How to Play a Tank in Dungeons and Dragons 5e

[@DungeonDudes]

We covered a lot of topics in this video. Here's a few timestamps for the key points: 2:54 - Differences between Tanking in D&D vs Video Games 5:09 - Survivability 9:25 - Feats to Consider 14:48 - Protecting Your Allies 16:00 - Sentinel and Polearm Master 19:07 - Battlefield Control 20:40 - Teamwork 22:14 - Mobility and Initiative 23:44 - Dealing with Ranged Attacks and Flying Foes

[@freman007]

My Valor Bard uses Disguise Self to create the illusion of a golden haired knight in silver armour who challenges all comers to mortal combat. Thanks to a 1 level dip into Draconic Sorcerer he has some offensive spells, using Booming Blade like a semi-Smite, and Shield, so he can be tough enough, for a while at least. Of course he doesn't have a lot of HP with 14/14/12/10/12/18 but he can use Cure Wounds to keep himself going a bit longer. Unfortunately we don't have a proper tank in our party, just my Bard and a Ranger. Perhaps the simplest "Tank" is to give your entire party level 1 in Fighter or Paladin. High Dex characters can then wear medium armour and shield, and high strength characters heavy armour and shield, so all your party has high AC.

[@AdrianParsons]

I'm sad to say that Resilient can only be taken once as only feats that specify they can be taken multiple times can be selected more than one. Resilient does not say that it can be selected multiple times. :'( Saving throw king is a high level Monk followed by a high CHA Paladin. Bonus points if they are both Halflings, have the lucky feat, and (most importantly) are near each other! A high level Halfling Monk next to a CHA 20 Paladin has a +11 on *Death Saves* & can re-roll a 1. Only the dreaded double 1 can screw them over. Shield Master only acts like evasion against things allowing DEX Saves that *target only you* ((Edit: CORRECTION - it appears that the "only you" restriction is for the save bonus & the reaction for evasion effect did not have a target check)). So it would not help against a fireball. I had a Shield Master fighter and was *very* disappointed in the dearth of spells that it actually protected me from.

[@talongreenlee7704]

I can’t believe you didn’t touch on the light domain cleric’s warding flare or the protection fighting style that you can use to impose disadvantage on enemy attacks against your friends. Cleric/fighter multiclass makes a nice tank/healer build

[@laschicvalisca2481]

I'm honestly surprised that it was never mentioned about the Paladin's "Aura of Protection" ability that they get at level 6. This improves all saving throws for all allies within 10 feet - including themselves. My Oath of Conquest Paladin doesn't have the Dexterity, and barely has enough strength to put on plate armor after adding an ability score increase to strength, but he has a very high Charisma score as a Fallen Aasimar. His +5 bonus means +5 to all saving throws against magic and other effects (worst saves being Dexterity and Intelligence, but his best are Wisdom and Charisma.) Mounted Combatant and Shield Master along with the spell Find Greater Steed has allowed him to move and be anywhere on a battlefield atop a flying mount, throwing javelins from above if he can't get close to swipe at them with his sword. Furthermore, the spells Compel Duel and Protection from Evil and Good are powerful 1st level spells when used in the right moments, such as blocking a doorway against a group of undead while the rest of the party is trying to get open the way out of a collapsed mine tunnel with spells, abilities, and just digging for our lives while that simple level 1 protection spell forced all those undead to face him one at a time at disadvantage on most of their rolls as he focused on defending and healing himself as needed. Outside of that, the Order of the Lycan from the Blood Hunter class has the built in tanking ability to reduce physical damage taken from non-magical weapons that aren't silvered. My half orc has been a lot of fun playing at being a beefy tank using Polearm Master and Sentinel away from his allies just in case he fails a saving throw against Bloodlust, forcing him to move and attack the closest target (enemy or ally,) which makes some very fun interactions later when he has to apologize to the party rogue and cleric for clawing them after the battle is over because they were too close. That class also has some useful blood curses to remove debilitations such as poison and paralysis, or even increase saving throws against some magics and effects.

[@Bl_ss_m]

Actually in pvp games like lol and ow, tanks works the same way

[@piet_501]

Never underestimate the power of the dodge action. The door will be blocked for a long time

[@anders630]

Dodge is sick and Disengage is also a bit broken, just "oh I wont attack so I get to run away for free". Heavy armour master is nice for tanky fighters and clerics but for some real cheese I can recommend hill dwarf barb 1 -> moon druid.

[@godsamongmen8003]

If you're blocking a door, add sanctuary from your cleric. The enemies can redirect attacks, but there may not be another viable target.

[@boredoperator2827]

I just started a new campaign as a Forge Domain cleric. First combat had three enemies wailing on me while my party's spellcasters got eviscerated. I sat there throwing out healing word and taking the Dodge action. Disadvantage + 18 AC made me almost unhittable.

[@dragonrider1817]

Lower level monks are stupid good tanks in this way too. Fighters and Barbarians overtake them later but they are great for campaigns you don’t expect to last very long or one-shots. I played a rogue/monk/warlock in one of my more recent campaigns and she was a mobility machine. I could probably get anywhere I needed to go (even as a halfling) and still have my action for attacks (and stunning strike)

[@joeyfish5]

I've made the mistake of not dodging and not blocking the door. R.I.P my level 2 paladin.

[@robertlindholm3315]

We had a shitlord DM once, that when someone gained resistance against a type of damage, would never ever use that damage type anymore in the campaign.

[@Rg-fp2vg]

Robert Lindholm resistant to fire, no more fireball!

[@LupineShadowOmega]

@@Rg-fp2vg Right? Somebody be a tiefling, someone else be a bear barb.

[@Rg-fp2vg]

LupineShadowOmega why not both? Wait. Does resistance stack?

[@LupineShadowOmega]

@@Rg-fp2vg nope, it doesn't.

[@Rg-fp2vg]

LupineShadowOmega resistance + resistance = immunity

[@MythicMachina]

Tank with high AC: Man, look at how invincible i am! Tank suddenly getting hit with an intelligence save: Please don't kill my character.

[@Throrface]

Unless the tank is a Rogue. Then he just makes the save.

[@kannakamui2334]

Ha! You've never seen my cobalt Monk.

[@srnigromante9214]

My partys tank is an EK with high INT the problem is its WIS and CHAR are stupid low

[@rakkoonkabuki397]

Enter Armorer Artificer lol

[@MrKago1]

lol, reminds me of Grog getting hit by the intellect devourer.

[@Draco_WarriorEX]

Just to be clear: Tank: Can take a lot of damage and dish it out Wall: Unbreakable, but low damage output and it doesn't need it.

[@jameshades3311]

Actually a wall made of bricks is powerful if you take a brick out of the wall and throw it

[@mymy-nv4er]

@Callie Johnson lMAO

[@theblueslimeboi]

@Lonely classic barbarian move

[@dragonslibrary9207]

The two kinds of tank Paladin: you can't touch me! Barbarian: harder Dragon: what Barbarian: *H A R D E R*

[@Epic24123]

im a paladin. don't touch me, and because of the sentinel feat don't touch my friends either

[@Shouziroku]

3rd Type- Druid: My HP is infinite and I can have an army of animals.

[@samfish2550]

The unholy love child of a totem barbarian and moon druid has entered the chat.... May God have mercy on our sole's

[@Dualbladedscorpion7737]

Role for penetration 😁

[@anthonybuenzow9295]

then there is the cleric, 45 ac and then disadvantage to be hit and actually having saving throws, minus charisma because who needs to talk, eyes banish he he

[@Tsp-Leviathan]

"since you probably dumped your charisma" *laughs in paladin*

[@wicklow4905]

So True :D

[@mitchellklein5641]

This is so my character *laughs in 20 charisma*

[@LLMCxDak]

Laughs in hexblade paladin multiclass

[@amoraswiftstrike3791]

Heat Metal. One of the most insane spells to deal with plate wearing pcs

[@robinthrush9672]

Barbarian: behold my naked glory!

[@paulh3892]

Yeah. Enemy druids should always cast heat metal on principal

[@gavinroettger13]

My tank is immune to that because forge domain clerics are great

[@Dragopult]

@@gavinroettger13 yissssss

[@adamxei9073]

Wasn't one of the rules of heat metal is that it couldn't be used on something worn or held?

[@varthalgamekiin4931]

"Don't worry, my friends! I am your shield!" - Braum, friendliest tank ever. Or just "STAND BEHIND BRAUM!!!"

[@JaelinBezel]

Also something Reinhardt says.

[@cueball6969]

@@JaelinBezel woosh

[@dascientist8443]

9:00 One thing to note, since the Resilient feat doesn't say it can be taken multiple times like Elemental Adept, you can only take it for one ability score.

[@trymv1578]

THIS! Crawford has even confirmed this is intended.

[@jackthelucario]

Ooh, that’s good to know. Do you know if that’s the same for martial adept? Can a battle master take that multiple times to get more support maneuvers?

[@dascientist8443]

Jack The Lucario Since the feat itself doesn't say that you can take it multiple times, you can only take it once. As far as I'm aware the only feat you _can_ take more than once is Elemental Adept, and with it you have to pick a different element each time.

[@lancelobato]

Came here to say the exact same thing!

[@jackthelucario]

Da Scientist Good thing to know.

[@antoinelussier6329]

Having the Sentinel feat early on, you may stand by your allies, use the "dodge" action so enemies gain disadvantage trying to hit you, thus making you tankier. If they choose to hit your nearby ally, reaction into an attack and kill them!

[@JonathanMandrake]

Even better: Echo Fighter with sentinel feat

[@divingcrow]

Artificers are surprisingly good tanks since they get to add their int mod to their saves and can add a lot of ac to their armor especially if they take 1 level in cleric

[@TheMusicNGamesStudio]

what about the cavalier fighter? Unwavering mark giver the target disadvantage against everyone but you, warding maneuver lets you boost an ally's AC, and Hold the line is basically the sentinel feat

[@allenfortenberry9924]

cavalier isn't bad, and they did talk about how fighters are one of the big three in terms of tank classes. I personally prefer paladins because they have auras that help boost saving throws, along with a variety of other effects, can use spells like bless to give support, and have a high enough damage output to be a threat

[@Charlie-js8rj]

I always go paladin, along with one level in both hexblade and shadow sorcerer. This means I don't really have to worry about STR because hexblade lets me put it into charisma, and shadow sorcerer lets me make a CHA saving throw when i'd get knocked unconscious to drop to 1 HP. Along with paladin's aura, it makes it pretty hard to die. The fact that I only have to get 13 STR lets me put more points into DEX and WIS

[@allenfortenberry9924]

@@coachron5033 You could, and that is a perfectly viable build. The main question is the pacing. What do you start as, how far do you go in each class, when do you take a fighter level over a paladin level? I've done plenty of multiclassing, but without multiclassing I personally prefer to go paladin if I want to be tanky

[@lorenzoscatena7377]

Hold the line is a little different because let you make an opportunity attack when the enemy is inside your reach and move inside it, Sentinel let you attack when he tried to get out; so if you are a lv 10 cavalier, with Sentinel and Polearm Master, if the enemy moves you can attack it. Also, remember the second part of Unwavering Mark, if he hit an ally next to you, you can punish him not only with the reaction of Sentinel but also with the special attack with the bonus action on your turn.

[@oOPPHOo]

Cavalier, ancestral guardian and crown oath are THE subclasses designed for tanking. They all sorta have a way to provoke aggro better than more durable options like bear totem barbarian of ancients oath. That said, my favorite option for tanking might be the dragonborn conquest paladin with a polearm. With a ton of fear effects (your channel divinity, wrathful smite, fear and the Dragon Fear feat ) and good positioning, you can prevent melee enemies from even moving closer your backline. With your polearm your can can even keep some enemies from getting in melee with you while still be able to hit them meaning you'll take less damage on the frontlines effectively making you more tanky. It becomes really mean once you get the aura that neutralizes the movement speed of target you've frightened, but even way before that the build is fun. I also like adding in the UA feat menacing if allowed. I haven't tried it out myself yet, but this makes for a really fun take on a protector character so I'm figuring out ways to make the character compatible with your standard heroic party.

[@Sigourney-Cleaver]

This video just made me feel so much more confident in my hill dwarf forge cleric tank in our CoS campaign.

[@captainthorrek262]

I love how the basic focus of this isn't really being a tank, but seems more about teamwork and synergy. EDIT: Love the thought of a bonsai ent, a companion who suffers from 1st Greenhouse problems and hates the though of "bogging it"

[@darkwindplus]

8-10 levels oath of the ancients paladin: you can have ensnaring strike (for trapping a single opponent), misty step (covering distance or reaching enemy back line), potentially plant growth (for slowing enemies so allies can take care of them from ranged) Aura of warding at 7 lv for half damage from spells saving throws for wisdom and charisma for most spells that can take you out in a fight lay on hands, a fighting style, aura of protection at 6 lv and possibly aura of courage for the frightened condition. Then 10-12 levels of fighter: An additional fighting style, second wind, action surge 3 to 4 additional feats/ ability score improvements indomitable and possibly a three attack. Feats that could be used: tough, sentinel, resilient( any physical trait). Feats that can be dependent on player preference: alert, great weapon master, lucky, mage slayer, mobile, polearm master, shield master, or war caster

[@mal2ksc]

Oath of Vengeance is pretty sweet for its features too. That's what I'm currently playtesting for party tank who also heals. He attacc, but he also protecc.

[@Mithguar]

@@mal2ksc Sure OoV can dish out more dmg, but OoA benefits your whole team survival chances a lot more. Just the spell resistance alone makes staying in tight formation viable option since aoe are half as deadly. It also make you a lot harder to kill. Add Half orc on top of that and you have 2 cheat death abilities making you really hard to drop down.

[@christopherrocco56]

Lmao, I love how Kelly says, "we have a video on healing right over there," pointing over Monty's head and nothing is there 😝

[@DungeonDudes]

Whoops. Thanks. Added the card, but the video is here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/jJPEqWhniZ1kaaM

[@Verbose_Mode]

I've found that there are a few "taunts" in D&D, but they're all "soft taunts" that _encourage_ enemies to attack you instead, such as Reckless Attack. Ancestral Guardians has the only "hard taunt" where it not only discourages an enemy from attacking your allies, but makes it completely _impractical_ to attack anyone _but_ you, as they have disadvantage to hit anyone but you and even if they do, they deal half-damage (and you still have your reaction to Spirit Shield and reduce the damage further).

[@warcraftlake7]

You can spirit sheild yourself. Barbarians 1. Are a creature 2. Can see itself

[@adamkaris]

what962 True, but the difference between the barbarian taking an additional 8 damage (which you're resisting already) vs the wizard is pretty large

[@fortunatus1]

You forgot Compelled Duel spell for the pally and the Goading Attack for the Battlemaster Fighter. But Menacing Attack also works really well as battlefield control.

[@d-risky4994]

Booming blade cantrip is also a soft taunt. If they leave your reach, they get a boom boom.

[@Klaital1]

@@warcraftlake7 No you cannot, spirit shield specifically says 'when ANOTHER creature you can see...'

[@Jelloz104]

I have an Eldritch Knight, I love having shield and absorb element to tank a ton of damage.

[@DanRaven88]

I like the Cavalier fighter for its ability to apply disadvantage to enemies who want to attack someone other than you. Stick a reach weapon in their hands and they can put that debuff on a lot of different foes!

[@kokosan09]

"we've broken the Tank" no!! "...into two separate guidelines" oh, okay then. continue please :) as always, very helpful advice. I hope I'll be able to apply some of these to my Paladin!

[@robwojo]

Getting ANY tank with the ability to cast Shield is always awesome.... its like "oh does a 26 hit?.... wait no? how?"

[@Kestral287]

Cannot agree more. Shield is 'kind of good' when it pushes your local caster to an AC of 20 or so, and is invaluable for keeping squishy Wizards and Sorcerers alive through earlier levels. But most people stop looking at it there, which feels really wrong. Shield is really stupid when it pushes your already beefy character into mid-to-high 20s. Especially if you can pair it with literally any way to induce disadvantage, it becomes laughably easy to ignore small armies for several turns running. Individual big creatures can still be problems - but even then they start having to roll fairly decently to hit you instead of that being the default assumption. But groups? I've lost track of how many times I've watched DMs roll 20+ attacks against a character and *maybe* one gets through, because Shield is a really silly spell.

[@asherandai1000]

*Laughs in College of Swords Bard* Mage Armour 13AC Dex +5 Shield of Faith or Haste +2 Defensive Flourish +D12 Defensive Duelist +6 (can substitute Shield for +5 earlier on) Total AC 27-38 with no equipment beyond a weapon. And just keep topping up your HP with healing word every turn.

[@YultheYak]

My dex fighter obtained a ring of spell storing. Always kept more than one shield in it.

[@asherandai1000]

@@crabmaster8174 I can't figure out what rules you're using to get that. For a start, I can't see the UA Warforged rules so I don't know what they are. Second, there is no battle master reaction that adds to AC. The only ones that adds to AC that I can find are Evasive Footwork which only lasts while you're moving on your turn, and Bait & Switch which requires a willing ally. Also Battle Masters don't have spells, so they can't use any of the spell bonuses you gave unless allies grant it to them. My point was a single character without much effort or the assistance of equipment. I also included the benefit of constant healing for any attacks that do get through. Theoretically I could add shield bonus and defensive fighting style (thanks to Tasha's) as well to my character, and get magic equipment bonuses as well as spells and abilities from allies to increase mine into the 50s if I went that route. I've seen people theorise into the upper 60's in some places... though it's a lot of effort for nothing really at that point. Past 37 I don't think there is any enemy it would have an effect on. The highest to hit bonus I can recall finding is +17, though I'm not certain on that. But that basically means they'd need a nat 20 to hit even with +17, and since nat 20 always hits regardless of AC and modifiers anything more doesn't make a difference. Still, it's fun sometimes to theorise limits and see the ideas other people have. Thank you for sharing :)

[@crabmaster8174]

@@asherandai1000 Sorry my guy, It was 4am and I was drunk at the time! My math and memory was all kinds of fucked!

[@nathanwoollums6292]

“ACs in the low to mid 20s being almost impossible to hit”. *laughs in Bladesinger*

[@shadows96100]

*Laughs in Mirror Image*

[@starwarsnewsandmemes8289]

Laughs in level 20

[@CheezMonsterCrazy]

@@starwarsnewsandmemes8289 *Laughs in loaded dice*

[@samuelevans738]

Laughs in invincibility. Also, how do you write in bold on KZbin?

[@anthonynorman7545]

@@samuelevans738 "*"words"*" *without the quotation marks*

[@ryanmoser3495]

Tanks really need high HP, high AC, good saves, good healing, support spells cast on them, and a way to make enemies attack them, like dealing lots of damage. *laughs in paladin*

[@bluehat_plumber9763]

I've had this character idea for a while now and finally got it down. For a tank, and since there's no mention of a level cap, I'd go 14 Monk/6 Paladin. The Monk would be a Kensei and select the Spear for the Kensei weapon. All the bonuses for the Kensei are really just that, bonuses. The main reason I picked 14 levels in Monk is for Diamond Soul, getting proficiency in all saving throws. Meaning now, I don't have to fear that Fireball or Banishment as much anymore. I'd also opt forgoing armor not for Unarmored Defense but for Unarmored Movement to circumnavigate the battlefield if necessary. I mean, 55 feet of movement is not something to sleep on. The Paladin would be Devotion purely for synergistic reasons. At 6th level, I start adding my Charisma Modifier to my saving throws. If built correctly, this is an additional +5 to all saving throws, for a total of +11 to everything. I no longer fear saving throws. Now I get to just rush into battle without any hesitation whatsoever. At level 20, having 20 in Dexterity and Charisma should be more than possible. If I rolled well for stats then many doors open for feats, like Polearm Master and Sentinel. In a battle scenario, pop my Channel Divinity Sacred Weapon to add my Charisma mod to my weapon attacks. Combined with Sharpen the Blade (if my math is correct), that should equal a +19 to hit with my standard spear with two attacks. Or, if I want to make more attacks while conserving ki points, four attacks at +16 each. Combined with Stunning Strike, Deft Strike, Divine Smite and possible even a smiting spell.... oof. Oh, and I'd also pick Variant Human for the aforementioned Sentinel feat. Add the stat bonuses for Dexterity and Charisma. This also opens the option for possibly taking the Tough feat instead. If not Human then probably Tabaxi, as it gives the perfect stat split, as well as having Feline Agility for 110 feet of movement without Step of the Wind. This is likely unnecessary but it's another option, and a fun one at that! That being said, this build's only weak point is that it's only truly realized at level 20. Way too far of a goal to reach in a normal game, but for something special like a level 20 one-shot it is viable. Unfortunate but inevitable. To anybody who read all of this, thank you! I really hope you enjoyed my build and I also hope you have a wonderful day :)

[@eliaspadari2761]

Nice build man, really enjoy different thinks in DnD, kudos.

[@gabrielrockman]

Doing a Monk-Paladin multiclass requires 13 strength, 13 charisma, 13 dexterity, and 13 wisdom. A tank also wants to have 14 constitution minimum, and 16+ is highly recommended. If you're taking 14 of your 20 levels as a class with a D8 hit die, it's especially important to have 14+ constitution. Otherwise, you're just not going to have enough hit points. So basically, you need to have *five* stats at 13+ for this strategy, in addition to your plan of having *two* stats at 20 at level 20. That's the build's weakest point.

[@Hazel-xl8in]

Bluehat_Plumber gabriel’s right, but also remember: this comes online at LEVEL 20, i.e, the end of the game. just think about that.

[@DarthBoberEXMinMaxMunchking]

From my experience, if you want a tank to work consistently, you need to find a DM willing to actually attack the tank instead of the squishies in the back. We can talk about bad DM practices and meta-DM-ing all day, but the reality is, you will often have to deal with DMs gunning for low HP, low AC characters as a sort of easy way to challenge the whole party and make combat deadlier. Otherwise, you're pidgeon-holed into only a select few subclasses (Ancestral Barbarian, Crown Paladin, Cavalier Fighter...) to mechanically incentivize the DM to focus-fire you specifically. I DM most monsters in a way that they go for a Barbarian or Monk first cuz they usually wear no armor and therefore monsters think it's supposed to be easier to harm those without thick leather and metal protecting their skins. However, I rarely focus on the frontliners when I DM clever monsters and especially NPCs that know the party's capabilities. Instead, I usually look to surround them and use terrain to my advantage, picking off low HP/AC spellcasters while the melee PCs are struggling to do anything.

[@DarthBoberEXMinMaxMunchking]

@@pasp9866 That would directly diminish the DM's prerogative to decide who, when and how to attack. It would probably work OK in random combat encounters, but when dealing with bosses/NPCs who know the party or at least have a good idea who the most threatening party members are to them, it wouldn't make any sense. Also, how do you even begin to differentiate between a caster casting Forcecage, potentially completely removing 2+ powerful enemies from the fight right away, and a Paladin doing 100 DPR? Not to mention that in such a system, higher-level casters, the "squishies" can easily generate more threat than the melee damage sponges. There's no good way to go about it, you ultimately have to trust the DM to make the best decisions.

[@clint_the_wolf8313]

I'm pretty sure my dm just fudges rolls so I take damage every round. Playing a fighter goliath with an ac of 22 twf. But also our group has 3 large tanky melee combatants.

[@DarthBoberEXMinMaxMunchking]

@@pasp9866 I agree the problem exists, but your proposed solution would introduce more problems than it would solve. I don't have a sexy solution either, the problem is actually multi-faceted and I don't see an easy way around it. You just have to trust the DM is not going to be a total metagaming "me vs. the players" asshole. If he/she is, find another one.

[@dindapriska]

My DM fortunately controls the enemies to attack PC closest to it, if aren't available, he'll move them to closest PC; which mostly the frontliners, including the tank itself. So most of the times the tank can do his work

[@Chameleonradio]

My DM does something similar. The stupid monsters will attack my barbarian--the smart ones will attack our sorcerer (or the cleric, although he's pretty hard to kill too.)

[@leowakefield5942]

Circle of the moon is one of my favourite tank options entirely because I will never forget our party druid tanking a fall from an airship and onto the city below by using his last wildshape to turn into an orca

[@gitroni]

I see Dungeon Dudes, I like

[@bruisedfrog]

My favorite psudeo tank I'm playing right now is a Hill Dwarf Drunken Master Monk. I took Dwarven Resilience so every time I use patient defense, I'm able to heal a hit die as well

[@bruisedfrog]

Forgot to add, will be taking the Durable feat at 8th to maximize my hit die roll. At a +4 Con modifier, Durable automatically allows you to take your hit die as if you rolled an 8.

[@ChristnThms]

@@bruisedfrog please note that this doesn't actually give you an unlimited number of hit dice to heal. You still have the usual number. It just lets you use them in combat, by taking the Dodge action. So you're basically talking about a "Cure Wounds" that you can cast on yourself (level/2) times per day.

[@obliviochamp5986]

@@ChristnThms I gotta admit though, that's a pretty nifty sustain option even if his resources are finite! Very witty way to stick it out in a fight!

[@ChristnThms]

@@obliviochamp5986 better than nifty... as long as the party has rests available. Most classes have to give up an action to Dodge. A Monk can do it as a Bonus Action, albeit at the cost of a Ki. So he can actually heal himself, increase his defense, and attack at the same time. VERY effective... as long as he has Ki and Hit Dice.

[@bruisedfrog]

We have a Warlock in the party as well so short rests are actually a thing in this party

[@drunkenrobot7061]

With the "aggro" thing you mentioned, I've only ever brought it out once - and it was a final boss targeting the one player who kept bombarding him with radiant damage, which he had a weakness to. So he started singling them out to try and stop that damage.

[@pekoro70]

In my party, the moon druid plays an awesome tank, either shapeshifting near bottlenecks or filling gaps with conjured animals

[@David25512]

To also add, if that player ever decides to multiclass, I hope they dip into Barbarian!

[@petenell5807]

@@David25512 or an Artificer with infiltrator armour :)

[@odinforce29]

My favorite Tank I've ever seen in play is actually my current character, a Mountain dwarf Moon Druid with a ton of HP and control spells.

[@morrigankasa570]

My Mountain Dwarf Wizard he is gonna be a nuker type, swearing to the School of Necromancy and using primarily Acid & Poison Spells as well as Flanking the enemy if possible using the rest of the party and/or Undead as "Meat Shields". Also none of my Martial Class Characters are Tanks either they too will flank and follow the same policy.

[@QuiescentPilot]

9:00 unfortunately, you can’t take the Resilient feat twice, according to Jeremy Crawford

[@rolhnschmidt8780]

Actually you can, sometimes Jeremy Crawford is wrong cause in the books it doesn't say you can't take that feat more than once, he is just trying to limit the players that ask for help

[@Hazel-xl8in]

Rolhn Schmidt the precedent is elemental adept. it specifically says you can take it more than once, which implies that the rule is you can only take a feat once unless stated otherwise.

[@themorganrobertson]

@@rolhnschmidt8780 Nothing says you CAN take feats more than once, except the individual feats that allow you to do so. You cannot, JC is correct, raw.

[@MonkeyJedi99]

@@elliotbanbury6442 I cannot comment on whether Jeremey Crawford is a loser, but I can clearly say that he is not my DM.

[@dmstretch6634]

I love the paladin's shield of faith spell, that +2 to AC can be very handy (and has been for my paladin character).

[@aaronheadley3544]

I’m loving playing my Oath of Ancients Paladin. The halved damage from spells to allies in my aura is really effective and makes grouping up less risky. I have a solid 20 ac(before shield of faiths bonus 2ac) heavy armor master, and sentinel to protect the group. The Paladin bonuses to saving throws for your auras another bonus. Like you mentioned, saving throw based damage is most effective against a tank. The disables are a tank’s worst nightmare because your health pool is often your least precious resource with an adequate max hp (lay on hands is amazing for the bonus effective health). I am surprised that evasion tank playstyle of a monk was not mentioned. The mobility is often my biggest weakness and monks can match my 20 ac fairly easily, have excellent battlefield control through stuns and outstanding mobility, and they can deflect projectiles. I’ve seen more effective tanks in monks with sentinel doing things I’ve only dreamed of. Patient defense cannot be underestimated either. I would be interested to see a breakdown of how you would approach a monk tank.

[@Epic24123]

i'm loving playing my Oath Of Vengeance paladin. although i think i talked about it enough... -half-elf -super-high charisma -healing spells and lay-on-hands -sword for decent damage -18 AC -can fly thanks to winged boots -has sentinel, so I can protect allies by doing more damage

[@luminyam6145]

My son was visiting this weekend and we were discussing tanks, so he sent this to me. This is a great video. Thank you for explaining the difference between a tank in a game like WoW and a tank in D&D.

[@marker9196]

In my experience the toughest part of trying to run a 'tanky' character is the inevitable meta-gaming that most DM's will engage in when it comes to target priority in the party, most of us have likely played RPG's and MMO's before and likely know about the usual order of how to handle enemies in terms of nuke the healer first, burst down DPS after that and then finally whittle away the tanks when their support is gone but it's worth noting that while that works perfectly fine in a gaming context it also happens to make no sense in terms of actual confrontations and fighting (the shifty looking guy in robes could possibly be a threat but the 7ft tall beefcake decked in plate and approaching you with a greatsword is unambiguously a threat and if you want to keep your head firmly attached to your shoulders you deal with the most immediate threats first). This also translates to why I roll my eyes at DM's and players complaining about meta-gaming in combat scenarios because...it's a necessary evil that physically can't be avoided entirely given that combat is by far the most abstracted and meta concept in DnD as a game, the DM will always have a knowledge in their mind of who the party are and what they're capable of (something the monsters likely shouldn't have in most cases) and will be controlling them all as if they are a singular, cohesive unit rather than individuals (the reason I've seen behind certain DM's scolding players for talking tactically out of character at the table, a practice I think is perfectly acceptable and DM's really need to get over themselves about). In my experience, the best way to 'tank' is to remember that it's not the monster's attention you're trying to grab but the DM's, you can use a spell to taunt a single creature but if you get the emnity of the DM then you can guarantee that they will target you first in every encounter, regardless of the circumstances around it, I'm not saying you should be rude to your DM but make yourself a very forward presence that the DM can't ignore, be the person who charges in first in combat, the acts pro-actively against enemies by interrupting monologues with attacks or takes brash or brazen attitudes, abuse player psychology a little bit. If a DM notices someone getting a bit bold it's not uncommon for them to want to punish them for perceived hubris. Overall, enemies in DnD are just as predictable and exploitable as enemies in an MMO, there's just different techniques required for drawing aggro (in this case, it's not the AI you need to aggro, but the DM).

[@Dragoneth]

I'm a big fan of using Roleplay as the "Taunt mechanic."

[@paulcrews9551]

So what you're saying is that the aggro mechanic is us messing with the Dm. Challenge accepted

[@Kestral287]

In fairness, at least regarding intelligent creatures - you reach a point, before too terribly long, when the 'shifty looking guy in robes' almost certainly *is* the bigger threat. Especially over a single engagement. An intelligent creature who sees the basic DnD group composition often enough will, eventually, figure out that the guy who can throw a barrage of fireballs can hurt him more faster than the guy with a big stick, to stay nothing of some of the save-or-lose spells out there. That said, on the whole I don't think you're wrong about a lot of points. That's one of the reasons Sentinel gets so much love - the value is in just straight-up closing options. Even if the big monster (slash the DM) wants to go beat up on your squishy wizard, if there's a fighter with Sentinel in front of him he may just not have a choice about it. Personally, I take that a step further and to me that should be the primary concern of the tank - making sure your enemies. Achieving a reasonable amount of survivability is trivial, and achieving perfect or even near-perfect survivability is close to impossible, so finding a point of "I'm relatively hard to kill" is easy. The rest is putting that investment to work.

[@marker9196]

@@Kestral287 I'd likely have to challenge that claim based on the fact that it's based very heavily off of meta knowledge that a creature may not strictly have access to, even an intelligent one, you wouldn't strictly know that an opponent is capable of throwing out offensive spells until either they've already started doing it or you're already very familiar with a particular spellcaster (or you're a creature with some innate capacity for detecting magical talent in others and as such could sense the 'aura' of a magic user), but even if you recognize the potentially superior threat posed by the spellcaster that still isn't strictly a reason to ignore the fighter who's advancing upon you and forcing close combat upon you, that's a reason to fall back since that's an inherently disadvantageous position for you to fight from. There's also a lot to be said for the psychological impact of something advancing upon you over attacking from a distance, imagine a situation where you are faced by two men, one holding a gun (capable of instant lethal force from across the room) while the other is walking towards you cracking their knuckles and looking you straight in the eyes, you may very well recognize the firearm as being more immediately dangerous to you but (let's assume for the moment that escape is impossible, you have to try and fight) you are still likely to be pre-occupied by the person actually entering your personal space with clear hostile intent because we are somewhat hard-wired to naturally find proximity threatening, it's an instinct that actually requires a fair bit of training and discipline to overcome in a combat situation. Let's borrow from another setting that frequently has the issue of potentially more dangerous units at a distance than up close, namely Warhammer 40k, units engaged in assault cannot open fire upon other units (with some very rare exceptions, namely vehicles) for the plain, simple reason that it's very hard to concentrate long enough to take aim at someone in the distance when someone is actively trying to punch you in the back of the head, melee is a very disorienting situation to be in that completely rewrites your priorities. Yeah, the guy with the lascannon off in the distance is absolutely capable of more damage than the guardsmen charging you with bayonets but that doesn't suddenly mean that those guardsmen suddenly don't exist or that bayonet charges are infamously terrifying situations for both sides.

[@Kestral287]

It certainly shouldn't be universal, but in this world, magic has some very obvious physical attributes to look for: the pouch or the focus being the stand-outs. The guy in armor who's not using his weapon but has a religious symbol hanging from his neck? Almost certainly a Cleric. The guy holding a chunk of crystal who's not running away from the goblin horde despite carrying no armor and no weapon past a dagger? Arcane caster. The guy with a musical instrument strapped to himself? Bard. Certainly these are not universal truths, and they're things that, if you have a good DM, you can game in turn. Pathfinder has a class called the Magus that's essentially the Eldritch Knight done right, and one of their archetypes doesn't use armor. So a properly suited Kensai Magus wears essentially the same outfit as a Wizard and carries a spell component pouch; the only odd thing they carry is a sword. I built one particularly tanky and at times, against enemies who weren't familiar with the group, got to get some of them to focus me from the outset. In 5e I could see a Bladesinger, or even a Monk who went out of his way to pick up the basic caster gear, pulling a similar trick. Certainly it doesn't last - once you whip out the sword and go to town (or in the monk case start punching things) it's going to start looking pretty obvious that they misevaluated the scenario, but the biggest concern is the first round or two anyway. There is something to be said for the psychological impact of the guy in your face, but there's also something to be said for the psychological impact of "I don't want to be Fireballed". However, there are two points to be made here, I think. First, you assume the fighter is already in their face, but a lot of the time enemies are going to make their threat assessments *before* then. The guy with the brass knuckles came into the room at the same time as the guy with the gun - and that changes your scenario considerably. If the guy with the gun can get off the first shot he is absolutely the person I want to kill first every time. I can maybe run away from the guy with the brass knuckles before he gets a chance to punch me. It's much harder to outrun a bullet (or 120' range spell). So if "I" in this case am a bunch of soldiers with longbows or whatever... yeah I'm shooting the caster first. Second, as you've said, that's the sort of thing that takes training to overcome, but... a lot of the intelligent enemies you face tend to *have* that sort of training, if not directly than through experience. The horde of low-CR goblins, sure probably not (but then, the guy with the pointy stick is only menacing so many of them at once). The dragon? Not only has it likely been around the block long enough to know what magic casters typically look like and the kind of annoyance they can be if left unchecked, it's also just straight-up *not* going to be intimidated by a fighter with a greatsword under the vast majority of circumstances. And the flip side of 'psychological impact' is that sometimes monsters have *other* reasons to go for the squishy looking guy. I'd started to write a comment about the behir in my previous point, as something in the grey area where it's somewhat intelligent but not very so may well fall for the pointy-stick-in-front concern. But then - when you pause to think about it, the behir's main goal in most fights is going to be a good meal. It's 'intelligent' in that it's not an animal and can speak, but is still fairly stupid. Even so, it makes absolute sense that a behir knows how its own abilities work - here, I'm primarily thinking of the constrict - bite - swallow chain of attacks that it goes for. The guy in a ton of armor is probably pretty strong, which means he may be able to break out of the behir's constrict. The quick-moving guy with a dagger also has a decent chance to do so. The guy with a staff trying to stay out of the behir's reach? Probably not so much. And besides, something without armor seems like a much more satisfying meal.

[@Fear910]

Excelent video as always! Tanking in pen &paper RPGs is really not easy. I' ve come up with a few tank ideas, but my Oath of the Crown paladin was the one who lived the most (he even got to retire!) Name: Sir Marcus Khalagan Race (Variant Human-Heavy armor master bonus feat) Background: Folk Hero (survival + animal handling) Skills: Diplomacy, Intimidation and Athletics 1st level Stats-> Str:16 Dex:8 Con:16 Wis:12 Car:14 CA: 18 (chainmail + shield) / HP:13 Right of the bat we got our heals, some damage resistance in heavy armor master, good saves and high AC. Diplomacy or Intimidation can be used to avoid combat or goad enemies into attacking you. 2nd Level is where things start to get interesting, we can select our fighting style (defense, protection or dueling are great), we can now smite or use Shield of Faith to buff us to impossible levels of AC, also compeled duel to pseudo-taunt opponents. 3rd Level we are the ultimate tank, our channel divinity will keep our enemies close to us, and we can compel or command enemies who are farther ahead into melee, AoE spells will probably hit you and 2+ opponents that are glued to you. Also by this level you might be able to afford better gear, so consider upgrading to splintmail Asap 4th Level we get our first ASI, this is the level that I take sentinel, but raising either STR or CON is also great. 5th Level: Two attacks means two oportunities to smite baby!, the find steed spell will help tons in mobility even if you don't fully invest in mounted combat. If you want to multiclass this is our last paladin level, go grab that Sorcadin combo or fighter action surge now if you want...Marcus stuck with paladin until the end of his quest at level 10, but min-max players can do whatever they want! 6th Level: Aura of protection means we are basically invulnerable to CHA and WIS based spells, and highly resistant to STR and CON saves as well, by this level heavy armor master is starting to fall off and elemental damage is starting do hurt us more and more...but your allies are safe! and we are sturdy enough to weather the storm 7th Level: Wasting our reaction to take damage instead of an ally, hope you never have to use this but be glad you have it at your disposal. 8th Level: Shield master feat or a STR bump. Invest in magic itens to bump up your CAR instead of ASI. By this level most goons can't touch your alies and even if they can make the save against your taunting skills you can use warding bond to share their pain! The DM has to be creative in ways to to challenge your team and not get repetitive (all enemies have high WIS/CAR saves, 3+ranged goons and a damage sponge guy) 9th Level: 3rd level spells baby! Spirit Guardians can make us extra sticky! Aura of vitality can be used in low stakes combat to patch yourself up in a pinch...but I never used it 10th level:After two amazing years my particular run with this character ended here, Aura of Courage is quite underwhelming IMO, but it might come in handy. Most campaings will not go above level 10, spellcasters become much more OP and an aventure day is more a battle of atrition and resource management. You can feel you are starting to fall off in damage but very few things by your level will be able to get past you or down you in 2/3 rounds, your companions will have your back covered as well to shore up your shortcommings. Hope my build was of some help if anyone is needing some ideas!! and sorry about my english XD

[@ShindoKokoro]

Vhuman Kensei Monk with Defensive Duelist. You stack AC to the ceiling, proficiency in all saves, immunity to poison, evasion, you're mobile enough to position yourself anywhere on the battlefield and the DM can't ignore you because if he does, his monsters get stunned into oblivion.

[@Gordyan_Knot]

This was exactly the guide I needed. I come from mainly from an MMO/RPG video game background, in which I typically mained a tank class. I was *really* struggling to adapt that concept to D&D because I'm so used to being able to intentionally manipulate aggro. I know my DM watches this channel as well, so the next encounter where I have the options to apply this advice should be interesting.

[@Lowilru]

I am actually shocked when you were talking about threat/agro not being predictable that you didn't get into using control spells defensively. Oath of Conquest is BALLER at keeping other people alive. "Taunt" mechanics aren't terribly different from Fear or Dominate.

[@jacobpietila3818]

I love to see yall working with Runesmith, I feel like his content and yours has helped me to become the DM I am today. Good sponsorship, and good video content. Thank you

[@eruditecaptain3117]

When one talks of tanks, MMORPG's have trained us to assume it's going to be the Fighter or Paladin. Of course, some people think of the Barbarian with their high hit points and damage resistances, which does work. However, the parties I've run games with have had some silly tanks. One party I'm running a spelljammer game for, the Barbarian is the support first and tank second, while the Moon Druid is the real tank. Another group I ran the game for had a Kensei Monk in the front lines. They dodged frequently and utilized Agile Parry combined with Unarmored defense for 22 AC total by 8th level (dice roll stats), and their saving throws (being a monk) made them nigh-untouchable.

[@Dannihilate]

I feel like Kensei Monk is so often overlooked for a tanking spec (especially if multi-classed with another tank spec). Depending on how they are built, they can have insanely high AC, pretty good HP, and great defenses against magic. Defensive Duelist Feat, Patient Defense, Agile Parry, Evasion, Stillness of Mind, Deflect Missiles, all add up to make you so hard to hit.

[@kylethomas9130]

Ive only recently got into play. I managed to tank as a Moon Druid, of course it made sense for the animal-like monster to attack me, I had Wild Shaped into a Giant Elk, and our Storm Sorcerer cast Enlarge on me.

[@Tunanunaa]

In my experience there’s just one step: Play a half orc.

[@Tunanunaa]

Seriously, I play a half orc moon Druid and she is un-frickin-killable

[@DungeonDudes]

Yeah, the Half-Orc has some really clutch abilities.

[@rip4324]

Fucking true

[@eri_sister_of_aerial]

Don't forget about a Full Plate Warforged Forge Domain Cleric. They get immunity to Fire damage at level 17 and before that, resistance at level 6. They get ridiculous and if they have a +3 Full Plate and +3 Shield, their AC will be 24. Warforged is the best race to stack AC fast. They are incredibly versatile.

[@qwertyjsjd]

@@eri_sister_of_aerial warforged+forge domain cleric+the fighting style that gives you +1 CA and a plate armor with shield and you get a 24 AC character at lvl 7 with no magic ítems so you don't relay on the DM giving you those items

[@TubeTAG]

One thing you didn't mention about shield master is that you can apply it's AC bonus to your Dex save if you are the only target. Sure, it doesn't help against Fireball but it certainly does against Chain Lightning or Disintegrate. Also some cantrips too like Sacred Flame and Acid Splash. Getting a +2 to these Dex Saves or even more with a magic shield, should definitely be something you keep in your back pocket if you pick up the feat.

[@MadSwedishGamer]

Predictions before watching: If your goal is to protect your party, Ancestral Guardians Barbarian and most Paladins are probably the best choice. If your goal is just to be really hard to kill, Bear Totem Barbarian, most Paladins, most Fighters, Forge Clerics, and some Rogues and Monks are really good. EDIT: Forgot Moon Druids for both categories, especially good for the second.

[@gary6631]

Always remember that stacking survivability does nothing if you don’t get attacked.

[@MadSwedishGamer]

@@gary6631 Yeah, I'd only recommend going for pure survivability in a solo campaign, unless there's some niche team composition I don't know about. Though you can get very far with a Conquest Paladin's fear aura which locks everything down.

[@stormbringer1876]

Did you forget a Moon Druid with either barkskin or stoneskin?

[@MadSwedishGamer]

@@stormbringer1876 I wouldn't recommend either of those spells as there are a lot of better concentration spells you could be focusing on instead. Most of the best ones aren't directly related to tanking, but there are a few decent ones that allow you to shape the environment to your advantage as discussed in the video.

[@stormbringer1876]

They seem to have forgotten it too because you can pop a duration spell, early would be protect from poison on top of barkskin (as you are walking up to the mansion or fort holding "stuff") freedom of movement later on top of the stoneskin and let the wildshapes go.

[@Thedutchjelle]

You better mention Forge Cleric at some point. I'm running as a Dragonborn, so far I have frost/fire resistance and an AC of EDIT: 24.

[@ShankMugen]

Which level and how many magic items?

[@Frankieboy1123]

@@ShankMugen forge clerics can hit the highest possible player AC, plus they have an ability to make a set of armor or weapon into a +1 magic item, that combined with shield from magic initiate, or shield of faith can easily put you up to 26 AC. Standard AC for a forge cleric tank at level 1 is 19 if they choose to use a shield with their armor

[@ShankMugen]

@@Frankieboy1123 I have 23 AC at Level 7 with 0 magic items, just plate and shield, as a Warforged Forge Cleric, so was curious how to get that high, as I get +1 AC as racial trait

[@Thedutchjelle]

@@ShankMugen Alright, I admit I overestimated a bit. Pulled up my sheet, I'm only at AC24. Considerably less than my boast, my apologies. Still, if you're interested, this is what I got right now: -Level 8 Silver DB Forge Cleric - Full plate + 1 - Ring of Protection - Shield of Arrow Catching - That blessing that I can do each day

[@ShankMugen]

@@Thedutchjelle Oh cool, but Where are you putting the Blessing of the Forge? As the Blessing can only be applied to non-magical weapons and armours with that equipment I would have 24 AC, Right now my set-up is like so - Level 7 Warforged Forge Cleric - Full Plate - Shield - Blessing of the Forge on the Armour

[@enelson39]

Love you guys and your videos! My current character is a tank, RP is like a battle commando. Race: Human (Variant) Feat: Inspiring Leader Currently at Level 1 Fighter (Fighting Style: Protection), Level 5 Bard (College of Glamour) Uses spells like Aid, Faerie Fire, Healing Word and Enemies Abound to Verbally support allies. Spells are flavored as 'strategy'. Faerie fire for example is "Focus the enemies' weak points!", healing word is flavored as "Keep going comrade, the fight isn't over!" Uses Mantle of Inspiration to command allies into advantageous positions and buff Temp HP. "Okay team, Initiate formation Delta!" Using Inspiring Leader during short rests, Aid cast at Level 3 (+10hp) and Mantle of Inspiration has been great at making allies tanky and always in advantageous positions while my character is on the front line with 20AC or adjacent to allies using protection and drawing enemy fire.

[@FrayTheHunter]

I’m already predicting the Sentinel and Polearm Master feat

[@Dragoneth]

This video (like all of your others) was a great guide. Now let me tell you of my non-conventional tank: I play a Fallen Aasimar Hexblade/SwordBard (with a small fighter dip for Second Wind) as our party's main tank. I really wanted to play that role without going the traditional Barb/Fighter Polearm/Sentinel route. The shield spell is the bane of our DM's existence. I use a warhammer and a shield, with War Caster so I can Hold Person when an important enemy tries to flee. I was hasted in our last fight, so I could move 200ft (haste, Bard Flourish, an item that gives "Tabaxi Speed") and my 18 AC boosted to 20 (+5 after Shield Spell, +1d8 if I use Defensive Flourish). I built around the Frightened condition and position myself where the enemy can't get closer to our squishier party members. I threw Booming Blade into the mix to punish the enemy further if they become too scared to fight me. Then, of course, I have four different options to heal myself should things go south (Aasimar's Healing Hands, Cure Wounds, Hexblade's Curse, Second Wind). To top it off, we have a Barbarian soaking up the big bad's damage while I'm zooming across the battlefield and rounding up the little guys, or vice versa. Having two tanks in our group helps whenever one of us fails a save and starts attacking our allies. If we ever both got controlled, then... game over, man. NPC's are so scared and confused that our high dps PCs and support casters have the time of their lives in safety. As long as you're keeping your own survivability and mobility options open, as well as protecting allies with sheer force of will, you're tanking. D&D is all about finding creative solutions to problems and playstyles and that's why it's so amazing. :)

[@Benny_101]

I can't believe you guys haven't mentioned the Cavalier ONCE in this video! This class is THE best class to draw damage towards yourself, and protecting your allies, including a skill that pretty much replaces Sentinel at 10th level. Multi class that with a barbarian bear totem just to get that resistance to damage, and then go crazy on that class. Use a one hand spear and a shield (if you feel like it, using a Bugbear will increase your range even more), don heavy armor, and you have a steel wall between your party and the foes

[@Dazyhead]

arcane tricksters with 20 dex, hide armor and a cloak of displacement is a good way to make sure physical attacks are wasted. especially with a good charisma to taunt and insult the attacker. build up that hubris to really make the target want to put you in your place. you can also get wis proficiency saves and with resilient go into con saves for dex, cha, con and wis saving throws. you can also use mage hand to give disadvantage as a reaction and you can straight up steal weapons and items

[@tomboy_kisser]

3:05 Actually, it's by far one of the rarest types of classes. In games with character/class selection, it's completely normal for there to either only be damage dealers, or damage dealers & support/healer characters. Hell, even rogues are significantly more common than tanks in video games. t. >300 Steam library, been an avid game ever since I was old enough to hold a controller nearly 30 years ago. / Edit: just realized that I typed that while AFK in an MMO that proves my point lol.

[@ChunkyTheClown]

I wouldn’t say that. Supports are by far the least popular of the three major archetypes in my experience. DPS is far and away the most popular, obviously, but tanks still keep up decently well due to the fact that they get cool bulky armor and weapons that appeal to many people more than other types of gear, still generally get to fight enemies even though their damage is on the lower side, and they get all the glory for standing right in the boss’ face and protecting their entire party. Comparatively, supports have a thankless job that is focused almost entirely on interacting with emotionally charged players at low health, making insults and harassment extremely common whenever they make a mistake and let someone go down. That kind of pressure combined with the extremely limited play options available to support classes are not appealing to many players and it shows. I mean, seriously, there’s an actual unspoken rule among many players that you need to always go out of your way to thank your healers in any game SPECIFICALLY because they get so much shit online for things both in and out of their control.

[@thesearethedroidsyouareloo8431]

Just created my warforged juggernaut fighter-battle master. I am pumped! Thanks for the input!

[@Subcomandante73]

I'm playing a Tank in World of Tanks.

[@june012006]

How common is your avatar? A friend of a friend uses it on Facebook. Just wondering if it's a small world, or a coincidence.

[@Subcomandante73]

@@june012006 Coincidence :)

[@comfortablesharpshooter3419]

Yea, very common xD

[@dominusbalial835]

you should try warthunder, I prefer it over world of tanks

[@ryoyamada8579]

Underrated lmfaoo

[@chrisblake4198]

When you guys began talking about Artificer tanking, I went and finished the one I've been working on- A Tortle Alchemist is a pretty cheap way to hit 20AC with an infused shield. Even better by level 6 when they can make it a Repulsion Shield along with a Radiant Weapon. Both great tanking options. He may not have a ton of hp but I think Alchemical tricks can help with that. Especially (if I'm reading the rules right) Healing Word with a double bonus. I think being able to do cool tricks like cast a Concentration spell then turtle up for 24 AC and advantage CON saves is potentially really powerful. Pick simple options like Faerie Fire, Enlarge on a Damage Dealer, or do something devious like Levitate a big melee threat, then just hunker down. You could even do fun door blocking with Sanctuary.

[@Fae2705]

I wanna go Forge cleric with my highest stats in WIS and CHA. I was just doing it for my spell casting ability and CHA for persuasion because I'm a merchant too. I see now there is more benefit to my strategy.

[@angie.castle]

I entered in a few sessions late to a campaign my friends were doing, and they are all ranged attackers or squishy casters (wizard, sorcerer, ranger, bard). Seeing that line up, I was going to go fighter, but went down paladin instead to help the bard with healing every once in a while. I love playing tanks in general, so it works out just fine. We've got our grove, and we work well together. But, I wanted to learn more about being a better tank as we are now getting into higher levels. Thanks!

[@isaiahboyce3658]

PSA: You can not rage in Heavy Armor. So Multiclassing, while still a great option, will put a small dent in AC. Half-Elf Paladins work great to with Fey ancestry and good stat boosts. With any race, Oath of Devotion Paladin solves your weak save problem and gives the shield of faith, Ancients helps with spells, and lay on hands makes for great survive ability. The Tough feat can give you an extra hit or two in a fight sometimes. Parry and Rally maneuvers are great at soaking up damage depending on your stats. Moon Druids are fun, but the attack bonuses are low. You have to make sure that you remember to heal yourself with your bonus action though, because once the Wild Shape drops, soon will you. Spore Druid can get a huge Temp HP buff with their special Wild Shape use. Mountain Dwarves get free armor, so a mountain dwarf War Magic or Abjuration Wizard or Divine Soul Sorcerer(Shield + Shield of Faith + Aid) can make a fantastic tank. With Haste, Shield, Blur, and Mirror Image, you wont get hit that often, if at all. War, Order, Forge, Nature(6th level feature), and Tempest Clerics can get pretty tough while also dishing out some good support, also Shield of Faith + Aid + Bless. Paired with Hill Dwarf gives extra Hp and Warhammers for any cleric that lacks it. The Hunter Ranger gets some unique options for defense, those being Multi Attack Defense or Iron Will and Evasion or Uncanny Dodge. The new spells in Xanathar's can also add to being a tank, specifically the Guardian of Nature Spell. They get the Defense fighting style and it's also only one feat away from Medium Armor Master. I could see being a kind of dex based tank. Warlocks are weird, I'm sure somebody has a Warlock tank somewhere. Rogue and Monk do not tank. But they can be slippery.

[@MirroredDreamscape]

I'm currently playing a human Spore Druid in Curse of Strahd, and have sort of become the de-facto party tank with the huge amount of hit points I have access to with Symbiotic Entity, it's been really great. Taking Polearm Master and favoring Thorn Whip as my cantrip of choice when out of melee range has really been a great way to leverage control of enemy positioning on the battlefield; not only can I pull monsters into my deadly spore radius, they get punished harshly if they try to leave my side to run off and attack the others. It's been an awesome experience for a first-time player. Just working my way up to 19-20 AC, hopefully, although it's proving difficult with my class cutting me off from metal armor.

[@ScintillatingRainbow]

I'm glad you mentioned Abjuration Wizard. I feel like it gets overlooked a lot. One of my favorite tanks I've ever played was a high elf Abjuration wizard with a 1 level dip in tempest cleric.

[@RevPirateDan]

I love that you included stuff other than survivability. I wouldn't have thought of that.

[@tylerswanson2062]

Two of my favorite tank builds. Totem Barbarian/Moon Druid. Shapeshift into an animal and take half damage while taking no damage to your own hit points. And Fighter2/18Wizard School of Abjuration. You can ware all the heavy armor and shields you want now while being a badass wizard with defence spells.

[@rafaelbordoni516]

A really cool idea I saw for the tanky abjuration wizard is to use armor of agathys. As written, the arcane ward isn't temporary hit points, so they can stack with armor of agathys's temp hp, which means as long as the ward is up, the enemies will take damage for attacking you. You would have to learn it from another source though, maybe by taking magic initiate in warlock or taking hexblade warlock levels instead of fighter.

[@MrBottlecapBill]

There are still strength requirements for some armours, so you'll have to sink ability points into strength......which means they may not be in other vital areas, which can affect your prepared spell list, spell attack, and saving throws as well.

[@anthonynorman7545]

@@MrBottlecapBill I thought lacking the strength requirements only resulted in -5 to speed?

[@jakeryker3751]

My brother found out he loved playing a tank when we did a Ravnican one shot. He and his wife, who played a rogue, made a pretty solid duo. He had heavy armor and a shield and the protector fighting style. He would impose disadvantage while shrugging off hits while she struck with powerful sneak attacks, and though she didn't have the highest ac or hit points she was able to survive against hoards of zombies with disadvantage from his protection and uncanny Dodge.

[@geoffdewitt6845]

I'm sad that no one covered the low-key best tank of the game: Arcana clerics with booming blade.

[@Malisteen]

They're certainly up there. Clerics in general make for strong tanks, particularly once they gain access to Spirit Guardians. They're very underrated since they tend to get pidgeon holed as 'healers' rather than tanks, which is a big mistake since 'healer' isn't really supported as a primary combat role in 5e. It's something some classes can do, but it's generally not something any class should be doing as their primary contribution in combat.

[@mikewatts1533]

The one thing I did not hear that always works well against the tanks that I had to deal with were swarms of small creatures like goblins and kobolds. Love the channel keep up the good work and dude's.

[@TheHornedKing]

I'm playing a bear totem barbarian in our game, and from rolling my stats, I got three 15s and put one of them in dex, which I plan to turn into a 16 through the Resilient feat, getting profiency in dex saves. Combined with the barbarian's Danger Sense ability (advantage on dex saves they can see), and the bear totem... Enemy: *Casts fireball* Me: "Who threw that candlelight at me!?"

[@zealman18]

awesome video! my first thought for a tank race was tortle because of their shell ability, or warforged for their resistances

[@Malisteen]

When building any character, including tanks, it's important to keep in mind what levels you'll be playing at. Heavy Armor Master, for instance, scales quite poorly and is actually a pretty bad feat at later levels... but most campaigns never make it to those levels. Most campaigns end or peter out around level 10, so a character who picks up heavy armor master at 4th level, or at 1st level via a variant human bonus feat, will be incredibly tough for the majority of their actual career. On the other hand, aura of conquest is an amazing tanking ability that makes conquest paladins among the best lockdown tanks in the game, but it only comes online at level 7, and really only takes off at level 9 when they gain access to the Fear spell, and most campaigns are wrapping up at that point, so while it's my favorite tanking class in theory, in a lot of real world campaigns Conquerors are 'just' paladins - already one of the better tanking classes, but not noticeably better at the job than other oaths.

[@michaelcross7665]

I'd disagree that heavy armor master is bad. Most enemies use multi attack. Flat damage reduction quickly adds up and works great on mobs in particular. People also tend to ignore that it also gives half ASI with another +1 strength so really it's kinda half a feat and half just a normal stat increase. That's still efficient. If it didnt have that +1 strength it would be bad but with it it is pretty solid.

[@joshuagiddy9769]

Just started a campaign playing a tank for the first time and this video was so good. Very nervous being the action hero of the group without being obnoxious but this had some great hints.

[@uberd3323]

>Yuan ti pureblood >Psychic warrior fighter 3 >Heavy armor master feat >7 levels in Ancients paladin >10 levels war wizard >tough feat

[@Kestral287]

If your DM is down for UA material, my absolute favorite tank is the Rune Knight. They get a bevy of abilities that are perfectly designed to keep you and your allies alive through a *lot* of punishment: -Giant's Might grows you to large, which is useful for just body-blocking areas and gets great with Sentinel. -The Hill Rune gives you advantage against being poisoned and resistance to poison damage all the time, and 1/short rest you get the defensive half of a rage. Sure you don't have a Barbarian's D12 hit dice, but you can wear plate+shield, or you can go for a dex build, two things Barbs don't normally get. The Hill Rune also makes your self-heal way more relevant as you go up in levels. -The Fire rune is very action-economy efficient since it happens when you hit an enemy with an attack, and can lock an enemy in place so they can't chase your allies around. It's no Sentinel, but it serves a somewhat similar role. -The Stone rune lets you use a reaction to incapacitate someone who walks too close to you. A reaction-based single-target Hypnotic Pattern can be very useful for just taking an enemy out of the fight until you feel like dealing with them later, and fewer enemies fighting = less damage coming at your allies. -The Cloud rune lets you use a reaction to forcibly redirect an attack directed at someone within 30 feet to someone *else* within 30 feet. Regardless of the attack's range. At a minimum this can push an attack that would've hurt your squishy caster onto you, the big beefy fighter. Much more often you get to make an enemy smack their friend instead. Dealing damage as you negate an attack sounds like a wonderful tanking strategy to me. -The Storm rune lasts for a minute and within that minute, you spend a reaction to impose advantage or disadvantage on basically whatever roll you like. Ally needs to make a saving throw that's kind of rough? Advantage. Big monster swinging at them? Disadvantage. It's got a lot of aggressive uses as well, like forcing disadvantage on enemy saves. -Defensive Runes less you burn a reaction to buff an ally's AC against an incoming attack. Note that while most of the above abilities are 1/short rest, this is just something you can always do with your reaction. Also, you're an Int-based class. That opens up some really nice dips: Artificer can not only let you be an Int-based Hexblade but also puts Absorb Elements, Cure Wounds, Sanctuary, and Shield onto your spell list. Plus the value of your Infusions, your Defender, and some pretty neat out of combat utility crossover with all the tool things working well with the Fire Rune giving them Expertise; there are some very easily-flavored characters in there. Wizard is also a good dip. Bladesinger can do Obnoxious Bladesinger Things with your Dex/Int Fighter to push your AC into the stratosphere while you antagonize your enemies, or War Wizard can buff your initiative to help you position while putting Arcane Deflection to fantastic use. The big gap in the Fighter's defenses is always going to be its saving throws; Indomitable helps but you're just never going to make those saves as well as a Paladin. Arcane Deflection says spend a reaction to give yourself +4 to a failed saving throw, at the 'staggering' cost of not being able to cast non-cantrips on your next turn for your martial character. That's absurd. The reaction for +2 to your AC is also nonzero, though in that regard the more notable pickup is, again, Wizards get Shield and Absorb Elements, plus a small arsenal of utility spells and other tricks. A third level into Wizard, regardless of subclass, would also get you second-level spells: Mirror Image and Misty Step are things I obviously like on my tanky characters, or you can grab some extra battlefield control options to keep your party alive. But since we're into UA anyway, one of my favorite spells here is Mind Thrust. Bonus action spellcasting is really good on your extra attack martial class, and the spell contributes a bit of chip damage in a rare damage type but also just says that if they fail their saving throw (and it's an Int save!) they have to dash or disengage away with their next action. Denying an enemy a round of attacks is wonderful for protecting allies, and Int tends to be a weak saving throw even for a lot of big scary things like dragons. The big downside of the Rune Knight is really that it has too many toys for its own good, and the dips don't help it in that regard. Out of the gate your first couple bonus actions in real fights are going to your Giant's Might and Hill/Storm Rune abilities, then if you're a Bladesinger you're going to want to activate that, or the Artificer will want to utilize its Steel Defender (to say nothing of potentially casting spells or using Second Wind deeper in the fight). Your reactions have Defensive Runes, Storm Rune, Cloud Rune, Stone Rune, and if you dipped, a couple spell options and potentially Arcane Deflection. The biggest way this tank runs into issues is when your enemies either do a lot to you quickly to stop you from getting set up or enemies just push to overwhelm your reactions in a single round: smack your allies enough that you're forced to utilize Defensive Runes to protect them, then hammer you with a save targeting one of your weak defenses while Arcane Deflection is down. But to me, that sounds a lot like "the enemies are focusing on you", which means that as a tank you're doing your job well. It gets a lot harder for the monsters to always go after the squishy folks when the guy handing out active protections to the various squishy folks only really goes down when focused. Tl;dr: Rune Knight is a great tank class, everyone knows Battle Smith and Bladesinger are good dips but War Wizard is also a stellar dip class for buffering defenses.

[@BMX-nl2bq]

My Warforged Bear Totem PoleArm master is for hire.

[@cavemoss7188]

Thats a weird combination on the account that you cant rage while having heavy armor on

[@Kronosxviii1]

@@cavemoss7188 Actually you can rage while in heavy armor, you just don't benefit from the 3 main rage features, but you still get the bear totem resistance benefit while raging in heavy armor.

[@EndyHawk]

I have a Sword Bard/Fighter dip in my pocket for when I am not the defacto DM. The insane armor classes you can get with the sword maneuvers, defensive duelist, and medium armor master; good dex saves; and the ability to shut down enemies with hypnotic pattern, suggestion, web, etc offers a tank/control hybrid that can fill so many different holes when needed.

[@Dragoneth]

Swordbard is soooo good as a control tank.

[@ggman367]

Ok this is kinda perfect timing. My friend is running a new game and it looks like I'm stuck playing the tank again. Looking forward to the episode Friday.

[@ggman367]

The role everyone needs and no one wants to play. Well in my case.

[@kyleharvey9072]

If you need to play a tank but don't want to, I'd recommend playing a cleric. Full spell casting progression, healing if you wish, high potential damage output. With heavy armour proficiency if you pick certain domains (my favourite is Forge for the tanky cleric vibe)

[@ggman367]

Unfortunately stuck playing that all the time lol..

[@TheHawkhead1HunterK]

Reminds me of that time I played in the Taldorei setting as an ex-paladin who embraced the arcane and became a wizard - 2 Levels of Paladin got him some good secondary healing with the ability to remove poisons, on top of being able to wear heavy armor and use a shield. Another plus was the fact he had Wisdom& Charisma saves over the wizard's Wisdom & Intelligence- at level 3 he had a base AC of 19 with the ability to boost it to 24 with shield - even higher if he wanted to concentrate on Shield of Faith. He was originally a Conjuration wizard, but I i had to play him again, I'd 100% go Abjuration as my subclass as the amount of protection behind that subclass is ridiculous

[@tylerbarnick8750]

I'm currently playing a Warforged Cavalier and he's a beast! He holds the choke points extremely well he has polearm master and shield make him friggin hard to take down

[@anna4aa570]

What polearm is he using with a shield? Because I thought that polearms are 2 handed

[@mattbrammeier8938]

@@anna4aa570 Spears can be used with one hand. Trades off a little damage to hold that shield. If your goal is to block a door, it's not a bad idea. PAM and Sentinel to lock em down in front of the door, Shield Master to knock em over and keep them there.

[@anna4aa570]

@@mattbrammeier8938 thanks

[@oliverworley5162]

@@mattbrammeier8938 do spears have reach when used in one hand

[@redactedsouls6367]

@@oliverworley5162 They do

[@charliescheirmann2926]

Here are a few options (I haven't watched through the entire video yet so sorry for any repeats) 1. A monk with the Sentinel Feat can attack an opponent when they opt to attack a nearby ally. A 5th level monk could then stunning strike mid enemies turn stopping their attack as it's being thrown. 2. Any Paladin with the Compelled duel spell. 3. a Paladin can take the Sentinel and magic initiate feat, Sentinel so that their AoO reduce opponents movements to 0 and magic initiate allows them to get shocking grasp. Now say an enemy is engaged with the party wizard, the paladin walks up and casts shocking grasp the enemy taking away their reaction, so the wizard can safely disengage. Then if the enemy still opts to run after the wizard, they can hit them as a sentinel and reduce their movement to 0 keeping the enemy engaged with the paladin and away from the wizard. (Plus having sentinel for those extra AoO when a party member gets hit means more opportunities for the paladin to use divine smite in a single round.) 4. An Ancestral Barbarian always has a weakened form of compelled duel active while they rage. 5. A cleric with Spiritual guardians and guardian of faith protecting their allies area is a scary thing to walk into (this doesn't necessarily stop enemies from walking up to the party but it will deal on average 22 damage to any enemies trying to approach them).

[@artemisknight9710]

I think there's a build you didn't cover that deserves consideration. The Full Plate Abjuration Wizard. Hear me out. You start with 2 levels of Fighter (because Action Surge yes please) take the Defense Style, with Full Plate you're at 19 AC, add a shield your base AC is 21, once you've got the ability to cast Shield you can surge it to 26. While the Wizard's hit dice is low the Abjuration Wizard gets the Arcane Ward, it's basically extra hit points, 2 x your Wizard Level + your Int modifier. Best yet every time you cast an Abjuration spell your ward regains hit points. Everything you said about feat choices still applies (except the polearm master + shield master + sentinel combo ). For healing you have some of the best once you hit mid-tier Vampiric Touch and later Enervation. For mobility you've got Misty Step and Dimension Door. For pesky ranged enemies you've got a TON of options. Elemental Damage... you pack Absorb Elements and later Fire Shield. Controlling the battlefield and funneling enemies towards you, you've got the wall spells. Someone slips by you and hits a squishy character, projected ward. Invisible enemies, not a problem you've got See Invisibility. Even better just Counterspell it you are the best Counterspeller in the game afterall! Plus Counterspell covers a lot of the weaknesses mentioned while recharging your Arcane Ward. I think my favorite part about this build is getting to use some of those spells that the Wizard rarely uses, the touch spells like Shocking Grasp and the aforementioned Vampiric Touch, Thunderclap (I'm not afraid of rushing into the middle of a group to get the most out of this spell, and Tenser's Transformation is really fun. And let's not forget you get 1 round of going NOVA, that moment when you see a horde of enemies, I cast Fireball, Action Surge, I cast Fireball.... it's glorious.

[@werewolf4358]

That's pretty dirty.

[@duncecap181]

This excites and terrifies me

[@brycenakagawa2225]

The key to tanking effectively is to have a high but not unhittable AC. Once an intelligent foe discovers that they need a nat 20 to hit your tank, they are more than justified in just ignoring them and going after anyone else, which nullifies your value as a tank.

[@mikiewhite2152]

My favorite tank I’ve played is my Dragonborn multiclass, level 4 bear totem barbarian and the rest paladin oath of devotion, holy rage as you smite the heretics and fail no saves

[@JWGrace]

Goliath Fighter (Battlemaster). Stone's Endurance is a good addition. Didn't go the Shield route (yet) but did go with Sentinel and Polearm Master. Having Reach really helps for controlling the battlefield (though, at the cost of AC). Maneuvers include Goading Attack, Distracting Attack, and Riposte to draw attention, aid allies, and punish our enemies. Just leveled to 6 and took Martial Adept to get an extra Superiority Die and added Disarming Attack and Maneuvering Attack. The biggest challenge has been managing bonus actions and reactions. Makes for a lot of tactical decisions.

[@anthiondel]

Oath of Conquest is another terriffic option for a tank once you get your aura of conquest online. Tanking through fear and blocking your enemies actions

[@morrigankasa570]

My Paladin who when she reaches Lvl 3 she will take Oath of Conquest herself but not as a Tank or Support Role and she plans on establishing a new Queendom and creating a new Pantheon of Deities that are primarily changed & restored Lost/Dead/Weakened Deities, for example Garagos will become her War Deity for that Pantheon she will try to destroy the Red Knight by combining her with Garagos and replacing/weakening Tempus as well as perhaps finding traces of dead War Deities to gather up and grant to Garagos.

[@prophetisaiah08]

I played a weird tank once, but it was in Adventurer's League Season 8 that allowed you to essentially get a custom load-out of magic items at higher levels. The party consisted of a hexblade warlock, a bladesinger wizard, a war cleric, a draconic sorcerer with a couple levels of hexblade, and a swashbuckler rogue with a couple levels of GOO lock. I was the sorlock. Relevant feats: Resiliant CON, Crossbow Mastery, Tough. Relevant magic items: Shield +3, half plate +2, staff of power, scroll of true polymorph (to go full adult silver dragon for BBEG fight) Mobility: Dragon wings, haste Main defensive spells: Shield, armor of Agathys Result by end of the campaign (level 19): HP - 202 + 45 temp, AC - 26 + 5 (shield spell) + 2 (haste spell), 60ft fly speed, ability to go FULL DRAGON. Yeah, Merrik Whitescale was a freaking MONSTER in combat. He was really decent in role play as well. Just don't ask him to navigate anywhere...

[@JS-zr9qs]

Ancient's Oath Paladin Sentinel, Shield Master, Resilient: Constitution Dodge action That is all.

[@DarthPoyner]

This requires that the enemy get close to you or your allies to stay close. If all you're doing is moving and dodging, then you aren't much of a threat. Then you just have to depend on your teammates funneling them towards you. Which could be good, but is completely dependent on the people in your party.

[@JS-zr9qs]

@@DarthPoyner Depends on if the DM plays to the enemy's Intelligence. A non-humanoid monster will attack the biggest or the closest, making it viable to stand and dodge. Sentinel allows the offense to work through Reactions, and works well to control the battlefield. Player intelligence matters, too. Staying a full spell or missile's distance away usually means the foes have to waste an entire turn or more moving closer, which most foes will try to avoid and the exceptions can get horribly injured on the way. They have a responsibility to use this knowledge. Best of all, the Dodge action and Constitution save boost make it viable to let spellcasters center AoEs on the Paladin because the saves will be so high or with advantage, mitigating the 40 damage Fireball down to 10 through halving on success, then halving on magic resist oath feature.

[@syrupchugger421]

I find rhe best irl taunt is action surging as a fighter on round one and curb stomping the biggest enemy in the battle. After that the DM is dedicated to killing me. Works like a charm. Thanks for another great video.

[@AsherrTheRed]

the playpen is my new favorite thing...

[@GumbyLoc925]

Great video!! I’m currently playing a half-Orc fighter (UA Brute). Planning on multiclass to barbarian (Bear Totem) and Paladin (oath of [i haven’t decided yet]). Level breakdown will be 11 fighter. 4 barbarian. 5 Paladin. The tankiest of tanks and able to deal a ton of damage!

[@AvianFang]

Personal favorite tank build is a combo build with my fiance. Moon druid with sentinel as the mount and cavalier fighter with mounted combatant as the tank. All attacks the would target the druid now must target the fighter, which triggers sentinel. Being marked by the cavalier means attacks vs. anyone else are disadvantaged. The fighter dipped 1 level into forge cleric to make magic armour and shield of faith. Currently sits at 26 AC in most fits after fighting style and magic gear.

[@jeremyharvey8361]

At roughly 8:00. I had a DM in a previous game constantly complain to me about not being able to hit some of our party. I told her to look at our ability scores and she still didn't understand. It took me an hour to explain to her that AC isn't the only target.

[@razorraptor2247]

Oddly good tank: An Envoy Warforged that happens to be a Battlesmith Artificer

[@rafaelbordoni516]

One class you didn't talked about that can add to your list is the Artificer Battlesmith. With infusions, you can get bonuses to AC and attack/damage rolls, and most importantly, your steel defender will occupy space on the frontline, giving you an attack to use your bonus action on, deliver opportunity attacks and/or impose disadvantage on your foes' attacks against you or other party members. You also have access to absorb elements, shield, faerie fire, cure wounds, levitate, web, heat metal, aid, invisibility, enlarge/reduce and other staples of 1st and 2nd level. They only lack hp with their d8 hit dies, but they more than make up for that with what I already said. They really are amazing!

[@jlowers]

Compelled duel, Lv1 paladin spell. “Fight me!”

[@ShankMugen]

Lv 1 Paladins don't get spells

[@ShucklethedittoDan]

I think they just meant it uses a level 1 spell slot

[@Epic24123]

@@ShankMugen thats level 0, i think level 1 gets spells

[@gufosufo337]

@@Epic24123 no, they get it level 2

[@nyxmaoam]

I love this video! I'm playing a tank in one dnd game (with a lot of homebrew). I'm really happy about my choices so far, considering your tips. I'm playing as a winged tiefling Battlemaster Fighter. With the "Shieldmaster" and "Infernal Constituton". Bonus to Dex Saves, resistance to fire, poison and cold DMG and an AC of 21. Maneuvers to let my compagnions disengage with their reaction, block DMG from Weapon attacks as well as goading enemies. Also flying. And this without a sentient weapon, that grants neat boni like advantage against being charmed and on death saves, as well as some mobility options. Still I got to 0 HP twice already. So if the dice want to, they still can get you. Some level in Barbarian will hopefully help with this.

[@CvBurgundy]

T H E P L A Y P E N

[@matthewdykeman8149]

As a tank main there were a few things I felt weren't mentioned, so here's a few tips of my own. 1 - Dump your str guys. I know it sounds weird but str is one of your least used saving throws, and you can put the stats to better use for Wis, Cha, Dex. The extra dmg seem great and all but a good tank has other ways to obtain threat. 2 - No mention of the Oath of the Crown Paladin? That dragon that can fly past you? Boom Divine Challenge and now it can't move more then 30 ft away from you, and that includes flying. It also gives you free access to THE BEST tanking spells in the game. I'm talking Compelled Duel, Warding Bond, Aura of Vitality, Spirit Guardians, Guardian of Faith, and Circle of Power. Some of them not even requiring concentration. 3 - Don't sleep on some of the weirder and under used class options. Abjuration Wizard is one of the most slept on tank sub-classes in the game. It's Arcane Ward ability has made more then one of my DM's cry when they learn what it is able to contribute to a fight. Remember dmg prevented is hit points you don't need to worry about losing. 4 - Sometimes raw dmg is the way to go. A dead enemy is one less source of dmg to half to worry about. A Rogue with a keen blade and keener eye for picking targets can sometimes be a better tank just through elimination and distraction then soaking up damage. Pioritize your targets cause while it might seem better to just be a road block it's often better to lock down that enemy Wizard from casting on your allies then it is to just hold up their big dumb stupid brute. Trust your team to follow-up on you, and to know how protect themselves while your doing your job.

[@epicandstevie4152]

2 Words. Rogue Barbarian EDIT: also yes multiclassing into rogue is almost always worth it. Using your reaction to take half damage is crazy.

[@maid_of_heart3261]

Sneak attack only specifies that you need a finesse (or ranged) weapon to sneak attack, it doesn't explicitly say that you have to attack using your dexterity although it is encouraged by the wording. So you can apply sneak attack damage and rage damage to your attacks every single turn if you use a rapier and use reckless attack constantly

[@timfrancisco7640]

My oath of devotion paladin's worst saving throw is +6 after my Aura of Protection and my shield master make my -1 dex mod to a +7 Saving throw. The only thing my character needs is plate armour, but the world our DM has created didn't have plate armour in it. I have a blacksmith working on creating some for me. I love my paladin and can't imagine a better tank character. I love your guys' videos. Thank you for making them.

[@ashesuperstar9372]

*lagths in ac 21 paladin/warlock/barbion with +7 being his lowest save*

[@FuelDropforthewin]

Half elves and elves are solid tanks simply because their resistance to charm and sleep magic shores up a weakness that can lock most tanks down instantly.

[@camosteve2433]

Dungeon Dudes: A flying enemy with range attacks and invisibility, what are you gonna do about that situation? Me: Guess I'll die?!?

[@JoeSmith-ug9hu]

Would love to hear you guys do a video about Forge Clerics! Don't see many videos about that subclass! Good videos as always!