A little help?

[Enkidoh]

Maybe she keeps herself in Sword Oath most of the time and just forgot Shield Oath even exists? (shrugs)

[Ninster]

So I just hit lvl 38, and I've always had this dilemma:

When a new dungeon becomes available, I've tried to avoid it at all costs (even daily roulette, I know, a HUGE waste of exp in skipping) for three reasons:

1. Being at the min level means I most likely will run into people that outlevel me, making hate harder to control.
2. Likewise, I have very little tank gear readily available to me (aside from trying to buy NQ gear from vendors), meaning I'll be undergeared.
3. Depending on the dungeon, I won't have all the skills I could have (in this case, my lvl 40 job skills).

So... am I just being really insane or stupid, or are these legitimate concerns? If it's the former, what's the best way to cope with being a underleveled/undergeared tank while leveling?

[aisustrong]

So... am I just being really insane or stupid, or are these legitimate concerns? If it's the former, what's the best way to cope with being a underleveled/undergeared tank while leveling?

cutters, you have have issues holding hate if you are pld, becuase no sheild oath
war, you should be able to hold nearly all if not all
and how undergeared? you should at the very least have like 33 item level provided you got the gear from brayflox

also, grand company gear is great when leveling up

[LionKing]

There is not really any way around it but get more gears yourself (Either HQ crafted gears or Duns drop gears). Another way as well is ask the pt knows upfront to watch their aggro meters just because , well. you are under-geared. And NEVER attempt a mass pull whilst under-geared yourself, not only you make a fool out of yourself for not be able to take hits and making your jobs MUCH MUCH harder by failing to hold aggro, but also you piss off the rest of the pt. Nothing upset people most but seeing an under-geared tank go on a mass pulls and die. Go slow and calm, let they know your gear are not great and you are still a leaner, you will be fine and they will be more than happy to cooperate.

[Ninster]

Pardon the necro/bump, but maintenance has given me some time to remember questions I never asked.

Both my tank roles can access the lvl 40 guildhests. As a DPS main, I'm not entirely sure how tanks function in 8-man duties. I've seen "main tank" and "off tank", but I'm not sure how the responsibilities are split and which tank becomes which. In all the times I've done the 8-main guildhest as DPS/healer (for that matter I realize now I'm not sure how healers function in 8-man duties either; I think I kinda winged it and it worked out), I haven't seen either tank speak a word as to who is responsible for what, so I can't even draw from example here.

[aisustrong]

Both my tank roles can access the lvl 40 guildhests. As a DPS main, I'm not entirely sure how tanks function in 8-man duties. I've seen "main tank" and "off tank", but I'm not sure how the responsibilities are split and which tank becomes which. In all the times I've done the 8-main guildhest as DPS/healer (for that matter I realize now I'm not sure how healers function in 8-man duties either; I think I kinda winged it and it worked out), I haven't seen either tank speak a word as to who is responsible for what, so I can't even draw from example here.

generally, whichever has more base hp (as in when defiance is off)/better gear is expected to be the main tank
if theyre both pretty much the same in hp/gear, pld usually takes priority as mt, since war has better ot dps

however, for some fights, one job is expected to take one role more than the other (like if you need pld to ot to stun spam, such as in levi ex)

[Adrasteia]

Both my tank roles can access the lvl 40 guildhests. As a DPS main, I'm not entirely sure how tanks function in 8-man duties. I've seen "main tank" and "off tank", but I'm not sure how the responsibilities are split and which tank becomes which. In all the times I've done the 8-main guildhest as DPS/healer (for that matter I realize now I'm not sure how healers function in 8-man duties either; I think I kinda winged it and it worked out), I haven't seen either tank speak a word as to who is responsible for what, so I can't even draw from example here.

The level 40 Guildhest is mostly just there to introduce you to the idea of a full party. There's no real "main tank" or "off tank" there.

The "main tank" in a group is usually (assuming you're just using the DF) the tank who happens to be the most geared, since they can survive hits better and hold enmity more easily. The "off tank" is the other tank, and their role varies depending on the fight. There's three general roles that the off tank takes up, depending on the fight:

-Additional DPS. This is typically either because of DF requirements (e.g. Ifrit Hard) or because they can handle certain mechanics more easily due to their greater effective HP (soaking Fireballs and Hatches on Twintania). A tank entirely kitted out for DPS outside of their tanking stance will do about a third of the DPS of a regular DPS class, so they're generally only brought along willingly for this role if there are mechanics that require their survivability, or if the DF requires it.

-Add management. Tanks can easily corral large amounts of adds for AoE purposes, or hold the enmity of single, powerful adds when they spawn.

-Tank swapping. This is the most common reason to bring a second along. There'll be some sort of mechanic that makes it increasingly difficult for the main tank to be kept alive (such as Rafflesia's vulnerability stacking, or Ramuh's Shock Strike) and which necessitates the off tank grabbing enmity for a period of time until the main tank, in turn, takes enmity from the off tank. In cases like these, there's not really a "main tank" and an "off tank". One tank decides to take the pull, while the other tank then waits for the mechanic that requires a tank swap.

Tank swapping can be a bit tricky, so I'll try to explain it a little. The basics of it involves using Provoke, followed by an enmity-generating attack. Provoke puts you at the top of the enmity table, but it doesn't keep you there, so following up with something that'll generate sufficient enmity to keep the boss anchored to you is key. Ideally, you'll want to use something like Savage Blade or Skull Sunder, since they both have short animation times and generate a good amount of enmity. Barring that, Flash is your next best bet. When it's time for the other tank to take enmity from you, stop attacking the boss for a few seconds before and after the swap. You want to make sure that they have sufficient enmity that you won't immediately grab it back from them with a single attack. This is easier for Warriors than Paladins, since Paladins only have a single main combo (which has an enmity modifier) compared to Warriors. If you're really concerned about generating too much enmity, you can Fast Blade -> Riot Blade a few times until the main tank seems to have a comfortable threat lead. Make sure to toggle your tanking stance on/off (or switch to Sword Oath in the case of Paladin) depending on whether you're taking enmity or ceding it.