FFXIV Sword & Board Tanking: A Different Kind of Beast (Long)

[Zakalwe]

Note: This isn’t written for tanks in this game, but for everyone who does *not* play tanks here but is used to tanking conventions in other games. Also, this posting refers to enmity issues in on-level content and do not take into consideration special circumstances such as speed runs when grossly over-geared or where the mechanics of a specific fight call for out-of-the-ordinary approaches. Finally, this is not a general how-to-tank guide, but is a commentary on why Final Fantasy XIV Paladin tanking is so different from typical sword and board tanking in other games. Also note that while this piece focuses on Paladins, Warriors share many of the same issues though they have superior aoe aggro skills whereas Paladins dish out stronger single target aggro.

Glossary: Enmity = Aggro = Hate = Threat (more or less)

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So, you’ve played WOW, Rift, LOTRO, whatever, maybe even tanked in one or two of them, and you’re now playing a healer or damage dealer in FFIXV and tanking all looks so familiar.

There’s the Paladin, a bread-and-butter, sword-and-board mitigation tank that lumbers along and can take a beating and keep on ticking. Check.

There’s the Warrior, a, um… Blood tank? Self-healing tank? Evasion tank? (Not trying to be cute, I only have my Warrior to lvl35.) Check? Well, while I look forward to learning war-tanking soon, as I’m enjoying its play so far and have mained this type of tank in another game, I still can’t say I know it well.

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Ok, Duty Finder dings, cut scene’s over and the jellyfish cocoon evaporates. Hi, glad to meet you, oh, you’re from Adamantoise too? Healer buffs, DPS gets antsy, tank starts grunting, and off you go. First mob group ahead. Tank sprinkles some numbering magic, pulls and the hate monitor shows all three mobs red hot on the tank. Mobs don’t like the treatment they are getting and start pounding on the tank, the healer starts healing, and damage dealers start dealing damage. Then pow! Healer’s down, tank is desperately trying to reestablish aggro, one DPSer is tanking a mob in place and the other is running around with his hair on fire.

Wipe, fade to black. Fail tank, obviously. I mean, right?

Well, I would say yes if this were almost any other modern mmorpg. But you know what? It’s not.

Before looking at FFXIV tanking, let’s think about what happens after the pull in your other typical mmo. In AcmeMMO the tank uses a ranged skill (1) to pull mobs. When they arrive he blasts them with an aoe forced taunt (2) that gives him fake aggro for 5 seconds. During that time, no one can pull a mob off of him, but when those 5 seconds are up, if the tank has done nothing else, all the fake aggro goes away. So the tank uses that time to launch a fast combination of strong aoe and single target aggro builders (3).

At this point, aggro is in good shape and DPS is going strong. As needed, healers are healing away with abandon. If it’s a longish fight and damage and healing aggro continue to build, the tank will start making a lot more use of aggro leech (4) skills that simultaneously reduce aggro on team mates and apply it on himself.

Oops, a Hunter with his new +1 Epic Bow of Amazing Awesomeness beats the RNG and lands a critical holocaust hit with Thunderstorm of Thorns and two mobs peel away. The tank immediately uses his big long-cooldown threat copy (5) skill that puts him 1 point ahead of whoever has the most hate on any of the mobs he’s fighting (if only one had pulled away he would have used his shorter-cooldown single-target threat copy skill). The fighting continues; the good guys win.

Yippee, all mobs dead, and all aggro building and maintaining work was done by the tank.

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Now, back to Final Fantasy. First thing to know is there is no forced taunt. A tank has no way of forcing a bunch of mobs to stick on him for 5 seconds while he applies massive aggro builders that get the mobs good and locked for the rest of the fight. While we’re at it, well, the Paladin doesn’t have any fast single-target or massive aoe aggro builders either. And though he does have a one threat copy skill, it applies to only one mob and it’s on a separate longish cooldown. Finally, no tanks in this game have an aggro leech of any kind.

Here’s what your trusty Paladin tank *does* have (the first three share the global cooldown, the fourth has its own longer cooldown):
- A nice pull skill, Shield Lob, that applies modest enmity to a single target and also pulls in any associated mobs.
- A weak but quick aoe threat builder called Flash. It has nearly zero range, so mobs have to be almost on top of the tank for it to apply.
- A 3-part single-target enmity-builder skill sequence, often called the Rage of Halone combo, named after skill #3 in the sequence. The first hit does no aggro other than light damage. The second hit applies moderate aggro. The third hit applies strong aggro.
- A single-target, ranged threat-copy skill, Provoke, which is amazing for pulling back a mob that got away, but due to its cooldown can typically only be used once or twice a fight. And that’s it.

A generic multi-mob fight in FFXIV goes something like this:

Macho Tank marks the mobs 1-2-3 then Lobs his Shield at #1 (ouch! that got the mob’s attention and he tells his friends). Then when they come give the guy what for, he Flashes them all (eeek!). This gives target #1 moderate enmity from the Lob and the Flash, and targets #2-3 very light enmity just from the Flash.

He then begins the Rage of Halone single-target triple combo, either pounding all 3 hits on target #1 or maybe sharing some of the loving with target #2. As he is doing this, Karl Kapow and Suzie Zaps begin unleashing on target #1. When Macho is finished with the first visitation of St. Halone he Flashes again. Now the first target really really hates “It’s Mr. Tank to you!” and the opinions of the other two mobs range between kinda disliking him and vowing never to marry his sister. Target #1 should also now be feeling pretty under-the-weather and Healz R’us is starting to serve some piping hot chicken soup for her man Macho, who has himself looked better. For the second application of Halone, Macho might shift his steel-like gaze to #2 and #3 (splitting the sequence) as #1 is breathing his last breath. Macho then keeps up with his Halones and maybe a few Flashs too until the evil triumvirate is no more.

If Kapow and Zaps were laying down aoe damage, Macho would have been spreading out his vindictives more evenly on the three mobs rather than front loading quite as much on #1. If Kapow makes a mistake and hits the wrong marked target pulling him, or lucks out with a massive crit, or if Healz does the same (or, *shudder* overheals), a mob might peel off. Macho then Provokes it something awful, followed by another Shield to the head, and the mob should come slavering right back.

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So in Final Fantasy XIV, the mobs are just as dead but the tank doesn’t own aggro management in the same way he does in AcmeMMO. To get to this same good outcome DPS and heals need to hold off a little more at the start, healers must not overheal (I have never seen such insane healing aggro as in this game, particularly for White Mages), and DPS must stay on the numbered sequence of targets (in many other mmos, staying on the numbers or the target assist is important to do, but for damage management not aggro management).

In other words, aggro is much more a full team responsibility and not just the tank’s “job.” Unlike other mmos I’ve played, a determined DPSer or healer can just about always pull hate if they really want it.

Let’s go back to the original wipe. Any number of things could have gone wrong. The tank might not have Flashed at the beginning, leaving essentially no aggro on mobs #2-3. Or he might only have been using single-target enmity skills on #1 alone for a couple of rotations, leaving #2 and #3 untouched with the Halone combo. So yes, it might have been a poor or inexperienced tank. However, it is just as likely that the DPSers started hitting too soon or were not on the first marked target. Or, perhaps, the healer wanted to feel like she was contributing early on (even though there was virtually no damage yet to heal) and started spamming massive healing skills.

In this game, the tanks have no “I Own Aggro” button, like they do in other modern mmos. The Paladin faces harder – often frantic – work, but it is a fun challenge. And when a group really jells, with everyone playing their part, not just in the Holy Trinity but in their niche of aggro management, dungeoning can be a sheer joy.

[Alerith]

As a Paladin:

[Single Target (like a Primal)]: Shield Lob when in range, Spirits Within as you run through your target, then Shield Lob again as you come out to the back of where they are. Now your healers and DD have to fight against all the damage you did, plus the augmented enmity from Shield Lob. This is more than enough to lock in Hate and get your first Rage of Halone Combo off.

[Multi-Target (Like a trash pull)]: Shield Lob your primary target. When all other targets are in range, use Flash, Circle of Scorn, Flash, Spirits Within your main target, then Flash again. Now begin your usual combo. The Flashes will give you the buffer you need.

In this game, the tanks have no “I Own Aggro” button

I need no such button. I always own aggro.

[Wobi]

This would apply early on before you get decent tank abilities. Before Rage of Halone hate is not exactly easy if the party won't cooperate with you, however later on this becomes less of an issue.
But solid advice and always try and offer friendly advice in the earlier battles as it will be their first time tanking something other than a couple of leve mobs at most.

[bobosaur]

As Warrior:

Spam Overpower

[Zfz]

Most of the time when aggro trouble occur, it is due to a combination of multiple of these factors:

1. Tank is using a weapon at least 20 item levels below the damage dealer (DD) who over-taunts (OT).
2. Tank is 2 or more levels under the DD.
3. One of the DD is applying area of effect (AoE) damage, while the other is focus firing. Or they each pick a target and unload.
4. DD doesn't stop after OTing.

Although lately I've seen more and more Relic+1 DDers finally learning to watch the enmity meter. Just yesterday I ran into a Bard who started very slow and gradually upped his damage. The first pack he was dealing like 20% enmity all the time, the next pack at 50%, then 75% or so. (I only have Ifrit weapon and 3*DL.) So I suppose people are finally realizing that while this looks like a whatever-clone-game, not everything is the same as other games.

[RhoddODduw]

Rule Number one for any high level tank, Always.. ALWAYS remove regen before you pull a group of mobs.

I've been noticing more and more lately, Regen happy spamming white mages running through Amdapur Keep. When you pull that group with it still active, the whm immediately has enmity on the whole group. I've had some crazy pulls when I've forgotten to remove, or not noticed it active.

"Save a White Mage, Right click Regen!!"

[Steeled]

In most situations, if the healer is dying before anyone else, the tank probably did something wrong.

Healers need to try not to have any hots on anyone as the tank is pulling. They also need to try not to land a cast (like stoneskin) as the tank is charging in. Letting the tank get initial threat is everyone's responsibility, but after that, if the healer is dying before the tank, the tank probably screwed up (not generating enough aoe agro). In MOST situations, flash generates more hate than a healer will generate.

Of course, none of this relates to scholars playing SCHummoner, because they're straddling DD at that point.

I haven't done coil yet, but before coil, the only fight I've ever helplessly lost hate to a healer is Titan Hard-Mode.

[Shenandoah]

Rule Number one for any high level tank, Always.. ALWAYS remove regen before you pull a group of mobs.

This XD although I noticed some WHMs cast regen then immediately medica II for more regen as soon as I shield lob a mob. I guess they want to stack double regen so they can run in and dps/holy or something lol.

[Aegis]

I need no such button. I always own aggro.

*BLM looks up briefly from the pack of mobs he is tanking*

LOL

*goes back to tanking*

As Warrior:

Spam Overpower

What you want to do as Warrior:
Spam cool, sexy moves with lots of spinning and big hits keeping hate on you through damage alone (What happened to you Steel Cyclone? You used to be cool).

What you do as a Warrior:
Tomahawk, Overpower, Overpower, Overpower, cycle Butcher's Block combo among the pack.

If you have the breathing room to anything other than Butcher's Block, the chances are your DD aren't the best.

[zakalw3]

So, you're the one who stole my username.