Are tanks a scapegoat for performance issues?

[RopeDrink]

In fairness to the nicer DF folks out there, I have now run Vault 4 times in my pursuit of dinging 60, and have gotten 9 comms out of 4 runs. And to be honest, I don't think I was doing much besides normal bread and butter tankin

Not to be mean, but my post referenced people commending for a reason. If you've no idea 'why' then you can safely assume people just default-commend the tank (or the Healer) - whoever is earlier in the alphabet. I'm under no illusions that the only reason I have as many commendations as I do over my short career is because I primarily Heal or Tank when running content - NOT because I Healed or Tanked particularly well. That post of mine you're referring to was the first time someone actually typed out why they hit that commend-button - and what made me laugh is that the reason given was something I would have expected ANY Paladin would have done in my shoes. Take whatever commendations you can - just don't be shocked if the reverse sometimes happen (getting none, ever, for prolonged periods of time).

EDIT:

As for the Vault, I loved it when I went there for the first time. Whole place gave off a Dark Souls kinda vibe (all the giant armours and giant knights in a dimly lit cathedral etc). I assume you're on about the last boss, though I'm not sure which mechanics you're not getting for any of them - they're pretty self-explanatory for the most part. Other reason I loved vault was the fact it had a noticable damage spike (the first time this happened was entering level 50 Hard dungeons for the first time), whereas going from the 50's to Vault stings pretty hard if you've not been maintaining your gear while levelling. Hoping we get that in Stormblood so even the overgeared folks get some kind of challenge.

[rjspencer4]

Just blame everybody, even yourself, makes things a lot easier

[gumas]

I like to make things simple

Wipe because boss keep hitting Other beside tank? Obviously tank fault
Wipe because dps keep getting hit from avoidable red circle? Dps fault
Wipe because party hp bar keep getting depleted? Healer fault

Boss at the vault is mostly dps (and healer) problems, a lot of their attack is multi target/aoe so it doesnt matter if tank doing back to wall style, dps will still getting hit left and right, the boss fight at the vault is mostly about how good you are at dodging stuff

[Venjenz]

Not to be mean, but my post referenced people commending for a reason. If you've no idea 'why' then you can safely assume people just default-commend the tank (or the Healer) - whoever is earlier in the alphabet. I'm under no illusions that the only reason I have as many commendations as I do over my short career is because I primarily Heal or Tank when running content - NOT because I Healed or Tanked particularly well. That post of mine you're referring to was the first time someone actually typed out why they hit that commend-button - and what made me laugh is that the reason given was something I would have expected ANY Paladin would have done in my shoes. Take whatever commendations you can - just don't be shocked if the reverse sometimes happen (getting none, ever, for prolonged periods of time).

I already go long stretches without comms, and that's why the Vault kinda stands out for me. Could be coincidence, could be on purpose, who knows. I was just trying to give a hat tip to the nicer folks in DF who may or may not underperform but DON'T take it out on the tank.

As for the Vault, I loved it when I went there for the first time. Whole place gave off a Dark Souls kinda vibe (all the giant armours and giant knights in a dimly lit cathedral etc). I assume you're on about the last boss, though I'm not sure which mechanics you're not getting for any of them - they're pretty self-explanatory for the most part. Other reason I loved vault was the fact it had a noticable damage spike (the first time this happened was entering level 50 Hard dungeons for the first time), whereas going from the 50's to Vault stings pretty hard if you've not been maintaining your gear while levelling. Hoping we get that in Stormblood so even the overgeared folks get some kind of challenge.

I think that's what it is - a big spike up in damage. I maintain my gear as best I can, and I use cooldowns and all that, but that last boss hurts. It's a surprise to DF groups I think is all I am saying, and there seems to be a decent amount of chaos and running about. I've wiped on that boss twice ( in 2 different runs), but for the most part, it's just a good solid fight that reminds you the game has gotten tougher. Point is, with the dmg uptick, the tougher mechanics and me still learning...my Vault DF groups have been pretty cool to me, and it stood out enough to mention it.

[RopeDrink]

Wipe because boss keep hitting Other beside tank? Obviously tank fault
Wipe because dps keep getting hit from avoidable red circle? Dps fault
Wipe because party hp bar keep getting depleted? Healer fault

Problem with this sort of thinking is that it completely excludes the circle effect. For example, let's say DPS is being sub-par (beit experience, gear, rotations, or because a tank sucks at positioning) which makes for longer fights, which pushes healers towards MP concerns, or (in terms of above mentioned dungeons where everything and their mother is doing gross AoE damage every ability) increases the risk of people just flat out dying to mechanics, whether they're failing at dodging or not - and this not being helped by, say, a tank that isn't using mitigations on a rotation thus the Healer has even more to worry about, etc. etc.

In short, it's a group effort, and wipes don't always happen as a result of an obvious 'absolute'.