Gun Jumpers are so fun..

[Zakalwe]

It likely comes from games where only the party leader could mark, and since the tank generally marks it means the tank would be the leader. Rest of the 'lead the dungeon' stuff came along with it. Tank generally has to pay more attention to the average fight than a random dps so they're more likely to be the one to explain it, etc. [snip]

Most other mmos give tanks much stronger aggro skills, esp initial skills like a forced taunt. In those cases, it is just as important that dps stay on target, but less for aggro management than for survival -- that is, to whittle down the number of mobs pounding on the tank/group as fast as possible. In the mmo I most recently played groups tended not to mark mob targets, but instead designated a lead dps to select targets and then all other dps (except for tanks who were often switching around targets for enmity purposes) would stay on that selected target until dead through a 'target assist' graphic on the screen (showing the target the designated target selector was currently attacking).

In this game it might make a little more sense for the tank to be selecting targets because the purpose is more aggro management than group survival issues, but it doesn't really matter to me who is doing the target marking as long as it makes sense and we all follow it when needed.

Often times people confuse on-level tough content with something like an overgeared quick WP run with a bard, black mage and white mage all pounding down aoes, where target marking is often a lot like stop signs in Boston. That is, only a suggestion.