WHy do you tank?

[Twilite]

We're just letting you know who's in charge.

The size of your ego is really beginning to show itself.


I don't panic when low HP at all.. if I die, oh well, but I'm not going to lie, it does piss me off, especially when I've did everything ON MY END to prevent my own death. DF healers - don't trust them. Never have, never will.

[Jamillion]

I tank for many reasons, although admittedly, one of the big ones is going from triple digital hp to 17k with self heals while kicking ass all around me. But mostly, I tank because it's something I'm good at and I have fun with it.

[Jamillion]

That's only partial true. The healer controls the sway over the party's life and death.

But you keep thinking that, okay? It's cute.

Wait, why are you in this thread?

[BrielleBeaudonet]

A whole bunch of reasons.

1) The pride of leadership.
2) The feeling of succeeding under the increased pressure of leadership and setting the pace.
3) I don't have to roll the dice with someone else tanking.
4) I get to be the one charging into fights and facing the boss head-on.
4b) Great screenshots.
5) A sense of toughness and survivability as bosses pound and slash away.

Other, less important reasons I've discovered over time:
6) Commendations.
7) Fast queue times.

[Greven]

Well, not gonna lie, cause Dark Knight is a tank is probably one of the main reasons.

Though even if I started as main healer, and still like it, I was tanking a lot too later in ARR. I prefer the reactiveness of tank/healers than the action of DPS roles and the more protective role.

Fast queues, less loot mess, being useful to friends are plus too

[Awful]

I tank because it's such a thrill to pull massive groups of mobs, pop cds and be a wall while your group nukes em down. I like to pop cds when the tank uses his tank buster and you just shrug it off. I'm an old mmo tank where being a wall is all Ive known, being a tank means we dps but I'm fine with that. I love to optimize my classes and being a tank really makes you play with it here's hoping 3.2 will bring big changes and that I'll love tanking even more.

[Syzygian]

I tank because I love the strategy of it. Positioning, mapping out CD usage, dealing as much damage as possible in the midst of that and doing my best to facilitate my group's maximum performance is complete mental masturbation. I relish in the forethought that has to go into each encounter and each pull and using that to the benefit of my teammates. I used to main DRG with MNK as a secondary, and also enjoyed WAR and PLD and kept them geared and progressed in content in 2.x; DRK was a godsend for me. Its playstyle has the pacing of a DPS with all the mechanics of tanking. WAR can do big numbers but its slow enough to bore me considerably in between Fell Cleaves.

I enjoy leading rather than following, even if I'm not a raid leader or barking orders or whatever, I enjoy the centrality of the MT role and the responsibility. Tanking, particularly on DRK, just lends itself to everything I loved about tanking in 2.x combined with what I enjoyed about DPSing. Having the power to make a run go smoothly and lead people through their content with my tools gives me fuzzy feelings.

That and DRK skill animations are the best eye-candy in the game.

[Kosmos992k]

I really enjoy the fantasy of being unstoppable.
Earlier on in life I was... well, I was a really bad person, and it sort of surprised me how easy it is to do that with impunity.
When I finally came around, I realized how much more vulnerable you are when you do the right thing. That realization was pretty crushing.

In my longish life, I have learned that undertaking a role that leaves you vulnerable requires more strength and courage than most possess. Being vulnerable and continuing on regardless is a mark of character IMHO. It takes similar strength and character to turn your course of life around.

Sometimes a vulnerability feels like a weakness, and of course it is, that's why it's a vulnerability. However when you do the right thing despite being vulnerable, you are showing that you are strong enough to handle that weakness and overcome it.

So I like the escapist fantasy of being indomitable but good, and employ it whenever possible when gaming.

Indeed. Fun isn't it?

[FrejyaAthenes]

The size of your ego is really beginning to show itself.


I don't panic when low HP at all.. if I die, oh well, but I'm not going to lie, it does piss me off, especially when I've did everything ON MY END to prevent my own death. DF healers - don't trust them. Never have, never will.

I think it might just be a healer joke. A friend of mine who mains whm says stuff like that too.

[WolfKid]

Why do i tank? In all honesty, I find it the easiest role to handle. I'm being serious when I say that. I use to main a healing job, but i find tanking easier to handle. Not saying tanking is easy, just easier to handle.