nervous tanker

[cheolsu]

left handed doesn't mean anything assuming you use that right handed mouse with your right hand. if you're going to use your setup, you should have your modifier keys on your mouse thumb buttons. so you can press ctrl and shift with the thumb of your right hand and use your actionbars with your left.

get the best gear you can. check the marketboard. arr dungeons are much harder to tank than heavensward. watch out for pats. don't freak out about losing aggro before you have your tank stance (shield oath) because before that, you're pretty much another dps. and in fact, the other dps can tank a mob just fine (they don't hit that hard). if you have your tank stance, and you're doing your enmity combo, flash, overpower whatever, and *still* losing mobs to the dps, get a better weapon!

arr dungeons are much harder to tank than heavensward. keep an eye out for pats. watch a dungeon guide on youtube. you're going through old content that people expect you to know inside and out.

[Venjenz]

What I am looking for is how to be a better tank, and perhaps an easy tank class to get into to get a feel for it. I do not really want to deal with a lot of buttons unless I can get them them fast. hence why I posted my hud in hopes to get some better means on using keybinds to streamline my job.

Here's your best advice:

One word of advice/warning, if you want to tank I'd suggest (at least occasionally) doing dungeons.

Only thing about that advice I would change is the "at least occasionally" thing.

If you want to tank, DF dungeons and trials should be what you do MOST OF THE TIME. This is where people will expect you to know what you are doing. Now, to make that easier on you, here are two things that have me get over that exact same fear of tanking with random groups:

1) Watch the video. Every dungeon and trial in the game has at least one video (probably Mizzteq on the wiki), and you should watch them. I like to watch a new dungeon at least twice all the way through, and then on confusing or mechanic heavy fights (Boogeyman in AK hard, Midgardsormir in KotL, Titan H/E, etc) I watch that specific section a few times. It helps.

2) Make these two macros:

• 1st Time - "/p this is my first time tanking this, sorry in advance for any mistakes"
• Learning - "/p only tanked this a few times, sorry in advance for any mistakes."

I always tell people when it is my first time, and until I am comfortable with a dungeon, I use the "Learning" one ever time after the initial try. Letting people know right off the bat that their tank is new to and/or still learning that encounter almost always results in the party being more patient and forgiving. You get friendlier advice and nowhere near as much "go go go" stuff. It's a great way to tone down toxicity, and doing it in a pleasant way.

Once you have that worked out, practice, practice, practice. Start back at Sastasha and run it 5-10x if needs be, and just work your way up. Your queues will be less than a minute almost always, and you can pick what content you want specifically. But as aleph_null said, regular dungeons are where proper tanking happens, so stick to that content as much as possible.

IMHO, YMMV.

[whiteblade89]

The best way to get comfortable at tanking is to do it. Like Venjenz said up there, doing dungeons will help you to understand your toolkit better. My one warning I have is to expect a little bit of anxiety when you first start. You need thick skin to tank because some people are assholes when you mess up. If you have an FC I'd recommend getting a group together to help you learn in a comfortable environment. I know that I had issues when I first started tanking and it caused me not to play the role for a long time. But when I finally picked it back up as dark Knight, I realized that I understood the class and my toolkit, which went a long way in building my confidence at it. Learn your skills, learn to keep an eye on the aggro meter and the enemy list on screen. Those are a tanks best friend. Also, use your cooldowns lol your healers will thank you for it. And most importantly, don't give up. You will mess up eventually because we all do. Learn from your mistakes and don't get discouraged. You can do it, my friend. I have faith in you.

[Revanslave]

I really enjoy tanking in this game when I do, but I spent so much time as a DPS that I'm used to following. It's hard to switch to the designated leader and know exactly what to do when you've played the dungeon probably one time. Other than that, I love it.