Anyone REAL nervous about tanking?

[Cyrus-Wallace]

I had that fear back then when I tanked Sunken Temple of Qarn for the first time. Everybody was saying "duuuude, that's the REAL test for a tank", when almost everybody was just starting in this game (I'm talking about Beta 4 - Early Access phase). I was terrified! So, I really wanted to be a tank and stick with that class, since I love to do so and because it's a needed job. I pushed my fears, I told the party I was new and I asked for advice. Some parties will give some advice, some others will just leave (As it happened on my first AK run back then when AK was TEH DUNGEON O' FARMIN') and others will remain in silence. If you don't feel confident enough, I suggest you go to with friends until you learn the run. Join a FC or a LS, stick with people and your overall experience as a tank will be fantastic!

Good luck with that, bud!

[FaizeD]

Like everything it just takes a bit of practice. There are some great tips in this thread so I'll throw a few of mine into the ring for PLD!

• I like to open with Shield Lob > Spirits Within > uncombo'd RoH to get a good lead on enmity.
• Splittng your RoH combo across targets is a valuable skill to practice. For example if enmity on your current target is a-okay, you can do FB > SB on it and then complete RoH on the next target in line if your healer is creeping up in enmity or if you simply want to get a head start on your dps.
• You can also "buffer" an RoH combo if you're expecting an add to drop in mid-battle. This is where you perform FB > SB on your target and then wait with RoH ready until the add appears and then hit it with full force. A good example of this is when Garuda summons her sisters or Titan with his potatoes. You will find this far more effective than Shield lobbing and it leaves your Provoke free.
• For AoE it might be easier to macro Circle of Scorn together with Flash so it is used on cooldown. There are a few instances in which you might want to Flash and avoid Scorn (slept mobs, Spiny Plume in Garu EX) but you can just have a separate Flash on your hotbar.
• Make use of focus target on caster mobs - the casting bar under their name is generally more reliable than the casting animation if you need to stun/move.

Happy tanking!

[Meepinator]

I was ridiculously nervous at first. It's hilarious how much I prepared before I tanked Sastasha. I made sure I had the best gear I could buy, was the highest level allowed in the dungeon, researched my class, and looked at guides.

I was still scared, so I did some guildhests instead, but as a Conjurer, so I could watch other tanks. Eventually I started tanking some myself.

Then I ran Sastasha as a Conjurer to study other tanks and ensure I really knew the routine.

Finally, I ran it as a Marauder, and found that lots of that preparation wasn't necessary. Things went very smoothly, and I really enjoyed it! I decided to stick with it. After I took that first step, it was a lot less nerve-wracking. I can't say I still don't get nervous from time, but I'm very comfortable tanking now.

I've never had a single person be a jerk to me in a pug. In fact, I've never had a group with a really rude person. That'll probably change once I hit end-game, but so far I've found the community reasonable and friendly.

All I can say is prepare (Not necessarily as much I did), and jump in to that next level. Practice is the only way you'll get more comfortable. If things don't go smoothly, locate your mistakes and ask for advice.

Also, don't sweat it, it's just a game.

[Bladeglory]

Allllll the time. I psyche myself out plenty before things like Garuda or Turn 4. Tanking is the most exposed job, and everybody notices what you (don't) do. This makes me only tank with friends or in places where I have a firm grasp on what is going on.

I can't give you any solutions to suddenly stop being afraid of backlash, but the most important thing is to make sure you're having (some) fun. If somebody is belittling or disrespecting you, as a player you have the right to leave, and as a tank you have the privilege of being the backbone of the party. You can apologize and say you're not in the mood to Tank anymore. It's true, and there's no shame in letting them be on their way. Besides, they'll get a replacement soon... maybe.

Actual tanking tips: (I'm a PLD, not a WAR, mind you)
Provoke - Use very sparingly. Almost always follow with Shield Lob/Tomahawk. Its only use is for extreme long distance pulls and when somebody has much more enmity than you. I see lots of tanks that waste it because SE didn't explain the mechanics. (Provoke puts you at the top of the enmity ranks by a single point. That is all it does. Any source of enmity afterwards can steal the monster from you.)

Flash - Don't be afraid to use it. Often forgotten, Flash should be used a few times at the start of any multi-enemy fight. It deals no damage, but provides good enmity. (and survivability if it has blind)

Equipment - You might think armor is the most important thing. You'd be half wrong. VIT and Defense values are for avoiding instant death and keeping the healer(s) sane. Your weapon is the only thing that keeps the enemies focused on you. ALL ENMITY (except Provoke) is gained based on your weapon strength.

Survival Skills - Essential whenever you're having difficulty. Learn to cycle them. If things are getting tough on the healers, or you think damage is about to increase, don't be afraid to use them. Putting them in order of cooldown minimizes chances of "wasting" the buff, as it'll be ready sooner rather than later.

Guides - While it may ruin the fun of a new encounter, anxiety kind of already does that. Theory is no replacement for experience, but watching a video and/or reading a rundown of the fight makes you far less of a liability. Consider reading about every role's perspective on the fight. That way you have an idea of what people are expecting you to do.

Communication - It's what we fear. We don't want to be told we need to improve. We already knew it. It's even more crushing when we thought we did well. Talking before problems arise is actually the key to Tanking through something with our ego intact, however. People are generally cool with you learning when you let them know in advance you will make mistakes. Even more astounding is some people's abilities to listen.

Say you're doing a dungeon and your two DPS are both exceedingly well geared. You know there's going to be a problem. They should know there's going to be a problem. Point out that they will probably overwhelm you with their awesomeness. Ask them to follow marks and to give you a head-start. Giving you breathing room to do your job is beneficial for everyone, and if they refuse to do so refer to this post's second paragraph. It's not your fault they will not co-operate in a team game.

[Alice_89th]

I was extremely nervous in the beginning as well.
Doing every guildhest when it is available really helps, they are meant as training after all.

And if it helps you calm down, do a dungeon as healer or dps a few times before you tank it. That gives you the opportunity to study and learn the routes and mechanics, so that you know them better when you are tanking yourself.

[LalaRu]

At my first tankings, I were somewhat worried about all the poisoned players you can meet on a PUG, but after some time they don't really bother me.
If you are on your first time tanking on a given dungeon, and you meet the usually overgeared guys who are on DF for speedrun, it is their fault so if you ignore their bitching you are 100% safe, they can leave and requeue an other hour or if they start bitching, you can leave and requeue instapop.

[lxSch]

I was tanking in january and march, to me the march community looks much worse than it was back in january (maybe due to steam/ps4 release). I often see a message "one or more members are new" but they never answer when i ask if they need a strategy help (later we would wipe because they actually do), then i see a lot of synced i70-i80 people who don't have a clue what to do or even how to play their class. Of course such team will wipe a lot and they would start blaming you because it can be their FC premade and they just need someone to blame. Since i quit using DF as a tanker i started getting this issue as a healer in low levels, but tankers get it much worse since they are in everyone's sight.
In most of pre-50 dungeons 2 players can carry the whole run (smn can tank and heal, blm can sleep and heal, drg/mnk/brd can tank, whm/sch can dps and heal), but if 4 player team wipes - there are not at least 2 players knowing their job, so they have no right blaming just one player - at least 3 must be.

[Cspr_Answrth]

I was hesitant the begin tanking at all - but since I've started, I have actually grown to like it quite a bit.
If you're not feeling 100% about it, I'd suggest a MRD over a PLD simply because enmity generation is going to be a bit easier... once you master the mechanics of the dungeons, you can switch to a tank.

[Seif]

The first time I joined a dungeon after leveling gladiator I was kicked for sucking.

I haven't used the whole class ever since that event. For tanking I now only WAR it up.

[ninthfantasy]

I started leveling my tank a few weeks ago and I was so nervous about tanking the higher level dungeons (as in, Brayflox onwards). After a few awkward Brayflox runs, I eventually found my feet, and learned that if a run is gonna go smoothly, the party need to work with me, not against me. I took that attitude with me up until Stone Vigil, where I really struggled on my first run. I couldn't keep aggro at all. My mistakes then caused an argument in the party (eek... I kept out of it.) Then, after a couple of runs, again, found my feet. Work with me, we'll do it, be an idiot and work against me, we'll be here all day. This attitude made me feel better about tanking. If I'm 100% doing my job right, keeping aggro, not pulling extra mobs, and someone pulls or is attacking the wrong mob, I can take peace in the fact it's them - not me. I'd silently try to rectify the situation, rather than point it out. I number all the mobs so it's their own fault if they fail to see the mob with a huge 1 over it.

Definitely feel more confident now, my first run of Aurum Vale went quite well simply because rather than worrying about what the party think, I just tried my best and trusted my instincts on what to pull and how to tank it. Went great apart from the DRG who just had no idea, causing the WHM to rage-quit. Thankfully, that wasn't my fault. Now I'm level 49, about to hit 50 and raring to get geared up and tank all the end-game dungeons. It's a nice change from DPS (which I main) and healing (which I do for quick queues.)