Anyone REAL nervous about tanking?

[necrosis]

After doing years of tanking in FFXI the system in FFIXV is a convoluted mess. I tried taking up tanking in this game thinking "I can do this! I did it for 7 years!" only to swear off all tanking after a few dungeon runs.

Oddly I am loving WHM which I refused to touch in FFXI.

[Odett]

Don't get intimidated ! If you're a GLD, start the pull with Shield Lob, use Flash when you've got the monsters close, and then use your combo and use Flash again when you think it's necessary (Flash doesn't break combo). I tended to over-use Flash at first because I'd get nervous about holding aggro, and I see a lot of inexperienced tanks do it, so don't feel bad about doing it at all.

The more you tank, the more you get a feel for when you have to use Flash again. This will take some time because your frequency of using Flash depends entirely on how strong your group's DPS is. Sometimes you'll have to use Flash more than you're used to when you got strong SMN's DoTing and BLM's AoEing everything, but you'll get it!

Being introduced to tanking on a MRD is a little rougher, especially since you don't get Overpower until level 12. As soon as I hit lv 10, I walked into the first guildhest without any AoE and it was the messiest thing ever. Overpower also requires that you gather your monsters in front of you because it's a frontal cone attack, while Flash doesn't care about monster positioning. Because of this, I recommend picking up Flash from GLD and using it as MRD to get aggro fast and then position them without worrying about DPS who don't wait to attack until you position your monsters. It will also be a good idea to level up GLD if you want to play MRD, as you get access to Provoke.

Tanking can be intimidating at first, and a bad group can really sour your experience, but try not to let this bother because rude players aren't worth your time. I hope this helped!

[Sisqi]

*Raises hand* I have gotten so nervous my stomach hurts. I'm new to the game and am doing the main scenario for the first time. I worry about not having memorized the dungeons, though I do read up on them beforehand. It's hard not to feel like a complete failure if a mob gets away from me, or heaven forbid, someone dies. I try my best to communicate, ask questions, & be friendly. I loved tanking in FFXI (though WHM was my main job), but mainly experienced it with my close friends in LS. In this game, I'm with strangers and I just get performance anxiety!

[Zourin]

Alternatively, you can just queue up and give it your best shot. Throw out a "My first time in here, give me a heads up on anything I need to know", wait for the buffs to get passed out, and play like you always have. Don't take it hard if you wreck or have a sticky time managing aggro (as long as nobody dies, it's all good).

Messy is a good learning experience, sometimes it's just a good idea to say "sod it" and give up worrying. If you piss off the entire group somehow (may get one who balks), don't worry about it. You aren't likely to ever see them again.

[Jamez82]

The only thing that makes me nervous when playing a tank is EX primals. I refuse to play my PLD or WAR through them.

[Ehayte]

Tanking is fun and easy once you get the hang of it. It is extremely silly to get nervous about playing a game! There are going to be rude people everywhere, and they will yell at you because they are dumb and it makes them feel better.

Its like anything else, it takes practice, it just so happens that if you are unpracticed everyone is going to notice immediately, which is not the same for playing DPS : D

Keep your chin up and keep going, it gets easier!

[Gramul]

Jeez. I'm still nervous about doing the final story missions.
But I can't let fear control me. If I do, then I'll never accomplish anything. Tomorrow, I'm going to tackle Castrum.

[TatlTael]

Yes it can be scary. As others have said, the best thing to do is to just jump into it and explain to the group when you're new to a dungeon or trial. Most people will be understanding and quite helpful. You'll run into a few jerks (someone got mad at me yesterday for not keeping my enmity above his... I was off tank using sword oath on Titan... what?) but just try to press on. Don't outright ignore anyone though. Even the jerks will sometimes have good advice, they are just rude about it.

[NaliaBrown]

I'm scared to tank. I have WAR at 32, but I haven't done many dungeons. I "practice" my tanking with a small party of just me and my chocobo companion so I can get used to my different skills and how to best control a group of mobs. If a FATE pops up nearby, I'll usually try to jump in and practice more there, but it's always intimidating especially if there are other tanks around.

the thing is, I really want that Warbear mount. Pretty soon I'm going to have to suck it up and take WAR to 50.

[Alazier]

I main as tank.. and yes people are rude at times. But you just have to roll with it. Remember that you as a tank will always have the upper hand and if they dont like how you do things then they can leave. You will get people who are rude, its guaranteed. But you will learn how to deal with them. Tanking is great, good benefits and you control the field. Many people just assume whats involved with tanking without ever trying it. Thats where the rudeness comes in.