A Thread By A Tank For Future/Current Tanks.

I'll become a tank one day should the samurai class or another sword based class come into the fray. Axes are retarded and GLD is just...bleh.

I'm a fairly new tank (WAR) started lvling it in 1.0 (only got to 36 or so before the servers went down) and hit 50 recently. I had no issues keeping hate until 45ish, not quite sure what changed but it's literately like i dont get the mobs attention at all anymore >.< I dont have provoke yet but i plan on getting it asap since i might have to tank something serious in the future. But i kinda feel like I'm missing something else besides that because i'll spam flash/overpower when there's multiple mobs and not be able to get hate from all of them (it worked quite well pre lvl 45). I have no issues if it's one target like a boss that i have to worry about but when theres more than 1, shit hits the fan. I'm still in AF since i just hit 50 but i have the mog axe from 1.0. what else can i do? or what am i doing wrong? <.>;

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Originally Posted by rtpsoulx

I have no issues if it's one target like a boss that i have to worry about but when theres more than 1, shit hits the fan. I'm still in AF since i just hit 50 but i have the mog axe from 1.0. what else can i do? or what am i doing wrong? <.>;

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It sounds like you aren't doing your opening rotation correctly. I was going to suggest it's gear but if you have the mog axe... then it's definitely a rotation problem.

Butcher's Block is your bread and butter. Your opener should probably be something like:

1. Tomahawk (possibly optional)
2. Heavy Swing
3. Skull Sunder
4. Butcher's Block
5. Heavy Swing
6. Maim
7. Storm's Path
8. Berserk
9. Unchained (optional, depending on encounter/your healers and gear)
10. Fracture
11. Return to 1


If you don't start off with Skull Sunder / Butcher's Block combo your enmity will be very low. Don't ever rely on Tomahawk or Overpower for enmity on a single target. They are not nearly as good as SS or BB. If you're still having problems it's probably because the DPS is opening up before you. They should wait at least until you've gotten off heavy swing to start throwing out the dps.

Good thread. But I think the bad behaviour of some tanks is simply the result of economics. Tanks are in demand, so they can pick and choose, or bail on the 1st wipe without even trying to communicate.

At the same time, there are alpha-tanks who won't take tips or advice from other roles because well, they're self-appointed 'leaders'.

Well, if you can't beat 'em, join 'em. I'll probably make a pally after my whm is level-capped.

I want to play a tank in this game. But I am terrified of getting blamed for wipes, especially since I am already constantly criticizing everything I do myself. Maybe after I find a reliable FC and a mentor...

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Originally Posted by Hachiko

If you don't start off with Skull Sunder / Butcher's Block combo your enmity will be very low. Don't ever rely on Tomahawk or Overpower for enmity on a single target. They are not nearly as good as SS or BB. If you're still having problems it's probably because the DPS is opening up before you. They should wait at least until you've gotten off heavy swing to start throwing out the dps.

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Yeah i always tomahawk 1st mostly just to pull, but i thought going the miam route 1st would have been better so i get that dmg bonus when i go for the butchers block side. i guess now that i think about it starting with dmg would be better just to establish enmity then continue the rotations as i should. I dont overpower at all if its just 1 target, thats pointless. Sometimes those mages get instant full enmity even when i pull properly, it makes me feel bad/useless sitting spamming everything i can and not getting hate back.

Great read OP. I myself am a first time tank and MMO player. I try to make it my first priority so say "this is my first time in this dungeon any tips are welcome" at the start. If it's my 3rd or 4th and I still dont have it down I make the party aware. If people feel butt hurt that Im not doing my job right thats to bad. Now I can see if I say "this is my 60th time here any tips are welcomed" then by all means I deserve to be ridiculed to the fullest. I enjoy my experience as a tank so far . Learning as I go and taking tips from here. Haven't run into to many pricks (yet)

Great thread. You explained it pretty well, from the reasons that makes us want/like to tank, to the cons that we usually have. Of course, the good things always outweight the bad ones.

This is going to be useful for both tanks and non-tanks to better understand how tanking works (in general and in ARR), I'm sure :)

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Originally Posted by kemikal

I want to play a tank in this game. But I am terrified of getting blamed for wipes, especially since I am already constantly criticizing everything I do myself. Maybe after I find a reliable FC and a mentor...

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Don't be afraid and give it a go. You'll no doubt find some bad players that will blame you for everything, but there's also a lot of nice people that will be patient and will teach you a thing or two. No one starts knowing everything.

Also, even if being a bit critic with oneself is always a good thing to improve, you should also be a bit confident in what you do. Otherwise it's going to be worse because you won't have fun, and you'll be more susceptible to make mistakes. If something goes wrong then it goes wrong. You'll learn from it, as we all did (and still do hahaha), so don't worry a lot about it (or what some people might say) and just keep learning and improving.

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Originally Posted by Hachiko

It sounds like you aren't doing your opening rotation correctly. I was going to suggest it's gear but if you have the mog axe... then it's definitely a rotation problem.

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If it's multiple mobs...

Flash -> Overpower -> (Mark your target) -> Heavy Swing -> Skull Sunder -> Butchers Block -> Overpower -> Heavy Swing -> Skull Sunder -> Butchers Block etc etc. You have to be popping out an aoe enimity on every rotation or you'll loose an add to heals/aoe dmg.

If possible, never break up Heavy Swing -> Skull Sunder -> Butcher block because they combo off each other and you get extra dmg and more enimity.

If your tanking a boss and way in the red not in risk of loosing hate, weave in a dps rotation with Heavy Swing -> Main -> (Forget name) with unchanged (if your not taking heavy dmg) to result in a fast kill. I tend to alternate them back and forth, one enimity rotation then one dps rotation, rense and repeat.

Use berserk when it's up (more dmg = more enimity), and use Inner beast to heal yourself when your enraged over unchainged (imo this is better for hate management because your healer heals you less). If absolutely necessary use the Root Ability (forget name) so the mob can't leave you for 5 seconds while you sink some enimity into it.

Inner BEast is absolutely awesome on Boss Fights with large hits. For example, on Garuda I would work to becoming infuriated and I would save it for SlipStream. Instantly on being hit with slipstream I would use Inner BEat to recover 600+ of the 2500 I just lost giving the healer and easier time on recovering me to 3500+ hp. Inner Beast is awesome, especially combined with Blood Bath. And once you get unfuriate you can get off two inner beasts, or inner beast and (unchained + blood bath)

I find I can solo many fate bosses alone, with no help, just using bloodbath and inner beast to sustain me. All thought usually I don't make the timer (to slow on killing it). My point is that Inner Beast restores a lot of health, like 33%+

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Originally Posted by Eliniell

I generally tend to do one of two things if a DPS pulls agro. If I'm at a point in my threat rotation that I can quickly taunt - enmity ability, I'll just do that. If not, I'll taunt - ranged enmity and then move to the mob to begin an enmity rotation to grab it back. Taunt is off the GCD, so you can immediately throw in something that will solidify your threat lead if you're quick. That doesn't mean DPS should still be going balls deep if they pull aggro though, at some point they need to realize that they should just stop pressing buttons. I've intentionally let plenty of DPS die because they decided to just start spamming the wrong mob, or decided to pull themselves or some such. Sure, it's my job to hold aggro, but it's your job as a DPS to make sure you aren't pulling hate by not letting me get more than a Shield Lob or Tomahawk off.

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I wish I could stamp this on the front of my shield.