Common mistakes new tanks make

[Arukai]

4. Continuously shifting around the target

"I before E except after C".

Truth is, in languages, that saying has no basis whatsoever. Some fights require movement; first boss in the Temple a definite case in point. (And yes, I've had melee DPS tell me to stand still in that fight...) Movement is a thing tanks have to learn to do at some point; minimising the risks and the issues with it is where the skill really lies. Slime in Copperbell is the first real lesson in movement.

Perhaps a better replacement for this situational thing is an actual tip; Tanks, did you know that most of those big AoE cones and circles can be interrupted? It's true! Your stuns can save you damage and your healer some precious mana by interrupting some of the more pernicious moves, such as Aiatar's poison breath. Rather than trying to run out of them, save your stuns for these moments. Every single precious stun counts!

Plus if you're interrupting, then you don't have to move. Hey, it's a win-win!

[BloodOath_Loyalty]

Thanks for this tip. I didn't know I can interrupt with stun. I definitely will be making use of this thanks.

Perhaps a better replacement for this situational thing is an actual tip; Tanks, did you know that most of those big AoE cones and circles can be interrupted? It's true! Your stuns can save you damage and your healer some precious mana by interrupting some of the more pernicious moves, such as Aiatar's poison breath. Rather than trying to run out of them, save your stuns for these moments. Every single precious stun counts!

Plus if you're interrupting, then you don't have to move. Hey, it's a win-win!

[ZenBear]

Some fights require movement; first boss in the Temple a definite case in point. (And yes, I've had melee DPS tell me to stand still in that fight...) Movement is a thing tanks have to learn to do at some point; minimizing the risks and the issues with it is where the skill really lies. Slime in Copperbell is the first real lesson in movement.

She's not talking about AoEs. Yes, you need to move out of those. What she means is tanks running in circles to avoid auto-attacks; it doesn't work, but tanks still waste time and focus doing it cuz they think it does.

You can run away from the mob to make it waste time chasing you, but there are some issues with that.
1. You aren't adding to your threat. Every moment the boss spends chasing you is a moment you're not generating aggro, and that can be a death sentence to your party members.
2. Melee DDs cant hit moving targets (most of the time). It's frustrating as hell, so keep the boss in one spot to kill it faster. You're a tank, you can take the hits.
I run Sunken all the time, it's a lot of fun, but beyond strafing out of the Darkness spell and running to get inside the Verge sealed squares, you don't need to move much.

[Arukai]

Ahh, okay, the Sugar Plum Method. When has it ever worked?

Kiting/running away is still necessary for SOME fights though; this is the way of boss mechanics, after all. This is why I said it's situational; minimising movement is pointless on certain fights where movement is just part and parcel of what is about to happen. Movement is a skill that needs to be learned; knowing when to not move is as much a part of this as moving itself.

As for threat generation, BloodOath's sig sums up my feeling. Sure DPS, you can blow all those cooldowns. And sure, you can run away from the tank and healer. But you know what? I can tell you exactly how much damage you will be doing with your face in the floor; none.

Enmity is a team effort; tanks should mark primary threat targets - drag one of the marks to your action bars for ease of use, and make it clear marked target is your primary threat target.

Sometimes killing by numbers really is the most efficient means of doing it.

[ZenBear]

Kiting/running away is still necessary for SOME fights though; this is the way of boss mechanics, after all. This is why I said it's situational; minimising movement is pointless on certain fights where movement is just part and parcel of what is about to happen. Movement is a skill that needs to be learned; knowing when to not move is as much a part of this as moving itself.

Just wait till you reach Dzemael Darkhold. ;D

[zPanda]

"I before E except after C".

Truth is, in languages, that saying has no basis whatsoever. Some fights require movement; first boss in the Temple a definite case in point. (And yes, I've had melee DPS tell me to stand still in that fight...) Movement is a thing tanks have to learn to do at some point; minimising the risks and the issues with it is where the skill really lies. Slime in Copperbell is the first real lesson in movement.

Agreed - this tip is somewhat situational. I was doing Hydra with the standard dual-Tank setup to deal with Triumverate move. Other tank died so tanked the rest of the battle solo by continuously rotating around him to try and stay on his flank to avoid the possible insta-kill Triumverate frontal attack as well as stay out of the rear conal tail-attack. Won using this method but probably would have dropped dead to a random Triumverate if I attempted to tank it solo face-up for any extended period of time.