What makes Tanking fun?

[thesmall001]

I'm trying to gauge sentiments about Tanking and what makes it enjoyable and what about it is a deterrent. We've seen a lot of shifts over the years from Threat to Active Mitigation and some people preferred threat, some AM and some feel Blizzard still haven't hit the right note on what Tanking should be. So I'd like to hear your "tank fantasies" and I'd like to hear what sort of gameplay that translates into from all of you.

I've put a poll but I can never get all of the juicy quirks that make those options special to individuals by just relying on that so please, even if you vote, respond with your thoughts on the matter. I let people pick multiple options for the poll but try to stick to the ones that mean the most: Maybe the top 3 or 4.

[TheWindWalker]

I like the idea that I'm the focus for everything we run up against and that those enemies have a difficult time killing me. I wouldn't find it fun to have to struggle to keep aggro (which is a bit of a problem in FF14), I don't want to be the group's decision maker, and I don't want to be the only one doing mechanics. What I love is seeing my increase in skill have an appreciable effect on my performance that can't be replicated by just having a decent script running rotation/priority macros.

The one thing I really, really wish they'd add is making tanking a lot more about upkeep. Like, nearly every button should in some way increase my defenses and "push this to dump rage into damage" shouldn't even make it beyond the mouth of someone before being shot down and a real discussion about tanking commences. I'd rather have a +1% damage reduction buff that stacks higher the longer I keep up a short combo sequence than burst damage.

[Raiju]

The one thing I really, really wish they'd add is making tanking a lot more about upkeep. Like, nearly every button should in some way increase my defenses and "push this to dump rage into damage" shouldn't even make it beyond the mouth of someone before being shot down and a real discussion about tanking commences.

So once you've hit the low ceiling of comfortably survivable damage with your upkeep, what do you do? Go AFK?

[Ciddy]

I stopped tanking when BC came along. Switched to fury after that and never looked back.

As a tank, the job security was kind of nice. If I wanted to do some optional content that the rest of the group wanted to skip....well, I was the tank, so the rest of the group could either go along with it or find themselves another tank. I usually got my way in those discussions because the rest of the group didn't want to go through the trouble of finding another tank.

But that was the only good part for me. I really hated tanking. Only did it because I "had" to as a warrior back in Classic WoW if I wanted pugs to not laugh at me.

[Illuminance]

My favorite part about being a tank was (was being important here, Legion seems to be doing away with this) carrying the group in pugs. It felt good to be the leader, and also have a large impact over the speed and success rate of LFR/random dungeons.

[Phunkle]

Pretty much every Boss in Mogu'shan Vaults makes tanking fun.

[thesmall001]

I like the idea that I'm the focus for everything we run up against and that those enemies have a difficult time killing me. I wouldn't find it fun to have to struggle to keep aggro (which is a bit of a problem in FF14), I don't want to be the group's decision maker, and I don't want to be the only one doing mechanics. What I love is seeing my increase in skill have an appreciable effect on my performance that can't be replicated by just having a decent script running rotation/priority macros.

The one thing I really, really wish they'd add is making tanking a lot more about upkeep. Like, nearly every button should in some way increase my defenses and "push this to dump rage into damage" shouldn't even make it beyond the mouth of someone before being shot down and a real discussion about tanking commences. I'd rather have a +1% damage reduction buff that stacks higher the longer I keep up a short combo sequence than burst damage.

You get me fam. You get me so real.

- - - Updated - - -

So once you've hit the low ceiling of comfortably survivable damage with your upkeep, what do you do? Go AFK?

In my mind, for all roles, there is a very dynamic amount you can do right or wrong in any fight and that is your "class skill" and performing "encounter mechanics" should make it harder and harder to perfectly execute your class/role stuff. Failing to perform perfectly might not result in a wipe but it will make it a bit harder for all involved. That self-improvement aspect is what makes WoW a compelling game for me overall and I think some might share that sentiment with me though certainly far from all.

[Raiju]

In my mind, for all roles, there is a very dynamic amount you can do right or wrong in any fight and that is your "class skill" and performing "encounter mechanics" should make it harder and harder to perfectly execute your class/role stuff. Failing to perform perfectly might not result in a wipe but it will make it a bit harder for all involved. That self-improvement aspect is what makes WoW a compelling game for me overall and I think some might share that sentiment with me though certainly far from all.

And if you're doing more than enough right do you just sit there..? What about those who find that easy, are we not allowed options to make the most of advantages we can gain out of a fight?

[Deleted]

Where's the "being blamed for everything" option? :P

[endersblade]

Because it's one of the easier jobs to do. As a healer, you're constantly worried about keeping people alive. As DPS, if you aren't doing enough damage, you're worthless. As a tank, I just stand there and get beat on, and make sure nobody else is getting beat on. You typically aren't required to heal yourself, and your DPS doesn't have to be anything to write home about - just using your tanky abilities will make you do damage.

In theory, all a tank has to do at this point in WoW's history is just get agro then auto-attack the whole fight. You'll keep agro, and barring having to move for boss/AoE abilities, you could just afk the whole fight.

[ro9ue]

I feel like I'm the adult in the room that handles all the shit so the kid dps can have fun.

[Erwarth]

I love how active mitigation and resolve work in WoD. But it lack something : The ability to debuff the boss to allow more damage from DPS. I think an high-skilled tank should be able to perfectly reduce incoming damage with proper usage of active mitigation AND increase the raid damage output by keeping an high uptime on debuff.

[Deleted]

I like to protect my team-mates. To enable them to do their job easier (which is mostly why I am in 99% of the time the leader of the group I am in - I am usually the most prepared out of them so they can focus on their "thing"). That's probably the main thing. Active Mitigation is awesome and upped my enjoyment of tanking by a lot. But those two were always around so I picked them first.

Because it's one of the easier jobs to do. As a healer, you're constantly worried about keeping people alive. As DPS, if you aren't doing enough damage, you're worthless. As a tank, I just stand there and get beat on, and make sure nobody else is getting beat on. You typically aren't required to heal yourself, and your DPS doesn't have to be anything to write home about - just using your tanky abilities will make you do damage.

In theory, all a tank has to do at this point in WoW's history is just get agro then auto-attack the whole fight. You'll keep agro, and barring having to move for boss/AoE abilities, you could just afk the whole fight.

Ignorant opinion is ignorant. Try playing something you aren't outgearing like crazy and tell us again, why tanking is easymode.

[Alvito]

Pretty much every Boss in Mogu'shan Vaults makes tanking fun.

Nothing like Blizzard choice to make the best taid of a teir a non factor almost immediately. Only to follow it with the worst raid they have produced.

OT. Having your own and the raids life in hour hands is fun. I am by no means trying to discount what healers do, but a good tank can survive a bad healer. A great healer can't carry a bad tank. Tanking also makes dpsing a lot more fun. You know the fights much better then you would have. Having more influence over the pace of the run is nice too. I am a big fan of active mitigation, sadly the are reducing it's value in Legion.

[thesmall001]

I love how active mitigation and resolve work in WoD. But it lack something : The ability to debuff the boss to allow more damage from DPS. I think an high-skilled tank should be able to perfectly reduce incoming damage with proper usage of active mitigation AND increase the raid damage output by keeping an high uptime on debuff.

I've said in the past that one of my favourite RPG battle system mechanics came from FF XIII (...of all places >.>) because the Commando was a low DPS damage dealer who amplified the "Ravager" (high DPS DD) damage by a % and that fantasy marries very well with my ideal Tank: The conductor who directs the DPS so that they can nuke harder. Threat used to deliver a bit of that feeling. You had to stay on the Tank's target and you couldn't rush ahead of him (though that was throttling and had a lot of it's own problems) and as a Tank you had to focus-nuke to generate enough threat when people needed to unleash their burst damage.

[Alvito]

Because it's one of the easier jobs to do. As a healer, you're constantly worried about keeping people alive. As DPS, if you aren't doing enough damage, you're worthless. As a tank, I just stand there and get beat on, and make sure nobody else is getting beat on. You typically aren't required to heal yourself, and your DPS doesn't have to be anything to write home about - just using your tanky abilities will make you do damage.

In theory, all a tank has to do at this point in WoW's history is just get agro then auto-attack the whole fight. You'll keep agro, and barring having to move for boss/AoE abilities, you could just afk the whole fight.

The mindset of someone who doesn't tank or tanks dungeons in raid gear.

[thesmall001]

And if you're doing more than enough right do you just sit there..? What about those who find that easy, are we not allowed options to make the most of advantages we can gain out of a fight?

Absolutely. I'm curious what form that takes for you. I'm not here to tell you what's fun, tell me what your "high ceiling skill cap" idea is and what you'd rather spend your button presses making happen in a fight. Encounter mechanics? Damage dealing? Higher AM %s? What's good for you?

[Raiju]

All of the above. As far as damage goes, I like to be able to forgo my survivability to increase it - it allows me to play intelligently and continue to give more to the group like a dps/healer can.

[endersblade]

I like to protect my team-mates. To enable them to do their job easier (which is mostly why I am in 99% of the time the leader of the group I am in - I am usually the most prepared out of them so they can focus on their "thing"). That's probably the main thing. Active Mitigation is awesome and upped my enjoyment of tanking by a lot. But those two were always around so I picked them first.



Ignorant opinion is ignorant. Try playing something you aren't outgearing like crazy and tell us again, why tanking is easymode.

I don't think you understand what the word ignorant means. But whatever floats your boat.

If it helps, I don't raid, I just did 5-mans. And I will tell you why tanking is easymode all day long, especially if it makes you misuse words and act like a little hurt bitch because my opinion is different from yours.

[TheWindWalker]

So once you've hit the low ceiling of comfortably survivable damage with your upkeep, what do you do? Go AFK?

You're making an assumption based off your current distaste for how Blizzard is handling tanking. If I'm painting a scenario in which my ability to survive is based directly on how well I can keep up my defenses, then that scenario automatically implies that not doing that would result in my death.

Take a step back, don't look at WoD or Legion, look at the idea of "If I don't keep myself alive, I will die." It's not an alien concept for that time period between fresh [max level] and getting pre-raid geared. I'd just like to take it further.

You and I just have very, very different ideas of what a tank is suppose to be doing.