Need help learning how to maintain argo

[PogueX]

I survived up till now, but with the current dungeons it seems that their is more of an emphasis on roles. So i am struggling right now as a tank, i managed to get pass Haukke Manor but i believe that i was carried by my group for the most part.

So my question is how to i maintain argo? Do i need a good weapon and if so where can i find one when the market board doesn't have a lot of green or purple(pink maybe?) items?

I have looked at several youtube videos and for the most part they are good, but a lot of them is how to tank at level 50 or with most of the abilities. Their was one that was posted for example that tells me to use circle of scorn. At level 32 i do not have that ability. So really i want to learn what the spell rotation at this level is and how to maintain argo? Any other tutorial videos would be good too

[Kaitlen]

At your level, just grab the best sword that you can afford either from the market board or dungeon drop.

Basically, it's a just rotation of Shield Lob (pull) > Flash > [Combo] > [Combo] > Flash > [Combo], etc.

If you have multiple mobs, you may want to mark the mobs with numbers to remind DPS to focus on each specific mob in order.
Otherwise, you will need more flash and switch mob to mob to keep hate generation.

When I was at your level, I would say, pull 3 mobs.

1. Mark Them 1, 2, 3, with a simple macro < > Or Shield Lob the first one, then mark.
2. Use Flash > Combo on Mob #1
3. If needed, switch to Mob #2 and [Combo] as needed.
4. Repeat for #3 and so on.
5. Use Flash to support your group hate as needed; just keep an eye on your MP.

If DPS is spread out among two mobs, it will take you more effort to maintain hate.

Prepare yourself mentally and gear wise for Brayflox's Longstop ~level 32. That is by far one of the most challenging dungeons for a new tank. You'll at least have Sword Oath at level 30.

Edit:
[Combo] = Fast Blade > Savage Blade

At level 26 and after:
[Combo] = Fast Blade > Savage Blade > Rage of Halone

Edit #2:
Others mentioned this below and I forgot to mention it: I've got a pull Macro set up to automatically fire off Fight or Flight follow-up by a Shield Lob which is just to enure that I've fired off Fight of Flight at the start. Regarding flash, usually pop 2 flashes at the start once I know I've got the basic attention of the mobs. Then, move into to the hate building rotation I mentioned above. You will have cases of a well-geared player (DPS) who can pull hate pretty easily; just watch your aggro bars in the party list. Throw in an extra Rage of Halone on the problem mob or Flash where appropriate to help get some hate back. Lastly, you can use you saved Provoke for those urgent cases to pull hate back. ... I die a little inside everytime I see a tank try to pull with Provoke, this isn't FF11.

[Anapingofness]

Kaitlen gave good advice, so I won't repeat what she said (too much).

That being said, make sure to read the tool tip on your abilities as you get them. Also, don't be afraid to use your cool downs effectively. They help you keep hate and take less damage. Not that you don't- just I've met tanks who literally didn't read any of their abilities and were suffering for it.


One thing I do differently than Kaitlen is I always number the mobs before I pull (when I mark). I have markers for 1-3 on my hotbar since rarely you pull groups that have more than x4 mobs.

Kaitlen touched upon it briefly, but don't be afraid to cycle through mobs to maintain hate on everything. You may find yourself doing this if you have a lot of AOE damage in the group.


Lastly, always look to having the best gear for your level. For a tank this is especially true. It can be a bit tough if you're buying off of the MB so I would look to maybe leveling a craft or hiring a crafter (if you can get the mats).

Ultimately, your group has to work with you- you could do everything right but if the group is working against you then there isn't much you can do about it. Do your best to work past those situations.
I've found that most of the misunderstandings in DF can be avoided if people just took the time to type a few lines before the run begins.
Let people know you're new or if you're after a particular sort of a run- full clear for max exp or loot for example.
Also, don't let yourself be pressured into running a dungeon in a way that you are uncomfortable with.
Just keep doing your best and you'll do fine. You may run into a few bad apples but by and large most of the players in FFXIV are good people. ^^

[aerolol]

Fight or Flight will get you more aggro since it'll increase the damage you make, so if it's available, use it.

Bloodbath (marauder cross class skill) will also give you a tiny extra bit of aggro with every hit since you are healing yourself.

Other than that, the above posts already explain a lot.

Green or purple weapons/gears are NOT necessarily better than HQ stuff you can buy from the market board.
For some levels, the crafted hq gear is better than the dungeon drops.

[Rufalus]

At lv26 you get rage of halone which does huge enmity, and at lv40 you get shield oath which is a persistent thing you just turn on and helps enmity generation and damage reduction. Mostly it's just game experience, you learn the dungeons and the enemies, it helps you do the right things at the right time, you fall into routine. Gotta make mistakes before you learn.

[Kaitlen]

+1 to everything what Anapingofness said.

I was debating on how much detail to add about gear and some other points. So, thank you Anapingofness. /bow <3

For myself and the gear used, I was very lucky to have the crafting resources of a large FC. You'll want to upgrade your gear and accessories every few levels, try to avoid more than a 4 or 5 level spread between your gear and job level.

(btw; I'm leveling WAR now, which is around level 35ish... I'm reliving the new tank experience except I know all of the dungeons this time, haha)

[Garlyle]

You don't necessarily need to market board your gear. That said, keep up with your weapon by ensuring you're doing your class quests, and post 30 if you haven't gotten a dungeon drop or quest drop you'll want to track down a nearby NPC. Your weapon controls your aggro generation. For most classes I'd say gear shouldn't be more than 10 levels below yourself; for a tank, I'd put that closer to 5 (accessories an exception because they're harder to get your hands on).

At the end of the day, there's going to be the occasional DPS that makes maintaining perfect aggro throughout an entire dungeon a pain (Especially when you first hit level 50 and people have literally twice your gear level). The black mage who starts off an encounter with a raging strikes'd Flare is going to have to just deal with the fact that you can't be expected to hold aggro through that though. Do the best you can for the rest of them.

[Asheilin]

Always keep your weapon (and shield when able) within 5 levels of your actual level. Gear within that is important, but the weapon is the main thing.

After marking a target, if the DPS isn't focusing that target, tell them to follow marks. ie 2 dies before 1. If they complain about it, tell them if they pull it off you they can tank it til 1 is down. My fiancee used that on one horrid group, after the first time they tanked it; they started being better at following marks.
Also, synced players even though synced, have higher stats then those naturally that level; this causes them to hit harder (depending on what their syncing from). While they won't like being asked to back off the dps a bit, MOST will.

[PogueX]

My gear is pretty much the gear that i have earned in dungeons and quest up to now. I am a blacksmith though, so i plan to level that up for awhile. Not really sure how to mark a target,

i usually do this for a rotation

Fight or flight
Shield lob
Flash (when mobs are close0
Fast blade
Riot blade
Flash
Fast Blade
Riot blade

I also have sword oath from the paladin job class on

that doesn't really work well. Should i instead be building up a combo? And also at times flash will not argo mobs, they will instead continue attack the other party members or go pass me even though i was in the AOE range. It becomes difficult especially when other members are not attacking who i am attacking.

[Belhi]

You'll find holding agro easier once you get Shield Oath. In the mean time, marking a target and using your single target combo on that will hopefully help a lot. There are several ways to mark targets such as macros and such but you can just look under Character>Actions&Traits>Main Commands>Signs. Drag the button to a hot bar and it will pop up a window when you click on it with all the marks on it.

Note, that if your dps are focusing on your mark the main risk to your threat should be the healer. You will need to throw out occasional flashes, particularly if your taking a lot of damage to keep your targets from heading off after your healer. Note however that flash will not break your combo.

Also provoke can be used to help regain threat on a lost target but only if followed up with a high enmity attack. At range, Shield lob has worked well for me for this.

Finally, gear helps a lot. For a tank, Blacksmith, Armourer and Goldsmith have helped me gearing the most. The more damage you cause, the more enmity you generate. The less damage you take the less your healer has to heal you and the less enmity they generate.

As I said at the top though, Shield Oath will make your life a lot easier.