two things...

It hadn't been long since taking down Titan, but now, I'm one quest away from facing the 3rd primal, Garuda.
Is it just as simple as battling Titan, or harder? Anyway, I hope I get my gear upgraded until then, as well as seeing a youtube video on the battle.

Also, I've started acquiring Allagan Tomestones (red) through the Kobold quests, is this something to do with glamours when I reach 50 and I have to be at Revenants Toll (Mor Dhona)?

Tomes are for gear. Soldiery stuff isn't so powerful in the longrun, but since you're new they'll be stronger than anything you've got so far. It is for Level 50 gear.

I see you are playing a tank. Garuda can be a difficult fight if your DPS doesn't know what they're doing and they don't kill the plumes. It's hard if not impossible for you to pick up the slack because if you move Garuda she can hurt the stones even more than the plumes do. When I was leveling up my Paladin I went into this fight just to see if I could do it and help me learn the class. I ended up in a party with a Black Mage and a Summoner who were still trying to learn their class and we did not succeed in the fight. I tried my hardest but if I ignored the plumes, the DPS could not kill them in time. Yet if I moved to attack the plumes myself, Garuda would follow me and smash the stones just as hard. Even the healer tried to DPS but could not pick up the slack. Well if you draw a bad party like that and you don't succeed, keep at it and just try again. It's not really a hard fight, as long as the DPS can kill the plumes everything will be fine. There is still much much harder content to come, so good luck!

For normal mode primals I personally found Garuda easier than Titan because of Titan's lagslides ... I mean landslides. The fight is a little more complex but not by much but there are fewer insta-death mechanics.

Allagan tomestones are used to purchase gear from the vendor at Revenant's Toll and is the main way people upgrade their gear.

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Originally Posted by TouchandFeel

For normal mode primals I personally found Garuda easier than Titan because of Titan's lagslides ... I mean landslides. The fight is a little more complex but not by much but there are fewer insta-death mechanics.

Allagan tomestones are used to purchase gear from the vendor at Revenant's Toll and is the main way people upgrade their gear.

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Titan is easy now that most of the lag has been reduced. I would say Garuda and Titan are about equal on normal modes.

True, true but I dont think I have gone back to do Titan NM since they improved it way back when.

As a tank Garuda is slightly harder - there are actually mechanics for you to watch.

1. Avoid Slipstream - it has a cast bar but no telegraph image. It's a frontal cone. Run around or through her to avoid.
2. Keep Garuda at the North end away from all the rocks and facing North.
3. When the plumes appear, Overpower a couple of times to help damage them (Warrior specific).
4. The first time she teleports, get on the south side of a rock.
5. The second time she teleports, get on the north side of a rock.
6. After her big move, during the Eye phase, she will teleport again. The first time stay to the north (but within the Eye) until she appears, then run behind her to avoid Mistral Shriek.
7. The second time she teleports during the Eye phase, get as far south as you can while still in the Eye.

Another thing about the Garuda battle (yep, I'm still trying my very best, following the advice given), is it right that I need the Limit Break option equipped? I'm thinking as when Garuda destroys the rocks for the second half of the battle, I'm the only one left standing for a few more seconds at least.
I hope to get that primal down by the end of the holidays, no matter how many times I try, as well as waiting 30 minuutes each time.

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Originally Posted by -DMR-

Another thing about the Garuda battle (yep, I'm still trying my very best, following the advice given), is it right that I need the Limit Break option equipped? I'm thinking as when Garuda destroys the rocks for the second half of the battle, I'm the only one left standing for a few more seconds at least.
I hope to get that primal down by the end of the holidays, no matter how many times I try, as well as waiting 30 minuutes each time.

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Depending on your healer's ability to keep the party healed, and the dps' ability to keep the pillars up, you may need to use the tank limit break for when Garuda casts Reckoning. It will make the attack feel less painful (and less stress placed on the healer).

Tank LB can help but it's by no means required to win this fight.

If you're taking too much damage from her ultimate ability, it means too much of the rocks were destroyed.
If too much of the rocks were destroyed, that means either your DPS didn't kill the plumes fast enough, or you positioned the boss wrong and Garuda smashed the rocks herself.
It is actually a fight mechanic that the rocks defend you from that ultimate ability, and the plumes break them down for the first half of the fight. The more rocks that are left standing at that point, the less damage you take.

Positioning is key in this fight. If you got her outside facing perfectly, there isn't much you can do outside of captaining the team and directing them to kill the plumes ASAP. As a tank you cannot attack the plumes without Garuda following you. There isn't really anyway to do it because Paladins don't get Circle of Scorn until Level 50 and even if you made it that far you are sync'ed down for this fight. If you are REALLY desperate you could try Flashing the Plumes right when they come out of Garuda and hopefully they will get blinded causing them to miss their attacks on the rocks for ~12 seconds. Also if you are lucky you can toss a few Shield Lobs to the plumes that are nearby. For the ones in the back, you are completely relying on your DPS to get the job done.

I am sorry that you have been stuck on this fight for so long. Most people are able to complete it in a day or two. I am also very surprised you are getting long queue times as a tank.

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Originally Posted by aerialrave

If too much of the rocks were destroyed, that means either your DPS didn't kill the plumes fast enough, or you positioned the boss wrong and Garuda smashed the rocks herself.

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Or dps/healer were standing too close to the rocks and let them get hit with her aoe. That's the most common error I see.

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Originally Posted by aerialrave

As a tank you cannot attack the plumes without Garuda following you. There isn't really anyway to do it because Paladins don't get Circle of Scorn until Level 50 ...

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She's a warrior. ;) So just overpower.

The only other thing I can suggest is upgrade your body armor. Try for the Sentinel's Cuirass from Dzemael Darkhold. Otherwise get High Mythril Armor.
If you are still struggling then fate/leve grind to 45 and do the warrior quest. That will give you several new pieces of armor.

Zodiark is in the Chaos datacenter so you will get faster queues if you are playing during prime EU time and select multiple languages (if you are comfortable with that). You can also post in the Zodiark section of the forums, put up a party finder in game for help, or ask your free company.