DPS Enmity controls

[Megguido]

Here is my updated enmity combination

Unfortunately, that may be the most inefficient threat opener ever. You lose:
- About 4k DPS (maybe more ?) at the start of the fight (since PoM + spam Stone IV deals a lot)
- Your most powerful mana management tool for the next 2 minutes
- Largesse, depends on the fight but sometimes it's good to have it early (looking at first forsaken)
- Cover, unusable for the next two minutes (on O7S and O8S, Cover is very useful even in the first 30s into the fight for example).

A WAR or DRK can generate as much hate at the cost of a minimal DPS loss, but instead of 7 healing spells you get 7 Stone IV during the initial raid buffs window. And you keep all those buffs for when they are needed.

[Kurando]

Definitely all roles should make an effort to manage their enmity, but at the end of the day content (unless it's Ultimate perhaps?) is balanced around tanks being in their tank stance and using the necessary tools regularly to maintain aggro. If any tank wants to go DPS stance just to maximize their damage output but then find themselves competing for aggro then something has to give, either the other players use their emnity actions (if they are available or not on cd) or the tank needs to man up and adjust as necessary. Maintaining aggro is the bigger priority than using the DPS rotation, which should only matter if you are aiming for a speed run anyway, and many DPS checks can be passed without tank assistance so it's not like you are doing everyone a favour.

Emnity actions are often optional for most roles, (aside from the few ones that are built in to other actions), while tanks have permanent access to them so it kinda says a lot on SE's part on what is and isn't the responsibility of roles. Make more emnity actions built in to others and players might actually manage their aggro more, especially those you meet through the Duty Finder.

Essentially emnity needs to stop being treated as a dick sizing contest on who can dps the most and if someone messes they up, they get punished by letting them die, it does no one any favours and only promotes toxicity because someone doesn't play how YOU want.

[Bourne_Endeavor]

Essentially emnity needs to stop being treated as a dick sizing contest on who can dps the most and if someone messes they up, they get punished by letting them die, it does no one any favours and only promotes toxicity because someone doesn't play how YOU want.

By that logic, someone refusing to use Diversion is forcing tanks to play in a way they may not want to. It goes both ways. Why should I adjust and play sub-optimally because a Samurai can't be bothered to slot Diversion? What makes this worse is literally nothing changes for DPS roles if they slot an aggro dump. You weave it between your GCD and either use it on CD or hold until your next burst phase.

Now both the tank and DPS can play how they want. Why is that such a problem?

[Kurando]

snip

Because unless you are in a pre-formed party or doing content that requires the role to perform optimally, why should you even be forcing your own expected playstyle on to other players. You shouldn't, and unless SE decide to merge more emnity management skills in to current job actions (so they are not optional), then there is absolutely nothing to enforce that expectation.

Yes it does help when the whole team does their part, but in the end the role of tanks is to maintain aggro, there is no "play in a way they may not want to" about it. While DPS and Healers CAN assist using skills, this is not an actual requirement. If the tank is able to keep aggro and the content is still cleared regardless (i.e. no one is actively preventing completion), then managing emnity is suddenly a moot point.

[Lyth]

FFXIV has a lot of role overlap. Healers have some of the best tools to shield and heal up raidwide damage. But tanks and dps contribute here too, with abilities like Veil, Shake, Addle, and Mantra. You might think that only tanks are involved in mitigating tankbusters, but both healers and dps are involved here too, with abilities like Adlo, Benison, Palisade, and Apoc. Similarly, you might think that a dps check is purely the remit of damage dealers, but more often than not, tanks and healers find themselves playing more aggressively to push those last few percentages into a clear.

At lower difficulty levels, this means that good players can cross compensate for weaker players. At higher difficulty levels, this sort of "cross-role" gameplay isn't optional. The goal is never to just "do your job". The goal is to contribute everything that you can to your teammates so that you can win.

RDM and SMN are dps. Why should you raise dead players? Raising is a dps loss. Let the healers do it. After all, it's their job. Not yours. Your job is to mentally afk while creating an exciting fireworks display. If you wipe, you can always blame it on them. They should just heal better. Right?

If a dps refuses to use their enmity tools, you're forced to find other ways to make up the difference. At the end of the day, your goal is to clear the content, and do so as efficiently as possible, even if it means losing out on a bit of dps. Sometimes you have to work around a weaker player. But that also means that when you have a choice of teammates, you're going to pick someone with a similar mindset. Not someone who thinks that it's "not their job" to use their toolkit to its full potential in order to win.

[Bourne_Endeavor]

Because unless you are in a pre-formed party or doing content that requires the role to perform optimally, why should you even be forcing your own expected playstyle on to other players. You shouldn't, and unless SE decide to merge more emnity management skills in to current job actions (so they are not optional), then there is absolutely nothing to enforce that expectation.

I reiterate. Why should they force their laziness onto me? By refusing to slot Diversion/Lucid, you're demanding the tank accommodate your laziness and blaming them if they choose not to when you have an option to entirely mitigate the problem without hampering your own DPS.

[DRKoftheAzure]

As a DRK main, after the Power Slash buff I have been using Dark Arts + Power Slash a lot more outside of tank stance (I only use Souleater combo for Delirium for extended Blood Weapon) and I end up ripping aggro off of the other tanks and healers "oh shit" instinct kicks in and co-tank(s) more than likely just give up on holding aggro but still maintain a decent amount of aggro when needed... if Power Slash Dark Arts combo potency was increased by 170 and Syphon Strike gave 10 Blood Gauge as a combo bonus, I wonder which combo would be used more for DRK rotation... either way I'm just speaking from running standard content(no savage or extreme fights)...

[Megguido]

As a DRK main, after the Power Slash buff I have been using Dark Arts + Power Slash a lot more outside of tank stance (I only use Souleater combo for Delirium for extended Blood Weapon) and I end up ripping aggro off of the other tanks [...]

Power Slash and Souleater have the same base damage, but Souleater gives blood and branches off Syphon Strike which gives mana, and both blood and mana translate into damage for DRK. So unless you are MT, Souleater is the combo to spam o/
And even as MT, just use Power Slash to make enough aggro, then continue with Souleater combos.

[Bourne_Endeavor]

As a DRK main, after the Power Slash buff I have been using Dark Arts + Power Slash a lot more outside of tank stance (I only use Souleater combo for Delirium for extended Blood Weapon) and I end up ripping aggro off of the other tanks and healers "oh shit" instinct kicks in and co-tank(s) more than likely just give up on holding aggro but still maintain a decent amount of aggro when needed... if Power Slash Dark Arts combo potency was increased by 170 and Syphon Strike gave 10 Blood Gauge as a combo bonus, I wonder which combo would be used more for DRK rotation... either way I'm just speaking from running standard content(no savage or extreme fights)...

Please get out of that habit. You should only use Power Slash to establish aggro and Souleater otherwise, especially as the off tank. By constantly spamming Power Slash, you will likely take the boss at an inopportune time and surprise the healer since they aren't going to be expecting the tanks to suddenly be fighting for aggro. Assuming a comparable ilvl, your opener as MT should be...

Optimized - (Better suited when you're comfortable on tank/with a reliable group)
High Threat - (Better for 24 mans and pugs)

You should also get into the habit of Provoke + Shirk, which helps the MT maintain aggro without the need of more combos or tank stance.

[Deceptus]

Optimized - (Better suited when you're comfortable on tank/with a reliable group)
High Threat - (Better for 24 mans and pugs)

These two rotations are why a lot of people don't play DRK. The reliance on Dark Arts spam is ridiculous.