How to tank in an MMORPG: threat, taunt and holding the boss

Tank is the most responsible role in a party and the scariest one for a newcomer. It feels like you need to know everything at once: who the boss is hitting, when to use your defences, why the healer is complaining. In practice, tanking rests on three things — threat, taunt and a big Health pool. Let’s go through them using Zarhold, a card MMORPG in your browser, where combat is a turn-based duel of decks and the rules are visible right on the board.

What a tank does in a party

Dungeons are for three — a tank, a healer and a damage dealer; raids and world bosses are for five: a tank, a healer and three damage dealers. Everyone has a job:

• the tank pulls enemies onto themselves and keeps them there while the others do their work;
• the healer keeps the party standing — the tank first of all;
• the damage dealers take the enemy’s Health down, the faster the better.

If the tank loses the boss, its blows land on the healer or a damage dealer, who have less Health and weaker armour. That’s why a good tank isn’t the one with the most Health, but the one the boss is always standing on.

Threat: who the boss hits

Every enemy keeps a threat count: the damage each party member has dealt to it adds up. On its turn an enemy hits whoever has the most threat. That’s the classic newcomer trap: a damage dealer who hits harder than the tank pulls the boss onto themselves.

A tank has two answers:

1. The tank’s damage weighs more. While a hero’s class power is Taunt, their damage generates three times the threat (×3). The talents window shows it right on the defensive tree: “Guardian ×3”.
2. Taunt — more on it below.

You can see whom an enemy is about to hit in advance: under its Health bar there’s a “hits …” marker with the target’s name. If the enemy is aiming at someone other than the tank while a living tank is in the party, the marker turns red: the enemy isn’t hitting the tank — time for the tank to Taunt.

Taunt: how to hold aggro

Taunt is the tank’s class power: a round button that costs 1 Crystal, once per turn. In a party fight against creatures it works like this:

• it holds all enemies at once — the boss, guards and minions — starting with the enemy turn right after you press it;
• it holds them for 2 enemy turns; the number on the icon shows how many of their turns are left;
• it raises the tank’s threat on every enemy above the highest in the party (by 10%) — so even after it fades the boss stays on the tank unless damage dealers out-threat them;
• while it holds, damage from creatures to the tank is 40% lower — and also during the rest turn right after it;
• after it fades, the button rests for one of your turns.

You can read the cycle from the ring around the button: gold — ready, white — holding, orange — resting. The advice in the “How to beat” boss guides is simple: press Taunt as soon as it’s ready.

How much damage a tank can take

A tank in Zarhold doesn’t drop from a single blow at full Health — party fights against creatures have damage limits:

• a single enemy blow takes no more than 59% of Health;
• one enemy turn — all blows together — takes no more than 75%;
• the “window to heal” in boss fights: if a hero lost more than 50% of Health in one enemy turn, the next enemy turn takes no more than 40%.

Under their own Taunt, and during the rest turn after it, a tank has the same limits as everyone else. Without it the tank’s limits are higher — up to 80% per blow and 90% per enemy turn — one more reason to keep Taunt cycling. All in all, a heavy boss blow isn’t a death sentence but a signal to the healer to top the tank up next turn. Two heavy turns in a row without healing are dangerous.

Who can tank

Four of the ten classes can tank: Barbarian, Lightbringer, Revenant and Druid. Three of them wear plate, and the Barbarian and the Revenant are the toughest classes in the game. More in the class guides: Barbarian, Lightbringer, Revenant, Druid.

Taunt comes from the defensive talent tree — each of these classes has its own. Your class power follows the tree with the most points in it, and talents unlock at level 10. If you pick the tank role with the wrong tree, the game warns you that Taunt comes from another tree and offers to switch it — or to go as a tank anyway.

Don’t want to tank from day one? You don’t have to: in level 10–27 dungeons a free tank slot is always covered by a world resident. Who residents are is explained in Dungeons with NPC companions.

Six tips for tanks

1. Press Taunt as soon as it’s ready. Especially when the boss summons minions: it holds every enemy at once.
2. Save defensive cards for the rest turn. A shield and self-healing matter most when the ring turns orange.
3. Watch the “hits …” markers. A red marker means it’s time to Taunt or to ask a damage dealer to hold back their biggest hit.
4. Don’t forget your racial ability and bandage. A bandage is one per fight — use it when your Health has clearly dropped, not at the last second.
5. Read “How to beat” before a boss. The level 60 boss guides say what the boss does and when, the most a hero can take from one hit, and step-by-step tactics: How to beat.
6. Practise risk-free. The Training Yard has a Level 60 Boss dummy, and the Strikes back setting gives it the strike of a dungeon boss of your level. You can add a resident tank and healer to your side. More in The training dummy and a damage meter.

Tanking with world residents

If you tank and world residents fill the other slots, since the 22 October update (v0.9.715) the game recognises you as the tank: your damage generates three times the threat, your stance holds through the rest turn, and the boss really stays on you. And residents who take the tank role themselves got sturdier: their armour is no longer cut down, and in combat they have their racial ability and a bandage of their level.

Tanking FAQ

Do I need Taunt in PvP?

There is no threat in PvP: your opponent picks their own targets. One-on-one and in the arena Taunt only gives armour — it can hold enemies only in a party fight against creatures.

How many turns does Taunt hold?

2 enemy turns, starting with their turn right after you press it. Then the button rests for one of your turns, and all that time the tank takes 40% less damage.

What if a damage dealer pulls the boss?

Press Taunt: it instantly lifts your threat above the highest in the party. If it’s resting, hold on for a turn with defensive cards, and the damage dealer should hold back their biggest hit until the boss is back on the tank.

Can I tank without the defensive tree?

You can queue as a tank, but without Taunt you have almost nothing to hold the boss with — the game will warn you and offer to switch trees.

The bottom line

Tanking isn’t about having the most Health — it’s about control: watching threat, pressing Taunt on time, saving your defences for the rest turn and giving the healer time. In Zarhold all of these rules are visible on the board — the target marker, the button ring, the damage limits. Open the game, pick a Barbarian, Lightbringer, Revenant or Druid, and try to hold your first boss. And to choose a class for your role, read Which class to choose.