On tanks and threat/taunting mechanics for PvP
So in later parts of the Feb dev update, Steven briefly touched on the topic of threat/forced taunt in a PvP setting, and its capacity to be a contentious issue. Obviously this is something that must be given some attention, as a lot of tank players will likely want to perform a tanking function in PvP battles, and scooping up enemy agro/taking the heat, is the core of their class build.
Personally I think there's a very simple, and practical solution here, but obviously that means nothing if it's not also supported by a large number of players, and is a direction that Steven and dev team want to go in.
So with that in mind, I thought I'd explain what at least to me, seems like the best option, and see what others think of it.
So for anyone here who has played SWtOR MMO, this feature won't be new. For the benefit of those who aren't familiar with it, taunts in SWtOR have two different functions, depending on whether they are used on an NPC or another player.
If used on an NPC, it's a straight up forced taunt for 'x' duration.
If however they are in PvP and use a taunt, it functions as a damage debuff, if the target ignores the tank. So if the tank taunts an enemy, they are "taunted" for the same duration as an NPC that would be forced to attack the tank, but for the taunted player, they have a choice. They can target the tank and deal their normal amount of damage, or they can ignore the taunt, targeting other players, but will do so with a 30% penalty to their damage output (until the taunt expires)
Personally I found this to be a great feature, it doesn't interfere with the controls of another player, but it still allows the tank to perform their role of protecting friendly players.
You could easily expand on that concept if it didn't feel like it was impactful enough by tweaking the length of the taunt, the amount of reduced damage the taunted player inflicts on other targets etc, as well as maybe including a snare effect that would either reduce their movement speed, or apply a debuff to their attack speed for the duration of the taunt.
There's another ability that would be a great fit (and is currently used in several other MMO's) which is a 'guard' ability. Where the tank selects one other player and places a guard effect on them. Effectively re-directing 'x' amount of damage received by the guarded player, which is instead dealt to the tank.
Maybe it's just me, but these sort of features seem like the best way to give tanks the ability to still perform the 'tank' role in a PvP setting, without creating a scenario where you start looking at forcing other players to attack a specific target, etc.
Thoughts?
