This is just a quick little reference guide for all those people out there who want to try their hands at tanking.  Tanking is a very difficult art just like the other classes however by following a few simple rules you can be a great tank in a group.

First simple rules:

1. You have to taunt the enemy you are facing more than once.  Some people may have a pre concieved notion that you just have to use 1 single/AoE taunt and the mob will stay on you forever.  This is not correct you must maintain aggro as much as possible.  Working with a SK has giving me a great understanding of this and under different circumstances how to maintain aggro.

2.  Each tank comes with 3-4 taunts on him when you are a certain level.  Each tank class has a Single and AoE taunt spell, Warriors/Crusaders get a shield bash technique that can temporarily stun the enemy while increasing your threat to that enemy.  Unfortunately my Monk is not high enough for me to compare so I do not know if they get this 3rd semi taunt spell.  The last spell all tanks get including monks/bruisers aka the brawler class is the “Rescue” taunt.  This taunt is meant for extreme situation when you must regain control of the mob to prevent group death.  It is an almost certain aggro magnet for the tank but pays a high price because it has a 5-10 minute recast timer.

Rescue should only be used in the most dire of situations because of its recast timer.

3. Make sure you watch your surroundings at all times when you are tanking an enemy.  Adds in the right amount can be enjoyable however in the wrong amount or level can be devistating to a group killing everyone off.  This is why you must keep a sharp lookout as well as the lay of the land.  Following this you can judge when an enemy maybe getting too close for comfort and must back the enemy you are currently tanking away from its location.

Those are some simple rules to follow in order to help out the newbie tanks that want to give the warrior, brawler, crusader class a try.  Below are some more advanced rules that can help out current tanks to become even greater tanks.

1. Upgrade your taunt and buffs spells to atleast app IV if not adept I.  The higher your taunt spell ranking the better you can hold aggro with and generate more quote “Hate” to the enemy.   This Hate is crucial to you being a successful tanking so that the group isn’t left running around fleeing from every enemy you miss handle.

2. Turning Mobs: This is a crucial technique that almost every tank must learn if they hope to graduate onto tanking high end mobs, named mobs and the ever powerful Epic mobs.  Turning mobs helps in several ways but the most crucials ways are A. Allowing your scout class to use their quote “Backstab” techniques where they must be behind the enemy, and B. Allows your raid/group to avoid an AoE Cone effect of said mob.

AoE Cones are devestating abilities that mostly epic targets use in which an ability goes out in an almost 30-60 degree cone affect from the enemies point.  By turning the mob 180 degrees making it face away from your group, you make it so you are the only one effected and the group doesn’t have to worry about unwanted damage.  This unwanted damage can then lead to non necessary healing wasting precious mana of your healer.

Mobs are tricky to turn however by backing up towards your group then running behind the mob you can make the mob face you.  Now you must taunt the mob while doing this so you firmly establish aggro and thus you will have learned a great deal of tanking already preparing you for tanking other mobs.

3. Damage Output:  As a tank you must regulate the amount of damage you output unless you are acting as minor secondary dps in a group.  You must damage the mob but not so much that you waste precious mana.  As a ShadowKnight before I engage the Enemy I will follow a couple of simple rules:

A.  I put on my Damage Ward shield then let my mana regen up just before going in *every bit of mana helps out.*  My damage shield can help generate more hate than my taunts alone.  This being the difference between a successful group and a cocky over damaging Wizard/Assassin. :smileywink:

B.  During a fight I will use my dark techniques sparingly making sure to let my dps do their jobs.  DPS is DPS meaing they are there to do Damage not you so let them carry their weight.   As a level 60 SK I will use my high end “Wraith” spell doing major damage, my Damage shield Hienous Blessing *The level 50-60 Version*, along side my taunt spells to maintain agro.  Doing this allows you to conserve mana making your team wait less for “Mana Regen Periods.”

4. Taunting:  As a SK it is very hard to maintain aggro thus crusaders are too well respected as tank thus dps will scale their damage back a bit.  This however is nothing more than a lie because if crusaders use the best taunting techniques they can stand alongside warrior classes as true tanks.  When I did Darathar with my level 70 warden we had a 70 Paladin tanking Darathar with him never loosing aggro once.

A.  When you first engage the mob bringing him near your group use your AoE taunt and after that use your Single mob taunt.  Once you have gotten aggro on yourself use your shield bash Technique to really solidify that aggro.  After that use your damage techniques with a light touch and when your taunts regen allowing you to cast hit the mob/creature with your taunts again if he is not below 20% health.

If the mob is below 20% health use maybe 1 single mob/group taunt on the creature then finish him off.  If the mob is below 20% health you pretty much have him and should not waste precious mana taunting an already dead duck so to speak.

5. Pulling Mobs: This is a crucial technique that all tanks must learn about quickly unless you want to be taking a dirt nap from being mobed by 50 creatures.  As of a recent patch our enemies got a nice little “Boost” to say in their social range meaning if creature A passing by is the same type as creature B passing by and has a bit of intelligence it will help out creature B.  Example of this will be if a Gnoll walks by an opening and within a certain range sees you pounding on its buddy that gnoll will come in and whoop your butt.  To combat this here are some techniques to help tanks out.

A.  When you go to pull a mob gage the distance between each mob,  this distance was increased thus you must be very careful developing your tanking skills.  If a mob is too close to another you will pull more than you want to and sometimes more than you can probably handle.  Taunts, attacks and what not will always pull a group of creatures around another of their brethern.  There are a few techniques out there that bypass this however they remain hidden for good reason.

So in essence Gage the distance between each mob and if a roaming mob passes by grab him first taking him out of the picture.  This way it creates less hastle for you and your group mates when you prepare to kill that room.

B. Line of Sight is an advanced tanking ability that takes some time to develop but when used properly can bypass mobs social distinguishing traits.  Line of Sight or more over Line of Aggro it should be called is to the point in which a certain mob will aggro you and not bring his comrades.  This is a corner stone of any MMO wherebye you do not aggro the entire room but pull that single mob using a Line of Sight Technique.  Doing this can allow you to pick and choose the mobs you want instead of having the game choose for you aggroing the entire room as said before.

By practicing Line of Sight aggroing you can develop your tanking skills then learning to couple this with the other advanced techniques you can become a great tank getting good group invites.

6.  Modes:  Each tank can come with 2 “Modes” as I call them and using the proper one in different situations can help out.  Offensive modes can help a tank generate alot of aggro almost to the point of barley needing to taunt.  However in offensive mode your mitigation as well as avoidance aka ability to tank is greatly reduced.  The only time a tank should use offensive mode is when your in a good group, when you take little damage, and when you are able to dispatch enemys rather quickly.  Otherwise I highly recommend using defensive mode which gives great defensive boosts however lowers your damage output thus making you have to use taunts alot to keep aggro.

With careful balance using defensive mode can have little to no penaltys what so ever if used properly and the same can be said of offensive mode.

There are many other ideas behind tanking such as armor, spells, combinations, Heroic Opportunitys and what not.  However above is what I feel being a level 60 SK is the true nit and gritty of being a tank.  Using those techniques no matter what tank class you are can make you very effective allowing you to survive almost any encounter.  Good Luck and Happy Hunting my fellow EQ2 brethern. :smileyhappy: