Hello tanks. Healer looking for some feedback

First I just want to say how much I respect your role. I believe it entails a lot of responsibility, and mindfulness of the field and status bars. Some of you might say it isn't so bad, but I am outright intimidated by the role, and won't go near it. I am so much better at keeping you lot from falling! :)

Anywho, I am still very new to the game, and just wanting to get better and faster. I play both whm and sch and just unlocked Qarn. It's obviously a very broad question, so I guess if I can ask for something more specific is with you as a tank, what have healers done to make things easier for you? Make you smile, and leave a good impression? What helps you confide in your healer?

I'm hoping for elaborate answers as my brain is a sponge.

Any healers that can keep me and other party members alive til the end of the dungeon is enough to get my commendations. If you can throw some DPS here and there while topping everybody up is a big bonus, but sadly I can only give 1 commendation.

1. Never ever leave a tank near 30% hp it make us feel very unsafe and make us pop out hallow ground, living dead, holgang before we die

2. Don't put regen on us before a pull please for the love of god just don't... It Aggro everything before we get hate on them

3. Do not I repeat do not medical 2 before a fight spam aoe like a crazy person before a boss pull unless you trying to kill yourself

4. Acommenda me (ok that just me but you don't have to)

5. Please stone skin me during tank buster it really save my skin

6. Once you able to keep the tank hp full during a mass pull, go shift cast and holy and spam it 4 time and back to healing

7. Hmmmmmmmmmm hmmmmmmm I got nothing else for you :0

Tanking isn't that bad :) I always entrust my back to the healers so they all get my commendation if they keep me alive :D as Janhyua said as long as our hp is nowhere near 30% we are best buddies xD I'll be happy to tank for you guys anytime if we meet in DF.

You're right. This is a pretty broad topic. It's also a topic that's not always about what you should be doing, so much as what you should not be doing. That said, we should be able to give you a few basic pointers.

• One of the biggest things is for you to be mindful of our status bars.
  
  I can't tell you how many times I've seen healers spam cast cure and completely ignore my status bar. It's great that you're keeping me up and all, but that doesn't do me much good if I'm paralyzed, for example. Mobility and positioning is huge for a tank, and negative status effects can stack up really painfully if you don't take care of them.
  
  There's also a few Tank buffs you should be aware of. The first, and earliest, is called "Convalescence." It's a green icon. Get to know it, because every tank can use it (though Pld's get the best mileage out of it) at a low levels. This buff boosts your healing dramatically while it's active, so don't waste it.
  
  Much later (above lvl 50), Pld's will start using "Divine Veil." It's blue and is activated by a direct heal. They can self activate it now (thankfully) with Clemency, but it's still most efficient if the healer activates it as that keeps them up on Dps and Mp. They typically use it before room wide AoEs.
  
  For The Warrior icon you want to look out for is called "Vengeance" (purple at lvl 46). Dark Knights have "Blood Price" (also purple and at lvl 35). Both of these moves require the War/Drk to be hit by the enemy to be at their most effective. Blood Price, in particular, does absolutely nothing for the Drk if they don't suffer dmg. So avoid stunning mobs (you get "Holy" at lvl 50, which Whm's tend to spam cast whenever possible) if you see either of those two icons up. Focus on healing instead.
  
  
• Remember your HoTs.
  
  Healing over time (Regen, Medica II etc), can make a huge difference in how much direct healing you need to actually do. Healing is your first priority, but it's always nice to see a Whm speeding things along by helping the Dps. You'll be able to do this easier if you keep HoT's up on your tank, but remember that auto healing does not deal with spikes in dmg. So be sure to pay attention to the tank's status and hp bars. Focus targeting them can help with that.
  
  Keep in mind that you can also stun and sleep targets to reduce the amount of dmg being caused to the tank (stunning is by far more effective). This is a great way to help with mitigation ... just remember to check the tank's status before you do it, especially for Drk's using Blood Price.
  
  
• REMEMBER YOUR HoTs
  
  This gets a second mention for a totally different reason. In this game, it is possible for a healer to generate enmity by over-healing the target. A lot of inexperienced healers will pop Regen on a Tank to cap them between pulls, and then they get shocked when the immediately steal aggro when the Tank pulls the next mob. It's not the tank's fault when this happens. It's the healer's. Tanks can remove the status themselves, but it's annoying and takes a ridiculous number of touch pad taps on Ps4. Rule of thumb is to avoid using HoT's when the tank isn't actually in combat; so, just hold off on them until you know the tank has hit every target with an enmity gain of some kind (Flash, overpower, ranged hits, etc).
  
  
• Come up for air.
  
  A lot of healers keep their eyes glued to the party window. Take a look around from time to time so that you know what's actually happening around you. You should never be too far or too close, and standing next to the tank unless a boss mechanic requires it. The tank's physical space is a BIG no no for squishy players like healers. It sounds straight forward, but you'd be amazed how many healers I've seen eat AoE's because they weren't paying attention to where they were standing.
  
  This can be particularly annoying for Tanks, because we have to position the entire mob. Moving your single character is easy. By comparison, when a Tank has to move it's like trying to parallel park a semi-trailer truck with multiple trailers hooked up to their asses.
  
  
• Triage.
  
  Aside from the Tank, your life is most important. Dps tend to stand in a lot of stupid, but you should never be prioritizing their lives over yours or the tank's. If you have to let a dps player die to prevent a wipe, so be it. It can be really frustrating when the tank is dying and sees the healer desperately trying to save a Dps who is going out of their way to kill themselves. Please don't do it.
  
  
• Speak up.
  
  Don't be afraid to speak to the party. If the tank is going too fast for you, tell them. If you're running out of Mp, tell them. You should be managing it well enough at the best of times, but bad things happen. A lot of high end healers play their game close to the wire, so the tank might no know something is wrong unless you say something.
  
  
• Know you're dungeons.
  
  Aside from the tank, the healer has the biggest responsibility in the party. You should get to know the dungeons really well so that you can anticipate how much healing the tank will need, how big the average pulls are, etc. Having a healer who is unprepared for what you're going to do can lead to disastrous results, especially post lvl 50 where tank pulls start to get much bigger and faster.
  
  
• Remember that you are also ranged.
  
  This puts you in the position to handle a lot of boss mechanics in place of the tank or dps, should the need arise. Focusing on healing is great, but making the most of your freedom of movement can save a lot of people a lot of unnecessary trouble. This is really all about party utility, which healers have a lot of.

That should give you A LOT of things to sponge up and think on. A lot of this stuff only comes into play in the much later dungeons (lvl 50 and higher). Your job gets a lot more interesting after that, but this is as good a place to start as any. If you have any specific questions let us know. A lot of Pld's, myself included, have moonlighted as Whm, so we should be able to give you some insight.

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Originally Posted by Janhyua

snip

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in addition to Janhyua's advice, from a DPS, I really only look for 3 things from a healer.

1. You should be able to keep everyone from dying. There are some circumstances where the player makes that impossible, and trust me when I say that I'm right there with you when I see them. What I expect from the healer at that point though is a swiftcasted resurrect, which is a MUST for healers.
2. If we are doing a duty roulette and the tank is so overgeared that they can go through an encounter with no heals, then please try to help with damage. It always makes a run go faster, and it will keep the duty interesting for you too.
3. Learn which debuffs to remove and be quick with their removal. You don't even need to jump out of cleric stance to remove debuffs, and it shows that you're attentive and knowledgable to the group.

Ooohh. Ok @Janhyua. I've heard the term "tank buster" tossed around here and have no idea what it is. Ugh, feel so ignorant but can you elaborate? Is it just a hard hitting mob?

I also just got regen and have yet to use it in an instance. I am aware about not casting it on the tank pre pull. I know some tanks have a macro asking for it, but I won't rely on that. My impression was to use it on pulls resulting in longer engagements, mini boss, and boss fights at the level I am at now. I KNOW I can't rely on all tanks to cancel their regen out prior to next pull.

And I don't like ugly mobs trying to kill me. Tanks who keep that from happening always get a comm from me :)

The stay above 30% is very helpful too, and generally keeping everyone alive I am sure is always good.

Tank busters are move that bosses use to deal a high damage on tanks, that's when you see tanks pop their cooldowns. If no cooldown the tanks will only have about 30% hp left from full hp. If a mob runs to attack you, just run toward the tanks and they will take it off you.

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Originally Posted by Ebonwings

Tank busters are move that bosses use to deal a high damage on tanks, that's when you see tanks pop their cooldowns. If no cooldown the tanks will only have about 30% hp left from full hp. If a mob runs to attack you, just run toward the tanks and they will take it off you.

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Ahhh I forgot to mention another thing....... Thank for reminding me

7. Do not run around like a headless chicken when you have enemy on you do not run away from the tanks!!! Instead run to the tank!

8. Tank die? Fine is ok just swift ress him.... You die? Game over mate.......

@Februs, Wow! Thank you so much for taking the time to put that all together. That was very elaborate, articulate, and informative. It will not go to waste, I promise. I hope you don't mind I bookmark for safe keeping.

@TLD, I have noticed this. I'm out of cleric to start, and waiting for the tank to take dmg and...... Ok then, dps is it is then :p I actually really enjoy being able to dps while healing. It makes things more fun and interesting. But it is a dance, and it takes time to learn. There is so much room for improvement for me.

@Ebonwings, So would Aiator's poison breath attack be a tank buster? I saw that exact outcome in my last run there when she took it right in the face. And yes, I run to tank screaming "Hellllpp!!" xD

Aiator's poison breath is an avoidable tank buster or should I say an avoidable aoe move. Tanks take most of the damages from poison and auto attacks in that fight. You will deal with unavoidable tank buster when you hits lvl 50 or when you start raids.

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Originally Posted by Gemina

@Ebonwings, So would Aiator's poison breath attack be a tank buster? I saw that exact outcome in my last run there when she took it right in the face. And yes, I run to tank screaming "Hellllpp!!" xD

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Originally Posted by Ebonwings

Aiator's poison breath is an avoidable tank buster or should I say an avoidable aoe move. Tanks take most of the damages from poison and auto attacks in that fight. You will deal with unavoidable tank buster when you hits lvl 50 or when you start raids.

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There is an unavoidable attack in that fight though that applies a stack of poison, meaning even if the tank avoids the breath and the goop, Aiatar will still slowly stack poison on the tank. The Aiatar fight is less of a Tank Buster fight and more of an Esuna/positioning check on the party. When you reach Dzemael Darkhold, there's a better example of a tank buster when Batraal does his "Grim Fate" attack.

My list of donts for newer players:

Don't do any healing during a pull if possible, wait til the first flash/overpower.
If you don't understand when fluid aura is bad, take it off your bar.
Dont just stand there, always be casting; if you don't need to cast a heal, deal dmg.
Don't 'heavy' mobs during a pull (miasma/stone I) in your case.
Repose... Don't be that guy.
Limit break... Or that guy.

My list of do's for new players:
Use interactable like keys, doors, etc.
Remember to use your cooldowns.
Run to me if you've picked up aggro.

1.don't use regen before the tank pull
2.don't use cleric stance when the tank are pulling a loads of adds and the tank is already in dps stance(if you can back it up then it's fine)
3.use esuna/exalted detriment/leech when the tank has a debuff(especially concussion,paralysis and pacification)
4.don't run like a headless chicken if you have aggro on you because you still take damage anyway, run to the tank so they can rip it out from you
5.don't use fluid aura knockback when the adds are already close to tank. that skill is largely useless most of the time

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Originally Posted by winsock

Repose... Don't be that guy.

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As a healer, I think Repose can have some use in lower level dungeons, especially when a tank and / or DPS is under geared or still new. I've been in some situations where it's very difficult to heal a tank receiving damage from 3 or more mobs. If I notice that I NEED to spam Cures and constantly use Eye for an Eye and Virus at every chance just to keep the tank alive, I might use Repose so I can help with DPS.

I also check the DPS classes before doing so. If there is a summoner in the party, I won't use it because they will likely be DoT everything. BLM will also like to use AoEs. If the DPS aren't using / can't use AoE yet, I will probably use Repose on the mobs the tank isn't targetting. Then I can help DPS and take each one down one by one. I will also definitely use Repose if someone in the party accidentally pulls too many mobs.

What I want to say is: Analyze every situation and then decide what the best / most effective course of action is to keep the party alive and get through the dungeon. Don't forget all of the tools you have at your disposal. I know I've even used Fluid Aura to save myself when the DPS / tank are ignoring an add on me because they just want to take the boss down ASAP.

Generally, pretty much everything in here covers it. Personally, I love it when the healer pops a fresh Stoneskin on me right after the last mob of the pack dies.

Specifically for Qarn, you'll want to keep an emergency Big Heal ready in case one of the bees manages to get Final Sting off. Since the bees are usually the first thing attacked (because of Final Sting), if a FS manages to go off, it's pretty much a death sentence for the tank unless the healer can manage a good Cure II or the equivalent as soon as it happens.

In general, you'll always want to be ready to Esuna/Leeches/whatever any status effects, like Paralyze and long lasting Poisons. Burns, Frostbite, and Windburn can be esuna'd most of the time as well, and getting those taken care of is incredibly helpful.

Most of what you need to know is covered here, but I will add one thing: Don't heal every little scratch. I may not like being below 30%, but I also don't like it much when the healer is healing every autoattack either - primarily because it's a great way for the healer to get aggro, almost as good as a pre-pull regen (you'll overheal, guaranteed, and overhealing generates more aggro than normal healing)! If I'm taking very little damage, and you're bored...turn on Cleric Stance and go to town. :)

--Erim Nelhah

When I have over 20k HP and migatiting damage like a boss, don't run around and jump with sprint. You have Cleric Stance and DPS skills for a reason. Do this and heal, then you will be loved evenmore.

When you get Swiftcast, which many say is essential to healers, mainly for Swiftcast + Raise combo, don't be afraid to use it for other uses too. Yes, in some situations it's good to have the instant raise at hand and sensible to spare for that. On others, you should not really be expecting people to die like flies. Swiftcast + Stone 2 gives stone to whole party while still running to next pull. (Divine Seal + )Swiftcast + Medica II when you can't stop casting due some mechanic, even if the party sorely needs heals.

Also, in content where you're paired with another healer, it's good to pay a bit of attention to what they do. If your fellow already casted Medica II and there is no heavy incoming party wide damage, there is not necessarily need for another one. Or if people are still shielded with stoneskin -and- adlo shield, in that case regen goes largely to waste too.

For your question when to use Regen. You can use it in pretty much every fight, just be mindful for when to cast it. Usually good spot is a bit after the tank has established the pull. That way it has time to tick off before the next pull. Medica II you don't usually need in basic dungeon content, except with few specific encounters where there constant or heavy party wide damage. Even then just Medica I might suffice.

About fluid aura: I hope it's ok that I learned how far the pb is, because if I get agro, I FA the silly mob right into the tank if positioned correctly. Otherwise I run it back to the tank. When I was able to CC blizz 2 as cnj, I would also run the mob back to the tank and cast it, to bind it there and cause a little damage to it and his buddies. I don't know if that was a good tactic.

About repose: I typically use it after a FA, and to sleep a casting/ranged add, or if I catch a roamer wandering too close and no one has picked it up. Otherwise, it has been a waste of a cast as the tank or dps will attack a slept mob if it is in aoe range.

About over healing: I think I am doing ok here since I don't get much agro. I need a round or two to gauge the rate of dmg to get comfy. Typically, I dps until the tank gets to 60%, and then I will turn off cleric and heal. DPS taking dmg will force me out of cleric prematurely.

I would say that Februs big post of advice is golden this are some really good advice that should be spread to many healer.
I do love the "triage" part because this is a HUGE mistake I see everytime and that kill me when I play as DPS.

Healer do not CARE about DPS, they can and should avoid taing avoidable damage
=> one exception could be the black mage who's stronger while not moving and for that i tend to forgive them more

If a DPS take tamage put a HoT or let your fairy heal him. But do not waste a gcd healing him.
Because the tank is the N°1 priority.

The speak up part is important, even more as whm who tend to burn his mana easily.
When you have a good grasp of your job you can heal with 20% of your mana pool and throw 80% of it in dps
But that means that both you and your tank need to use all of your available CD XD

...

And remember : no overhealing
Our job as healer is to prevent the HP to fall to 0
Not topping everyone everytime and babysitting the tank

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Originally Posted by FinaSel

As a healer, I think Repose can have some use in lower level dungeons, especially when a tank and / or DPS is under geared or still new. I\\'ve been in some situations where it\\'s very difficult to heal a tank receiving damage from 3 or more mobs.

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The problem with sleep in this game is that mobs you\\'d want to sleep are immune, and mobs you can sleep don\\'t need slept. If there are 3+ targets your group should be AoEing, which makes sleep useless.

I'd also argue that tanks are very easy to heal in large dmg scenarios at low level. Outside of cooldowns, your early max hps WHM 'rotation' is literally spamming cure over and over. If you're successfully executing this rotation and the tank dies, it's not your fault

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Fluid Aura to save myself when the DPS / tank are ignoring an add on me because they just want to take the boss down ASAP.

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On what boss did you need saved from a single lone add in a low level dungeons?

Usually the dmg is so low you can ignore it and help burn the boss with FA instead. If multiple adds spawn and you have aggro on 1, being positioned near the tank lets the tank easily pull it off you and helps ensure the add is in AoE range for the DPS in your party.

That being said though, FA can be very useful in some scenarios, even at low level. For example in Tam Tara:
* Helping group ranged mobs the tank is having issues with
* pushing imps into AoE limit break range, or just near eachother so melee DPS don\\'t need to run as far, on final boss

The single biggest thing I can ask of really anyone in a dungeon group:

Unless mechanics require something like kiting for different adds, ALWAYS RUN TOWARDS THE TANK IF YOU HAVE AGGRO YOU DO NOT MEAN TO HAVE. Or at the very least, don't run away if we start moving towards you.

If you start kiting, I can't get it off you, because I can't catch up. If you run to me, I've got tools that can save you and pull the aggro off you within usually 2-3 hits. I've also seen people who try to kite their mobs inadvertently pull the next trash pack or patrolling enemy, which just makes everything worse. But if someone who has aggro runs to me, I can usually do a decent job of saving them, and recovering the run.

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Originally Posted by Gemina

About fluid aura ... [and] repose

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Absolutely. This is a great tactic and is most certainly the way you should be using Fluid aura, stuns, binds and sleeps. Well done.

A lot of healers tend to pop FA for the extra dps burst because oGCD's are basically free dps. I am glad to hear you have not fallen into this mindset, because I cannot express enough how awful of a thing this is to do. Not only does it put the mob outside of the Tank's AoE range, but it also eliminates the possibility of melee dps scoring potency buffs on their attacks that require proper positioning. Using it for your own personal defense or to help the tank re-position a stubborn mob that doesn't want to stack in the group is a much better option. In particular, keep an eye out for ranged mobs that linger outside of the tank's AoE range. Tanks can often "drag" them so that they can bunch them all up, but if there isn't enough space or the dps are jumping the gun they might have to stop the pull early. You can help them by pushing any stray mobs within their range.

The same thing goes for repose. It seems you have been making very good judgement calls.

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Originally Posted by Gemina

About over healing

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Again, good sound judgement here. It sounds like you're going to shape up into a healer that most tanks are very happy to have in the party. I will warn you though, once you breach level 50 the pace and feel of the dungeons change dramatically. Tank pulls, in particular, start getting to be double, sometimes triple, the size of old dungeons, and speed pulls become common place. You'll be moving much faster, so be prepared for it. Dps'ing and healing simultaneously can become quite tricky at 50 and up if you're not ready for it, and the dmg spikes suffered by tanks get much steeper.

It's also around that level that you'll start to see serious Tank busters. Lower level tank busters do exist, but they're a joke by comparison to what you'll see at lvl 50 and up. How you handle them can make or break the fight, and there are a few different types that you will see. Some of them are pure, insane, damage that can flat out one shot a tank if they're un-buffed. Some of them are lighter, but far more frequent, such as in fights like Odin who uses his TB so often it is almost impossible for Tanks to mitigate every single hit. Some of them can be avoided by mechanics (usually dps checks, but sometimes specific tasks are required), and some of them are not so much a Tank buster as an attention penalty, such as in Wanderer's Palace Hard Mode in which the final boss will instantly kill a player with Doom if they are not capped to full health before the timer expires. It's not all that hard, once you know what you're doing, but you don't want to be caught with your pants down; so, it's worth a fair warning.

@Februs, thank you so much for all your feedback, tips, and vote of confidence! To me, healing is much more than just keeping HP bars from hitting 0. I frown at anyone who thinks that's all it takes; maybe it is to be considered a 'good' healer, but I want to be a GREAT healer. I know I will stumble along the way (I have so many times already), but I always get up and learn from my mistakes.

I know I'll be ready when the content turns vicious. I believe I am doing things right for the most part, and I only need work on my confidence and remain proficient as new abilities come to my aid. I also need to stop putting so much pressure on myself, feeling like Sansa Stark (relevant GoT reference lol) and just have fun, especially in these levels where mistakes are to be expected. I think that is a really important aspect that often is neglected to be mentioned.

A good healer would be someone that keep everyone alive and his own mana healthy
A great healer is someone who do the same and also take time to go in the frontline with his fellow DPS and burn the mobs harassing his tank faster

Like Februs said the path until lv45+ and 50 will be harsh, especially because of the low power gear and some useful skill missing.
Once 50 you get some great healing/battle control tools and you can taste some good dungeon (all the 50 HM with great and fun mecanics)
You will also get new gear that will help you finding a balancé in healing/DPS

Then reaching 51+ HW dungeon will be hard... Until you hit 60
At 60 same as 50 you get new tools and new gear that make everything easier and you will again find a way to throw DPS even more.

You can see that, the more a heal can DPS, the more he is confident about himself and the more the tank is competent/trusted by the healer

It is kind of critical that while doing some of the things suggested here you remember to have fun playing your role in dungeons/raids. You don't have to enjoy something to get very good at it, but it helps a lot.

Also note about the whole fluid aura thing. As has been said only use it on normal mobs in situations where you need to move them to the tank or such.
On bosses, though, dont be afraid to use it for dps since generally bosses are immune to the knockback

If for some reason you get agro do not run around the room but bring the mob to the tank so he can provoke and not cleave the group :D (goes for dps too heh)

The few things I can think of from the top of my head:

1) I appreciate it greatly if a healer throws out some dps when reasonably possible instead of standing still for a good 15s doing nothing. Be careful not to DPS too much though, lol. My healer friend from my FC is a bit too DPS heavy sometimes, but he trusts me to use cooldowns well and I know he's a very good healer. Things die so quickly with his WHM's OP Holy spam. xD


2) To not panic when I do lose enmity for some reason and run around like crazy. I appreciate it if anybody really, but a healer especially, comes towards me to make it easier for me to grab a target back on me.

3) To, as others in the thread have already opted, not ninja-cast any regens on me before a pull or a buff during the first second(s) of a pull. Though the later I can cause if I hesitate for seeing that buff being cast at the last second. xP

But yeah, I can mostly appreciate the healer doing some dps, withing reason of course. I am a bit irked when a healer stands still doing nothing for extended periods of time and goes "neh, it's not my job to do damage", maybe so they can chat with their FC/LS friends. Most of the time I leave them be, as I find in a way he/she's right, but I still am annoyed by it. It just feels like someone's not pulling their weight really.

These fine folks here said all that needs to be said really. Soak some of these things up and you will be a tanks best friend. Shout out to the healers out there

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Originally Posted by Janhyua

1. Never ever leave a tank near 30% hp it make us feel very unsafe and make us pop out hallow ground, living dead, holgang before we die

2. Don't put regen on us before a pull please for the love of god just don't... It Aggro everything before we get hate on them

3. Do not I repeat do not medical 2 before a fight spam aoe like a crazy person before a boss pull unless you trying to kill yourself

4. Acommenda me (ok that just me but you don't have to)

5. Please stone skin me during tank buster it really save my skin

6. Once you able to keep the tank hp full during a mass pull, go shift cast and holy and spam it 4 time and back to healing

7. Hmmmmmmmmmm hmmmmmmm I got nothing else for you :0

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2. Especially with Divine Seal :(

3. Same as Number 2.

5. Agreed. I prefer Swiftcast + Stoneskin on me, then Virus the tank buster.

6. I'd rather the healer (assuming WHM, since that's the only healer I have at Lv60) use Divine Seal + Swiftcast + Medica II + Regen on me then proceed with Cleric Stance + Holy.

Things that make me smile:

-Healers doing damage when their heals aren't needed (surprisingly some people still don't get this at 60).
-Healers making it their job to hug me as close as possible until I take hate off of them (this usually happens if the enemy defaults to them and almost never during trash). This doesn't mean I am not trying to come to them either, though their are a large number of times where going to the healer instead would mean pulling mobs out of AOE's or disrupting melee DPS positionals.
-Healer precasting a heal so that its cast syncs almost perfectly with a tank buster ability (can require some foreknowledge of the boss). As not much of a healer myself I imagine this is hard to do consistently.

Those are the main 3. Here's a pretty important but oscure one, that won't exactly make a tank smile, but if ignored can make a pug job a lot harder:

Later on a tank may want to do a full pull, the pulling of as many trash groups as available. Casting a regen ability at this point can be VERY messy as tempting as it sounds. There are times when catching every mob with an enmity ability without pausing is difficult for a tank to do even with an AoE and ranged ability. The tank may rely on an enemy or two following them on sight alone at specific places. And sometimes the trash party starts out too spread to catch them all in a single aoe immediately (more than one target may also need the range grab). If this happens when a regen is already applied, you are going to get some of the hits. A few things can happen after that:

-The tank stops, gets hate back, and arrives at the next pack with less HP than he otherwise would have (made worse by time that may be taken to heal yourself).
-The tank stops or turns around to get hate back, but a DPS denies the full-pull by prematurely deploying their floor-AOE around the place that the tank had to stop at.
-The tank, if he's got more balls than brains, might just carry on without you and hope you make it to the last pack with enough time to heal yourself up.

The best thing to do here is run as close to the tank as possible, but never in front and only fanning sideways for trash AOE's, doing absolutely nothing until the destination is reached. Only use a single-time heal if you know for sure that the tank has used something besides their presence to establish the attention of every triggered enemy so far.

As a former main healer, I suggest you try leveling a tank. It will give you a lot of insight on the role and its needs. The bare minimum you should do is to check the effect of some defensive cooldowns tanks typically (hopefully) use.
Also, don't be scared. Being a decent tank is not hard at all. Of course, as for every job, being an excellent player requires skill and knowledge of the game and the encounters, but as long as you know the basics and you're open to constructive criticism you can easily tank every dungeon in the game.

Lots of great advice here. One point that I only saw once and feel bears repeating: try to get Stoneskin up on the tank before every fight. I usually wait until the last mob is almost dead (I usually shoot for 5%) and then cast Stoneskin instead of DPSing. If you pull it off right, your tank will be good to go with SS for the next fight and nobody has to stand around waiting or casting. Not only does this make you look like a pro, but in a full pull / speed run situation, that Stoneskin can sometimes make or break the run.

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Originally Posted by Janhyua

1. Never ever leave a tank near 30% hp it make us feel very unsafe and make us pop out hallow ground, living dead, holgang before we die
2. Don't put regen on us before a pull please for the love of god just don't... It Aggro everything before we get hate on them
3. Do not I repeat do not medical 2 before a fight spam aoe like a crazy person before a boss pull unless you trying to kill yourself
4. Acommenda me (ok that just me but you don't have to)
5. Please stone skin me during tank buster it really save my skin
6. Once you able to keep the tank hp full during a mass pull, go shift cast and holy and spam it 4 time and back to healing

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I couldn't agree more. 99% of the time the reason the healer gets aggro is because they don't follow these things. I'd like to add some things though...

7)If you get aggro at any point run towards the tank, not away from the tank. A good pld will, cover you and take the agro back immediately with provoke+flash. A healer who runs towards me when they are low on health or have aggro will most likely get my commendation every time. Standing still out of range trying to tank them, or kiting them...you won't get my commendation.
8)Time a heal so that it goes off immediately after a "tank buster" move, rather than reacting to it when you see it. This is just down to experience of that boss and timing though, and I appreciate this is difficult. No good tank would deprive you of a commendation if they died during a tank buster either
9)Consider levelling a tank yourself so you can see exactly what is involved with GCD timers, distance range of abilities, enmity they generate etc. I appreciate this is a little overkill though and what you are doing here is enough.

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Originally Posted by Lastelli

as long as you know the basics and you're open to constructive criticism you can easily tank every dungeon in the game.

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When you enter a DF and that one dps pulls and the healer throws out a regen, when all the pld has done is shield lob one mob but was linked by others for example, and then you get called a "shit tank" cause one or both of them took any damage. I wish there was constructive criticism on DF but there just almost always never is. MAYBE in that scenario you could say the tank was moving a little too slow for the party...but if the job was getting done it's tough shit as they are leading the dungeon. Either constructively tell them to up their speed or just deal with it. Impatient dps pulling, and dps/healers ignoring their threat and having no clue how enmity works in the first place ... that's almost always the cause of wipes and never the tanks fault imo. It's selfish and non team minded.

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Originally Posted by winsock

Dont just stand there, always be casting; if you don't need to cast a heal, deal dmg.

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I agree with everything you said but one thing here they need to be mindful of is whether doing dmg will pull hate. I think this goes for every action a healer or dps does though. They need to have a good grasp of how emnity is generated (particularly at the start of a battle) and keep and eye on their threat bar at all times. Basically don't just start spamming holy if your tank doesn't need heals because if you could pull hate. However if you are following other advice like running to the tank when you do gain hate it's not that bad of a problem. I don't mind dungeons where people pick up hate here and there so long as its amended immediately. The cancerous mindset of the DF is that a run must be perfect or the tank should play another role which is just facepalm