Does tanking carry more responsibility than most?

[Jyoeru]

I was taking AK the other day. I grabbed the aggro on the pull, made sure I had a solid grip on the aggro, then I tabbed out to read an email. I came back to see we were down to the last mob and I was just standing there. I don't always do that, but I could do that. Not sure if that answers your question about tanking.

[BlueMage]

For example, a few people are under the opinion that tanking is the 'easiest', and carries the least amount of responsibility in the group. That currently, tanks have been unfairly given the of responsibility 'unfairly'. But even then, its still not as 'difficult' as DPS jobs.

What do you think? Do you think being a tank role has alot more 'perceived' pressure on it than actually exists? Or is it really that difficult?

It depends on the content, the fight, and even other people in your group.

Tanking a dungeon can be faceroll, or a stressful nightmare depending on how hard your party is making it for you.

Some fights put all the pressure/work on the tanks, and others you can almost AFK.

This applies to all roles, really.

[IndigoHawk]

Each role is hard in its own way. Tanking is hard because there's not much positive feedback. DPS are rewarded with big damage numbers and dying mobs. Healers are rewarded saving people. Tanks often don't see the result of their work unless they mess up.

Next, tanks receive a lot of negative feedback. Players hate tanks that are slow, fast, make a mistake, don't have the best gear, don't know everything, or make an unpopular decision. Tank mistakes are visible to everyone and often fatal, so there's a lot of pressure.

When people talk about "easiest" they focus on "Hey, that tank is just standing there for Titan HM and hitting CDs!" instead of looking at what it's like to tank and how rewarding and fun it is compared to the other roles.

[Sagittarian]

See the Tanking-looks-Intimidating thread

I think there is an expectation that the tank will be the party lead. I don't know if this is because the tank is in the front and setting the speed of the run, because many experienced tanks will simply assume the role of party lead, or ...?

Often being blamed if things go wrong doesn't help - I think that is why some tanks may be quick to place the blame on someone else.

Combine that with the tank being visible all the time and it generally being obvious when they mess up, and you get a lot of perceived responsibility.
That all is different from actual responsibility, though. While for many groups/runs losing the tank means a wipe, there are lots of healer and dps stories of running bosses without a tank. We 3-teamed the Roc yesterday with a BLM, BRD, and me as a lvl 27 CNJ thanks to a lot of kiting.

I think that for many areas tanks and healers have more responsibility than an individual dps, but overall everyone is responsible for making everything work.

[Delorean]

Not necessarily. Is it more essential to carry out your duty as a tank adequately when compared to the responsibilities of others? Yes. Does the role hold more responsibility than others? I do not think so.

then why is there always a tanking shortage?

Because it is the most boring role that you can choose to play in an MMO.
Because there are only two tank classes and 5(?) DPS classes.

[Vanifae]

I don't agree it is boring, I find most DPS roles to be boring. That does not mean they are universally boring, just not my preferred play style. I will say that tanking if you really enjoy it is a blast to do but it can be stressful especially when you are doing new content you are not familiar with. For me though there is a sense of satisfaction for making others jobs much easier by holding enmity, good positioning and keeping the heat off the Healer when adds spawn. When all goes well it could be boring but I prefer to bask in the glow of efficiency.

As for a shortage, tanking is always a role in demand since overall for many players big numbers from DPS tend to be a big draw. Plus tanking can be stressful for those not use to the responsibility and you need a thick skin for all the random players who want to critique what you are doing often times unfairly so. I am usually upfront if I am new to content. So that a more experienced player can give me a brief rundown of what to expect.

[Warrlordd]

The difficult part of tanking (and healing too) is getting the job done when you don't out gear the fight. Unlike DPS, who always have to maximize DPS (or at least, they feel they must for fast and easier clears) a tank or healer will find their job easier and easier every time they obtain upgrades and every time they find something that works a little better. Also, a low DPS can be carried. Same as healer. That's because both these roles are 'throughput' roles where you obtain a certain level of throughput, you are good to go. Not so with a tank. Your skill/quality can't really be quantified and therefore can't really be carried through. Especially if it's the mechanics themselves that can't be handled.

[WowSuchName]

Normal Tanking can be boring, if it just spam1,2,3. What I do to entertain myself are:

- Do speed run for all the dungeons even if Healer only got ifrit cane and go LOL Y U NO HOLY
- Do solo Tank for Coils (T1, T2, T5 - not sure if T4 can do).
- Primal Extreme already put tank on busy spot and it is already fun
- Ask if can play OT for CT and pretend you are dragoon, PEW PEW FTW

However, tanking/healing for thing like Tam-Tara, Satasha, Toto-Rak are incredibly boring. I once slept during tanking and wake up winning the battle.

[JerryGuns]

Well Im A Tank LVL88 geared PLD and i learned the hard way by everyone calling me names and stuff which i got pissed sometime when i was learning it and it can difficult to tank the basic is keep everything on you and away from your party and ignore everyone when talking crap about how you tank because i think this way if you think you can do better than me then try it if not back off. But everyone needs to know its a game and only a game not real life here im here to have fun play it. And I loved tanking that is my main role in the game. Now healing to me is very rough to do that is for sure im been trying to leveling up one not easy at all. But i do know this Without a Tank or A Healer you will not get anywhere in the game for sure..

[JeTaisNoobie]

I guess it's now safe to say that the established tanks we see nowadays are the thick skinned, insult repelling folks!