Warhammer Online: Return of Reckoning (RoR) offers a classic RvR (Realm vs. Realm) experience, and playing a tank effectively is crucial to your realm’s success. Tanks are the backbone of any group, soaking up damage, controlling the battlefield, and protecting their squishier allies. Here’s a guide to mastering the tank role in RoR:

The Core Philosophy of a RoR Tank

 

Unlike many modern MMOs where tanks primarily hold aggro through damage, RoR tanks excel at:

1. Damage Mitigation: Directly reducing incoming damage to themselves and, more importantly, their allies.
2. Crowd Control (CC): Disrupting enemy formations, preventing damage, and setting up kills for their DPS.
3. Debuffing: Weakening enemies to make them easier for your allies to kill.
4. Peeling: Protecting your healers and ranged DPS from enemy threats.

 

Essential Tank Skills and Their Usage

 

While specific skill names and effects vary slightly between the different tank careers (Knight of the Blazing Sun, Ironbreaker, Swordmaster for Order; Chosen, Black Orc, Black Guard for Destruction), the core mechanics and their application are similar.

 

1. Guard (Core Tank Mechanic)

 

• What it does: Guard is arguably the most important tank ability. When active on a groupmate within 30 feet, it transfers 50% of the damage they take and 35% of the hate they generate (in PvE) onto you.
• When it’s used:
  • Always be guarding someone! This is non-negotiable. Your primary goal is to keep your squishier allies alive.
  • Prioritize high-value targets: Generally, this means your healers first, then your high-DPS allies (especially ranged or caster DPS who are often targeted).
  • Situational Switching:
    • Emergency Peeling: If an enemy DPS suddenly switches onto one of your squishy allies who is taking heavy damage, quickly switch your Guard to them to absorb a significant portion of that damage.
    • Focus Fire: If your group is trying to burn down a specific enemy, Guard the allied DPS who is focusing that target. This allows them to stay aggressive without fear of being instantly burst down.
    • Objective Play: When guarding a flag or an important objective, you might guard a backline DPS or healer who is holding the point while you physically block incoming enemies.
• Example: Your Bright Wizard (BW) is getting focused by a Marauder and a Witch Elf. Your healer is busy healing the frontline. You immediately Guard the BW. Now, half the damage they take is transferred to you, allowing your healer to catch up or giving the BW a crucial window to escape or retaliate.

 

2. Taunts & Challenges (Threat & Damage Mitigation)

 

• Taunt (Single Target):
  • What it does: Forces a single enemy to attack you and, in RoR, often increases the damage you deal to them for a short duration. It also interrupts currently building abilities.
  • When it’s used:
    • PvE Threat Management: In dungeons and open-world PvE, this is your primary way to keep a specific mob on you.
    • PvP Interrupt & Focus: Use it on an enemy healer to interrupt a heal, or on a high-damage enemy to direct their attacks onto you, taking pressure off your allies. It can also be used to increase your damage output on a key target for your group to burst down.
• Challenge (AoE):
  • What it does: Forces multiple enemies in front of you to attack you and reduces the damage they deal to anyone other than you.
  • When it’s used:
    • Frontline Engagements: In large-scale RvR (Realm vs. Realm) battles or scenarios, use Challenge when you’re engaging a group of enemies to reduce their overall damage output on your team. Tanks will often rotate their Challenges to keep enemies consistently under this effect.
    • Objective Defense: When defending a keep door or a tight choke point, using Challenge on cooldown can significantly reduce incoming damage to your entire group.
• Example (PvP): A large enemy warband is pushing your keep door. As the primary tank, you charge in, hit your AoE Challenge, and then follow up with your single-target Taunt on their most dangerous melee DPS. This pulls their focus and reduces their damage on your squishy backline trying to hold the door.

 

3. Knockbacks & Knockdowns (Crowd Control)

 

• What they do: These abilities forcefully displace enemies, interrupting casts, creating space, and sometimes stunning them momentarily.
• When they’re used:
  • Peeling: This is a crucial peeling tool. If an enemy melee DPS is on your healer, use a knockback to send them flying, giving your healer precious time to reposition or heal themselves.
  • Environmental Kills: RoR has many ledges and cliffs. Punting an enemy off a cliff for an instant kill is incredibly satisfying and effective.
  • Interrupting Important Casts: While Taunt can interrupt, a well-timed knockback can disrupt a critical channeled ability or powerful cast from an enemy.
  • Isolating Targets: Knocking an enemy tank away from their guarded target can create a window for your DPS to quickly burst down a squishy enemy.
• Example: You see an enemy Bright Wizard starting to cast a powerful AoE nuke. You quickly use your knockback ability to send them flying, interrupting their cast and potentially saving your group from massive damage.

 

4. Defensive Buffs (Self & Group Survival)

 

• What they do: These skills vary by tank class but typically involve increasing your armor, resistances, parry/block/disrupt chances, or granting temporary invulnerabilities. Some also provide group-wide defensive bonuses.
• When they’re used:
  • Anticipate Burst: Use your defensive cooldowns before you take heavy damage, not after. If you see an enemy group focusing you, pop your defensive buffs.
  • Mitigate AoE Damage: Abilities like the Knight of the Blazing Sun’s “Hold the Line!” increase dodge and disrupt for allies behind you, making them excellent for defending against ranged and magical attacks in group engagements.
  • Objective Holding: When defending a flag or a bottleneck, using your group defensive buffs can make your team significantly tougher to dislodge.
• Example: You’re leading a charge into a crowded area in RvR. You anticipate incoming ranged and magic damage, so you activate a defensive buff like “Hold the Line!” (if you’re a KotBS) to bolster your allies’ defenses as you push in.

 

5. Debuffs (Weakening Enemies)

 

• What they do: Tanks often have abilities that reduce enemy armor, damage, healing received, or apply snares/roots.
• When they’re used:
  • Focus Fire Enhancement: Apply armor or resistance debuffs to the enemy target your group is focusing, helping your DPS melt them faster.
  • Controlling Movement: Snares and roots are excellent for preventing enemies from escaping or reaching your backline.
  • Damage Reduction: Debuffs that reduce enemy damage output can significantly ease the burden on your healers.
• Example: You’ve successfully taunted and guarded your healer, drawing the attention of an enemy Chosen. You then apply an armor debuff to the Chosen, allowing your allied DPS to chew through their defenses more effectively. If the Chosen tries to run, you follow up with a snare to keep them in range.

 

General Tanking Principles

 

• Map Awareness: Always be aware of your surroundings, where your allies are, and where the enemy threats are coming from. This dictates who you Guard, who you CC, and where you position yourself.
• Positioning is Key:
  • Protect the Backline: Position yourself between your healers/ranged DPS and the incoming enemy threats. Be a physical barrier.
  • Control Choke Points: Tanks excel at holding narrow passages or doorways, preventing enemy pushes.
  • Initiate & Absorb: Be the first one into a fight to absorb the initial burst and draw aggro.
• Communication: Call out targets, communicate your cool downs, and inform your healers if you’re taking heavy damage.
• Adaptability: No two fights are exactly alike. Be prepared to switch your Guard target, adjust your positioning, and prioritize different CC based on the flow of battle.
• Renown Skills: Invest your Renown points wisely into defensive stats like Toughness, Wounds, and parry/block/disrupt. Renown abilities like “Stand Your Ground” (increased incoming healing) or “Juggernaut” (temporary CC immunity) are incredibly valuable.
• Potions: Always carry healing and defensive potions. They can provide a crucial burst of survivability in dire situations.

By understanding and effectively utilizing these core skills and principles, you’ll be well on your way to becoming an invaluable tank in Warhammer Online: Return of Reckoning, leading your realm to victory on the battlefield!