Guild Wars 2

Easy question for those who know! I want to make some sort of tank and I am wondering what the experts might consider the “best” proffesion for this?

Thanks in advance!

imo it would be Guardian good thoughness and some healing im running guardian in dungeons with guildies and its a nice setup also its a wanted class for healing with ele

tbh it often basically comes down to the 2 soldier classes, guardian tends to get more supportive defensive rolls at the cost of a lot lower hp.

However you’ll find tanking to be quite hard to actively do tbh due to the way aggro is worked out and the lack of any actual threat control you either have to coordinate well with the team or hope the calculations fall your way more than not.

Aggro is different in this game than what I am used to yes…
I am thinking about the Guardian though, but would I be able to solo some parts of PvE aswell? Just for fun.

Guardian solo very well in all parts of PvE (except WvW, of course).

guardian can solo as much as any other profession can.

The only things that pose a problem are those that are designed for groups (dungeons, most champions etc) but very few people can actually solo them and often comes down to player skill and experience than the class in those situations.

@yramrag i disagree ive seen guardians in wvwvw that can take on 6 people and walk away with minimum loss of HP ofcource it depends on gear/weps/traint and consumables

Dutch Rental.8360:

@yramrag i disagree ive seen guardians in wvwvw that can take on 6 people and walk away with minimum loss of HP ofcource it depends on gear/weps/traint and consumables

And enemy competence

thats true unfortunately

I got a warrior, that has full exotic vitality /thougness / power armor, ascended gear and the soldier runes (that removes conditions with shout).

When I trait for shout healer, nothing kills me. I don’t kill stuff that heals itself either, but you asked for a tank, so…

Food is important too. You can go for food that gives more dodges or for healing food.

G U A R D I A N. period.

I have 6 lvl 80s and 2 lvl 60s. I’ve played them all. War and Guardian were my first two. Guardian is def the tankiest. Ele maybe coming in second.

Guardians have more blocks and heals than any other class. My guardian runs glass canon all dmg stats with a hammer, and is still more tanky then most other professions. I use mine for dungeons and WvW, always the first to charge a zerg and the last man standing (well, not always, but I have no fear of charging in on the front line, that’s where we belong).

If you want a true tank in a game that’s designed to be a bit anti-tank, that would be the Guardian. They have the most potential to reduce incoming damage on a consistent basis, which they will then heal back.

Having said that, there are many classes which can temporarily off-tank in PvE. My Thief is designed to do this and I’ve survived temporarily holding aggro on Champion mobs in 80th PvE when I have all of my tricks available. You can’t survive a Champion for very long, but locking down Veteran mobs in some kind of off-tank spec isn’t that hard.

Odin.1354:

Easy question for those who know! I want to make some sort of tank and I am wondering what the experts might consider the “best” proffesion for this?

Thanks in advance!

This game doesn’t have a Tank/Healer/DPS role.
And there are no BEST professions. Just professions you like based on your play style.

I recommend you watch this video to learn how the combat system and mechanics function:

Also check this next video out to get an idea on how ALL 8 Professions play in combat. You can also use this as a (Guide) to get an idea on what your style may be:

For better details on Combat/Armor/Traits selection, check out the (Written) guide below:

https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/game/players/GW2-Combat-system-101-Guide/first

Good luck! =)

There most certainly are some professions that are better than others! My guardian cannot possibly reach the damage potential of a warrior, just as other classes cannot match the tank potential of my guardian.

Every class can do it, best depends on the skill of the player. Passive defenses are easier but you don’t have as much control. Active defenses require using the right skill at the right time and lag can eat you alive.

This makes me want to take a Tank Mesmer into a Dungeon, once I get some practice and all the right gear.

Just imagine, all those Clones (Signet of Illusions) having the same high Toughness, being spawned in Melee, and constantly Crippling/Random Debuff nearby targets when they die/get replaced. It won’t work 100% of the time against all mobs, but quite a number using the simplistic “Closest and Highest Toughness” aggro rules over the other possibilities lets this work. If Clones don’t do the trick? I.Defender + The Mesmer myself would tank.

Still trying to decide on the best method to that madness is though.

From my experiences, the three best “tanks” in the game are warriors, guardians and thieves. Each “tanks” with a different style.

A mace/shield warrior has both high defense and a large pool of health. The downside is limited condition removal.

A mace/scepter guardian can have great defense piled on top of five passive heals-over-time. The downside is things can take a while to kill.

A dagger/dagger thief can dodge and evade attacks almost without limit. The downside is being stunned without a stun-breaker can ruin your day.

I haven’t played a mesmer yet, but I’ve been theory-crafting a clone-spamming tank build with increased defense for each clone and increased defense while wielding a staff. I don’t know how viable such a build will be, but I’ll find out the moment a suitable race for the mesmer is released.

MLieBennett.9031:

This makes me want to take a Tank Mesmer into a Dungeon, once I get some practice and all the right gear.

Just imagine, all those Clones (Signet of Illusions) having the same high Toughness, being spawned in Melee, and constantly Crippling/Random Debuff nearby targets when they die/get replaced. It won’t work 100% of the time against all mobs, but quite a number using the simplistic “Closest and Highest Toughness” aggro rules over the other possibilities lets this work. If Clones don’t do the trick? I.Defender + The Mesmer myself would tank.

Still trying to decide on the best method to that madness is though.

I know someone who does from time to time and you forgot Distortion and Blurred Frenzy.

darkace.8925:

A dagger/dagger thief can dodge and evade attacks almost without limit. The downside is being stunned without a stun-breaker can ruin your day.

Sword/Pistol seems better in every way.

1 – permanent cripple and weakness with the right setup
2 – teleport/stun break/condition removal/immobolize all in 1
3 – stun/evade
4 – daze
5 – blinds and provides smoke field to keep blinding

DreamyAbaddon is it necessary to copy/paste that post into a thread where “Guardian” is a very concise and correct answer?

RebelYell.7132:

DreamyAbaddon is it necessary to copy/paste that post into a thread where “Guardian” is a very concise and correct answer?

No because “Guardians” are NOT Tanks.
Read my previous post and watch my videos.

guardians CAN tank though and they are one of the best.

just like elementalists can be healers and such, the roles still exist and people can play those roles if they want, they just aren’t distinct.

No matter how many times you state otherwise doesnt change that fact.

Dasorine.1964:

guardians CAN tank though and they are one of the best.

just like elementalists can be healers and such, the roles still exist and people can play those roles if they want, they just aren’t distinct.

No matter how many times you state otherwise doesnt change that fact.

I have done a lot of runs on Dungoens without Guardians, Elementalist, and Warriors. It goes pretty fast, effeciant, and smooth without Tanks/Healers wana beees.

The goal is to coordinate Control/Support while contributing Damage in group runs.
The moment someone handicaps themselves by lacking 1 of the 3 combat mechanics in Damage/Control/Support is the moment I’ll be disbanding party without hesatation since I refuse to babyist someone who chooses to die a lot by Tanking/taking hits or not doing anything but button smashing skills for high dps.

(And yes, I have done that plenty of times before) – Which my solution was to play with friends rather than PUGS.

Not saying you have to do what I do, but I am saying Tanking is useless as much as being a healer/support. You are Responsible for yourself and contributing in your team. You are no good if you end up dead.

Move, Dodge, Support yourself, Keep control of fight with your group and deal Damage to kill enemies fast as possible.

You may Not want to accept how the combat mechanics function, but that doesn’t mean you have to feed false information. There are no specific roles. That’s a Fact.

You can Build a Tanky character, but you’ll ALWAYS have Damage/Control/Support skills as well as moving and dodging to keep you in control of fights to evade attks.
Don’t use your skills? Then you’ll end up dead and it’s your fault. Don’t blame the team for your mistakes for not coordinating skills needed to keep yourself alive and an asset.

Except tanking is a form of both control and support.

Your the one limiting people to just a specific role (aka that of what you think of as control/support damage dealer)

If I roll my guardian to be tanky that means not only can I survive taking those hits, I’ll be the primary target allowing others to focus more on other things while I don’t die because tanking isn’t just about taking the hits but utilizing movement to avoid those hits that you need to/can and using other systems to prevent hits and such.

Yes you dont need anyone to roll out a tank spec to do anything, just like you don’t actually need and support or control, 5 dps can do all the PvE content.

However if someone does enter a group with a spec designed for tanking, and they do it well it takes that much more heat off everyone else.

You can do basically any of the usual trinity, or you can mix it up, or you can do something stupid and try and run something with no direction and completely balanced stats and end up being even worse than those that specced for “unnecessary” roles.

The fact that someone that is tanky or is healy would still have access to other skills (unless they really focused and went completely tank/healer) doesn’t change the fact that they can do that role while also doing other things, heck even WoW doesnt stop a tank also doing damage and support or a healer from having control and damage.