Tank In , a tank is one of the three main types of group players whose role involves protecting the group from attackers , much like healers . Tanks are " meat shields " , so to speak , putting themselves between monsters and the rest of the group . The other main roles in most groups are damage dealers and healers . Below is a primer for Veteran Rank Players on tanking , but any player of any level can follow it . Tanking basics . A Tank ' s role is protecting the other , more vulnerable group members from harm by keeping the monsters attacking them instead of the rest of the group . This is done by keeping themselves alive , using taunt and crowd control ( CC ) abilities and taking advantage of a mechanic known as aggression , or " aggro " , to stop monsters from attacking the group . Many monsters determine their target through a mechanic known as aggression , or aggro as it is known to players . Aggro is caused by damaging enemies , healing attackers of enemies , and using taunt abilities . A monster will thus attack the player who instills the most aggro , and will change targets if another player instills higher aggro . Tanks have three main things to do , in order of importance : Sufficient aggro generation is the key to tanking effectively . Survivability . The most important aspect of a tank is survivability . Without survivability , a tank is essentially just a damage dealer who gets themselves killed every time they run into a pack of enemies , and all their groupmates are killed . First and foremost , tanks must be able to withstand quite a bit of damage , because they ' ll be getting a lot of it . For this , heavy armor is most suitable for tanks as they provide a high armor rating ( which mitigates damage from hits ) and substantial health bonuses . But armor isn ' t enough ; a lot of aspects depend on good survivability , such as race , class , passives , enchantments , food , abilities and weapon choices . Any combination of these can tank and do it effectively , but there are , of course , the most effective ways . Remember that what is mentioned below is NOT a requirement for all tanks . They are just recommended things that are good for tanks , and players can use whatever playstyle they wish . The first step is to obtain a very high pool of health and armor rating . Tanks depend on all three resources , but health is the most important . The Lord grants a boost to health , and so is the best Mundus Stone for tanks . Heavy Armor grants boosts to health , health regeneration and boast the highest armor rating . Combined with 49 points in health ( for Veteran Rank players , lower level players can use whatever attribute combo they wish ) and Consummate food which increases all three resource pools , tanks will have a vast resource pool . Also remember to keep food bonuses up at all times . The next step is to obtain a good ability combination . Area of Effect abilities are an absolute must for tanking , and at least one AoE crowd control and one taunt ability should be on your action bar . You should be able to use these abilities frequently , so potions are helpful too . As said above , you may use whatever you want , but above is the most recommended and arguably the most effective way of tanking .