Rules of the Tank..

[Cyanias]

What is it that seperates a good tank from a bad tank. I would like to hear some of your thoughts on this. So I will start, the Tank is the leader they are the most important member of the group and with out one the others are doomed to fail. They lead the way and everybody follows. Healers are the most suppoting class, but even the best healer can't make a scout an effective tank. But being a human meat shield is only a small part of what a tank does, they must evaluate a situation or a mob and determine if it can be killed, the best way to kill it, and how many or how quicky the group can move through an area. They must know there group members and the capabilities, from the healing max of there healer to the dps/argo control of the others. This is what makes a tank a tank, armor and wepeons are only means they go about doing it, there mind if there real fable. So what do you guys think..

[Fadeyn]

What makes a good tank.....?

Honestly, having played a Wizard for my main for the last 4 years, all I cared about was whether or not they could hold agro. Granted my Wizzy could take more than his fair share of a beating by the time I retired him from raiding, I didn't much like having my defense and dodge skills maxed.

A good tank needs to know their class inside and out. Know how to react when a mob moves to the softies in the group. And be willing to take one for the team to let the rezzer escape.

They need to know what weapons to carry in certain areas. (like how blunt weapons should work better on skellies than blades, if it that aspect was impleneted)((thats old school folks)) And they need to be proficient with those weapons, as well as a shield.

Just a few things I could think of this early in the morning.

[ellestil]

For me, the thing that truly sets a good tank apart from an average or even mediocre tank is knowledge. Anyone can stand in front of a mob and taunt (although we've all seen some who don't lol), and anyone can chain specials, but a great tank goes beyond all that. That's just the basics.

Great tanks have a knowledge of the game beyond tanking. They know what other classes can do, they study logs of combat info to figure out a mob's weakness, they move with caution when in a new area (Leeroy's need not apply), they put time into their character to thoughtfully build him for doing his primary job (take a hit and hold hate), they know their limitations well, they study the strategies that will best enable a groups success, etc.

Tanking most of all takes discipline. People know when a tank is slacking or trying to cruise by some xp. A true tanker player keeps his concentration, even on easy mobs, and focuses on the task at hand. This kind of tank is hard to surprise in a dungeon full of adds. He knows where the mobs are, where they roam around, when a mob is due to spawn, and decides ahead of time whether the group could handle an add or not, adjusting position accordingly. Poor tanks get adds like crazy, aren't prepared when one comes, doesn't consider respawns, and the like.

It's the attention to details that sets a great tank apart from the others.

Ellestil

[Xarothiell]

A good tank knows how to make the best out of every situation. Evaluating every step of the way, knowing what the group he/she joins can or can not do after the first couple of pulls. Keeping it cool and calm is key especially when adds occur and the pace goes frantic. In those situations he/she needs to be able to command the group to direct the flow to victory.

Mostly echoing what Ellestil mentioned.

[Ezrael]

Id argue against a healer not being able to make a scout a tank after being a Cleric in EQ1 and EQ2 :P

What makes a good tank imo among basics of mob control, but more indepth like asking to be assisted on what needs to die first, nothing more frustrating when handing back as a caster than trying to get the group to go for the right mob first etc.

Tanks do lead the way but a good tank is always open to advice or letting someone else lead in effect although the tank may be at the front.

A good tank knows all the classes to a decent level and knows what they are capable of, and how to group with them, for example, nothing more annoying as a Rogue in EQ1 than a tank that refuses to position a mob anywhere except with its back against the wall ! Thats a basic but it can extend a lot and a great tank is knowledgeable

[knight1138]

6 years of tanking so i will give my take on this.

1. First rule, Know your class inside and out. Without this knowledge you will fail the following rules below.

2. second rule, know how to grab agro and maintain it. The softies in your group will love ya for your efforts. Know how to rescue them when they get over zealous on DPS...(cough) wizards.

3. Third rule, I like to call it situational awareness. When fighting a mob you not only have to worry about agro but the roamers also that is nearby. The group will listen but you must be the leader for the group when it comes to combat.

4. fourth rule, Know how to pull wether it be by proxitimy agro, bow, taunt pulling or jsut plain whack the mob in the behind.

5. fifth rule, making sure your gear is up to par accordance to your level. if your still wearing lvl15 armor and fighting lvl30 mobs.... you are gonna be hurtin in morning :P.

6. Sixth rule, Lastly ....make a battlecry emote! ....cmon you gotta make one of these its kinda of calling card .

Seriously though, these rules i live by when I am tanking. Just keep in mind taht Raid tanking has a few rules beside these one I had stated. Also if the group has advice to offer wether it be about the mobs,skills or whatever ...listen to them. You never know what you can learn from others. I am not saying you have to listen to them ....sometimes two minds are better then one :P.

[Cocytus]

Tank as leader? They might be up front during the fighting but I would argue that a tank has enough to worry about just with managing the battle. Let the healer or scout worry about being leader. As far as what makes for a great tank? There are of course certain requirements. Regardless of player skill, you have to have equipment you can work with. Everything a tank does to improve his/her self needs to be taken care of before achieving greatness can even be considered. This is because a great tank belongs at the front of a group, not soloing some dungeon running a parser to check for miniscule variations in efficiency. You have to have faith in your healer. Don't worry about how low your health bar is creeping in the middle of a fight, don't worry about who's going to assume aggro when you die. These are distractions a tank must resist. Have faith in your healer, even if they let you down. Although I advise caution when grouping with such a healer in the future. A great tank has to be willing to die. There's no reason the whole group should ever wipe. There's a certain point where the tank has to tell the others to run to the zone line, and hope they send someone back to drag his/her corpse to safety once it's all said and done. The tanks place is a group. A great tank puts the group's considerations before his/her own. That's all it simplifies down to really.

[Trillis]

Originally Posted by Cocytus

You have to have faith in your healer. Don't worry about how low your health bar is creeping in the middle of a fight, don't worry about who's going to assume aggro when you die.

I had never really thought about this until i saw that statement. I have died many times tanking in BoT in Eq or BWL in WoW..and my death was a complete suprise to me. I was too interested in keeping the mobs attention to worry about my health. So in that manner I would place this towards the top of my list of what makes a good tank.

Of course the most important thing is knowing your class!

[Xerces]

A good tank can and should be dependable, inspiring and humble. As many of us know that when raiding it is inevitable that players will come and go. But when there is a solid Rock of a tank behind the raiding group inspiring it to urge on through hard times this makes for success. A true tank is a born leader willing to have the highest repair costs of any to help everyone progress and learn. They are humble in the respect of not being able to accomplish many things alone. Dependable, this is the tank that people want to show up for. Others in groups know they will be there day in and day out to help in anyway they can.

[Warbreed]

after playing EQ from 1999-6 months ago and most of that time as a tank, a good tank so ive been told these are my observations.

Your skill can not overcome poor quality gear. A good tank is measured quite a bit by his gear if not more than his skill.

Know your abilities and how to use them. I always hated seeing new and old shadow knights not knowing something i learned at lvl 30 about thier abilities. Talk to others of your class, expirement in groups and see what works best for you.

Know other classes that you will group with. Again I always hated the tanks that put mobs back to wall with rogues in the group or back in the day had mobs halfway inside walls with rangers in groups (they couldnt hit with thier bows like this). Ive found spending a little time on alts of different classes helps a lot with knowing the other classes and knowing how they work.

On raids know YOUR job/role. Dont over stepp here because it can cause problems for a lot of people. If your an offtank then be an offtank until needed or asked to be something else. Anyone here had to fight for agro because a tank in the offtank role kept taunting and such?

Dont worry about heals, either your going to get em or your not. If your not getting them then tell the healer after the fight, if it continues leave.