Hello all. I am returning to this game after a long absence. I thought about rolling up a tank. Other mmos I have played recently the tank is the one who leads the dungeon. They need to know the best way to go. Is that true in this game too? I like tanking, but don't want to have to learn every dungeon. Thank you for your time

Yes, Tanks are the leaders in nearly all of SWTOR, at least they should be, if that isn't the case in most scenarios. As for the role of being the one who receives the most damage, its your job to utilize your defensives and shift the flow of how the fight is to be orchestrated, much like many other MMO's like and before it. I definitely love to play as a tank, as it serves as a vital role in most any given situation, and often is what makes or breaks an entire operation being successful, pinning more responsibility onto you. The big plus of playing a tank in this game, is that you'll always have many doors open to you to play with groups, whereas playing dps is feast or famine in my opinion, and finding groups (unless in decent guild) is harder to come by.

 

Healers can be held in similar regard to importance to being requested for groups, but still more than both dps and healers, are tanks highly requested, being fewer in-game. Give it a try!

Don't forget that the "Veteran" mode on flashpoints is role-neutral, and people will in general just pile through and ignore the "tank leads" thing.

I would agree that the Tank normally leads, but that is not always the case. If you are with a guild group, the leader might be playing a healer or DPS.

 

When you are in Groupfinder groups, anyone who is knowledgeable about that particular flashpoint might lead. It is pretty common to see a DPS start fights in Groupfinder content, even if a Tank is present.

I wouldn't say than the Tank necessarily 'leads' the group, but the tank is usually the one to go into battle first - in Master Mode.

In my (not-so-humble) opinion, for SWTOR 4-person content, whomever leads is irrelevant as long as SOMEONE with a degree of competence leads. That can be the tank, healer or DPS.

For the 4-person content, as long as you know your role, your class, and your rotation, then anyone can be the leader.

 

For 8- and 16-person operations, with the more complex mechanics on boss fights, everyone needs to know a bit more than for the flashpoints, but the tank(s) need to be more precise and in-control. So in those environments, I would say that the tank either needs to lead or be guided by someone else who knows both their own role and the tank mechanics, but the main tank will generally lead out in fights even if someone else is the organiser.

I have no problem being up front and soaking damage, or starting the fight. I am just bad at knowing maps and directions. I appreciate everyone helping out.