Does Tanking exist?

Does Tanking exist?

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Posted by: Acheron.4576

Acheron.4576

Does tanking exist in this game? I am a returning player after having been away for a while (like years a while) the new expansion has drawn me in. I always liked the sword and shield tank playstyle, but when I checked out build sites for suggestions, it is always high dps or support healing.

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Posted by: Leinhart.2981

Leinhart.2981

Yep, go chronomancer (mesmer spec) tank

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Posted by: voidvector.2780

voidvector.2780

Yes, it exists in raids.

In raids the tank role has mainly been filled by Chronomancer for the past 2 years because Chrono tank is actually 2 roles in one: tank and quickness/alacrity support.

There are raids that run Druid healer tank. They also fill 2 roles: tank and healer, but it is not as common because healer role needs to be more reactive in fights.

So all the tanks in GW2 raid since fair early on had been “two roles in one”.

Theoretically there could be a PS warrior tank (tank and PS support), but that hasn’t emerge.

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Posted by: Scipion.7548

Scipion.7548

Theoretically there could be a PS warrior tank (tank and PS support), but that hasn’t emerge.

This game is often disappointing. Tanking is a natural role for the warrior in every game. Players don’t play warriors to be support healers but to be tanks.

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Posted by: Aeolus.3615

Aeolus.3615

Even Berzerkers is a condi spec, should be the glass canon power version of warriors, we all know how stats and classes work on this game.

Scipion.7548, by ANet logic it would not be strange to find some class getting a melee bow. xD

1st April joke, when gw2 receives a “balance” update.

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Posted by: Valik Shin.9027

Valik Shin.9027

Theoretically there could be a PS warrior tank (tank and PS support), but that hasn’t emerge.

This game is often disappointing. Tanking is a natural role for the warrior in every game. Players don’t play warriors to be support healers but to be tanks.

Warrior aren’t brought for heals. They are offenvise support

Valik Shin
Darkwood Legion [DARK]
Yak’s Bend

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Posted by: Cloud Windfoot Omega.7485

Cloud Windfoot Omega.7485

Even Berzerkers is a condi spec, should be the glass canon power version of warriors, we all know how stats and classes work on this game.

Scipion.7548, by ANet logic it would not be strange to find some class getting a melee bow. xD

pistols used as clubs exclusively

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Posted by: voidvector.2780

voidvector.2780

Theoretically there could be a PS warrior tank (tank and PS support), but that hasn’t emerge.

This game is often disappointing. Tanking is a natural role for the warrior in every game. Players don’t play warriors to be support healers but to be tanks.

By avoiding pure Trinity this game has gotten to position where even though those roles exist, the meta for both roles are filled more optimally by hybrids — chrono (tank & quickness/alacrity support), druid (healing & GotL/GoE support).

I don’t think this is a bad thing. Anet can maintain this dynamic, but they just need to make other “hybrid” roles viable.

Does Tanking exist?

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Posted by: Cloud Windfoot Omega.7485

Cloud Windfoot Omega.7485

Theoretically there could be a PS warrior tank (tank and PS support), but that hasn’t emerge.

This game is often disappointing. Tanking is a natural role for the warrior in every game. Players don’t play warriors to be support healers but to be tanks.

By avoiding pure Trinity this game has gotten to position where even though those roles exist, the meta for both roles are filled more optimally by hybrids — chrono (tank & quickness/alacrity support), druid (healing & GotL/GoE support).

I don’t think this is a bad thing. Anet can maintain this dynamic, but they just need to make other “hybrid” roles viable.

I disagree… i believe that if a role is hybrid it should preform lower in both roles than a profession geared towards a single role.
Its rediculous to have a hybrid do a job better than a single class, you might as well just throw the single into the trash, because not only does that hybrid do it better, it does other useful things too. You just cannot invalidate another profession like that.

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Posted by: Acheron.4576

Acheron.4576

I agree with the previous comment. Hybrid builds shouldn’t be better than a focused build. The way it seems to be now, it completely invalidates any build that wants to focus in the area they are going for. This really limits the options when it comes to how people want to build their characters, which is something I thought Anet wanted to avoid.

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Posted by: voidvector.2780

voidvector.2780

Even for pure tank role, warrior is relatively lackluster.

Before chrono tank meta, tanks were mostly guardians or necros, as those classes had better self-sustains than warrior.

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Posted by: Exciton.8942

Exciton.8942

I agree with the previous comment. Hybrid builds shouldn’t be better than a focused build. The way it seems to be now, it completely invalidates any build that wants to focus in the area they are going for. This really limits the options when it comes to how people want to build their characters, which is something I thought Anet wanted to avoid.

But you have 10 skills + 3 specializations to trait from. With so many options, you can easily do more than one thing very well.

Unless they heavily nerf everything, player will always be able to do more than one focused role.

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Posted by: dradis.7385

dradis.7385

Theoretically there could be a PS warrior tank (tank and PS support), but that hasn’t emerge.

This game is often disappointing. Tanking is a natural role for the warrior in every game. Players don’t play warriors to be support healers but to be tanks.

By avoiding pure Trinity this game has gotten to position where even though those roles exist, the meta for both roles are filled more optimally by hybrids — chrono (tank & quickness/alacrity support), druid (healing & GotL/GoE support).

I don’t think this is a bad thing. Anet can maintain this dynamic, but they just need to make other “hybrid” roles viable.

The point voidvector is trying to make is that heavy armor classes traditionally fill the tank roles. It is unusual for a medium-armored class (Ranger) and for a light-armored class (Mesmer) to fill the tank role regardless of whether or not there is traditional trinity in the game.

ANet could very easily have designed warriors, guardians and revenants so that only these classes could fill the tank role in raids.

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Posted by: Joxer.6024

Joxer.6024

Back in vanilla WOW there were a few raid bosses that required Mages/Warlocks to tank and boy did they use to freak out….lol!!
But yea, ANET is trying to stay away from the old school Trinity but I don’t think you can ever really do that, just change up what class plays what role, and they are doing ok with it.

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Posted by: ButcherofMalakir.4067

ButcherofMalakir.4067

If i remember correctly, in wow druid was viable tank in bear form and he is wearing medium. You have to understand that mesmer is not tanking by geting hit but by dodging and blocking using his magic.

And it is not the case that specialized is worse then hybrid. You can go full healer but why when those heals are not needed, similary you can play full tank guardian that can never die but why when you can play mesmer and not be as immortal but doing something additional. Hell its the same reason why is berserker chrono more picked then defensive stats, because those defensive stats are overkill and wont make any diference, so why not bring some dps when it is for “free”.

(edited by ButcherofMalakir.4067)

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Posted by: Corax.7381

Corax.7381

Haven’t played it myself (duh), but I wonder if Spellbreaker will have any tanking potential. As others have said here, GW2 tanks aren’t picked for their survivability so much as what additional group utility they provide; you only have 10 spots, after all. Warrior obviously provides group utility, but if they simply DPS better than they tank, or if Chronos DPS worse than they tank, then there’s not much sense in swapping them. I mention it only because Spellbreaker seems to be a defensive/counterattack-focused spec that would fit the traditional tank functionality: “absorb or mitigate incoming damage”.

Maybe one day, we’ll have a traditional heavy armor, sword-n-board tank out there. But I somehow doubt it. ANet loves being different.

“Quaggan will kick your tail so hard it slaps you in the face!” – Willoo

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Posted by: Manijin.3428

Manijin.3428

The thing is, people still look at classes in GW2 the way they look at them in other games:

Warrior = Tank
Guardian = Off-tank/Healer
Elementalist = Ranged DPS/Healer
Ranger = Ranged DPS
etc.

GW2 isn’t structured like this. GW2 says “Here are classes. Classes have tools that make them fill a variety of roles in different ways. If you want to be tanky, build a class tanky and see what makes it different.” As to how well they’ve accomplished giving each class tanky/damage/support options, that’s a topic for another day, but fundamentally each class is designed around tools and playstyle, not a given role.

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Posted by: Bearhugger.4326

Bearhugger.4326

The thing is, people still look at classes in GW2 the way they look at them in other games:

Warrior = Tank
Guardian = Off-tank/Healer
Elementalist = Ranged DPS/Healer
Ranger = Ranged DPS
etc.

GW2 isn’t structured like this. GW2 says “Here are classes. Classes have tools that make them fill a variety of roles in different ways. If you want to be tanky, build a class tanky and see what makes it different.” As to how well they’ve accomplished giving each class tanky/damage/support options, that’s a topic for another day, but fundamentally each class is designed around tools and playstyle, not a given role.

What’s contested is more the fact that tanking is owned by a fashionista class instead of either one of the heavy armor classes. This is absolute nonsense, counter-intuitive and misleading. And frankly as one of the classes that has the cool armors it’s disappointing to be incompetent as a tank, especially when the guy that tanks well wears a dress.

I don’t think warriors would object tanking belonging to guardians or revenants, as long as you get at least one valid tank option for one of the heavy armor class.

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Posted by: Cloud Windfoot Omega.7485

Cloud Windfoot Omega.7485

The thing is, people still look at classes in GW2 the way they look at them in other games:

Warrior = Tank
Guardian = Off-tank/Healer
Elementalist = Ranged DPS/Healer
Ranger = Ranged DPS
etc.

GW2 isn’t structured like this. GW2 says “Here are classes. Classes have tools that make them fill a variety of roles in different ways. If you want to be tanky, build a class tanky and see what makes it different.” As to how well they’ve accomplished giving each class tanky/damage/support options, that’s a topic for another day, but fundamentally each class is designed around tools and playstyle, not a given role.

What’s contested is more the fact that tanking is owned by a fashionista class instead of either one of the heavy armor classes. This is absolute nonsense, counter-intuitive and misleading. And frankly as one of the classes that has the cool armors it’s disappointing to be incompetent as a tank, especially when the guy that tanks well wears a dress.

I don’t think warriors would object tanking belonging to guardians or revenants, as long as you get at least one valid tank option for one of the heavy armor class.

atleast guardians have guard in their name, ridiculous that warriors and guardians do not live up to the kitten namesake
Warriors are suppose to be good at fighting, not supporting
guardians are suppose to be good at guarding and light healing sure.

Its ass backwards when heavy armour cant do heavy armour things too. Why even bother.

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Posted by: Azure.8670

Azure.8670

The thing is, people still look at classes in GW2 the way they look at them in other games:

Warrior = Tank
Guardian = Off-tank/Healer
Elementalist = Ranged DPS/Healer
Ranger = Ranged DPS
etc.

GW2 isn’t structured like this. GW2 says “Here are classes. Classes have tools that make them fill a variety of roles in different ways. If you want to be tanky, build a class tanky and see what makes it different.” As to how well they’ve accomplished giving each class tanky/damage/support options, that’s a topic for another day, but fundamentally each class is designed around tools and playstyle, not a given role.

What’s contested is more the fact that tanking is owned by a fashionista class instead of either one of the heavy armor classes. This is absolute nonsense, counter-intuitive and misleading. And frankly as one of the classes that has the cool armors it’s disappointing to be incompetent as a tank, especially when the guy that tanks well wears a dress.

I don’t think warriors would object tanking belonging to guardians or revenants, as long as you get at least one valid tank option for one of the heavy armor class.

atleast guardians have guard in their name, ridiculous that warriors and guardians do not live up to the kitten namesake
Warriors are suppose to be good at fighting, not supporting
guardians are suppose to be good at guarding and light healing sure.

Its ass backwards when heavy armour cant do heavy armour things too. Why even bother.

Theres close to nothing that hits as hard as a condi warrior, if anything right now.

power warrior has always been extremely strong while giving offensive support. Warrior in every game is never the top damage dealer, just hangs out near the top while offering other things, just like gw2. Even in WoW Arms/Fury warrior hangs out near the top (sometimes drops to the middle) but never outclasses mage or rogue

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Posted by: Manijin.3428

Manijin.3428

The thing is, people still look at classes in GW2 the way they look at them in other games:

Warrior = Tank
Guardian = Off-tank/Healer
Elementalist = Ranged DPS/Healer
Ranger = Ranged DPS
etc.

GW2 isn’t structured like this. GW2 says “Here are classes. Classes have tools that make them fill a variety of roles in different ways. If you want to be tanky, build a class tanky and see what makes it different.” As to how well they’ve accomplished giving each class tanky/damage/support options, that’s a topic for another day, but fundamentally each class is designed around tools and playstyle, not a given role.

What’s contested is more the fact that tanking is owned by a fashionista class instead of either one of the heavy armor classes. This is absolute nonsense, counter-intuitive and misleading. And frankly as one of the classes that has the cool armors it’s disappointing to be incompetent as a tank, especially when the guy that tanks well wears a dress.

I don’t think warriors would object tanking belonging to guardians or revenants, as long as you get at least one valid tank option for one of the heavy armor class.

atleast guardians have guard in their name, ridiculous that warriors and guardians do not live up to the kitten namesake
Warriors are suppose to be good at fighting, not supporting
guardians are suppose to be good at guarding and light healing sure.

Its ass backwards when heavy armour cant do heavy armour things too. Why even bother.

So, warriors are good at fighting, and guardians are good at guarding and light healing.

I actually see arguments like these in table-top gaming. People feel like your class should define your capabilities rather than the way you build/play your character. Again, if warrior has problems tanking, I’d like to see the devs address the issue. It doesn’t, however, matter if warriors aren’t the BEST tanks.

Same goes for Guardian. If guardian literally cannot tank any encounters, regardless of gear or build, that’s a problem for the devs to sort out. If, however, they can, they just don’t offer different benefits that other classes do, that’s not a problem. The reason Chronomancer is chosen to tank is because the alacrity/quickness uptime is seen as a major boost to the group. It is not, from what I’ve been led to believe, necessary to complete content.

That doesn’t mean that tanking should be relegated SOLELY to the heavy armor classes. I’d like to see Earth Elementalist tanks, ranger tanks combining Bears with Taunts with Evasion, Rogue Evasion tanks that support by spreading poisons, and yeah, Warrior endurance tanks with a crap-ton of sustain that has to carefully time block and evade frames. All of these are great for the game… far better, in fact, than just making heavy armor classes the best tanks.

It’s all a matter of viability, not optimization.