First time tanking fears

Hi everyone, I had to post on my Lancer since my Gladiator level is too low to post on.

I have always wanted to try tanking in an MMO, and I have decided to give it a try in XIV. I am only level 10 at the moment, but I felt the need to express some of my fears of tanking and see if anyone else has had similar feelings their first time.

I am worried that I may not be the greatest at it and people will bash me for it. Is the community fairly accepting as a whole when it comes to new tanks and trying to learn? Or is it a fairly cold trip awaiting me? I really want this to work out, but how steep is the learning curve? Experienced tanks would you say it is really hard starting out to get the hang of things? Is it worth the time and effort to learn how to adapt to all the situations and what not? Also I would like to hear if anyone else has had similar worries when they first began tanking.

I appreciate any and all input, especially from fellow tanks.

When you are open about your new ness from the beginning and accept suggestions like you did by this thread, it usually fends off the tendency for people to be mean to you because everyone has to start some place. Just keep your feet on the ground and your head up to character growth. <--------no that is not tanking advice, I have no idea about tanking. :P

Looks like you have an open mind, you are being honest and that is a clean slate to start with. I wish you the best of luck and you will do fine if you keep that good attitude. :D

Oh and try Guild hests, they are the first content available when you unlock the Duty Finder. They teach you step by step party mechanics, they provide objectives on clearing the content once you are inside and they pay good gil.

I had similar concerns (made worse by the fact that I decided to go WAR). I made it to 38 BRD before switching, so the last few dungeons especially were a little nerve-wracking, going through 1st time as a tank. For me, the community has been very good. There's always the occasional ragequit after a wipe, but the vast majority of people have been helpful and patient. Do your research, practice emnity stuff (rotating enemies, etc), ask for help and hopefully your experience will be as pleasant as mine has been.
Also, I thought this was a great guide (especially the UI section in part 2): http://eorzeareborn.com/tanking-basics-communicatio/

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Originally Posted by Ethelion

Hi everyone, I had to post on my Lancer since my Gladiator level is too low to post on.

I have always wanted to try tanking in an MMO, and I have decided to give it a try in XIV. I am only level 10 at the moment, but I felt the need to express some of my fears of tanking and see if anyone else has had similar feelings their first time.

I am worried that I may not be the greatest at it and people will bash me for it. Is the community fairly accepting as a whole when it comes to new tanks and trying to learn? Or is it a fairly cold trip awaiting me? I really want this to work out, but how steep is the learning curve? Experienced tanks would you say it is really hard starting out to get the hang of things? Is it worth the time and effort to learn how to adapt to all the situations and what not? Also I would like to hear if anyone else has had similar worries when they first began tanking.

I appreciate any and all input, especially from fellow tanks.

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Honestly, if you communicate and are open/honest with your party then you will usually get given a lot of support, especially if it's your first time tanking a particular dungeon instance :)

You probably already have a rough idea of what sort of attacks to expect from each mob from playing your other class. The basic difference for a Tank is that you'll be trying to manage threat and keep the mob directed at you. As long as you can keep hate reliably, the next step is to keep yourself well-geared for +Vit and +Def/Parry/etc, and learn to manage your defensive cooldowns properly. You need to try to best mitigate the damage you'll be taking.

I've been a tank in several other MMORPGs, and by comparison FFXIV is a bit tricky when it comes to reliably holding hate on multiple mobs. You need to learn how to keep a bunch of foes hitting you whenever the Scholar or White Mage start casting heals. Flash and Overpower are both unreliable at this - one is fairly weak, the other is a TP hog... so you need to switch targets and use +Enmity building combos. You'll don't have all the tools needed for this at lower levels though, so don't panic if you lose hate occasionally when fighting more than one foe early-on.

The last thing to watch out for is marking targets. As a tank, it's pretty much expected that your job is to "lead the charge" and tell the DDs what target they should be concentrating on. If you haven't used Marking before, now's the time to look into it :) "/mk attack1 <t>" will get you by for the vast majority of content... but using the others too can help communicate your intentions to your teammates much more clearly and make things go more smoothly.

Happy Tanking! :D

I made the switch to a tanking role many years ago in WoW, and have since always slotted one as my main. I love the level of involvement and strategy that goes into tanking, and the ability to direct the flow of combat. As a tank, you're in the spotlight a lot, and often will be looked to lead. If that's your thing, you're making a good choice!

Start from the ground up. When you earn the level to run a new instance, run it. Guildhests are a good way to earn some tanking experience in a fairly consequence free environment. Practicing how your skills work and react in low level dungeons where the stakes aren't as high is a really good way to piece your class together inch by inch.

Hope you're experience with is goes well, being a solid tank is one of the most rewarding things an MMO can offer, in my opinion, and hopefully it works out for you too!

Many new tanks are anxious. No one wants to be bad or yelled at. Handling failure is part of being a tank, so keep things in perspective. When people yell at tanks, all they're showing is that they don't know how to play games and work together.

In FFXIV, I encountered friendly players at low levels. At max level, I encountered speed running elitists. If you don't have a good experience with DF, look for a friendly FC.

Tanking is definitely worth it. Tanks get to be heroes with a whole party supporting them. Tanks charge in first, and go toe to toe with the mightiest foes in the game.

Tanks learn marking, prioritization, positioning, threat, and mitigation. They develop awareness for the whole fight and learn a lot about the dungeons and bosses.

I don't think the learning curve for FFXIV tanks is too high. The difficulty ramps up gradually and guildhests help, although some things are poorly explained, like visual threat indicators.

FFXIV is the first game I tanked in and really first dungeon experiences. So far it's been quite easy whether PLD or WAR.
You can do the guildhests to help give you some perspective but in any event you are leveling Gladiator.



I recommend grabbing some Signs from the sign menu and putting them on your hotbar. This isn't so much as for your benefit but the rest of your party who will be able to understand who you want dead first.
Select a target, Mark it with 1, tab mark the next with 2, tab mark the next with 3, and so on as you need. I don't feel a need for more than 3 generally.
Use shield throw on your initial target (you get this at class quest), and it'll give you some good initial enmity, the monsters will dogpile on you for a second but you need to hit Flash to establish real enmity on all of them. Once that's done you can hit one more flash if you want and then do fast blade -savage blade on your #1 target. You'll get it as you go along in the dungeons because they have a nice learning curve, when in doubt just run the dungeon a second time to cement your skills. We're tanks so it's not like we have to wait :).

Imo communities been pretty nice, I haven't been insulted so far, and if I had any doubts in myself I asked others for feedback which was often that I was doing well. In the case something had to be changed I got the response without issue.



Since FFXIV is my first tank experience I looked up some general tips on stuff like reddit,google and here, first dungeon was daunting but no problem. Mark your targets and go to work, you may slip up but it's not huge, Satasha enemies don't one shot dps or anything like that so you have time to adjust your play and figure out how to be more efficient.

with tanking practice makes perfect. You will lose hate sometimes, take a chance to look at why when you have a moment after playing ping-pong to get it back and figure out what you could have done differently (sometimes the answer is nothing YOU could do, but something your party could).

Overpower/Flash are good to set hate for about the first 20-30s, after that you either need another one, or to start cycling your +enmity basic chain. You will also need to make sure that DPS are focusing on your target, or if they aren't that you can switch to the one they are.

Provoke & Flash are VERY nice skills to have for a War, after that it's felt like a bit of a wash

As a long time healer who has a tank alt in most games, I completely understand the nervousness, I have it too. The tank is the leader of the group, and the one that usually has to deal with most of the mechanics. In this game, I have found that most people dont care up until level 50, thats when some elitism comes into play, since people are looking for smooth runs. Before you get to that point, the best Idea is to tank some lower level dungeons to build confidence. Dungeons dont really get challenging to tank until Brayflox, maybe Halatai too. At that point is where you will really start to build your skills as a tank. The previous dungeons are for getting comfortable with the skills that you have on your class.

So if you really want to train yourself, just climb the latter of dungeons by tanking em. At the lower levels, people are generally forgiving of newness.

Also from someone who gets stressed out by tanking, the best advice is to run a few dungeons with FC members to start.

Tanking can be a joy and a terror at the same time.

as a new tank here are some things to consider.

Research the dungeons.
Knowing what will come at you as a tank is a huge benefit. I usually run a dungeon once just so I don't spoil anything for myself, and then go into it again after reading up on the particulars. Knowing boss phases, positioning, and special attacks can help you manage cool downs and resources much more effectively.

Be patient.
If you don't spoil anything for yourself before doing it, prepare to die. Prepare to cause the occasional wipe, or be the subject of criticism. DO NOT DESPAIR! as someone else just said, if you keep an open mind and are open to constructive criticism, most people will enjoy helping you out. Dying is part of being a tank, as dying will help to teach you what to do to avoid it next time. It is ok to die. Especially as a new tank.

You are not superman (unfortunately).
You cannot save everyone, especially from themselves. You won't always be able to get a monster off a healer or DPS that just went over the top nuts. Remind them you are the tank, and if they want to let you do the tanking, they need to do their role conservatively yet effectively so that you can do your job well. If other players do not know how to manage aggro, especially if they know you are a new tank, perhaps they should lay face up for a while to learn.

Stay still if you can.
A lot of times tanks feel the need to run around in circles, or run away from the mob, or run anywhere just for the sake of it. If you don't need to move (apart from dodging and aoe), don't. Let players know this. Tell them if they pull hate from a mob to RUN TO YOU and not AWAY from you. Staying still will make it easier for people to get to you, and then get back to where they need to be. This isn't always applicable, but useful nonetheless.

Face the mob.
stupid, i know, but some people don't. You can't block if your not facing the enemy, so do your best to always face up and take it like a man! (or woman).

Remember your role.
Your are the shield, the protector, and often times the savior. That is your role. Perhaps when you get to the late game you can experiment but in FFXIV the roles are very clear. Do not try to out damage a DPS, or anything of that nature. Adding more DPS or what have you is fine, but never at the expense of defense. Bolster your defense, and bring justice unto your foes.

Its not for everyone.
In FFXI there was a lot more freedom via subclasses to put your own spin on each class. This game does not offer that. If you are not having fun as a tank, don't do it. Play whatever is fun for you and you will naturally excel at that role.

Tanking in this game is pretty easy, so don't worry about being good at it or not. You should learn pretty fast.

I just want to thank everyone for all their posts so far. The support and information has been amazing and overwhelming. I will work my best to better myself as a tank and learn from mistakes I will surely make. Thanks a lot for all your responses.

as a new tank, 1. make sure you know how to read your aggro gauge and make sure your teammates know how to read it too.
2. know your enmity combo and always save one or two moves just in case of one of the mobs peels away from you.
3. if someone is focusing more on bitoching about you because you are not doing your job correctly, instead of giving you advises to help you, ......."LET HIM DIE"

The hardest part about tanking isn't dealing with the monsters, it's working with the other players in your party. You can be the best tank in the world, but if your teammates aren't paying attention you will fail as well. So when you see someone not doing their role well, kindly give them advice. Saying please and thank you can go a long way.

Hey there - I am playing a tank for the first time after playing melee dps as my main in many many MMOs. I had a feel for tanking as I have had tank alts throughout my years. I would agree that tanking is not super difficult in this game, especially if you are a playing a GLD.

People will probably be mean to you at some point, just don't let them get to you - there are a lot of unstable and rude people that play this game. Do what you love, forget the rest : D

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Originally Posted by kasei

The hardest part about tanking isn't dealing with the monsters, it's working with the other players in your party.

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This is a solid bit of advice and something you will encounter ESPECIALLY at lower levels. Even if you mark and apply emnity properly you may have a hard time tanking if all your dps is doing something other than following the marks.

Tanking #1 do so your lancer doesn't pull aggro, tanking #3 because your archer broke the CC and is now dpsing it, and tanking #2 so your healer doesn't take aggro... can be challenging.

These things are the things that will teach you how to be an effective tank though. As the fights and mechanics get harder your comrades in arms "should" get better.

Honestly, one thing I find amazing about tanking is that (if you keep an open mind) you learn a lot about all the other roles as you go through dungeons. You learn how enmity works and how it feels when someone decides to unload everything right as the tank touches the monster. You learn a lot about positioning and how to move freely in each dungeon without too much risk. You learn just how important it is to have a good healer. You learn that communicating with other party members can lead to a much smoother experience.

Playing a tank lends itself to all other roles and it's a good way to get to know how each fight/dungeon in the game works. That way, if you tackle the same dungeon as DPS or healer, you can optimize your performance to make it all the more enjoyable for everyone. Basically, when playing a tank, think of it as a learning experience - if people yell at you you'll learn why sometimes it's best that the tank ignores those people. Obviously sometimes you do make mistakes, but so does everyone (I've seen many a DPS die in Titan HM due to the most amazing things they could've easily avoided) and that's why it's best to learn from those mistakes so that they don't happen again.

I have tanked for years in other MMOs and I still get a little nervous before doing a new dungeon. Once I know the fights, that feeling tends to go away. The problem is that, especially as you get towards max level, people will tend to be unforgiving of someone who doesn't know exactly what to do. I have had people call me a noob tank because I messed something up on my first run, but then another group I get, after I have learned the fight, says I am great tank.

Unfortunately, there will be people that make a snap judgment of you and, if it is a DF group, you likely will never have the chance to redeem yourself in their eyes. As the default leader of a group (meaning more blame will fall on you), you have to shrug these frustrations off and move on to the next one with the knowledge you gained from the previous attempt.

I always try to research a dungeon before I do it, but I understand totally that this takes the fun out of it for some. But I would rather spoil it for myself than have people get upset. But reading about it or watching a video will teach you much less than actually trying it yourself.

I've had experience tanking from TERA & I've personally been interested in tanking in FFXIV. And if there's one thing I can say from my experience tanking in FFXIV, it would be the following:

-Really KNOW your skills & what you can do with them in a given situation.

-Get comfortable with marking targets. It'll make the run a whole lot smoother.

-Don't be afraid to put your foot down & let people know that their healing or DPS output is pulling too much enmity away from you, the tank.

-You're a TANK. You have to stare danger in the face on a daily basis. You have to commit to your role & do what you need to do to make sure the run goes as smoothly as possible with minimal deaths (hopefully none) within your party.

But, of course, all of this is for naught if you don't remember the most important thing of all:

Just have fun.

If tanking isn't your thing, don't keep doing it.

I wish you luck in your future endeavors!

I can say i was in your position as well, difference actually being this was my first true MMO.
First dungeon from Duty finder was so, so (Satasha) but Tam Tara i had way too many enemies on me, healer could not keep up healing me and in turn would get agro because of healing. I died a few times and at the end someone (probably a dps) said i should find a different class . Now fast forward now, i have redone Satasha and did other dungeons and also went against Ifrit all with members from a Free Company i joined and you know what we cleared the dungeons fairly quickly and healer said it was nice for once having a Tank that did not let enemies get near them.
I have heard that doing dungeons with random people, well let's just say some people need to grow up
Also like i said still new but from what i have learned other then proper rotation of abilities is to always keep an eye on your allies health bar. If there health bar remains up or above half i think you are doing a good job

If you do all of the guildhests with your gladiator, it will be excellent training in a much more forgiving environment than that of a dungeon.

All the advice given here is great, and to add to it, I just want to emphasize one thing very explicitly.

Be nice to your healer. Extra super nice to your healer. You live because of them. So treat them lovingly.

Unfortunately the community seems extremely unforgiving when it comes to tanking. Alot of people will be cool and understanding and help you out, but overall my experience has been negative.
I played WoW for 7 years and I was in one of the most hardcore guilds you can imagine. And even *I* am surprised at the extreme elitist douch3bag attitude most of the tanks + other PUG groups display. Its like... if you dont already know 100% what to do and execute it with perfection you will get scolded hard.

Example: Entering Ifrit HM for the 2nd time, after having main tanked him just fine once allready - another warrior asks me to stun. First time was with a paladin so he did all stuns. When I asked "Only me or do we rotate?" he answered with "..." and then proceeding to tell me what to do in the most condecending way possible as if I were a child. When I failed one stun that caused a wipe (One single stun missed) he proceeded to flame me. We made it in the second try though. Luckily the Ifrit axe dropped and I won, KARMA!

I've had years of experience tanking in MMOs, and I have to say it is different than other MMOs tanking in FFXIV.
Just like others said, be open with your party that you are new to it. Be open to suggestions and trying new ways of doing it. It's like my FC motto: "Skill can be taught, attitude cannot".
If you have the attitude to excel and try your best, and be willing to research and learn new things, you already are a great player in my book. It really just comes down to stick time and learning abilities. I will share this from my low level experiences with Gladiator:
Until you get Rage of Halone, your best opener is going to be Flash > Flash > Fast Blade > Savage Blade. Sometimes opening with a Savage Blade without the Fast Blade to combo it is better. Just remember to mark before pulling, and tab through the enemies to make sure no one is too high vs you. Obviously you want the enemies on you, but definitely NOT the healer.