42k health and about 18k Stam and 17k mag . Weapons sword and board front bar and a lightning staff back bar for the off proc , your there to tank the damage not deal it , nord is good due to the ult gain

Major_Lag · September 2019

White wabbit wrote: »

You want about 38k to 44k Health I run with about 42k health

For vet/HM content, that'd be about right.

For normal dungeons and most world bosses, just about anything will work, even ice staff tanking - which would get you insta kicked from most endgame content.

VaranisArano · September 2019

Major_Lag is correct about the role of a basic and a good tank.

The available taunts are as follows:
1. Puncture from 1Hand & Shield, Pierce Armor is the preferred morph due to the debuffs
2. Inner Fire from the Undaunted Skill line, a ranged magicka or stamina taunt
3. Ice Staff Heavy Attack, with the Trifocus passive. A ranged taunt.
4. Tormentor Set's 5-piece bonus when used with a charge attack. Even if the charge hits multiple enemies, only the main target is taunted.

Please note that all the available taunts are single-target taunts. ESO is not designed with AOE-taunts in mind. This is why the standard tactic for tanks is to taunt the boss and priority adds, then crowd control the rest of the mob.

(Personal note: when I taunt with an ice staff, there's a lengthy windup to the heavy attack. I like to keep Inner Fire available as a backup taunt in case I got interrupted by a mechanic or was otherwise unable to complete the heavy attack in time to re-up the taunt before it would wear off.)

Cirantille · September 2019

White wabbit wrote: »

You want about 38k to 44k Health I run with about 42k health and about 18k Stam and 17k mag . Weapons sword and board front bar and a lightning staff back bar for the off proc , your there to tank the damage not deal it , nord is good due to the ult gain

That... actually makes sense

I got carried away and my mind goes to dps sorry.

So I will put everything into health then

Major_Lag wrote: »

A good tank does all of the following (and no doubt more things, which I missed):
holds aggro (taunt) on the boss and any "elite" adds which might be present,

positions the boss (and any relevant adds) in an appropriate way,

debuffs the boss' resistances (Major Breach + Major Fracture) and damage (Weakening enchant, Maim),

CCs adds (Fear, Talons, etc.),

provides additional group utility by wearing a support set (Alkosh, Ebon Armory, etc.),

does all of the above without dying.

The bare minimum for a tank to be considered a tank, is to taunt the enemies and stay alive.

Generally speaking, a tank should have at least 30k HP, but this depends on the content being tanked.
You can easily reach 30k HP with 0 attribute points into Health.

I decided Nord, heavy armor, two handed plus one handed and shield (because I want to experience these two style too, never tried before), what about the class, what can buff it? Any health based skills?

VaranisArano · September 2019

Class: any class can tank, especially since ZOS is trying to design the game so every class has the capability to tank, heal, and DPS. Any class can do fine on a normal or even vet dungeon level as long as you have enough experience to make it work. Trials generally go with the type of tank the members of your group want to play with.

Still, the most effective options right now are Dragonknight, Necromancer, and Warden, due to the class skills and buffs they have available and to bring to the group.

White wabbit · September 2019

Major_Lag wrote: »

White wabbit wrote: »

You want about 38k to 44k Health I run with about 42k health

For vet/HM content, that'd be about right.

For normal dungeons and most world bosses, just about anything will work, even ice staff tanking - which would get you insta kicked from most endgame content.

Still makes me laugh when i tank a pug dungeon and a dd has an ice staff , you taunt it you tank it is my thinking and I just sit back and watch them die

White wabbit · September 2019

Cirantille wrote: »

White wabbit wrote: »

You want about 38k to 44k Health I run with about 42k health and about 18k Stam and 17k mag . Weapons sword and board front bar and a lightning staff back bar for the off proc , your there to tank the damage not deal it , nord is good due to the ult gain

That... actually makes sense I got carried away and my mind goes to dps sorry.

So I will put everything into health then

Major_Lag wrote: »

A good tank does all of the following (and no doubt more things, which I missed):
holds aggro (taunt) on the boss and any "elite" adds which might be present,

positions the boss (and any relevant adds) in an appropriate way,

debuffs the boss' resistances (Major Breach + Major Fracture) and damage (Weakening enchant, Maim),

CCs adds (Fear, Talons, etc.),

provides additional group utility by wearing a support set (Alkosh, Ebon Armory, etc.),

does all of the above without dying.

The bare minimum for a tank to be considered a tank, is to taunt the enemies and stay alive.

Generally speaking, a tank should have at least 30k HP, but this depends on the content being tanked.
You can easily reach 30k HP with 0 attribute points into Health.

I decided Nord, heavy armor, two handed plus one handed and shield (because I want to experience these two style too, never tried before), what about the class, what can buff it? Any health based skills?

Depends what class you’re running

VaranisArano · September 2019

White wabbit wrote: »

Major_Lag wrote: »

White wabbit wrote: »

You want about 38k to 44k Health I run with about 42k health

For vet/HM content, that'd be about right.

For normal dungeons and most world bosses, just about anything will work, even ice staff tanking - which would get you insta kicked from most endgame content.

Still makes me laugh when i tank a pug dungeon and a dd has an ice staff , you taunt it you tank it is my thinking and I just sit back and watch them die

Yep. DDs get one warning, and after that, "You taunt it, you tank it."

Thankfully, most of them didn't know and appreciate the heads up. The weirdest one I ever had was a DD with 1H&S using Puncture. And he wouldnt stop!

Major_Lag · September 2019

In terms of a class, Sorc is probably the easiest class to learn tanking on, because Dark Deal is an amazing stamina sustain tool for tanking. Just be careful, because you can't block while casting it.
A Sorc tank using Spell Symmetry and Dark Deal has effectively infinite sustain

DK is the go-to class for tanking the hardest content (trials, vet/HM).
For normal trials and all dungeons, any class can do the job just fine in the hands of a sufficiently skilled player.

White wabbit · September 2019

VaranisArano wrote: »

White wabbit wrote: »

Major_Lag wrote: »

White wabbit wrote: »

You want about 38k to 44k Health I run with about 42k health

For vet/HM content, that'd be about right.

For normal dungeons and most world bosses, just about anything will work, even ice staff tanking - which would get you insta kicked from most endgame content.

Still makes me laugh when i tank a pug dungeon and a dd has an ice staff , you taunt it you tank it is my thinking and I just sit back and watch them die

Yep. DDs get one warning, and after that, "You taunt it, you tank it."

Thankfully, most of them didn't know and appreciate the heads up. The weirdest one I ever had was a DD with 1H&S using Puncture. And he wouldnt stop!

Or the tank going werewolf is the best I’ve seen

Major_Lag · September 2019

Cirantille wrote: »

I decided Nord, heavy armor, two handed plus one handed and shield

2-handed is not a good weapon for a tank to use.
The whole 2-handed skill line is very offensively oriented, and this is wasted on a tank, since a "good" tank hits like a wet noodle.

Use 1H+shield, and a destro staff on backbar. This lets you sustain both resource pools with heavy attacks, if needed.
Also the destro staff is very useful for proccing the weapon enchant with Wall of Elements for near-100% debuff uptime. Use Infused trait for that.

Ideally you would use a lightning staff for Off Balance proc, but you can also use an ice staff for the extra block mitigation and "free" (but clunky) ranged taunt.

Browiseth · September 2019

1) don't die
2) ensure your teammates don't die
3) provide buffs if you wana be a cool dude tank

steps 1 and 2 are the bare minimum requirements

TheMikrobe · September 2019

White wabbit wrote: »

VaranisArano wrote: »

White wabbit wrote: »

Major_Lag wrote: »

White wabbit wrote: »

You want about 38k to 44k Health I run with about 42k health

For vet/HM content, that'd be about right.

For normal dungeons and most world bosses, just about anything will work, even ice staff tanking - which would get you insta kicked from most endgame content.

Still makes me laugh when i tank a pug dungeon and a dd has an ice staff , you taunt it you tank it is my thinking and I just sit back and watch them die

Yep. DDs get one warning, and after that, "You taunt it, you tank it."

Thankfully, most of them didn't know and appreciate the heads up. The weirdest one I ever had was a DD with 1H&S using Puncture. And he wouldnt stop!

Or the tank going werewolf is the best I’ve seen

If only the Tormentor set worked with Pounce

Urzigurumash · September 2019

Major_Lag wrote: »

2-handed is not a good weapon for a tank to use.
The whole 2-handed skill line is very offensively oriented, and this is wasted on a tank, since a "good" tank hits like a wet noodle.

I haven't tanked much since the patch, but Stampede is very enjoyable to use to apply Crusher. It seems I can more precisely and quickly apply Crusher to a target than with Endless Hail, at the cost of 1/3 less uptime per cast. Insofar as a quicker and more precise Crusher improves offense, this offensive aspect of 2h is not wasted on a tank.

Major_Lag · September 2019

Fair point.
But you still lose out on magicka sustain by not going for 1H+S + destro - which, AFAIK, is the current meta setup.

Urzigurumash · September 2019

It is, but only for the uptime of Concussed and Off Balance. Everything else about staff is expendable, theoretically. I'm not making a case for 2h being ranked above Staff or Bow for tanking, but there's no reason to dissuade those new to tanking from trying it out. Using a forward-moving gap closer on a tank is quite fun, and the only things which have more efficient Crusher application are Hail and Blockade.

Urzigurumash · September 2019

TheMikrobe wrote: »

If only the Tormentor set worked with Pounce

Speaking of using Stampede to apply Crusher, a NB Tank could use Tormentor and Mark Target and not have to slot Pierce Armor. A DK or Warden could also use Stampede + Tormentor and run 2h and Destro, using Noxious Breath / Sub Assault for Fracture and Elemental Drain for Breach. Far from meta clearly but a somewhat practical use of Tormentor for tanking and one of the few ways to tank without Pierce Armor.

Nestor · September 2019

Tanking is much more than gear, it is also a state of mind. You are not going to Spam Skills, you are going to apply the skills in a measured manner so as to not run out of resources. For example, Puncture which lowers boss resistance and taunts only needs to be applied as the Taunt runs out, not 3 or 4 times during those 8 seconds. A skill timer can help.

So, take a slow and steady approach to the battle, even if the DDS and Healer are bouncing around like Spastic Monkeys.

Cirantille · September 2019

Major_Lag wrote: »

Cirantille wrote: »

I decided Nord, heavy armor, two handed plus one handed and shield

2-handed is not a good weapon for a tank to use.
The whole 2-handed skill line is very offensively oriented, and this is wasted on a tank, since a "good" tank hits like a wet noodle.

Use 1H+shield, and a destro staff on backbar. This lets you sustain both resource pools with heavy attacks, if needed.
Also the destro staff is very useful for proccing the weapon enchant with Wall of Elements for near-100% debuff uptime. Use Infused trait for that.

Ideally you would use a lightning staff for Off Balance proc, but you can also use an ice staff for the extra block mitigation and "free" (but clunky) ranged taunt.

Maybe I will reattribute later to experience two-handed then
If they hit like a noodle I guess it is more difficult to solo with them?

VaranisArano · September 2019

Cirantille wrote: »

Major_Lag wrote: »

Cirantille wrote: »

I decided Nord, heavy armor, two handed plus one handed and shield

2-handed is not a good weapon for a tank to use.
The whole 2-handed skill line is very offensively oriented, and this is wasted on a tank, since a "good" tank hits like a wet noodle.

Use 1H+shield, and a destro staff on backbar. This lets you sustain both resource pools with heavy attacks, if needed.
Also the destro staff is very useful for proccing the weapon enchant with Wall of Elements for near-100% debuff uptime. Use Infused trait for that.

Ideally you would use a lightning staff for Off Balance proc, but you can also use an ice staff for the extra block mitigation and "free" (but clunky) ranged taunt.

Maybe I will reattribute later to experience two-handed then
If they hit like a noodle I guess it is more difficult to solo with them?

Correct. That's because building to tank means shortchanging the stamina/magicka scaling that would let your abilities do more damage. I would not advise trying to solo with a tank. You won't die, but fights will be very, very slow.

If you want to level as a tank, the easiest way to do so is to queue for random normal dungeons once you reach level 10. Dungeons unlock progressively and so you'll get a good learning curve as you start easy and get more complex.

Major_Lag · September 2019

For easier content (non-DLC normal dungeons) it's perfectly viable to build as a hybrid tank/DD, who can deal reasonable damage while still technically tanking the boss.

Modified PvP builds are good for that, because they already have all of the required components, minus the taunt.