Tanking looks Intimidating.

[Atreides]

I main a i77 Warrior and just finished getting my monk to 50, and let me tell you...

...what a difference!

I know I missed a positional attack, did anyone else? No. I know I wasn't attacking #1 that time? Did anyone care? No.

With that said, tanking will make you better at any class. A good tank has a reason for almost anything they do. Whether it's positioning for optimal dps from a monk or dragoon, to inflicting dots and debuffs because they watch the agro meters. Once you understand the minor details from a tanks point of view, you understand every role a little better.

I not saying you need to tank to be good at your role, I'm just saying looking at the field from the other side of the fence can offer some insight. Being a GOOD tank is not as easy as it looks.

I was actually thinking it's the exact opposite.
Being a Monk main gives me the advantage that I know exactly how to position a boss for the melees to be able to go all out without taking too much risk/damage because I know where I would want the mob placed with minimal movement involved because that would be a DPS loss too.
Many tanks seem to fail doing so.

[Zakalwe]

If I were to play paladin, do I -have- to level White mage to 34 for stoneskin? While I don't mind (I almost always play a healer in MMOs, but since I am playing this one alone I wanted to try something different), I rather not have to dedicate more time leveling other jobs if I don't need to.

I've got both Gladiator and Marauder to 22 and can't decide yet.

Yes, it is the most useful cross class skill.

[Zakalwe]

Gear is actually the part I am having problem with. Nothing is dropping for me in dungeons, and everything is mega expensive on the server!

Don't forget to check out GC gear. It is very good, with nice set bonuses. And you are only spending GC seals, not gil.

[inkuzen]

snip
I not saying you need to tank to be good at your role, I'm just saying looking at the field from the other side of the fence can offer some insight. Being a GOOD tank is not as easy as it looks.

I completely agree, but I think this is also pretty true of all roles. I main tanking roles in all MMOs I play and thinking about the battlefield from other's perspectives helps me tank better and understand the battlefield more on all fronts. Switching to DPS, I understand what the healer is watching and how the tank is handling the battle, so I make sure I do my job while minimizing stress on their ends, same as healer or tank.