Gear is partially to blame for tank shortage

I should have clarified...Guardian tank, which made effin zero sense, since Guardians/Juggernauts were already the lowest dps tanks. I don't have a 50 Shadow, but Shadow tanks had their armor and self healing nerfed in 1.3. shield Vanguards were also nerfed, but I don't remember the specifics.

There is basically 2 taunt lol, 2 buttons, (I know some skill give you more threat) but its funny how people try and make tanking sound like an extremely difficult job that only a select few with grandiose talents can do. If you need to try and boast like that I guess your compensating for something. I have never seen anyone say on any chat that they would like this or this fixed in the mechanics without some lowly opportunist to say hey wait thats easy you suck, thinking that magically this will make them appear as great talented players lol.

I have no issues tanking, ive tanked all the bosses in this game and the dps I usually raid with know what they are doing. But take the Droid in LI HM pre nerf, yea I tanked him we got him, BUT interupts the incenerates, (1 seconds) move him, keep taunt etc. is doable but it stressfull, I think what alot of people are trying to say is that tanks are fewer in numbers because its easier to DPS, if you play to relax then maybe tanking is not always your best option. It would be fun to see some harder mechanics for the DPS just for laughs.

And letting people die is not a miracle solution either, sounds more like a way of dumping the problem on someone else then actual skills.

Snipers do not tank or heal. So once again...you jump the shark by injecting a dps only class into your argument for why you as a tank deserve special gear treatment in this MMO so you can play DPS. The game gives you that option today... you just need a second set of gear... pretty much as is true for every other MMO on the planet where a tank wants to tank/dps on demand.

And just to add.... all you have done in this thread is attack and rebuke every comment/response to your OP that you disagree with. Clearly you want your way, and could care less what other peoples views on the topic might be. So basically, this has become your own personal QQ thread IMO.

In reality, your thread title itself is misleading. Why? because your real complaint is it's hard as a tank to switch to DPS without a second set of gear. So an honest title for this thread would be: Gear Is A Partial Reason Why Tanks Cannot Perform As DPS On Demand. So on further consideration... you jumped the shark when you created the thread topic.

1. If you actually read the post I was referring to I was telling to poster that was requesting another taunt that it is not needed.
2. Letting people who are complete idiots die is the simplest way to let them learn. I am not going to work harder because they're morons. If I lose threat and it's not blatantly their fault, fine, I do what I can to recover. If they pull, or they frontload damage as soon as the mobs see me, they can die. I'm oldschool and don't put up with that crap.
3. Vegetable oil may help in removing your foot from your mouth.

Add to that that we get blamed for absolutely EVERYTHING. I don't pug anymore because I'm tired of being the whipping boy.

Don't forget to ditch the red hair too.

While I mostly play DPS, I quit PUGing a long time ago in MMOs because I realized it attracts low information players with impluse control issues and a proprensity for perpetual bad social behaviors and a desire to blame everyone else for their mistakes.

Real life PUGs (whatever their object of attention may be) are largely the same IMO... so MMO life mimics real life once again.

Note: No Pugs (the doggie) were injured in this post.

The OP reads like a suggestion to "play his way". Why has this not been moved to the suggestion forums?

See my post how ever you like.

We have already established that healers don't suffer from this as much as tanks. We all know that there is a tank shortage. I'm suggesting this is not helping that shortage.

The arguments I rebuke are based on people saying that's the way its always been.

I want people to question why it has to be that way. Personally I don't think it does.

I think tanks could have some bragging rights, also - they just have to look for them. For instance, a tank having nobody on their team die in an operation would be good. A tank who knows a bit about other classes could be good, as they could give out some tips to other roles to help them out.

I'll admit this - I only have one 50, and it's a Sentinel. Yeah, "DPS players take an easy role," but I try to step up and help strategize with the team - I can hold droids, I can try to keep an eye on healers and attack anything that latches onto them, stuff like that. If and when I take on a tanking role with my Guardian, Juggernaut, Vanguard, Powertech, or Shadow, I can tell any Sentinels / Marauders to remember that they have tools available in case they draw too much aggro off me and it can be redirected to me. No, their numbers won't keep "skyrocketing" because of that, but if it means they don't die, I call that a win. I use these tools when I notice I pull a bit too much hate, and I think the tanks and healers like me for doing it - I keep their jobs simple and make sure the guys who get paid to take a beating take a beating, and the guys who get paid to heal heal the guy taking the beating.

Maybe I'm just an odd DPS person, though. I also usually ask if I'm doing alright, and apologize when I blow it or otherwise screw up.

It doesn't HAVE to be that way. But it IS that way because that's what the developers chose to do. You don't have to like it, and you don't even have to deal with it. You can play another MMO that doesn't have this issue. Rift I believe, and WoW.

You've been given the real reasons why there's a tank shortage and it has very little to do with the gear. You'll find pretty much every MMO has a tank shortage issue AND a healer shortage issue. I personally find healers the hardest to find because they have many of the same drawbacks as a tank and also get the boring job of staring at health bars. At least tanks get the action.