STR vs. VIT for leveling

[Nektulos-Tuor]

VIT, because at low levels its actually very powerful until you reach level 52. Then go strength.

[Ashkendor]

I'd say it depends on the tank job you want to level.
GLA/PLD has a lot of trouble holding hate below 50.

PLD shouldn't have trouble after level 40 when they get Shield Oath. 30-40 are probably the absolute worst levels for Paladins. Personally, I level in full STR because I hate feeling like I'm hitting things with a wet noodle when I have to do solo encounters, and I don't want to have to carry around 2 complete sets of accessories for whatever level I'm at because my armory chest is already overflowing.

[CGMidlander]

For 1-50 it doesn't really matter whether you use str or vit accessories. (or even both)

[Shining_Tiger_Excalibur]

3 Strength and 2 Vitality accessories (with all ability points in STR) depending on what they have for secondary stats is a good place to start. Whether you're just starting out or are nearing 60 there's going to always be someone better geared than you; and if they know their job extremely well.....they're going to wreak havoc on you even when they try not to do so. STR, CRIT, and DET are there to offset the difficulty you'll face against these kinds of players. Most people forget the fact that new players or those near the end of leveling have to put up with people that have reached the end-game for quite a while now in terms of equipment and skill ceiling. Tanks explicitly rely on their equipment to do their job, not just effectively, but satisfactorily at best as well and this further emphasizes the need for STR equipment while climbing up to a certain item level.

Another thing players need to realize is that tanks doing massive pulls are at the end-game content and have a cushion to fall on with their equipment. Leveling players, in my mind, are just fine doing smaller pulls. The content really should take longer as you level, because it's there to teach you pacing, cooldown management, stance switching, ability usage, etc.

[Atoli]

VIT, because at low levels its actually very powerful until you reach level 52. Then go strength.

All it does is give you a bigger HP pool, which is kind of pointless unless you do massive pulls and have a healer that can heal that many HP.
Like several people already said, defensive gear is important to reduce dmg taken, but VIT is just an extra cushion to fall on if all else fails so it's a waste of potential unless you feel too uncomfortable without the extra safety.

PLD shouldn't have trouble after level 40 when they get Shield Oath.

While Shield Oath is very useful in keeping hate, getting the first AoE skill at 50 had a lot more impact on me. Even with Shield Oath, Flash and rotating targets for threat combos, there is no way you can keep hate on really big pulls when BLMs and the like let loose right away. But hitting everything once with a nice AoE and applying DoTs on all the targets helps a lot to eastablish that initial threat that you can reinforce with your other abilities/skills afterwards.

[Bourne_Endeavor]

Wow. Thanks a lot everyone. Appreciate all the input. First time I'll be giving tanking a go in an MMO.

[Jpec07]

Wow. Thanks a lot everyone. Appreciate all the input. First time I'll be giving tanking a go in an MMO.

You're absolutely welcome--and welcome to tanking! It can be a blast, but also really stressful. Just take it easy, read guides, and communicate, and you'll be fine. Good luck in there!

[RiisWolf]

Oh yeah! Also, if you can help it, do not stack in parry at all. This version of parry is the single most horrible defensive stat in all MMO. Do not conserve wrath for it. Don't stack it for DRK.

Parry in FF14 blocks 20% of the little amount of hits it blocks. Thanks to the game not saying what the actual rate is vs. the same level, in addition to how often it pops, it is not worth anything and is just awful.

[Ashkendor]

While Shield Oath is very useful in keeping hate, getting the first AoE skill at 50 had a lot more impact on me. Even with Shield Oath, Flash and rotating targets for threat combos, there is no way you can keep hate on really big pulls when BLMs and the like let loose right away. But hitting everything once with a nice AoE and applying DoTs on all the targets helps a lot to eastablish that initial threat that you can reinforce with your other abilities/skills afterwards.

Unless you got to 50 only very recently, CoS didn't even generate enmity beyond what initial damage it dealt. Increased enmity was added in 2.4. I mean, I guess it was still an oGCD AoE, I just don't see how it would help more than Shield Oath.

[Atoli]

I just don't see how it would help more than Shield Oath.

I never said it was more useful than Shield Oath (or at least didn't mean it if it sounded that way?), I'm just saying that while Shield Oath alone is nice, PLD still has trouble again hasty AoE-heavy dps until he has Shield Oath PLUS CoS.

(and I actually got PLD to 50 in 1.0, back when everything was different and weird xD I was just talking about the threat from dmg dealt + DoT, the added enmity+ just makes it even nicer now)