do people hate tanking?

[AlphaFox]

I personally enjoy tanking when its for friends or FC members but the randoms can add stress. I don't really even bother tanking or doing DF for fights I have never done as a DPS or healer first just cus they can be evil. However I also follow the mentality of "you pull it, you tank it". If it is an accident then no worry I'll grab it but if I see a DPS deliberately running ahead and pulling more, well enjoy your impending doom cus it is on you. The tank sets the pace, if they are not comfortable pulling more (or in some cases you see the healer just can't) don't try to force it cus all you do is make the run longer should we wipe anyway.

[Dave_TV]

One thing I've yet to really understand is how DPS can find the time to pull more mobs for things to go faster, but pulling more mobs means they are not DPSing. And then if I and the healer let them die, that is just MORE wasted time. Seriously...if you want to go faster as a DPS or healer or W/e just kill whats in front of you faster and it WILL go faster. The difference can't be more than 3-4 mins out of a 30 min run. That is 10% faster for about 100% more stress. Not a good trade for folks playing a video game.

If you want an AE Armageddon, ask.

[Velox]

I also want to clear up a huge misconception about the role that people believe and ends up driving them away.

Tanks are NOT the leader of the party. Parties do not have leaders unless one is designated by the group. A leader is the one making decisions based on composition and reactionary elements...things you really don't find, or don't matter, in 4-man instances. If a leader IS needed, the person with the most knowledge of the fight is picked, regardless of role.

What a tank is is the HEAD of the party, which is wholly different. The head of the party is the person on the frontline...the one who goes in first. The tank certainly can be the leader, but the healer or one of the DPS could just as well be the leader. What a healer and DPS isn't though is at the head of the party.


Once people stop confusing the two and giving people the wrong idea, it will help to alleviate some of the unneeded stress people think exists for the role.

[Zoy]

I think tanking is fun, the reason why i dont queue as a tank much because of being criticized too much for not pulling enough. I usually take it easy at first to see what the healer can handle first but trigger happy dps sometimes cant wait that long lol

I can agree to this, but other ppl need to keep in mind if a person is new, or the other to dps are melee. I was in DF que with 2 ninjas 1 was new and the healer asked to pull more, I explained I would if I had a brd and blm combo and 1 wasn't new

[Kacho_Nacho]

I enjoy playing a tank but I don't like the expectation that I should know the instance inside and out before even stepping into the dungeon. It's like people expect me to be the leader but at the same time they don't like tanks who act like leaders.

I just want to go in, grab the aggro, manage my damage mitigation, and watch for the bad stuff. If there are new boss mechanics, I want to learn them the same way I learn them on my damage dealers and healers. By experiencing it first hand!

Furthermore, there is a large number of dps players who won't allow me to pull first. It's crazy the number of times I've had to jump in and pick up mobs like a madman because some other player decided they should be the puller.

Now, I appreciate a good challenge, but damn, I should be worked with, not against. I don't like fighting mobs and my own party to get through an instance. It's supposed to be a team effort where folks work together to overcome the challenges but there are just too many hyper or arrogant damage dealers in the duty finder to let this happen. That's what kills my desire to tank.

[Iagainsti]

I love it <3

[Jim_Berry]

As much as I talked about loving PLD some time ago, I have had a negative run-in with content lately in the form of me doing horrible, and I don't know why.

Yesterday, I MT'd Sephirot Ex just fine. But when I joined two other groups and PLD then DRK, I kept wiping the group unintentionally. I would either not stand in my tower, I couldn't grab a Binah in phase 3 that killed our WHM, I didn't pop a CD for the splash damage in phase 3...just all kinds of messing ups.

The other day, I just couldn't keep aggro in dungeons. It was my first time losing hate in the recent dungeons. In Mentor Roulette, I got knocked off the edge twice in Titan Ex. In Garuda Ex via Mentor Roulette, I had a brain fart on the Spiny: first time, I killed it too soon. Second time, I couldn't Voke it off the healer because I had just Voke Chirada.

I feel like I do not want to touch my PLD or DRK for a while now. Kinda regret passing BRD bow to get DRK weapon in Sephirot Ex.

[Bigcat9715]

I used to tank back before 3.0 hit, but decided to stop afterwards due to the fact that tanking requires good gear at all times or they're going to lose aggro alot. Since 3.0 hit i've just been playing DoM jobs, but I'm wondering if I should pick up Drk and give it another shot. Have they made it easier for tanks to hold aggro regardless of gear?

[Jim_Berry]

I used to tank back before 3.0 hit, but decided to stop afterwards due to the fact that tanking requires good gear at all times or they're going to lose aggro alot. Since 3.0 hit i've just been playing DoM jobs, but I'm wondering if I should pick up Drk and give it another shot. Have they made it easier for tanks to hold aggro regardless of gear?

Yes. Tank stances generate more enmity, and other actions, such as Savage Blade, Skull Sunder, and Spinning Slash all also generate more enmity.

It is said that DRK has become more of an MT since PLD beat it now with DRK's lack of OT utility. I haven't MT'd much as DRK, though, unless it's a solo thing.

[Cinno]

No one said anything about playing poorly.

Think of it this way. Say the tank, knowing their own limits, knows that they can safely pull (and hold) ten mobs, but no more. So they gather those 10, and proceed to do their job.

A DPS decides that 10 isn't enough, and purposely pulls 5 more. The tank (going by your theory) pulls them all off of the dps. However those 15 mobs are a bit beyond the tanks ability. So the tank starts taking damage faster than it can be healed. The healer begins to struggle, and the tank eventually dies. Then the healer, then the dps. Congrats, we have a wipe.

If the tank simply let the dps die, all the mobs would then move to the tank. Maybe they can pull it off, maybe they'll still wipe. But at that point the fault would be on the dps, who would hopefully learn their lesson.

So really that would be the dps playing poorly. A good tank knows their limits, and will pull accordingly. They set the pace. And the dps should follow.