Opinions: Should tanks work for aggro?

[Ricola]

I wonder what does make tanking fun, i've tanked everything in this game; and boss position isn't really difficult, considering alot of bosses are either big so dont move, or start to teleport back to the middle when they do moves. And if you can move the boss, 8/10 times its just holding them in place and standing there; until the rare times you have to move them for a mechanic. (But typically when that happens, the entire party moves anyway). Is boss positioning really a highlight on tanking?

[Lyth]

Is boss positioning really a highlight on tanking?

Positioning and movement is a central part of tanking in most games. The problem with FFXIV is that mobs generally cannot activate abilities while moving. Even for simple abilities like cleaves, mobs generally have a brief period of animation lock that becomes noticeable if you're backpedalling while tanking. It's a bit of a strange programming limitation, especially when even ancient games like Warcraft never had issues like this even 16 years ago. That's also coupled with a historical exploit in which spinning mobs prevented them from activating abilities. It's not even that the development team don't know how to design tanking mechanics; the present animation locks limit them from doing so even if they knew how.

DDR shouldn't be confused with tank positioning mechanics, either. Both tanks and melee dps do the similar DDR. For tank positioning/movement to be a unique experience, you need responsive mobs that move easily, with quick cleaves that can happen while moving to ensure that the tank orientates the mob properly. Mob movement in this game feels like molasses half the time, and the other half they ignore your positioning and the fight is the equivalent of a rail shooter.