Opinions: Should tanks work for aggro?

[ADVSS]

On the other hand, I see trying to layer in extra complexities into the system itself as only making things potentially more convoluted and not necessarily interesting or fun. More often than not, the more you make a system complex, the less flexible it becomes to utilize in different ways. This means you have to really on the complexity of the system itself to provide interest as opposed to having a more simple system that is then used in a number of different ways that are interesting.
Based on what we have had in the past, in this game and others, as well as many of the suggestions on making the system itself more complex, I do not see that direction working out well or being an improvement.

This much. I feel for people who miss stance dancing, but really i dont see it ever coming back, at all. They moved far far away from crowd control since 2.x, and they really dont want to give tanks shorter, more reflexive cd to actively mitigate or react on time. And honestly, maintaining aggro was just a side job to positioning, keeping mobs straight while dodging aoes, positioning of adds or bosses, snap grabbing adds that show up, etc. tank swapping after dangerous stacks, etc. I really dont know what to suggest, but fighting for aggro is a step backward imo, not a step forward. Theres a slight, or huge disconnect with both roles atm it seems. Healers dont seem too happy and neither do tanks, and a lot of it can come from ease of role, down to just uninspiring toolkits really. It might even be necessary for tanks to sacrifice a little defense instead of enmity gain, to get more damage pumped out(as a short cooldown or something, maybe like the old Blood for blood ability from DRG), if mobs are truly hitting like a wet noodle, and healers are oversaturating hps.

[Big_Hoss_Texas]

It's part of the job of tank. HOWEVER, if the DPS insists on running ahead of tank and start smacking things around.... Who am I to keep them from getting their tails handed to them?

Seriously, let me proceed, figure out the lay of the bad guys, and grab agro before you run in smacking things around. Help me help you would ya? Slow down, enjoy the game.

[Videra]

It's part of the job of tank. HOWEVER, if the DPS insists on running ahead of tank and start smacking things around.... Who am I to keep them from getting their tails handed to them?

Seriously, let me proceed, figure out the lay of the bad guys, and grab agro before you run in smacking things around. Help me help you would ya? Slow down, enjoy the game.

If DPS get ahead of you as a tank in this game, you're doing something wrong.

[Lyth]

Actually, if DPS get ahead of you as a tank in this game, they get promoted to tank. Heck, sometimes it's the tank vs. the healer mashing sprint to see who can get to the mobs first. It's only really ever a problem if someone dies.

If you actually wanted a classical 'trinity design' where tanks are obligated to go ahead of the group and pull, then mobs would have to crit oneshot non-tanks. At the moment tanks are just melee dps with less rewarding rotations and lower damage output, in exchange for getting to do quicktime events when a tankbuster cast shows up every couple of minutes or so.

[ADVSS]

Actually, if DPS get ahead of you as a tank in this game, they get promoted to tank. Heck, sometimes it's the tank vs. the healer mashing sprint to see who can get to the mobs first. It's only really ever a problem if someone dies.

If you actually wanted a classical 'trinity design' where tanks are obligated to go ahead of the group and pull, then mobs would have to crit oneshot non-tanks. At the moment tanks are just melee dps with less rewarding rotations and lower damage output, in exchange for getting to do quicktime events when a tankbuster cast shows up every couple of minutes or so.

Pretty much nailed it. DPS getting ahead of tanks has been a thing since gap closers, its not really that hard to swipe the mobs back whenever you get to them. Not a huge fan of the trinity either, but thats just my opinion in general, i really didnt mind the cross class system but that isnt the direction the game went with after 2.0. Now we have this disjointed trinity, which may be tried and true but isnt anything new by any stretch. Hoping they got all of their balancing out of the way in this expansion and are actually willing to work with more inspiring job builds for each role. At least I'm hoping they're satisfied with it...but more so afraid to see what they will do to jobs like franken tank(DRK) who seriously has almost no kit left to give to the other tanks as role actions

[Leiron]

If DPS get ahead of you as a tank in this game, you're doing something wrong.

TO add onto what Lyth said, healers and DPS are usually in a better position to sprint ahead, and often times have movement abilities the tank simply cannot match up against.

[Videra]

TO add onto what Lyth said, healers and DPS are usually in a better position to sprint ahead, and often times have movement abilities the tank simply cannot match up against.

I was trying to very subtly point out that you should always be pulling wall to wall. I feel like the message was lost in translation.

[Leiron]

I was trying to very subtly point out that you should always be pulling wall to wall. I feel like the message was lost in translation.

Maybe because you suggested the tank was doing bad by not getting to mobs before the DPS could? As stated, its pretty easy for DPS to get ahead if they want to pull before the tank does.

[Videra]

Maybe because you suggested the tank was doing bad by not getting to mobs before the DPS could? As stated, its pretty easy for DPS to get ahead if they want to pull before the tank does.

I've never had this supposed DPS getting ahead of the tank problem. That could possibly be because I'm on Crystal, and Crystal players are categorically bad 99.9% of the time.

[Seku]

Working for threat is boring. I'd rather tanks get actual mechanics other than just standing in front of the boss and learning the best 2-3 places to position it at depending on the phase. They should also up tank's damage a bit or put in some active mitigation something to do. Like you know, Dark Knight's Low blow procts off of parry or shield swipe.