Does tanking carry more responsibility than most?

[IndigoHawk]

The idea of a tank for the trinity is that enemies fight the tank because they must, not because they want to. A lot of times MMOs portray tanking with taunts, like a generic yell. Another way to think of tanks is like a grappler. If you try to run by to kill the healer or the mage, the tank grabs you as you run by and holds you so that his allies can kill you. You fight the tank because you can't ignore them safely, not because you want to fight them.

Most MMOs don't have precise directional attacks. If they did (and better positional code than FFXIV), then tanks could get targets of opportunity on anyone who ran by or wasn't facing the tank. It would achieve a similar result, that enemies would need to face the tank when the tank gets in range and be cautious about disengaging.

The problem you point out is that most tank skills look like they can be ignored. That's an unfortunate portrayal, not a problem with the tank role.

[Maku]

If you try to run by to kill the healer or the mage, the tank grabs you as you run by and holds you so that his allies can kill you.

Just pictured a Lala tank jumping and grabbing onto Titans Leg to stop him. Such an adorable image.

Tanking in FFXIV (in my opinion of course) is by far the easiest of the three. Healer is the hardest because you have to compensate the most for others mistakes. For me Hardest = most fun. DPS is second hardest but really other than Healer I don't find DPS or Tank hard and even then healing isn't hard with an on the ball party. DPS gets second because they have to watch their enmity, mostly do to the tank being less geared then them. Tanks have it the easiest. There is a set rotation for max enmity and if you do that and the DPS are watching their enmity you are doing your job. Tanks jobs became a little more complex with the addition of EX primals and tank switching but even then I think tanking is the easiest job.

The above being said Healers and Tanks have far higher pressure to perform cause their mistakes are so easily noticed and if someone dies it is "always" one of our faults. But even with the higher pressure tanking is still a breeze and thus boring.

The boring play style matched with the crazy pressure is why there is a tank shortage. Healers on the other hand have the same if not slightly higher pressure to perform but the healer's job is also fun (for some, myself included) and thus the shortage of healers that was originally seen is now gone (at least on my server and in my DF group).