7 Reasons You Should Be Nicer to Tanks (And People in General)

[Makior72]

I approve this thread. I have personally only had a couple people yell at me while tanking, but if they get rude enough I like to employ one of my tanking rules.... if you are mean to me for no real reason, and you pull a mob off me, its yours. Though I must point out I only do this in cases of extreme verbal abuse.

[Shinebox]

DPS can never do wrong in this game.

[Noahlimits]

Are you really that polite when you say those things?

And is that really the response you get usually?

Really?

Yes, that's how I state it. I did, however, generalize their response. You also get "DON'T TELL ME HOW TO DO MY JOB", and "YOU SHOULD ALL KNOW WHAT TO ATTACK, NUMBERING IS FOR NOOBS".

However, I'll usually use more casual lingo; example: You don't have warrior/pal, do you know how or need halp?

Since this happens on almost a daily occurrence I'll screen shot next time for posterity (considering this thread is still around).

[TeganLaron]

Are you really that polite when you say those things?

And is that really the response you get usually?

Really?

I can't speak for if he/she really says that, but they are the sort of responses I get too. When I once asked a tank to mark the targets (and yes I said please) he said I must have downs syndrome if I can't tell the targets apart.

And considering the OP's line "DPS 1: Another noob tank lol go back to Africa (I made that Africa thing up, but he was probably a racist so it's fair)" These sort of bizarre unnecessary insults seem to be a trend.

[Trancery]

Jack Macallen, I love your posts. Your writing style is great and you make a lot of great points. It's the way you do it that makes these threads so entertaining to read. They are informative while also being quite funny.

On topic, being a healer when I find a good tank I tend to stick with him like a pit bull on a poodle. No homo intended, but I'm in firm belief that a good healer needs a good tank and good tank needs a good healer. The dps are great but they can usually be filled with x variables since there are so many to choose from.

Tank AND Healer are usually thankless jobs and the first ones to blame when things go wrong. However, tanks need healers and we (healers) need you (tanks).

Also, the person who posted after you has a point as well. Some tanks are outright assholes on this game. It is because they are self-entitled and since the queue is nothing for them they get to hold the group hostage.

[StarMarmot]

Also having played a lot of these kinds of games, I barely ever see the sort of insults people say are so frequent. Sure, I've seen it. Maybe once every other month? I run into tanks that do a massive amount of slip-ups, DPS and healers that stand in every AOE and yet the vast majority of groups are just silent. Personally I don't think I've ever had anyone be rude to me, ever. The most uncomfortable DF experience I've had was when the DRG we had started hitting on our Miqo'te healer, convinced it was a girl.

In any case, the problem isn't non-existant, even if I don't think it's worth all the fuss it's getting. Also for all I know I could be having some sort of astronomical luck avoiding it, or my rock hard manly psyche just filters it out. For this reason I must say the OP contains some sensible points and also that it has a lovely tone.

[Nonlinear314]

This is a silly thread. When I'm not tanking, all I see in DF is cowards who are afraid to call out the tank because they waited in a queue and so they walk on eggshells and don't say anything while bad tank goes around being bad. If a tank sucks, does stuff like pull with sprint and provoke, doesn't mark and offers bad strats then the tank will be called out on it by yours truly.

Too many tanks act like divas because they get instant queues when most of them don't have the skills to back up their attitude.

[PSxpert2011]

Uhhhgggg! can you please highlight the important points. TEXTWALLs no thanks!

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EDIT: I took the time to highlight the main point to tanking respect, ethical manners.

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7. You Can't Relate...The point is, regardless of whether you / we think that's difficult, you still aren't a tank so you're not doing it. Sometimes it can be challenging. Occasionally, depending on gear differences, regen (which should be removed) and people incapable of targeting in order of mark numbers, it can be hell.

That being said, unless you're a level 50 tank in FFXIV you have no idea what it requires of us given that provoke is emergency only, flash is garbage sauce and against high DPS or an OCD healer, we're constantly watching the threat meters and hoping that last Rage of Halone drops before the Monk wielding Orphan Blood Knuckles of Soul Slaughter steals aggro and things spiral out of control, you have no idea what we're dealing with.

6. Other MMOs are Different....

Point is, even if your level 147 Runecraft Polygon Paladin (that's a thing, right?) was exceptionally good at holding aggro and determining the success of the group's survival, that doesn't apply here. So stop talking about other MMOs. Only I can do that - because I have a point and you don't.
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5. We're Trying
I'd consider myself a pretty solid tank. It's a thankless job but I've gotten more praise and props than I received in other MMOs perhaps because other tanks out there are struggling much harder than I am, or my group is drunk and they're trying to compliment the healer. People can be downright abusive at times, which is borderline retarded considering the dude is probably doing his best to keep things formulaic and consistent. If a tank blows a pull, loses threat, or eats an AOE when he's not supposed to, give him the opportunity to apologize or correct his mistakes (maybe with your advice) before threatening to dropkick his grandmother into a lake. ...

4. Learning Curve? You Go to Hell
Some tanks are new. ...

Some tanks like to dig in, discover mechanics on their own, and learn as they go. Or, God forbid, ask people for guidance. Which apparently is the most upsetting and insulting thing anyone has ever heard ever. Here's a somewhat paraphrased occurrence I experienced as a Healer in AV:

Tank: Should I tank him near where he's standing?
DPS 1: OH F***
DPS 2: lol
Me: Yeah, face him away from the party and stand close to the fruit.
DPS 1: Another noob tank lol go back to Africa (I made that Africa thing up, but he was probably a racist so it's fair)

Oddly enough, we totally died. That first DPS went on an absolute tirade. Something about the tank's parents dying in a car accident. I don't know. I was too busy wondering why the game still doesn't have a kick command and consoling the tank. After the DPS was done berating the guy into the ground, all he said was "sry trying" and stopped typing.

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3. So Make a Tank... When you decided to make a DPS, or a Healer you also decided to opt out of being a tank. Why? Maybe you like parsing your damage and knowing that boss is dying because you damn well decided you want him dead. Maybe you perceive being a healer as a pet class where everyone in your party is a mindless thug sent to slaughter your enemies (that's kind of how I play my healer). Or maybe you just avoided being a tank, because tanking can be hard and having the entire party relying on you executing with precision sounds a lot less enticing than facerolling a primal boss into oblivion. And I don't blame you. One of the reasons I made a tank in my early MMO days was because so many people were terrible at it. But it kind of stuck, and I've been tanking dudes ever since. ...

2. We're a Dying Breed
This is the logic that accompanies every complaint regarding the duty finder. Step one, complain about duty finder queue times. Step two, have a queue pop then proceed to brutally attack the tank you've been looking for for the last forty five minutes. Keep doing that. Eventually, you'll have to wait for two weeks because all of the tanks are tired of your crap. I mean, it's doubtful, because there are plenty of us tanks that take the heat and keep plowing through trying to improve, or just laugh off petty attacks and grow thick skin. But the point is plenty of people have retired as tanks because their friendly companions hit a hell of a lot harder than the boss does, and it's not fun anymore. It's a little tough to concern yourself with saving the same guy that tells you to die of cancer because you lost threat for three seconds on a violent fish.

1. You Can See Our Mistakes
I saved the best for last, of course. And if you walk away from this article with anything it should be this one. A tank is exposed. Like a strip-wait, I don't want to get banned again. Like one of those dreams where you're naked in front of a thousand people and giving a dissertation on Oedipus and his mother. We've all had that dream. Right? Wait, right?

Thing is, we can totally see your mistakes too. No one yells at you for eating an AOE, unless it's a catalyst in a bigger wipe like on Titan HM. And you think no one's watching when you were healing your fairy instead of the tank for the last ten seconds because you're watching House of Cards on Netflix and Kevin Spacey is too dreamy (gross) to tear your eyes away. If tanks made a lot of the trivial mistakes DPS or Healers do with even slight frequency, you'd definitely notice, because you'd be clicking on that glowing shortcut - which by the way, really needs some work.

It's easy to criticize someone when they have the balls or audacity - in some cases - to take up motorcross racing when the closest thing you've come to motorcross is driving to the store at 2am fueled by whiskey and false security to pick up more pizza pockets. But no one yells at you when you're driving drunk as long as you get away with it and no one finds out. Which is a luxury we don't have.

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Mad Macallan

[Ebon_Drake]

Although I will say the tanks I will not be nice to..

Was running Halatali last night on my puggel, the tank is marking but it's obvious he doesn't know the dungeon. I'm going along with him because he's doing "ok" and I'm cool with that. I suggest small things like "do the imps first before the doctors that way you're healer wont have to heal as much and they go down fast", "there's a chest over here", "you need to tank the lightning boss out of the water and over here on the ramp so melee can get to it easily and you're not in the water when it electrocutes" etc.. I'm trying to be helpful and not rude.

Tank AFKs for about 5 minutes after the second boss without saying a word and I'm left flirting with the Miqo'te Mage, Finally I'm like "Tank? Coming?" to which he shouts, "I WAS DOING SOMETHING, JESUS, ONE MORE OUTBURST AND YOU CAN TANK THIS GOD D*** DUNGEON YOURSELF"

I reply, "cool man, you just quit.. I'll exit out, queue my paladin to this dungeon with "in progress" checked and come finish it for these people, I've done it countless times before and it works like a charm."

he replys, "lol yea ok, you're such a child" and then continues to tank the rest of the dungeon without saying a word..

I'm trying to be nice, but you're a person just like I am, just like the healer is, and just like the DPS is. I have a tank higher level than you that I can quit out and queue up "in progress" with and finish this dungeon properly. DPS will join in before I can even make it back in with my tank, so don't pull that "kiss my ass or I'll leave" BS.. it doesn't fly.

[TeganLaron]

However, tanks need healers and we (healers) need you (tanks).

This is spot on, which is why it's so frustrating when the tank refuses to co-operate. Of course DPS are needed too, but the tank and the healer are almost linked together. I keep you alive, you keep enemies off of me. Then while we're doing that the DPS kill everything. If only it was that simple. *sigh*