It is a mixed bag. Some swear by it, others shun it out of spite. Many site right in the middle and take it when it will help a build.
Me..The way I see it you get more aggro with it than without. If you need it is the real question.
Some builds are able to generate it ridiculously well (I think one of the better ones posted was Ice/Stone) and thus have no need for Taunt. Some builds, however, have relatively weak built-in threat (WP/DB, for instance), and to them Taunt is absolutely indispensable. I can't tell you how much easier it was to hold aggro after getting Taunt on my WP/DB character.
I have no issues maintaining/controlling aggro on my fire/fire or my dark/dark tanks without taunt. Definately needed it on my stone/stone and am planning on getting it on my SD/SS as I think he will need it. Some tanks need it. Others can do fine without. YMMV.
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The only kind of tanker I say that can hold aggro no matter what else is on their team with taunt is an Ice armor.
I'm with the "it's another tool in the toolbox" crowd. Perhaps the best tool for getting/keeping aggro. I learned tanking on my Kheldians (no taunt aura), and seeing them pull aggro off a non-taunting tank sold me: it's a valuable tool.
Some armor's are very Taunt aura heavy, and by some I mean Dark Armor and Ice Armor. Those two are extremely taunt aura heavy, others are not. Invul has Invincibility, Fire has Blazing Aura, WP has Rttc, Stone has Mudpots, and Electric armor will have Lightning Field. My point is that all armors come with one or more taunt aura's. And yet I still take taunt, for either stray mobs or perma aggro, also makes a good mob pull device. I never frown on taunt. Plus as a tank your never going to pull the DpS numbers of blasters and scrappers.
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It helps keep aggro against regular mobs, allowing you to not have to run all over, etc. You get to grab mobs farther away from you, and to pull a boss of a squishy back from the main fight. You can use it to pull. It's the most reliable way to keep an AV on you, rather than smacking a teammate (Gauntlet has a to-hit check on AVs, Taunt does not... if I don't keep taunting AVs, they'll frequently look elsewhere, but be turned right around when I fire it off again).
All those are good evidence for why you should take it. It also reduces Range, which is great. More and more mobs seem to like staying at range (I was really frustrated on my Scrapper the other day when I had tons of Warriors not closing to melee range with me like they used to), and Taunt changes that easily. If a group is staying away, I taunt, and they come right back in. Handy on a team or solo.
When to take it is more of a question... some people swear by taking it early, but I usually take it in the 20s or even 30s, depending on the build and the needs of the tank.
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Is it normal to take straight up "Taunt"
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For most Tanks these days, it seems that the answer is "$*(#$# NO!"
This is one of the reasons that Tanks have Gauntlet as their inherent power. It is also the reason that Punch Provoke was added to Tank attacks.
Many Tanks were not performing as designed - aka they weren't taking Taunt.
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, or is there enough threat from the other abilities to make it obsolete?
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No. In PvE Taunt is THE 100% accurate agro magnet.
All other Tank gauntlet and related punch-provokes pale in comparison.
If you really want to be a Tank and protect your team, get Taunt.
As you may have noticed, TAUNT is available to all Tanker sets.
It is a part of all Tanker sets for a reason. Taunt really defines a Tank - regardless of the fact that many Tankers seem not to believe that.
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I have seen some builds with it and some with out across the various Tanker posts.
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Like I said.
If you really want to impress people with your ability to "protect the team" (the number 1 reason to play a Tank as far as I'm concerned), then you should take Taunt. You will be able to keep the agro 100% of the time. Your team will know that they are safe to unload their attacks relentlessly. The team will churn up enemies like crazy. So take Taunt if you want to be a "team player".
If you want to be a Scranker then you don't really need Taunt as you really don't want to be playing a Tank any way. You obviously don't care if a more powerful attack - like a blaster's AoE pulls the agro away from you and toward the "true" damage dealer on the team, because this is what WILL happen if you don't have Taunt. A good team will realize this, stop AoE'ing and start single target attacking through the tanker. It slows down the team, and the Scranker gets to think that they are gloriously defeating all the enemies single handedly - which is probably what they want to be doing anyway. This to me is the "glory hound" approach.
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Thanks.
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np.
Play it the way that you think is the most fun.
That's really the key.
I like taunt. Not only is it the best way to get something's attention, it also carries a massive -range for foes. That makes it so much easier to group baddies up for the AoE attacks. That said, I typically wait till around 22 to pick it up. I find 22 is the point where a tank can reliably survive the aggro it brings.
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I find 22 is the point where a tank can reliably survive the aggro it brings.
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Huh? Your taunt aura will get you a lot more aggro at a time than the power Taunt (which you can elect not to use, too).
I thought Taunt was were we put the Taunt io psi damage proc?
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I thought Taunt was were we put the Taunt io psi damage proc?
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Yes yes yes. Nothing is more satisfying than taking you level 50 to Atlas, yelling at the mobs, and watching them fall down dead 
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Is it normal to take straight up "Taunt", or is there enough threat from the other abilities to make it obsolete?
I have seen some builds with it and some with out across the various Tanker posts.
Thanks.
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Reasons to take:
A) It makes a good IO mule. My latest shield/fire/pyre has it six slotted and actually uses it quite a bit whenever comb/fsc/fb/sc aren't available.
B) It is an autohit power with no end cost that has a few nice tricks. Great for either getting stragglers, pulling a new group, or keeping a hard target (ie av)'s attention.
Arguments against:
A) Most primaries' taunt auras are good enough that you don't need it to hold agro on anything near you. Exceptions being WP (poor agro) and Ice/Fire/Dark (they have a tohit check - beware massive tohit debuffs)
B) Gauntlet's not bad. I have four tankers with fire melee, none have issue holding agro in a group just through aoe damage. I've had single hard targets ripped off me but incinerate + gfs usually gets them back w/o taunt.
Overall, there's not much reason to take it unless you want to IO mule it, you are going to fight extremely hard targets (ie: GW and LR are both bosses that taunt has use against for positioning/kiting), or you feel like you need more agro management.
I dont think taunt is necessary, and this is coming from a WP tanker (the weakest taunt aura). I also believe it is valuable and a great quality of life improver. Heres a perfect example.
I started running a Synapse TF at 17.5 ish. I couldnt take taunt at 18, because my energy defense toggle was opening up at 18, and I would desperately need to for all the clockwork I was going to face. I had a couple taunt IOs (15) in RTTC so I was going to depend on that plus my big aoe to get and hold agro. It worked pretty well, I would jump right into the middle of the group and fire the aoe and I had most of the group. I frequently had to run around and punch things to keep the full agro off my teammates, which was some hard work.
About 75% through the TF, I hit 20 and said, Woot! I finally get taunt!. The group chat was like, youve been doing just fine. You dont need it etc. But heres the thing. When a mob peeled off or an ambush came or the scrapper accidently agrod the next group, I didnt have to run around like a crazed rabbit punching everything. I simply sat where I was and fired off taunt to pull the stragglers to where I was. I didnt have to move a muscle.
My quality of life doubled, and my job tanking was that much easier. Simply because I had the ranged AOE agro getter I needed. Tanking the rest of the TF was a breeze. Much easier than the first half.
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But heres the thing. When a mob peeled off or an ambush came or the scrapper accidently agrod the next group, I didnt have to run around like a crazed rabbit punching everything. I simply sat where I was and fired off taunt to pull the stragglers to where I was. I didnt have to move a muscle.
My quality of life doubled, and my job tanking was that much easier. Simply because I had the ranged AOE agro getter I needed. Tanking the rest of the TF was a breeze. Much easier than the first half.
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FWIW, Laser Beam Eyes and Energy Torrent both have taunt components for a tanker - when you hit the 40's, you get access to "ranged taunt". (Same w/fire blast/ball, etc)
Also FWIW, I've tanked 53 boss farms on a 15 shield tanker and used the level 1 ranged magic power (apprentice charm?) to snag runners - works if they weren't damaged, typically, doesn't work if a blaster had hit them.
I use taunt for 2 reasons
1. As a second ranged source to hold agro. I use my Aura/FSC/Combustion for melee and taunt to get ranged or stragglers to focus on me and not the squishies.
2. to taunt things that spawn baddies if you damage them I.E. Lord Recluse on STF, also very usefull for kiting things like GW from range.
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What level would you guys suggest getting Taunt? The way my build is set-up now on my SD/SS I get it at level 47 but the way you all are describing it is making me feel I need it sooner. The only issue is I cannot see where I can fit it reasonably without putting off some very important powers.
I usually aim for Taunt sometime in the mid-20s. By SO levels your defenses ought to be ready for what Taunt will bring you.
Now, about tanking Synapse on a Willpower tanker? Done this many times without Heightened Senses. I won't have Mind over Body at those levels either. What I know I will have is Fast Healing, Rise to the Challenge, and (if level 16+) Health. That, and an occasional purple or orange, will be ''all that you need''. HS will not do enough for you to justify its further drain on your endurance surrounded by endurance draining mobs.
On the other hand ... the last time I tanked a Synapse was on a WP/SS tanker. And in Super Strength, I thought KO Blow was so appealing that I postponed Stamina to take it at level 20 instead. Big mistake. Stamina at 20 is the rule, even for Willpower tankers, and not even SS's best single target attack takes priority over that rule.
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I've never had trouble holding aggro on either of my high level tanks, both without taunt. But I tend to be fairly aggressive; I hit things hard and switch targets often. I don't mind jumping around occasionally, and I have a couple ranged attacks to snag runners if need be.
If you have problems with mobs only attacking from range, go to them or break line of sight. Breaking Line of Sight is especially nice, as it gets groups to clump around you for tasty AoE death.
Taunt is not the end-all-be-all of the definition of Tanker. I knew a WP/DB Tank with Taunt AND Provoke who had trouble maintaining aggro. The issue was their lack of attacks or attacking, in thinking that firing off the two AoE taunt powers would guarantee a group's attention. This is not so.
Also, it should be known that the taunt duration that comes off Rise to the Challenge is woefully small (a bit over a second, base) and generally not worth slotting taunt enhancements in there. Rise continually renews itself by you being in melee, but you have to supplement it with attacking.
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What level would you guys suggest getting Taunt?
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Personally, I tend to get it at level 10 or shortly thereafter. It is generally not as though I have the spare endurance to fuel another attack instead or the enhancement slots to slot another one properly. And since I tank on teams at all levels, I get considerably more benefit out of it than other powers.
What I'm saying is that Taunt is an issue of prioritization. Does Taunt stop you from getting more important powers? If so, delay it. If not, pick it up. It depends entirely on what your power priorities are and how you rank the usefulness of Taunt.
as was mentioned my Ice/Fire tank doesnt NEED taunt but i always take it. i hate the idea of having to jump/run around to gather aggro once i have a nice tight group for /fire's AoE goodness....so i use taunt almost exclusively for ranged squishy protection. obviously once foes are close enough to my AoEs and 2 auras i need not be concerned with keeping them aggroed
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Is it normal to take straight up "Taunt", or is there enough threat from the other abilities to make it obsolete?
I have seen some builds with it and some with out across the various Tanker posts.
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I would think a big reason for this is that different people have different plans/goals for their tanks. I have one tank specifically built for fighting AV's, GM's, even Hamidon. You better believe he has Taunt (and it's five-slotted).
On the other hand, I have an ice tank with both auras, two AoE's (one PBAoE and one ranged) and three single-target ranged attacks. I didn't take Taunt and never missed it.
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I would say take taunt in your 20s. I took it at 20, but that was because I was a willpower tanker and had a better than stamina power already picked and 3 slotted. Generally I would say you dont need the extra attention until you have SOs and can take the extra beating. That would mean 22+.
Like I said, it isnt necessary. It just helps with your quality of life. So take it where it fits into your scheme. If there is a great power you want to pick up then put it off for a few levels.
As far as adding taunt enhancers to RTTC (my numbers might be off), it has a 1.25 second taunt duration, and It refreshes every second. Most auras are 10 seconds plus which is why agro is such a problem fore WP tankers thanks to knockback, etc. So when fighting white you really dont need to worry about mobs peeling off. However, when you fight +3 mobs that 1.25 seconds gets dangerously close to a second, and at +4 they WILL peel off if gauntlet hasnt gotten them. I built this dude and run him mostly in task forces as I level up so I put the extra taunts in there to ensure team safety against +3s and +4s. You are completely right though, there is no need to slot your taunt aura if you are fighting even cons all the time. I am admittedly planning for a worst case scenario. That extra slotting still doesnt help when mobs are knocked out of aura, but it does help a ton when facing a group of purples.
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I find 22 is the point where a tank can reliably survive the aggro it brings.
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Huh? Your taunt aura will get you a lot more aggro at a time than the power Taunt (which you can elect not to use, too).
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Possibly more agro ... taunt auras have a toHit check while Taunt does not (in PvE) and since global accuracies are fairly non-existent at the pre L20 game, misses quite often (as does Gauntlet). In this case, missing with a taunt effect isn't a bad thing.
And I agree that taking Taunt too early will generally give the Tanker more agro then he/she can handle, depending on the situation of course.
I generally take Taunt in my 20s or even 30s if I take it at all.
But this should also depend on your grouping and levelling habits.
Is it normal to take straight up "Taunt", or is there enough threat from the other abilities to make it obsolete?
I have seen some builds with it and some with out across the various Tanker posts.
Thanks.