Learning to tank FF style(or learning how to be a proper flasher)

[Naryoril]

Another thing that makes your life as a tank easier is marking, although it seems hardly anyone is doing it anymore and then they can't hold aggro.

Personally i just mark the next target with a 1, you can put the marking on your hotbar for ease of use. When the current target is at about 10% health, i mark the next target with a 1 so the DPS can prepare and know where to go next. If the DPS don't listen and attack the wrong target with non-dot single target attacks, ask them to follow the marks. If they still don't listen and pull aggro, it's their fault.

Marking makes my life easier since i know where to put most of my aggro and it makes the healers life easier since the DPS focus on a single target and monsters die faster and you get less damage. This makes it easier for the healer to got into cleric stance and deal damage too, and the whole fight is over faster. It really is a win - win situation that is hardly used nowadays because many tanks are too lazy.

[PWilson]

Another thing that makes your life as a tank easier is marking, although it seems hardly anyone is doing it anymore and then they can't hold aggro.

1. Trash doesn't live long enough to be worth marking, most of the time.
2. DPS NEVER follow marks. Yeah, if they pull aggro, it's their fault, but the healer still blames me for letting the DPS get the hate. DPS gets a little thrill of pride, "Oooh I can tank!" and "Oooh I managed to out-DPS our tank's aggro generation! Hahahaha! I'm sooo awesome!"
I shouldn't say never. It's always a case of one of the DPS follows the marks, and the other one doesn't. The number of times that this is not the case is a single digit percentage.

It's so much easier to let the DPS attack what they want to and hold the hate off of them, because they're gonna do what they want anyway.

[Zetonegi]

Its not just at least one DPS doesn't follow marks but SMN and BLM both AoE a lot because its just what they do. SMNs are going to use Bane and BLMs are going to cast Fire2. The best general strat for any tank on holding hate on multiple mobs is use your job's AoE ability a few times(2-3 is normally fine) then do your 1-2-3 hate combo in the following fashion: 1-2 change target 3 change target repeat. If your DPS are being nice and primarily focusing the same target, you can focus mostly on that target with less frequent poking of the other mobs to keep them off the healers. Eventually, you'll get comfortable enough to weave in your non-hate combo to keep up maim/get some MP back. On bosses, pop whatever damage boosts you have and use your hate combo, maybe twice, then just alternate your 1-2-3 and your DPS combo, although PLD doesn't get theirs till post 50 because SE.


As for defensive CDs, just use them sorta whenever, its infinitely better than not using them at all and your healers will notice even if they don't say anything. After doing dungeons a few times, you'll begin to learn when you want that extra bit of tankiness, usually to protect yourself from subpar healers or to enable crazier pulls. When you start doing serious trials and raids, you'll simply have to learn when you need to pop CDs and that's just a matter of learning the fights and practice.