Level 36 PLD looking for advice

[Darrt]

Had an experience today with some DPS saying i suck and some other choice words so here i am.

How should i go about marking targets?
-Right now i have it set to my engage macro which uses FoF, FB if melee or SL from range.

What is the best way to hold hate on a group?
-normally i use SL, run in and flash, run to anything not hit by flash and use SB if one target or flash again if more than 1 are in range. Then flash another 2 times after i have everything on me. After that i just try to hold hate on one at a time and hope the DPS are fighting the same thing i am.

How do i make my provoke macro work?
-current setup:
/ac "Provoke"
/ac "Shield Lob" <tt> which i have read is targets target, but the problem is that i get an error saying <tt> isnt a valid target.

How do i make a cover macro work?
- in FFXI i used <stpt> but same error with <tt>.

Any advice is appreciated. Despite the encounter i would like to continue as a tank and get better at it.

[BazFamrit]

You can mark manually if need be. I'm not sure how to do it on PC but on ps4 you just target the mob press square and mark.

Group hate depends on if your DPS follow your marks and how much dmg they're doing. I generally run in the pack in a way that gets everything in flash range. If you shield lob your first target the DPS can start attacking for a bit while you wait a second for mobs to get in position. Flash 1-3 times then constantly swap targets while watching hate bars to micro manage hate on each add. Pay attention to how fast your DPS build hate so you can gauge how much hate you need to generate. After a while you'll get a feel for what you do and do not have to do to maintain hate like second nature.

Your provoke needs a <t>

Don't have cover yet but when I do get it I imagine I'd soft target and use cover manually that way so there's no confusion. If you learn to hold hate well cover won't really be needed much.

[Coth_X]

On pc I put mark1, 2 and 3 on a hidden hotbar, and have it keyed as shift +z, shift + x, and shift + c since alot of pulls are 3 enemy pulls. Make sure you cycle your combo after so many flashes, and or do riot blade combo with flashes weaved in. Remember, you're doing dps on the mobs, but the most important thing is the enemies are on you, so it doesn't quite matter how you hold the hate, you just have to hold it. With rage of halone, you can spend one combo on your mob, and then start cycling the enmity combo through the enemies.

Also, how's your gear? Are you using an up to date weapon, and gear as close to ilvl as you can?

[IndigoHawk]

Also, don't take ragers seriously or let them get to you.
When someone rages, tell them to stop.
If they don't, vote kick them or leave. Don't play with people like that.

If someone is better than you, then they should use their skill to help make up for your lack of skill or give you good advice.
Listen to good advice, but don't play with people who won't be team players and don't provide constructive feedback.

[Ashkendor]

Also, don't take ragers seriously or let them get to you.
When someone rages, tell them to stop.
If they don't, vote kick them or leave. Don't play with people like that.

If someone is better than you, then they should use their skill to help make up for your lack of skill or give you good advice.
Listen to good advice, but don't play with people who won't be team players and don't provide constructive feedback.

Of all of the advice in the thread, I think this is the most important. If someone wants to say that you are bad but not provide any constructive feedback as to how to improve, right there they've shown you that you shouldn't give a crap about what they say. It's the duty of more experienced players to help new players out. It's the duty of new players to let the experienced players know that they'd really like the help. :3

It sounds like you're doing pretty well. You're just at the point where the difficulty starts to ramp up. From 30-50 the learning curve gets pretty steep as far as tanking goes, simply because you're basically the de facto leader of the party. I know it was intimidating to me the first time through going into a dungeon and having to tell people that I'm new and I don't know the content. Honestly, good dps and healers can work with and/or around inexperienced tanks. Hell, they can work around flat-out terrible tanks in most content.

[givemeraptors]

Honestly, good dps and healers can work with and/or around inexperienced tanks. Hell, they can work around flat-out terrible tanks in most content.

This for sure. I've seen DPS lead entire dungeons (not physically of course) by marking and pointing out where to go, what's in what chest etc. Teamwork! It makes everything way more fun and far less stressful.

[krazyrs]

/ac "shield lob" <tt> doesnt exist if its on a fresh pull
cause your targeting the mobs target which is nothing, just change it to <t>

can farther it with a 1 mark by
/micon "shield lob"
/ac "shield lob"
/mk attack 1


for cover i have
/micon cover
/ac cover <mo>
/ac cover <tt>
/p (Cover)(Just used it) <se.8> <wait.10>
/p (Cover)(None left)


for inital pull u should lob, wait for everything to group, flash 2-4x, fast > fof > savage > tab next target > roh > tab next target > fast > savage > tab next target roh etc (flashing if u think your hate is low)
you dont really have to mark them all if tabbing thro them as long as everyone is hitting the 1 u have from lob

pld is tough 30-39 but at 40 you get shield oath for that enmity bonus/20% dmg reduction buff

[Uzie]

Besides those advice,

Things that you should know are mechanics of the mob,
how they attack, how to position them and such.

and I agree with the poster above, flash twice and cycle on your mobs
say Initial target -> FB -> SB -> RoH then next target FB -> SB (tab to target 3) and land RoH -> back to initial Target and do one combo, so on so forth (up to you)

pay Attention to your party list where the aggro meter is located and the mob list for a quick reference on enmity of your pull.

Goodluck and please keep learning your class, don't be the bad tanks I run with lol

[Darrt]

Sorry, i should have mentioned i am on PS4 in my OP. It was longer but the 1000 character limit is really... um.. limiting. Anyway, thank you all for the advice so far. I see what i am doing wrong with provoke. The <tt> is on my provoke macro to use when a stray add gets away from me, but i still get the <tt> is not a valid target. I see <mo> used a lot but how well does that work on the PS4? The touchpad mouse is really clunky so i havent tried to use it in battle.

I will try manually marking stuff before i enter the area. The only issue i have is what to do while in combat when adds spawn? Stand there and mark stuff? I will just have to practice and see what works for me.

As for my gear, truth be told it was not up to par for that dungeon. Avg ilvl was 28, 1500ish HP and 268 def. Got it up to ilvl 31, 1700ish HP and 312 def. I see the dungeon syncs from 37 and i have seen people around in level 37 tank gear so i might just wait another level and then regear and try again.

[KingOfAbyss]

Sorry, i should have mentioned i am on PS4 in my OP. It was longer but the 1000 character limit is really... um.. limiting. Anyway, thank you all for the advice so far. I see what i am doing wrong with provoke. The <tt> is on my provoke macro to use when a stray add gets away from me, but i still get the <tt> is not a valid target. I see <mo> used a lot but how well does that work on the PS4? The touchpad mouse is really clunky so i havent tried to use it in battle.

I will try manually marking stuff before i enter the area. The only issue i have is what to do while in combat when adds spawn? Stand there and mark stuff? I will just have to practice and see what works for me.

As for my gear, truth be told it was not up to par for that dungeon. Avg ilvl was 28, 1500ish HP and 268 def. Got it up to ilvl 31, 1700ish HP and 312 def. I see the dungeon syncs from 37 and i have seen people around in level 37 tank gear so i might just wait another level and then regear and try again.

Heya fellow Tanky! ^^

Good job so far on making it this far.. you are almost done to get to lvl 50, and there will still be lots of fun awaiting you!

*I type a few words on a post, then click the EDIT: you will have unlimited character (don't ask why SE did that, please don't)

Before the fight: you mark your targets (now you can go up to 5 with the standard symbols) usually its 3.. I will mark 1 and 2, the last one is obvious.

I don't macro Skills with markers: since you will use them often, it could change the target's numbers, mkaing it a bit difficult.. but that's me.

DPS and Healers as well.. need to let you build aggro.. a bit before engaging and blasting everything to smithereens.. That's their part of the battle.

As others mentionned, your job is not DPS, but making sure all enmity, enemies are on you, at all time, until depleted of their HP. When you know the mechanics of some mobs, you will be able to turn around so they face you and not the rest of the party. When they do their AoE skills, you move out, and then back into the last position (will help melee DPS and their combos )

For Provoke, i prefer the approach of clicking on the mob that escaped your grasp, or was never into play, but suddenly appears. so for me it's <t> and not <tt>

if you marked 1-2 on 3 mobs, and then 2 other joined.. Make sure you will flash and aggro them, your hate on 1-2-3 should be already decent. By the time 1 and 2 are down, you can mark the 3rd one with the 3, and then once he's about to die, you can reuse 1 and 2 to mark the remaining ones, or as I said, now you can use 4 and 5.

DPS can easily catch upon their own meter and checking the lowest one with HP to kill. Then since 2 other joined, they will check which one you are targeting, and should hit them, if you didnt mark any. (lots of Tanks don't mark, so you have to use other methods )

I would say keep on marking, in case you encounter rude party members. If you wipe, and it was marked down, you stated the order in which they should have focused. So no blame on your part.

If your gear is lower, state it when beginning, so they will wait until a few shots on your own before as well. (it's pretty much always the same patterns..)

If you are with BLM, BRD (and you will) they should be able to use their AoE skills.. like the super Flare!

Making sure you build enough aggro, being properly geared for your lvl (including the next best weapon that you unlock) and THEM letting you get aggro a bit first: no wipes, no issues.

It's a TEAM effort: you carry some pressure on your shoulders, but not all. Very big difference here.

Don't let a rude comment get to you, unless it's very bad. State that you are new to Tanking, new to the particular dungeon, open to any tips, and you will see more people willing to give you advice, than the rest..

Good luck, you are doing this game a great service ^^