Why more people should try tanking!

I've written an article on my website detailing why I think more people should try tanking, take a look and tell me what you think, why should more people try tanking?

https://thehenonline.com/why-more-pe...ld-try-tanking

I like it.

I get bored of doing one thing for too long, so I tend to switch roles and classes depending on what flavor I'm currently feeling.

Tanking, especially as a Warrior, can feel really good, but one of the biggest problems I have with it is that my performance is heavily affected by the healer, if the healer doesn't know what they are doing and/or is undergeared, I may be reduced to sitting in Defiance while I'm internally screaming for them to LET ME SMASH!

Whereas you describe why people should try playing a tank (and i agree with most) and being a tank myself, i believe a more direct approach of the "problem" would be for us to know even further why people avoid playing tank.
I agree it mostly rests on the savage content but i believe it has deeper reasons for example people just don't like them or the ffxiv tanks don't meet their expectations. For example, even If i were a new tank in the game and i got scolded for even the tiniest mistake, that would most likely cause a wipe, i would be discouraged not to mention if this happens by people that know nothing of tanking.
Most people won't decide to walk down this path, while others just don't mind (the rest of us).
I believe devs should find more ways to motivate players to try tanking and i don't mean a bloody mount.

Make Tanking more impactful, fun and rewarding and maybe I'll go Tank again. As far as I am concerned it's press button while healer holds your hand.

Let's be honest. The reason there are so few tanks (and healers) is due to other players, not the game design. A single mistake can get someone kicked or, at the least, yelled at. Going into a dungeon for the first time as a tank is daunting as people expect you to lead. Ultimately, other players make it so stressful that most people just stick to dps.

From someone who has avoided tanking up to this point, I would agree with Amenian as to why at least I have avoided it. I was and still nervous a lot about going into to dungeon I have not tanked before and making a mistake. I know the feeling will go away in time with experience, but it is a lot less stressful to stick with dps as you aren't the one setting the pace of the dungeon and having all the responsibilities there of. It is community set expectations that places so much anxiety on a new tank that will drive many from it.

Yeah, I remember comments directed at me that hurt my feelings when I was learning. "Another clueless tank" sort of comments and worse things that I guess I shouldn't repeat here. I got over it though and got better with more experience. I was just as bad at dps roles when I was new, but dps don't get targeted by mean comments nearly as much.

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Originally Posted by TallonOverworld

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I'd like to chime in on this!

There are three main reasons why I avoid playing a tank:

1. My friend mains tanks, and I always queue with him. In 4-man content, this gives him a monopoly on tanking. Raids and trials are the only times we could duo tank, but I feel like I'd contribute a lot less as an off-tank compared to healer. So, it's overall better for the group -- and more rewarding for me -- to play a healer.

2. Tanking rotations seem boring. My friend mains DRK, and it looks cumbersome to play, whereas Paladin and Warrior seem too simple. It looks like they do the same things every pull, every boss, forever. I feel like I'd get bored. ^^

3. Tanks don't seem to be in control. A tank who deals DPS, maintains aggro, positions enemies perfectly, and uses his cooldowns effectively is still at the mercy of the healer.

I kind of want someone to convince me otherwise, honestly. It's why I'm here. xP

I've been playing this game for about two months now, only played warrior so far, and from what I can see it's the other players who keep people from tanking. If you're not on point or make any mistake people just get pissy. Or if you're not a fan of stance dancing people will get pissy. Or if you're not a fan of huge pulls people can get pissy. Personally I like being the tank, I may be horrible at stance dancing and don't do it often, but FFS I'm a tank not a dps.

As someone who plays tank, every group wants something different of you. Big Pulls, small pulls, etc. I love tanking but I am not going to even bother queueing as tank if I don't feel like dealing with people pulling for me, dps not managing threat, or people wanting me to go at a pace I just don't feel comfortable with. There are days I love large pulls, but then there are days I just want to relax and not pull big. Those days I won't tank, so I am one less tank filling the queue.

Every class gets flamed when you are slacking, I leveled war and drk during heavensward and did some end game content its just a boring concept and boring experience. I usually mained mnk in heavensward (prefer sam now more ocd usage) so I like the positional and fast pace game play so that may be why I can't even bother trying to tank in stormblood.

There are three main things that keep me coming back to tanking.

1) First and foremost, I love being useful to my friends. Tanks are always in demand and playing one has meant being able to play with the widest variety of people in my FC since most are DPS mains or have DPS alts.

2) It's impossible to oversell the instant queues and the overall independence the role brings. I have the freedom to do whatever content I want whenever I want to. I take for granted that I can solo most FATEs. This past weekend I started pony farming the level 50 primals on my own.

3) I really enjoy being in the thick of things at the center of the battle. Not to say that other classes don't have to do this, but tanks have to dodge more AoE than most. I get a thrill seeing multiple overlapping AoE templates and dancing between them. Never quite getting to safety but always staying one step ahead so I don't get hit. Being the center of the battle means you're the center of attention. You might get blamed when things go wrong but you also get credit when things go right. Player commendations are a small little pat on the back and triple comms always make me smile. That happens with tanking more than any other role.

I'm new to the game and this is the first time I've played a tank in an MMO but what I've been liking about tanking so far is the gameplay fantasy of taking a group through a dungeon without them taking so much as a scratch. Apart from stuff like boss AoEs/mechanics I have minimal or no control over.

I'm sure it's not so satisfying for people who don't have a protective personality or have just gotten a bit burnt out from experience.

Most groups have been either kind and generous with tips or at least patient and tolerant, but there was a BLM at one point mad I wasn't comfortable with more than a double pull.

I started a Gladiator today.

I just finished my first Sastasha run as a tank, and I had a revelation: Low level tanking in this game blows.

I almost don't want to continue leveling. ><

It's so easy for level-synced people to steal aggro from me, and then I look like a jerk when a mob turns and swats the healer.

I feel like I had to do a lot of work just to hold aggro. I was tabbing between targets and using my enmity combo to stay ahead, but it was difficult to keep track of aggro in packs of 4-5 enemies.

I feel embarrassed. Even though no one died or was in any real danger, it was plainly obvious that I was just "okay." I'm sure the healer was raging at me behind his monitor for being made of paper, but all I have is Rampart! (Actually, the healer was really nice and understanding, but I still felt bad.)

These early dungeons aren't giving me a good first impression of the role at all.

I know I'm not the only one who feels this way, too, and I now think the poor design of the beginner dungeons contributes a lot to the problem.

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Originally Posted by Lynesse

I started a Gladiator today.

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Grats.

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Originally Posted by Lynesse

It's so easy for level-synced people to steal aggro from me

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Flash 2x and start your aggro combos. Bards and MCH at that lvl can kinda dictate which mob you have to keep an eye on since they tend to pull b4 you do.

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Originally Posted by Lynesse

I feel embarrassed.

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Keep your gear up to date and you should be fine til Braylox(sp?).

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Originally Posted by Lynesse

I know I'm not the only one who feels this way, too, and I now think the poor design of the beginner dungeons contributes a lot to the problem.

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If someone goes out of their way to make your job hard then remember the first rule of tanking:

You spank it, you tank it.

hope this helps.

Don't tank. The FFXIV community generally stinks when it comes to treatment of tanks. Don't believe me? Run a test; do ten runs in a row, intentionally ignoring a few key mechanics and see how people in your group react if they wipe. Watch what happens.

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Originally Posted by Jas710

Don't tank. The FFXIV community generally stinks when it comes to treatment of tanks. Don't believe me? Run a test; do ten runs in a row, intentionally ignoring a few key mechanics and see how people in your group react if they wipe. Watch what happens.

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I do believe if ANYONE quite blatantly ignores mechanics intentionally, and in doing so cause a wipe, that person's going to receive a lot of hate. What're you saying with this, that only tanks get that treatment for pulling that sort of crap? Son, that applies to everyone.

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Originally Posted by Anienai

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Thanks for the advice! I'll remember to Flash x2, then do my aggro combo. The second run went a lot smoother now that I'm figuring things out. I'm still really nervous. ^^

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Originally Posted by TallonOverworld

Whereas you describe why people should try playing a tank (and i agree with most) and being a tank myself, i believe a more direct approach of the "problem" would be for us to know even further why people avoid playing tank.

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I dunno how many mmo's you've played but every mmo i've played that required a team revolved around a tank, people most of the time tend to avoid tanking. I believe its mostly because its a primary role and not one they feel suitable for. There are other issues as well, not everyone has a decent computer / internet service which causes them to lag and being on either tank or healer it makes their mistakes more noticeable. So players go into bish mode and then you end up with a random kick of said tank or healer. Another reason is due to amount of anime fans playing this game, the majority of animes that have some form of combat are focused on dps classes so they end up wanting to play that class in particular.

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Originally Posted by Lynesse

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You are correct, low level tanking does suck, it's boring and keeping aggro can be difficult, sometimes even against a single target if there's a level synced Black Mage for example.

But if you can tough it out until level 30 after which you can get your job and tank stance, tanking gets significantly better.

Tanking is terrible right now in FFXIV. I remember back in HW I'd queue up for stuff because it just felt really fun to play, same with open world content either group or solo.

Right now I just login to get my weekly cap and lockouts.

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Originally Posted by Amenian

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Facts. I spent 1.5 hours yesterday with virtually one group in O2S (never cleared). Different DPS kept dying to different things. One DPS was incredibly rude (while dying to weird sh*t) I tanked pretty good. Remained consistent for everyone. The mistakes I did make were recoverable. Adjusted when necessary. However, I floated a split second too late on long drop. RAGE QUIT DISBAND. Granted, I get that it's frustrating to f up a good run. (I was extremely apologetic and remorseful afterward). But consistency counts for nothing? Players (especially some DPS) really need to manage their expectations.

Also, you make a good point that "people expect you to lead" but got forbid you give a kind directive or constructive criticism then they start yelling about teamwork or "you don't pay my sub".

I usually just switch to BATTLE chat and follow the mantra "you pull it, you tank it".

I have been tanking (WAR) since right before HW. I STILL get a little nervous for new content and even queue for savage completion runs. I look back on how dreadfully nervous I was the first time I tanked Sastasha and laugh. Good times. You'll look back the same one day. Anienai gave you some really great advice. Something that works for me is to study dungeon bosses and primals before my first encounter - it helps to take the nerves off some as well. But remember to have fun and enjoy. There are some incredible sights and players in this game that outweigh the crabs you will inevitably encounter. Good luck!

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Originally Posted by Anienai

Flash 2x and start your aggro combos. Bards and MCH at that lvl can kinda dictate which mob you have to keep an eye on since they tend to pull b4 you do.

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That's good. Even better: 3xFlash, 2x(filler GCD), 2xFlash, 1x(filler GCD), 1xFlash

What this does, aside from spamming Flash for enmity, is it applies the Blind and keeps it up all the way through the last Flash without clipping the duration. After the last Flash diminishing returns have set in and further Flashes won't apply the Blind. I'm not 100% certain but I think for low levels 2xFlash is more single target enmity than Fast Blade, Savage Blade. Even so, the filler can be an RoH combo to help single target threat, Riot Blade combo because you're dumping a ton of MP, or Total Eclipse for more AoE!

Manipulating the Blind helped keep Paladin tanking interesting for me, at any rate. This is totally overkill otherwise.

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Originally Posted by Jollyy5

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Originally Posted by InnerBeastMode

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Oops. I think I accidentally hijacked this thread. >< So sorry!

I wish I could upvote these more than once. I was going to stop playing GLD, but I'll stick it out. Thank you for the encouragement!

Honestly, tanking in this game isn't all that exciting. The moment you start having fights that are scripted, you remove any sort of skill required from players and just bring things down to whoever is able to memorize the fight. Perhaps if boss fights became randomized, things would be more interesting. It's part of why I loved Leviathan and Zurvan so much. You never knew what was coming - you had to react to it at the time.

The only reason I still find tanking to be mildly interesting, is to try and clear content I've already cleared, but putting out better damage than I did before. Coming up with optimal rotations for each boss is what keeps me interested, but I would much rather have the fights be completely randomized so that you would have to adapt your rotation according to what happens.

https://www.youtube.com/user/MTQcapture

Short and sweet mechanics of the dungeons you will run.

I changed my main from a tank to a DPS because the obsession with tank dps in this game has made end-game tanking just a DPS role with low numbers. Might as well play real DPS jobs.

IMO there's probably many "old school" tanks who have stopped tanking in FFXIV for a similar reason. Not that I'm demanding a change. That's just how tanking is designed in this game, so people who don't like it go, and people who like it pick it up. If it was the other way round, there would still be a lack of tanks.

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Originally Posted by Zfz

That's just how tanking is designed in this game, so people who don't like it go, and people who like it pick it up.

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Which goes for every piece of gameplay, content-class-whatever.

Hence why it's always a good idea to give it a try! That includes tanking. And truth be told, I feel that really says everything that needs to be said on the topic: Give it a try, you might end up liking it.

And if not - no harm done! You can try something else. For me personally, I only really "liked" DRK for tanking and the way they took the design in SB doesn't appeal anymore, so I dropped tanking entirely. On the flipside, the removal of cast times made BRD (and briefly MCH before they pushed overheat) new favorites! Summoner fell off the map, tho'. You just gotta try around and see what you enjoy.
And if that leads to a role imbalance, frankly, I think that's for SE to address and fix, not the players.

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Originally Posted by Lynesse

Oops. I think I accidentally hijacked this thread. >< So sorry!

I wish I could upvote these more than once. I was going to stop playing GLD, but I'll stick it out. Thank you for the encouragement!

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as a side note, i could be wrong here since i havnt checked if they upped the enmity on savage blade in SB.

But flash (used to? still does?) generate more enmity than savage blade does. so flashing on single targets if you are in a dungeon too low to use rage of halone is going to help you keep more enmity than trying to keep it with savage blade.


still thou i could be wrong if they increased savage blades enmity generation, but i dont think i am

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Originally Posted by LeeraSorlan

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I have been known to spam Flash to keep aggro! My level-synced BLM and RDM friends troll me by not using Lucid Dreaming. T_T

There's something about tanking that makes me downright slap-happy. One bad decision sends the entire run spiraling comically out of control. The parties I've been with have laughed right alongside me.

I main WHM. I used to heal for random, barely-geared tanks and I used to get frustrated by them.

But now I'm that tank!

In the end, it's really not so bad. Everyone's super chill. There was one party that pulled everything for me, and I felt like I was being dragged along on a leash, but I understand that they were veteran players. I took it as a challenge to keep up and be a better tank. I thanked them for the fast run, all three commed me, and I left feeling like I learned something.

Hopefully, my experiences convince more people to try this. I'm having a blast now.

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Originally Posted by Lynesse

I'm having a blast now.

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Wait til you give WARRIOR a shot.

More people should try tanking because it's a great source of income. Just doing all your hunt bills, your 6 leves, and all the roulettes once a day with the adventurer in need bonus nets you over 100k in gil. That doesn't include materia 6 sales or challenge log.

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Originally Posted by LeeraSorlan

as a side note, i could be wrong here since i havnt checked if they upped the enmity on savage blade in SB.

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They actually are about equal now with Savage Blade being slightly (20 potency) ahead. I would avoid Flash once I'm ahead in enmity because it is a 0 damage GCD. Yes, tanks' main role isn't about damage, but winning is a group responsibility. Just as survival is a group responsibility (tank reducing damage taken, healers heal it back, DPS avoid damage so they don't steal heal casts on the tank), killing things should also be group responsibility as well and tanks' enmity moves all do some form of damage except Flash. :)

Flash is a 1200 "potency" in threat.

Savage Blade is 210 potency in damage with a x6 multiplier.

I did my own trial-and-error process to figure it out but later found a table online, just google enmity tables for stormblood.

Back when I played WoW, and first played MMOs, I didn't even touch a tank until my 2nd year in. That's how daunting tanking was.

Just started tanking a week ago. Got my Warrior up to level 58 and i'm having a lot of fun, though I'm not sure i'm liking Warrior. Will with hold final judgement until I hit level 70. Also, I'll probably level Paladin and Dark Knight after this so I can figure out which tank suites my style better. In any case I wish I had tried this sooner.

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Originally Posted by ElazulHP

though I'm not sure i'm liking Warrior.

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:(
sadpanda

PLD still feels like cold butter on soft bread to me. And they were buffed at the expense of the other two tanks, though with the buffs WAR got it's now only at the expense of DRK.

I started tanking after reading this thread and others in the sub forum so it's kind of an update

I chose DRK because of everyone's love of the story and knowing the current failings. I'm level 50. Once I stopped trying to communicate with parties about pulling more for me, running ahead to aggro, or casting regen before I pull it's gotten tolerable. It's not fun but I'm liking the DRK story a lot.

I go in, get my exp, get out. Instant pops mean I can turn off my mind and emotions and get through it. I definitely appreciate tanks even more now.