Beginner's Overview to Tanking in FFXIV

[Tracewood]

Handy guide.

So asking as a WAR beginner, when I get to the point of trash pulling in dungeons do I pull in Defiance and stay there? Or switch to Deliverance and do some AoEs then pop back into tank stance?

Same with bosses, full time tank stance or do most WARs just stay in Deliverance and pray the healer is good? I've seen so many tanks do this in 70 dungeons.

[Jpec07]

Handy guide.

So asking as a WAR beginner, when I get to the point of trash pulling in dungeons do I pull in Defiance and stay there? Or switch to Deliverance and do some AoEs then pop back into tank stance?

Same with bosses, full time tank stance or do most WARs just stay in Deliverance and pray the healer is good? I've seen so many tanks do this in 70 dungeons.

For beginners, I'd recommend sticking in Defiance until they're confident they can tank the boss without losing hate or making the healer work too much harder.

My experience with the Stormblood dungeons has been that it's generally gear-dependent. If you're fresh to 70 and haven't upgraded anything, it's probably better to pull small and stay in Defiance rather than switching to Deliverance. As you gear, though, and as you learn the dungeons, more opportunities will open up for you to switch between Defiance and Deliverance (and since they removed the penalty for switching, there's nothing wrong with experimenting to see if it's a terrible idea - as long as you switch back before doom happens, if it's going to).

Ultimately, it's all about communication and gauging what your group can support.

[Usho]

Fantastic guide Jpec! As someone who has leveled both a tank and healers I think this guide will help a lot of newbie tanks in the long run so they won't end up being baddies, which this game has plenty of.

10/10

[Hruodig]

Handy guide.

So asking as a WAR beginner, when I get to the point of trash pulling in dungeons do I pull in Defiance and stay there? Or switch to Deliverance and do some AoEs then pop back into tank stance?

Same with bosses, full time tank stance or do most WARs just stay in Deliverance and pray the healer is good? I've seen so many tanks do this in 70 dungeons.

A big thing I see lots of wars forgetting is that Defiance offers no additional mitigation. With proper cooldown usage (and good gear), you can go into deliverance on trash pulls and Decimate your heart out with berserk and inner release, with good results. But as with everything, use your own judgement.

For dungeon bosses I exclusively tank them in deliverance after pulling in defiance with tomahawk->equilibrium. If your gear isn't good you might need to use a butcher's block in defiance, but prioritize putting up storm's eye.