Help learning tanks.

So I'm looking to start my first tank class relatively soon, maybe even today but I know very little about the classes or how the role handles in this game compared to other games. So my question is what's a good tank class to start with as a beginner and what are some good tips to know when tanking, be that in dungeons, overworld, trials and raids.

Rodeo Clown and WAR feel way less complex than DRK. At 50 and Afterwards all of your gear is outlined for you as 'of Fending' so it's not hard to distinguish from DPS stuff in the same DoW menus.

paladin is probably the most forgiving for a newbie to tanking. good tips, always have tank stance on. :D other than that, hold aggro, punch things in the face, and dont point a boss towards your party or spin them like a top are usually standard tips to start with :D the rest you'll learn as you go.

I would go with whatever class appeals to you the most. All 3 are easy enough to play especially in normal content. Warrior does the most damage, Dark Knight has the best story, Paladin has the most utility.

Paladin will end up being the easiest and best one for first time tanks.

Warrior and DK are good, but Paladin is the "u dont need to worry so much" tank, because War and DK u need to track resources (TP and MP), its not hard to handle this, but if u not used to manage TP and MP, better u learn to tank with Paladin.

ST aggro is super easy for any of the tanks on any level, just stay on simple aggro combo

The trully difficult on dungeons at begin will be AoE aggro.

All 3 class get tank stance only on lvl 30 so before it, lose aoe aggro is pretty easy if u not paying attention.

About tank FF XIV vs Other Games, its basicaly the same.
Just pay attention on "Provoke" ability.

Ppl comign from other game confuse it with usual "taunt" ability that forces the enemies to attack you for "x" seconds.

Here its different, Provoke will only bring u to top of aggro table, so u need to use Provoke and keep hitting mob to keep the aggro.

First change race to FEMROE and then play WAR.

1. war
2. marauder
3. pld
100. drk

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Originally Posted by mrt617

Warrior does the most damage, Dark Knight has the best story, Paladin has the most utility.

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Stormblood tank balance in a nutshell

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one thing i notice new tanks do is to grab aoe hate, but then concentrate mostly on one enemy until it dies and then switch to the next one, until that one dies, and then to the next one... this can lead to enmity issues. let the DDs kill the stuff, that's their job, you should switch targets often to build enmity on all of them, and it is especially usefull to switch to the next target to build some enmity lead, while the DDs are still on the almost dead one.

GLA (job PAL) is really easy for a beginner. It's a class that's excellent at raids/trials/end game things too.

As a beginner your goal is to git gud with holding enmity, which is easily done by pressing this button https://ffxiv.gamerescape.com/w/imag...Flash_Icon.png (flash)
A GLA/PAL can technicaly tank any dungeon level 18 to 70 by using flash only every 10s lol.

Make sure you're geared with the best gear of your level (VERY important for all tanks too)


To get the feel, try going to tamtara deepcroft, it's an easy dungeon with good group of enemies.

1. Run into the middle of 3 enemies
2. Flash https://ffxiv.gamerescape.com/w/imag...Flash_Icon.png
   -> Flash https://ffxiv.gamerescape.com/w/imag...Flash_Icon.png again if your group has a RDM/BLM or everyone overgear you
3. Move behind the enemies so they face away from your party
4. Sword combo things until dead: https://ffxiv.gamerescape.com/w/imag...Blade_Icon.png (Fast Blade) -> https://ffxiv.gamerescape.com/w/imag...Blade_Icon.png (Savage Blade)

While doing the above, learn to watch enemy's enmity. When in doubt, flash. If you ran out of mana, you flashed too much.
When things hit hard (e.g. while boss is hitting you), use Rampart https://ffxiv.gamerescape.com/w/imag...mpart_Icon.png

Practice until you can watch enmity without effort, and then aim to increase your damage output by only doing flash when necessary.
https://i.imgur.com/3sXSPrK.png

A generally safe rule of thumb is:
- All enemies' enmities are at 50%: flash
- Only ONE enemy's enmity is at 50%: Do sword enmity rotation (fast blade -> savage blade -> rage of halone @lv26)
- Otherwise, do highest potency sword rotation:
Before level 26: Fast blade -> Riot blade (240 potency)
After 26: Fast blade -> Savage blade -> Rage of halone

The above is just the basics to get you started. Once you're good with all those then it's time to start reading advanced guides (I like this one: https://www.mooglemedia.com/paladin-guide/)

And as everyone else have said, when you change job to Paladin, always have Shield oath on. It almost triples your enmity buildup (so you'll only need to use flash 1-2x..forever)

More about enmity: https://www.reddit.com/r/ffxiv/wiki/enmity
As you can see, 1 flash gives you enmity equal to 1 enmity attack combo (e.g. fast+savage blade) to ALL enemies. It's OP.

As others have said, play GLA/PLD, but I would also say that you should use all of the tools at your disposal. Take your time with it if you aren't confident, level with dungeons (easy for a tank), use hall of the novice if needed, and find a PLD in an FC or LS to help you.

A good way to tell when you're going to lose enmity after the initial pull is if you see the HP of someone other than your target going down, because it means the DPS aren't focusing your target.

The meta for dungeons ''is'' the super pull strategy (pull everything possible at once), but don't think you immediately have to do it. Eventually you'll become confidant enough to pull larger groups, and time cool-downs appropriately for them.

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Originally Posted by Ekimmak

The meta for dungeons ''is'' the super pull strategy (pull everything possible at once), but don't think you immediately have to do it. Eventually you'll become confidant enough to pull larger groups, and time cool-downs appropriately for them.

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To add to this, I would say that a really strong skill to learn as a tank is self evaluation, observing what your limits are and trying to work on pushing them. Experiment with cooldowns and find out which ones work best in different situations, and experiment with how much you can pull.

As for raids (and primals to a lesser extent), communication is important, especially with the other tank, co-ordinating who does what mechanics and talking about how to handle things like tank busters etc.

Go for Paladin if you start as a first time. Easiest to play and more sturdy from my point of view. Flash is good for AOE aggro. Yet if you get more skills like Rage of Halone, on multiple pack you could share some of the hit to each of them. Like this : if you play on PC like me, after flash you go fast blade then savage on one mob then hit tab to hit another with Rage of Halone then tab again to "Low Blow" another or restart that combo on a new mob, ect + add Flash on the middle. Still always keep your eyes on each mob to avoid any of them to go after you teammate, especially healer. Keep in mind that a tank, you go first on the battlefield but you are the last to leave it. Meaning secure your kills till the end.

Here's 2 quick reference images for tanking in general.
https://i.imgur.com/smNx1ZX.jpg
https://imgur.com/PEnLMF9

GLA/PLD is going to have the easiest learning curve as its skill set is the closest to the generic "meat and potatoes" style tank typical of most MMORPGS.
Early on enmity can be an issue because of lack of tank stance. On group pulls in duties you will normally want to use flash 2-3 times initially depending on what DPS jobs are present and the high likelihood at low lvl range that your DPS are not going to attack the same target. From there you will either want to rotate through targets to monitor enmity bars or keep a sharp eye on the enemy list and either flash or quickly switch to anything that has the icon next to it any color but red.

Do not spam provoke on enemies that already have you marked as top on the enmity list. Provoke just sets your enmity slightly above the top person on the target's list. You will need to follow provoke with something to build enmity after using it or it will be taken back by whoever you pulled it from.

The rest really is just keeping up with your gear and figuring out the best times to use your cooldowns based on the current situation.

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Originally Posted by Yuki_Kaisuri

what's a good tank class to start with as a beginner and what are some good tips to know when tanking, be that in dungeons, overworld, trials and raids.

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I wouldn't worry about class/job all that much. Tanks are very similar at early levels and while there are significant differences at max level, they're not so pronounced that a vet would have problems adjusting. For example it wouldn't take much effort for a vet drk main to play as a passable DF PLD/WAR.

Learn the Fundamentals of Pulling Trash:
* Sprint
* Tag mobs as you pass them (shield lob/flash/SoC or equivalent)
* Stop
* Activate a defensive
* Secure aggro (flash or equivalent).

When fighting trash, perform AoE, and cycle your cooldowns as needed.

At a minimum, if you can do this seamlessly, you will be appreciated in DF parties. Bonus points for anything else, such as being DPS focused, mitigating tank busters, etc.