Advice for tanking 24-man raids?

I've been gearing up with Void Ark and esoteric tomes for awhile now, but I've dodged around healer and tank gear. So I'm looking at some options as far as acquiring the healer and tank sets for Void Ark:

1. Run as dps and:
a. hope neither healer (or the tank) Need their gear (if it drops)
b. beat out the others on the Greed roll (if it drops)

2. Run as healer (or tank) and have almost exclusive access to the gear (if it drops)

So before people bring up Diadem, or save up esoterics, or simply "don't", I like to see this as an opportunity to learn some things about the other end of 24-man raids.

I've been thinking of probably testing myself in the Crystal Tower raids first before diving into Void Ark, but regardless of what I do, is there any advice I could get as far as being a tank in these raids? I know Labyrinth is the only one with the old 2-2-4 set up for tank-healer-dps, so I guess I'm more concerned about my role in the 1-2-5 set up?

I'd say go with option 2 and dive right in.

Unless you're trying to build confidence, there isn't much preparation you can really do prior to just going in as tank. All of the VoidArk boss mechanics are fairly straight forward. Just focus-target, and keep an eye on what abilities they use.

Be mentally ready for what you are getting yourself into.

The 24-man raids are quite possibly the most toxic tanking environment in the entire game. Everyone who runs them thinks they know better than you. Inexperienced healers will give you lack luster heals, because they get overwhelmed by the large format of the Raid. All of the dps will judge, despite not knowing what they are talking about, and every little slip up you do will be criticized by 2 other Alliances instead of just 1 party.

The other Tanks are often a big problem too, because almost all of them will have massive penis envy. Other Tanks often get so fixated on proving they have the bigger stick that they ignore their actual job in favour of being "Main Tank," or they get into a straight up tug-o-war with one of the other tanks who also wants to prove he has a big stick. It's terrible. Honestly, my first advice is to not get involved in it at all, but if you're insistent on partaking in the lunacy of Tanking a 24-man raid, there are a few tips you can use:

• 1. Only worry about your own party.
  
  Who cares about the other 2. They are not your responsibility. You have 1 party to take care of. That's it. Sometimes you might have to cover some slack for other fail tanks, but don't go out of your way if you don't have to. Also, worrying about only your party will help the raid feel more like a typical 8 man, and remove some clutter. It's easy to get overwhelmed by the size of a 24-man raid, especially as a tank since you're in the middle of it all. Scale back your distractions and you'll do better.
  
  
• 2. DO YOUR JOB.
  
  Do not get tempted into the tug-o-war of tanks. There are mechs to be done. Do them. It can save your party. If you are not MT, then play OT well and tank whatever needs to be tanked. If some jackass penis-envying tank is trying to steal enmity off of you and is ignoring his other Tanking responsibilities to do so, let him have enmity and go cover his mistakes. You should be fluid like water in a 24 man raid. You'll have to put up with the biggest collection of idiots who subscribe to this game in there. Don't join their stupidity. Do your job.
  
  It's also noteworthy that you should keep a closer eye on your enmity, and try to memorize the other 2 tank's names at the start of the run. Unlike in an 8-man, you have 23 other people in a 24 man raid who are trying to steal hate from you, and only 2 of them are actual tanks. Be aware of your enmity and don't let a squishy person paper tank for too long.
  
  
• 3. Look before you leap.
  
  If you're new, don't be afraid to let another tank rush in and take the lead. OT jobs are not all that different in 24-mans as they are in 8 mans. You just Tank whatever the MT is not Tanking. You'll have less mechs to follow, and the ones you are following are essentially the same as the Dps. Just remember to keep your eyes out for any adds that need a tank. Otherwise, take it easy.
  
  
• 4. DO THE MECHS.
  
  This is the last one. Honestly, the mechs in a 24-man raid are pitiful and easy. There's nothing complicated to worry about other than it's on a much bigger scale, but that does not mean that you should go in blind. Even if you plan on hanging back as OT, if the MT dies the onus falls to you to pick up the slack and tank. So you're gonna want to know the mechs and how to follow them. This is doubly important because of how many other tanks you'll run into who ignore the mechs entirely because they're too busy trying to show off their enormous manhood.

In short, do your job and only your job, and you should come out okay. It seems straight forward, but once you've run with the idiots in 24-mans you learn that the real enemy isn't the raid but the party members you have. So it's best to just take the prisoner's attitude into it and do your own time.

In regards to practice, don't bother with CT/ST/WoD. Ques are practically dead, so there's no point. You'll get more practice tanking 8 man Trials and Raids than you will in the old Tower Series. Run Alexander Normal a few times as the tank (specifically A1-2) and you'll get a better idea of what to expect.

What ^ he said (minus the doom and gloom). Everything is pretty much tank and spank, just don't get caught up in the never-ending pissing contest. If you're a warrior and have bad co-tanks expect to be MT (yes, even with deliverance on).

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Originally Posted by Jamillion

What ^ he said (minus the doom and gloom). Everything is pretty much tank and spank, just don't get caught up in the never-ending pissing contest. If you're a warrior and have bad co-tanks expect to be MT (yes, even with deliverance on).

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Err the doom and gloom needs to be paid special attention because it's the truth.

On JP servers it's normally Alliance B tanks that take on the main boss.
Why can't NA's be more organized like this? :/

Because in NA everyone has the IQ of an acorn and the tanks here feel "useless" if they aren't MT. If I had a dollar for every tank who has used provoke to try and steal agro from me I'd be able to retire. Then again, I've also had OTs who, when I die, refuse to establish their own agro and allow the DPS or healers tank until I get rezzed.

Even rolling greed on certain gear as a different class, you can likely get the gear you want if it drops since people are more selective with the weekly cap. I run void ark as bard/healer and was able to get 3 pieces of tank gear (chest, arms, legs) and easily get other pieces I needed without contest. It's when the weekly cap is lifted, is when you need to actually go in as the class you're picking up gear for. So basically, I was able to go with your option (1.) and am doing well so far. I hope whatever you choose goes well for you too.

Not to mention when the tank from C alliance goes and pulls stuff from the A marker.

It's just so much simpler to have A tank left, B tank middle, and C tank right, but noooo that's too complicated.

How to tank 24-man raids? Be a good 4 or 8-man tank. There's nothing that really changes between 8 and 24 besides having to worry about somebody from another alliance murdering your threat with a burst opener and turning the boss--if you're competent at tanking, you already know how to handle this (and avoid having it turn in the first place).

You should also be used to OT turds trying to rip/provoke off you, because you always have a second tank in 8-man DF content.

It's literally like tanking a 4 man.

It ain't rocket science, and anyone saying otherwise is just going for some weird sense of self inflation.

Pick up the mob. If the other tank has the mob they can have it, go find another mob.

It's that simple.

Exaggeration at its finest...

Seems like opinions (or more appropriately, attitudes) are varied, but thanks for the input. I usually fairly good at observing what goes on when I go as DPS, which is how I learned tanking to start with. But in 24-man raids it's difficult for me to watch what the tanks do, as I'm usually more concerned about staying with my party and not getting lost in a sea of special effects and green names. So I really appreciate the input guys, especially since tanking is scary enough as it is for me at times.

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Originally Posted by Ninster

I'm usually more concerned about staying with my party and not getting lost in a sea of special effects and green names. So I really appreciate the input guys, especially since tanking is scary enough as it is for me at times.

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Another thing that might help you is to remove the names from your screen. In your settings you can configure it so that the names of Alliance members do not show up, or the names of your own party members do not show up, unless selected. A lot of Raiders (even 8-man raiders) remove names entirely just so they have an easier time seeing what's going on. You can streamline your screen to make it easier on the eyes ... as well as your latency, if you happen to have a sub-optimal connection.