what is a Fake Tank?

sPark101 · November 2022

One of my characters is built with defensive, blocking and is pretty good but I will never join a queue as tank because of "fake tank" shunning.

What is a good tank?

Myrddin1357 · November 2022

sPark101 wrote: »

One of my characters is built with defensive, blocking and is pretty good but I will never join a queue as tank because of "fake tank" shunning.

What is a good tank?

A tank is supposed to do the following:

- keep taunt on boss and dangerous adds
- group adds if they can
- debuff enemies and buff group if they can

A fake tank is someone who is not even trying to do any of the above.

spartaxoxo · November 2022

A real tank uses cc on adds, keeps taunt on bosses and dangerous adds, interrupts boss attacks, debuffs enemies and buffs the group. The bare minimum required to be a tank is to taunt the boss and hold it as still as the mechanics allow.

A fake tank is someone not trying to do the job of tanking. If you have slotted a taunt and stay alive without needing to run around all over the place like speed racer, then you're already going to be praised and do better than most "tanks" in normal queue.

Auldwulfe · November 2022

Myrddin1357 wrote: »

sPark101 wrote: »

One of my characters is built with defensive, blocking and is pretty good but I will never join a queue as tank because of "fake tank" shunning.

What is a good tank?

A tank is supposed to do the following:

- keep taunt on boss and dangerous adds
- group adds if they can
- debuff enemies and buff group if they can

A fake tank is someone who is not even trying to do any of the above.

A Fake Tank can also be a good tank suffering from the current blocking bug......

I know my tank is -- and it's tough.

Auldwulfe

Sockermannen · November 2022

Depends a bit on who you ask.

By definition the term means someone who queued as tank with without a proper build and no intentions of fulfilling the role’s intended purpose.

Some like to separate between good and bad fake tanks where as good fake tanks are DPS builds with a taunt slotted that holds the boss in place and does not die while still outputting acceptable damage numbers. A bad fake tank would be a player who queues as tank but plays like a DPS, running around, kiting adds and dying over and over due to lack of staying power.

Tolerance for fake tanks also vary from player to player, if i do a random normal dungeon and i get fungal grotto or another equally easy base game dungeon i’d gladly take a fake tank over a real one because the run will go faster without much dificulty. However if said fake tank pops up for a veteran DLC dungeon then i’d be much more likely to initiate a vote kick depending on the dungeon.

I’m pretty tolerant for fake tanks in easier content, but there are some players that will absolutely not tolerate fake tanks under any circumstances and will always vote kick if they spot one.

sPark101 · November 2022

spartaxoxo wrote: »

A real tank uses cc on adds, keeps taunt on bosses and dangerous adds, interrupts boss attacks, debuffs enemies and buffs the group. The bare minimum required to be a tank is to taunt the boss and hold it as still as the mechanics allow.

A fake tank is someone not trying to do the job of tanking. If you have slotted a taunt and stay alive without needing to run around all over the place like speed racer, then you're already going to be praised and do better than most "tanks" in normal queue.

Thank you for your insight.

SkaraMinoc · November 2022

Until there's an official definition of a Tank and the design is updated to enforce those requirements, then fake tanks do not exist. Players are allowed to queue as a Tank regardless of their playstyle and are considered tanks for the duration of the dungeon. Groups are allowed to vote kick tanks that don't meet their expectations. But that doesn't mean the player is a fake tank.

sPark101 · November 2022

I always thought it was a Dps cutting the line by queuing as a tank.

deleted221205-002626 · November 2022

SkaraMinoc wrote: »

Until there's an official definition of a Tank and the design is updated to enforce those requirements, then fake tanks do not exist. Players are allowed to queue as a Tank regardless of their playstyle and are considered tanks for the duration of the dungeon. Groups are allowed to vote kick tanks that don't meet their expectations. But that doesn't mean the player is a fake tank.

Its players that define the roles and the roles have been defined in many games previously. If your curious what a tank is google it to get some rough idea even!

SkaraMinoc · November 2022

sinnereso wrote: »

SkaraMinoc wrote: »

Until there's an official definition of a Tank and the design is updated to enforce those requirements, then fake tanks do not exist. Players are allowed to queue as a Tank regardless of their playstyle and are considered tanks for the duration of the dungeon. Groups are allowed to vote kick tanks that don't meet their expectations. But that doesn't mean the player is a fake tank.

Its players that define the roles and the roles have been defined in many games previously. If your curious what a tank is google it to get some rough idea even!

I've been playing MMOs for 25 years so I'm familiar with the holy trinity. Just because the community has a majority consensus on the definition and specification for a tank doesn't mean that's how it works in ESO.

huskandhunger · November 2022

Tanks who became frustrated with the Block bug currently affecting the game.

gariondavey · November 2022

A bit of a vague/ambiguous term.

A traditional tank in eso is someone who runs 40k+ hp, is armor capped and provides buffs for the group, likely spends a lot of time holding block, debuffs armor on enemies, and taunts bosses/mobs. The last point is the most important, obviously.

Fake tank COULD mean

A") a non-traditional tank - for example, someone in a high dps spec who runs a taunt, is able to survive boss hits through damage shields/heals/dodge rolls/blocking heavy attacks, but maybe doesn't fit all those other characteristics such as having 40k hp or providing buffs to the group. The thing is, except for some vet dlc dungeons and vet dsa/vet brp, you can tank all other 4 man content as one of these non-traditional tanks. I'll "fake tank" in this sense on some of my characters in my pvp set ups (higher hp, strong self heals, high damage), but I definitely slot a taunt.

Or

B") a non-traditional, NON-tank - for example, someone who doesn't fit those trademarks of the traditional tank, but also doesn't slot a taunt or necessarily survive applicable mechanics. These are the people outrage typically occurs over, as they choose the tank roll to hop ahead in queue.

I refer to A") as a fake tank, and I'm sure many other people do as well, but many people also refer to B") as a fake tank. Differentiating by using the "traditional" label helps a lot in this issue.

If you are going to "fake tank", be an A"), and not a B"). Idk what else could really be said on the matter other than this.

kevkj · November 2022

The in-game skill advisor recommends a taunt (Puncture and/or Inner Fire) for the Tank role so that's about as close as we will get to an official endorsement that it's 'required'.

Soarora · November 2022

To me, a fake tank is simply someone who doesn't taunt. A tank that doesn't chain and/or dies a lot is a bad tank. A bad tank, if they are trying their best, I will have patience for... there is no safety net in tanking you just have to take the plunge and I admire their attempt. A fake tank I will never have patience for.

Amottica · November 2022

A tank is a player who taunts the target. This is the definition based on game design. Anything added to that is just what specific players want to see in their tank but is not what the game defines as a tank.

So the difference between a fake tank and a tank is the taunt.

CrashTest · November 2022

A fake tank is someone who has no intention of actually tanking, so they have no taunt, which causes the fights to take longer than they should bc the boss keeps running all over the place smacking everyone in the face. *cue Benny Hill chase music*

Fake tanks are usually DPS who are tired of waiting in q bc DPS q's can take hours while tank q's are almost always instant.

The issue of fake tanks (and healers for that matter) can be solved by adding a roleless q or DPS only q to the game for those who don't want or need tanks and healers.

A good tank is someone who has tight control over the fight using taunts, crowd control, and positioning while buffing the group and debuffing targets.

Sarannah · November 2022

If you are a real tank, players will know. So do not let the thought of fake tanks scare you away from queueing. You have to remember queue's can go very well, or at rare times, very badly. Just keep queueing, and do not let one bad experience ruin it for you! If you are a real tank, most runs will go very smooth.

Everyone expects something different from a tank, like someone said above chain enemies, which is not what I think is tanking(most mobs can't be chained anyways). The bare minimum for a tank is holding taunt on bosses. If you want to be an even better tank, group regular mobs, and buff group/debuff bosses as well. So the dungeon becomes even smoother, but how you do that is up to you. To become a pro tank, there is so much more to tanking: Holding the group together, keeping an eye on the groups resources, remember which enemy to taunt next, knowing mechanics, etc. Don't worry too much about messing up mechanics as everyone does sometimes, just keep going. But knowing mechanics makes runs much much smoother, as you can quickly tell the group in a difficult dungeon what players should do during a specific boss fight. One line of text can save you minutes of effort/frustration!

Goodluck!

PS: To practice tanking adds, try tanking world bosses with many adds. And try to keep all of them taunted, this will also tell you your limit of how many adds you can taunt, and there is no issue if you fail as noone expects someone to tank a world boss. Depending on which world bosses you try, but you'd have to check that out yourself as I haven't done this in a long while and do no longer know which world bosses to recommend.

merevie · November 2022

A real tank doesn't immed exit to lobby when they find themselves in a DLC dg, stranding their entire group.

Anifaas · November 2022

I experienced them all day yesterday. It was a learning experience. Traits of a fake tank:

- They don't block
- They wear DPS sets
- They use 2H weapons
- They charge ahead and leave the group behind
- They die (repeatedly) to boss mechanics
- They depend on the noob magplar to tank for them
- They leave at the end of the group without so much as a "tyfg"

Roztlin45 · November 2022

I would pay good money if somehow game AI could detect a fake tank and have the boss tea bag them when they die.

Soarora · November 2022

Soarora wrote: »

To me, a fake tank is simply someone who doesn't taunt. A tank that doesn't chain and/or dies a lot is a bad tank. A bad tank, if they are trying their best, I will have patience for... there is no safety net in tanking you just have to take the plunge and I admire their attempt. A fake tank I will never have patience for.

I want to add to this that if I’m on a dps but taunting I still call myself a fake tank. That is because I know it’s a dps that’s just taunting. However, I can’t hold other people to that standard because their tank might just be dpsy because that’s how they want to play the role.

Jaimeh · November 2022

What separates a tank from a fake tank, at the bare minimum, is having a taunt. If you have a taunt then, boom, you can tank. After that there are several layers of what makes a player good at tanking: having decent health and resistances in your build, having a way to control mob packs, being able to self-sustain and self-heal, being able to debuff the enemies and buff your group, and the least goes on... But if you just have a taunt and you make sure to aggro the bosses at the very least, then no one can accuse you of being a fake tank, plus, you'll never learn the role if you don't join groups, provided it's what you'd like to play

AgaTheGreat · November 2022

A fake tank is a DD who queues in a tank role. In general making normal dungeons clear faster.

ZOS_Icy · November 2022

Greetings,

This thread has been moved to the Players Helping Players section, as it is better suited there.

Thank you for your understanding.

ghastley · November 2022

And please remember that some bosses can’ t be taunted, such as the Engine Guardian in Darkshade II. If your tank doesn’t taunt that one, they’re not fake, just frustrated.

Molydeus · November 2022

Fake tanks are DPS who queue as the Tank role to cut in line and eliminate the DPS queue time. Usually they aren't specced right or have proper tanking gear so they die fairly quickly and allow bosses to run around untaunted smashing the healer and dps to death. They cause runs to be disorganized and messy, and in some cases impossible to finish. I am one of those people mentioned in an earlier post who are absolutely intolerant of fake tanks. I only run vet dungeons in random, and if I spot a fake tank I'll immediately start a vote to kick. If that doesn't work I'll leave and do something else. I feel bad for dps who actually wait in line to run a dungeon only to have some schmuck queue up as a fake tank and skip everyone else who is waiting.

I strictly stick to vet dungeons to avoid most of the fake tank nonsense but even there sometimes someone is dumb enough to queue up as a fake tank, and when we inevitably get a DLC dungeon the run is doomed from the start because 99% of those are impossible without someone who knows how to tank.