Heavy Damage is our weekly Tanking column – if you have suggestions of what you’d like covered, drop our resident Tank, Alec Bailey a line. 

This week we are going to be looking into PvP specific skills and abilities – what you should be keeping up and using on enemies. I’ll start with Huttball, then in the following weeks I’ll talk about Voidstar, and Alderaan Civil War (ACW).

Huttball is a PvP game that involves taking a ball from the middle of the arena to the opposing team’s spawn point. The premise of the game sounds much easier in theory than it is in practice. Aside from players that are trying to bring you down, you must deal with a varity of traps, such as acid pits, fire hazards and air vents that push you into the sky. The key part of Huttball is team work – I’ve found there are two optimal ways to score in Huttball – passing and protecting. The first option is a bit harder in a PUG. Passing doesn’t only apply to tanks – this strategy can be used by any combination of players. The latter of the choices, protection, is where your Tank abilities come into play. My usual strategy is once the match has started and everyone is waiting for the shield doors to drop so they can rush the ball’s spawn, I ask who’s a healer and who wants to carry the ball. Once this is decided, throw your “Guard” or “Protect” shielding ability on the ball carrier. The Healer will spot heal you and keep the carrier alive –  it helps if the healer is a Sage or if you’re Tanking as a Shadow because their knock-back ability is amazing for keeping melee players off the carrier. Here’s some other advice based on class:

Shadow - Use your knock-back and slows as much as possible to keep enemies off the ball carrier. Also throw out mind crush on any stealthers you see to keep them visible. And don’t forget your stuns. Once your character is a high level you’ll get Force Pull which is great for pulling enemies into traps.

Vanguard - use your Ion Pulse and Explosive surge as often as you can without completely depleting your ammo. These two skills lower the damage output of enemies so they help you and the carrier stay alive. Harpoon is used as a pull to either get a player off of a Healer or carrier, or for pulling enemies into traps.

Guardian - Force Sweep is key when guarding a carrier, does decent damage and it’s AoE, so you can damage more people also lowering their accuracy by five percent for 18 seconds. Sundering Strike should also be used everytime it’s available as it weakens an enemy’s armour, allowing your team’s DPS to burn them down at a faster pace. Guardian also has a bit of an advantage to guarding in its ability to Force Leap to enemies that are attacking the carrier. This is very useful because your Guard ability only works within a 15 metre range, and since it’s a PvP match you WILL be getting stunned and slowed. It’s helpful to be able to take out a pursuer then leap back to guarding the carrier. At high levels you’ll also get Force Push, a very deadly combination if you’re pushing and leaping to the same target – or to push attackers off ledges or into traps. Saber Throw is also a great ability to keep the ranged players on their feet and focused on you.

Overall, as a Tank you also need to remember to use all the tools at your disposal, your self shielding abilities like Saber Ward and the like should be used anytime your health is dropping steadily. Also, Taunts are extremely helpful – taunt everyone you can. Every time it’s off cooldown, select someone attacking you, the carrier or your healer and put a taunt on them.

The best strategy in PvP is to be prepared if you’re wanting to be serious and grind out some PvP games. Search for a group on the fleet and lay out a plan of attack before you enter the Warzone, or find yourself a guild that does a lot of Warzone games.  Remember, Tanks, keep your team alive and stay frosty.

May the Force be with you!