Hi, I'm soon to be lvl 55 Assassin and I can't decide whether to tank or dps. I haven't done much flashpoints during lvling and I'm not sure what are the tank 's resposibilities in this game apart from holding aggro so I've got some questions for you. Do you set kill orders for the dps or are they supposed to simply attack your target? Are you supposed to instruct them to use crowd control or cc isn't necessary? I'm talking about long cc like 1 min or so to exclude some mobs in the pack from fight. To former wow players: is tanking here more similiar to tanking in wotlk or in cata?

Good question! Most groups will expect the tank to run things.

 

For most pulls, kill order doesn't change....it should be weakest to strongest, with a preference to whatever the tank is actively trying to keep agro on or at least hitting the same target as the other DPS. When I am tanking, and DPS seem confused about this, I give a gentle reminder: "kill order is weakest to strongest, left to right, unless otherwise indicated".

 

That leaves the tank responsible for getting and holding agro on the strongs and elites, and as long as DPS are behaving, this isn't too hard. The tank also has responsibility for boss positioning, kiting, staying out of AoEs, and should be the primary interrupter on all pulls. Also, you are responsible for controlling the pace of the FP, which means don't chain pull if your healer is hasn't come up the elevator yet or is still trying to regen energy.

 

As for CCs, anyone can mark CC targets. As a DPS I will generally mark a target I intend to CC. That is mostly for the benefit of the other DPS...if the tank breaks the CC, I don't really care as long as they can hold agro on it. If the tank wants specific mobs CCd, they should mark them.

Agreed.

 

What I do is have target markers set to my numpad. This makes it really easy for me to mark things quickly if I need to. In general if I want XYZ mob killed first I mark it with fire, cog and star mean CC. I've yet to meet a DPS who DPS'd cog/star before fire so it tends to work for me.

Edited May 16, 2013 by Elzen

To former wow players: is tanking here more similiar to tanking in wotlk or in cata?

 

Uh... Both? The style is kinda early WotLK. Later Wrath was very "face pull... Drop consecration/ D&D.... Everything sticks like glue." not so much here. Early Cata...I remember tanks got a rude expansion awakening. For a while there, you had to CC everything until you had better gear. Not so much here. It's kind of a mix. You don't necessarily just grab up everything and all is well, but you also don't have to CC everything either. Swtor is about tanking a little smarter. In Wow.... If you interrupted the range caster, he immediately ran to you. Here they stay put. So a lot of times... I'll just CC that one guy thats way off from the pack and worry about him last. That one ranged shooter is most likely to aggro to the healer and since he's kinda off on his own, he just sits there and plinks away at people. So you wind up having to go after him, which lets your DPS get their foot in the door and now one of them pulls off you. Or if you do have aggro, that plinker is just making you that much spikier because he's just doin his own thing while you deal with the pack.

 

That kinda sums it up, actually in a TL;DR sense. CC'ing that one outlier dealing senseless damage, or the one or two mobs that have a nasty particular attack (damn stim fiends). Using your knock back and force pull wisely to control positioning. You have to control your mobs a little more in Swtor vs. Wow where you can face pull EVERYTHING! I am very big on positioning of things. It helps alot with incoming damage and aggro.

 

As far as the general question about the tank's responsibilities?

Simple answer: 75% of Everything. Because *IMO*...75% of everything that goes wrong in a run *can* be fixed by a good tank. (even though he/she may not be the cause). It may make me sound arrogant or elitist... I like to think of it as I just hold myself to a high standard. But as the tank....it's my run and the DPS just play here. I control the pace...I make or break it. If there is a wipe, then damn it...as the tank it's my fault because i shouldn't have let it happen. {side note: You will never EVER hear me say it's the healer's fault}

Edited May 16, 2013 by Grumpftard

The tank has to hold the dps's hands in most fps. That's the reality of being a tank in about any game. If you aren't ready to think for 3/4 of the group, I wouldn't be a tank.

 

Yes, the dps are that...brilliant...here...

Yes, the dps are that...brilliant...here...

 

Amen!

Yes, the dps are that...brilliant...here...

True, although you notice quickly if a dps does have a tank character. Suddenly the dps is doing it's job without someone telling them to.

True, although you notice quickly if a dps does have a tank character. Suddenly the dps is doing it's job without someone telling them to.

 

True, I feel I should add an asterisk to all my remarks about dps. The majority of them are bad...but there are good dps out there. If you find them, friend them.

 

FYI, if you're a good one, I love you!

These guys know what they are talking about so I will just add (hopefully) a point or two and my two cents.

 

If you haven't ran a lot of FP's so far, I would expect that you haven't ran many OP's either. So I will suggest that you know the fights. Maybe not every pull in every FP, but look for the "not a tank and spank" ones and bone up on them. OP pulls, yes you should learn them. They are longer and require you as a tank to do more than a vast majority of the FP pulls. Don't be afraid to ask about a fight, just because you are the tank, and the fight should be done the way you want to tank it, doesn't mean that even a seasoned tank doesn't need a refresher from time to time.

 

I would also suggest you look into gear distributions for your AC. From what I have learned from tanking in this game is that being able to grab agro is one thing, being able to survive it is another. If you have made it this far into the forums I am going to assume you have at least glanced at Keyboardninja's wonderful stat thread. If you haven't, then you need to read that.

 

Lastly, don't make your decision about tanking versus DPS based on "DPS are horibad" comments. True, there are some really bad DPS'ers out there, and sometimes they que as a tank. But as the tank you are in control of the run, and have the bully pulpit on pulls. Plus, nothing is more appreciated than a tank saving the day, being the last toon standing and killing the boss, or rescuing someone who made a mistake. In my opinion, tanking is the most rewarding and the funnest role to play in this game. Throw in you are always in demand makes your play time that much more productive.

Seconded. When I'm a tank, I consider it my responsibility to know everything about a situation so I can educate if needed. Is there anything to be cleansed? What hits the hardest? What can be interrupted? Where should people stand? When do I need to use cooldowns, and when might I need to stun/mass taunt/etc to keep things on me when otherwise they might beeline for the DPS?

 

It might just be me, but if I'm a tank, I feel the responsibility to ensure a good run, so I try to know absolutely everything about the encounter mechanics, at least, while still allowing various tactics to defeat these mechanics to be tried.

First off, don't be intimidated about tanking. There's this weird thing, I've noticed, where people who aren't tanks make it out to be a lot harder than it is and are too scared to try it out because of the perceived pressure. It's not that bad. If I can do it, clumsy as I am, almost anybody can. Just read forums, watch videos...which it sounds like you are doing already...and you'll pick it up in no time.

 

About flashpoints - they aren't too bad, but in my experience at least I actually find the trash is a little bit trickier than the boss fights because a lot of DPS won't follow a consistent kill order. You can't expect to pick up EVERYTHING. I'm a PT, so I've got my Death From Above, Explosive Darts, Flame Sweep, a grapple, and a good Carbonize/Flamethrower combo going, and I STILL can't always get them all rounded up and staying on me. There are a lot of pulls with random weak and standard level enemies hanging off on the fringes. In a good group, the DPS will pick those off almost instantly at the beginning of the pull while you focus on keeping aggro on the strongs, elites, and champions. Sometimes the DPS by instinct will attack what you are attacking right off the bat, so you may want to gently remind them to go after the little guys first.

 

About operations - the biggest thing I have faced here is psychological. I tank for a small guild that has cleared most of the 55 HM content, and the one major responsibility that has hit me so far is my need to be available. In my experience when I cannot make a scheduled hard mode operation, the raid is off...but when a DPSer or healer cannot make it, the group will often find a replacement. I tend to be of the mindset that I am fully replaceable even by an alt of someone who knows the fights, but for better or for worse a strong reliance and dependency on a particular "main tank" seems to be ingrained in the minds of many MMO players. Regardless of whether you consider yourself a leader or not, you will most likely be looked to for leadership. That's another ingrained instinct I have run across.

Thank you for your replies guys! I've decided to give tanking a try.

That is great to hear! Happy hunting and I for one would love to hear how it is going for you.

Thank you for your replies guys! I've decided to give tanking a try.

 

Welcome to the family, resistance is futile, you will be assimilated.

Thank you for your replies guys! I've decided to give tanking a try.

 

Awesome I've been a long time tank in various MMOs, and the tanking community (especially here) is a very helpful group indeed because we know how tough it can be at times, especially when you are essentially deemed the "leader of the pack". But, as another tank pointed out, it's not as difficult as many ppl make it out to be. The first thing to note, as with any class, is to learn to play your class to the point where you are comfortable with rotations for various situations. Honestly, the rotations don't change much for tanks so once you have those down then you are gold

 

Next, is learn the FPs/Ops basic boss fights, because this is probably the most difficult (IMO) when tanking, but there are a ton of resources for boss mechanics/strats. You may even come up with your own tried & true strategies! Otherwise, the rest is simply overall field experience. You read up on all the guides you want, but nothing beats being dropped in the fray and learning through blood, sweat & tears

 

Overall, have fun as a tank because it really is a great role!

Hi, I'm soon to be lvl 55 Assassin and I can't decide whether to tank or dps. I haven't done much flashpoints during lvling and I'm not sure what are the tank 's resposibilities in this game apart from holding aggro so I've got some questions for you. Do you set kill orders for the dps or are they supposed to simply attack your target? Are you supposed to instruct them to use crowd control or cc isn't necessary? I'm talking about long cc like 1 min or so to exclude some mobs in the pack from fight. To former wow players: is tanking here more similiar to tanking in wotlk or in cata?

 

Man, your post looks familiar--a few months ago, this was me.

 

In my experience having to learn how to tank FPs after I was already level 50 and then moving on to Operations--it really depends. Don't get fixated on 'The tank runs things'. All things being equal, if everyone's inexperienced, the tank will likely be the one 'leading', but because some of this content is so familiar to the DPS and Healers that they'll frequently take point if they don't feel you're doing a good job. This is something I had to adjust to and not take it personally.

 

With decent gear, things are going to be very fluid in the level 50 and 55 HM FPs. DPS shouldn't be running up facepulling everything, but most groups can recover from it if they do.

 

Where that changes is in Operations. I'm still in the baby levels of HM Operations, but the tanks have more responsibility in them and that's when they do have to set the pace and the tone. But even then, I've been in a few Operations with PUGs where I was new and they were not and I've had both Healers and DPS 'leading' the raid while I learned from them.

 

Rule of thumb: if no one's dying, it's okay.

 

And yeah, like other people said: if you find DPS who don't facepull, CC intelligently, know their kill order without being told, grab on to them and never let go.