Quote Originally Posted by Tenthul View Post
I'm going to attempt to expand on this and just straight up ask: How do you tank (hold aggro)?

I tanked in 11 with both Nin and Pld back in the day. I've tanked in WoW and Rift at high end stuff, I love tanking and it's just something I enjoy doing in MMO's. It absolutely befuddles me that I can't figure out how to tank in this game. Is it just another broken aspect of the game? I tried looking up guides and the best answer I found just said "Currently at end game, most LS's just throw multiple Gladiators at everything" and I just couldn't accept that as an actual answer.

I can hold single targets ok if the DD's wait and let me ramp up the aggro before they go crazy which is fine and expected. Mostly the issue is groups of 3 or more mobs where I can't even get aggro on something before mobs go after the healer (from requiring heals).

So far this game has been the most miserable tanking experience of any game I've ever played and *really* does not make me want to keep playing (that's not supposed to be a straight burn on 14, just simply a fact of my current experience). I feel like an absolute failure in groups. I can't stress how much it really, really makes me feel like crap to not be able to even protect the healer.
Well, a few things need to be taken into account. One, at lower levels, your tanking abilities are scaled down to a sucky level. Basically, part of your issue is likely that you're getting screwed by scaling. This is even more annoying because damage doesn't scale down as harshly, so your ability to outpace the DD's aggro is even more hampered.

Now, for AoE tanking, I can give a few pointers. First, to get it out of the way up front, MRD is better equipped for AoE tanking.That said, though, there's some stuff you can do to help yourself. First, use whatever abilities you can to lower the amount of damage you're taking at the start of the fight so the healers don't immediately pull aggro. Second, once you take some damage, heal yourself before the healers can (keeps your aggro up and theirs down). Third, spam the crap out of some AoE abilities. (Skip War Drums, though. It sucks that bad.)