Level 36 PLD looking for advice

[Darrt]

Had an experience today with some DPS saying i suck and some other choice words so here i am.

How should i go about marking targets?
-Right now i have it set to my engage macro which uses FoF, FB if melee or SL from range.

What is the best way to hold hate on a group?
-normally i use SL, run in and flash, run to anything not hit by flash and use SB if one target or flash again if more than 1 are in range. Then flash another 2 times after i have everything on me. After that i just try to hold hate on one at a time and hope the DPS are fighting the same thing i am.

How do i make my provoke macro work?
-current setup:
/ac "Provoke"
/ac "Shield Lob" <tt> which i have read is targets target, but the problem is that i get an error saying <tt> isnt a valid target.

How do i make a cover macro work?
- in FFXI i used <stpt> but same error with <tt>.

Any advice is appreciated. Despite the encounter i would like to continue as a tank and get better at it.

[BazFamrit]

You can mark manually if need be. I'm not sure how to do it on PC but on ps4 you just target the mob press square and mark.

Group hate depends on if your DPS follow your marks and how much dmg they're doing. I generally run in the pack in a way that gets everything in flash range. If you shield lob your first target the DPS can start attacking for a bit while you wait a second for mobs to get in position. Flash 1-3 times then constantly swap targets while watching hate bars to micro manage hate on each add. Pay attention to how fast your DPS build hate so you can gauge how much hate you need to generate. After a while you'll get a feel for what you do and do not have to do to maintain hate like second nature.

Your provoke needs a <t>

Don't have cover yet but when I do get it I imagine I'd soft target and use cover manually that way so there's no confusion. If you learn to hold hate well cover won't really be needed much.

[Coth_X]

On pc I put mark1, 2 and 3 on a hidden hotbar, and have it keyed as shift +z, shift + x, and shift + c since alot of pulls are 3 enemy pulls. Make sure you cycle your combo after so many flashes, and or do riot blade combo with flashes weaved in. Remember, you're doing dps on the mobs, but the most important thing is the enemies are on you, so it doesn't quite matter how you hold the hate, you just have to hold it. With rage of halone, you can spend one combo on your mob, and then start cycling the enmity combo through the enemies.

Also, how's your gear? Are you using an up to date weapon, and gear as close to ilvl as you can?

[IndigoHawk]

Also, don't take ragers seriously or let them get to you.
When someone rages, tell them to stop.
If they don't, vote kick them or leave. Don't play with people like that.

If someone is better than you, then they should use their skill to help make up for your lack of skill or give you good advice.
Listen to good advice, but don't play with people who won't be team players and don't provide constructive feedback.

[krazyrs]

/ac "shield lob" <tt> doesnt exist if its on a fresh pull
cause your targeting the mobs target which is nothing, just change it to <t>

can farther it with a 1 mark by
/micon "shield lob"
/ac "shield lob"
/mk attack 1


for cover i have
/micon cover
/ac cover <mo>
/ac cover <tt>
/p (Cover)(Just used it) <se.8> <wait.10>
/p (Cover)(None left)


for inital pull u should lob, wait for everything to group, flash 2-4x, fast > fof > savage > tab next target > roh > tab next target > fast > savage > tab next target roh etc (flashing if u think your hate is low)
you dont really have to mark them all if tabbing thro them as long as everyone is hitting the 1 u have from lob

pld is tough 30-39 but at 40 you get shield oath for that enmity bonus/20% dmg reduction buff

[Uzie]

Besides those advice,

Things that you should know are mechanics of the mob,
how they attack, how to position them and such.

and I agree with the poster above, flash twice and cycle on your mobs
say Initial target -> FB -> SB -> RoH then next target FB -> SB (tab to target 3) and land RoH -> back to initial Target and do one combo, so on so forth (up to you)

pay Attention to your party list where the aggro meter is located and the mob list for a quick reference on enmity of your pull.

Goodluck and please keep learning your class, don't be the bad tanks I run with lol

[Darrt]

Sorry, i should have mentioned i am on PS4 in my OP. It was longer but the 1000 character limit is really... um.. limiting. Anyway, thank you all for the advice so far. I see what i am doing wrong with provoke. The <tt> is on my provoke macro to use when a stray add gets away from me, but i still get the <tt> is not a valid target. I see <mo> used a lot but how well does that work on the PS4? The touchpad mouse is really clunky so i havent tried to use it in battle.

I will try manually marking stuff before i enter the area. The only issue i have is what to do while in combat when adds spawn? Stand there and mark stuff? I will just have to practice and see what works for me.

As for my gear, truth be told it was not up to par for that dungeon. Avg ilvl was 28, 1500ish HP and 268 def. Got it up to ilvl 31, 1700ish HP and 312 def. I see the dungeon syncs from 37 and i have seen people around in level 37 tank gear so i might just wait another level and then regear and try again.

[Muzy]

<tt> works when you are trying to get use the skill on the targets target, for example with provoke... If a DPS is targetin somethin and you target that DPS then use the provoke macro it will use it on the DPS's target.

I have yet to try using <mo> on the PS4, so can't say how well it works there.

As far as markin goes...

You can stick the mark buttons on the hotbar, I use the extra bars that use L2+R2 together to open up, and have 1-4 on there, for quick markin in combat and out.

Also, you can bypass the 1000 char limit by using edit.

And, as far as it goes, you're doing a LOT better than quite a few tanks are lately. Keep it up and keep on truckin.

[Ashkendor]

Also, don't take ragers seriously or let them get to you.
When someone rages, tell them to stop.
If they don't, vote kick them or leave. Don't play with people like that.

If someone is better than you, then they should use their skill to help make up for your lack of skill or give you good advice.
Listen to good advice, but don't play with people who won't be team players and don't provide constructive feedback.

Of all of the advice in the thread, I think this is the most important. If someone wants to say that you are bad but not provide any constructive feedback as to how to improve, right there they've shown you that you shouldn't give a crap about what they say. It's the duty of more experienced players to help new players out. It's the duty of new players to let the experienced players know that they'd really like the help. :3

It sounds like you're doing pretty well. You're just at the point where the difficulty starts to ramp up. From 30-50 the learning curve gets pretty steep as far as tanking goes, simply because you're basically the de facto leader of the party. I know it was intimidating to me the first time through going into a dungeon and having to tell people that I'm new and I don't know the content. Honestly, good dps and healers can work with and/or around inexperienced tanks. Hell, they can work around flat-out terrible tanks in most content.

[givemeraptors]

Honestly, good dps and healers can work with and/or around inexperienced tanks. Hell, they can work around flat-out terrible tanks in most content.

This for sure. I've seen DPS lead entire dungeons (not physically of course) by marking and pointing out where to go, what's in what chest etc. Teamwork! It makes everything way more fun and far less stressful.