So I'm having trouble deciding between Powertech tank and Assassin tank. I've played shadow tank to almost 40 iirc, and was fairly good with it. But I've been working on powertech tank lately and can't decide which to focus on, because I kinda just want to have one dps, one tank and one healer in my guild so I can switch to whatever they'd need me for. So I was hoping I could get some opinions about them, pve wise end-game, besides the typical bashing or whining about nerfs, etc that I've already seen hundreds of, because while most hate the so-called nerfs, I haven't even noticed them so...

Thanks in advance.

EDIT: I guess jug tank might be viable well as well if anyone has some good input about playstyle etc. I've just been kinda turned off by them for some random reason unbeknownst to me.

Be awesome and have all tanks at level 55

And by all I mean of course not just "all 3" but all 6

besides the typical bashing or whining about nerfs, etc that I've already seen hundreds of, because while most hate the so-called nerfs, I haven't even noticed them so...

You're not *going* to notice the things that Shadow players have been complaining about recently until you get to end game content. The problem with Shadows, which will land you in cases of "I just died thanks to a bad RNG string", is their spikiness, which isn't anywhere close to an issue while leveling. None of the hits are big enough to really have it matter. As such, you're not *going* to notice them for another 15 levels.

Right now, the outright best tanks are Guardians: they have amazing utility and survivability, the best CD suite in the game, and are almost ludicrously simple to play. VGs are middling because they have the absolute least utility and worst CD suite but are perfectly functional otherwise (they're *slightly* more stable than Guardians but not noticeably). They're a *bit* more complex to play than Guardians thanks to having some CD reset stuff and a more complex resource schema, but it's not a big deal. Shadows are, currently, for any content where tanks are actually measured by their effectiveness, the worst: their spikiness is high enough that on a fair number of fights, you're liable to die entirely based off of RNG death and fully a quarter of their mitigation is reactive and non-scaling (i.e. self-healing) which means that its value is amazing at low incoming DPS and terrible at high incoming DPS and only helps you out if you *survive* the hits in the first place. On the plus side, they've got the best mean mitigation (not that it means much since tanking 2.0 is all about surviving spikes) and some excellent utility.

I don't mention threat or damage because it's pretty much a wash: all of the tanks do pretty much the same damage and generate the same amount of threat. One of the *only* well balanced aspects of tanks at the moment is threat/damage.

Juggs/Guards are very rewarding now, and I'd easily put them forward as the best tanks. They have the greatest cooldowns, and amazing ranged threat generation. In flashpoints and select operations, a Jugg/Guard can tank entire trash pulls by getting initial aggro and popping saber reflect immediately.

They also have the strongest cooldowns of any tank class, even eclipsing shadows in fights with tech/force attack mechanics in all areas but up time (Shadows/Assassins can get their immunity cooldown for these attacks back much quicker).

In PvP I'd say that if you're committed to keeping your healers alive, hands down go with Guardian. Guardian leap is an amazing tool not only for getting control over one person's bursty DPS (if boss facing isn't an issue), but also for ensuring that you won't be parted long from the healer you're guarding in Warzones. But as tanks go, I'd say that they under-perform in raw damage output in PvP. I haven't seen any guardians successfully rock DPS gear in a tanking specialization like Shadows or Vanguards can.

As for Vanguards/Powertechs, only thing I'd say they have over guardians is against tech/force attack heavy encounters. Their emphasis on getting shield chance and absorb high makes them shine in these circumstances. They also have notable utility with their 'pull,' like a Shadow, as well as the ability to ignore certain root/slow effects due to their new 'hold the line' ability, which is very useful in select operation encounters.

But ultimately you need to decide what you'll be doing with this tank. IF you are going to be operations, I'd say stay clear of Shadows, and look at the crew you'll be doing operations with. It is generally a good idea to stagger your classes, and not have two of the same class in the same role. Vanguards and Guardians shine in their own ways, and have skills that complement eachother, but this won't really come until play until you're at the bleeding edge of progression raiding.

PS: One note about Guardian tanking. Outside of saber reflect, attaining initial AoE aggro and maintaining it in the first few moments takes practice and effort if you don't want to blow your AoE taunt. Shadows and Vanguards have a much easier time with very simple and powerful AoE threat building tools that is less dependent on the placement of enemies. With Guardians, to cement your AoE threat, you need to be able to execute a brief checklist.

1. Put the armor debuff on the target via Sundering Strike or Force Sweep/Smash
   
2. Make sure you are targeting a target close enough to the four other targets you want to hit before striking. This can be tricky if you don't have initial aggro.
   
3. Use Guardian Slash
   

Vanguards just have to use their cone attack or their targetable AoE attack. Shadows do not have the first step in the Guardian's checklist. Both also have a Personal Body AoEs that is not a strange cone that multiple adds like to dance to the edges of, and Guardians will have to backpedal in small circles if they want to continue hitting all five baddies with cyclone Slash. The other classes have an easier time wrangling enemies, but Guardians, with practice, keep pace.