I really would like to tank, but

[LimeSamurai]

I'm trying to get my PLD to be a main and I just find it near impossible at this stage of the game.

Here's what happens every time I try to tank a dungeon, primal or Lab/ST

- Get yelled at for not having a high enough iLevel
- Get into a dungeon where dps start pulling extra mobs because they want to finish the instance faster
- Get into groups with people who's ilevel seriously outclass me and they do their best to take aggro off of me so they can bully me into rage quitting.

I know that ilevel doesn't necessarily mean skill, but to most of the people I've ran with that aren't my FC or friends who know that I'm relatively new to tanking, seems that Ilvl > skill.

Whenever I enter a dungeon if I've never done it before or it might just be unlocked at my ilvl I announce that "Hey first time here" or "First time tanking" and there is a decent portion of the time where people understand and take a little slower, but the times they don't seem to affect me and people I know who tried tanking more than the good.

I've only really been playing for ~6 weeks so my gil isn't enough to be able to afford pieces of gear off of the Marketplace to improve on what I have so running thing's at the moment is the only way I can really gear up.

But how can I get tomes of soldiery or poetics for my PLD if people won't give me the chance to tank. I feel like I get bullied into playing a DPS class just to be able to farm for another class. I don't find that fair. I have to gear via different class and I don't get to learn the content as a tank first hand because my ilvl isn't up to par.

I'm trying to understand if it is just because HW is coming out in about a month that everyone is rushing, or maybe because I'm so far behind in terms of content that I might as well not even try and tank anymore.

I've had really good experiences with the community for the most part, except when I'm trying to tank something at later content level.

What are some tactics people use to get past these "inconveniences" that have gone through them.

**PS. I really don't mean to sound like I'm whining or attacking people. I just really enjoy my PLD and I would love to be able to play him without getting attacked or bullied.

[Bombast]

TO get around the 1000 character limit, just post the first few hundred characters, then edit the post to add the rules.

It's weird.

As for tanking... that's how it works in this game. Everything is your fault, all the time, and everyone wants you to do things there way. Nothing you've described is your fault, but its just how people treat tanks in this game. If you can't handle it now, you may want to find another class.

[Rufalus]

At least with the alliance raids Lab > ST > WoD, you are not the only tank there, you have a chance to get gear drops in addition to the tomestone currency received. You can take a backseat until your gear level is higher. You won't be underpar gear for very long, the process of catching up is just a small fraction of the adventure ahead of you. And yes everyone is starting from the same point when the expansion is released, so you can get the new lv60 AF2 job gear at the same time that everyone else does.

[LimeSamurai]

TO get around the 1000 character limit, just post the first few hundred characters, then edit the post to add the rules.

It's weird.

As for tanking... that's how it works in this game. Everything is your fault, all the time, and everyone wants you to do things there way. Nothing you've described is your fault, but its just how people treat tanks in this game. If you can't handle it now, you may want to find another class.

1 - Thanks for that. Was tryin to figure it out and was gettin a bit flustered at a 1k character cap. Can't start a discussion with such a small limit. Thanks for the info

2 - I really wanna tank though lol. The only other classes I'm lookin to play are Dragoon and Machinist when they come out and if ever, Samurai.

Guess I'm just gonna have deal with the abuse. First it was BRD hate. "Oh you play ez class" "play tp song noob" as if Im supposed to know when people are out of tp lol. And with DRG, well pretty much another dps "ez" class

[Rufalus]

Guess I'm just gonna have deal with the abuse.

I had abuse for a few weeks too, but that time is nothing compared to the years of almost-never-abuse that come after it, once you are geared enough to not bother anybody. When I begun tanking in ilv55-70 gear pieces, people were telling me to go kill myself and stop making rookie mistakes. That was a long time ago, and I am glad I didn't quit back then.

[LimeSamurai]

I had abuse for a few weeks too, but that time is nothing compared to the years of almost-never-abuse that come after it, once you are geared enough to not bother anybody. When I begun tanking in ilv55-70 gear pieces, people were telling me to go kill myself and stop making rookie mistakes. That was a long time ago, and I am glad I didn't quit back then.

Thats great to hear. I've seen a lot of people here lately that are getting tired of tank because of abuse we get, but it's good to know that it stops... eventually.

[Rufalus]

Thats great to hear. I've seen a lot of people here lately that are getting tired of tank because of abuse we get, but it's good to know that it stops... eventually.

It's a shame that abuse happens at all. Some people must get joy out of putting other people down. But yes I've been through the same process of receiving abuse on a tank role, then becoming the kind of tank that receives a lot of praise and mostly positive feedback and thanks. A lot of people do not have the patience to slow down for those who have not reached the highest gear level yet.

[Wournsfeik_Untawhasyn]

Abuse happens. Usually the best thing to do is either leave them to stew (take 30 minutes, cool down, hop back in) or if it's particularly nasty report them then leave.

Remember, as a tank you do enjoy some of the fastest queue times in the community, and that 30 minute penalty for leaving a toxic situation might be used to socialize and try to find crafters to help you get some higher iLvl gear. So there are still options, just work on being the best tank you can be and I promise you you'll eventually have people clamoring to keep you around.

It's a good feeling.

[LimeSamurai]

Abuse happens. Usually the best thing to do is either leave them to stew (take 30 minutes, cool down, hop back in) or if it's particularly nasty report them then leave.

Remember, as a tank you do enjoy some of the fastest queue times in the community, and that 30 minute penalty for leaving a toxic situation might be used to socialize and try to find crafters to help you get some higher iLvl gear. So there are still options, just work on being the best tank you can be and I promise you you'll eventually have people clamoring to keep you around.

It's a good feeling.

Will do!

Also side note, that hair and sunglasses combo. Super cool lmao.

[Laesha]

One thing to keep in mind is how very important your weapon level is as a tank. Not sure how updated/accurate your loadstone profile really is, but you may consider spending some soldiery (and a sand of time) to get your hands on an ilv110 sword. You could potentially follow up with a ilv130 poetics sword as well. It looks like you're working on your pld relic, but with so many dps who out-gear you, you may want to consider only using your relic for relic related endeavors (ie. killing the last boss for your atma books with your relic while doing the actually dungeon w/ a higher level weapon. Just don't forget to switch D: Yikes!!!!) I also noticed, if your loadstone is accurate, that you got your hands on some meldable accessories. You may consider putting some STR materia in those empty slots since aggro generation is related to your attack power (which str directly affects).

but yeah, hang in there. Take comfort in knowing that if jerk dps like this kick you (or if you leave because they're being jerks), they'll almost certainly end up as the losers in the situation. Even a 20min que + 30 minute dungeon run with a tank pulling 1 pack at a time is faster than 20 min que + time spent being a jerk + waiting 10 minutes for a new tank to not show up cause you kicked one + waiting another 20 min que + 15-20 minute dungeon.