Why no one tanks...

[Ryios]

No one tanking is an illusion. It just appears no one tanks due to lack of content and party sizes.

There are 2 party sizes,

4 Man Party: 1 Tank to 3 non Tanks
8 Man Party: 2 Tanks to 6 non Tanks

The problem is that in both of these party sizes, the ratio of tanks to non tanks is the same. It's always 1 tank to 3 non tanks, even in an eight man (because it's doubled).

I really don't know WTH SE was thinking when they thought 4 man and 8 man parties were a good size for parties.

It should be,

6, 12, and 18.

6:
1 Tank
1 Healer
4 DPS

12:
2 Tank
2 Healer
8 DPS

18:
4 Tank
4 Healer
12 DPS

It only appears there are few tanks because right now 4 dps are fighting for the same tank, but with a 6 man party like above all 4 of those dps would be with the 1 tank that the current system causes them to fight over.

So imagine a small party being 6 now. 4 dps would need 1 tank and 1 healer, much better than 4 dps being two 4 man's and each needing a tank and a healer. Then imagine an 8 man, which would now be a 12 man. 8 DPS would need 2 healers and 2 tanks, where as before 4 dps would be two different 8 mans each needing 2 tanks and 2 healers. Now imagine CT, instead of being 24 man, it would be an 18 man (easier to manage just like alliance size in ffxi) and would be 4 tanks and 4 healers to 12 dps. Where as before 12 dps would be 3 separate 8 mans each needing 2 tanks and 2 healers.

Mind you the 18 man alliance would only work if SE didn't segregate them into A, B, and C. And instead threw them all into one party UI.

It's to late for these changes, were stuck with 4 man and 8 mans, they will keep it that way, and we will be complaining about it long after this game dies.

Now take everything I just said and imagine how hard it will be to find a tank when SE releases a new job and it's a non tanking class. It will be FOTM, everyone will want to play it, and no one will want to tank. That basically comes down again to party size. And because everyone wants to play the new jobs, old jobs will get the boot, because there is no room in the party for one or more classes.

You will see Party Finder's like this

Tank, Tank, Sch, WHM, New JOb1, New JOb2, BRD, DRG: and you'll go "But I'm a BLM/MNK/SMN why can't I join? sniff"

Everytime they release new jobs they will flood and people will more or less have to level whatever is considered OP, because there won't be any room in the party for the UP classes and no one will save a spot for anything other than the OP classes, because this community has already proven that it will do whatever is the easiest "E.g. Tree Gltich In AK, Speed Running, T2 Enrage Strat, Double Bards (pre nerf), etc etc etc etc"

Let's also not forget that half the problem with finding people to tank, isn't a problem with tanks, it's a problem with the duty finder. I tank and am IL90 on both warrior and paladin. The only time your going to see me in a Duty Finder que is once a day for roullete's on GuildHeists. I don't need to run any other roullete for myth, I cap myth running BCB, CT, and EM Primals. I have statics for all of that, as do most tanks.

The duty finder is a luxury item. It's there to help you find a group when you can't find one through other means. It's not a rely on feature. It was never meant to replace traditional grouping, it's merely a tool for when traditional grouping isn't happening. (e.g. people are offline, you have no friends, people think your a jerk and won't run with you, etc etc etc).

And the party finder is merely a tool to help people form groups on there server instead of shouting "LF1M Tank, Titan EX, etc etc". Just because you make a group in the party finder doesn't mean someones going to fill it. In fact the other day I sat in troll just talking and running in circles for hours while I cooked dinner and the same PT was i the party finder for 3 hours LF 1 Tank while tanks are just standing around doing nothing. Maybe they just don't want to go to Garuda Ex!

But here's another big problem,

A lot of tanks have everything they need from a fight like Garuda Ex, and they don't need to run it, and have no reason to run it. So why would they join a party finder group to tank it. Sure I would help my FC if they asked me, but I'm not going to spend 100% of my free time helping people I don't know kill something I don't need. But I might want the caster ring for my BLM or alt class. I myself would gladly tank Titan Ex ALLLLLL night Long if I could have a fair shot at the blm earrings. If it's a farm run, people should be greeding gear, not needing it. There will always be someone in the group needing on what I want, as such I run my titan once a week and I'm done with it. I'm not going to spend 3 hours on a Titan Ex Kill for BLM earrings and watcha some BLM roll need on them, why should I?

So people tell me "You want blm gear, go on your BLM" So I do just that. I join a group on my IL80 BLM and sit there while we wait on a tank for 2 hours like everyone else. And there like "Ryios please tank", and I'm like "Are you going to greed on the earrings with me?" and they respond "Nah Im a need those", so I stay on my blm.

Hopefully people can see the above paradox and realize that an alternate looting system really is needed. You want tanks, I want loot on other classes. I can't run on my other classes because I'm needed to tank. What a delimma it is!

No matter how you cut or slice that scenario, someone has to do something they don't want to do. Either I have to tank and not get what I want for my BLM, or they have to greed the earrings, and if they don't greed them "wow, what a chat storm that will turn out to be."

This game needs alternative Loot Modes, and that problem would be solved.

Wow had loot master and free for all loot modes on day 1, how SE could leave out something so basic is beyond me.