I enjoy tanking but I can’t remember every boss

Hey guys, new player here (lost my sprout but still).

I have been tanking since I started, I have tanked in dungeons, trials but never touched Alliance Raids because of my lack of knowledge and when I do, feel much less stressed as DPS.

When I did the Stormblood raids or post-Shadowbringers last bosses from dungeons, I was like how the heck am I supposed to remember every mechanic. Especially when you’re just doing roulettes and can’t check a guide to remind you of what to look out for.

I want to know if anyone has some tips that could help me improve.

You play them enough you'll learn. 9 times out of 10 a gnb will main tank so what I do is focus on my group. I mark A B or C for my group and take care of my group. Alliance raids are a joke as a tank but don't be discouraged.

It's less challenging than it seems when you first look at it. Many mechanics get reused across fights, with common notational icons. Eventually, you'll see a mechanic come up in a 'new fight' and you'll just recognize what it is and respond automatically. You'll also develop a spider sense about cast bars and be able to predict when something is going to be a tankbuster even if you've never been hit by it before.

Don't worry, it'll get easier with exposure. Just about the worst thing you can do is prog on DPS because it feels more 'comfortable', because you lose out on those learning experiences.

I had the same issue at the beginning. After a while you just get used to the game's combat design and even if you forget one mechanic, you can easily figure it out again.
Roulette content is usually very forgiving for tanks. You can easily mess up a couple mechanics and stay alive. That's probably on purpose for people like you ;)

If you're focusing on dungeons and alliance raids, don't worry.
That content rarely ever kills you for making a mistake.
It totally can, and can infrequently lead to wipes, but I wouldn't fear death so much in this game. It's just a quick reset and you're good to try again.

The bottom line is you dont. There are over 100 bosses in this game. You cant possibly expect to know every mechanic from every boss. Just do what you can. Typically look for the common tank busters, room wide aoes and common boss tendencies and that will get you through most content everytime.

Thanks for the replies everyone, what stresses me out is the fact that it’s not 3 comrades but a whole army in Alliance Raids and even as DPS I felt bad getting killed by some mechanics and being an annoyance to the healers or the whole group.

Maybe I’m also overthinking about it. Never tanked in any other online games, so it’s still new to me, but I never had any major issue with people.

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Originally Posted by Derio

The bottom line is you dont. There are over 100 bosses in this game. You cant possibly expect to know every mechanic from every boss. Just do what you can. Typically look for the common tank busters, room wide aoes and common boss tendencies and that will get you through most content everytime.

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Is there a visual hint for tankbusters ? I didn’t noticed the dark eye thingy for Fear/Glare mechanics for a while, until I did.

Maybe I’m missing something here too ?

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Originally Posted by True-to-Caesar

Is there a visual hint for tankbusters ?

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Boss casts something a bit longer. But no, actually.

You wont die from a tankbuster unless its Savage or higher. But for 24-man-raids or dungeons, you can eat it and remember the name of it for the next time.

Alliance raids are fairly forgiving. Just because a tank died, it wont wipe the entire raid. Even when both healers are dead, there is still a chance to recover from it.

You also have the fact that in later alliance/normal raids, if the tank buster is AoE, you will be marked with a marker(Which is unique), that is also a good indication of a tank buster incoming.

the name of the skill can be a hint if it's a tankbuster. if it sounds like it's going to badly hurt one person, it's a tankbuster.

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Originally Posted by Yuella

the name of the skill can be a hint if it's a tankbuster. if it sounds like it's going to badly hurt one person, it's a tankbuster.

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OP this is an astonishingly reliable tactic.

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Originally Posted by Yuella

the name of the skill can be a hint if it's a tankbuster. if it sounds like it's going to badly hurt one person, it's a tankbuster.

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This got me thru almost every dungen, raid, trial, etc successfully as a tank and then Matoya's Relict happened and I swear they forgot the naming convention's for that final boss. The tank buster and raid wide both being named after meat dishes has me so confused every single time. Does one taste more like a single serve tank buster and the otheer is meant to feed a family of four adventures? The names make so much sense up until there and I hate it.

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Originally Posted by NobleWinter

This got me thru almost every dungen, raid, trial, etc successfully as a tank and then Matoya's Relict happened and I swear they forgot the naming convention's for that final boss. The tank buster and raid wide both being named after meat dishes has me so confused every single time. Does one taste more like a single serve tank buster and the otheer is meant to feed a family of four adventures? The names make so much sense up until there and I hate it.

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Kind of. Minced Meat is made by finely chopping/grinding a tough piece of meat and is the tank buster, while a Tenderloin is actually a long thin piece of tender meat that can be served to multiple people and is the raid wide (the loin on a human is just above the buttocks so it might also be a spanking joke).

It eventually becomes second nature. Even if you don't consciously remember the fights, you'll retain the awareness and reflexes you developed from doing them time and time again. Conscious recollection will usually kick in after seeing the boss go through its rotation once or twice, but you'll already be reacting to the abilities in the meantime.

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Originally Posted by ItMe

OP this is an astonishingly reliable tactic.

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Hmmm, this cast bar for a new fight is named Gruesome Impale... :p


But yeah, I heavily sympathize with the OP about remembering

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Originally Posted by True-to-Caesar

Thanks for the replies everyone, what stresses me out is the fact that it’s not 3 comrades but a whole army in Alliance Raids and even as DPS I felt bad getting killed by some mechanics and being an annoyance to the healers or the whole group.

Maybe I’m also overthinking about it. Never tanked in any other online games, so it’s still new to me, but I never had any major issue with people.



Is there a visual hint for tankbusters ? I didn’t noticed the dark eye thingy for Fear/Glare mechanics for a while, until I did.

Maybe I’m missing something here too ?

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Most healers won't even know youre an annoyance because 0.00005microseconds after you drop to the floor the army of Red Mages will have 100 resurrects flying your way. Even faster if youre a tank, then every redmage and healer swift casts a res on you from 100 miles away. I wouldn't give any stock to caring about messing up in anything. The only time messing up is annoying is in a static where people remember how often you fuck up. In pugs just throw yourself into the meatgrinder. Once the duty is over legit nobody will even remember you unless you had a baller Glam.

After a certain point you will probably just...know, for lack of a better word, how things work. "That sounds like an AoE attack...Yep! There it is!" "That sounds like a tank buster...Ow. That was indeed a tank buster." The names of the skills being used often indicate what something could be, though that isn't always 100% accurate. Just give it time and you will get into the swing of things.