Need Guidance which tank

[BossTuggles]

New to game and having difficulty deciding which tank to play (Order). I have all leveled in the mid teens. Was curious which is more useful after T1. I understand the basic of the mechanics for each. Blazing sun knight seems super easy as its just make sure you have the right auras in each situation. SM feels nice because of the weaving. and IB i feel like doesnt really get unlocked unless you have a competent partner with you (admittedly its t1 so cant whine about this as its mostly just solo people). Do they all maintain the same playstyle as the game progresses? Basically I need someone to tell me which tank to play and if running around with a 2hander is such a negative because im soo indecisiive heh. Thanks and appreciate the advice.

P.S. is there a discord or some place warbands organize ? or is that only like a End Game guild thing.

[SJHarrison4115]

What are you looking to get out of your tank is going to be a pretty defining factor in this.

Are you looking to be cornerstone of the Warband, or more of a small group roamer/ganker for instance?

I'm assuming based on your comment about 2handers that is your preffered style of play, is that with respects to the damage that you deal, or aesthetics etc?

These will be important questions to guide your ultimate choice.

[BossTuggles]

Im not bent on having to be a 2hander just I have been told conflicting things and its hard to find current info on the game. Aesthetically the blazing sun knight is "TOO MUCH" in the looks department and the dwarf is just little and its just a ball. So looks id prefer the SM. I can get over this stuff if they are far superior even though they look a bit less cool imo. I would enjoy being a part of a big warband. I felt more useful in those situations. So i feel currently SM > Dwarf > Knight however if one far outperforms the other im down to switch. Basically I dont know how anything performs or even roles of each in anything past T1

[Bozzax]

> >

[Rapzel]

Im not bent on having to be a 2hander just I have been told conflicting things and its hard to find current info on the game. Aesthetically the blazing sun knight is "TOO MUCH" in the looks department and the dwarf is just little and its just a ball. So looks id prefer the SM. I can get over this stuff if they are far superior even though they look a bit less cool imo. I would enjoy being a part of a big warband. I felt more useful in those situations. So i feel currently SM > Dwarf > Knight however if one far outperforms the other im down to switch. Basically I dont know how anything performs or even roles of each in anything past T1

Background:
Got all 6 tanks on 40. 4 are 80+ one is around 70, and one is around 50.

So let's break it down.

KotBS is mandatory for every competitive group due to resistance aura and focused mending (15% extra healing). It is a great starter tank because you will have the time to guard swap and learn to punt. SnB is good, can be built to be very tanky.
Two hander got a massive nerf no idea why, but it did (AoE snare tactic and so forth). People complain about 2h tank not doing damage, it doesn't but instead it has been a superb tank. Who would have known that when it says arch type tank your main job is tanking?

SM has whispering winds which makes it really good to have paired with a lot of careers. The majority of groups will want to run kotbs and SM. SM got some massive buffs and has the best support imho of all the tanks on order atm. Can be specced into doing serious damage (for being a tank). Weakness is that it really needs to be paired with a KotBS (resistance aura) and its relatively short avoidance buffs.

IB is built around physical damage groups, you want an IB or two in a wb but they are more niche. Pairs nice with Slayer. IB can be built into be more or less immortal or do decent damage, has access to AoE slow, great tactics and can buff melee dps to do insane damage. Issues are low resistance and few party wide buffs.

Neither of the tanks are very difficult and you could start with playing any of the tanks.

With that said, I would recommend that you start to play KotBS to get good at position, guard swapping and punting, when the core mechanics are down you can continue leveling an SM or IB.

[TrainInVain]

If you are planning to join a guild, I would sort that out first. You might find they have a need for SM but not kotbs etc.

Sword vs SnB comes down to if you want premade/organized or don't care and pug. Its extremely rare these days that pugs can be choosey of your spec.

I alternate each armor ward 2h and SnB. Then I aim for endgame BiS to be the spec I want. The invader ward (second BiS armor ward), to be SnB, and Sovereign to be 2H.