Outdated content is not the best example of what an "off-tank" should be doing. Sadly, 99% of the current FFxiv community is so over-geared for that content that many of the job requirements have become utterly redundant. So, as far as Castrum goes, you did fine. In fact, you did more than fine because, chances are, rounding up add spawns was unnecessary. To be completely honest, half of your party could have hung back at the entrance and had a smoke break, and you probably would have still cleared the dungeon. It just would have taken a little longer.

In more up to date content, however, you'll find that you have a more clearly defined role to fulfill, and that role will vary depending on the fight. Most often, Off Tanks are responsible for easing the burden of the Main Tank. Sometimes this takes the form as something as simple as tanking any adds that spawn. Sometimes it gets a bit more complicated, requiring Tank Swaps, Split Mechanics, Soak Mechanics, or specific tasks that need to be completed. For your reference:

  • Tank Swaps: Exactly what it sounds like. You use provoke to swap positions with the Main Tank. You become Main, and the previous Main becomes the Off Tank. This is usually done because of scaling damage caused by stacking vulnerability debuffs; though, it can be for other reasons, such as temporary swaps to avoid Tank Busters on the Main Tank or specific status effects.

    Remember to always follow a Provoke with an enmity strike of some kind. Voke only gives you +1 enmity over the Main Tank, so they can easily, and accidentally, take enmity back if you don't prep for the swap correctly. The results can be disastrous.

  • Split Mechanics: Mechanics of the fight which require Tanks to divide tasks between themselves, splitting the responsibility in some way.

    This can tank many forms. Most commonly, the Off Tank will have to tank Adds either away from or on top of the boss, depending on if there is any proximity penalties (ie: boss gets buffed if adds are too close). In some cases, however, there will simply be no boss to tank, and both tanks divide the adds between them (similar to A2, in the first set of Alexander Raids). In others, the Boss will leave the arena and both tanks will split up the spawning adds (such as in Thordan Extreme, where the Tanks have to keep an add a piece and split them as far away from each other as possible). In other cases still, there won't be any adds at all, and the tanks have to split up to deal with specific mechanics. An example of this is standing within meteor AoE's to negate the damage to the party. This last type can be tricky if there are more mechanics to deal with than there are Tanks, so sometimes Dps will have to "paper tank" and help out.

  • Soak Mechanics: Very simple. You basically stand in something intentionally in order to spare the hit to someone else. Often, this will be a specific AoE's, such as meteors, conviction towers, etc. with a pretty easily identifiable tell. However, sometimes it can a Tank Buster which is too strong to solo-tank. Ravana Ex's Blinding Blade or Brute Justices's Rocket Punch are such examples. Some of these moves (such as Rocket Punch) are easily identified because they have a cast bar you can see. Others, such as Ravana's Blinding Blade, do not, so you actually have to memorize when the attacks happen in the boss's rotation and act in advance.

  • Other Tasks: Could be anything. There have been fights that require tether drags, AoE kiting, and even interacting with specific objects (such as tower switches in the King Behemoth fight of Crystal Tower). Not all of your Off Tanking responsibilities will be directly relating to the Main Tank, either. Sometimes you'll have to coordinate with the Dps or Healers. Each fight is different, so you'll have to learn as you go.


Most of the A Realm Reborn party requirements can be bypassed because the average item level is much higher than required, but more current content will require a proper division of roles. What it will really come down to is getting more experience with different types of fights and mechanics, so that you know what to expect when you get to the current level of content. Many of these mechanics repeat in future fights, just with different visual cues. So you'll be able to anticipate your job based on past experiences. Even if you watch video guides in advance of actually attempting a fight, you'll be able to recognize certain mechanics easier if you've seen a previous incarnation of it before.