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 Juggernauts, Jedi Guardians, Powertechs, Vanguards, Sith Assassins and Jedi Shadows can choose to become tanks.
Overview[]
Tanking is one of three roles in the game players can take, with the other two being healing and damage dealing. 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.
Combat style differences[]
While Guardians, Juggernauts, Vanguards and Powertechs are the conventional heavy armor tanks that act as human shields, Shadows and Assassins are "light tanks", relying on hit and run tactics and shields while making precision strikes on the enemy's weak links with the aid of stealth. Vanguards and Powertechs are the combination of the other two types, able to act as human shields while exploiting enemies' weak points.
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.
Equipment for tanks[]
Equipment for tanks have these item prefixes:
- For Guardians/Juggernauts: Bulwark's Gear, War Leader's Gear
- For Shadows/Assassins: Duelist's Gear, Survivor's Gear
- For Vanguards/Powertechs: Demolisher's Gear, Supercommando's Gear
Crafted items[]
- Asylum armor (from armormech)
- Aegis armor (from synthweaving)
- Asylum pistols and rifles (from armstech)
- Asylum lightsabers, saberstaves and shields (from artifice)
- Bulwark and Bastion Relays (from cybertech)
- Bulwark and Bastion Packages (from biochem)
Other[]
- Planetary Protector Gear (from story missions)
- Relics of Fortunate Redoubt, Relics of Reactive Warding (from story missions or crafted)