Giving tanking a try for the first time...

Hey all.

Thinking of leveling up a tank job. Never tanked in an MMO before, any tips/advice?
Which would you say is the most noob tank friendly, PLD, DRK or WAR?
Are there any essential cross class skills?
I usually heal. Have a dps leveled just for variety though and to swap for raids if need be, thought it'd be handy to have a tank leveled too. Also feel like trying something new.

Cheers!

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Originally Posted by Kaelah

Hey all.

Thinking of leveling up a tank job. Never tanked in an MMO before, any tips/advice?
Which would you say is the most noob tank friendly, PLD, DRK or WAR?
Are there any essential cross class skills?
I usually heal. Have a dps leveled just for variety though and to swap for raids if need be, thought it'd be handy to have a tank leveled too. Also feel like trying something new.

Cheers!

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PLD is probably easiest to learn of the tanks. There is one absolutely essential cross-class skill: Provoke. (Learned as lvl 22 PLD)
As for tips: Think of what tank actions annoys you as DPS/Healer. Don't do that. :)

Well due to the sheer amount of defensive cooldowns and lack of offensive options, I believe most people consider PLD as the 'easy-mode' tank. Although aggro generation can be a bit difficult unless you have the best gear available equipped, this is until you get your Shield Oath tank stance.

Warrior is the solo friendly tank due to the self healing it can provide alongside it's large health pool. Enmity from WARs overpower is also significantly higher than you get from PLDs flash due to the damage it deals. It's not quite so much a brick wall as PLD though.

Before starting DRK I believe it would be useful you start with a more simple tank who doesn't deal with mp micro management alongside damage and mitigation.

Personally I think you should level gladiator (for the cross class skills like provoke) and if you enjoy it, stick with that. If you like the idea of tanking but want it slightly different, grab the cross class skills and move over to another tank :) enjoy

Personally would point to Dark Knight as the most "Noob friendly" tank, just because starting out at level 30 gives you better equipment and a more varied skill set to start out learning the ins-and-outs of tanking. As opposed to super-early GLD or MRD, where you'll be lucky to hold aggro at all prior to level 40 and 30 respectively. It was the first tank I ever played, and I found it MUCH easier than when I went back and leveled up PLD and WAR later on, after finding out how much I enjoyed tanking with DRK. If I'd started with GLD or MRD? I probably never would have really gotten into tanking.

Only real Cross-Classes that're "Essential" is Provoke from GLD 22, as MistakeNot mentioned. Absolutely necessary for tank swapping mechanics in end-game content.

Like others have said, the general consensus is that PLD/GLD is the easiest tank to learn and play, followed by WAR/MRD and then DRK. You will notice differences at each level range for the classes, which I will list below. Bear in mind, this wont include DRK as I have little experience with it, but hopefully this will give you a solid grounding in the other two.

PLD:
+very sturdy
+lots of defensive cooldowns
+simple rotations
+easy to recover from mistakes
-long recharge time on some defensive cooldowns
-low threat generation at lower levels (1-30)
-tanking stance learned late at level 40

Overall, PLD will be much more forgiving if you make a mistake, due to their multitude of defensive cooldowns, stances, and general "tankiness." This is, as most people suggest the "easier" of the tanks, as it focuses primarily on being an immovable object.

A poorly played PLD can stay alive just fine in most situations. A well played PLD can not only hold aggro, but protect his teammates, heal them, and in some cases allow them to ignore mechanics. PLDs are extremely sturdy. Don't underestimate what a well played one can do!

WAR:
+excellent threat from low level (Overpower is spammable threat generation and damage)
+decent damage at low levels, becoming stronger at higher levels
+excellent cooldowns to increase damage given
+offensive and defensive cooldowns have a short recharge time
+lots of different rotations to choose from
+much synergy with other classes and raids
-sometimes too many rotations to choose from!
-less defensive cooldowns
-more "squishy" than other tanks
-can be very unforgiving if not played well

Overall, WAR is about tanking with self-healing, dealing damage, and using different rotations for the task at hand. The game is less forgiving if you make a mistake, as you have far less defensive cooldowns, and most of your abilites require you to build stacks to use them. A mis-timed cooldown can really stress your healers out.

They are "slightly" more squishy than other tanks (only by a few percent, though), and you will notice that their tanking "stance" is just more HP. Be prepared to see your HP dance about all over the place. You won't just be putting out higher numbers, but taking more, too.

If PLD is all about being a pillar of defence, then WAR is about being a monster, surviving through the damage with a high HP pool, and absorbing it back through their own attacks. A well played WAR can do a little bit of everything, whilst tanking perfectly fine.

The one ability you must have as any tank, is provoke, (which is learned by GLA at level 22). I can add a detailed explanation of how it works if you need. - It does NOT work like Provoke in other games.

Hope this helps!

I would definitely say that PLD/GLA is the easiest tank to play, their AOE grab hits in a circle and the added bonus of the shield for armor makes them the easiest to play but also the most boring (IMO) tank to play. In addition they don't really get a damage AOE, flash can only blind enemies and that's not until after lvl 30 I believe (could be wrong on this point. Been a while since I played my PLD.)

WAR/MDR requires more skill for end game content but you get enough practice with it in most dungeons that you'll be familiar with your abilities. It's also a lot more fun to run through something smashing an ax into their faces than it is swinging a sword.

In comparison the biggest difference between these two (while leveling) is in stats and their AOE grab. WAR/MRD is a cone in front of them that deals damage while PLD/GLA is a circle around them with no damage. Most other abilities they get will follow a similar pattern, both (and the DRK as well) rely on stringing enmity combo's together to build threat. Both have defensive "Oh s*#$" cool downs that can be relied upon if things go badly or you need to stop a Tank Buster.

I would not recommend DRK for your first tanking job because it starts you at 30, and it's so radically different from the other two Tank jobs in terms of what you need to keep up (MP and TP, instead of just TP).

The only really important cross class skill is Provoke, which will put you at the top of the Threat lvl bar for the party (but only just). It's a great ability for grabbing aggro if you die on a fight and are resurrected, but if must be followed up by a hate grabbing combo almost immediately or you will lose aggro again.

Important side note: Whatever you do please PLEASE make use of the Hall of Novices, this may seem basic but I've seen a tank run through Sastasha(?) without the basic gear they give you for completing the tutorial.

Hope you find at least some of this information useful in making your decision.