Is there really a need to use Flash constantly?

So I just did Stone Vigil for the first time. The members I was paired up with were helpful, but a bit rash at times because they said I didn't use Flash enough. So if I can hold aggro by using Flash initially then by using the Rage of Halone combo, is there really a need to spam Flash? Watching the meters I can do damage and still hold aggro off everyone.

It seems Halone can decrease the aggro better than Flash does anyways.

U don't need to flash constantly, if you are holding stuff in Stone Vigil then you is probably fine. Flash is just good initial aggro because its 360 degrees, I would toss it in between a halone combo every now and then to make sure you keep aggro up on the mobs you arn't attacking. That way the healer doesn't get aggro or some dps who decides to randomly hit something doesn't grab it.

Don't forget Circle of Scorn cause that ability is amazing. <3 paladins

Right. Flash helps, but my opinion if you have aggro and you dont keep losing it then you're fine.

Agree with the others here, as long as you're keeping aggro, it's nobody's business how you do it. If you keep aggro by dancing the Manderville, then so be it.
Flash is definitely useful and when there's more than 3 mobs you're probably going to need it to keep them all, but there's no need to use it as long as you can work without.

Thanks all. Don't have Circle of Scorn yet (lvl50 it unlocks). I do have to go back and do some runs on lower dungeons, I never seem to come out with any loot. So more practice.

Flash does not generate as much aggro as your paladin combo strikes do but it generates an equal amount amongst all targets afflicted with no limit of those possibly afflicted. Your rage of halone strikes are single targeted meaning, Global Cool Downs or the time interval before you can do your next action, really puts you at a disadvantage when trying to generate threat amongst all targets and becomes more problematic as you have more and more targets to tank. A good AoE team will require you to have constant threat on all targets, so even though flash does not generate as much threat on a target but because its constant threat on all targets it allows the group to AoE effectively without stripping aggro or dying.

Flash also inflicts Blind status which is very beneficial if used properly. Not only is it good for AoE tanking but it is good for possible damage reduction from all that AoE trash you are tanking.

Flash is also beneficial on boss encounters as well. Many bosses are still vulnerable to the blind debuff, although you still will get hit fairly often, 1 less hit in every 15-20 hits is still damage reduction overall.

Generally for 2-3 mobs I only use flash once or twice, but for more I spam it. Really, spam is only needed when pulling several groups for AoE burning. On smaller groups even if they're using AoE attacks you can just cycle mobs as you do rage of halone combo.

In addition to those noted, be sure to throw the occasional Flash if you're dealing with a longer encounter, to ensure you're outscaling the enmity your healer is generating on all targets.

Rotating single-target combos is a great way to maintain aggro, but it's still ultimately single-target.

If you're not struggling to keep threat on multiple mobs, there's no point in using it more than three times per fight. Keeping the blind debuff on mobs will help your healer, but after three times they will go immune for a while.

You always want to consider how many mobs you have.
If you're pulling three, I generally stick with the Shield Lob (for my main focus target), Flash Twice, then Rage of Halone combo.

After my combo is done, I'll cycle through to see the enmity of what's around me. Generally speaking, I'll do another flash, then switch to mob #2 and do RoH combo on that.

However, if I'm doing something like a Brayflox speed run, I'm pretty much going to flash the whole time. Between the madness of the AoEs on the floor, and the shear number of mobs, I'll just get centralized and spam it. Near the end when I know I have some room to breathe, I'll get some Riot Blade in there to minimize downtime from MP regen.

Just because your watching your hate, doesn't mean the dps aren't watching their's. It's very possible that the dps wanted to AOE or simple do more damage and couldn't because you weren't generating enough enmity, so they had to gimp their own damage, all the while you think you are generating enough emnity. I have had this happen many times before where I end having to cast and damage and rotate between all the mobs because a tank wasn't going to be keeping hate if I kept attacking the same one. The mob never left the tank, and he never lost agro either, because I paid attention to my hate. I'm not saying your at fault, however there is another side to the story and we really can't give you an answer with out. Most healers will put DoT's on adds, as well as heal so they will be generating extra enmity, it's possible the healer wasn't able to do this.

Just use it twice once at the beginning and then again right after your combo.

I ran with a guy last night on a duty roulette that couldn't hold hate well at all. He flashed A LOT and still had trouble. I think there's a certain mix that needs to be done depending on what you're fighting and who's in your group, and not a "one and done" strategy that will always work. I've yet to play a tank, but i'm a pretty solid DPS for my level and I pull aggro off tanks often. Most of the time i'll just slow down on my combo to keep it on the tank.

In short, i'm saying just because the tank has aggro doesn't mean the DPS aren't gimping themselves to help the tank keep said aggro, and I doubt just spamming flash will always keep the hate on the tank.

There's a very simple reason why spamming flash might not hold hate. He may have an underlevel weapon, but in addition if a DPS is using single target but the tank is just using flash, the DPS will pull a mob off. It's why I always hate when DPS can't agree and wind up with one using single target as the other uses AoE.

When it comes to keeping hate as a tank, you have some things to consider. If there are say 3 enemies on the tank and the tank is using his normal single attack skills mixed with flash, it will be difficult to keep hate if the DPS attack one of the two monsters the tank is not hitting with his attack skills even if he is using flash. So if a tank marks monsters it's important for DPS to follow the marks in order.

Another thing to consider is that ilvl of tank compared to DPS makes a big difference. If there's a ilvl60 tank with 2 ilvl 100 DPS, the tank is going to have a hard time keeping hate. It's possible, but considerably more difficult.

Lastly, the DOTs (damage over time) skills do pull hate. So if there are multiple monsters on a tank, it can be difficult for them to keep hate on all of them at the same time even with using flash. So in close, it may not be solely the tanks fault for not keeping hate sometimes. Go easy on us. :D

Flash is handy for applying the blind status on multiple mobs, but after a couple uses, I'd say you're correct in using your halone combo. Not only does it push more dps, but it applies the strength down debuff, which ideally you'd inflict on all enemies you're tanking.

Perhaps they got confused with flash from ffxi which guarenteed the next few attacks would miss so the hlr has more dps time. Im assuming it was hlr who was stating this.

Do you do your single target combo all on one mob? I find it better to do the first 2 steps on a mob and then the 3rd on another and keep cycling through if I have huge emiety on one mob I may just fast blade it and do the last 2 steps on another mob its all situational really

I guess because I have never done any speed runs, only pulling one mob at a time, that's why it doesn't seem like I always need to do it like the people I was playing with said. What I will usually do is shield lob a target, flash a couple times to attract the rest of the mob, then go for RoH combo. If I see the aggro meters getting to 75% I will flash again, but it seems to rarely to get that high. As long as everyone is on the same page and attacking what I am attacking then I really don't need to flash. Though I am guilty of not marking targets the way I should be, but most seem to realize what I'm going after since I always use Shield Lob at the start of a pull. The blind aspect of it doesn't really seem to do too much.

So it seems more for multiple mobs and end game content, which I have not reached yet. To have to be keep using it.

even not speed runs, any job that uses Dot's should be applying their DOTs to the adds. In the case of drg, blm, or mnk in a low lvl dungeon it's usually better to put your DoT's on the second monster because the first monster will die too fast. A smn's main damage comes from DoT and they have a move that copys the DoT's on one target to the surrounding mobs. A healer will DoT mob again usually not the main target because it will die too fast. All of these things are going to be generating enmity as you keep going, and if you don't keep track of hate on all the mobs I would just build hate on the main target and then use each part of my combo on a different add, so if I have 3 adds, they each get a different attack, based on how much enmity they need.

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Originally Posted by Cspr_Answrth

You always want to consider how many mobs you have.
If you're pulling three, I generally stick with the Shield Lob (for my main focus target), Flash Twice, then Rage of Halone combo.

After my combo is done, I'll cycle through to see the enmity of what's around me. Generally speaking, I'll do another flash, then switch to mob #2 and do RoH combo on that.

However, if I'm doing something like a Brayflox speed run, I'm pretty much going to flash the whole time. Between the madness of the AoEs on the floor, and the shear number of mobs, I'll just get centralized and spam it. Near the end when I know I have some room to breathe, I'll get some Riot Blade in there to minimize downtime from MP regen.

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Also the more mobs you have the less your dps matters since you don't really aoe much on pld.