New Tank Help

[Mattelot]

I find that a lot of people are judgmental. As time progresses, you are right, people set expectation but I'm one of those few people who do not care what other people expect or require. Like the guy who said if you have not accomplished this or that, then your opinion does not matter. I picked up this game, started off as a DPS and learned how each dungeon works. I didn't know what to expect. I did that on my own accord. One MMO I played did not have dungeons and another, you just killed monsters. There was no "collect this key" or "grab that orb."

I agree with what you said earlier, that people can be brutal to people who do not know what they're doing. I'm very attentive to detail and I can usually tell when a player in a dungeon is a little off because they've never done the dungeon or when they're just "limited" because they do not use CDs, etc.

[SpookyGhost]

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?

Up to you. Leveling tank in this game really isn't that bad since the dungeons are all linear, as long as you're careful with your pulls nothing can go wrong (outside of not pressing defensive CDs and your healer being afk). It's obviously easier still to be a DPS since you can die and nothing will really happen (until raiding), so if you don't feel up for going into stuff for the first time as the guy who gets hit a lot then going DPS first might be a good idea. Otherwise, though, you should be fine - watching guides on stuff will really take all the mystery out of the dungeons/Primals/etc so you won't get any huge surprises, at least not from the enemies.

[Garotte14]

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.

Keep one thing in mind in relation to this comment. For every one negative instance you read on the forums, there are probably 2 dozens instances that go off without a hitch. People normally only comment when something goes wrong. If someone has a normal experience, they aren't going to come talk about. They'll just keep on playing. Continue on with tank. If you catch heat, brush it off. You'll never see that person again. Enjoy the game you want to and don't worry about others getting butt hurt from something so trivial.

[whiteblade89]

What Garotte14 said is so true. I've been playing for about a year and a half, mostly using DF and I've come to learn that the majority of players who use DF are just like you. Decent human beings who just want to run a dungeon. And usually they go pretty smoothly. That doesn't mean you won't have bad runs though. If you're tanking in this game, you need confidence and thick skin because there will be those rare times when you meet unruly dps who pull other mobs because "I don't wanna be here all day, bro." Or the healer who doesn't pay attention and then criticizes you when they let you die. I was once dismissed from a dungeon for reasons that weren't even my fault. As the tank, you will be the easiest to blame. These things do happen, but like I said, they are extremely rare. And honestly, there aren't many endgame dungeons that you can't get through goin in blind. Research is purely up to you. So go pick up that axe/shield/greatsword and show us what you're made of.

[Cipher_Zaabiz]

[B]TL : DR

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.

If you want to learn something else important for tanking, then play healer.

when you learn how they need each other, you will get a fine grasp on tanking in FF14 because the healer is the other one that decides if a party lives.

So choose one healer job for you and learn all the things about it, then, when you tank and some trouble occurs, you will understand, what the issue is and how to end it.

[Tubbins]

/snip

This is accurate. I came back to this game after a 2 year hiatus and decided to level Dark Knight (currently 40) and have done so almost exclusively through random dungeon queues. I have had maybe one bad experience out of the 20 or so dungeons that I have completed in the last few days and that is with me having to relearn most of the boss mechanics. Also, remember that with you being a tank, you have basically instant queues. If people get too toxic you can leave, queue again, and be in dungeon long before they are able to replace you.