Should I keep tanking(Dark Knight) or go on as a DPS(Dragoon)

I'm seeking advice on this because,not too long ago,I got my dragoon up to level 70 and ilvl 363 and once I started raiding and farming as a dragoon.....I kinda feel like I'm contributing more to the team than when I'm a tank

With the right set up I can deal some really high damage(tho I still need to improve that a bit) on rotations once I set up proper buffs and that helped immensely during bosses with tight DPS checks

I can tank just fine most of the time but my big problem when I tank is that sometimes I panic depending on the boss especially with how crucial staying alive is for a tank compared to a DPS(If you ran into me during my Shinryu EX practice runs weeks ago.....I'm sorry xD).Like I can pop off defensive cooldowns or invulnerability skills like Blackest Knight just fine but the moment my panic settles in everything falls apart

Should I keep working on my tanking efficiency or am I better off continuing as a DPS

You should play the one you like best. From what I read that seems to be dragoon.

It's actually important to stay alive as a DPS as well, especially in a EX trial or savage raid. The spotlight might not be directly on you like a tank, but dropping to the floor is a serious DPS loss which could make the difference between whether or not the group can skip a phase depending on how the fight is set up. DPS and healers are targeted by mechanics a bit more frequently than tanks, if not a lot more.

Ultimately, it comes down to what you enjoy playing more. If you feel like DMG is the best way for you to contribute to a raid, then play DPS. But avoiding KO status is something all three roles have to worry about. If you do decide to keep tanking, and you feel panic starting to set in, remember to just breath. Deeply though the nose, slowly out the mouth. This has helped me tons when doing first time encounters on my DRK.

Good luck out there!

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Originally Posted by Gemina

It's actually important to stay alive as a DPS as well, especially in a EX trial or savage raid. The spotlight might not be directly on you like a tank, but dropping to the floor is a serious DPS loss which could make the difference between whether or not the group can skip a phase depending on how the fight is set up. DPS and healers are targeted by mechanics a bit more frequently than tanks, if not a lot more.

Ultimately, it comes down to what you enjoy playing more. If you feel like DMG is the best way for you to contribute to a raid, then play DPS. But avoiding KO status is something all three roles have to worry about. If you do decide to keep tanking, and you feel panic starting to set in, remember to just breath. Deeply though the nose, slowly out the mouth. This has helped me tons when doing first time encounters on my DRK.

Good luck out there!

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Thanks ^_^

Tho what I meant when it comes to dodging damage,yes it's important for a DPS but one DPS dying is not as severe as one of the tanks dying especially on EX and raid bosses that requires both tanks to switch....while I did manage to beat Shinryu EX with friends.....I paniced in phase 3 that I forgot to Shirk to my fellow tank and died to the last Tera Slash xD

I'll most likely stick to Dragoon since I seem to be doing much better at it currently for EX and raids....but I won't totally neglect tanking but it'll be much less than I used to up until maybe 5.0 where I'd go tank for casual runs in dungeons and see if I can control my panic better before tanking high end content again

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Originally Posted by Gemina

It's actually important to stay alive as a DPS as well, especially in a EX trial or savage raid. The spotlight might not be directly on you like a tank, but dropping to the floor is a serious DPS loss which could make the difference between whether or not the group can skip a phase depending on how the fight is set up. DPS and healers are targeted by mechanics a bit more frequently than tanks, if not a lot more.

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Dead DPS do zero dps.

Raised DPS do reduced DPS.

Oddly enough, dungeons is where I have the most anxiety as a tank. "Am I going backwards?" "Is my healer hating me right now?" "Am I pulling enough, or too much?" "Will they get mad at me if I go for the out-of-the-way chest?" "I didn't get any comms. I must suck." In trials and raids though, I don't know what it is, but I am just more confident and find myself bouncing on my feet, chomping at the bit ready to charge in.

I hear you though, and I am much more comfortable running difficult content on one of my healers than I am tanking it. Similar to you, it is how I feel I contribute best in 8-man despite the responsibility the healer role entails. But in the back of my head, it is always there that I need to leave my comfort zones if I truly want to learn to deal with panic.

Not panicking as a tank is a learned through experience skill.

Essentially, yeah, a lot more rides on you as a tank (broadly speaking) but having the ability to stay relatively calm and keep an eye on things only happens if you practice the class. It's all about experience at that point. And I can say that, because I was like that as well when it came to tanking early on.

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Originally Posted by MetalSnakeXI1

Tho what I meant when it comes to dodging damage,yes it's important for a DPS but one DPS dying is not as severe as one of the tanks dying especially on EX and raid bosses that requires both tanks to switch....while I did manage to beat Shinryu EX with friends.....I paniced in phase 3 that I forgot to Shirk to my fellow tank and died to the last Tera Slash xD

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Honestly, a tank dying is less likely to result in a loss than a DPS death, in my experience, unless the death happens JUST before a tank swap needs to happen. In the case of both DPS and tank, a healer will raise them immediately, so it really comes down to dps loss due to the time spend dead and weakened. Naturally, the amount of dps lost while a DPS is weakened is much greater than the dps lost while a tank is weakened.

The off-tank is usually just a low-grade DPS. If they die, we lose a bit of low-grade DPS time. If the main tank dies, the off-tank can usually take over pretty quickly. On top of that, whether main or off, a tank can often survive mistakes that would kill a DPS, with the only consequence being extra healing from the healers. So, all in all, I'd say that the DPS are under a lot more pressure than the tanks are. They are less survivable, and the consequences are (usually) greater if they die.

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Originally Posted by MetalSnakeXI1

Thanks ^_^

Tho what I meant when it comes to dodging damage,yes it's important for a DPS but one DPS dying is not as severe as one of the tanks dying especially on EX and raid bosses that requires both tanks to switch....while I did manage to beat Shinryu EX with friends.....I paniced in phase 3 that I forgot to Shirk to my fellow tank and died to the last Tera Slash xD

I'll most likely stick to Dragoon since I seem to be doing much better at it currently for EX and raids....but I won't totally neglect tanking but it'll be much less than I used to up until maybe 5.0 where I'd go tank for casual runs in dungeons and see if I can control my panic better before tanking high end content again

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In my experience with doing both Omega and Alexander savage raids, I've actually found a tank dying (except in Midgardsormr) means the other tank provokes and things go on as normal. A DPS dying, on the other hand, can mean the difference between passing the fight and dying to enrage, especially in early progression. Also I do want to point out that your support to the raid as a tank might seem more invisible, but does exist. Just the act of being a tank is support in itself because that keeps a boss from picking off DPS one by one (we're so squishy!) but additionally tanks have skills that can mitigate party-wide and/or targeted damage. In your case, reprisal and darkest knight.

However, if the role isn't something you're enjoying, then by all means switch. The most important thing, really, is that you're playing a role you enjoy. If you're not having fun, then you'll only burn yourself out in the long-run.

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Originally Posted by wereotter

In my experience with doing both Omega and Alexander savage raids, I've actually found a tank dying (except in Midgardsormr) means the other tank provokes and things go on as normal. A DPS dying, on the other hand, can mean the difference between passing the fight and dying to enrage, especially in early progression. Also I do want to point out that your support to the raid as a tank might seem more invisible, but does exist. Just the act of being a tank is support in itself because that keeps a boss from picking off DPS one by one (we're so squishy!) but additionally tanks have skills that can mitigate party-wide and/or targeted damage. In your case, reprisal and darkest knight.

However, if the role isn't something you're enjoying, then by all means switch. The most important thing, really, is that you're playing a role you enjoy. If you're not having fun, then you'll only burn yourself out in the long-run.

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I did enjoy my time as a dark knight quite a lot.....it's just with high end content the pressure got a bit into me as usually in my case when one tank falls it's like the first piece in a stack of dominos where once I died in some instances the whole team did.

Don't get me wrong when I tank right I do get a lot of praise(sometimes in dungeons all players give me commendations).....but the mistake is also met with twice the scrutiny and anger.

I'll keep tanking in the future but that'll be mostly for main MSQ content and some few normal difficulty raids,other stuff like EX bosses and savage is where I'll dedicate my time to being a dragoon and even then I might lean over to dragoon a little more in some casual content

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Originally Posted by LineageRazor

Honestly, a tank dying is less likely to result in a loss than a DPS death, in my experience, unless the death happens JUST before a tank swap needs to happen. In the case of both DPS and tank, a healer will raise them immediately, so it really comes down to dps loss due to the time spend dead and weakened. Naturally, the amount of dps lost while a DPS is weakened is much greater than the dps lost while a tank is weakened.

The off-tank is usually just a low-grade DPS. If they die, we lose a bit of low-grade DPS time. If the main tank dies, the off-tank can usually take over pretty quickly. On top of that, whether main or off, a tank can often survive mistakes that would kill a DPS, with the only consequence being extra healing from the healers. So, all in all, I'd say that the DPS are under a lot more pressure than the tanks are. They are less survivable, and the consequences are (usually) greater if they die.

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That is also true but in most cases for DPS there are some ways to mitigate the weakness debuff till it runs out and still keep contribution to the team.

For me tanks and healers seems a little more crucial,not saying DPS isn't crucial cuz it is,but Tanks and healers are the pillars that the team stand on......losing one,especially the healer,can mean the end in high-end content.

Honestly I might consider getting the Red Mage Job too since it can cast raise so even if I was weakened by a death I can still res a healer or tank if they happened to die to mitigate the sitback of the weakness debuff