What am I doing wrong with my GLA?

I think I'm playing my GLA the wrong way since I'm constantly having enmity problems...

Just started my GLA and played a MRD before that to 30. I had only once an enmity problem while running Hauke at 28 but somehow it worked out. On my GLA on the other hand it does not.


Was running Toto-Rak the other day (at 24) and couldn't keep aggro at all, on the 2nd boss the DRG died, on the last boss the BLM ate dirt (and we were lucky to kill it before it could kill the CNJ).
I know that it can be problem to have high levels around, but the DRG was just 33 and it took him just a couple of seconds to grab all aggro. Here is what I did:

- 2x/3x Flash
- Fast Blade -> Savage Blade (all the time)
and 1x/2x extra Flash in between.

That worked for most trash. I still lost aggro but only when the mobs were almost dead. I put on numbers and the others were doing them in the right order.

For bosses:
- 3x Flash
- Fast Blade -> Savage Blade (2x)
- 2x Flash etc

until I was OOM. Started to skip Fast Blade and just do Savage Blade and Shield Lob but I was not able to get the bosses back. Provoke helped, but only for 1 auto-attack (if even).

I had problems with holding enmity before (which I thought was strange) but after that run I was literally finished with that class.

MRD 1-30 fine
GLA 1-25 horrible.

I recycled my MRD gear and used the quest weapon (20 sword, 21 shield):
http://na.finalfantasyxiv.com/lodest...acter/6410477/

For now I will not continue with the GLA, maybe lvl him with fates but surely not in dungeons.

Any insights?

well, the rotation could use a small bit of help. for one, when you do the initial pull, you are pretty close, I usually shield lob -> fast blade -> flash as many times as there are enemies -> savage blade - > start fast/savage combo, until the enemy is at 25% health -> target 2nd enemy while first is still dying -> combo.

if you are lvl 25, you want to have a much closer ilvl weapon than lvl 20. that may be your issue. I just checked ffxivdb, if you go to buscarrons druthers in south shroud (by quarrymill), he sells an iron spatha that will be an upgrade for you.

Also, remembering that you can split up the combo on different targets can help. I use splitting a lot for pulls with 3-4 enemies, then switch to flash spam for 5 or more.

on bosses, don't worry about flash unless there are adds, your combo generates a lot more enmity than flash does.

for big pulls, if you get them, esp. if multiple people are attacking, I have also found riot blade and flashing as many times as possible is able to get that pull.

Its harder than mrd at threat control, but as long as you keep the rotation and keep your gear current, I didn't have any problems with losing aggro, and I was that level 2 weeks ago.

Hope it helps!

I know those feels... I asked about this back in March. You'll find some good advice there. :)
http://forum.square-enix.com/ffxiv/threads/153502-GLA

I will tell you (my opinion)... you WILL have trouble holding hate against max level players as a lowbie tank (especially GLA) unless THEY watch their own aggro. I think it's a fault of the game. :/ When I tanked for friends (nearly exclusively to avoid grief), I'd sometimes remind them about the aggro thing and say I'd do my best. ^^v

to add: I open with Shield Lob (marks target 1), Flash and position mobs (might Flash twice depending), Fast Blade, Savage Blade, Flash, repeat. I will build hate on enemy 1, then smack enemy 2 with the SB part of the combo just to keep his attention as part of the rotation above. If a THM is all aoe all the time regardless or someone decides the numbers mean nothing, the mob can go chew on their face for all I care, I've done what I can (this is after many attempts to pull the mob back, of course.)

Overpower gives MRD a bit of an edge over GLA, enough of one that if you get lucky/unlucky with parties a couple of times, the difference can seem pretty large.

In this case, the DRG would've had access to his combo finisher (Full Thrust), while you were two levels shy of having RoH. Couple that with the differences in gear and yeah, it would've been rough if he just started going full tilt.

Everything tocsin said. I'd also say upgrade all your gear as much as you can (e.g., it's time for Brass Rings), consider putting some (or all) of your bonus points in STR while you're leveling, and hang on until RoH. RoH makes a large difference.

You've got the right idea on Tanking but if you aren't rotating your combos on different mobs then that might cause a problem for AoE/Healer aggro.
Here's what I do:
-Pull with Shield Lob
-Flash 2x
- Fast -> Savage on the first mob
- Fast Blade first mob
- Savage Blade second mob
- Flash
- Fast Blade first mob
- Savage Blade third mob.
- Flash
- Repeat from first mob (Fast->Savage)

Throwing a flash in after every combo will help with enmity on the mob that is being focused while you Savage Blade the other.
Once you get Rage of Halone, do the same thing except replace Savage Blade with Rage of Halone.
On bosses, just go full combo, you don't really need flash unless you want blind for mitigation.

since you are low level tank, you dont have many aggro generating abilities. Mark the mobs for killing order, that way 2 flash should be able to hold them, unless some dps is aoe happy type, then you should flash between your regular rotation.

Keep at it, it gets better at lvl 40. It's a long ways to wait, but at least aggro generation is fine from there on.

MRD tanking at low levels is much easier than GLA tanking. Really, your best bets are to either mark your targets and make light use of flash (While using your fast -> Savage combo), or just flash spam and rebuild your MP with riot blade and then repeat. That's what I do, anyhow. You're not doing anything wrong, it's just that SE really screwed over GLA/PLDs with enmity generation before level 40.

Since nobody else pointed it out, provoke's description in game is misleading.

The only thing provoke does is set your current enmity level to just above the current highest enmity value on the enemy's enmity table. Or in other words, if the current target of an enemy has 2000 enmity and you have 1500, provoke instantly generates 501. If the current target has 2000 and you have 2000, provoke generates 1. So the best way to use provoke, especially once you get RoH, is to queue up a combo attack (savage blade or especially RoH once you get it), and use that attack right after provoking to give you a bit of a cushion. Also, never use provoke on an enemy that you already have hate on, since it's a complete waste (even if it generates the same as other off-GCD abilities like FoF or Rampart, it's not going to make enough of a difference to be worth using, especially if having to wait 30 seconds to use it again means that you risk not being able to get the aggro back).

All of your enmity generating abilities generate enmity proportional to the amount of damage you do, including flash. The problem you're running into is that you're winding up in dungeons with DPS/healers that significantly outgear you, but don't know how to manage their own enmity generation. The best way to minimize the trouble that causes is to choose your gear/allocate your stat points to maximize your damage output. As an approximate rule of thumb, 1 weapon damage is worth roughly 4 str, and 1 str is worth roughly 4-5 secondary stats (which aren't going to accumulate to make a big enough difference at your level, so you can really ignore them and focus on str).

This means to get any empty slots you have filled with str gear, then focus on upgrading/spending the most gil on your weapon, shield, chest and legs. If you're using NQ weapons, you should upgrade them as often as possible. With HQ/aetherial/GC/dungeon wepaons, you can probably get by with every 4-5 levels, and that's definitely the thing you want to buy first if you can only afford one piece of gear (since the extra weapon damage is going to trump any benefits you'll get from other gear slots). low level STR materia tends to be pretty cheap on the marketboard, too, if you can find someone willing to meld it for you. That can help extend the life of some of your LQ stuff for a few levels.

If you don't have the gil/seals/crafting abilities to make gear for yourself, leves are a good way to level for a little while. You'll get a chance to get some aetherial gear, gil, and company seals. Additionally, even if you wind up wearing NQ gear from quests that's a few levels behind, once you're level 40 it won't really matter. You'll still max out your stats for level sync'd dungeons, and you'll have shield oath and more abilities for the higher level dungeons. If you enjoy tanking, keep with it, it does get easier.