Level 36 PLD looking for advice

Had an experience today with some DPS saying i suck and some other choice words so here i am.

How should i go about marking targets?
-Right now i have it set to my engage macro which uses FoF, FB if melee or SL from range.

What is the best way to hold hate on a group?
-normally i use SL, run in and flash, run to anything not hit by flash and use SB if one target or flash again if more than 1 are in range. Then flash another 2 times after i have everything on me. After that i just try to hold hate on one at a time and hope the DPS are fighting the same thing i am.

How do i make my provoke macro work?
-current setup:
/ac "Provoke"
/ac "Shield Lob" <tt> which i have read is targets target, but the problem is that i get an error saying <tt> isnt a valid target.

How do i make a cover macro work?
- in FFXI i used <stpt> but same error with <tt>.

Any advice is appreciated. Despite the encounter i would like to continue as a tank and get better at it.

You can mark manually if need be. I'm not sure how to do it on PC but on ps4 you just target the mob press square and mark.

Group hate depends on if your DPS follow your marks and how much dmg they're doing. I generally run in the pack in a way that gets everything in flash range. If you shield lob your first target the DPS can start attacking for a bit while you wait a second for mobs to get in position. Flash 1-3 times then constantly swap targets while watching hate bars to micro manage hate on each add. Pay attention to how fast your DPS build hate so you can gauge how much hate you need to generate. After a while you'll get a feel for what you do and do not have to do to maintain hate like second nature.

Your provoke needs a <t>

Don't have cover yet but when I do get it I imagine I'd soft target and use cover manually that way so there's no confusion. If you learn to hold hate well cover won't really be needed much.

On pc I put mark1, 2 and 3 on a hidden hotbar, and have it keyed as shift +z, shift + x, and shift + c since alot of pulls are 3 enemy pulls. Make sure you cycle your combo after so many flashes, and or do riot blade combo with flashes weaved in. Remember, you're doing dps on the mobs, but the most important thing is the enemies are on you, so it doesn't quite matter how you hold the hate, you just have to hold it. With rage of halone, you can spend one combo on your mob, and then start cycling the enmity combo through the enemies.

Also, how's your gear? Are you using an up to date weapon, and gear as close to ilvl as you can?

Also, don't take ragers seriously or let them get to you.
When someone rages, tell them to stop.
If they don't, vote kick them or leave. Don't play with people like that.

If someone is better than you, then they should use their skill to help make up for your lack of skill or give you good advice.
Listen to good advice, but don't play with people who won't be team players and don't provide constructive feedback.

/ac "shield lob" <tt> doesnt exist if its on a fresh pull
cause your targeting the mobs target which is nothing, just change it to <t>

can farther it with a 1 mark by
/micon "shield lob"
/ac "shield lob"
/mk attack 1


for cover i have
/micon cover
/ac cover <mo>
/ac cover <tt>
/p (Cover)(Just used it) <se.8> <wait.10>
/p (Cover)(None left)


for inital pull u should lob, wait for everything to group, flash 2-4x, fast > fof > savage > tab next target > roh > tab next target > fast > savage > tab next target roh etc (flashing if u think your hate is low)
you dont really have to mark them all if tabbing thro them as long as everyone is hitting the 1 u have from lob

pld is tough 30-39 but at 40 you get shield oath for that enmity bonus/20% dmg reduction buff

Besides those advice,

Things that you should know are mechanics of the mob,
how they attack, how to position them and such.

and I agree with the poster above, flash twice and cycle on your mobs
say Initial target -> FB -> SB -> RoH then next target FB -> SB (tab to target 3) and land RoH -> back to initial Target and do one combo, so on so forth (up to you)

pay Attention to your party list where the aggro meter is located and the mob list for a quick reference on enmity of your pull.

Goodluck and please keep learning your class, don't be the bad tanks I run with lol :)

Sorry, i should have mentioned i am on PS4 in my OP. It was longer but the 1000 character limit is really... um.. limiting. Anyway, thank you all for the advice so far. I see what i am doing wrong with provoke. The <tt> is on my provoke macro to use when a stray add gets away from me, but i still get the <tt> is not a valid target. I see <mo> used a lot but how well does that work on the PS4? The touchpad mouse is really clunky so i havent tried to use it in battle.

I will try manually marking stuff before i enter the area. The only issue i have is what to do while in combat when adds spawn? Stand there and mark stuff? I will just have to practice and see what works for me.

As for my gear, truth be told it was not up to par for that dungeon. Avg ilvl was 28, 1500ish HP and 268 def. Got it up to ilvl 31, 1700ish HP and 312 def. I see the dungeon syncs from 37 and i have seen people around in level 37 tank gear so i might just wait another level and then regear and try again.

<tt> works when you are trying to get use the skill on the targets target, for example with provoke... If a DPS is targetin somethin and you target that DPS then use the provoke macro it will use it on the DPS's target.

I have yet to try using <mo> on the PS4, so can't say how well it works there.

As far as markin goes...

You can stick the mark buttons on the hotbar, I use the extra bars that use L2+R2 together to open up, and have 1-4 on there, for quick markin in combat and out.

Also, you can bypass the 1000 char limit by using edit.

And, as far as it goes, you're doing a LOT better than quite a few tanks are lately. Keep it up and keep on truckin.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by IndigoHawk

Also, don't take ragers seriously or let them get to you.
When someone rages, tell them to stop.
If they don't, vote kick them or leave. Don't play with people like that.

If someone is better than you, then they should use their skill to help make up for your lack of skill or give you good advice.
Listen to good advice, but don't play with people who won't be team players and don't provide constructive feedback.

---

Of all of the advice in the thread, I think this is the most important. If someone wants to say that you are bad but not provide any constructive feedback as to how to improve, right there they've shown you that you shouldn't give a crap about what they say. It's the duty of more experienced players to help new players out. It's the duty of new players to let the experienced players know that they'd really like the help. :3

It sounds like you're doing pretty well. You're just at the point where the difficulty starts to ramp up. From 30-50 the learning curve gets pretty steep as far as tanking goes, simply because you're basically the de facto leader of the party. I know it was intimidating to me the first time through going into a dungeon and having to tell people that I'm new and I don't know the content. Honestly, good dps and healers can work with and/or around inexperienced tanks. Hell, they can work around flat-out terrible tanks in most content.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Ashkendor

Honestly, good dps and healers can work with and/or around inexperienced tanks. Hell, they can work around flat-out terrible tanks in most content.

---

This for sure. I've seen DPS lead entire dungeons (not physically of course) by marking and pointing out where to go, what's in what chest etc. Teamwork! It makes everything way more fun and far less stressful.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Darrt

Sorry, i should have mentioned i am on PS4 in my OP. It was longer but the 1000 character limit is really... um.. limiting. Anyway, thank you all for the advice so far. I see what i am doing wrong with provoke. The <tt> is on my provoke macro to use when a stray add gets away from me, but i still get the <tt> is not a valid target. I see <mo> used a lot but how well does that work on the PS4? The touchpad mouse is really clunky so i havent tried to use it in battle.

I will try manually marking stuff before i enter the area. The only issue i have is what to do while in combat when adds spawn? Stand there and mark stuff? I will just have to practice and see what works for me.

As for my gear, truth be told it was not up to par for that dungeon. Avg ilvl was 28, 1500ish HP and 268 def. Got it up to ilvl 31, 1700ish HP and 312 def. I see the dungeon syncs from 37 and i have seen people around in level 37 tank gear so i might just wait another level and then regear and try again.

---

Heya fellow Tanky! ^^

Good job so far on making it this far.. you are almost done to get to lvl 50, and there will still be lots of fun awaiting you! ;)

*I type a few words on a post, then click the EDIT: you will have unlimited character (don't ask why SE did that, please don't)

Before the fight: you mark your targets (now you can go up to 5 with the standard symbols) usually its 3.. I will mark 1 and 2, the last one is obvious.

I don't macro Skills with markers: since you will use them often, it could change the target's numbers, mkaing it a bit difficult.. but that's me.

DPS and Healers as well.. need to let you build aggro.. a bit before engaging and blasting everything to smithereens.. That's their part of the battle.

As others mentionned, your job is not DPS, but making sure all enmity, enemies are on you, at all time, until depleted of their HP. When you know the mechanics of some mobs, you will be able to turn around so they face you and not the rest of the party. When they do their AoE skills, you move out, and then back into the last position (will help melee DPS and their combos ;) )

For Provoke, i prefer the approach of clicking on the mob that escaped your grasp, or was never into play, but suddenly appears. so for me it's <t> and not <tt>

if you marked 1-2 on 3 mobs, and then 2 other joined.. Make sure you will flash and aggro them, your hate on 1-2-3 should be already decent. By the time 1 and 2 are down, you can mark the 3rd one with the 3, and then once he's about to die, you can reuse 1 and 2 to mark the remaining ones, or as I said, now you can use 4 and 5.

DPS can easily catch upon their own meter and checking the lowest one with HP to kill. Then since 2 other joined, they will check which one you are targeting, and should hit them, if you didnt mark any. (lots of Tanks don't mark, so you have to use other methods ;) )

I would say keep on marking, in case you encounter rude party members. If you wipe, and it was marked down, you stated the order in which they should have focused. So no blame on your part.

If your gear is lower, state it when beginning, so they will wait until a few shots on your own before as well. (it's pretty much always the same patterns..)

If you are with BLM, BRD (and you will) they should be able to use their AoE skills.. like the super Flare!

Making sure you build enough aggro, being properly geared for your lvl (including the next best weapon that you unlock) and THEM letting you get aggro a bit first: no wipes, no issues.

It's a TEAM effort: you carry some pressure on your shoulders, but not all. Very big difference here.

Don't let a rude comment get to you, unless it's very bad. State that you are new to Tanking, new to the particular dungeon, open to any tips, and you will see more people willing to give you advice, than the rest..

Good luck, you are doing this game a great service ^^

I took marking out of my macro and just do it manually before we pull the next wave. Having shield oath now is also helpful with maintaining enmity. I've gotten better at holding aggro on a group of things now though sometimes things do slip away from me, though usually when they are almost dead so meh. Also, i have been holding off on doing dungeons at level and instead doing them at the level sync level with appropriate gear so its easier on the healer.

Sadly i now have a new issue. When does this get fun? Call me crazy but tanking in FFXI was way more fun that this. IDK why but this game just doesn't have the same charm FFXI did.

My free trial ends tomorrow and i haven't decided if i want to sub o not but thank you for the advice. I wish i could find helpful players like you in game so i would stop feeling like im playing a single player game.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Darrt

...My free trial ends tomorrow and i haven't decided if i want to sub o not...

---

I already replied to you in the other thread, and I stand by what I said, but having read your posts here I think I understand better why you are disenchanted with the game. Maybe you are not having fun because you are focusing so much on dungeons and dealing with toxic players whilst learning your class, in which case it will likely get better as you progress. And maybe being on a new server doesn't help. I haven't joined an FC yet because I'm wary of joining one when things are still settling on the server, a good FC now could have fallen apart in a months time, so I'm waiting until I've had a chance to form some relationships in game - but that takes time, in the meantime it is a bit isolating, and although I tend to join in and help out players when I'm out and about, it does sometimes feel a bit single player-ish, so I understand where you are coming from with that.

I do think if you aren't having fun now, that is unlikely to change, even with more interesting and challenging content than leveling dungeons, but if you do decide to stick around, then feel free to throw me a friend request - I play a lot and am usually up for most things. :)

Well the first thing to understand about tanking is that gear is vital, if the tank is a little undergeared then he'll generate less hate and take more damage which will make the healer work harder, generating more healer hate in the process. It will also set a lower hate threshold for the DPS which means they'll either slow down and lengthen the fight (putting further strain in tank and healer) or pull hate and the fight gets messy. Having up to date gear will make your tanking runs exactly 78% more enjoyable, that's a fact and everything :p

You seem to have the basics understood which leads me to believe you're capable of tweaking your tactics and improving naturally as you level and learn. Shield Oath at level 40 is a game changer by the way, one of the main reasons I enjoyed spamming Stone Vigil so much when leveling PLD I'd suspect. If you're struggling with hate you could try the flash +1 rule, basically you start off the fight by flashing once more than the number of mobs engaged i.e. on a 3 mob pull flash 4 times. That should give you a decent starting point before you start your normal rotations and give the healer a bit of breathing space to heal you during the max healing phase of the fight. Just remember hate is the responsibility of the group not just the tank, sometimes you need cooperation like people following marks or waiting longer than 2 seconds before dropping swiftcast flare. That's not being unreasonable and if they want to argue it is they're probably not very good at their own role so shouldn't be judging anyone.

Most importantly though just try to remember that people will criticize you in game no matter how well you do and most will completely miss it when you perform well. Only this morning I got a commendation for tanking a Titan HM, that fight really couldn't be easier for PLD if it tried. The thing is was one of our healers deserved all commendations, one healer died to the first landslide so the second healer had to solo heal the whole fight and it can be a tough fight for healers anyway, the guy worked his ass off but I doubt half the group even noticed.

Wish i would have read this sooner so i could have befriended you Elvie. I actually am in a FC but i have yet to have a conversation with any of them because even though i say hi, whats up, when i log in no one says anything back. I didnt know Zodiark was a new server but thats my own fault for not researching. I figured since i am living in Germany i should just make a character on a EU server so i dont have any connection issues. Today was my last free day and i think im just going to hold off and wait to see if they add any interesting content or game mechanics. In the meantime i still need to play MGS V and finish BF4.

Thanks again to everyone who gave advice. It was very helpful and improved my gameplay. Have fun in Eorzea for me.