[Discussion and Feedback] Incoming damage vs. Utility

[RitsukoSonoda]

When I've done the alliance raid minimum item level, we actually had to do tank swaps for it. I vaguely remember this happening when I did it back in ARR or Heavensward too.

Swapping was one way to deal with it. Trials back then also created a necessity for tank swapping as well due to stacking debuffs generated by the boss.

[Absurdity]

Swapping was one way to deal with it. Trials back then also created a necessity for tank swapping as well due to stacking debuffs generated by the boss.

Not just trials back then. I remember tank swapping simply because my co-tank still had all their defensives, and I would've had to either swap to Defiance or pray, as late as Stormblood.

It was really only with Shadowbringers that this started to shift heavily. Bosses started doing so little tank damage and busters were so spaced out that the "main" tank could cover every attack with just their own cooldowns.
Which is why a lot of bosses nowadays either give a vuln up debuff to force a swap or put a buster on both tanks, because otherwise the "off" tank would just be sitting on their defensives the entire fight.

[RitsukoSonoda]

Not just trials back then. I remember tank swapping simply because my co-tank still had all their defensives, and I would've had to either swap to Defiance or pray, as late as Stormblood.

It was really only with Shadowbringers that this started to shift heavily. Bosses started doing so little tank damage and busters were so spaced out that the "main" tank could cover every attack with just their own cooldowns.
Which is why a lot of bosses nowadays either give a vuln up debuff to force a swap or put a buster on both tanks, because otherwise the "off" tank would just be sitting on their defensives the entire fight.

IMO the overall gameplay was far more engaging back then. Tank stance wasn't just an aggro on/off button, positioning mattered because various trash mobs and bosses had instant AoE or splash attacks, Knowing the proper time and place to use things like cleric stance or blood for blood (which many DRG never figured out hence the floor tank meme), Many bosses had more involved mechanics, some duties and boss fights had environmental mechanics, etc...

Duties weren't as much of a homogenized cookie cutter like they are now where every enemy and boss now declares and telegraphs it's special attacks 10 seconds before actually doing them.