New Tank Help

[Kindread]

TL : DR As a new player should I level a DPS first to go through the upper end dungeons to learn them before trying to tank?

I have played FF XIV off and on for the last couple years but never got past level 40ish because of various RL reasons.

I am looking to get heavy into the game this time and have always played as a tank (in all MMOs including this one).

Mechanics wise I feel comfortable, as I always watch videos/read guides before entering a dungeon for the first time. I even announce when I first enter that it is my first time and feedback is more than welcome.

My main question is, I keep hearing about how toxic the Party Finder can be in the late game. Should I be leveling a DPS first to experience the dungeon mechanics, and party quirks. Sometimes it becomes the norm to skip some bosses, or avoid clearing areas that you can bypass .. people get SO upset when you try and do a full clear, or kill something that could have been skipped.

[dehlert]

Idk I have learned no matter what you read in guides the players always do it different >_<

[Donjo]

TL;DR: You're probably fine to proceed as a Tank, especially since you do the research beforehand to make sure you know your specific mechanics for an encounter.

In FFXIV, no dungeon bosses are skippable and skippable groups of monsters are rare enough in the late game to evoke images of unicorns. You'll find skippable monsters primarily in the dungeons you use to level up to 50, and as long as you're the Tank people are less likely to complain about full clearing a dungeon because doing so will earn more EXP. If people get mad at you when you haven't made some sort of mistake, they're probably in the wrong. Just shrug it off and keep going. Contrary to popular belief, many runs go quite smoothly. The bad ones just seem more prevalent because that's all people ever pipe up about!

[Mattelot]

It isn't required to level a DPS first when doing dungeons but it did help me. I see tanks getting criticized in randoms for not knowing exactly what to do but seldom do I see DPS unless it's "get adds!" in which case, it could be your fault or the other guy.

[Ebonwings]

Well it's not important which class you level first, it what you enjoy playing the most. The only different between a new tank and a new DPS is that, Tank has to be more prepare for dungeons like researching on mechanics.

[Mattelot]

Well it's not important which class you level first, it what you enjoy playing the most. The only different between a new tank and a new DPS is that, Tank has to be more prepare for dungeons like researching on mechanics.

I disagree to an extent. Nobody is required to research anything. Will it help? I'm sure it will but it is not required. Somebody at some point had to figure things out on their own. Also, there is no trigger for doing that.

I'm not trying to be argumentative but that's just a common misconception.

[Kindread]

Well it's not important which class you level first, it what you enjoy playing the most. The only different between a new tank and a new DPS is that, Tank has to be more prepare for dungeons like researching on mechanics.

Which is exactly why I was asking. Coming from tanking in other MMOs such as Rift or WoW not knowing dungeon mechanics this late in an expansion, players can be BRUTAL to a new tank, even one that does research and pays attention.

Maybe I just spend too much time reading the forums here and am just catching the ultra negative stuff that happens and should not worry so much about it.

[Ebonwings]

Snippy

Don't worry people have different play style like how I first started the game as a GLA instead of LNC hoping that it was a DPS xD as tanking is my first job, I at least felt that I need to make sure I do my job right, so I spent like 5 mins on research before going into dungeon. Some people prefer to research on dungeons before getting in, while some prefer to experience it. They both are great in their own ways and after the first clear of the dungeon both will know the mechanics.

@Kindrea, probably you caught with some negative stuff from the forums xD IMO we can go blindly as a tank in any dungeons in this game provide that we have at least basic knowledge of avoiding aoe, know when to use cooldowns, don't bite off more than we can chew, and keep aggro ( can't be help if tank is out-geared by DPS).

[Kindread]

I disagree to an extent. Nobody is required to research anything. Will it help? I'm sure it will but it is not required. Somebody at some point had to figure things out on their own. Also, there is no trigger for doing that.

I'm not trying to be argumentative but that's just a common misconception.

Thank you for your response. As a career tank this really rings true. I love the start of an expansion when everyone is learning the content, but to start as a tank so late you tend to run into a LOT of people that expect you to not know know the mechanics, but to know them SO well that you can basically carry a group through most content.

[Sarcatica]

If you know how to tank from other games, you just need to do slight adjustments to this game. Aggro for example. Learning is a process, whether you want to ease the groups you are in by reading or not is your choice, you are free to do whatever you want. You just can't expect people to be so understanding, especially for contents that are on the higher tier. Most dungeons for starters should be okay though since the mechanics aren't too complex yet.