Can a shield tanker tank without taunt?

I am working on a build that will give me perma hasten at the expense of taunt. Can I still main tank without it? Can I tank AV's without taunt?

Yes, depending on how good you are. Taunt would still help in certain situations, but as long as you can keep your head about you, you should be fine. Just don't be surprised if something steals aggro off of you (especially another Tanker or a Scrapper running a Taunt aura.

Also, I would highly recommend tabbing targets often, to make sure that your Gauntlet effects are hitting more than just the same people.

Ok good. I usually tab targets as is, was just wondering if the taunt aura worked like it was supposed to.

Yup, it's not like the weaker one that Willpower has. It's got a normal, 10-target limit, auto-hit, 13.5 second (at level 50) Taunt aura.

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Ok good. I usually tab targets as is, was just wondering if the taunt aura worked like it was supposed to.

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It does, but does it work the way you think it should?
Keep in mind, your gauntlet effect and taunt auras are *NOT* auto-hit vs AV's and GM's while the power Taunt *IS* auto-hit.

Having said that, my ice tank (with both taunt auras and built for high damage) never had a problem tanking AV's without Taunt. Shield isn't quite as suited, but it does give high damage output which is a plus in holding aggro. My shield tank does have Taunt.

So, I would say my short answer is "Yes - you just need to be paying attention." If you plan to make a career out of tanking AV's and GM's, I would prefer to have Taunt.

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I am working on a build that will give me perma hasten at the expense of taunt. Can I still main tank without it? Can I tank AV's without taunt?

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I do it every night on my SD/DM Tanker.

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It does, but does it work the way you think it should?
Keep in mind, your gauntlet effect and taunt auras are *NOT* auto-hit vs AV's and GM's while the power Taunt *IS* auto-hit.

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Just to nitpick, Shield's AAO is auto-hit even against AVs and GMs.

But a shield tank can do without taunt if your playstyle is complementary. Normally I run in the middle of a mob, let AAO get their attention, then Shield Charge laid right at my feet. And since I also have Footstomp, they are all looking at me. But I do have Taunt as well-- it is endurance free action-- good to use when Rage crashes or anytime you are low on end.

Shield's AAO is an auto-hit power, but the Taunt effect isn't against AVs and GMs.

Short Answer: Yes.
Long Answer: You might run into trouble in certain situations.

At higher levels never had any issue people stripping aggro outside of other tanks with Taunt. (If they want it that bad they can have it)

At lower level AAO does a good job, gauntlet + KoB and Haymaker seem to have a decent radius to keep things on you.

I haven't tanked many AV's on my SD/SS but on my Dm/Shield scrap on tankless teams even he has next to no issue of keeping AV aggro on him. (No taunt/confront) Was lead "tank" for a STF and did just fine with all those AV's and keeping aggro.

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Yup, it's not like the weaker one that Willpower has. It's got a normal, 10-target limit, auto-hit, 13.5 second (at level 50) Taunt aura.

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Actually, like Invincibility, it has a 16.875 second duration Taunt aura at level 50 (of course, against +4 mobs this is reduced to 8.1 seconds).

Another thing to consider is that SD is not only taunt-capable but also is an offensive set, so you'll be keeping a lot of your threat through sheer damage outlay.

Taunt's a good tool to have, however. It helps you get aggro from things that have left your zone of taunting.

I'll make something perfectly clear. Any type of Tank can tank any AV for any team make up. Taunt adds the flexibility to do this best. Taunt, by compelling AVs to attack you, can lead to you dictating to the AV what attacks it can and can not use. It can with some knowledge be the difference between a team wipe and no defeats. You can help to prevent AoEs from landing on the team. You can also with some knowledge on threat mechanics rule out the need for defenders and controllers even on the seemingly most desperate of teams. Overall you "can" be better off with than without in teams. I'd say that most people are.