Question re: tanking classes and how they stack up

[Nobleshield]

I dusted off SWTOR and purchased a sub, and I'm more than likely going to continue my usual tradition in MMOs and tank (although I shelved my tank in WoW due to not liking the active mitigation stuff). Since to me what makes Star Wars be Star Wars is Force users, that basically gives me two routes to go, that being Juggernaut/Guardian or Shadow/Assassin. I'm not completely opposed to Bounty Hunter or Trooper, but I really dig lightsabers

Right now I'm kind of just experimenting with different things; I have a Jedi Consular waiting on the fleet at level 10, and a Sith Warrior around level 8 or 9. Is one of these tanks better overall than the other? I've seen a lot of things talk about how much more complex the Shadow is, with lots of cooldown management to have mitigation, and that appears to be a bit of a turnoff since I dislike this new paradigm of tanking complexity. Is the Jugg/Guard easier to tank with, or would I be better off "manning up" and rolling with the Shadow/Assassin? To be honest the Shadow/Assassin sounds like it's more fun, but I'm wary of having dozens of buttons again and micromanaging abilities since that is not fun to me at all, and I long for the days when tanking was dead simple to compensate for the pressure.

I've played a Warrior and Paladin tank in WoW, and Warrior tank in Rift, if that helps with any comparisons. Juggernaut/Guardian seems close to a Prot Warrior (I even have a charge and an ability like Revenge on my Sith Warrior) while Shadow seems kind of like a DK which I never was able to get into with tanking, but always wanted to because of the "skill cap".

Any suggestions for me as to which one is more viable, or at least like a pro/con kind of thing to help me decide?

[Psychlon]

They are both viable, however I think that the Juggernaut got the best lvl 51 skill for pure tanking (reflects force/ tech attacks back to the attacker for 3 sec.). Are you planning on doing some pvp? In that case I see the Assassin providing more "fun".

Handling in an Operation, I see the Juggernaut leading because of force leap (jumps to the target) opposed to force run (increased run speed for a short amount of time) and you have lots of defensive cooldowns which could really help in dangerous situations, however so does the Assassin.

In the end, it may just come down to your personal preference, probably play both to lvl 30-40 and decide then.

[Stormcall]

Right now I'm kind of just experimenting with different things; I have a Jedi Consular waiting on the fleet at level 10, and a Sith Warrior around level 8 or 9. Is one of these tanks better overall than the other? I've seen a lot of things talk about how much more complex the Shadow is, with lots of cooldown management to have mitigation, and that appears to be a bit of a turnoff since I dislike this new paradigm of tanking complexity. Is the Jugg/Guard easier to tank with, or would I be better off "manning up" and rolling with the Shadow/Assassin? To be honest the Shadow/Assassin sounds like it's more fun, but I'm wary of having dozens of buttons again and micromanaging abilities since that is not fun to me at all, and I long for the days when tanking was dead simple to compensate for the pressure.

I've played a Warrior and Paladin tank in WoW, and Warrior tank in Rift, if that helps with any comparisons. Juggernaut/Guardian seems close to a Prot Warrior (I even have a charge and an ability like Revenge on my Sith Warrior) while Shadow seems kind of like a DK which I never was able to get into with tanking, but always wanted to because of the "skill cap".

Hate to tell you this, but ALL the tanks have quite a few buttons and abilities to manage. You don't just stand around and smack em and they're guaranteed to stick on you, it's actually a LOT easier for DPS to pull off you here if you're not managing your abilities properly than it is in WoW. If you want "dead simple" tanking, this might not be the best game for you. That said, if you're willing to work at it, yeah, Jugg/Guard does feel more like a warrior in regards to play style, whereas Sin/Shadow is like a mix of a DK and a rogue.

Just to give you an idea of the comparative number of abilities, as an assassin for single target you'll maintain Dark Ward, use Wither, Discharge(Wither and Discharge put debuffs on mobs that need to be maintained but their duration lasts longer than the moves CD), Thrash, Saber Strike, Assassinate(your Execute, only usable sub-30%), Shock(used when Energize procs, it has a chance to proc off Thrash, Assassinate, and one of your AoE moves), Force Lightning when you have 3 stacks of Harnessed Darkness(you get a stack every time you use Shock and Wither), and Maul(when Conspirator's Cloak procs). This is just the moves you use in your normal single target rotation. In AoE situations, Lacerate is used in place of Thrash. You also have several CDs to use. There's Recklessness which is a burst CD, then Deflection, Force Shroud, and Overcharge Saber for survivability. Plus an interrupt, taunt, an AoE taunt, a Death Grip equivalent, a Sprint, your Sap(which requires Stealth), Guard(put it on another player, they take less damage, generate less threat, and half the damage they take is redirected to you)...

[Psychlon]

Hate to tell you this, but ALL the tanks have quite a few buttons and abilities to manage. You don't just stand around and smack em and they're guaranteed to stick on you, it's actually a LOT easier for DPS to pull off you here if you're not managing your abilities properly than it is in WoW. If you want "dead simple" tanking, this might not be the best game for you. That said, if you're willing to work at it, yeah, Jugg/Guard does feel more like a warrior in regards to play style, whereas Sin/Shadow is like a mix of a DK and a rogue.

Just to give you an idea of the comparative number of abilities, as an assassin for single target you'll maintain Dark Ward, use Wither, Discharge(Wither and Discharge put debuffs on mobs that need to be maintained but their duration lasts longer than the moves CD), Thrash, Saber Strike, Assassinate(your Execute, only usable sub-30%), Shock(used when Energize procs, it has a chance to proc off Thrash, Assassinate, and one of your AoE moves), Force Lightning when you have 3 stacks of Harnessed Darkness(you get a stack every time you use Shock and Wither), and Maul(when Conspirator's Cloak procs). This is just the moves you use in your normal single target rotation. In AoE situations, Lacerate is used in place of Thrash. You also have several CDs to use. There's Recklessness which is a burst CD, then Deflection, Force Shroud, and Overcharge Saber for survivability. Plus an interrupt, taunt, an AoE taunt, a Death Grip equivalent, a Sprint, your Sap(which requires Stealth), Guard(put it on another player, they take less damage, generate less threat, and half the damage they take is redirected to you)...

I didn't mentioned the Powertech as he wants to play a "lightsaber" class but it's pretty much just stand there and do your dmg rotation + in critical situations you pop a cooldown while keeping your debuff (oilslick) up. I rarely lose aggro and if, I still have 3 taunts which do the necessary.

[Stormcall]

I didn't mentioned the Powertech as he wants to play a "lightsaber" class but it's pretty much just stand there and do your dmg rotation + in critical situations you pop a cooldown while keeping your debuff (oilslick) up. I rarely lose aggro and if, I still have 3 taunts which do the necessary.

Okay, true, powertech/vanguard tanking does have a bit less going on than the force classes...

[davispunx]

Okay, true, powertech/vanguard tanking does have a bit less going on than the force classes...

I've tanked on all 3 classes. PT/Vanguard is probably the easiest entry level tank. As others have said there is alot of AOE threat generation and its kind paladin-y. Warrior is the most intuitive tank to play but the AOE threat generation is a bit of a challenge but once you get the mechanics down you can use force push, saber throw, etc to pick up the mobs that are most important. My Assassin is just weird and I never really got into it. Not as intuitive as PT/Vanguard but this could be that I didn't play him enough.

Id roll a juggernaught. Fun class and good story!

[Dundebuns]

I loved tanking as an Assassin. It was a breath of fresh air from the burly heavy armour tanks you tend to get in other games. I just wish they were a bit more acrobatic in their style. Only issue I had is they have no gap closer like the Jugg with their force leap. You do get a sprint though, but usually when you get to the mobs your team mates have already unloaded a few salvos and the melee force users have already leapt to their targets. I suppose in ToR that it's not too important, as at least when I played, you never tanked the normal mobs, only gold and silver ones.

Other than that, if you love lightsabres, then you'll love Assassins since they get two blades to play with! The spell effects when you charge your sabre up with lightning or dark energy are really cool too. Damn, this is making me want to reinstall SWToR now :/

[Kelimbror]

If you must go with the force, you want the Juggernaut for your style. However, due to disliking overly complex tanking you will want to look at Powertech or the Trooper equivalent. Threat is not a given in this game like others though it is still very easy.

[Psychlon]

I loved tanking as an Assassin. It was a breath of fresh air from the burly heavy armour tanks you tend to get in other games. I just wish they were a bit more acrobatic in their style. Only issue I had is they have no gap closer like the Jugg with their force leap. You do get a sprint though, but usually when you get to the mobs your team mates have already unloaded a few salvos and the melee force users have already leapt to their targets. I suppose in ToR that it's not too important, as at least when I played, you never tanked the normal mobs, only gold and silver ones.

Other than that, if you love lightsabres, then you'll love Assassins since they get two blades to play with! The spell effects when you charge your sabre up with lightning or dark energy are really cool too. Damn, this is making me want to reinstall SWToR now :/

Depending.... Assassins/ Shadows have phase walk now so you could switch places if you'd like.