Tank Guide

[ceruulean]

DN TANK GUIDE

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Google Doc version: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1...it?usp=sharing

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I. Introduction



Tank refers to a class archetype that performs as a defender. This can mean diverting attention as a decoy/bait, or intercepting enemy fire directly. The goal is to place the enemy in a more favorable spot and protect anyone from assault. More specifically, a tank’s primary role in PvE content is to control the boss' positioning. This is accomplished with the aid of a "taunt:" a skill that elevates your own threat level above your party mates’. As a result the boss will focus on you.

Why is the tank role valuable? Unlike other MMOs, where damage is absolutely unavoidable, every single attack in Dragon Nest can be dodged. Many people will say a tank in Dragon Nest is unnecessary. However, in a fight defense taxes the most energy. After all, the other guy’s trying to kill you too. When you are defending, you are not attacking. The goal of every fight is winning, and you cannot win if you’re on constant defense. As a tank, you take on the burden of team defense, in exchange for increased team offense.


Tanking is a role of service where patience is the greatest virtue. The difficulty in tanking is that your performance is the hardest to measure. At times you will be appreciated immensely, and at times you will be scorned furiously. People have different expectations, and you may be pressured to call mechs or expected to contribute nothing. When starting out, adjusting to a different mindset is frustrating. However I believe every person should try the role that has no definite answers: Unlimited! Creativity! Works!


II. Basic Procedure



These purposes are ranked in priority from highest to lowest that will determine how you use your skills.

1. Maintain aggression ("aggro")

Make sure the taunt hits and you have the boss’ attention. The moment you lose aggro you must regain it ASAP.
Warning: Provoke, Punishing Swing and Taunting Blow all overwrite each other. Sniper's Deathbloom and Engineer's Alfredo Smash are the lower priority taunts.

2. Position boss

You lead the boss to a spot that is most convenient for your teammates, although not necessarily convenient for the tank. Depending on the boss, this means focusing his attacks toward a wall instead of the center of the map, taking him on trips around the map, or leading him to a wellspring so your teammates can stand near it. Wherever the boss goes, your party will follow. How you position the boss should solely be for your party’s benefit.

3. Boost party defense

Normally when the boss is positioned well there is minimal risk to your team. However, it does not stay safe for long! Each tank has skills that reduces the damage a boss deals, and a barrier to absorb damage. Try to use these wisely, as you want to keep the boss crippled and protect your team, but don’t waste the skill cooldowns/energy cost.

4. DPS+Debuff

After doing all the previous, during downtime you can contribute damage to kill the boss faster. Switching between defense and offense is one of the more difficult aspects of tanking. Many DPS skills move your character, which in turn affects the boss’ position. When you DPS take care the boss does not fall out of place.



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III. Positioning Expanded



A tank has many options to navigate 3D space, and depending on boss fight certain strategies are better served than others. While your own position is important, sometimes you will have to coordinate with your team to make sure they do not disturb your tanking! These are some basic summaries of how your position adjusts battle flow.

a. Distance & Distraction

Distance drives the tank. Many boss attacks are triggered by distance. An example is SDDN Aisha, where if the aggroed player stands close she will begin to do her ripper combo, however staying far away she will simply stare at you until her tornado comes off cd. Experimenting with distance on a boss will allow you to take advantage of its tendencies. Best case scenario is the boss stares and does nothing, however even if the boss is walking instead of attacking it’s a free DPS window or a moment to catch a breath.

Distraction is the end result of tanking. In fights with behemoth dragons, rotation is undesirable. The tank stays separate from the DPS, so the boss attacks the tank side more than the DPS side. However, the tank should remain near the head otherwise the boss will rotate excessively, putting other members at risk. It is especially important when the dragon has side breaths and you don’t want the DPS to get caught suddenly.

“Tailtanking” also falls into this category where the tank stands at the rear and triggers the boss to tailswipe instead of clawswipe. It’s very risky to the tank but if you can dodge the tail it gives your team a DPS window. Desert Dragon’s AI is too erratic to use this, Black Dragon is slightly better but also a toss-up, however Sea Dragon and Red Dragon can be reliably triggered. Ice Dragon is the first dragon whose tailswipe cannot be iframed, but triggering and escaping the AOE is enough.

An extreme example of how distance & distraction can be abused is with the 1st boss of IDN: Mutant Kodiak. Kodiak will turn to face the player with the most aggro if that player moves out of his line-of-sight. Funny thing is, he turns slowly and staying a step ahead of his line-of-sight means he will spin like a cat chasing its tail. The long cast time of Punishing Swing gives Destroyer trouble keeping both aggro and spin over a long period of time. However Guardian and Defensio have short cast times on their taunts, coupled with speed boosts from the party that allows them to maintain the proper distance indefinitely.

b. Wall Hug

The strategy is optimal against bosses without dangerous tail/back attacks. You want stay between the wall and boss. The downside is poor visibility is due to the camera angle which can be extremely dangerous. If there are any DPS next to you it is a good moment to urge them to safety (“WHY ARE YOU NEXT TO ME, DO YOU WANT TO DIE?”).

RDN Crudelis is an example where his frontal attacks are painful and his rear is safe. He also has a move targeting the highest aggro (hopefully you), where he throws out 6 projectiles. When ignited he can easily murder a DPS. Making him face the wall is the best option, however your own ability to dodge the projectiles is hampered. If room is limited, you can iframe them or pop damage redux, eat the projectiles, and after the 6th, cure the debuff before ignition. Remaining at the wall throughout this fight puts you at deadly risk if you fail to pay attention. The bar mech pushes you outwards and the perimeter becomes a KO zone for anyone who doesn’t move inwards on time.

c. Leading

For mobile bosses with tailswipes, their sides are the safest. Actually, some bosses have “safer” sides. For example, RDN Guardian of Flames Nouvelle has an attack where he swipes with his left hand and thrusts forward with a spear in his right. The left swipe and spear have extremely long range and anyone in front will get hit twice. It is recommended for DPS to stay on his left side, as the swipe has slightly less range than the spear. You can rotate Nouvelle so his right side is next to a wall, and the dps are forced to be on the left. Unfortunately it may not always be possible because this boss is extremely fidgety. Still, even if the DPS end up on the spear side it’s better than staying at the rear or front.

Ice Dragon is a boss where leading is generally best. When he bites viciously, his right side has a smaller hitbox than the left for whatever reason. Thus it is recommended to keep the boss walking clockwise around the map, where DPS are forced on the right side.

Whichever side is safer will determine the direction you lead the boss. If both sides are similar risk, then it doesn’t matter much.

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d. Chase

Many, many bosses have a move that charges across the map and you’ll have to chase after them to reposition. See if you can take advantage of the boss’ new location or throw out safety measures if looks bad. Charges throws off any cultivated positioning; you will switch tactics and adjust repeatedly throughout a fight.

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IV. Class Selection



Dragon Nest has 3 dedicated tank classes each equipped with a taunt skill and party support. There is 1 hybrid* class that can function as a tank but is considered a DPS due to its lack of support skills.

* Paladins can specialize into Guardian or Crusader, since both have access to a taunt from the Paladin branch, whereas Mercenary and Patrona lack taunts requiring the player to spec into the correct class. For unity this guide assumes Paladin players intend to spec Guardian.

Which tank do you choose? They are all viable with unique playstyles and toolkits. Class pick ultimately depends on your ideals and personality.

• Calculating and opportunistic? Guardian
• Overwhelm foes with sheer presence? Destroyer
• Outmaneuver enemies by choice? Defensio

Note these characteristics aren’t exclusive to a class, but rather traits each class embodies most. For team considerations, my suggestions:

• A Guardian excels on teams less confident of their skills or learning new content and fits almost anywhere because they can observe at a distance.
• A Destroyer excels on teams mostly comprised of patient ranged DPS or more autonomous players.
• A Defensio excels on playful teams with many melee DPS and flexible players who would rather have offensive buffs.

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a. Taunt Skills



Not all taunt skills function equally. Each one has its own advantages and disadvantages.

Paladin’s "Provoke"

Leveling it increases duration and decreases cooldown (Lvl 4 duration and cd are 12 sec, Lvl 6 has a 16 sec duration and 10 sec cd) Quick cast No dmg Frontal AOE range Affects invincible enemies

Easily the most effective taunt in the game. Its wide coverage and ability to affect invincible enemies means Paladins can provoke while a mob is spawning from afar. The skill can be plated for a longer duration which makes losing aggro almost impossible. This can backfire when trying to taunt only a single target from a group, and judging the AOE comes from experience. Its lack of damage makes it nigh useless in PvP.

Destroyer’s "Punishing Swing EX"

16 sec duration, 10 sec cd Long cast Longest range projectile Fire element damage Punishing Swing is aimable, a decently sized AOE and easier to target a specific mob. It cannot hit invulnerable enemies and has a long cast time so losing aggro is costly. Some Destroyers fire convert for the novelty of its fire damage.

Destroyer’s "Crash Mode" spacebar command

10 sec duration Long cast Close range Low mobility No dmg

This skill’s taunt is bugged and does nothing, which is why it is highly discouraged to use Crash Mode as you have no way of re-taunting.

Defensio’s "Taunting Blow EX"

15 sec duration, 10 sec cd Quick cast Melee range Detonate for dmg

It has a quick cast and a melee hitbox, so maintaining aggro depends on staying in close proximity to the boss. The CD can be reduced with Gear Step skills and Auto-Repair. Exploding the taunt does nice damage but also loses aggro. This skill can be plated with CD reduction so if you miss you can recover quickly.

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b. Survival & Support Capabilities



Every tank can mitigate damage to self as they stay at the forefront. They can also mitigate damage to the party, commonly known as a “bubble” due to its circular appearance. Every tank can also reduce the damage dealt from bosses by 20%, barring some who are immune to the debuff. I refer to this as a “cripple” debuff for simplicity.

Guardian’s “Shield Charge,” “Iron Will,” “Divine Barrier” & “Fallen Angel”

Shield Charge reduces dmg received by 50% during its cast. It stacks multiplicatively with Iron Will. Iron Will is a buff that reduces dmg received by 30% and lasts 23 sec with a 60 sec cd. Divine Barrier is a buff that can absorb 20% of the caster’s HP, or disappears after 20 sec. The more HP a Guardian has, the stronger the bubble. It has a 5 sec cd which makes it easy to re-apply if the party takes damage. Fallen Angel cripples the enemy for 20 sec and has a 14.5 sec cd, which means the debuff can theoretically stay on constantly, and it is a dps skill so it should be used as often as possible.

Destroyer’s “Flying Swing,” “Empowering Howl” & “Maelstrom Howl”

Flying Swing reduces dmg received by 70% during its cast. Empowering Howl is a buff that can absorb 20% of the caster’s HP, or disappears after 20 sec. The more HP a Destroyer has, the stronger the bubble. It has a 10 sec cd and the Destroyer can use it on himself only for a damage boost, which makes it more flexible. Maelstrom Howl cripples the enemy for 20 sec and has a 15 sec cd, while also reducing dmg dealt to the Destroyer during its cast by 70%. Again this skill should be spammed. Crash Mode is an Awakening skill that reduces dmg recieved by 30% and regens 3% HP every 2 sec.

Defensio’s “Pressure Release,” “Twister Kick,” “Aerial Parry,” & “Beyond the Wall”

Pressure Release (Defense) increases defense by 22%. Twister Kick EX reduces dmg received by 20% during the ground spin. Aerial Parry EX upon a successful block, creates an area that grants a 20% dmg reduction buff to anyone standing in it. Beyond the Wall EX both grants a bubble and cripples the boss. When maxed, the bubble absorbs 20% of the receiver's HP and increases the receiver's def by 40% of their physical atk. The buff lasts 10 sec, the debuff lasts 10 sec and a 10 sec cd. Using Auto-Repair reduces cd. Interestingly, Defensio’s bubble withstands buff wipes.

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c. Blocks

Mainly used by Guardian and Defensio, although Crusaders and Ruinas have access to the non-ex block. Destroyer’s Crash Mode is bugged despite mentioning a “timed defense” mechanism. Some non-tank classes also have blocks: Parry (Swordsman), Untouchable (Tempest), Shinobi Drop (Shinobi), Hornet’s Touch (Lancer), Swift Evasion (Silver Hunter).

Block is a defense mechanism unique from an iframe. It mitigates damage from the initial hit, but will apply debuffs. Blocks are often followed with an iframe.

• The general rule is if it can be iframed, it can be blocked.

However, there are exceptions: moves that can be blocked but not iframed, or attacks that can be iframed yet not blocked. Usually multi-hit or tornado moves can be blocked. Usually stomps involving the feet can be blocked. Many stomps from a dragon are also blockable but not iframable. If a “stomp” is unconventional in appearance it probably can’t be blocked. There is no definite rule; there are general trends and you have to rely on experience or ask others.


For a more detailed list of anomalous moves please refer to the Google Doc version.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1...it?usp=sharing
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V. Gear


Kindly refer to the Google Doc version as the formatting is difficult to recreate in a forum post.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1...it?usp=sharing

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VI. Final Words


I encourage you to seek more detailed guides on the class you play or intend to play as this guide only has generalized strategies that you may apply in gameplay.

Experiment and scrutinize boss patterns. Take note of how and when your team sustains heavy damage. Keep your eyes on the prize! The prize is knowledge! And most importantly, have friends that will cover your back.

This guide is open to feedback at any time so feel free to shoot me a message. If I quit the game and some stuff is outdated I hope the knowledge continues to serve well.

Tank you for reading!



-meatball

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i. Nest Glossary

Raids (8-man)


SDN: Sea Dragon Nest* (lvl 40)

GDN: Green Dragon Nest* (lvl 50)

DDN: Desert Dragon Nest* (lvl 60, superseded by SDDN)

BDN: Black Dragon Nest* (lvl 70)

RDN: Red Dragon Nest (lvl 80)

IDN: Ice Dragon Nest (lvl 90)


*only accessible through Dragon Hunting Event

Nests (4-man)


MN: Manticore Nest (lvl 40, superseded by VMN)

ABN: Archbishop Nest (lvl 50, superseded by RABN)

TKN: Typhoon Krag Nest (lvl 60, superseded by RTKN)

PKN: Professor K Nest (lvl 60, superseded by PKNRC)

VMN: Vengeful Manticore Nest (lvl 90)

RABN: Returned Archbishop Nest (lvl 90)

SDDN: Scorching Desert Dragon Nest (lvl 90)

IDN4: Ice Dragon Nest 4-man (lvl 90)

PKNRC: Professor K Nest Remedial Class (lvl 93)

RTKN: Returned Typhoon Krag Nest (lvl 93)

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Credits to:


faustius from SEA forums for class icons (http://forum.cherrycredits.com/topic...ctors-machina/)


DN Sea Wikia for skill icons

(http://dnsea.wikia.com/wiki/Category:Skill_Icons)


spacem for his skill simulator to look up skill effects and name localizations

(https://dnskillsim.herokuapp.com/)


DN Class Discussion Discord server

(https://discord.gg/k8kCuDv) you can contact anyone for class tips and info

My id is ceruulean#8465

[ceruulean]

reserved for future use

[ceruulean]

reserved (have to wait 300 sec between posts QQ)

[ZepIic]

Great guide.

10/10








But provoke isnt useless in pvp

[ceruulean]

shhh secret its only nigh useless

[Boom]

I'm a fan of her artwork
very catchy

[notkris]

best guard na