Good Tanking?

marcm713

What metrics do you use to determine if you did a good job tanking a dungeon?
The only data provided at the end of a dungeon is the amount of damage taken.
If you far and away take the most damage do you consider that a successful run?

I'm just curious.
Thank you,
Mc

benyr

Its not really that simple im afraid. An OP tanks by taking damage and turning it into power and turn that into temp hp. I believe but im not sure a GF tanks more by being able to avoid or mitigate damage.
So an OP is always likely to be higher than a gf on the damage taken, but not particularly because they did a better job. And also a lower geared tank will probably take more damage than a highly geared one simply as they may have a lower damage resistance stat.
Id say a tank is usually judged on holding aggro and how much power share or buffs they add back to the party.
That said if any non tank member of your party took more damage than you its likely to be because you were not holding aggro well enough, unless of course it was a gwf who insisted on charging off into mobs before you could get there!

dupeks

Tanks should also have the most DR, so in lower level dungeons it may be that even if they take the most hits, they take close to the least damage... That's a little silly but I've honestly had that happen on my prot OP.

As with most classes, the scoreboards at the end are tremendously unhelpful and at times even misleading / encouraging uncooperative behavior.

The way I measure effectiveness is essentially "party clear speed" in a dungeon that I know pretty well. FBI and MSP are good candidates, because anything easier doesn't really require a tank at all.

rjc9000

marcm713#3446 said:

What metrics do you use to determine if you did a good job tanking a dungeon?

The Immovable Object chart is based off postmitigated damage, ie, the damage you take after it's been reduced by teammate buffs (ex: AA) or your own damage resistance. Though Paladin will usually end up high on the chart, I don't advise aiming to take as much damage as possible, as there are attacks that you want to dodge rather than facetank.

So don't feel discouraged if you see your CW or TR or HR appear on top of the Immovable Object Chart. If anything, you should be concerned, since they probably don't understand what "gtfo out of red stuff" means.

__

Tanking well is kind of a hard thing to quantify. It's sort of like trying to define love: sure, you "can" attempt to define it, but putting it in words is going to sound more awkward than it would be to just see it and feel it.

I mostly look for a few things when I'm observing a tank. The little things you see can tell you a whole lot about how good the tank is, such as where the tank is getting the boss to face, what powers they use, when they use those powers, where they position, etc. That can tell you a whole lot if your tank is reliable or will be a nightmare to play with.

(Aside Note: Paladin is commonly joked to be the "brainless" tank, but it is totally possible to play a Tankadin poorly. You know what they say: if you build something idiotproof, nature builds a better idiot).

marcm713

great Input. I'm just looking for a way to guage my performance during dungeons.
I definitely need to work on improving my aggro.

thanks for the input guys!
Mc

theopv

RJC9000 said

"Tanking well is kind of a hard thing to quantify. It's sort of like trying to define love: sure, you "can" attempt to define it, but putting it in words is going to sound more awkward than it would be to just see it and feel it.

I mostly look for a few things when I'm observing a tank. The little things you see can tell you a whole lot about how good the tank is, such as where the tank is getting the boss to face, what powers they use, when they use those powers, where they position, etc. That can tell you a whole lot if your tank is reliable or will be a nightmare to play with.

(Aside Note: Paladin is commonly joked to be the "brainless" tank, but it is totally possible to play a Tankadin poorly. You know what they say: if you build something idiotproof, nature builds a better idiot).
"

Totally Agree with RJC9000. I tend to PUG a lot of dungeons on my GF and make it a habit to run in first, mark the lot and get them all to turn around so the rest get CA/less red/extra damage from hitting the backsides of enemies.....then...... the GWF gets to thinking I am trying to steal his damage and runs ahead.... (FACEPALM)

hirogarde

Tanking, IMO, is more about controlling the battle than anything else; determining where and how to fight any specific encounter. Should you pull multiple groups for an AoE mop-up, or take them one by one? Should you reposition the boss, or grab all the adds? Is the caster more dangerous, or the rogue?

In other words... a good tank knows their enemy, and their party. If I feel "in control" of the dungeon, I'm tanking well. When it starts to feel like someone else is driving... that's when I start looking for the problem.

If you're talking just Boss-tanking, nDemo round 1 is a good trial for a tank (eDemo for tank co-op trials). If you can keep him from attacking anyone but yourself, prevent pets from attacking him, and don't need anyone else's support (even if you've just made iLevel), you probably have the knack for tanking.

I usually only care about the end stats if something didn't feel right - to look for odd numbers and see if it was someone else who lost control of their ego, or (if everything looks normal) if I just need to learn the group/dungeon better.

... being a good paladin, on the other hand, is way more involved.

spelldazer

I guage my success by how smooth a run goes and how well I keep team members alive, buffed, and hitting optimally for the situation. If someone keeps going down and I am unable to mitigate it, I feel like maybe I could do better. Doesn't mean I can or should, but it makes me think. If the run is smooth, melty and aggro stays with me, I tend to feel like I did my job well.