Who tanks?

[Tex_Mex]

TL;DR - There is no best MT or OT for every situation. Encounters vary in the type of damage they do and the utility they need, making all 3 tanks very useful in different situations. WAR is the most commonly used MT, but good parties will choose tanks to fit the current situation.

In all content except hardcore end game raiding, it doesn't matter at all who tanks and it is mostly random. When I tank, I tend to just MT all the time so that we can get through content faster without having to sit around and decide.

Technically, some tanks are superior at MT and OT at lower levels, while the roles switch around a bit at higher levels.

In lvl 50 content, the DRK actually makes the best OT because it has access to more DPS capability (Dark Arts) than WAR or PLD. PLD gets most of its DPS abilities between levels 50 and 60, and WAR doesn't even get its DPS stance until lvl 52.

Between level 60-69, DRK really falls behind as MT because they don't get The Blackest Night until 70, while both PLD and WAR have virtually all of their kits and are only missing mostly fluff abilities.

At lvl 70, for casual content (basically everything except hardcore 8 man raiding), the 3 tanks are all equally viable and it makes little to no difference who tanks. Enemies just don't do enough damage for it to matter, so it is basically just player choice.

For lvl 70 hardcore content, WAR is generally the strongest puller and MT due to their ability to put out high threat in their opener, even without their tank stance. WAR's Holmgang is also ridiculously good, with its low CD, so WAR tends to be preferred a lot of the time for MT. They lose virtually no DPS, whereas the other 2 tanks lose a bit more. PLD easily loses the most, so if in a DRK/PLD composition, then the DRK should pull.

The last consideration is the fight itself. DRK gets special consideration for fights that have magical tankbusters because of how strong Dark Mind is for those abilities. PLD is always a good choice for the mountain of additional utility and party mitigation they bring as well.