Diversifying Tanks

[Shurrikhan]

Without trying to start an argument, but is part of this thread's purpose to discuss whether tank defensive abilities need diversifying at all?

No. The assumption is that tanks do need diversity and that balance is possible despite diversity. If you would like to argue that point, feel free to do so elsewhere. This thread is, as per its title, about Diversifying Tanks.

Thanks for clarifying, that's why I wanted to ask. Although I never said no diversity at all just to be clear. Still, I'll avoid de-railing the topic.

I feel that while I perhaps clarified the general point, I did a poor job of conveying specifics. I most likely spoke in haste out of seeing so many topics derailed at the stage of roughly defined principle ("illusion of choice", etc) before they've even had a chance to put those principles in useful context.

Let this be my actual clarification instead.

How much you diversify according to mitigation cooldowns or even entirely new systems of mitigation -- there could be not a single CD, instead basing everything on equal parts gauge resources, secondary gauge resources built from the primary resource being spent, and MP -- is up to you. If you can manage to make them feel sufficiently different while leaving the mitigation cooldowns mostly the same, that's fine. But the thread's premise is that there is room within even tight balance to differentiate them in nearly ever regard except practical capacity. That is to say they should be capable of surviving the same core hits with little to no supporting shields, putting out roughly the same rDPS (including by means that are hard to quantify), etc, but how they do so should feel relatively distinct insofar as is needed to make the overall kits each feel cohesive and compelling.

Without a doubt, tanks are the most balanced they've ever been, and that's saying a lot given that they were already very tightly balanced by most MMOs' standards in late SB. And I'd agree that's something to hold on to. I just ask that you give the posts the benefit of the doubt that, even if the ideas presented may be many shades of pipedream for the moment, there exists an iteration as compelling as what we seek that can nonetheless remain balanced, and that it's worth working towards such an iteration.