I would say sns/hatchet because hatchet gives you a second aoe taunt with the biggest range.
Genesis is probably the most easy and i would try farming the repeatable temp quest because the reward gives you chests with corrupted ward armor that you can upgrade to legendary. Not sure if the gs is 590 if you open them when your gs is not over 590 yet tho.
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Thanks I will try that.
I’m running a Heavy SnS/BB, with a taunt on each weapon. But now I only have 150 const, there I will see if at some point I upload it but for now it will stay there.
I am new to tanking too. I have been running with sns and greatsword. I haven’t tried a dungeon higher than dynasty because my gear score is low. I would appreciate any tips with running the higher level dungeons.
Great sword isn’t a good weapon to use as a secondary. If you think about it, most of the great sword skills require you to have the great sword out for extended periods of time to get the most out of them which isn’t that great for a tanking secondary weapon. Compare that to hammer where you can just use your stuns or rends and then immediately switch back to SnS so that your team-mates can keep getting buffs such as leadership from you.
If you want to use SnS as your primary tanking weapon, then I would recommend either hammer or hatchet to start off with. Hammer is particularly good because the stuns, knockbacks and knockdowns can buy you and your teammates a lot of time to dps, get everyone some much needed healing or simply allow you to recover some stamina. One of the disadvantages of using Warhammer is that it has a small diameter taunt, so you have to be more alert of your surroundings before using it. If you just want easy mode taunting, then you can use a hatchet instead. the good thing about hatchet is it also gives you a defy death effect so that if you mess up at some point you can still recover. Hatchet also has some utility in the form of skills that rend your opponent increasing the damage they take but can also weaken your opponent and reduce their healing. One of the biggest benefits of hatchet that is rarely spoken about is that you can also spec it into a ranged weapon which can have its uses at times.
Great Axe also has a place in your arsenal so don’t pass it over! Grav well is a fantastic soft cc/allows you to clump mobs together which can really help your team in mowing down enemies. One great way you can use it is to clump melee enemies onto ranged ones.
Don’t be afraid to try tanking with great sword at some point too instead of SnS, it’s really fun and more active but it isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. Hope you have fun tanking!
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This entire statement is false. Full time PvE and PvP tank, M10 runner that runs with PUGs and speed clears, OPR, 3v3 player and I never run 300 Str unless I am running with speed clear groups so I can help pump more dmg. 3v3, OPR, War is all 200 Str / 310 Con. PUG expeditions is 250 Con, 260 Str
Weapons vary based on the content. Laz is SnS / WH, Genesis is SnS / GS, Barnacles is SnS / WH, any corrupt is SnS / GS. Hatchet is a great secondary option in pretty much all situations. OPR, 3v3, and War is always SnS / WH
300 Str is stupid as you have built in grit for both the GS and WH on heavy attacks which is the only attacks you should be doing with either of those weapons
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I’m Testing a GS Tank with 250/50/200 atm and if you know how to Deal with Boss mechanics … Oh Boy its a beast xD
I still carry SnS as a fallback but rarely use it.
Crafted a greatsword with Trenchant Recovery and Refreshing move= win xD
Thank you so much very useful information. Didnt consider the GA will give that a swing. I like the idea of pulling them on ranged mobs that sounds very useful.
I’m kinda new to tanking but I’ve been using SnS/BB and it’s been nice and fun. The BB fortify buff stays after weapon swap (they might change this tho), there’s good mobility, it’s pretty easy to pull mobs or get close to them and it’s good damage to help DPS.
There are lots of valid ways to tank, there is no single best way. I tank in heavy or light, with SnS/hatchet/spear/gs/wh depending on the situation.
One thing many players are not aware of is that the health bar color for mobs changes. If it is outlined in red, they are agro’d on you. If not, they’re on someone else. Your main job is to hold agro and survive. Keep track of how well you’re doing both to determine how well a given tanking method works for you.
My go-to tanking setup is SnS/Hatchet with 300 str (though I certainly agree with @Legendairy that 300 str is definitely not required). You basically never run out of large AoE taunts with this combo… hell, you don’t even need to hit anything to maintain agro (though you generally should be whacking stuff when able). The hatchet also offers great burst dps and tight-spot survivability (defy death) while the SnS allows for serious turtling when required.
I’ve been playing around a lot lately with GS tanking. It’s very different, but I think it has some serious potential. The defiant stance blocks while you are charging heavy attacks, and heavy attacks themselves have grit. Then the self-healing… between the capstone perk (5-15% self-heal), lifestealing, and trenchant recovery, I’ve seen self-heals up to 4k hp per swing, against a single target. The stacking bleeds from heavy attacks is pretty nice as well. It seems nearly invincible until something breaks your stamina mid-swing (since you’re blocking while swinging), at which point things can get a little hairy. I think a little better stamina management on my end should resolve this issue.
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As a melee DPS on a fresh start server I’ve become hyper-aware of that one, as half the time every mob in a pull save for one has that on me…
I want to say “maybe I just outgear our tank by that much” but when joining groups I seem to usually be the lowest on gear.
I can sit there and wait a bit before jumping in, and I will still rip aggro. Not to mention all those adds on the sides using ranged weapons go for me or the healer. I LoS them like an old-school tab-target MMO tank, and then run back out to bring them to the tank, and maybe one or two will peel off.
Seen quite a few healers call out tanks over “get aggro on everything please”.
Been thinking of trying tanking just because - the game seems to already think I am one. 
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I jumped back into NW in the BS update and made my new character a tank.
I tried a few builds but decided SnS/WH was the best fit for me.
I don’t have anything close to BiS yet but there is a 605 WH reward in one of the later BS side quests that I really like. One thing I did pick up though that I think is really good is the runeglass of leaching carnelian. I put one on my WH and i feel like it really takes some pressure off the healer and I haven’t noticed any drop in my ability to keep agro
I can provide better info when I hop on later if you need my stats
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Certain pulls are darn near impossible to pull and stack ranged with melee. It is the DPS’s job in higher mutations especially to kill said ranged adds. Sadly to many DPS are so focused on zug zug unga bunga must run face first into melee stack instead of using their brains and eliminating the super squishy archers. If the DPS (not saying you are) begin attacking before you have VISUALLY seen the tank use their AoE taunt, DPS is at fault and needs to be kicked from group. MMOs have been the same for decades, let the tank go in, group, AND TAUNT before attacking
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It really depends on your goals as a player and if those goals include a static group their goals for doing end game content assuming your doing this in PVE.
Hands down the most important utility for tanking in this game is threat and taunts. You can accomplish a 100% uptime on defiant stance (SNS) with refreshing wards on your gear, refreshing move on your sword and playing offensively and swinging your weapon. The most successful builds I’ve seen with this tend to lean into leadership and not defensive formation. This allows for high threat, high damage, and high uptime on all your defensive self buffs and your taunt.
I prefer to run hatchet as a secondary because it’s taunt is a large aoe taunt and i feel its superior to other taunts. Hammer is also good but you have to hit the mobs with shockwave to taunt them where hatchet berserk taunt is similar to defiant stance. Hatchet also has a lot of good DPS and a defy death which when groups are learning can come in handy for self heals and oh crap moments if you get good at weapon swaps.
So far I don’t think i’d consider tanking with a GS unless the group was okay with it. The big swings cause you to move around a lot more than I like to and it makes it harder on the rest of the group. The stance dancing also has a higher skill floor to perform.
I don’t think the GS and SNS pair well together if your going to tank with them you either need to pick one or the other to be the most well rounded.
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They can pair well but you need to use the GS as an offensive weapon to help push damage. Run Roaring Rupture, Cross Cut and Skyward Slash, go all the way to the bottom of the left tree for Unrelenting Onslaught. I tank most bosses in M10s with the GS this way and use it for most trash packs. Run in, group, Defenders Resolve, switch to GS and go ham
A lot of tanks don’t use their taunts well, if at all. Your experience sounds like such an example. Taunts are very handy for getting that initial agro from everyone in the room, and getting them all into a ball where a few whacks with a carnelian-equipped weapon will ensure they stay on you after the taunt wears off.
But lately I see a lot of tanks either not taunting, or dropping their WH taunt on one or two mobs instead of waiting for them to be a little more balled up. Which, ideally, the DPS should be helping with - grav well or the like.
Best build for tank is whatever each individual can hold aggro and not die. Dmg output is a big plus. Because no one wants a tank that hits like a wet flannel.
For me I wouldn’t tank in less than 300str, because grit is so useful.
My favourite tank build is 311 str and 200 con with hammer and SnS in heavy armour.
For me hammer is best weapon for pulls and SnS best weapon for bosses.
Sundering shockwave perk is a must. Fortifying shield rush perk on shield is a must.
PvE 300str/200con, with leaching/self-healing, it’s fun and survivability is great. SnS/WH WH is a great source of healing or rend/cc if the group is short in that.
Awesome advice thank you will give GS a go at some point but will start with hatchet