Tanking

Tanking is a term that refers to protecting your allies and companions by attracting enemy attention towards you whilst using abilities and equipment that provides the most resilience to damage. Sith Warriors, Jedi Knights, Bounty Hunters, Troopers, Jedi Consulars and Sith Inquisitors can choose to become tanks.

Overview
Tanking is one of three roles in the game players can take, with the other two being healer and damage dealer. While the tank keeps enemies attacking them, damage dealers kill enemies and healers keep the tank and the rest of the party alive. Tanks focus on equipment that enhances their survivability and reduces incoming damage via armor, shields or through dodging/deflecting attacks completely.

Threat
In order to attract enemy attention, tanks use threat. Threat is a numerical value that determines who an enemy is going to attack. Threat is increased by healing damage taken or by doing damage to an enemy. Tanks have modifiers on their damage to increase the amount of threat their damage generates, so that while they cannot out-damage a damage dealer, they can generate more threat and maintain the enemy's focus.

Mitigation
Mitigation refers to how much damage a tank can either reduce through armor or shields or avoid completely. The combination of threat and mitigation to attract enemy attention and then reduce the damage done by those enemies ensures that enemies do the least amount of damage to the party as possible.

Damage reduced by shields is more steady and predictable than damage avoided completely by dodging, and in operations steady damage is more favourable than "spiky" damage that can catch healers off-guard and cause panic. However, damage negated by dodging is damage that doesn't have to be healed at all; both forms of mitigation carry benefits.

Tanking in Warzones
In The Old Republic, tanking can be done in Warzones. While the aspect of threat doesn't apply to players, tanks can use Guard to protect a chosen ally and Taunt to reduce damage done to others. Damage redirected or mitigated in this way is referred to as 'Protection' on end-of-warzone scoreboards and earns the player medals.