Viability of Lancer as a Tank?

[IndecentSoul]

Lancer can tank fine, but you need some cross class skills, which is the point of the Armoury system.

I can tank just fine with the proper Defense + HP armor and the Following cross-skills and traits:

Defender, Foresight, Featherfoot. Plus Jarring Strike, Fracture, Provoke/Taunt/Warmonger. And i mix a few more defensive abilities with some key lancer skills.

Then for traits equip Intimidate, Prime Conditioning, Driven by Faith and Complete Control (unless there is casters involved). I'd add Axemanship if i had it, for obvious reasons.

Then get a good thaumaturge to get transfer you DEF and EVA and you're set.


tl;dr : it's doable but requires some work and a good THM

If you are going to go that far and say that Lnc can tank if you have all that then you might as well just say that Cnj and Thm can tank too by using the def up while casting trait and casting speed up trait and spamming Stoneskin all day while another Cnj/Thm heals/stoneskins as well.

One might even be able to tank better as say a Archer by just kiting mobs all day with slows, binds, and stuns. Ok well that isn't necessarily tanking since it is kiting but still it would probably be more effective then a Lnc tank.

[Belial]

If you are going to go that far and say that Lnc can tank if you have all that then you might as well just say that Cnj and Thm can tank too by using the def up while casting trait and casting speed up trait and spamming Stoneskin all day while another Cnj/Thm heals/stoneskins as well.

One might even be able to tank better as say a Archer by just kiting mobs all day with slows, binds, and stuns. Ok well that isn't necessarily tanking since it is kiting but still it would probably be more effective then a Lnc tank.

Actually THM makes a pretty beastly little tank on certain mobs.

[tachikoma]

Your tanking what fine with your 35 lancer? try tanking an nm...you'll break like glass, even with all those defense abilites from other classes. also you'll want defender II which is a mrd 50 ability at which point you'de just tank as mrd50 anyhow. =p

LNC is a great tank even on NM's with all the right skills, I do agree I'd rather have a 50 GLD or PUG who are equally as loaded up with skills and traits but to say LNC is a paper tank is incorrect. You wear the exact same gear as the GLD. One of the hidden benefits of tanking on LNC is that you can also participate in meaningful BR's by using invigorate. So far tanking everything on my LNC is cake with the exception of greater buff which requires some healers who know what there doing still viable as a small man group of 5-6 without too much struggle.

[Krausus]

LNC is a great tank even on NM's with all the right skills, I do agree I'd rather have a 50 GLD or PUG who are equally as loaded up with skills and traits but to say LNC is a paper tank is incorrect. You wear the exact same gear as the GLD. One of the hidden benefits of tanking on LNC is that you can also participate in meaningful BR's by using invigorate. So far tanking everything on my LNC is cake with the exception of greater buff which requires some healers who know what there doing still viable as a small man group of 5-6 without too much struggle.

Defense isn't the issue its health, lancers are not meant to tank, can we get away with it? sure, but so can every class even DoW.

We are a melee DD and support class.


Just saying if you want to be a tank roll something else the rest of your group will thank you for it because if lancer is focusing on tanking they they are not focusing on what they are meant to do so you are gimping your party x2

[Shampooo]

LNC is a great tank even on NM's with all the right skills, I do agree I'd rather have a 50 GLD or PUG who are equally as loaded up with skills and traits but to say LNC is a paper tank is incorrect. You wear the exact same gear as the GLD. One of the hidden benefits of tanking on LNC is that you can also participate in meaningful BR's by using invigorate. So far tanking everything on my LNC is cake with the exception of greater buff which requires some healers who know what there doing still viable as a small man group of 5-6 without too much struggle.

This is because all of the content is cake, there is nothing out there that is a challenge. Why use a lancer tank with a low health pool instead of a GLA or THM. Also saying a lancer and gla wear the same gear..sure they do, but one has a shield. Also, a GLA can participate in a BR just as well as a lancer so not sure what kinda argument there is there. Anything in this game can "Tank" other classes just do it better. If your "tanking" as a lancer then your probably capping vit, which means your other stats suck and if/when they ever fix stats then your damage is gonna down which will turn you into a lack luster DPS and lackluster tank...of course this is assuming they ever fix stats. Also assuming they add meaningfull fights that are challenging, no ones gonna pick a lancer tank over a gla or thm tank.

[Peregrine]

Actually THM makes a pretty beastly little tank on certain mobs.

THM is a better tank than any meleer on every mob, and a better tank than gladiator on every NM because unlike GLA it actually does damage with that party slot.

I dunno. I think a lot of marauders and pugs who think their class can tank are under a placebo affect simply because their abilities tell them they can. No one actually guaranteed them that those abilities actually made them successes at it.

As a healer of any kind of tank, honestly there's gladiator...and pug mrd lnc...you're all about the same. Pug is a blood tanker who thinks they can evade. Mrd is a DD who thinks they can tank. Lnc at least has class-only 30 second enhancers. Rotating those to keep hate, you KNOW the mob's not moving, because no one can

life surge ferocity taunt raging strike hawk's eye speed surge provoke lifesurge....

like a lancer.

Really at any piddlydink content that any pug or mrd would be allowed to tank, lancer is probably a better tank. Again, because their damage mitigation suffices and they have two extra 30 second enmity-enhancers that no other job has.

[Krausus]

THM is a better tank than any meleer on every mob, and a better tank than gladiator on every NM because unlike GLA it actually does damage with that party slot.

I dunno. I think a lot of marauders and pugs who think their class can tank are under a placebo affect simply because their abilities tell them they can. No one actually guaranteed them that those abilities actually made them successes at it.

As a healer of any kind of tank, honestly there's gladiator...and pug mrd lnc...you're all about the same. Pug is a blood tanker who thinks they can evade. Mrd is a DD who thinks they can tank. Lnc at least has class-only 30 second enhancers. Rotating those to keep hate, you KNOW the mob's not moving, because no one can

life surge ferocity taunt raging strike hawk's eye speed surge provoke lifesurge....

like a lancer.

Really at any piddlydink content that any pug or mrd would be allowed to tank, lancer is probably a better tank. Again, because their damage mitigation suffices and they have two extra 30 second enmity-enhancers that no other job has.

dont forget though what makes pug/mrd better equipped to tank then a Lancer is health pool. Though I do agree we do have the class specific hate generators you left out Invigorate and Comrade in Arms which both build up a decent amount of enmity.

[Raze]

THM is a better tank than any meleer on every mob, and a better tank than gladiator on every NM because unlike GLA it actually does damage with that party slot.

Peregrine I usually agree with you but in this case I'd have to point out that a THM will find themselves in a tough fight when facing purely physical mobs. I have yet to see emulate work on buffalo, uraeus(even breath), or mosshorn and his clan. I don't know if you think they are still viable prospects once emulate is out of the picture but they'll be spamhealing themselves quite a bit and even with throwing out whatever damage they can while holding hate, they'll still need additional healing every once in a while (depending on NM) yada yada yada So my point is.... I think you have a solid bet getting whatever SE decides to "call" a tank, GLA,MRD,PGL.... they all work, fresh out of the box!

[Krausus]

Peregrine I usually agree with you but in this case I'd have to point out that a THM will find themselves in a tough fight when facing purely physical mobs. I have yet to see emulate work on buffalo, uraeus(even breath), or mosshorn and his clan. I don't know if you think they are still viable prospects once emulate is out of the picture but they'll be spamhealing themselves quite a bit and even with throwing out whatever damage they can while holding hate, they'll still need additional healing every once in a while (depending on NM) yada yada yada So my point is.... I think you have a solid bet getting whatever SE decides to "call" a tank, GLA,MRD,PGL.... they all work, fresh out of the box!

I have watched a THM tank Mosshorn just fine, he only did it because of a freak death of the tank but it worked out well enough, I would never go into a fight with the expectations of a THM tanking though. Though I agree with you that THM should not be on the list of "better" tank, just on the list of "able".

[Raze]

I actually went out to buffalo myself again to double check, and apparently I was wrong, and it does negate a very large amount of damage. This skill is implemented totally wrong, and makes no sense for several reasons, which I will not rant here.