A Fan Site for Elder Scrolls Online - News, Discussions and Guides

11:19 pm, October 14, 2014
0
English

ESO Tanking Guide

0

Hey ESO Community,

Wanted to shared my ESO Tanking Guide with all of you. You can check out the video here http://youtu.be/9BckI5VHHLA or the written guide here http://deltiasgaming.com/2014/10/14/eso-tanking-guide/.

Enjoy!

Are you ready to take on the hardest job in Elder Scrolls Online (ESO)? Well than welcome to our ESO Tanking Guide where we show you everything you need to know regarding tanking. This is a broad guide and for specific tank guides, make sure you check out our class guide section. Lets get started!


Whats a Tanks Job?

The most important job for a tank is taking on the most deadly single enemy in a group. Other games have you taking on ALL the enemies, not ESO. To be a great tank in ESO, youll have to pick and choose your targets carefully. Generally, Ill take on the target that can one-shot or insta **** someone. Its usually pretty obvious who this is based on size, amount of HP, or just appearance.

Damage Mitigation Simply put, youre suppose to soak up damage so other players dont have to. Your damage dealers and healers are optimize fully towards their roles. Essentially, theyre going to be very squishy or easy to ****. Thats okay, because as tanks, we embrace the hard to **** attitude and shine when the odds are against us. What this means is, youll need to find a way between using your skills, gear, and play-style to mitigate damage. Most do this by avoiding hits, having heavy armor rating to lessen the damage, or shielding themselves with spells. Either way, youre suppose to take damage so others dont.

Priority Targeting Deltia, how do I mitigate or lessen damage? You do this by targeting that one enemy whod ruin your day if let lose. Take this picture for example. Youll see about eight mobs or enemies all looking to **** you. However, the Frost Giant is not only larger, but look at its health bar. Youll see a little square indicating its a higher threat mob (elite or boss). This is your visual indicator that this needs to be your main priority out of the group.

Positioning Our endless mission for mitigation doesnt stop there. Now that weve got the attention of the boss, its time to position our team correctly. Most enemies have a cleave mechanic (or area AoE damage). This is usually in the shape of a cone BIG RED and yes get out of it. After we get aggro meaning the enemies attention, turn that mob away from the group. That way when it does a big area or cleave attack, youre allies are safe. Turning the mobs is a huge part of tanking that I see people missing all the time. With that being said, the group also needs to understand to not be in your way either.

Resource Management Deltia, why is tanking so hard? Not only is there so much going on and youre responsible for, throw in the fact that youre going to be using ALL resource pools and this gets very hard. Most roles either using magicka or stamina to do their jobs, not tanks. We have to use stamina to block, dodge roll, sprint, and taunt. We need magicka for shields, buffs, and healing. And if we run out of health, well everyone dies. I cant give any better advice than this, when build your character heres what you need to focus on stamina regeneration > everything else. Blocking is our primary source of damage mitigation and a constant drain on our stamina. If you cant block you die, if you die, everyone dies. The point is, stamina recover, regeneration, or reduction is the priority over all else.

Damage Yes we as tanks still need to do damage. You dont want be the main focal point of DPS, but your ultimates and some class abilities can really help add some needed DPS. Each class has their own strengths and weakness, and you should be relying on these advantages to take down enemies. Templars can drop a Nova on a crowd while Nightblades and drop a Veil of Blades on a boss. Dragonknights can throw down a needed Standard of Might while Sorcerers can lock everything down with a Negate. The faster things die, the easier your job will be.


How to Tank

Pre-Fight Make sure everyones ready to go. Weapons are charged, people have ate food to get more stats, and were buffed up and focused. Get your mind right too, think positive and embrace your inner tank. Youll need to react quickly to changing group dynamics. Our group constantly ask each other these questions. Also be prepared with consumable potions. These can make or break fights and have many benefits. In essences, get prepared.

Taunting Using taunts or gaining aggro as some call it is nothing more than getting the bosses attention. Currently, there are two specific abilities for taunting, Inner Fire a ranged taunt using magicka from the Undaunted tree, and the bread and butter taunt Puncture using stamina from the One Hand and Shield tree. Ideally, youll want to use Puncture over Inner Fire because the debuff Puncture provides is powerful. Additionally, Inner Fire has a chance of procing a terrible synergy which will lower DPS. However, I highly recommend having both taunts on your bars somewhere. Youre not always going to be in range for a Puncture and will need a range taunt at some point.

Blocking Now that weve got a mob or twos attention, the hard work starts. Blocking provides massive damage mitigation at the cost of stamina. The more targets beating on you, the more stamina it will drain. Thats why its important that you dont over taunt. Take on what your stamina can handle. While blocking you can, cast spells, continue to taunt, move slowly, and bash. Dont be the tank that just stands and blocks, youll need to be active even while blocking and at least looking around watching for enemy actions.

Interrupts Since I brought up bash, lets talk about interrupts. Generally mobs cast or channel their big attacks. This registers a warning sign above their head saying if you dont interrupt me, youll die. Thus, your job is to keep them at bay by bashing over and over. Just remember, this takes stamina too and at some point, a DPS or a Healer will need to help you interrupt. Additionally, your bash is only near targets so range members of your party are responsible for those interrupts. You can do a lot as the tank, but not all.

Weaving Attacks -One of the finer points on tanking is weaving in between blocks. The most advantages weapon glyph Ive found for tanking is the Hardening Enhancement. This grants a small damage bubble on you and can be procd often. So yes, dont just stand there and block keep on procing this bubble. Once youve become experience, youll understand the timely of each boss. Some take more time to charge up heavy attacks thus giving you the time to charge your own heavy. Others rapidly strike so youll need to get in a light attack here and there. Remember this, the less damage you take, the less healing youll need. The less healing youll need the more the healer can do damage. The more damage the group has, the faster stuff dies. The faster mobs die, the easier your job. On the surface this doesnt seem very important, but truly it separates the good from the average.

Resources So what separates the good from the great? Resource management. Every class, armor, and build has its own strengths and weaknesses. For instance, Dragonknights Green Dragons Blood offers tons of stamina regeneration but it takes constant magicka to cast it. Templars have a passive ability Repentance that increases stamina regeneration without casting. The One Handed Sword and Shield skill line offers Absorb Magic which lessens the burden of blocking and increases mitigation. So, make sure you take abilities that tune up your resources otherwise you cant block, cast, interrupt, and will be an ineffective tank.


Tanking by Classes If you havent been following my guides, Ive played every class to at least Veteran Rank (VR) 10. Ive tanked, healed, and DPSd every single one of them. So each class has its own unique set of strengths and weakness and also easier to tank with. This list is my opinion, not the definitive answer. And I rank each class tanking with the best to worst.

Dragonknight The King of tanking. The Dragonknight (DK) can reflect projectiles, self-heal on command, and pull enemies at range. Their Iron Skin passive of an additional 10% blocking damage makes them the number one choice.

  • Made for blocking and crowd control (CC)

  • Massive group utility and self-sustaining resources

Limited range

Very slow with class specific abilities

Templar

A VERY close second is the Templar. I cant tell you how powerful these two classes are and Templar is an absolute riot. Their the only class that can burst heal without a Restoration Staff, they can harvest corpses for endless stamina, and have the best damage shield in the game with Blazing Shield. Another amazing choice for tanking.

  • Healing and stamina regeneration King

  • Class ultimate and leap made for tanking

Little DPS

High magicka cost for spells

Sorcerer

While I did beat Dragonstar Arena with my VR 8 Sorc tank, it was a challenge. The Sorc has some great bubbles but lacks healing unless stacking critical stat in conjunction with Critical Surge. This isnt a usual tank stat and doesnt seem that effective though the speed is amazing.

  • Speed to zoom around

  • Massive damage even when tanking

Class abilities lack tanking needs

High magicka cost group CC

Nightblade

Ive seen and tried many Nightblade tanking builds, but still find them a bit lack luster. They have some good speed and utility the problem is they lack a burst self-heal. Moreover, they have limited group CC or slow besides Lotus Fan and I just didnt find them effective as tanks. Though the beauty of this game is someone will show me a build after publishing this that proves me wrong.

  • Great speed

  • Passive healing with siphoning

Dependent on healers in crunch time

Lacks group CC


Setting Up Your Bar

Above is a sample tanking build without any class specific abilities. Yes, youll need to swap in some class stuff but I wanted to give you a picture of a setup and why I take specific things. Lets talk about each slot and the concept behind it. Bar One | Melee

Group Crowd Control Youll need some way of slowing down enemies or neutralizing them completely. Volcanic Rune in this spot is something everyone can get and a good CC.

Melee Taunt The debuff provided by Pierce Armor is a powerful one and I recommend it as the go-to taunt in ESO. Be careful with stamina usage however, because it does take stamina needed for blocking.

Self-Heal or Shield Every class has some type of defensive ability, and Harness Magicka is a good one everyone can get. I like Green Dragons Blood for the DK or Breath of Life for the Templar. Something here that is your oh **** button.

Defensive or Passive I just love Absorb Magic here and use it on nearly every character. Some ability that gives a passive boost to tanking. Another example would be Repentance for the Templar.

Ranged DPS Youll need some range whether a class ability, or a leap to close the distance. I like Structured Entropy because its a small heal and it boost our health by a large margin.

Defensive Ultimate Whats a good tank without a defensive ultimate? Barrier is the beast mode ultimate though each class has something similar. Take it here for when things get tough. Bar Two | Range

Ranged Taunt Every tank needs something with range in my opinion. Too often are fights covered with massive red circles of *****. Not only does this ability get us some range taunt, but if were out of stamina, we can use this as a substitute while building up resources.

Group Heal or AoE DPS This slot I use for group utility, damage or healing. You can swap in another Sword and Shield, a Destruction Staff, or even a Two-Hander. I just like Restoration since Im a more defensive minded tank.

Stamina Buff Since we have tons of stamina, well need a group buff in case were overflowing with it. This ability adds a lot to your tanking bar and can pump up that mitigation to a whole another level. Just make sure you have stamina in reserve for blocking.

Emergency Heal Since your the tanking, using bar two can be risky. If youre not using two Sword and Shields, youll take massive damage on a weapon swap if not timed correctly. Therefore, I suggest having a oh **** button on this bar as well. Preferably one that can benefit the group as well.

Stamina Buff Similar to our previous stamina ability though this one is for speed and breaking roots. This is a must have in Dragonstar Arena (DSA).

DPS Ultimate Everyone needs to do damage, and this ultimate is reserved for that. Drop it like its hot and nuke down an enemy.


Summary

Well our wall of text is over and now youre a tanking expert! Okay maybe not, but at least we got the basics down. Now comes the hard part, working at it. Dont be afraid to give it a try, go in and embrace the tanking experiences. Its not easy thats why people dont do it. Though if done right, youll be the Captain of every Raid/DSA team out there.

submitted by Deltiasgaming
[link] [6 comments]

References



Comments

Comments will display as plain text only ×
No Comments

Report Spam or Abuse

Are you sure you want to report this submission for spam or abuse?

Clicking yes will report this post to the site administrator for review.

Yes No ×

Search Tags

Tanking Guide

Others in

Questions abouts "Relics of the Physician" set

11:19 pm, October 19, 2014 Does anyone know where to find the Relics of the Physician set? I know v10 items of this set can be found in Elden Hollow, Wayrest Sewers and Darkshade Caverns, but will it drop from a particular boss [..] View

[Discussion] Can we expact an expansion?

11:19 pm, October 19, 2014 Can we expact an expansion for eso? Have they said anything about this? what i mean by expansion is kinda a continuation to the main quest and alliance war story. I know we are getting adventure zones [..] View

Option to remove guest Campaign

11:19 pm, October 19, 2014 Right now I want to just remove my guest campaign so another character can play in it from another faction. I paid the price in ap to move my home campaign from thornblade so another character can pla [..] View

He's all up in there

11:19 pm, October 19, 2014
English

A Song of Ice and Fire/Game of Thrones Thread #16

11:19 pm, October 19, 2014 The continuation thread for the Game of Thrones TV series and 'A Song of Ice and Fire' books. Wiki links to the following:Game of Thrones TV seriesA Song of Ice and Fire Link to the previous thread:Th [..] View

DAEDRIC looking SCEPTRE :o

11:19 pm, October 19, 2014 was playing Arche Age and got this thing and it looks amazing   http://i.imgur.com/dSriClF.png   http://i.imgur.com/zfXVa2v.png View

[discussion] Player housing ideas

11:19 am, October 19, 2014 i have a couple ideas about player house(that can hopefully not take 10 years) 1. Player created housing, maybe a homebuilding skill line with different race styles. Player made housing could be insta [..] View

[Media] Dwemer Chest pieces - Photos inside

11:19 am, October 19, 2014 http://imgur.com/a/aqbng#0 I'll be adding in the light robes and shirt once I get enough frames to make them. FYI, yes I know some random NPC somewhere in Grindlorn has some random dyed set. N [..] View

At what level does my convert to Imperial give me the cool looking armor?

11:19 am, October 19, 2014 I would really like to have this armor but my armor doesn't convert into that when I use the convert to imperial style option. So when will it? Is it blue armor that does this or is there a le [..] View

Things I like about the game so far

11:19 am, October 19, 2014 Combat is fun and once you're used to the feel of it, it's comfortable the world is fun to explore having such a toned down interface really makes it more immersive the quests feel li [..] View

Weekends with the Gf :)

11:19 am, October 19, 2014
English

The price of gaming in US and Europe

11:19 am, October 19, 2014 I always had this curiosity about console and games prices around the World. Here in Brazil the prices are astronomical (as our corruption. Riften learned with us ) So, XOne is around 1,800 to 2.200 R [..] View

Anyone playing on a 9800gt?

11:19 pm, October 18, 2014 My brother is interested in this game and I was wondering how the game would fair on his hardware. Anyone please fell free to post experience/settings and performance you have if you feel you have sim [..] View

Find my/where is my Android apps. What do you prefer?

11:19 pm, October 18, 2014 I have just been told there is an app for Androids that is like Find my/where is my Android. You can add family members to see where they are.    I really like this feature, and I am [..] View

Xenosaga ever going to get an HD release?

11:19 pm, October 18, 2014 Is Namco ever going to give Xenosaga an HD release for the PS3 or the PS4 in the future?   These games were excellent RPG's! A bit repetitive but they were a good play through.  & [..] View

Coming back to ESO after several months away - any addon suggestions?

11:19 am, October 18, 2014 Hey guys! I've decided to give ESO a second try after being away for a while and wanted to get some addon suggestions from you guys. I plan on using the MiniMap addon by Fyrakin but wanted to [..] View

[Discussion] Switching from a Healer main to DPS, could use some help.

11:19 am, October 18, 2014 I have a VR14 Templar Healer, which I have used from the start and love him. I tried a NB next, got him to VR14 using light armour and a staff, now respec't into a stamina bow build because I [..] View

Those are bigger than my head.

11:19 am, October 18, 2014
English

Wasteland 2 Thread 7

11:19 am, October 18, 2014 Thread # 1 Thread # 2 Thread # 3 Thread # 4 Thread # 5 Thread # 6   Wasteland Unity Engine Confirmation   Kickstarter LinK   Wasteland 2 is the direct sequel to the first e [..] View

Countless Gaming Kills

11:19 am, October 18, 2014 How many people do you think you've ****** in video games? I don't expect you to come to an actual tally or even remotely near one, but it's just something I've occasionally wondered. How many people, [..] View

Dwemer Motif - Shoulders

11:19 pm, October 17, 2014 Hey guys, here's a few screen shots of a new Dwemer motif piece (Shoulders). http://imgur.com/a/XvPWf#0 On a side note, if anyone knows how to get an account for the official forums, can you [..] View

Anyone else been experiencing latency issues?

11:19 pm, October 17, 2014 I've never had any lag problems with this game (since Beta) until recently. Now, every 3-5 minutes there's a 20-30 second lag spike. This has resulted in a personal holocaust involving [..] View

Returning player - What to expect?

11:19 pm, October 17, 2014 Hey there! I played ESO at launch, and quit about after a few days of playing it since I got really busy irl, so I didn't get any further than VR4 or so. Now I feel like returning, but I don&a [..] View

PvP guilds (not Thornblade)?

11:19 pm, October 17, 2014 My computer can't handle the fights in Thornblade, not to mention it's tough as a weakly level 40. I heard that Hadreus was fun to play on, and I was wondering what people's ex [..] View

New Skeleton Costume

11:19 pm, October 17, 2014
English

Caption This

11:19 pm, October 17, 2014
English

Turning Idea Into Reality. Assistance Required

11:19 pm, October 17, 2014 WARNING: this is going to be quite a long read. And probably quite boring for most.   So, I played "The Evil Within" recently. I am still on the fence about the game itself, but I l [..] View

Eyes: The Windows To Our Souls

11:19 pm, October 17, 2014 What is it about our eyes?   "Look me in the eyes and say that!" "I looked into their eyes and BAM!  Instant love." "Eyes are the window to our soul." & [..] View

Video game "Fads" that need to make a comeback.

11:19 pm, October 17, 2014 The question of the day is, what features, trends, or fads from video gaming are about due for a comeback?   So, let me argue in favor of FMV cutscenes. Yes, they were cheesy, but anyone who [..] View

Modders/programmers/online artists and ArmWrist pain stories

11:19 pm, October 17, 2014 Short version: So anyways, tell me readers... What is the hardest, most difficult on the hand-tendons project you EVER committed yourself to on a computer? It doesn't matter if it's modding, programmi [..] View

Any Good R.T.S Games? (PC)

11:19 pm, October 17, 2014  So the title pretty much says it all I'm looking for a good old fashion RTS game for my P.C (Toshiba Satellite C655.) I have every Age of Empires, Rise of Nations, and Rome: Total War. Anyon [..] View

Favorite Villains in Movies and Video Game.

11:19 pm, October 17, 2014 Simple discussion we all have our heroes but we also have villains that are just as fun to love as the Goody Two Shoes from movies and video games. Mine are:   From Movies: General Zod (Super [..] View

game you played the most times?

11:19 pm, October 17, 2014 in my case its hard to say. with the dozen of time ive played postal red alert jedi academy psi ops and hitman blood moeny. but funny enough im pretty the one i played most time was blip blop View

a question to anyone who has served in the military

11:19 pm, October 17, 2014 so, I have been curious for awhile (ever since a bad round of an online game I was playing), whats Military protocol for when you are pinned down and you exhaust your ammunition? just curious.. View

I am Bread

11:19 pm, October 17, 2014 just came across this.. and really, I am not sure what to think... and i thought Goat Simulator was a strange concept.. View

What's up with Final Fantasy lately?

11:19 pm, October 17, 2014 It seems past Final Fantasy games were really good.   Like Final Fantasy 7 and Final Fantasy X. But now these games don't seem like they should be anymore.    Square is alwa [..] View

[Discussion] ZOS is Working on Trial Accounts

11:19 am, October 17, 2014 There is obviously no time-table associated with any of this information and for that matter no definitive answer on exactly what a "Trial" account exactly means in ESO. Having said [..] View

How is the VP-to-XP change on the PTS?

11:19 am, October 17, 2014 I haven't been able to playtest on the PTS yet, but I am curious about the change to XP instead of VPs for leveling through the Veteran Ranks, and I haven't seen anyone talk about it y [..] View

[News] PTS 1.5.0 Patch Note Edits and Omissions

11:19 am, October 17, 2014 Source   Hey guys! We're editing the original post to include some missing patch notes from this build (including a couple werewolf notes you all were waiting for). They include the f [..] View

Character appearance changes?

11:19 am, October 17, 2014 When I made my first toon during the early access prior to release, I was so eager to get going I didn't get the look that I wanted. I was ok to ignore this during levelling but I think I need [..] View

Dragonknight Healers Assemble!

11:19 am, October 17, 2014 Hello everyone I just reached VR1 on my DK and, playing as a Tank till now and having some spare points and alot of passives in the Light Armour tree allready unlocked, i wanna try something new witho [..] View

[PODCAST] Elder Scrolls Off the Record 128: Update 5 on the PTS

11:19 am, October 17, 2014 submitted by ElderScrollsOTR [link] [1 comment] View

Pets are going to be "collectibles" in 1.5!

11:19 am, October 17, 2014 I haven't seen this brought up previously, so if this is a repost, I'm sorry, but I was reading the 10/16 road ahead when I noticed this: "...well be moving collectibles like [..] View

[PSA] Angry face on character.

11:19 am, October 17, 2014 So, in MMOs I care a lot about making sure my character looks just the way I want it to. In ESO every female character I make has looked very happy and nice in the character creation, but very angry i [..] View

Liar!!!

11:19 am, October 17, 2014
English

[MEDIA] Glyph made in China... damn it!

11:19 am, October 17, 2014
English

Farewell, Ralph Cosham.

11:19 am, October 17, 2014 So, while casually browsing the UESP, I just noticed it mentioned Ralph Cosham passed away in the end of September. Now, for those unfamiliar with the name and why you should care, you might recall hi [..] View

Heavy Rain worth it?

11:19 am, October 17, 2014 I've watched videos on youtube and heard good and bad things about this game. I'd like to turn to everyone here in the forum whether I should play this game or not and if I have missed out on a great [..] View

Stupid Question, But...

11:19 am, October 17, 2014 If there was an alternate universe with a slower rate of expansion than ours, and assuming that the laws of physics of our universe would work similarly in that universe, would the molecular and/or su [..] View

Sign In

×

Sign Up

×
Page generated in 0.124 seconds.
Site Engine