Question about tanking an aoes in endgame trash

[Zari]

Thanks for the responses guys, I've played melee dps too and I havent had an issue with it really before (unless the tank is just moving around in general not just to dodge aoes). I was just wondering if, despite how it is for me, the general consensus was different. Glad to hear it is pretty much the same though~

[Februs]

I'm a bit late to the party, but there's really only 3 options when it comes to AoE positioning.

The first is soaking or mitigating the dmg. I don't recommend this one, but it's an option. Most mobs who use AoE's are roughly in sync with one another, kinda like women who live together. This means you can plan your defensive CD's accordingly to soak the dmg. You can also mitigate additional Dmg by saving your stuns for those AoE casts. Pld can do this most efficiently (though at the cost of the most enmity), but every tank can stun at least one AoE to reduce the incoming dmg. If you save a heavy defensive CD for the rest (ie: Sentinel, Shadow Wall, Vengeance), you can soak the rest of the dmg without giving your healer too many gray hairs. It's a good thing to keep in mind if you absolutely have to keep position for some reason (such as tight corners, avoiding premature pulls on the next set, environmental hazards, etc).

The second option is re-positioning, or what I like to call, "the circle jerk." This will never go flawlessly for you because mobs tend to push each other around when they're in tight groups, but you can dodge an AoE and immediately move back into position afterwards to keep the mob as stationary as possible. The plus side here is that it saves you some unnecessary mitigation. The downside is that enemies will wiggle around a little, and you'll lose personal position which can cost you ideal targeting, forcing you to land a strike on a different opponent or pop an extra Enmity AoE of your own to hold aggro.The amount of wiggling that the mobs do is typically determined by the size of the AoE you're dodging as well. More movement on your part means that you'll be dragging mobs around, and that can lead to a really bizarre circular movement around the group, especially if multiple big AoE's go out shortly after one another. Again, though, stuns and soaks can help reduce that movement. Use them wisely, but always be aware of your enmity and timing.

The last option is "the drag." This is best used in narrow hallways or long stretches of space. Position them in front of you, like normal, and drag them backwards to avoid AoE's. Instead of moving side to side to dodge the AoE's, you're moving steadily back. The mob will follow you, so they're still moving, but Dps will maintain positional bonuses because the mob is never actually turning. They're just slowly moving in a straight line. Keep in mind that this is best done in a slow and steady movement. Fast drags cause mobs to wiggle around a lot more as they push each other to try and catch up to you. you'll also run out of space a lot faster, so it's not recommended. Instead, you just want to slowly and easily back step out of their AoE, and then hold position until the next one. Stuns, again, come in handy here because they reduce the amount of back peddling you need to do. Locking target is another good option as it keeps your front to the enemy, especially on War since they also have to be aware of their flanks during Raw Intuition (just remember to disengage it after the back peddle is done, so that you're not locked onto the same target the whole time).

There are a few other small things that can help, but this is the meat and potatoes of it. Hope it helps.