Is Tanking Boring?

[Vurtney]

I have been tanking for a long ass time in general and there's one thing that grinds my gear in XIV: the obsession for more DPS. High numbers are great but it never had the same appeal to me as mitigation. The difficulty in this game is all over the place so it's no wonder the community prefers more DPS over, well anything else when there's no need for extra mitigation or healing. It doesn't help that tanks and healers, due to job system, are stuck in a limbo between pseudo dps and main role (main role my ass)

I enjoy tanking in this game. I don't enjoy being pressured into a DPS role when it's not the reason i play a tank to begin with. There's a time and place for everyone in a raid to push DPS but when it's all that matters, there's a fundamental problem in the game design (holy trinity)

Edit: Sometimes i see people in my FC complaining and laughing at random tanks doing X DPS and i just want to say something really bad at them just out of spite.

Edit 2: I think S-E was right on the money with Coil when it came to mitigation, healing and DPS requirements. Shame it went downhill during and after Alex regarding raid design philosophy in this game.

[Izsha]

I have been tanking for a long ass time in general and there's one thing that grinds my gear in XIV: the obsession for more DPS. High numbers are great but it never had the same appeal to me as mitigation. The difficulty in this game is all over the place so it's no wonder the community prefers more DPS over, well anything else when there's no need for extra mitigation or healing. It doesn't help that tanks and healers, due to job system, are stuck in a limbo between pseudo dps and main role (main role my ass)

I enjoy tanking in this game. I don't enjoy being pressured into a DPS role when it's not the reason i play a tank to begin with. There's a time and place for everyone in a raid to push DPS but when it's all that matters, there's a fundamental problem in the game design (holy trinity)

Edit: Sometimes i see people in my FC complaining and laughing at random tanks doing X DPS and i just want to say something really bad at them just out of spite.

Edit 2: I think S-E was right on the money with Coil when it came to mitigation, healing and DPS requirements. Shame it went downhill during and after Alex regarding raid design philosophy in this game.

I wouldn't say it 'went downhill'. In 2.0 players were bad. Tanks often wore full parry gear because most people honestly thought it was good, not because it was ACTUALLY good. Back before there were parsers, stat weights (though those have been replaced by better means too) people just fumbled around and took shots in the dark on how to play. Stance dancing didn't exist. Coordination between party members was bad. Damage was a complete unknown.

We didn't have the knowledge we do now. World 1st groups trash new raids in a matter of hours or days because we understand how to play better. The 1st few raids took significantly longer to clear for world 1st and regular groups because we were ignorant and bad. SE upped the DPS requirements in alex, but dropped them right back down for sigma/delta. The fights today have really, really low bars for DPS relative to what players can actually achieve. The playerbase just got better and Turtle Tanks got left behind.

This to me was more a result of the golden age of a new MMO. The 1st couple patches when everything is new, everyone is bad, and no one knows anything. Vanilla WoW. FFXI at JP (and again at NA) release. FFXIV 2.X. The early days are always played completely differently because people don't understand the game well enough to optimize. Over time these fresh experiences and innovative times fizzle out because theres no innovation when the game is unpacked and analyzed. It just steadily marches towards optimization.

[Kabooa]

The 1st few raids took significantly longer to clear for world 1st and regular groups because we were ignorant and bad..

I'd argue it was because mechanics were obscure AF.

Notice how Fireball from Twintania hasn't made a return, or Dive Bombs are now only in uniform areas as well as the starting point clearly telegraphed? Boss Arenas are strictly circular or Square and flat?

[Shurrikhan]

I'd argue it was because mechanics were obscure AF.

Notice how Fireball from Twintania hasn't made a return, or Dive Bombs are now only in uniform areas as well as the starting point clearly telegraphed? Boss Arenas are strictly circular or Square and flat?

They weren't any more difficult to follow, however, than any other form of stack symbol or non-indicated linear AoE made since, however. They could as easily have made fireball the stack marker we typically see today; they simply opted for something a bit more obvious due to both added size and therein room for appendable arrow elements to indicate directionality. The returning charge on the chariot fight of Rab, while insignificant, also follows the same linear AoE pattern without any zonal indicator. There's also a large difference between no zonal indicator and "not clearly telegraphed". At most, T9 experienced the latter. Twin's dives were straightforward.

Personally I hugely miss the idea of an arena not necessarily being perfectly square or circular.