Tanking - Needing advice (GLD)

[Cyrus-Wallace]

Guys, I'm having trouble when it comes to hold the enminity when there's an archer in the party. When I'm level cap'd (low level instances/duties) I loss some enminity control skills. Even though I watch out the enminity -meter, it's hard for me to keep the treat and hold those monsters. I've been thinking in getting some cross-class Marauder hate control skills (Since that class have some low level useful skills), what do you think?

My usual rotation: Flash -> Flash -> Shield Lob (if available - Main target) Flash Blade -> Savage Blade (Second target) and usually Riot Blade to recover some MP.

[Dcyn]

My buddy duo's with me and he's an ARC. First, be kind and inform party of enmity bars if they are unaware. This helps a lot. As for rotations:

Single Target: <engage> SL > SL <start rotation> FB --> Savage, Flash every other FB>Savage rotation, Riot only if low on MP or if far ahead on enmity meter for extra dmg

Groups: <charging engage> SL <main target> Flash, Flash, FB --> Savage <main target> repeat 2-3x to have solid hold, FB <main> into Savage on adds throwing a Flash every other.

Toss in shield bash if ARC is about to pass you to give you a few seconds to get back in the enmity race. I don't have any problems with these rotations. If the DPS just goes nuts at this lvl with disregard for enmity, well they may end up learning the hard way about watching the enmity bar... Marking and focusing your target also helps, and you can suggest they poke adds that they have no/low threat on to give you a second to hop ahead on the main target.

[NintenPyjak64]

What I do is Mark the targets 1 2 and 3 > Shield Lob 1 > run to them and Flash > Main Enmity combo twice on Mob 1 > Flash > Combo again > When Mob 1 is dead, immidiatly do 2 combos on 2 > Flash

As long as the ARC, or any DPS for that matter, follow the targets, You can hold hate fairly easily

[Meicyn]

Enmity control is the responsibility of the entire party, not just the tank. The tank should be doing everything they can to hold hate, but if someone is strong enough to pull hate from the tank, then they need to ease up a little bit if they're making things hectic for the healer.

[NintenPyjak64]

Enmity control is the responsibility of the entire party, not just the tank. The tank should be doing everything they can to hold hate, but if someone is strong enough to pull hate from the tank, then they need to ease up a little bit if they're making things hectic for the healer.

I'd prefer roudy DPS (ONLY if they follow the f***ing signs!), It keeps me looking at the enmity meters and puts pressure on myself. It makes me feel like I'm getting better

[Vladislav]

I playing PLD , glad u going this path too in low istances & even in high (i tried Dzemael , all same worked perfect) i usually run in , ennmies aggroing me (can be single mob also) then i open with flash to grab mobs , then blade combos/chains (they little different depend lv instance lv15~20 u can 2 chain Fast Blade->Savage Blade or Fast Blade->Riot Blade but 2nd one i rarely useing because rarely need MP and also after Riot blade chain ends . 30+ 3 chain combo Fast Blade->Savage Blade->Rage of Halone . @ lv 45~50 u still have this 3 chains but have more variety to add non combo Weapon skills like Fast Blade->Savage Blade->Rage of Halone->Spirits Within->Circle of Scorn , last 2 is not in chain but u can add this so u do 5 chain WS.)
Between Chains sometime can use Flash , but not too often because no need , you can try use 4~5 chains and only then flash

[Vladislav]

Also again depend on lv we have great Job Abilities ->
->Low instances only few ones is more than enough. Fight or Flight JA that will give you 30% more physical damage !! Convalescence - give you +20% of HP restored ! which means WHM in party will have 20% less job . And Provoke we get that @ lv 22 can use that inbetween chains also , especially on Bosses
-> Mid~high we have more interesting JA to use . Sentinel - damage taken -30% + gain enemity ! Bulwark - +60% block rate (life saver). Sword Oath/Shield Oath that you will rotate depend of situation or +50 to auto att (which means u will have less hate loss) or -20%more damage taken (but DPS will lowered 20% also)
welp now about Shield Weapon Skills -> Shield Bash can use if need stun really or if need win +1~2 sec for WHM can cure or etc...
Shield Lob i was found is just waste of combo/chain also damage not that high to bother , same for Shield swipe ; ;

[Cyrus-Wallace]

Thanks for your replies, guys!!!

Being a tank is complicated, often you must assume the role of a leader but people sometimes don't listen. It's worse when they think is a great idea to target different monsters, so I've to check every monster emnity watching to not lossing it. DPS...

@Dcyn:

Thanks for those rotations, I'll be checking them in my next instance (If I'm able to log in). At low levels, my emnity nemesis is the Topaz Carbuncle, so the single target rotation will be pretty useful for that purpose. So, I must assure the hate of the main mob and then "share" some emnity to the adds by doing the 2 step combo.


"If the DPS just goes nuts at this lvl with disregard for enmity, well they may end up learning the hard way about watching the enmity bar... Marking and focusing your target also helps, and you can suggest they poke adds that they have no/low threat on to give you a second to hop ahead on the main target."

Most of the time they blame the tank because they assume that we should maintain the emnity no matter what. Until now, no one died in my parties... I've often became a healer when the main healer runs out of MP or he just gets distrated by something. -.- No one listen my advices.

@NintenPyjak64:

Yes, I've tried to number the mobs but people usually like to be the "instance super star" attacking whatever monster he/she likes. I dropped that idea after that bad experience, but I will give it a try once again. Thanks for your comment!


@Meicyn: You can say that again. But I encountered a few amount of fellas who prefer to handle the situation by themselves. When they catch the monster emnity, it's my fault. We should create a thread on the DPS board regarding this issue...

Being the tank is an underrated responsability.

@Vladislav:

Thanks for your comment! Yes, I'm a sworn blood paladin, tank from birth to death! I only must learn the mechanics in this game, since they constantly cap your level in some instances/dungeons, forcing me to rely on my old skills and I, wanting to be a full fledged tank, would like to master all the forms of tanking of my class.

Your rotation is pretty similar to Dcyn strategy. You force the mobs to get close and focus your emnity skills on the main target assuring you to keep it with you while you "lightly" mantain the hate from surrounding mobs. As I previosly stated, it's pretty hard when the DPS(s) love to attack different monsters and they don't focus on the main target. No matter how many times I repeat them, they usually don't listen and well.

You there gave a great idea. I didn't consider "Fight or Flight" in order to increase my damage, thus my emnity. That would be pretty helpful. And yes, Convalescence is a must when I tank multiple monsters or a tough one since my healer can keep me alive. Shield Bash is not needed atm because I didn't learn my trait that increases its duration but I planned to use it to keep my adds busy trying to recover their consciousness.

Guys, I'm focusing my bonus stats on VIT, since I read my class skills and job skills, and "block rate/power" could be easily compensated. So I decided to keep my HP pool at max as possible. Am I doing it right?

[Xuyi]

Just figured I'd drop my rotation. Dunno if it'll help, but it's something I guess.

I don't like shield lob as an opener. Personally, I feel that its enmity generation is pretty lackluster compared to a combo savage blade and that the TP it uses up is a little more than I would like to spend, so I usually run in face first and:

Single target: Fast Blade ---> Savage Blade ---> Rage of Halone (if available)... (repeat), sprinkling in buffs here and there depending on my needs. If adds appear, do a flash to reel them in and rotate the combo onto the other mobs at least once so the healer doesn't gain too much enmity on them. Then focus on the main target or any adds that the DPS are focusing on.

Group: Fast Blade main target ---> Flash the rest ---> continue with Savage Blade / Rage of Halone combos on the main target. If the DPS split their attention to other mobs, give their mobs a couple swipes. With Rage of Halone at level 26, keeping aggro is cake on multiple mobs. If you can't rotate your combo on all the mobs fast enough, toss in one or two flashes here and there. Don't forget to self-buff according to your needs.

I don't recommend spamming flash. It takes a large portion of your MP bar per flash and when you run out, you have to waste valuable enmity generating time to use your Riot Blade combo with takes more TP to use than Savage Blade. Using it in moderation will allow you to naturally regenerate your MP. Focus on keeping aggro with your main combo as it is more effective than shooting flashes everywhere. Not that I'm saying you are.

As for shield lob, save it for when you really need it. If a mob decides to run off to your healer and you've got some melee DPS that depend on positioning for maximum damage, shield lob it and quickly combo it to gain control back. That way, you won't be throwing your DPS out of rhythm.

Trust me, it gets better after you obtain Rage of Halone (which you should have by now according to your displayed level of 28).
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About DPS attacking different mobs and being "superstars": I know it makes our lives a million times easier when DPS are focusing on our targets exclusively, but I honestly have encountered little to no issues with keeping aggro on three or four mobs at once with DPS going crazy. Proper combo rotation and awareness will cover their rashness just fine. Of course, this doesn't excuse them for being overly wild, but I just wanted to throw in my thoughts about this.

About the bonus stats: It's really up to you. I don't think there's really a "correct" way to do it (just don't go full intelligence...). I'm pretty sure most people will be going full str/full vit/some combination of the two. Increased strength will increase your damage mitigation and your physical damage output which helps with generating enmity. The majority of your enmity generation skills work as multipliers, so even a small boost in damage will make a difference. Increased vitality on the other hand ensures that you have an extra block of health to keep you from getting downed. That larger health pool could possibly save your life one day when you get down to something like 26 HP and realize that you would have been dead if you didn't put in those few points of vitality. I'm pretty sure I read somewhere that strength isn't as effective as some people believe it to be, so I can't really recommend one stat over the other.

Long story short, putting your additional stat bonuses into vitality should be just fine. You can make up the rest of the stats through materia if you feel that it's necessary.

[Amilherix]

Here's something I learned: Read the tool tips. When it says "Increased Emnity", do the action that will give you that. Such as Shield Lob (Ranged only, too heavy TP cost for continued use), Flash, Savage Blade, etc.

This is what I do, at 25:
Single Target: Shield Lob > Fight or Flight, Savage Blade, Savage Blade, Flash (+blind), then start Fast Blade > Savage Blade combo, or FB > Riot Blade for MP ONLY
Multi: Shield Lob at ranged target and let melee gather > Flash > Flash > FoF > SB > SB > Combo.
Defensive CDs as deemed necessary.
People forget: GLD do not get a taunt until 24, and even then the CD is really high (45 sec), DPS needs to be trained to let us get a head start on threat, as this isn't WoW (post-vanila). If they don't listen, take your queue somewhere else, you're a tank, you'll get insta-queue anyways
As someone else said, threat is a GROUP effort.