I was thinking about making a new lightside tank and was wondering which is better between Guardian and Shadow in PvE for tanking.

I was thinking about making a new lightside tank and was wondering which is better between Guardian and Shadow in PvE for tanking.

 

Both are good. Guardian will do better damage (especially after nerfs coming in 5.9) and shadows are tankier. Both are totally viable for all content, so play what you like (shadows do require a tad more micromanagement to maximize tankiness, so if you want to not worry about that go with guardian. But both are good).

 

Side note, if you are planning on leveling from level 1, the guardian story is widely considered better. They are close enough in terms of how good they are that I'd consider story as a tie breaker tbh, that's how close it is (or will be after nerfs anyway).

A bit offtopic but seriously, why do people refer to rep side as lightside? Both rep and imp are pretty gray and for me personally it's easier to find good in the Empire than in Republic.

A bit offtopic but seriously, why do people refer to rep side as lightside? Both rep and imp are pretty gray and for me personally it's easier to find good in the Empire than in Republic.

 

Class stories and your companions are strongly biased regarding light and dark choices.

 

If you have any attachment to your companion(s) you'll go with what they like.

Edited April 21, 2018 by Gyronamics

Shadow/Assasin is mostly about micro-management.

 

Vanguard/PT is mostly about standing around and using your dcd's for DPS.

 

Guardian is between both. A bit less micro-management and a bit more standing around. Also: Saber Reflect.

 

That's basically it. Currently, Shadow/Assasin is OP due to Force-Speed absorbing 60% of all incoming damage for 2,5 seconds every 15 seconds, so you can micro-manage spikes.

 

I personally prefer playing all three tank classes due to different utilities that can be useful in different boss-fights. Besides of Brontes I downed all bosses ingame with all three tank-classes, however, some are quite unhelpful for certain roles, so it's basically standing around eating tons of healing. If you are new to tanking, I would suggest Vanguard. If you already gained experiences, I would suggest the tank-class you previously played on Impside. If you want to play a new class, I would suggest Shadow. Guardian is very hard to master and in my opinion currently the most difficult tank-class. However, if mastered, Guardian is very fun, but nothing, what you should ask your group to carry through NiM-content, when you are still in progression.