Dear Tanks

[ExKage]

Meanwhile, before I was playing as RDM I was playing WAR, MNK and SAM... and as MNK and SAM I loved big pulls.

... single pulls in a place like Skalla will literally put me to sleep. It nearly did when I was WAR first week it dropped since neither melee wanted to aoe or do big damage single target.

[Dualgunner]

So, realistically, look at what you have in the party. If your DPS are, say, MNK and DRG: pull small. If you have RDM, SAM, SMN, BLM, BRD: knock yourself out. But if you have 2 DRGs and you're wondering why it's taking so long to kill those 20 mobs you just pulled, that's on you, buddy.

You mean dragoon...which not only got sonic thrust this expac and now hits harder per enemy per gcd with its aoe than RDM with zero drop off...then got a buff to sonic thrust to maintain its botd which enables it to use an ogcd zero drop off line aoe...which over time gets powered up into an even stronger line aoe with lotd...is bad at aoe. In all of this you have one positional which the effect of doesn't even matter if you hit it or not.

[Pondera]

I guess it is a very good thing that my enjoyment of this game is not based upon your approval of it, right, OP?

First, let me welcome you to the game. It's the best MMO on the market by an order of magnitude, and I'm sure you'll have lots of fun now that you're done supping on your jump potion bottle.

Second, are you not one of the very same cat people and/or midgits using a fake name? And behold, you're making a "Dear [insert the blank]" thread to look tough.

[silverlunarfox]

i don't mind big pulls if you pull consistently. I keep getting tanks that do small pulls....OH look big pull....some more small pulls....SUPER PULL. Make up your mind.....

On a whole though, if you're going to pull big please pop cooldowns...I do like dpsing once and a while. Spam cures just aren't as fun....esp when dps...is lacking

[Nora_of_Mira]

All because you had to prove how tough you are to a bunch of strangers using fake names dressed as cats and midgets.

I dont do it to impress cat girls and midgets, I do it because I want to spend 15 or less minutes on a dungeon run because I'm STILL trying to get the Skalla chest pieces for all my jobs.

[KageTokage]

Dear off-tanks.

Having a NIN in your party is not an excuse to be lazy about generating enmity, and you should not expect them to be solely responsible for keeping the boss from running rampant if the MT dies.

I ran into some idiot who acted like it was my fault this happened when he didn't provoke the boss once within the eight minutes the fight had been going at all to ensure he was second on the hate list. I'm pretty sure that not even using Shadewalker on cooldown will generate enough enmity to keep them in that position.

I understand using Shadewalker during the opener so the MT can stay in DPS stance, or using it in situations where enmity is really touchy like after the aggro wipes in OS4, but using for this purpose feels unnecessary, moreso when I've OT'd several times without a NIN in my party and had no enmity issues even if the MT died.

[BigRed5392]

Dear off-tanks.

Having a NIN in your party is not an excuse to be lazy about generating enmity, and you should not expect them to be solely responsible for keeping the boss from running rampant if the MT dies.

voke only puts you +1 not gives you enmity if ppl are attacking it, voke does nothing. just use your skill regardless.

[KageTokage]

voke only puts you +1 not gives you enmity if ppl are attacking it, voke does nothing. just use your skill regardless.

I'm aware of that.

The thing is, it's kind of standard for the off tank to occasionally toss a provoke at the boss at moments where taking aggro for a split second won't cause issues (And if tank swaps aren't needed) to keep themselves second on the enmity list (Or better yet, shirk the aggro onto the MT afterward so they gain even more enmity the next time they provoke, essentially causing a snowball effect for tank enmity as time passes), and this guy chose to not do that at all, so the boss naturally came after me when the MT dropped.

It's hardly the first time it happened, but other people were at least responsible enough to not start pointing fingers at me when I suggested using Provoke more often.

[Lilseph]

when I suggested using Provoke more often.

As a tank main, I agree with you though. Voking a boss after the MT dies isn't hard at all. Unless the encounter requires it because of certain mechanics, it's not needed for the OT to be second on the aggro list. It's extremely easy to take it back, as I have done it even without tanking stance with little impact on my DPS. Tanks have emnity multipliers to some attacks, so they can overcome the DPS generation from the damage dealers if well executed.

Lastly, shirk is an amazing tool for juggling with aggro.

For instance, even if I have a delicate line of aggro on me, the MT gets revived and we either decide if I keep MTing (they voke then shirk me) or they voke and I shirk them.

[EorzeaHero69]

There's nothing wrong with tanks doing big pulls. I do it a lot as a tank and I haven't died much due to using def cds and hate combos, healers keeping me alive, and keeping mobs facing away from everyone else (though some have aoes that will target a random person). The only times I don't do it is when/if:

1. It's on patch day and brand new to everyone (around 1-2 hours after release), including me.
2. A healer lags/dc's for any reason (bad internet, game crash).

I also participate big pulls as a healer and I know how to keep em alive and to DPS when I believe the tank is fine on HP for the time being. I spam aoes as a DPS (mostly samurai and BLM) and I know how to move out of the aoes when it pops. Most of the time as a DPS he mobs go down pretty quick. I prefer big pulls but I don't mind how the tank does it.

There are also certain groups that can kick a tank for not pulling big or anyone they believe is holding them back (healers not keeping the tank alive or DPS only doing single target attacks or not putting enough dots (RDM doesn't have any dots though)). I've seen that happen several times.