Flash

[ThirdChild_ZKI]

So I haven't actively tried to tank since I hit 50 and cleared Ifrit HM (as OT, I was bored out of my skull during the fight, AND had a better geared BRD anyways). But I've recently been hearing/seeing tanks use flash or be told to use Flash 3-5 times after the initial pull. Is this how it goes now? Has something changed? I don't remember needing to really use it more than twice on a pull at the worst before. And IF anything slipped away from me, a quick provoke/shield lob or RoH was enough to get it back.

So if anything, I just want to know does it really take 3-5 now to properly - initially - generate and hold enmity? Or is this a widely-accepted but overkill method?

[IllegalBlaze]

It's possible that they were talking about or doing speed runs. During a speed run you try to aggro as much as possible, without spamming flash it would be really difficult to maintain aggro on a lot of adds at once. In Brayflox HM speed runs for example, I can tank as many as 10 plus adds on the first pull alone. Without flash spamming it would be almost impossible to rotate aggro attacks on each enemy individually, while the DPS are using aoe attacks on the whole group without loosing aggro to them. Besides using your cool downs during big pulls you are mostly just spamming flash in between riot blade combos to build up your mana for more flash spamming.

[Ferth]

Conversely in lower levels before rage of halone and before shield oath gladiators and paladins have very few tools for aggro. Your best bet most of the time is to spam flash and use riot blade to recover more mp.

[Vactus]

Speed runs: Flash and Overpower are great for aoe threat. 3 or less mobs and it's a couple overpowers and then I lay into stuff. A single mob and neither flash nor overpower are useful vs an actual rotation.

[Astralos]

Personally, a single Flash has always been enough to start off versus an enemy group if you can hit everyone. In cases were the group is semi-divided such that a single Flash wouldn't hit everyone, I'll usually Flash the majority of the enemy group, hit whatever wasn't Flashed with Shield Lob, and then follow up with a single Flash to the whole group for good measure.

I don't know about this 5x Flash thing but that sounds like overkill and a waste of MP, unless it's a strategy for one specific boss fight that I'm not familiar with, or Coil/Extreme stuff.

[Spoekes]

So if anything, I just want to know does it really take 3-5 now to properly - initially - generate and hold enmity? Or is this a widely-accepted but overkill method?

If by properly you mean to assure that you will not have to provoke a single enemy back from time to time the answer is definitly yes.
Like some ppl said, you can provoke+shieldlob every 40sec, but using provoke meant you lost the enmity race, which in my opinion is not good and I always feel like I failed

At level 50:
start fight with at least 3 flashes, factoring Circle of Scorn and Spirits Withing in between GCDs is just the safest way to start off the battle with a good lead in enmity.
On Speedruns keep flashing between combo rotations from time to time.

Below level 40:
Flash the hell out of everything, before shieldoath there is no other way to keep multiple targets on you, given that DPS are capable and not sleeping.

Disclaimer:
The above applies to groups of at least 3 enemies, of course.

[SpookyGhost]

AOE = bye bye aggro.

No AOE = 2 Flashes.

[gornotck]

I'd tell low level Gladiators to use Flash three or four times because it's easier than explaining to them that their DPS won't let them tank, and it still gives them a chance at holding enmity. Plus, it keeps them from feeling like they're actually doing something wrong, as it lets them blame other people for their shortcomings and helps them to feel empowered as they go above and beyond to make up for the lesser creatures.

[Ultimatecalibur]

3-5 Flashes generates a good enmity lead that will cover the enmity the healer(and the occasional dps that isn't attacking the target being hit with the RoH combo) will generate through most of the fight at the cost of only dropping the Paladin's MP down to roughly 50%, an amount that is easily recovered before the next fight without requiring the Paladin to stop and regen MP.

Each Flash generates ~742.5 enmity per target per use in Shield Oath. In comparison a White Mage's various spells generate ~200 enmity per cast for Cure, ~390 per Cure 2, ~630 per Regen, ~720(4 man)/1440(8 man) per Medica, ~1320(4 man)/2640(8 man) per Cure 3, and ~1480(4 man)/2960(8 man) per Medica 2 on all enemies that have the spell's targets on their enmity tables.

[Rextab]

ive started using this rule on flash.
if its an AOE heavy party i do the following:
(Flash x Number of Mobs) +1. So if there are 3 mobs, i Flash 4 times. this seems to hold adequate threat during the initial AOE-fest. then i start working on my rotations, throwing in a flash every rotation or so to keep threat on additional mobs.