Tanking looks Intimidating.

[Ogrumz]

I want to try it after I get my black mage to 50, and get him comfortably geared. But it looks so intimidating. I know tanking normal dungeons won't be hard, but the whole idea of raid tanking seems scary.

I heard a few friends just rail into tanks that didn't seem to be doing good. When I asked them if they asked the tank if they knew how the fight or something they said they didn't ask. Even if you research a fight, you still don't -know- it until you experience it. Then if you mess up you will wipe, then the drama comes.

I am really not expecting to raid tank past hard mode primals (I don't think or know if I'd ever be good enough for that), but I don't want to just get my paladin to 50 and never play it. Is it worth attempting to go through the intimidating factor or not?

[Mikedizzy]

I felt exactly the same as you did. I am leveling PLD to 50 now (currently at 40) and I struggled at first in the beginning. It is very overwhelming until you get the hang of it. I suggest running the dungeons in order and multiple times each...okay lots each. You get better as you play more and more. I have gotten pretty good now and I am very comfortable. I am still nervous about doing some of the harder content as I now approach 50. I suggest PLD over WAR because it is easier and that is a safe general consensus from the community. NOTE: Flash is your friend...use it a lot and at the right time...you when learn when that is as you play.

[Masenken]

Tanks are as hard headed as their role, but generally amicable at that. The job doesn't change no matter how many people are on the field, whether holding down the fort with three or 23 other players, your role won't change much. The dungeons all serve to teach how to tank and move according to the situation.

It's not as daunting as it may appear. People are going to talk crap no matter what role you play. Only thing it really requires on your part is a change in mindset that yeah, you're protecting other players, but you're also one mean SoB and can take it

[Ooshima]

Tanking is indeed not an easy job, I've also always feared as tanking. But I guess as every other job, it does need practice.

Got my PLD to 50 last week. I think as long as you know what your tools are and leveled quite a little throughout all the dungeons, you should be basically fine. For me I've played as tank past all HM Primals for the completion of relic quest and took on CT and Haukke Manor HM without a sweat as a newbie tank. Planning to gear up and play the 2 other HM dungeons before making an attempt at Ultima HM, then diving into EM tanking.

[Inflorescence]

It's totally worth trying, at least! After the first few dungeons, you'll find out if you really like it or not. And the only qualifying factor for it will be whether you're having fun or not.

There's nothing to worry about with people yelling at you. At best, they'll teach you how to be better. At worst, they're just blue words. You'll learn what you're doing wrong, and you'll get better with every run of every dungeon. As a BLM, you know when you screwed up a GCD, don't you? Playing a tank is no different in that sense.

[Masenken]

Protip: do not FATE grind! At least not for main exp

[Axlle10]

Protip: do not FATE grind! At least not for main exp

not really a protip as fate grinding has 0 to do with someone learning their class. i fated with my pld to 50, ran a 50 dungeon with my fc and only lost aggro to boss once (because our bard popped all cd's without quelling strikes just to piss me off) but other than that fates CAN teach you how to play your class if your willing to see that they are not just a pew pew pew event.

[Ooshima]

not really a protip as fate grinding has 0 to do with someone learning their class. i fated with my pld to 50, ran a 50 dungeon with my fc and only lost aggro to boss once (because our bard popped all cd's without quelling strikes just to piss me off) but other than that fates CAN teach you how to play your class if your willing to see that they are not just a pew pew pew event.

Not exactly. I leveled my PLD in a mix of FATE and Dungeon, and all I can say is FATE, single boss type may give you some practice in holding hate but it doesn't really teach you the more important thing of mitigation and how to manage your CDs. In FATE you have crap load of healers to top you up that you literally can just sit there and do nothing once you have established enough hate. But in dungeons you will learn and actually dodge and manage mechanics and actually think of when to use your CD and how to manage them in rotations, you'll learn how to anticipate big damage coming in and pop the necessary CDs.

[Axlle10]

Not exactly. I leveled my PLD in a mix of FATE and Dungeon, and all I can say is FATE, single boss type may give you some practice in holding hate but it doesn't really teach you the more important thing of mitigation and how to manage your CDs. In FATE you have crap load of healers to top you up that you literally can just sit there and do nothing once you have established enough hate. But in dungeons you will learn and actually dodge and manage mechanics and actually think of when to use your CD and how to manage them in rotations, you'll learn how to anticipate big damage coming in and pop the necessary CDs.

and when you dont have healers? guessing youve never done a fate with less that 6-7 people. its basically a mini dungeon if you are all in a party. yes, when you just do the well known fates you dont learn as much. but there again lies looking at it less as a pew pew instance and more of an opportunity to learn. And really CD rotations dont really come into play until endgame or very close to it. And those you would still have to figure out when you get there or read a guide to know when and what to pop.

[Ooshima]

and when you dont have healers? guessing youve never done a fate with less that 6-7 people. its basically a mini dungeon if you are all in a party. yes, when you just do the well known fates you dont learn as much. but there again lies looking at it less as a pew pew instance and more of an opportunity to learn. And really CD rotations dont really come into play until endgame or very close to it. And those you would still have to figure out when you get there or read a guide to know when and what to pop.

Yes I've done enough FATEs and sometimes I'm in a party with only 4 people.

Maybe I'm just lucky. When I leveled by PLD, there are many times the FATE party I've joined doesn't even have a healer. But when I MTed FATEs like Svara/Roc of Ages/Saint's Wake, there are lots of other party's healers healing me and throwing me stokeskins too.

Maybe your personal experience is different, but for me I don't feel I've learned much from FATEs (not say nothing at all, but maybe not a lot and really significant).