swapping from whm to war. new to this

hello

I've healed since 2.0 and I have grown tired of it lately, so I wanted to give a go at warrior.. and I fell in love all over again!

My problem is "tanking anxiety". Everytime I do a dungeon I feel so much pressure because I need to make sure that everything stays on me, or am I positioning the mobs correctly, or am I not using my cooldowns at the right times etc. And this is kind of making me turn away from tanking, but I want to get passed that, I just don't know what to do or what not to do at this point.

pls halp

I think every new tank has been through that at some stage. I still don't do levelling roulette as I hate tanking the old dungeons (I came to the game late so most I've only run once,and even then as my first job, DRG).

However, HW just made me say stuff it and jump in feet first. You will make mistakes, but the vast majority of people are OK with that. I've certainly had a few howlers when levelling (PLD was entirely through hunts and dungeons) but haven't so far encountered anyone especially hostile. If you have a fc, see if someone there will level with you, perhaps as healer as you'll then at least have one friendly face in each dungeon.

I felt the same as you, Heal_bot. Got bored with healing back in 2.1 and then just thought I should bite the bullet and try tanking. Levelled both PLD and WAR at the same time. Saves time and money as both shares the same armor.

As for the anxiety, it is more or less on how familiar you are with the dungeon. For new ones, I always go in as WHM first to understand the mobs and directions. Once I've gotten those facts, in I go as WAR!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by alteekay77

I felt the same as you, Heal_bot. Got bored with healing back in 2.1 and then just thought I should bite the bullet and try tanking. Levelled both PLD and WAR at the same time. Saves time and money as both shares the same armor.

As for the anxiety, it is more or less on how familiar you are with the dungeon. For new ones, I always go in as WHM first to understand the mobs and directions. Once I've gotten those facts, in I go as WAR!

---

I'll give that a shot, going in as whm then warr, thanks.

I'm no pro tank, but I've been doing it for a while in various MMO's, and in XIV since 2.2, so I'll put in my two cents!

I play WAR as well in fact. Let's jump right in.

First things first, knowing your opponents is more than half the fight for tanks. Just getting that off right now.

Face your mobs AWAY from the group (unless they have a caudal swipe, then face the side TOWARDS the group)

Learn the tank busters. Remember, Inner Beast has a 20% damage reduction, use it to your advantage when that big hit's incoming. Don't be afraid to save your Wrath stacks for a bit to utilize that IB.

DON'T stance dance yet. Learn how to tank like an abrams, then work your way to aggressive tanking. And if you are stance dancing (sometimes it's nice for the 200tp equilibrium) try to compensate for the loss with a cooldown.

Don't be afraid to use Overpower a bit too often. At the end of the day, the mob will be dead, and you can wait for the TP to regen.

Dodge like it's middle school gym class dodgeball. But remember to re-assume your position after dodging the telegraph (or no telegraph if it's Chimera/Cyclops). If you don't re-assume position, your melee DPS are gonna hate you.

Try to keep melee DPS in mind. They need to hit their positionals, so keep the boss in a convenient position for everyone, and DON'T just spin him like a DJ.

Cross class provoke.

Marking is nice, everyone loves it, but it's not necessarily essential. And don't EXPECT the DPS to only attack THAT target, SMN DOT'S can pull enmity on all the targets.

Cross Classing flash is nice for dungeons, because you can use it while your Berserk pacification is on.

Make a macro to let your healers know when you use Berserk, so they can be ready to esuna that crap.

Holmgang takes about half a second to ACTUALLY register, but can be a life saver if used correctly.

Don't listen to haters, but don't disregard tips.

Try to keep maim/storms eye debuff up when fighting, they're both fantastic, but ONLY if you're feeling confident with your enmity.

No really, CROSS CLASS PROVOKE.

Think of what you love as a healer, and translate that to your tank. IE, as a WHM, I love it when my tank pops Convalescence during XYZ, so I'll do the same while tanking.

WAR has a deceivingly high skill cap, there's so much room for improvement always.

Your job as a WAR is usually the damage dealing off tank.

Learn the fight, use your CD's accordingly. Knowing is like 60% of the battle. (execution is also important)

Don't let mobs hit your occipital lobe like a speed bag (face your targets)

DON'T be a dumbass with Raw Intuition, and DON'T be afraid to use it for tank busters (the first boss in fractal continuum has a buster that hits like 5 times, it's a GREAT time to use RA).

Learn to space your cooldowns, don't pop them all at once, but some can be very powerful in conjunction (ie Forsight + Convalescence, Inner Beast + Raw intuition, Raw intuition + Awareness)

Fracture.

Storms eye combo usually takes precedence over storms path combo. Storms path combo can really help for tank busters though.

Time infuriate WELL, don't just use it on CD, even though you have 3 stacks of wrath already.

Remember, if you're trying to maximize DPS, Berserk/Raw Int/Vengeance ALL generate a stack of wrath.

USE YOUR CD'S... healers will love you. Even if just in a dungeon.

And remember man, very importantly, tanking is a risky job. You're the wall between your group and the big mean monster. Don't be afraid to tank, but don't screw around as a tank either. In fact, just the other day I was in Fractal Continuum on the last boss, and accidently whipped him around for a second. He spewed a tank buster cone AOE and nailed the healer, kill him and wiping the group. Tanking well is important, so start on the easy stuff, master it, and work your way up. Take all rational advice, especially from other tanks. There's so much to learn, I couldn't possibly cover it all here. Just get out there, let the group know you're new to it, and go have fun man. Don't give up easily, stick with it, and remember the basics.

damn, thanks for that, it'll help me fore sure.

Damn you Tsolake, you took EVERYTHING outta my mouth including my tongue. Good job. :)

I don't even dare to stance dance. I worry more on a solid aggro on me.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by alteekay77

I don't even dare to stance dance. I worry more on a solid aggro on me.

---

Well, stance dancing is really advance for warriors to maximize their damage sadly. Only thing warriors really good at doing :P

I've tanked and healed in many games. RARELY do I DPS.

The tips and methods posted are really good. Just to add my two cents to the mix:

1. Don't be afraid to tank! The only way to overcome the beginning anxiety as a tank is experience.
2. Don't be afraid to ask advice in dungeons. Most people whom have tank classes have no problem giving some helpful situational tips. The people whom have problems with it are just kupo-heads (Ignore them!)
3. Run with some FC members to get over the beginner tank anxiety.
4. Just like with healing; you will likely mess up a couple of times. Nobody is perfect and even the best tank makes mistakes every now and then. (Mistakes are learning moments, learn from them and become a better tank!)
5. Because us tanks are almost always in the front, we are almost always in the spotlight. This lets trolls point out mistakes faster than the person in the back whom messed up their rotation. See previous point. Take the helpful advice, ignore the trolls.
6. Learn when to use your defensive cooldowns and learn what you can handle. Pop an extra one if needed.
7. Emphasizing cross-classing Provoke. It is a MUST for good tanks and will let you grab aggro easier if it is pulled off of you.
8. Your main job is to have everything focused on you. Damage and utility is secondary.
9. You've been a healer, you know what you hate about tanks and what you love about em. Use that!
10. Always have the mobs\boss face AOE away from the group!
11. Don't stance-dance until you are comfortable doing so, just like with healing.
12. Learn about tank busters, you know them from the healing side, pre-emptively mitigate them with CD's (or in your case inner beast) to minimize healer stress.
13. Most important rule of them all. Have fun. It's a game, not a job.

Thank you everyone for the help, I love it.

So as a warrior, I should stack VIT on all my pieces I'm assuming?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Heal_Bot

Thank you everyone for the help, I love it.

So as a warrior, I should stack VIT on all my pieces I'm assuming?

---

Stack VIT until you have a good comfortable health pool to play around with.
I usually stack VIT until I have reached endgame and geared up properly. Then I usually swap 2-3 VIT accessories for STR.

Bit of personal preference though. Just make sure you have enough health so your healers have some time to react. Nobody likes a paper tank ;)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Nerael

Stack VIT until you have a good comfortable health pool to play around with.
I usually stack VIT until I have reached endgame and geared up properly. Then I usually swap 2-3 VIT accessories for STR.

Bit of personal preference though. Just make sure you have enough health so your healers have some time to react. Nobody likes a paper tank ;)

---

Screw that, go FULL STRENGTH to crush your enemies, see them driven before you, see those dear to them bathed in tears and hear the lamentations of their women! (Or men)

I remember being the same as you. I was so nervous, my very first dungeon the Arcanist got impatient and started using Topaz Carbuncle to tank for me. This experience actually affected me so badly that I didn't tank for a number of months afterward. Once I picked it up again, however, my FC did it with me to help me learn the ropes. It took a while to gain confidence, but these days I can run anything, even with overgeared, uncooperative snotty strangers barking orders at me. If you have anybody who can help you out like that I'd recommend hitting them up!

Don't be afraid to make mistakes. It's not the end of the world if the run takes more time because you messed up there's plenty more to get right.
Everything will fall together in time general rules.
Keep mobs facing away from party or potitioned so any backwards cleaves allow plenty of dodging space for the rest of the party.
Threat is your main concern if everything is on you that's less damage being flung about at random which keeps stress off your healer. (Certain bosses have you ignore adds do to boss cleaves etc.)
When to pop cd's will come with practice pay attention to not only the damage you take but how much aoe damage the party takes. Pop them when you know it'll take stress off your healer.
However best thing you can do is just going head first into everything and just learning as you go.

OP, if you get anxious just remember, people are hungry in this game for tanks who do the job right. If you're worrying about things like making sure you have aggro and positioning correctly and using your cooldowns properly, you're already on the right path. Because as a tank, these are all things you have to pay attention to constantly. You'll get more comfortable with experience but those things should always be your priority.

Tanking anxiety can be the death of you, but it's important to remember that it's all in your head.

You'd potentially be surprised to know that people don't actually expect a lot from a tank, especially in dungeons. Sure, it's a step up from DPSing, but it's honestly a step down from healing.

Here's literally all you have to do to be a competent tank:

1. Don't lose aggro
2. Pop CDs
3. Don't move too much unless it's out of AOEs

Losing aggro will usually never happen unless you miss a mob with an AOE or something like that, tank threat is essentially broken to a point where it's really hard for this to be a thing anymore (weapons can cause this, but that can be offset by STR accessories). Popping CDs seems difficult at first ("uhhh what should I use here, I'm dropping low... Hallowed!" etc), but once you get into the mind-set of picking your CDs before you pull the pack then it's way smoother (ie: "I'll only use Rampart and Foresight for this pack as there are very few mobs").

Tanking, largely, is about planning ahead. There's a lot of analyzing of your group and the dungeon itself that you need to do to play comfortably, but once you get used to that it's probably the most relaxing job you can play in dungeons imo. You get to the point where you're just going through the motions. I don't play healer, but my boyfriend does, and I know that things can change from dungeon to dungeon depending on how good the party is at not taking too much damage - tanking, you only really have to worry about yourself.

Anyway, some advice for getting over tanking anxiety: pick a dungeon, run it 20 times. That dungeon will essentially be the same as every other dungeon you do from then on. Some trash will require certain things from you, some bosses will as well, but for the most part you just need to learn how to do your 3 primary duties well, and 20 runs of the same dungeon should help with that.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Heal_Bot

pls halp

---

man mode

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HUXck-0vh5k