Best Tank?

[GoblinGuy]

I'm wondering what type of tank is best. Hp or ac? Barb, fighter, druid, or pally?

[Derpldorf]

Depends on what you mean by tank.

High Elf Bladesinger with high dex and int and Mage Armor. Warcaster and Spell Sniper, take eldritch blast as your free cantrip. With the right spell selection you can basically become a magic equivalent to an Infantry Support Tank.

You get great AC and okay melee capabilities, but you really shouldn't be directly meleeing... at least not frontline. You can be an awesome second liner though.

You have EB, hands down the best cantrip in the game to act as your turret gun for anything outside of melee range, with Spell Sniper that should be just about everything in a given battle.

You get a slew of defensive abilities and spells that dramatically increase your survivability.

You are a full casting Wizard, depending on spell choice you can fill a load of roles, from support to battlefield control, from scouting and reconnaissance to pure simple blasting.

It's the closest representation to an actual literal Tank that I can come up with.

[Nidgit]

HP tanks tend to be more reliable. AC tanks usually need magic gear to stay in line with to-hit scaling, whereas HP tanks just need to invest in CON and maybe the Tough feat. Most AC tanks also need to spend their own spell slots on things like Shield or Mirror Image; an HP tank needs heals from anyone in the party, potentially lightening the load more. Also, HP tanks are equally effective against damage from saving throws while AC tanks typically aren't.

In terms of drawing fire, enemies will often prefer to attack someone they can actually hit and do a little damage to rather than someone untouchable. It's dependent on the DM and situation but HP tanks are often a bit more effective at incentivizing attacking them instead of their more fragile allies.

[trctelles]

Easiest to play is Bear Totem Barbarian. Tons of HP, resistance to everything except Force damage. Get a decent DEX, Shield and just run into people.

Ancestral Guardian Barbarian is pretty good too. He has the "It's a bad idea to hit other people" feeling, and Barbarian Rage, which give that tankiness too.
Any type of melee that go with PAM + Sentinel can be a very decent tank. Just keep using you reaction to stop heavy hiters to reach the backline and you can call yourself a tank. If your DM allow Tunnel Fighter, this combo is just INSANE. Use a bonus action and you have a ilimited number of AoO, and potentially stop anyone that doesn't have a flight speed to go past you (the conventional way)

[Ralanr]

The best “aggro” tank imo is ancestral Barbarian and it’s not because they juggle aggro but because they are very good at making one guy not good at hitting you.

[strangebloke]

Against a single opponent, Ancestral Barb is best at pulling attention to himself and taking hits. Ancients Paladin is the best all-rounder.

Moon druid can soak more hits than anyone. Bearbarian is the hardest guy to actually deal damage to in melee.

PAM, tunnel fighter, and sentinel are all generic things that make you much better at keeping enemies off your teammates.

[Talamare]

Bearbarian is the Tankiest Tank
Ancestbarian is Tanky while providing damage reduction for allies
Bearogue might be even Tankier than Bearbarian, but its tricky to build
Ancients Paladin has a great toolset for Tanking
Conquest Paladin too
EK Fighter comes in next
Moon Druid tries really hard, but only claim to true Tanking is at Lv20

That's about all the 'Core' Tanks in the Game
(Did I miss one?)

Then there are a list of 'Sub' Tanks, that do Tanking nearly as well as one of the Cores when built properly...
Like F1Rogue, Kensei Monk, or Warlock

[suplee215]

Barbarian for HP tanking, bear if you expect spells or dragons. You can also get insane AC if you desire (max dex and con at lvl 20 gives you 22, 24 with a shield or bracers of defense and 27 if you get a +3 shield). Reckless attack does fight againt the AC tanking though.
Anything with plate armor does a good job at AC tanking, with Paladin Oath of the Ancients having high hp, healing abilities and strong magic resistance a Barbarian will kill for (+chr to all saves and resistance to magic damage).
Various niche builds can be made for high AC characters such as Blade Singer with shield spell.
HP is usually superior especially at higher levels and crit possibilities being able to kill. My personal favorite which is a bit more offensive base is a Battle Rager Barbarian. You get hit a ton due to low AC and reckless attack, but each turn you get +3-7 temp hp if you use it. And each time you get hit you deal some damage. One problem with a tank is your DM or the enemy might decide to not attack the tank.

[Citan]

Hi OP!

I suggest you use the search engine of this forum. Although a bit unintuitive the first few times, it does the job when content is there in the first place.

And as a fact, there are regularly some threads about "best tanks" here which, for some of them, have been debated extensively.

I'm confident you'll find plenty of interesting things to read there. :)

[djreynolds]

You have three terms.... meat shield, drawing agro and tanking. You can be all three at earlier levels, but as you level up they take on different meaning as your enemy becomes more deadly.

Reckless attack really makes the enemy want to hit you, as they have advantage. And they can't ignore you because you have advantage on every attack.

Coupled with you lower than plate armor AC, the enemy is looking at you as an easy target as well. Until they realize you aren't going down so easy because you have resistance to damage.

Its not that a paladin or fighter or druid are not great at drawing agro, its just bad enough that a goblin has to hit a possible 18-21AC range and then the EK casts the shield spell. So as a DM, thinking as a goblin might, I turn to "easier" prey fooled by the raging barbarian.

The recklessly attacking barbarian lures the enemy into thinking he's an easy target with around a 16 AC and the enemy having advantage to hit.

So for the most part, a barbarian is usually the best at drawing agro

But at higher levels, a paladin with really good saves becomes a huge thorn in the enemy's side because stuff like fear, charm, and banishment may have no use, where the barbarian and fighter are more susceptible to magic. And since this paladin is also dropping smites, they cannot be ignored

So IMO, there is taking damage and manning the frontlines which is usually the realm of the fighter.... meat shield with a high AC and multiple attacks and solely focused the job of protecting the squishy caster's and archers in the back

Drawing agro is done best by the recklessly attacking barbarian, doesn't mean they are the best tanks, because spells can take them out.

Tanking IMO, the best example is a high level paladin, because they have great saves and immunities, they can heal themselves, and they can hurt you

So now you have three terms.... meat shield (anyone can do this), drawing-agro, and tank. At 1st level it can be the fighter doing all three, at higher levels its tough to be all three, IMO.... very, very humbly IMO

[Savral]

Against a single opponent, Ancestral Barb is best at pulling attention to himself and taking hits. Ancients Paladin is the best all-rounder.

Moon druid can soak more hits than anyone. Bearbarian is the hardest guy to actually deal damage to in melee.

PAM, tunnel fighter, and sentinel are all generic things that make you much better at keeping enemies off your teammates.

I very much agree with this. As a fellow Pally I lean further that way. :D

[Legimus]

Currently, I think the three best tanks come from the Ancestral Guardian, the Cavalier, and the Oath of Conquest. There were lots of solid tanking options before Xanathar's was published, but we now have three subclasses solidly devoted to being the party tank. And all three of them bring something different to the table. In my opinion, Ancestral Guardian is best for mitigating damage, Cavalier for taking hits, and Conquest for crowd control.

Ancestral Guardian gets enormous mileage out of its level 3 and 6 abilities, so it comes online very early. Ancestral Protectors is pretty extreme for holding a target's attention. Disadvantage for attacking anyone other than you, and if they dare to do so the ally they hit gets resistance to the attack. Then Spirit Shield gives you some solid scaling damage mitigation that can be applied to anyone in your party, including yourself. It's like having a permanent, better Aura of Vitality. It's no Aura of Warding, but Spirit Shield gives you a tool to reduce spell damage, which most tanks lack.

The Cavalier is just plain potent at every level. Now, I know that Bear Totem barbarians get resistance to just about everything, but I think Cavaliers have a much better kit for holding aggro. That means it's ultimately able to do its job better, which is take hits so your allies don't have to. Unwavering Mark is particularly strong because fighters get so many attacks, allowing you to spread it around and keep multiple guys focused on you. Warding Maneuver is almost as good as the Shield spell, and you can use it on yourself or allies. Hold the Line is nearly as strong as the Sentinel feat. And you have all that by level 10!

The Oath of Conquest, though, is my favorite. It's no good if all your enemies are going to be immune to fear, but if they aren't, buckle up. This oath makes you the wall of fear. The subclass doesn't come online until level 7 when you get Aura of Conquest, but your power spikes immediately. The Frightened condition is already pretty strong, but your aura adds insult to injury by rooting frightened enemies in place. It keeps your allies safe and turns your enemies into easy targets. Unlike other tanks, Conquerors will focus on maxing out CHA quickly, which means your Aura of Protection is going to provide a bountiful +5 to all saving throws for your entire party as early as level 8. It's a well-balanced, debilitating, offensive tank, and a ton of fun. Shameless self-plug for the in-depth guide I wrote (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?543427-The-Wall-of-Fear-A-Complete-Guide-to-the-Oath-of-Conquest) if you are interested in learning more.

[th3g0dc0mp13x]

I'm wondering what type of tank is best. Hp or ac? Barb, fighter, druid, or pally?

I'm personally looking forward to using my Druid with a single level of monk. Bear with 15 AC, Dire wolf 17 AC. It's gonna be great.

[Cespenar]

1) I've personally gotten a stupid amount of tanking mileage out of the simple tried and true Moon Druid X/Barbarian 1 myself in an earlier campaign.

From levels 3-5, you can rage + bear form for the equivalent of 34 x 4 hp atop your normal hp.

At and after level 6, just sit back, relax, and let your 8 summoned wolves/badgers/etc. take the hits.

2) Also, a bit of a silly build, but my latest character is a polearm master tempest cleric, and it can be pretty fun in terms of tanking.

You open up Spirit Guardians, which deal damage as well as slow movement by half. Then, when they come in, you can pin them via polearm master. If they bypass that and attack you on a later turn, you can Wrath of the Storm them backwards 10 ft., move back a little, and repeat. You can probably cheese it further with tunnel-something fighting style, but eh.

[LudicSavant]

I'm wondering what type of tank is best. Hp or ac? Barb, fighter, druid, or pally?

"HP or AC" is asking the wrong question, to be honest. There seems to be a misleading idea occasionally bandied about the forums that all you need to be a tank is to have a high AC, or a high HP, and that those two things are what makes you the best tank. If that were true, nobody would care about, say, Bless + Ancients Paladin Aura. Or polearm sentinels. Or Spirit Guardians. Or all kinds of other powerful tanking abilities.

The job of a tank is not "to have the most HP," it's to limit the overall potential effectiveness of offensive actions against your team (including yourself), in as many forms as possible (be it a direct damage melee attack, a caster using Web, a medusa's gaze, fireballs, or whatever). It often also means you need the ability to exert pressure on the enemy team (because if they can ignore you, you are not actually doing very well at limiting the overall potential effectiveness of enemy actions).

Tanking in 5e D&D involves far more factors than just hp or AC. For example, a polearm sentinel might stop a melee foe from even being able to move into range to attack anyone in the first place. Or a Paladin can make the entire party walk unscathed through a medusa's gaze with eyes wide open. An Arcana Cleric can severely punish anyone trying to get to or away from them, exert good pressure even while using Dodge, lock down targets with status effects, and delete status effects from their own party in an action-efficient manner. A fightlock might just make someone who hits them or someone near them explode. All of these are effective tanking strategies, and none of them can be acquired by simply raising your hp or AC.

[Azgeroth]

another way of looking at it.

as a tank your job is to prevent damage to your party.

go cleric, pick a domain that gives you heavy armour, cast spirit guardians keep the squishies close.

your goal is not to wade in to melee, but rather stay back with the softer party members, you become a very potent deterrent.

[SirGraystone]

another way of looking at it.

as a tank your job is to prevent damage to your party.

go cleric, pick a domain that gives you heavy armour, cast spirit guardians keep the squishies close.

your goal is not to wade in to melee, but rather stay back with the softer party members, you become a very potent deterrent.

I have a Dwarf Fighter 1/Cleric 5 Forge domain character, plate armor 18 AC +2 shield +1 Fighting Style +1 Blessing of the Forge, Total 22 AC with no magical item, good hp because of my dwarf constitution. Spirit Guardians do work great to block most tunnel or corridor.

[Randomthom]

Best all-round tank would go to Ancients Paladin imo.

D10 HD
Heavy armour + shield for high AC
+CHA mod to all saves to self and allies within 10ft.
Resistance to spell damage
Some crowd control (Ensnaring Strike)
Reasonable damage if you go with duelist & smiting. Enough that ignoring you is difficult.

Also Lay on hands for some powerful self healing to keep you in the fight for longer.

Downside is mobility.

[Driftw00d]

I'm partial to Eldritch Knights for tanking. Insane AC and spells give great versitillity. (Shield spell, absorb elements, teleports, etc)

Dex based Gnome also give fantastic saves as well Profficiency to Strength and Con, High Dex for dex saves, and advantage on the rest.

Mage Armor+ Shield + Dex Mod = 20 ac mostly nekkid.

As for aggro your a Gnome! second most annoying race next to Kender!

If you can't get monsters to try and kill a naked gnome your DM is metagaming too much and nothing will get him to attack you.

Decent damage too, starting at level 8 using Shadow Blade 2 attacks a round at 2d8 +7(Dex+Dueling) is hard to ignore. This goes up every few levels to hit max 3 attacks a round at 4d8+7

[LudicSavant]

If you can't get monsters to try and kill a naked gnome your DM is metagaming too much and nothing will get him to attack you.

The poor tank says "It's the DM's decision to attack me. If he doesn't, that's just bad luck."
The effective tank says "The enemy ignores me at their own peril. If they do so, they will lose."

[nmitchell2]

I play characters designed to tank almost exclusively in Adventure League. I work with disabled children which requires the ability to diffuse and control a situation regardless of what is going on around me, I quite relish the opportunity to cut loose with my emotions and be confrontational with NPCs while using my skill to maintain control of the enemies actions in a difficult situation. I normally go with a friend, he likes to play what he calls 'problem solvers' which normally means people with lots of magic and/or skills who can accomplish a lot through creative and intelligent play, he really enjoys playing with me because our backstories tend to be linked and he knows my characters will always put themselves on the line for his. We have two characters each at the moment, I imagine we'll make more as these characters approach level 12. All of our characters are level 8 at the moment.

I'm playing a Half Orc Ancestral Guardians Barbarian 6/Fighter 2 with Great Weapon Master alongside a Hill Dwarf Abjuration Wizard 7/Life Cleric 1. He worshipped Berronar Truesilver, the dwarven goddess known as the Mother of Safety, and he believed that all life was sacred and deserved protection. I was merely a mercenary for hire who was being paid to do the same thing that he was doing, I saved his life in doing so and he beseeched his god to aid in my quest as I aided him in his, hence where my Ancestral Protectors come from. We became fast friends and travelled together. Ancestral Protectors is amazing, I haven't used Spirit Shield much yet but so far it has been very useful when combined with Projected Ward.

I'm playing a Half Elf Paladin 2/Shadow Sorcerer 6 with War Caster alongside a Wood Elf Shadow Monk 6/Rogue 2. The backstory here is darker, I was a stereotypical Paladin who worshipped the ideal of freedom and self-governed responsibility who was manipulated by the clergy of Shar to become linked to the Shadowfell and exhibit partially undead traits. He wishes to rescue the souls of some of his family members who became trapped on the Shadowfell after death. Believing we can help each other, we began to travel together. I use the threat of Divine Smite Booming Blade to keep people locked in melee with me while I cast spells like Hold Person and Careful Spell Hypnotic Pattern to control my enemies.

[TheUser]

Moon Druids imho.

They have insane free HP

They get Stoneskin at level 7 (resillient Con helps to keep it up), which they can concentrate on in wildshape forms.

They have self healing with slot power.

They can grapple/restrain on attack starting at level 2...

They have outstanding sentinel attacks.


Only thing that comes close is Barbarian/Rogues with Rage + Uncanny Dodge.