Learning endgame tanking

[Risvertasashi]

I've never ever tank swapped or really done much of anything outside of dungeons. I understand the theory behind swapping, carefully managed mitigation, snap add pickups, and so on but I'm worried about my ability to execute. To actually do those things. I've never done them.

So basically I need hands on practice...

DFs of ex primals don't get far enough for it to matter. My raid leader kinda wants me to learn trial-by-fire style: throw me right into fcob. I've used gear as an excuse until now but if RNGsus likes me enough or next week by poetics, I'll have i130 in the major left slide slots (Leg slot is the main deficiency right now...). So soon I won't have that excuse...

But I might choke on that much humble pie at once...

What's the best way to get that hands on practice, without pissing off 7 other people I will see again?

Are there any particular ex trials that are easy for a newbie to pick up quickly (but not faceroll) but will give practice with these things? Or other things like that?

[Steady]

"stuff you said"

Pretty much all the Primals can be good practice. You really just need to find 7 friends who'll let you learn. Ifrit and Titan Ex are good lessons as well.


if your talking about Final Coil... then Turn 10 or Turn 12 are both great places to learn tank swaps. None of it is that hard, just gotta get out there and do it.

[VargasVermillion]

Feeling nervous on content you aren't experienced with is pretty normal but it all becomes easier once you know the fight. you'll screw up a few times on your early attempts but it'll all fall into place. Try and set up/join practice parties, DF primals and/or older coils, watch guides and research and you should be fine.

[FenHin]

I'll suggest Garuda Extreme

[Casper]

Tanking Endgame content comes in "layers". You should not be so nervous -- your raid leader is right, there is no better way to learn to swim than to get into water deep enough for you not to touch the floor. Just don't go TOO deep, so you have a safety net



Turn 10 is absolutely perfect for that. With close to i130 gear, echo, staying in your tank stance, you have a huge huge huge margin for errors. Dps won't be an issue either. Hopefully you go Pld -- if you plan on going war, go pld first until you are comfortable with tanking. It will be much much much easier for you to learn.

With Pld your rotation will be 123123123, so you can do that mindlessly and just focus on everything else. You will need to do mechanics, but that is the same than any other job. Now you will need to focus on 2 things: tank swaps, and CD use. The good news is, with echo, 130 gear and on t10, if you miss a CD, you will survive easily, so you have training weels. When critical rip happens if you MT, stop hitting 123 and hit a CD -- rampart or sentinel or hallowed ground. If you need to go take a charge and you are MT, go around the boss, focus on not moving it, stop hitting 123 and just focus on your position. Once you are behind the boss, hit a CD button. Let the other tank focus on grabbing agro.

If you are off tank and need to take the boss, go in front of it before you have it, then hit provoke, and start doing 123.

When adds come, go exactly inbetween them (you should have a circle showing you where), and spam flash. Use it 2 times, then move a bit north, and use it a bunch more, then start doing 123 combo rotating between the two.

All of this is COMPLETELY overkill and suboptimal by a wide margin. But it will get the job done. Once you do it enough, you will start getting your "stage fright" off, and start optimizing stuff. Before that, just overdo everything and focus only on what matters -- using CD when needed, grabbing agro when needed, everything else be damned. Soon enough you will feel more comfy.

[MichaelAngelus]

Risvertasashi, a great way to learn without the fear of "pissing off 7 people" is to practice with players who understand that you are learning, and will not judge you for it. If you wish to practice outside of your raid group, the above suggestion of making your own practice party is very sound advice.
Being a nervous wreck while learning, not only obscures your enjoyment of the game, but can also cause you to make more mistakes as well, leading to frustration. Be lighthearted about it... it is a video game. Harsh judgement from others is ALWAYS a reflection of their views, not of your skill or worth.
About Tank Swapping: I use a macro to announce provoke, this way both my co-tank and my healers are made aware of when it takes place. My sequence as a PLD is often FoF>bloodbath>FB(to preload combo)>Provoke>SB>RoH>Flash. This may be overkill, and there are other ways, but I like the snap enmity it provides. Experiment on your own, and most importantly, have fun while doing it!

[Werhusky]

Dont worry to much Id say.... I got to main WAR pretty much after hitting level 50 on it started with tanking CT for FC runs then got asked to join a FC raid for T1-4 (2.1 that was) with i76 was one of the highest geared tanks in FC but I personally always felt like a noob. But I managed to tank Cads split with being at 70% hitrate (youp I had no clue bout accuracy needed).
If you wanna start easy go first coils 1-4 try 6-8 and maybe T5 and 9 (havent tanked T8 n 9 thru myself as now maining heal... I have a personal gotta tank gotta DPS ranged/melee). Try EX primals.... I wanted to try tanking T10 i just went into DF with a friend... we killed (oneshot even) even tho my adds crakle hiss hit the other tank. I was excited but I just slammed my face into it.
Just dont worry try and have fun

[Risvertasashi]

Thank you all for your suggestions and tips.

Turn 10 is absolutely perfect for that. With close to i130 gear, echo, staying in your tank stance, you have a huge huge huge margin for errors. Dps won't be an issue either. Hopefully you go Pld -- if you plan on going war, go pld first until you are comfortable with tanking. It will be much much much easier for you to learn.

It's PLD, yep (turtle playstyle appeals to me). And, those are some good points about T10... maybe I will start there.

Risvertasashi, a great way to learn without the fear of "pissing off 7 people" is to practice with players who understand that you are learning

(...) My sequence as a PLD is often FoF>bloodbath>FB(to preload combo)>Provoke>SB>RoH>Flash. This may be overkill, and there are other ways, but I like the snap enmity it provides. Experiment on your own, and most importantly, have fun while doing it!

It's more that I think they would have the expectation that I pick it up very quickly. If I tanked in other games maybe but... Well, I would just prefer something with some margin for error while I learn. But like Casper pointed out, T10 probably qualifies now.

Dont worry to much Id say.... I got to main WAR pretty much after hitting level 50 on it started with tanking CT for FC runs then got asked to join a FC raid for T1-4 (2.1 that was) with i76 was one of the highest geared tanks in FC but I personally always felt like a noob. But I managed to tank Cads split with being at 70% hitrate (youp I had no clue bout accuracy needed).
If you wanna start easy go first coils 1-4 try 6-8 and maybe T5 and 9 (havent tanked T8 n 9 thru myself as now maining heal... I have a personal gotta tank gotta DPS ranged/melee). Try EX primals.... I wanted to try tanking T10 i just went into DF with a friend... we killed (oneshot even) even tho my adds crakle hiss hit the other tank. I was excited but I just slammed my face into it.
Just dont worry try and have fun

Honestly I wouldn't have expected DF groups to get as far as adds... maybe I just have too many bad experiences with it XD I might try that then. Or a preformed titan ex or something... hmm

[Arkenne]

Call yourself MT for Steps of Faith.
That one requires a lot more from the MT and MH than anyone else~♪

[MichaelAngelus]

I find Steps of Faith to be a very unique fight from a tank's perspective. Perhaps a preview of things to come in HW, but I speculate.

The Odin trial, while solo-tankable at higher gear levels, is a good fight to practice defensive cooldown management while in a tank-n-spank situation where you also need to avoid aoe damage by reacting quickly & repositioning yourself, keeping Odin steady in place for your monk /dragoon to be able to maximize their effectiveness (if present).