Unsure of whether to level a DPS or a Tank first

So I am interested in both Bard and Paladin and I am not sure which to level first. I have heard that it is better to level a DPS through the MSQ since you can level Tanks and Healers easier through running dungeons later on. But I've also heard it's better to play tank (or healer) for the MSQ to get into story dungeons quicker. I should probably also mention that I am more intimidated by the idea of tanking just because of the fact that leading and needing to set the dungeon pace might add more pressure onto me.

Between those 2...Bard

Level both for a bit through a few dungeons. Then pick which one you find more enjoyable to run with.

Tanking is often made out to be more daunting than it really is. The big reason the tank usually sets the dungeon pace, is due to them having the best knowledge of how many mobs they can typically hold safely at one time provided the rest of the group is performing normally. Healer is a close second, due to being the one that has to keep the tank alive once things get going.

If you find you enjoy Paladin, just start slow. Do a few mobs at a time, and as you get used to your cooldowns, facing mobs correctly, and dodging aoes, over time you will get better and can start doing larger pulls. Most groups are more than happy to work with someone that is upfront about learning a new job. Just make sure to communicate with your parties and you will do just fine.

Your good either way. Tanks do get faster queue times, but once you hit 71 that's no longer an issue with trusts (for the most part). But not getting MSQ XP for a DPS job is a serious pain, and leveling a DPS second is much slower. I prefer DPS first, then tank, and I tend to do that every expansion. Bards a great class, plenty of personal DPS to solo, and a fun support class in dungeons.

It depends on your skill. DPS is more brainless and less mission critical. If you screw up as a tank you ruin it for everybody in the dungeon.
If you go the tank route, I recommend just watching a youtube guide of the duty you are about to go on. It'll take 5 minutes but it'll ensure a much smoother run every time. If you don't feel like making that commitment, then DPS would be your better choice.

You make one of these threads every other day. Stop overcomplicating it and just play the damn game.

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Originally Posted by Edax

It depends on your skill. DPS is more brainless and less mission critical. If you screw up as a tank you ruin it for everybody in the dungeon.
If you go the tank route, I recommend just watching a youtube guide of the duty you are about to go on. It'll take 5 minutes but it'll ensure a much smoother run every time. If you don't feel like making that commitment, then DPS would be your better choice.

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I'm kind of disinclined to view DPS as more brainless simply on the basis that they aren't required to play well and deal DPS within the expected range for their gear level. I tend to bemoan having to do dungeon runs with low DPS more then anything else (Save for exceptionally bad tanks/healers who are letting party members die regularly) as they force you to go through additional cycles of a boss' mechanics and also put more stress on the tank/healers both for dungeon trash and bosses. I simply can't keep a tank up during big pulls if the DPS can't start thinning out the mobs before I run out of cooldowns.

A tank's personal role is also generally not much more complicated then:

1. Get aggro
2. Turn enemies away from rest of party
3. Mitigate tank busters

It's only when you get into stuff like extremes and savage that you need to worry about more then that.

A big thing if you are scared of tanking, ask your FC to run with you. Let them know the worry and if it's a halfway decent FC they won't attack you for a screw up. How I got started tanking

Paladin first.
Tank AIN rewards and fast queues are a good thing to get your bard geared up for later.

Tanking is the easiest role once you get over that initial fear of tanking.

You've asked this question every other day for over a month now - just pick a job and start playing the game instead of overthinking it!

If you're that unsure about a tiny desicion like this: Stay away from tanking... Tanking isnt difficult, but you'll be required to make certain calls and if you cant even make this one, it might just not to for you.

Leveling is pretty easy in this game by now so it really doesnt matter what job gets the quest-exp - if you want to level up another job later there are plenty more ways to quickly get exp. I wouldnt even consider that as argument on what class to level.

Generally best to use your MSQ for DPS, not tank or healer. Reason being, tank and healer have instant or near-instant queues for dungeons (which are the fastest way to level outside of MSQ).

The exception would be if you plan to use tank or healer almost exclusively. I leveled my GNB with MSQ first because I wanted to make sure and be ready for Savage when it released.

If you are asking a few times now this question, its most prob because you are lacking the confidence of going for a Tank in dungeons. Go Bard then, give yourself time to know the game better, know the dungeons better. Then level PLD with more confidence and knowledge of the dungeons/trials/raids you have done before.

As a pretty new player I can give my honest opinion on those two.

1) Bard imo is pretty boring atm. I don't know what it is but I just can not get into it. Once I hit 40 I lost all interest as the songs and whatnot were pretty blah to me. I was so looking forward to the class too but it did not feel right at all.

2) Paladin is boring at the start but changes A LOT as you level and imo is really fun as you get higher.

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Originally Posted by KageTokage

I'm kind of disinclined to view DPS as more brainless simply on the basis that they aren't required to play well and deal DPS within the expected range for their gear level. I tend to bemoan having to do dungeon runs with low DPS more then anything else (Save for exceptionally bad tanks/healers who are letting party members die regularly) as they force you to go through additional cycles of a boss' mechanics and also put more stress on the tank/healers both for dungeon trash and bosses. I simply can't keep a tank up during big pulls if the DPS can't start thinning out the mobs before I run out of cooldowns.

A tank's personal role is also generally not much more complicated then:

1. Get aggro
2. Turn enemies away from rest of party
3. Mitigate tank busters

It's only when you get into stuff like extremes and savage that you need to worry about more then that.

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I agree and disagree. I could be tanking for a pug and yeah it sucks if the DPS is very low or they keep dying repeatedly during a boss fight, but it's not mission critical. A tank and healer could defeat a boss on their own. If I'm a DPS and the tank keeps dropping dead, then we've hit a dead end in the run, I gotta eat a penalty to just leave.

Just pick one. If you don't like it, level them evenly. There's plenty of XP to do so, and it's not like you're penalized for taking your time to enjoy the content.

You might find different aspects of each job where you enjoy it more.

For example, I'm a bit different because I'm by pretty much all counts a veteran in this game, BUT:

- For new stuff, I prefer healing (typically as SCH, but WHM on occasion), b/c it's what I'm good at and I can practically play my class blindfolded.
- For old dungeons (or even new after the first 2-3 times)...I prefer tanking (used to be almost exclusively as PLD, but I really like GNB, and the new DRK isn't bad to me either). I like setting the pace (which when I set the pace I strongly lean towards preferring to pull ALL THE THINGS), and I consider it less stressful than healing when I want to be mindless.
- For 8+ player stuff, I prefer to DPS...in particular, I prefer to be either SMN or RDM (so I can help rez if the healers fall behind or, worse, if they both die)

I tend to level SMN/SCH first, largely because that's what I'm most comfortable and familiar with, followed by a tank, and then everything else. I used to watch videos before running stuff as a tank when I first started, now I'm more likely to (outside of savage/EX) go in blind...but that's more that I've gotten much more comfortable tanking (and for the most part, comments I've gotten from other players makes me believe I'm decently good at it).

In your case, though, just play. I'd start out leveling them equally until at least lv30ish (until then, everything is a snoozefest no matter what you play anyhow)...and then just go with what feels right.