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My hat off to people who play dedicated tanks


LordSkyKnight

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My hat off to people who play dedicated tanks. I have played mostly dps type classes throughout my mmo history but this time I decided to give a defense tree guardian a try. I am currently level 47 and I just have to say, it has been one of the most frustrating experiences leveling up with this character playing during flashpoints. Trying to get people to follow simple instructions whether it's with crowd control or asking people not to punt mobs away from me, it just seems that people really don't give a crap about trying to play decently.

 

 

I just finished a run through the red reaper and I put the whole group on ignore halfway though and toughed it out to finish the flashpoint. I had a commando and a shadow that kept using their punt skill to knock mobs away from me which in turn made it difficult to retain threat. I would mark targets on which to focus attack and they just flat out ignored it and were most likely using tab to target their next mob to attack.

 

You know that first area in Red Reaper which can be a tough nut if you aren't careful? Well I started out as usual and was trying to clear mobs from the side when the commando decided to just shoot the mobs in the middle which started the big mob spawn and rush. Death followed of course. It just went downhill from there. Even with the sage healer, it seemed she was more concerned with dpsing rather than healing me. I died several more times in some of the big pull areas after burning all of my oh crap cool down abilities and her force bar hardly didnt even have a scratch to it.

 

There are certain aspects of the old mmos that I miss like from Everquest. The game was very unforgiving of silly mistakes and tended to weed out the silly people fairly quickly. So to all you people who play tanks, thank you and I know exactly how you feel and why some of you give up to go play dps classes instead.

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I gave up tanking in this game. In fact I deleted my original Juggernaut in a bit of a rage quit. I am re-leveling him now but I simple don't do Flashpoints. I'll wait until 50 then join a guild. Pugging in this game as a tank is an excercise in patience.
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I play DPS almost exclusively (DPS Jugg, leveling an Assassin that I MAY make a tank), and I think that what makes a good tank, is good DPS.

 

A tank has enough to worry about on their own, especially during boss fights, the last thing they need are the DPS who try and show off that they can pull off the tank and they so uber powerful they need to be guarded; they are the bads of this game.

 

Try and get in with a guild that can show you the ropes (unless you are already), and ease your way into tanking things, if the DPS screw themselves over in PuG groups, oh well; it's their fault, not yours.

 

I've off-tanked EC HM in my Rakata set that I've had for some time, so trust me when I say that having the DPS that knows how to throttle and threat drop when they need to means a lot.

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Thank you. I just wish more people would say thanks to us that play tanks. While I do not play ONLY tanking characters I also have some healers, and some DPS. But by far, my favorite is my 50 juggernaut. So again, I say thank you.
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i too would like to say thank you for all of you tanks out there.

 

the last mmo i played a tank in was eq2 as a tanking monk and even then i only did raids and guild groups as needed. that class was poorly designed for agro generation on group encounters.

 

it takes a really special person to play one in this mmo with all of the solo minded dpsers out there doing thier own thing.

 

but i really think the root of the problem is far too many players came from a mmo where threat generation for a tank was stupid easy and was nerfed to that point because of all of the dps baddies that the game produced. old habits are hard to unlearn. throttling down is unheard of and agro pulling to them is a sign of elitism rather to the rest of us the playing of the unskilled fool. thank god we dont have real time dps meters in this game. what a mess it would make with these dps tools.

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First, get out of the tank tree for leveling. The damage is horrendous in tank spec for Guardians, PT's and Assassins can pull it off. Because they have the dps in those trees, and aren't gimped by there resource.

 

And 2nd don't do pre-50 flashpoints, unless you are ready for pugs like you experienced. Not saying you wont still run into these types of players at 50, but they are few and far between.

 

 

but i really think the root of the problem is far too many players came from a mmo where threat generation for a tank was stupid easy and was nerfed to that point because of all of the dps baddies that the game produced. old habits are hard to unlearn. throttling down is unheard of and agro pulling to them is a sign of elitism rather to the rest of us the playing of the unskilled fool. thank god we dont have real time dps meters in this game. what a mess it would make with these dps tools.

 

Trust me when I say this, I have all 3 tanks class and I tank or have tanked with them all. assassins and powertechs are very much face roll when it comes to threat.

The only tank that has to work for threat is Guardian / Jugg, yes they can tank and keep threat. But they are the only tank class that has to jump through burning hoops.

 

And yes we have real time dps meters in this game.

Edited by caveslug
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I play a tank shadow and tank jugg. I haven't really had many problems with flashpoint pugs. There are times where people are incompetent but overall its a good experience. I do enjoy the challenge of keeping agro on all mobs though and do it well ;)

 

Cheers!

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First, get out of the tank tree for leveling. The damage is horrendous in tank spec for Guardians, PT's and Assassins can pull it off. Because they have the dps in those trees, and aren't gimped by there resource.

 

And 2nd don't do pre-50 flashpoints, unless you are ready for pugs like you experienced. Not saying you wont still run into these types of players at 50, but they are few and far between.

 

 

 

 

Trust me when I say this, I have all 3 tanks class and I tank or have tanked with them all. assassins and powertechs are very much face roll when it comes to threat.

The only tank that has to work for threat is Guardian / Jugg, yes they can tank and keep threat. But they are the only tank class that has to jump through burning hoops.

 

And yes we have real time dps meters in this game.

I enjoy tanking on my Juggernaut & Guardian. It's old school where threat is earned via technique - not by competing with dps for damage aggro. Where taunts and aggro bombs are kept in reserve for emergencies & breakaways. I like the challenge of having to keep my toon's head on a constant swivel and having to use terrain features to break LOS & set up dps. I also like my tanking to be up close & personal, hence the preference for Jug & Guardian. Gimmie one taunt, one aggro bomb, one stun and one interrupt & I'll tank Godzilla with a whiffle bat and a frisbee. :D Edited by GalacticKegger
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you make several valid points OP and as a lvl 50 watchman/sentinel I've had to learn to throttle down the threat when needed and let the tank do his job.

 

however, my lvl 50 shield/vanguard has had no real problem holding aggro for the most part, van's seem to have so many tools to maintain threat that (and this is just my experience) I kind of enjoy when a healer or dps pulls aggro from me as it give me an opportunity to use one of those many tools and pull the boss/mob back on me.

 

that said, I've heard/read that Guardians are the ones that have the most problems maintaining threat and have seen many calls for a change in that area.

 

bottom line, a group where everyone knows their rolls and just as important knows the other classes rolls will almost always work as a good team... and it sounds like your 'Red Reaper" fiasco was in no way a 'team' effort.

 

good tanks are hard to find and I hope you hang in there... even through the runs where people need to learn how to work as a team and not run around like their soloing trash mobs on Tython.

Edited by magecutter
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Gimmie one taunt, one aggro bomb, one stun and one interrupt & I'll tank Godzilla with a whiffle bat and a frisbee. :D

 

Funniest line ever... well done G" :D

 

and thx, very kind of you to say. took a while and the patience of many people to learn that one :o

Edited by magecutter
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My mains are DPS marauder and assassin. I started a healer, and have put that on hold because I wanted to learn to tank. So I made a Jedi Guardian and currently am at level 45.

 

I am finding that tanking is not nearly as easy as DPS- nothing new there, but it is interesting EXPERIENCING what others have said in flashpoints. I have had some wonderful flashpoints where I was a new tank, said so, and others who had tank alts walked me through what to do as tank and gently made sure I was holding aggro. But by far, most PUGs tend to be free for alls- everyone just does what they please and usually there is a wipe or two. Most people don't wait for tank instructions, or don't listen, or let the tank to control the flow.

 

I am hoping my experiences as a tank will help me play my DPS more responsibly. Maybe EVERYONE should be forced to create a tank and experience the pain firsthand.

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you make several valid points OP and as a lvl 50 watchman/sentinel I've had to learn to throttle down the threat when needed and let the tank do his job.

 

I've heard/read that Guardians are the ones that have the most problems maintaining threat and have seen many calls for a change in that area.

 

1.) You're my favorite kind of DPS!

 

2.) As a Guardian I will say that it can sometimes be difficult to maintain threat, particularly at the beginning of a fight. Long term, however, threat management is just fine.

 

Anyways, I certainly appreciate this thread! It's sometimes frustrating being a tank, but it's definitely worth it.

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Tanking in this game is easier than tanking was in Everquest, at least in terms of dealing with aggro management and over-zealous DPS. So even when things go pear shaped in PUG flashpoints, I still find it far more relaxing than, say, a bad pull in Vex Thal or death touch rotations in Plane of Sky nonsense way back in the day.

 

;)

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I really like tanking in this game, including pre-50, and I can really advice people who didn't like tanking in other games, to give it a shot in this game. It's actually fun to do.

That said, bad DPS CAN mess up a good tank, and that is sometimes the frustrating part of it. But when running with other players who know their limits and understand that the tank handles the pulling and they don't, it really can be a lot of fun.

 

If someone gives me the impression that they're racing the content and keeps pulling more groups, I simply warn them that I'll taunt the mobs of their back only once. Next time they do it, I leave them to rot, run off, and let the encounter reset itself.

Edited by AsheraII
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I enjoy tanking on my Juggernaut & Guardian. It's old school where threat is earned via technique - not by competing with dps for damage aggro. Where taunts and aggro bombs are kept in reserve for emergencies & breakaways. I like the challenge of having to keep my toon's head on a constant swivel and having to use terrain features to break LOS & set up dps. I also like my tanking to be up close & personal, hence the preference for Jug & Guardian. Gimmie one taunt, one aggro bomb, one stun and one interrupt & I'll tank Godzilla with a whiffle bat and a frisbee. :D

 

Don't get me wrong,

 

My Jugg is my only tank atm, I find powertech puts me to sleep. Its entirely faceroll with its 3-4 buttons.

I just got a shadow to 50 couple days ago, I joined a FP as a tank in tionese gear. I had no issues holding threat against dps in rakata and black hole gear. Sadly I feel more like a sage, then a melee dps with this class.

 

Hands down I prefer tanking on my jugg, so much so that I'm thinking of leveling a guardian next. As I have already respeced my shadow to infiltration, and would like to have a dedicated tank on republic side.

 

I would wager, most threat issues are truly on dps that feel the need to ignore weak adds. And go balls to the wall on strongs first, leaving the tank to run around trying to get aggro on all the weak mobs beating on the healer. I see this daily myself, with the 3-4 HM FP I run.

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First, get out of the tank tree for leveling. The damage is horrendous in tank spec for Guardians, PT's and Assassins can pull it off. Because they have the dps in those trees, and aren't gimped by there resource.

 

As someone who had never really tanked in an MMO prior to SWTOR, I disagree with this statement. For someone like me (who has never tanked before), having a companion and being a tank, you can learn how to tank and have no fear of being yelled at or kicked from a group for being a "newb". Yes, the mob killing is slower, but in my opinion, that is time well spent, if when you jump into a group you know what you are doing. And when you get your healer companion....you are INVINCIBLE!!!:D

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As someone who recently discovered healing and love it i've been in so many bad group that i dont even wanna be bothered with it anymore.So i know exactly how you feel.An from a healing perspective GOOD tanks are hard to find in this game!

 

some people dont realize a healer is only as good as his tank,so to all the good tanks thank you for what u do!

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As someone who had never really tanked in an MMO prior to SWTOR, I disagree with this statement. For someone like me (who has never tanked before), having a companion and being a tank, you can learn how to tank and have no fear of being yelled at or kicked from a group for being a "newb". Yes, the mob killing is slower, but in my opinion, that is time well spent, if when you jump into a group you know what you are doing. And when you get your healer companion....you are INVINCIBLE!!!:D

 

totally agree I LOVE leveling as a tank hell being a tank even makes me enjoy PVP and i hate PVP!

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Very Heavy thanks to the OP and all the DPS who have positively chimed in on this thread.

 

Long time MMO player, been tanking since I chose the warrior to play in DAoC (totally random pick, sounded cool...think it was warrior). I enjoy DPS and healing too, but I've always tanked.

 

I do think that the one thing that gets most tanks to quit are the whiney and inconsiderate DPS who make the run not only hard, but blame the tank and/or are simply disrespectful to the role. it IS a tough role, even with good DPS. i think the second category would the the healers who think one heal per pull is sufficient, and spend the rest the time DPS'ing. It's one thing to die with the healer spamming heals...but when you know you only got one heal each fight...and you die about every other fight...either way, poorly played healers/DPS make a tanks life miserable.

 

I too think that tanking should be mandatory. even if just for a bit, to show what a tank goes through. extended tanking experience can actually help you be a better DPS! the awareness skills and group skills you learn as a tank make you an awesome DPS....I can usually tell which DPS are also tanks....the awareness skills are pretty obvious.

 

And just to finish it off, although frustrating DPS can ruin a run, well played DPS who know their class, assist the tank, and appreciate the tanks effort are the reason we do it often in the first place. a well run instance is a tanks joy! so those of you out there who appreciate it let the tank know...you will probably earn a pocket tank for life :)

Edited by Elyxin
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