Choosing a tank class..

[TequilaSky]

As the title states, i'm debating which tank class to sway towards as I've mainly been a DPS and healing role up until now. To those tank mains out there, what class do you prefer? And which would satisfy you the most?
I don't necessarily aim to go for anything specific but an overall great tanking experience.
Any advice would be much appreciated.

[BorisDaBlade]

I mained paladin up to 3.5 and it's probably the easiest to play effectively. I only played warrior enough to get foresight and bloodbath. DRK is kinda above my skill level tbh, but it's super fun to play as OT eventhough it's not really built for it.

As I decided to level my warrior. I kinda fell in love with it. You get to see big numbers(11k crit fell cleave anyone). Aggro is very easy to maintain and the skill floor is between pld and drk.

I would recommend leveling pld first to get provoke, but that will all change with 4.0. Aggro is kinda bad until 40 on pld, but war/drk gets tank stance at 30.

[TequilaSky]

Thanks for your reply Boris, i've decided to run as a Paladin as it seems to be a good all round class and I already have the cross class skills such as Foresight and Bloodbath.

I've tinkered with Dark knight and leveled it to 51 and enjoyed the maneuverability of the class as well as the overall DPS.

Also regarding the Paladin class, what would be the best method for maintaining aggro during dungeons and raids etc..?

[Pence]

I feel like we get this a lot on Tonberry Novice Network. 'What should I play and why?'

Answer is simple: There is no answer at this stage. Previously it would have been 'Not PLD!' for tank, or 'not WHM!' for heals. Which was when you are competing at endgame. None of that matters anymore. And -NO ONE- knows how 60-70 will go. Ask the bandwagon bards. All jobs are useful in all fights now.

Go for what feels right to you, and what brings you the most enjoyment. While there always exists a meta, a good party will find a way to compensate and turn use it to their weird advantage.

[BorisDaBlade]

Depending on party comp, or if your using DF, usually open with shield lob and flash every pack your picking up if your pulling gate to gate. It's usually a good time to pop rampart as it will keep the healer from needing to heal you as you're running.

Then once you've gathered all mobs, circle of scorn, flash again, then just prioritize which mob to hit with the sword.

[Makeda]

Depending on party comp, or if your using DF, usually open with shield lob and flash every pack your picking up if your pulling gate to gate. It's usually a good time to pop rampart as it will keep the healer from needing to heal you as you're running.

Don't try to "gather all the mobs" if you're new to this, or if your healer or DPS are new to their roles. It can end very badly.

Stick to pulling each pack and finishing it off until you know how to manage threat enough to be sure that when you do chain pull, some of them won't peel off and eat the other people of your party on your merry way to the next gate. There is nothing worse than a chain pulling tank that doesn't know enmity buildup and management... It is an extremely common thing to see in just about every MMO when you encounter 'new' tanks trying to copy an experience-player's move before they are ready to.

Anytime you see a 'flower' - new or returning player icon - above your healer (and sometimes above a DPS), revert back to single pack pulls until you're sure of their ability.

[Wyndam]

I've been away since 3.1. It sounds like nothing's really changed in the tank balance. Is that about right?

Personally I always preferred PLD because it was the most straightforward. It makes it better for guys like me who come and go a lot or play a bunch of different classes. Also I'm not doing any Savage content and little PvP so the DPS differences in the tanks is more about convenience.

[BorisDaBlade]

If your raiding primals and going to be MT, I recommend a countdown timer. If you have a nin in group, set it for 20 seconds for their huton, if not go with 10.

Pop shelltron pre pull, shield lob, circle of scorn, spirits within, shield swipe, then goring blade combo. HOWEVER, use fight or flight just before you finish the combo because CoS will come off CD, before FoF ends. You can also squeeze another goring in if you clip it just after 9 seconds left.

Apply RoH as needed to hold aggro, but usually the royal authority combo is enough

Oh and pops CD's as needed, lol.

[Jim_Berry]

If your raiding primals and going to be MT, I recommend a countdown timer. If you have a nin in group, set it for 20 seconds for their huton, if not go with 10.

Pop shelltron pre pull, shield lob, circle of scorn, spirits within, shield swipe, then goring blade combo. HOWEVER, use fight or flight just before you finish the combo because CoS will come off CD, before FoF ends. You can also squeeze another goring in if you clip it just after 9 seconds left.

Apply RoH as needed to hold aggro, but usually the royal authority combo is enough

Oh and pops CD's as needed, lol.

Best to have it at 23-25 seconds. Those few extra seconds gives the NIN breathing room to toss Shadewalker. Doing it at 20, the NIN's Mudras won't be ready on the pull by a second or two, since the Mudra timer resets on each Mudra activation.

[BorisDaBlade]

Oh and the aboverall opener works for every dungeon boss as well.

Sorry can't edit on mobile.