nervous tanker

[aleph_null]

One word of advice/warning, if you want to tank I'd suggest (at least occasionally) doing dungeons. Tanking in potd is vastly different from tanking in dungeons, since potd is meant to be clearable by a party with no tank. In fact if you level a tank via potd it's better to actually not tank anything, just focus on dpsing the mobs down and just keep aggro on the bosses. That'll let you clear the floors faster (thus more exp), but again, won't teach you how to actually tank. I have met some players who levelled their tanks in potd and when they do roulettes at lv 60 they have little to no idea how to hold aggro, manage mitigation, position mobs/bosses to make it easier for the melee dps, and other basic stuffs you learn from dungeons.

[Venjenz]

What I am looking for is how to be a better tank, and perhaps an easy tank class to get into to get a feel for it. I do not really want to deal with a lot of buttons unless I can get them them fast. hence why I posted my hud in hopes to get some better means on using keybinds to streamline my job.

Here's your best advice:

One word of advice/warning, if you want to tank I'd suggest (at least occasionally) doing dungeons.

Only thing about that advice I would change is the "at least occasionally" thing.

If you want to tank, DF dungeons and trials should be what you do MOST OF THE TIME. This is where people will expect you to know what you are doing. Now, to make that easier on you, here are two things that have me get over that exact same fear of tanking with random groups:

1) Watch the video. Every dungeon and trial in the game has at least one video (probably Mizzteq on the wiki), and you should watch them. I like to watch a new dungeon at least twice all the way through, and then on confusing or mechanic heavy fights (Boogeyman in AK hard, Midgardsormir in KotL, Titan H/E, etc) I watch that specific section a few times. It helps.

2) Make these two macros:

• 1st Time - "/p this is my first time tanking this, sorry in advance for any mistakes"
• Learning - "/p only tanked this a few times, sorry in advance for any mistakes."

I always tell people when it is my first time, and until I am comfortable with a dungeon, I use the "Learning" one ever time after the initial try. Letting people know right off the bat that their tank is new to and/or still learning that encounter almost always results in the party being more patient and forgiving. You get friendlier advice and nowhere near as much "go go go" stuff. It's a great way to tone down toxicity, and doing it in a pleasant way.

Once you have that worked out, practice, practice, practice. Start back at Sastasha and run it 5-10x if needs be, and just work your way up. Your queues will be less than a minute almost always, and you can pick what content you want specifically. But as aleph_null said, regular dungeons are where proper tanking happens, so stick to that content as much as possible.

IMHO, YMMV.