Help me pick a tank.

So, when I played last, it was in 3.2 and I mained PLD. Stuff's changed since then, so much so that I abandoned her and started over.

I leveled as bard because I was like "don't want responsibility" as usual, but the queue times suck, so I'm now tanking.

Problem. I don't know which job. I'm liking gunbreaker, but there's so many bloody buttons, too few keybinds, and I'm overwhelmed completely. And I'm only 61! There's even MORE buttons coming!

My DRK is like 38. I haven't done PLD or WAR. Really didn't like WAR playstyle before.

Got a feeling all of them are going to have a button bloat problem though. Ideas?

Thanks.

Best bet is to try them all because:
--- Only you will know what clicks best for you and we can level every class so go wild.
--- They're all changing soon enough. While I could recommend one for you now who knows what the jobs will be like in 6.0. Best just try them out and have some leveled and ready for whatever happens.
--- It will give you hands on insight about what your OT is bringing to the table.

All that aside if you're feeling overwhelmed I'd recommend you check out DRK and PLD.
WAR is the least busy but if you don't like it you don't like it. Ah well.

DRK has a basic 1-2-3 combo everything revolves around so it's easier to stay on top of all your goods.

PLD has 3 solid rotations it switches between. This rotation both helps keep it easy to follow the flow of, and if it looks like they have a lot of buttons well... you'll be hitting them in an established sequence so you will never be juggling a lot at any one time.

If you don't like WAR, you won't like DRK. They're the same job for all intents and purposes.

PLD has improved in it's gameplay, kinda excels in everything. Give it another try.

Oddly enough I do like DRK so far. I don't remember really why I didn't like WAR, it just didn't click.

Leveling other jobs though is a pain. Hm. Could finish leveling it I suppose. Missing that msq exp tho hurts. Lol.

If you want to get in to tanking solely for the queues then i recomend you don't do that, there is plenty of jobs that would fullfill your preferences better specially with your buttom problem, Dancer or RDM will serve you way better for example.
If you still insist on tanks then you probably should try WAR, the job has change since HW and WAR with DRK are basicaly the same job with X small niche mechanic right now but WAR rely more on GCD compared to DRK who use more oGCD in a small burst window and WAR is the slow tank by result (less actions per minute) leaving you plenty of room to think what are you doing, all tanks have the same skills numbers more or less with PLD having the most but in the end of the day it's how you set up so i recomend you try WAR in that regard.

Honestly, I'm about ready to bench my DRK. TBN is really the only thing that carries it, whereas my WAR has plenty of self-healing to compensate, and then some, with enough mitigation to not be a flimsy tank against big hits. Almost all the time, I get healers who make me panic with my defensive skills, since they heal me at or below 50% hp. Granted, I usually don't die with those types of healers. However, I like having a safety net in case the healer decides to leave me at ~25% hp with a buster coming in and can't get a heal up in time.

oGCDs don't really bother me, it's the sheer number of combos and stuff on Gunbreaker that's getting me. Like I have no issues with bard and they've got a bunch of oGCDs. I also am really leery of starting over at level 1. I find levelling incredibly boring and don't want to do it again if I can help it.

As for queue times, as I said, I dislike healing in this game(hard targetting makes me a sad, sad mouseover player) and I don't mind tanking. I had actually *wanted* to play Dancer, but after spending 2 hours in queue for Limitless Blue for the story I'm not going to repeat that atrocity if I can help it.

Hm. Guess I can play around with it. I *do* like the theme of DRK though. I HATE MAKING DECISIONS AND I'M REALLY BAD AT IT. >< lol

Thanks for the input though! I have much to consider.

I play all the tanks and have them all to 80. I personally would rank them for my enjoyment.

1. Warrior
2. Paladin
3. Dark Knight
4. Gunbreaker

To explain.

1. Warrior is just a true BEEFY tank that hit's really hard and can bring the survivability. Warriors are really hard to kill. Plus the rotation is so smooth.

2. Paladin has really changed over the years. 2.0 to current PLD has gained a lot and lost a lot. After I mastered the Paladin rotation when I hit 80 I started to hate how tight the rotation is. You really don't have time to screw around with Paladin if you want to play it optimally. Decided to change to WAR as my main tank. Still a great tank...just wish it had a little wiggle room in the rotation.

3. Dark Knight. Now I ONLY play DRK when I want to go ham on my hotbars. DRK is very whack a mole style rotation. DRK may be one of the harder tanks to play as MP management can really hinder yourself at high levels of play. I personally don't like the playstyle currently, as I liked it MORE when dark arts was a actual skill. Really made the job feel more in control as opposed to the blackest night/dark arts gimmicky nature.

4. Gunbreaker. I just don't like GNB...it feels weak...visual, audio, and it's design. It looks cool as hell, but I just wish it felt more CHUNKY like WAR when you hit....you hit HARD! GNB rotation is smooth as hell though.

Something to account for when you pick a job....make sure you like the rotation. You're going to be using it A LOT when you get to higher levels, especially when you raid extremes, savages. Most high end content assumes you know your rotation and job/class forward and backward. Make sure it's a job you can enjoy.

For someone in your position I think its wrong to play a tank just for queue times. Theres already too many people who do this and you can tell who they are immediately especially when healing them. If you really want to tank then I would recommend warrior. Its pretty well exactly what you're looking for and sort of the definition of "simple and effective". GNB has a big draw due to the weapon but very few people play it correctly and it does require some decent knowledge of the fights in order to fully maximize your no mercy windows and blasting zone/continuation combos every time they're up. DRK also has a big draw due to edginess but same thing, the most common mistake is ofgc spam and then no mana allocation for TBN, popping blood weapon at full mana etc. Paladin as stated above has a lot of party buttons, a very strict rotation which isn't fun and a party mitigator that I don't even want to talk about because it's so dumb but they do dish out some pretty good damage as a trade off.

Play GNB, it's like playing a DPS but with good queue times.

It's kit and combos are all easy to pick up and understand: 1-2-3 standard single target, 1-2 AOE, both give a cartridge to spend on Big Boom single target, Buncha Booms AOE, or your Gnashing Fang+Continuation Combo which is the highlight flashy dps combo.

The biggest desicion you'll ever make is, "Do I wanna scare my healer with Superboldie?"

I totally understand the "don't do it for queue times". If I didn't like the role though I wouldn't think of doing it though.

I never again want to see a 2h mandatory trial queue. That's only part of why I want an option.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Imora

I totally understand the "don't do it for queue times". If I didn't like the role though I wouldn't think of doing it though.

I never again want to see a 2h mandatory trial queue. That's only part of why I want an option.

---

Well like I said, I think WAR is your best bet. Also, by making a warrior you'll go through the whole leveling process hopefully making you comfortable with the role as well as your gradually learned abilities.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by RinaB

Well like I said, I think WAR is your best bet. Also, by making a warrior you'll go through the whole leveling process hopefully making you comfortable with the role as well as your gradually learned abilities.

---

It's an idea.

I'll think about it. I just really don't want to fotm.

PLD is probably the most versatile imo.

A lot of the comments on how WAR has the best sustain and self-healing, only comes into play at very high levels, like 74+ and finally at 80 with Nascent Chaos on their big crit hits.

During the leveling process, they are quite squishy as their 1-2-3 combo only provides 250 self-healing potency. DRK gets 300. Paladin is the worst, they gets nothing until 58 where they learn Clemency. But once you have it, it's awesome.

Clemency has saved my MSQ dungeon several times when healer dies to AOE or is near death and risk mild room wide AoE burst finishing the job, I throw in a Clemency to save them. Same for DPS players that take huge AoE dmg, and I'm being focus healed by the healer, I throw the near dead DPS a heal. It helps smooth the runs out since it's a tool that is not needed, but when crap goes down, its a life saver.

As to why WAR would feel boring to play, its entirely because their 1-2-3 and not much else until they get their single OGCD Upheaval at 60+. DRK has Flood & Edge of Shadows to weave, PLD gets Spirit & Scorn. For some reason WAR's gap closer also uses their main resource as well so it sucks when you have to move to re-engage, wheres PLD/DRK just get free leap + atk hit.

Basically, while what ppl normally talk about these tanks are true, and WAR will grow into a powerhouse, I feel its the weakest and most boring tank to level and play through the MSQ for a new player.