Tank Stance Redesign

[Marxam]

So TLDR: OP wants to turn tank stances into a what healers have with cleric stance? No thanks.

The fact that people regard tank stances as "useless" in the first place is mostly due to the game design. Boss fights have tank buster intervals at set times with auto-attacks and/or fluff damage in between. So it is easy to predict when you need to use a cd and how to rotate between them. If bosses started using tank busters every 30 seconds suddenly you see the value in staying in a tank stance for that mitigation, and healers will have to focus more on keeping the tank alive. A hyperbolic example to say the least but damage in this game is so negligible outside of tankbusters I'm not surprised that people don't see the value of tank stance anymore. There is also the fact that shirk changed the game where as you need to be in tank stance to get enmity now you don't since the OT can just give you their enmity.

I personally see no problem with the current way of how the tank stances primary functions work, one dealing enmity and one dealing damage, outside of the lack of creativity. I mean DRK/PLD stances are just constant rampart buffs with damage penalty. WAR got lucky with the creativity but just because you don't use tank stances as often doesn't mean its useless. There is a reason why WAR always pulls with Defiance Unchained because enmity is still important and the recent 4.41 blm buffs are no joke with a pro blm. The devs created this problem, not the players.

[ArianeEwah]

So TLDR: OP wants to turn tank stances into a what healers have with cleric stance? No thanks.

How did you get that misimpression? How is a simple weak, short duration damage buff equal to an actual stance?

The fact that people regard tank stances as "useless" in the first place is mostly due to the game design. [...] There is also the fact that shirk changed the game where as you need to be in tank stance to get enmity now you don't since the OT can just give you their enmity.

First, yes the game design makes the current tank stances "useless" and undesireable, and are hands down worthless and punishing. That's why I think a redesign for tank stance is a must. It should be used by tanks who are currently tanking and shouldn't lose any DPS because they are tanking. Give every tank stance a gimmick that would make it worth using them.

e.g. DRK just used their Blood Weapon burst (end), turn on tank stance for x MP (no GCD), turn on Blood Price, gain x MP over time (by being hit), Blood Weapon ready? -> turn off tank stance and burst. Do same DPS as OT DRK, but gain additional mitigation.
(Unfortunately, right now that is not possible on boss fights 'cause Blood Price restores almost no MP vs single target, or MP cost for Grit needs to get tuned down.)
A full time Grit DRK deals less DPS than a full time no-Grit DRK, but a no-Grit DRK takes more damage. With a redesign, I hope to achieve that a skilled stance-dacing DRK would deal the same DPS as a full time no-Grit DRK, but take less damage because he would actually use tank stance.
Utilizing both stances should be rewarded, not punished.

Second, Shirk is a tool for tank switches. True, you boost the enmity of the one currently tanking, but enmity vs DPS/healer neither is nor was a problem without Shirk. In HW WAR's Butchers Block combo used to have the best damage (gain), and PLD's highest DPS combo also had Savage Blade as part of that combo. Only DRK had struggles because they didn't had any enmity skills that dealt high(er) damage, yet there was almost always a NIN. (Or voked from a WAR, they generated an enormous amount of enmity)