So, long and short, I've been playing MMOs and Tanking / Raid tanking Since 2003...I even tanked on a bard in EQoA. I started playing EQ2 in 2009, and that almost made me quit mmos. Tanking...is horrid there. You build your tank like a DPS, taunts don't work...ability bloat galore. SW:TOR save my MMO "career" lol...so here is my question: How is tanking here? Is it like EQ2? I asked in game, and was told it's more complicated...but EQ2 is far from complicated imho, you spam 35-ish abilities...and pray you hold. No finesse. So, do tanks here tank like on EQ2? Build for dps, taunts don't work, have 30-40 abilities to spam, (my sk has close to 50+, just quite a few buffs). Is this a clicker game, like EQ2? I prefer keybinding...I currently reduced my SK's abilities to about 12 hot keys on EQ2...to make it semi playable. Since I have several aoes that do...the same thing, it's a bit ridiculous...but yeah. So, before I bother asking more detailed questions, I guess, can you compare it to EQ2 and SW:TOR? (WoW would work for SW:TOR I suppose, never really played it, but I know the combat systems share quite a lot.)
my vast knowledge of tanking comes from playing a sorc as my main, but also having a fully geared warrior that I only play when we desperately need a meatshield more than dps. Tanking in Vanguard is rarely a case of mash button 1 , mash button 2. More often it is running hotkey macros to build agro, or dps depending on the situation. The three primary tank classes all have special abilities that make them uniquely qualified for what certain mob throw at them and their role in preserving the group or raid. These include invulns, rescues, taunts, force target, and buffs. Abilities also have potential crits and finishers. While some keybinds are auto-generated, most players will also build hotkey macros . If you are using the bound hotbars for these macros, then by default you are keybinding your primary skills. Otherwise you must either click the icon, or use combinations like ctl 1 to trigger an ability. The beauty of Vanguard is the variety of choices for play style and the variety of encounters. The traditional tank and spank fight is not the norm here. Most of the really good fights involve movement and shifting roles for the players involved. This is also why when people ask which is the best tank, they get mixed responses. If you like playing a DK you will love playing one here. welcome to the game.
Thank you very much, it sounds like a much more enjoyable experience. I do not like the simple 1 or 2 button smash as you have described (SW:TOR is not like that), and love tanking finesse. I do believe I will need some adjusting...but I am excited to try it. Also, thank you for a much better reply than on the EQ2 Forums haha.
if tanking here was like eq2 I would quit. eq2 raid mob encounters are horrible designs and just frankly dumb. I hope those concepts don't come into to the game. right now a defensive tank is a good tank. a lot of hp and mitigration.
Don't give it a second thought. Tanking in VG is very different to tanking in EQ II. I have played EQ II a good bit (although not at end game) so I can say with confidence you will find tanking in VG very different indeed. Yes, you will want skills bound to keys, and a few good macros. I have 7 macros I use, although 2 of them are situational and not used often. I also have other skills keybound, and use a few just by clicking the icon. With any boss-level mobs in VG, you will be thinking survivability first, not DPS, because many bosses in VG just plain hit like a truck. The DK in Vanguard has spells to use but is much more geared toward melee than the EQ II Shadowknight. If you decide to go DK just remember you really won't get a true feeling for what the DK is really like until you hit at least level 16 and get Ravaging Darkness.
Having alts along the leveling path, what it seems to me, will be difficult to learn much about tanking or healing, because almost every group overpowers the content it's trying to do. With tanking, you pull and the fight's over, with healing you stand around looking for any reason to cast a spell. I suggest short staffing the runs and trying them at entry level. When it's actually needed, tanking becomes very lively and reactive. Abilities are not redundant and almost all of them have a use sooner or later.
This all sounds wonderful! My friend is having a problem installing the game; double clicks it and her screen goes black ecept for an inch in the bottom right corner, which flashes black and to her desktop. Then has to cntrl alt delete to restart...trying to sort that out now haha.
