Aurrorian's Guide To Being A Tank

Ladies and gentlemen, may I present to you the firstever guide on how to be a DDO tank, by a NOOB. Though I may not have the experience and/or the credentials, hopefully this guide will help other noobs play as one of the most unique roles in MMORPGs. Feel free to edit this page if you find anything wrong or missing, but say what you edited in the disscussion page. Anyways, back to the topic.

What Is A Tank?
For all of you people out there who don't know what one is, it is someone who controls aggro, basically meaning someone who has the enemy attack him/her instead of someone else. And this is a good thing, because tanks have high health and defences to withstand and shake off almost any attack. They are the protectors of the people, able to take a blow or two for a comrade.

What Is A Tank's Role?
In a party, the tank's job is to have the enemy attack him/her instead of his/her fellow allies, allowing hem to focus on their own jobs and remain unscathed. This will save much healing needed to sustain the whole party, instead focusing on the tank only, who usually doesn't need it at all. They may also sometimes opt for a more offensive role in some case-scenarios.

What Special Mechanics/Abilities Do Tanks Have?
Tanks rely on primarily five, which are:


 * 1) HP- Lots of HP (Health Points) are required to sustain a tank, so they can keep on fighting for as long as they need to. The more the merrier! In DDO, ways of improving HP are having a high Constitution score, having the Toughness feat/enchancements, and having items (i.e. False Life)/buffs (spells that improve you; i.e. Aid).
 * 2) AC- Known as Armor Class, this is probably the mechanic that tanks are known for. The higher your AC, the harder it is for the enemy to hit you (melee-wise). Ways of improving your AC are wearing good armor, having a high Dexterity (though heavy armor puts a limit on how much of your Dex mod. you can apply), having some feats (i.e. Dodge), enchancements (i.e. Armor Mastery), and other items (i.e. Protection)/buffs (i.e. Barkskin).
 * 3) DR- Standing for Damage Reduction, it basically does what it says it does, reducing damage that is it dealt to you. You can get this from feats (i.e. Shield Mastery), enchancements (i.e. Damage Reduction Boost), and DR #/- items/buffs (i.e. Stoneskin).
 * 4) Threat- A special mechanic that only tanks use, "threat" basically means how dangerous the tank. The more threat you have, the more enemies want to attack you, much to their demise. Ways to improve your threat are using the Intimidate skill, which directly "threatens" the enemy, having a high Charisma to support it, feats (i.e. Skill Focus: Intimidate), enchancements (i.e. Improved Intimidate), and items (i.e. Intimidate +#)/buffs (i.e. Eagle's Splendor).
 * 5) Saves- A different type of defence, this protects people from spells/traps. There are three in all, Fortitude, Will. and Reflex. Tanks will need this to protect themselves from enemy spellcasters that won't attack a tank's AC. You can improve this by having a high Constitution, Dexterity, and Wisdom, having feats (i.e Iron Will), enchancements (i.e. Resistance of Good), and items (i.e. Resistance)/buffs (i.e. Heroism).

How Do You Build A Tank?
Well then, to start off with, we will need a class that can utilize all of the above mechanics to their fullest potential. Two classes stand out from the rest: the Fighter and Paladin. Lets compare them both:

Fighter
Has the abilty to become more proficent with their armor, eventually taking away armor check penalties and increasing the Dex mod. allowance of heavy armor/tower shields. Has automatic proficency with tower shields, which is central to a fighter tank. Stalwart Defender enchancement is more melee defence oriented than the Paladin's Defender of Siberys. Extra feats are handy. Can have better AC than the Paladin, but nothing else much. Not as much offensive power, though can specialize in a weapon.

Pros: High AC, Specialization in Armor/Shields, Better Melee Defence, Automatic Tower Shield Proficency

Cons: Only Specialized in Defence, No Variety

Paladin
More versatile than the Fighter. Can take the Bulwark of Good enchancements to improve it's AC without the need for Dexterity. Also has better saves than the Fighter, with it's Divine Grace ability and other enchancements. Can share buffs such as Bulwark of Good with the rest of the party via Aura of Good. Can also self-buff. Smite Evil can be a nice offensive option. Defender of Siberys is more balanced than Stalwart Defender, and also grants special buffs. Charisma focus helps improve Intimidate. Lay on Hands is neat, acting as a self-heal. Can activate Divine Righteousness to double threat. Not as much AC as the Fighter. Not as many feats as the Fighter means that you should choose wisely.

Pros: Balance, Saves, Cha Improves Intimidate, Handy Powers/Spells, Extra Threat, No Need for Dex

Cons: Lower AC, Regular Amount Of Feats

Now we shall look at the races. The dwarf, human, half-elf, and warforged races are best for the role of a tank:

Dwarf
With their focus on Constitution, Dwarves are can be very hard to take down. Also has enchancements that allow you to become more proficient with your armor, just like the Fighter. Has proficiency with Dwarven Axes, so can be offensive if wanted. Anti-racial enchancements (i.e. Dodge Giants) help even further against certain races. Has resistances to poison, which are handy. Lower Charisma means Dwarves won't be as great at Intimidate.

Pros: Hardiness From Constitution, Armor Proficiency, Better Offense

Cons: Low Charisma/Intimidate

Human
Considered the all-around race. Some things do help tanks. Extra feat is handy. Extra skill points help training in other skills besides Intimidate. Improved Recovery increases healing granted to you, saving healers some extra Spell Points. Human Adaptability allows you to increase any ability score. Human Versatility gives temporary boost to different stats. What really stands out is Dragonmark of Sentinels. Extra bonuses to Intimidate and special protection buffs. Enchancements/Dragonmark will take up space though. And Humans by themselves aren't much.

Pros: Extras, Improved Recovery, Human Adaptability, Human Adaptability, Dragonmark of Sentinels

Cons: Enchancements/Dragonmark Will Take Up Space, Are Nothing Much By Themselves

Half-Elf
Cross between human and elf. Keen Senses help skills that detect objects/danger. Immunity to sleep is nice. Social Graces helps Intimidate.

INCOMPLETE