The Self-Cultivation of the 080 Tank!

After completing the Ring of Power, Morning Breeze went off to the dungeon to practice his tanking skills. Compared to newcomers, his tanking ability was a notch above, but up against professional tank players, he still fell short. Unless he switched to a berserker build to tank the boss, he had little real advantage. Morning Breeze’s tanking style always prioritized damage, relying on life-steal effects to recover health whenever possible. But this was never a guarantee, as the life-steal effect seemed to have an internal cooldown and didn't always trigger as per its stated chance—at best, it activated once every three seconds. So relying on life-steal to offset the damage reduction from blocks and parries was a difficult feat.

“Hidden bosses not dropping unit equipment—what am I supposed to do with all this junk?” Monk cursed after defeating the hidden boss, the Mammoth Colossus, and opening a pile of rubbish gear. What he really wanted was unit equipment. The first hidden boss kill had dropped three pieces of unit gear, which was fantastic, but now such luck seemed hard to come by.

“Monk, you think unit gear drops are that easy? Serves you right for dying last time!” Yin found it hilarious remembering how, after Monk's death in the previous run, Morning Breeze and the others divvied up all the unit equipment.

Martial Maniac didn’t care much for unit equipment—if he got it, fine; if not, so be it. Unlike Monk, he wasn’t desperate for it. His real passion was improving his own skills; to reach Morning Breeze’s level and go toe-to-toe with the top pro players—that would be exhilarating! Constantly honing his strength was what Martial Maniac wanted, and it was also the mission bestowed upon him by the Ashen Blade.

“Final boss now. Morning Breeze, it’s your turn to tank!” Data Lord habitually adjusted his glasses—next up was the ultimate boss. Morning Breeze would have to tank the War Behemoth solo. The last time they’d fought it, they were all inexperienced, but this time should be easier.

Morning Breeze had recently crammed the basics of tanking, learning key points to watch for. Previously, he focused solely on damage, just trying to survive, without considering damage mitigation cycles or coordinating with healers to handle boss ultimates, or managing phase transitions properly.

“In the first phase, watch out for War Stomp. It deals massive damage and stuns for six seconds. Use Guard and Heroic Leap to handle it. The tricky part is that War Stomp isn’t on a timer—it’s random. So you have to watch the boss’s stance. If he’s about to use it, everyone needs to get out of the way immediately!” Data Lord felt War Stomp was the toughest ability—it spanned the whole fight, hit a huge area, and stunned, making it particularly nasty.

Morning Breeze could take a hit or two, and with healing, he’d manage. But if anyone else got caught, it was a problem—especially if it coincided with the boss’s Tremor Roar, which could wipe people out. Last time, Monk had died just like that. Morning Breeze had dodged quickly, but if not for Data Lord’s timely heals, he’d have gone down too.

“I think this is going to be tough to clear—even now. Let’s give it our best shot.” The War Behemoth was five times the size of an elephant. Parrying its attacks was pretty much impossible for Morning Breeze; his best bet was to dodge. Against smaller bosses, he could parry just fine, but his tanking movement was poor—he only had a couple of tricks, based on his old assassin experience for dodging deadly attacks. As for professional movement techniques, he hadn’t learned many.

In the China server, Morning Breeze’s tank parrying was well-known, but when it came to dodging, he wasn’t impressive. Most warriors excelled at movement; demon warlocks made better dodge tanks. Paladin tanks could dodge too, but warriors specialized in parrying.

Last time, Morning Breeze had competed with a new tank, but it was just a small tiger boss—parrying that was easy for him. But when it came to a giant boss like the War Behemoth, he just couldn’t handle it. It’s not that you can’t parry giant bosses, but Morning Breeze wasn’t at that level yet. In the tanking world, he was still an experienced beginner.

He had always thought he could be a great tank, especially after getting two first kills. But in hindsight, those were just beginner dungeons or situations where his burst damage happened to kill the boss. If he’d realized his tanking skills weren’t up to snuff, he wouldn’t have chosen the shield build—he’d have gone for the weapon specialization instead. The weapon build offered Mortal Strike, which not only triggered extra suppressing attacks but also reduced healing received—great for the arena. The shield build only reinforced survivability, and it conflicted with the berserker talents, meaning he couldn’t use Whirlwind Strike or Furious Slash.

A total wipe.

This time, Morning Breeze tried to parry and got wiped immediately, bringing the boss down to 8% health before being instantly killed in the final phase. Fortunately, everyone else managed to escape—Data Lord had gathered plenty of data, and everyone could follow his instructions to dodge attacks.

“Morning Breeze, you took 20 to 24% more damage due to your aggressive attacks, while your damage output only increased by around 4%. That’s a net loss.” Back at the boss after retrieving their bodies, Data Lord began his analysis. It was a rough estimate, but the numbers spoke for themselves. Morning Breeze always liked to maximize his damage, using Shield Slam the moment it was off cooldown, and swapping to a one-handed sword for free Whirlwind Strikes. This wasted many dodging opportunities—even if he couldn’t parry well, he could at least block more attacks. Blocking was much easier than parrying, and the chances were higher.

Monk, always quick to pour cold water, chimed in when Data Lord called out Morning Breeze: “You scoundrel, I think you picked the wrong specialization. With your burst, you should’ve gone weapon spec! Choosing shield spec to tank is just dragging us down. Why not bring your alt to tank instead? That bear tank alt of yours has higher dodge and faster movement.”

“Yeah, Morning Breeze, your bear tank doesn’t have block or parry, just dodge, and it even has a short-cooldown damage reduction ability,” Yin added, remembering that Morning Breeze’s alt was a bear tank, perhaps better suited for the War Behemoth. Besides, his parrying wasn’t great—maybe the bear tank would do the trick.

“That bear tank isn’t as strong as you think! Savage Defense can absorb 60% of damage, but it only lasts three seconds, with just a six-second cooldown, and in those three seconds, you take full damage. You all think bear tanks dodge well and move fast, and they do—leather armor is lighter than plate, and they can leap about. But in practice, it’s much harder than it sounds.”

“You scoundrel, what’s so hard about it? Tanking is easy for me—I just don’t like getting hit!” Monk’s movement skills were terrible; his tanking style was much like Morning Breeze’s, relying on quick reflexes rather than technique. Everyone knew Monk was vain—he’d boast even when he couldn’t tank at all.

Tanking isn’t just about holding up a shield and blocking blows, like some would think. It’s like learning to drive: watching others makes it look easy, but sitting in the driver’s seat and controlling the car as naturally as your own limbs is another matter entirely. Skill takes time and experience; it can’t be mastered overnight.

Data Lord didn’t know how Morning Breeze tanked, but he found the bear tank unreliable. After critiquing Morning Breeze, he turned to Monk: “Monk, your damage is great, but can you try dodging the boss’s attacks instead of always rushing in?”

“I need to maximize my DPS! A top player like me needs skill to compete with Martial Maniac’s stats!” Monk didn’t have the Ashen Blade or Morning Breeze’s Brotherhood Sword, so his gear was weak, but his actual damage was close to Morning Breeze and Martial Maniac, sometimes even topping the charts.

Monk’s high damage came from his burst skills and synergy with Morning Breeze’s Rage Aura, which boosted critical hits. Martial Maniac, on the other hand, struggled with rage management and didn’t optimize skill timing. Warriors needed good gear, but if their skill usage was poor, their output suffered.

Martial Maniac was technically skilled but lacked operational finesse. Sometimes, even when Data Lord gave him specific instructions, he couldn’t execute them, wasting valuable DPS windows. Morning Breeze had played berserker for over two years, while Martial Maniac was still new, so it was natural he couldn’t match Morning Breeze’s fluid bursts.

“Monk, you idiot! You blocked my spell path, causing my cast to fail. Sometimes you even stand in front of me and block my line of sight, or refuse to dodge War Stomp for the sake of DPS!” Yin felt Monk needed a talking-to—his gear wasn’t as good as Morning Breeze’s or Martial Maniac’s, but that didn’t justify this kind of reckless play.

Their team was a ragtag bunch. Data Lord went over the strategy before every run, as usual. Monk always tried to maximize his own benefit, prioritizing DPS over teamwork, and left healing to Data Lord. Martial Maniac was quiet and preferred solitary play, rarely communicating, always seeking his own groove. Yin was slightly better but struggled with multitasking, so his output lagged behind.

Each member had issues—the team was newly formed and hadn’t had time to gel, so cooperation was weak. After another run, things improved a bit, and they all logged off for a break.

Morning Breeze left his room and entered the common area, where Cheng Xue and the others were chatting and snacking. After two dungeon runs, he was hungry too, so he joined them. “What are you talking about?”

“The divine beast you lent me!” Lin Shanshan was in a great mood. “Sister Xinting will finish her quest tomorrow, and then I’ll get the two-headed wyvern divine beast.”

“Oh? Come give me a shoulder rub, my muscles are stiff,” Morning Breeze said, momentarily forgetting Lin Shanshan was his so-called temporary girlfriend—nice to look at, not much else. He figured she could at least give him a massage.

Surprisingly, Lin Shanshan obliged, coming over to knead his shoulders, leaving Morning Breeze a little flattered. Cheng Xue came over too, taking one shoulder for herself. “Morning Breeze, could you lend me your little demon drake?”

“Sure, but you’ll have to be my temporary girlfriend too!” Morning Breeze had worried that Cheng Xue might misunderstand his relationship with Lin Shanshan and wasn’t sure how to explain it, but now he saw an opportunity. He liked Cheng Xue—Lin Shanshan was just someone he wanted to sleep with, nothing more.

Lin Shanshan, always using the “temporary girlfriend” excuse, quickly tugged at Cheng Xue, exclaiming, “It’s fine, Cheng Xue! I don’t mind you being his number two girlfriend—it’s just a name anyway!”

Girlfriend? Just a name?

Lin Shanshan didn’t even bother to hide it—she was willing to “rent” the two-headed wyvern for the sake of a label. Morning Breeze knew she’d always thought this way, but her bluntness still surprised him. Clearly, she thought being a temporary girlfriend was a win for him, but she wanted to make it clear to everyone else.

Seeing Lin Shanshan was joking, Cheng Xue played along. “Alright!”

Yu Jing and Zhang Xinting, sitting nearby, found it all hilarious. With divine beasts going for astronomical sums in-game, Morning Breeze was just lending them out so casually. They were tempted to offer themselves as his third and fourth girlfriends just for a chance at borrowing one. Both had met many players in-game—Zhang Xinting mostly pros, Yu Jing mostly hardcore players—but neither had ever seen someone like Morning Breeze, who treated divine beasts as trivial.

Who wouldn’t want a divine beast in this game? Not only were they unique in appearance, but their abilities were powerful and their potential immense—the ultimate pets. As a Beastmaster Hunter, Zhang Xinting coveted a divine beast, especially now that she had a two-headed wyvern; with it, she felt she could finally rival Shining Star. Shining Star now boasted a dark crocodile in the arena, and could easily take on two opponents at once.

Nearby, Ye Xin, also a hunter, knew just how much a good pet could help. If she had a two-headed wyvern, she’d challenge Morning Breeze on the spot—she didn’t believe she couldn’t beat him. She figured Morning Breeze only won because of superior weapons; once she had top-tier gear or a divine beast, she’d win for sure.

Earlier, Ye Xin had wanted to buy a divine beast from Morning Breeze, but since Lin Shanshan and Cheng Xue had already borrowed his, she was too embarrassed to ask. Since she couldn't buy one, she went back to her room to level up, hoping to catch up and maybe score some epic loot on the big maps later.

Watching this long-legged beauty retreat to her room, Morning Breeze just chuckled—was losing to him really so traumatic? Did she need to grind so hard? He also noticed the busty Miyazaki Kaoru heading to her room.

He had a good idea of this long-legged, big-chested campus belle’s identity. She was a Japanese student studying abroad, but her real goal was to assassinate Professor Ye Donghang of the Music and Arts Academy. This professor appeared to be a violin teacher, but he had another identity—the commander of China’s special forces. Otherwise, Morning Breeze couldn’t imagine why Miyazaki Kaoru would join the studio via Lin Shanshan to get close to Ye Xin. Ye Xin’s father was Ye Donghang. Morning Breeze didn’t know what her next move would be, but he was certain Ye Donghang would eventually lure her out and deal with her.

What a pity! He thought it a waste that such a stunning woman would soon vanish from the world—at the very least, he’d have liked to sleep with her first. But since nothing had happened yet, he let it be. Ordinary tricks would never fool a beauty like her; only dirty tactics would work.

After eating, Morning Breeze returned to his room and logged in to the main city. He browsed the forums for tanking guides, coming across a post about a tank’s self-cultivation.

First and foremost, a tank is the core of the team—every action should prioritize the team’s interests. Morning Breeze realized that he fell short of this standard; he always centered his playstyle around maximizing his own damage, with everything else secondary. For a berserker, this made sense, but as a tank, it was wrong.

His old philosophy was to burn down the boss as quickly as possible. Against simple bosses, that worked. But the higher the level, the more complex the fights became—no single person could carry the team by sheer damage. Why else would dungeons require parties? Tanks were meat shields, drawing the boss’s attacks so others could deal damage. That might mean his own DPS suffered, but the team as a whole gained more opportunities.

There is no room for individualism in the world of tanks! Morning Breeze knew he hadn’t achieved this—he always put himself first, wanting to top the damage charts even as a tank. For him, violence was the law. But for tanks, survival was the priority.

Tanks had to make sacrifices for the team; giving up damage was the bare minimum, hardly worth mentioning. Now he understood why Data Lord always said he was too aggressive, never blocking or parrying. Whenever Shield Slam was off cooldown, he used it; if Whirlwind Strike was free, he used it at once. Just these two habits disqualified him as a competent tank.

Tanks could have their own style, but Morning Breeze’s approach went too far. He always thought his damage was his defining trait, but he’d given up too much for it. Tanks needed to sacrifice, and while Morning Breeze could give up many things, he couldn’t let go of his DPS. As a berserker, his whole pursuit was damage—now, giving that up was a real struggle.

Why did I pick two completely opposite specializations? Morning Breeze began to ponder whether his choices were suitable for tanking at all, or if his approach simply didn’t fit the role.

Is there a class that can both tank and deal high damage? Morning Breeze decided he needed to explore this possibility.