The RPG Trinity : Tanks
The RPG Trinity is a concept you can find in a multitude of games to categorise the roles players can take within a group. It’s not the ONLY way, and we can explore other ways in another post, but it is where a lot of people and games gravitate towards, making group composition as easy and familiar to pick up as possible. The Trinity is made up of three main roles :
Tank : The main focus of enemies the group face off against. It’s the tanks job to take the hits, keep the enemy looking at them and protect the members within the group that couldn’t survive a direct strike or 2 from the enemy.
Healer / Support : When the enemy knocks them down, the healer picks them up. Healers look after the group by keeping everyone's health topped up, removing any curses or effects enemies may place on them, buffing their allies with extra damage/health/protection and if they have the time on top of all that controlling enemies with utility such as slowing their movement, rooting them in place or making them deal reduced damage.
DPS / Damage : Responsible for taking the enemies down, the DPS (Damage Per Second) are there to output as much damage to the target as possible. Target selection is key, and once they have locked on it's all about dealing the damage as quickly and efficiently as possible, normally based on a limited resource such as mana or energy.
“Raising their shield, the paladin charged towards the monstrosity before her. She could see the creature's eyes darting towards Riann as he desperately flicked through his spell book, trying to find the right arcane ritual that would close off the portal and send this hellish thing back to whence it came. It was her job to make sure he had the time without being interrupted or else the whole village could fall, and that's not something she could let happen. Propelling herself off the rocks under her feet, she screamed “Look at me you abomination - pick on someone who can take it!””
The tanks role in the party is to be the focus of enemy attacks and actions as much as possible, absorbing all they can, so the remaining party members more focused on other tasks (such as killing or controlling) can do their jobs without interruptions. Often seen as the first through the door in a lot of situations, they are the tough members of the group that can take hit after hit after hit and keep on going, buying the time that's needed to get the job done.
Typically within a group there is one tank, there to keep focus on all enemies around them allowing for the healer to have one primary focus and free up additional space in the group for more damage dealers. However, as damage gets higher and the stakes are raised, some groups run multiple tanks to allow for the spreading of that damage and effects over several health pools. There are also additional mechanics and effects that require more than one focus target (aka Tank Swapping), but that's a more advanced topic for another day.
To be a good tank, players / characters need to be 3 main things in my view:
Survivable : An obvious one for the person that is going to be taking the hits for an extended period of time, survivability consists of taking hit after hit and still coming back for more. Tanks can do this in a variety of ways which we will go into soon, but ultimately a tank made of paper that crumples after the first strike is no use to anyone.
Threatening : A tank cannot take the hits if they are not directed towards them. In some games and systems, this is as simple as just being the closest and most “in the face” of the enemy, in others it's about physically getting in the way of projectiles. In video games specifically, there are more explicit and gamified versions of this, with threat meters, taunts and auras that make the Tanks the most likely to be hit.
Aware : A “softer” skill that tends to separate the good tanks from the great tanks, being aware of all that's going on around them and positioning enemies appropriately can mean the difference between a party that succeeds and one that fails. This monster is going to spray a big poison spurt at me - better make sure it's turned away from the healer. There are going to be 3 more creatures coming down that hallway - time to go and stand near there to pick them up when they come in. The DPS have new monsters that are now attacking them - I should probably go and save them! Awareness is not an essential skill, but an aware tank that can see the battlefield and influence it can determine a party's success typically more than someone who deals a bit more damage etc.
Survivability is a very broad term that can be applied in a lot of ways across the tank types, and similar tanks across different systems and games apply it in multiple ways. I have tried to break it down into 5 key groups, and will give an example from one of the world's most popular MMORPG (Massive Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game - see why they use the acronym now?) World of Warcraft (WoW) from back when I used to play.
The Meat Shield Tank - This tank is big, beefy and takes a lot of hits. All about building as many hit points as possible so that when a hit does land, it takes a much smaller % of total health than it possibly would have done on anyone else. Its about trying to have the health take 10 hits that would normally slay an ally in 1 - The longer you survive, the longer your friends have to hit it back. Often the “simplest” of the tanks to build and think about with the sole number being hit points to focus on, for an example investigate the Guardian Druid within WoW.
The Mitigation Tank - This is the tank with all the shields and armour. Any hit you do take will hit you for significantly less than an ally, and as such you can continue to take a beating. Mitigation can come in many forms depending on the system, from raw armour to magic resists to shields that have to be broken or defeated before damage makes it through to the player character. This can be slightly more tricky to optimise than above as you have the match the mitigation type to the enemy you will be facing (a full metal plate armour against electricity may not work too well…) so depending on the system the tank may require multiple sets of equipment or gear, look into the Protection Warrior as an example.
The Self Heal Tank - You take a hit, but you recover and heal it back up again instantly. This can be combined with some damage you do to an enemy at the same time in a more vampiric spin on the concept, or the healing can come from within through more divine measures. These tanks have health pools that yo-yo around as they take hits and then recover from them very quickly. However, as soon as the self healing is out matched by the incoming damage, the yo-yo very quickly spirals into certain death as neither the self healing or the dedicated healer can keep up! Take a look at Blood Death Knights from WoW as a typical “vampiric” style of this, or Protection Paladins as the more divine version in some regards.
The Dodge Tank - If you can’t hit me, you can’t hurt me! This concept allows dodge tanks to keep the focus of the enemies and dart around their attacks in an attempt to take no damage from large swipes and swings that could otherwise cause huge damage to those caught within. Like any good anime fight scene however, when they do get caught by a blow it can deal catastrophic damage and potentially ‘one hit’ anyone standing in the way. This method of tanking dropped off as it became very difficult and binary to balance (You either dodge or you die doesn’t leave much room for healing or reaction) but Bear Druid Tanking, Brewmaster Monks and even Rogue Evasion tanking were all examples from a long time ago.
The Stagger Tank - That was a big hit, but I won’t feel the effect of it for another few seconds! Stagger tanking is about taking the single big hits and spreading it over a period of time to allow reactive actions to happen, such as healing or shielding or preventing some of the damage from happening. Similar to a Mortgage or a Credit Card, this can allow you to take a bigger hit than you possibly could have on your own in the first place, but beware of having to pay back that health cost with interest over the remaining time. Stagger tanks rely on being able to react after something has happened rather than proactively preventing the damage coming in through dodging, mitigation or armour. For a classic example, check out the Brewmaster Monk.
Tanks are often the most underrepresented role within the trinity, with people preferring to specialise more towards the Damage or the Healing role. I think that comes from two main reasons, one being psychological and one being community driven. Psychologically the Tank is typically a “supportive” style of role, with very few flashy plays or big numbers in most instances - when they get the job done perfectly then nothing exciting can be perceived as happening. Most people play games to escape from work or boredom, and so the role of being in the background can be less appealing and as such people don’t take it on. That’s not necessarily true, but for some it can seem that way as they try to seek the biggest damage numbers or to be the one to land the killing blow.
The other reason is the level of pressure that can come with being a tank. As the tank is “first through the door” in a lot of cases, they tend to control the flow and pacing of the group. Coupled with the awareness discussed above of what is happening or could happen during any encounter, and the potential “game knowledge” needed to do that well, there is a large pressure on the tank to get it right, and when they get it wrong it can be very very obvious to those around them. That's ok, everyone makes mistakes, but when those mistakes are very noticeable and some communities within the gaming world are known for being offensive, rude, not forgiving of mistakes or downright vindictive, would you want to step up to the plate when there was a lower stress option available?
Being a tank for the group can be a massively rewarding and engaging role, quite often making you the de-facto leader of the group in combat situations and possibly outside of them as well. The difference between a good tank and a great tank is more than just numbers and type, it's in the softer skills of awareness, pacing and group management in a lot of cases, but if it's something you can get right you will be loved and sought out by groups across the gaming system as a figurehead to build around. And if you find a good tank - hold onto them… they can be like gold dust!
How do you find playing a tank in the systems and games you enjoy?
Are there any styles of tanks that I missed above?
Do you enjoy the added pressure of being the controller of pacing?
