This section will contain all the basic info on tanking you will need.

section 1 agro skills
the agro skills are what defines a tank if you can't keep an enemy's attention you have failed as a tank. agro skills have a small bit in their discription that tells you they generate hate. If you are a tank the you should have at least 2 of these skills (preferablely one builder and one comsumer). regardless of your play style if you are the tank there is one skill that is absolutely required Agitator this skill alows the tank to gain hate at an amazing rate thus protecting the dps, and healer. (this part isn't required but highly recommended) have pulls that way if the enemies go for some one else for any reason you can yank them back to you.

section 2 gear
don't get me wrong the gear is your choice but the main way a tank survives is VERY high HP. Other than that the choice is yours wether your an evade tank or a tank who can take any hit. A main thing that any tank should focus on is defencive boosts like adding to evade, physical protection, etc. If you are going for a more offencive tank then still have one defencive bonus and add something like crit or penetration to boost the damage you do.

section 3 what must be done as a tank
This might seem obvious to the experienced tanks but bare with me.
Avoid the attacks that can kill you if you see an enemy charging an attack it will hurt and in some
cases they are insta-kills. there is a simple way to avoid them if its an AoE leave the circle/line if
its a blast there should be some cover nearby that you can hide behind and so on.
protect your team if you see a mob going after your healer draw its attention as a tank you must take all the damage and save your team.
Have hate building skills if you can't hold the enemies attention you're not a tank
and the most important part you must lead the team if the tank hangs back the team suffers.

-The skill section has been removed due to links no longer functioning properly-

if you want more on tanking leave a comment

This is the basics for a dps I might not cover everything due to the amount of time that would take.

section 1 skills
as a dps you will focus on doing as much damage as possible. As a dps there are so may options so you might wonder how the hell am I supposed to decide for now I'll focus on the things that remain the same the damage vs. time scale. If you have to chose between an attack that take three seconds to charge and an attack that takes 1 second to charge the end result is you take the one that allows for the most damage in the end. Another key note is just because a skill requires alot of AP doesn't mean its any good.

section 2 gear
the gear for a dps is very dependent on the skills they have if you have skills that get a boost from crits then focus on crit rating the same thing applies for hit, and penetration. Gear for a common dps usualy includes 1-2 pieces of hp gear and the rest as dps gear remember I cannot emphasize this enough use runes that support your play style, and your skills otherwise you're cheating yourself out of a good time.

section 3 what is needed from dps players
Really I feel this should be self explanitory but then again I did have to make this guide
Do damage you are a dps you should have attacks that can be used back to back no one likes a dps who has to wait 5 seconds in order to attack.
Team buffs are nice for dps to have but not always needed. keep that in mind
Avoid attacks just like the tank if you see an attack coming move don't just stand there.
and most importantly DO NOT pull swarms of enemies to the tank unless asked to. If you lead ten enemies to the tank they will most likely die.

if you want more on dps then leave a comment

section 1 skills
as usual this depends on play style but make sure that if you heal someone they will survive. quick heals are wonderful such as Blood Shield, Cauterise, and Anima Burst. depending on if you focus on group healing or tank healing your skills should vary. for example group heals heal every one but give less hp where as single heals can save single players

section 2 gear
This is very important a healer must always have the best gear they can inorder to keep everyone alive. A common set up I've seen with healers is 1 part hp 1-2 parts dps and the rest healing. This is very important a healer doesn't need alot of health because they are supposed to avoid being targeted, and they don't need much damage unless they are a leech healer. As mentioned with the tank and dps take advantage of your skills to decide what to add to your gear. If your skills use the damage you do to heal (leech heals) then use dps parts if you just heal then use healing parts and if your heal skills get crit boosts the add some crit rating.

Section 3 what healers need to do
this is something that is commonly respected but still needs to be said
Heal. as a healer your in charge of keeping the team alive which means if you hide in the corner because the tank died your killing your chances at survival even a dps can work as a tank if the healer works quickly
Know when and where to run. The game gave almost all kill moves a tell that should tell you when to run as to where you should run its usualy obvious, but remember heal while you run.
Team heal vs Tank heal. this is up to you but once you chose don't try to switch during combat or you screw your team over.
This is just a matter of personal preference Leech heals vs. Direct heals. Leech healers do damage, heal, and usualy can swap between team heals and tank heals with little trouble, but direct healers heal for alot more (usualy) only they are usualy restricted to team or tank heals

once again if you want more on healing leave a comment

Tips in general
the areas on the map that seem burnt are for end-game players avoid them unless required.

don't waste your own time some quests aren't even worth doing due to lack of exp, reward, and/or the difficulty being impossible even at end-game

Find friends. this game is so much easier with people who help you

unless you want to do all the investigating the in game web browser is your best friend (press b)

PvP. I wouldn't reccomend PvP until you reach egypt at the earliest due to the over powered end-game players (unless your team is winning at fu-sang then join for easy council of venice items)

PvP rewards purple ql8 items can compete with blue ql10 dungeon rewards (not quite as good but much easier to get just 5 rounds of stonehendge gets you 40 black marks of venice now)

Don't be spoiler. If someone asks for a solution either whisper it or tell them to look it up (no one likes a spoiler)

Don't kill steal. if you see a guy doing something then an enemy appears you can help just don't do the first shot or you steal the kill

here is a very useful site *removed due to no longer functioning*

Near the end game you need hit or you're dead some enemies have abilities that if you glance you get hurt badly (that and without a moderate amount of hit it will take forever to kill anything)

for those of you in the Dragon beware the warrior build is useless end game because most enemies resist hinder

this is the LFG que Shift+c. don't bring people into a dungeon who didn't sign up for the area or didn't say they would help. not only is it annoying and very rude It makes players less likely to help.

In elite/nightmare dungeons DO NOT use hinder/impair unless required to bosses develop a CC immunity after being hindered/impaired a certain number of times.

Take the time to laugh at funny scenarios. This is a game laugh, cry, just have fun

please remember this is a MMO try to be active, and words for the wise google translate takes forever to use so here is basic questions/comments in english french and german in that order:

What role are you?
Quel rôle allez-vous?
Welche Rolle sind Sie?

wait.
patienter.
warten.

what role am I?
quel rôle suis-je?
Welche Rolle bin ich?

hide
cacher
verbergen

ok so I won't edit the guide anymore but I will respond to comments, especially those that ask for help. Hope you enjoyed, and remember the secret world is what you make of it. *last edit on 4/19/21 after being told the links did not work (honest apology for anyone who clicked the links and got ads/popups)*