Tanking is the process of increasing the defenses of a ship in an attempt to absorb or sustain as much damage as possible. The term comes from the comparison with armored tanks used in modern warfare.
Types of tanking[]
There are various methods of tanking and depending on the ship or the situation, the best option might vary.
Shield Tanking[]
Shield tanking is concentrating defense resources in one's shields. This is the first layer of defense for every ship, allowing one's armor and structure as buffer after the shield tank fails. Shield tanks typically require the use of a ships mid-slots. Shields have a natural recharge rate, which also makes them more favorable for passive tanking.
Increasing the amount of shields on a ship will extend the signature radius of the tanked ship, making it easier for other ships to acquire a lock, and increasing the damage of missile weapons. Shields also have a weakness to EM damage.
Armor Tanking[]
Armor tanking is concentrating defense resources in one's armor. Armor is the second layer of defense for every ship, allowing only one's structure as buffer after the armor tank fails. Armor tanks typically require the use of a ships low-slots. Armor does not repair on its own, making it less favorable for passive tanking. It is common to use Armor Repair System for repairing of armor mid-battle.
Increasing the amount of armor on a ship will add mass to the ship, making it turn and accelerate more slowly.
Hull tanking[]
Hull tanking (also known as structure tanking) is similar to armor and shield tanking, but very uncommon due to the high risk involved and slow repair speed of hull repair modules. If the tank fails, there is no margin for escape as with the other methods, as this results in the destruction of the ship. This type of tanking is generally only performed as a joke.
Honor Tanking[]
Honor tanking is a jargon term, usually used in jest, for ships that have no reinforced defenses. These ships are said to rely on honor to keep them intact. This is similar in concept to, "All gank, no tank."
Speed Tanking[]
Speed tanking is where a ship will utilise speed and agility in order to evade enemy fire as much as possible through the use of propulsion modules (I.e. MWDs) or otherwise (I.e. Inertia Stablisers, Nanofiber Internal Structure).
Active Tanking[]
Active tanking is where a ship uses active repair modules to repair either its shield or armor, such as a Shield Booster or Armor Repairer. Armor and Shield hardeners do not constitute an 'active tank,' as there is no real capacitor drain whilst running hardeners, although Armor Repairers are often (if not always) used in combination with hardneners in order to boost resists.
Passive Tanking[]
Passive tanking is when a ship boosts the passive recharge rate of the ship's shields, predominantly through the use of Shield Power Relays, although Power Diagnostic Systems do also have a similar affect if you have fitting problems. Due to armour not having a passive regeneration, passive tanking can only be done with the shields. The major advantage of passive tanking is that it requires very little Capacitor to run the shield hardeners, although many low and medium slots must be devoted in order to passive tank well.
Buffer Tanking[]
Buffer tanking is where a ship is using raw hit points and resists in an attempt to overwhelm the enemy before they go down themselves. Modules such as armour plating or shield extenders are used alongside resist modules in order to buffer tank.
Buffer tanks are predominantly used in PvP, as PvP engagements are much shorter and cap war is often utilised, which is ineffective against a buffer tank.