Teras Kasi Archive

a "tank" is a player or pet who can stand toe to toe with an enemy. Tanks sacrifice offense for defense. Tanks hold the attention of the enemy while other players bombard the enemy.
If the tank fails, most of the team will perish since most of these offensive players lack the defense to stand up to an enemy.

Why it's done:
Tanking is a term used for a role a character (or pet) plays in group combat. The fundamental principle of combat is to maximize damage done, minimize damage taken. In a group that means those who can take the most damage without dying should keep the enemy on them. Those who can do the most damage are rarely the ones who can take the most damage.

In SWG most creatures (MOBs, NPCs) deal out kinetic damage - the kind melee professions are best-defended against, and ranged professions are most vulnerable to (generally speaking).

So, melee professions (unarmed, swords,polearms) are the frontline defense of a group most of the time.

How it's Done:
Melee fighters interpose themselves between the enemy and ranged (pistols, rifles, carbines, magic missiles...) group members. Melee try to aggro the enemy and attack them first but are highly defensive - they have to stay on their feet and keep the enemy attacking them.Ranged group members are then safe to go all out offensive. Melee frontline minimizes damage taken by the group, ranged in the rear maximizes damage done to the enemy.

Several skills in both ranged and melee professions are used to keep the enemy engaged with the melee and away from healers and ranged party members. Taunt is one which gets an enemy (or enemies, for area taunt) to attack the taunter. Meleecan taunt an enemy that runs at a ranged or medical group member to bring it back to the melee line.

Other skills used in protecting ranged and medical members are slowing and stopping attacks - root attacks - adn knock down (KD). A ranged member who sees an enemy (or enemies, even) pass the melee line to attack non-melee members can, depending on what skills they have, KD or root one or more enemies, buying time for the melee to get them under control.

Medics in the group usually hang between the ranged and melee fighters keeping behind the frontline, ready to heal the melee group members who are (or should be) taking most of the damage.

There are some finer points here and there, such as ranged players who are being attacked running to the melee line and stopping until a melee player can get the enemy's attention, returning to the firing line only when the enemy won't be in tow.

Remember: The surest sign of a crack melee team is a ranged team that never needs healing.