While I have my opinions on the use of taunt gems, and game design, that’s aside from my point here. Tanks in PVE are working fine, and Tanks in PVP are ok, we are discount dps, and honestly are just warm bodies on a point… that’s our purpose to take up space.
I do agree with some other post’s that the extreme diminished returns on the CON stat, need a buff, at very least let con scale like the other stats instead of cutting the amount of health we get after 200 in half or worse.
What I’ve not seen anyone comment on in this topic or any tanking topic, Is giving a solution that is pretty simple.
Give us a one handed weapon that can be equipped with the shield, ( Honestly ALL one handed weapons should be equip-able with a shield If we have to use shield to tank.) that scales on STR/CON for it’s damage. IDK maybe a one handed hammer or something.
There’s my two solutions, Make the “shield” slot an OFF HAND slot, that players can stick a stat stick in like a totem or charm or some other junk… and get some effects, and then let tank put their shield in it for their stats and shield… I realize that would mean overhauling Sword skill tree’s seeing as how one of them was literally meant for the shield. But this would be the best solution. Give shield it’s own skills. Make the player chose between shield skills and weapon skills with one handers if you’re worried about balance. Alternatively it’d be just as easy to give whatever “offhand” slot you create a few skills as well and just give us a third set of skills.
What’s drawing a ton of your hardcore and long-term players away from the game quickly is lack of variety. Not having the option to tank with multiple weapon and be as effective as Sword and Shield. Only having 6 skills is a design choice, that’s fine, but the lack of options and variety is driving the MMO players away. The combat is good, really good in this game. Just need you guy’s to turn up that dial to 10 from the 5-6 we are sitting on, and you’ll have a longer lasting title on your hands.
In short, while tanking is kind of functional in the game. It’s not polished, it’s not enjoyable from the standpoint of someone who’s tanked in every major MMO in the last 20 years. In other words There are mmo’s I’ve played for years dealing with all the bad dev decisions, and poor content generation, just because it was fun combat, and good Raid/PVE boss mechanics. *** This is not one of them in it’s current state.***