Trying to understand tanking

[Hash_Browns]

So in the past little while I've gotten into tanking (couple weeks). I made the mistake of leveling Paladin to +50 in PotD & dropped it, so I decided to level WAR on my own without Palace of the Dead since I really consider it a crutch. Just fates, duties, etc so I would be forced to learn tanking. I'm a healer main, and decided to move into tanking since the group I play with has been moving into other classes, and I want others in my group to learn healing & not depend on me.

I've been playing steady for almost a 2/3rds of a year at this point, and I'm at the point where all I really know is healing because it's all I've done, so while tanking I have to pretty much unlearn healing.

Few days ago I got a mentor crown, which is obviously something a lot of people hate, but it is what it is. Normally, I wouldn't leave it on during a Duty, but for a roulette (MSQ) I accidentally left it on. This was the first time I did an 8-man MSQ roulette as well. (apparently I left it on for the previous duty as well, but everything went fine during the duty.)

I've looked up guides on WAR, but nothing really gives an over-the-top view of WAR at level 50, just basics with added comments like "get use to tanking." which is fine.

I did what I've come to learn from being in the healer spot during Castrum Meridianum.

At the start of the dungeon I waited for protect, and took off with Defiance active.
I pulled from the start until the boss room (didn't trigger the cutscene), and grabbed everything with Tomahawk & Overpower. At the boss door I put up Storm's Eye, used Infuriate, Vengeance, Unchained, Beserk, and spammed Overpower & Steel Cyclone when I could while cycling through Rampart, Anticipation, and Convalescence as needed.

Basically, I continued that though the next areas aswell. I'm sure you all know how the MSQ unskippable cutscene quests go.

After the quest had finished, the other tank in the quest just kinda spouted off "For someone with a crown you are a **** tank :\" and left, without letting me address the situation. I tried to address this, but the person had already entered another duty by the time I sent them a message to apologize, as I feel I personally did something wrong.

I've asked several people who I play with, and they have assured me that I don't seem to be doing anything wrong for my level, but I'm afraid that I still feel as though I am missing something.

Is something wrong with how I went though the 8-man dungeon?
Perhaps the guides I looked up are inaccurate. I'm always looking to better myself, but I feel like I've messed up in terms of how I am tanking trash pulls.

[JowyAtreides]

If your aggro didn't drop to healers or dps and you didn't cause the healers to have a heart attack, I'd say you did perfectly fine. I haven't ever consciously used unchained or anticipation (I just forget what everything does as console playing doesn't allow me to double check skill previews from the cross hotbar) so your cooldown management is better than mine and I've never been called out for being bad.

Other tank was probably wanting to do that role and couldn't, or just an ass due to what seems to be a growing hate for people who have a crown. Probably worth checking their achievements and seeing what they've cleared in order to give them an opinion over your tanking, just for your own peace of mind.

[Kaedan]

Like the above poster said, if you didn't lose threat and you didn't overpull so that healers had a hard time keeping you alive (and used cooldowns to help to that effect), then it sounds like you did fine. Who knows why the tank was an ahole. It's possible he had to leave or changed his mind about doing the instance and wanted to blame it on someone instead of just leaving. Or he's an elitist, etc.

[Hash_Browns]

Like the above poster said, if you didn't lose threat and you didn't overpull so that healers had a hard time keeping you alive (and used cooldowns to help to that effect), then it sounds like you did fine. Who knows why the tank was an ahole. It's possible he had to leave or changed his mind about doing the instance and wanted to blame it on someone instead of just leaving. Or he's an elitist, etc.

If your aggro didn't drop to healers or dps and you didn't cause the healers to have a heart attack, I'd say you did perfectly fine. I haven't ever consciously used unchained or anticipation (I just forget what everything does as console playing doesn't allow me to double check skill previews from the cross hotbar) so your cooldown management is better than mine and I've never been called out for being bad.

Other tank was probably wanting to do that role and couldn't, or just an ass due to what seems to be a growing hate for people who have a crown. Probably worth checking their achievements and seeing what they've cleared in order to give them an opinion over your tanking, just for your own peace of mind.

I feel I need to clarify that I never found myself in a dangerous situation. Once you hit 50 you go from iLvl 50 to iLvl 130 if you have the poetics, which I did. I felt overgeared, and my health was never really low. I also aggro'd everything. Sometimes, due to the rush, a mob would go to a person sprinting ahead since it was the unskippable MSQ, but I was never in a situation where I wasn't tanking all the mobs, as if someone did pull a mob, I would quickly take it.

I'm just baffled. I don't think the person was an elitist.
Even the group I play with, after doing a few runs with them, and tanking have said I am doing fine, and they don't understand the issue.

We speculated that the person most likely wanted to be MT, but couldn't out-aggro me at all, and got ticked off.

Thanks for the replies, I am really just not sure how I was suppose to take it.
Usually if I'm doing something wrong, people will outright stop and tell me during the dungeon, so that's why I was unsure how to approach this.
They never gave me any sign that I had done something unfavorable during the dungeon. They never even spoke during the run.

[Seraphor]

Also, you probably did the right thing in leveling PLD to 50 in PotD, as PLD is incredibly boring below 50.
WAR is much more fun, and now you've got to 50 and in the swing of tanking, you can pick PLD up again.

[Noitems]

Just a quick question did the PLD go in with Shield Oath on?

I ask because in lvl 50 content generally the PLD is the one who is main tank due to them only having aggro combo. War generally takes off Defiance and uses buff/dps combo. My only guess was they were fighting you for aggro in shield but because your il was much higher that they couldn't match it.

Either way based on what you did you sound totally fine. Tanking is a lot of fun, it's just at the LVL 50 and below mark the only tank that actually makes sense is DRK as it can either go into tank stance or dps stance while retaining it's toolkit at that level. PLD and WAR were made pre 51 with the ARR mindset so a job like WAR doesn't get a dps stance till 52 and PLD doesn't get a different melee combo until the Goring Blade at 54.

[Aurelius2625]

It's castrum and praetorium.... who gives a damn?

It literally doesn't matter. Both tanks can be in tank stance, as WAR doesn't have Deliverance so the gauge is worthless without defiance. PLD, on the other hand, HAS sword oath, so they are missing a chromosome if they think they should have been in tank stance, but again, it literally doesn't matter. Hell, you don't even need a tank in those dungeons. For DRK, they can do both because they have Price and Weapon.

I suggest, for a Warrior Guide, GO. TO. THE. BALANCE. DISCORD! Read the Warrior guide to learn it, seems like you have the basics down. Graehl Gaming does excellent crash course tanking guides.

WAR checklist: Storm's eye always up, refresh if under 7 seconds with eye combo. Use path otherwise to generate more gauge. Use infuriate on cooldown, if lower than 7 seconds, fell cleave or inner beast once you have the trait for infuriate. Never overcap gauge, build it to 90, then cleave or beast. Enter inner release with at least 17 seconds left on eye buff, 19 if you need to cleave beforehand to dump gauge.

That's pretty much it. Also, keep Upheaval on Cooldown.

[Hash_Browns]

snip

My "rotation" has been (if level 50s can even call it that)

AOE:
Tomahawk -> (If I have them)Infuriate -> Berserk -> Vengeance -> Steel Cyclone -> Unchained -> Overpower Spam

For single targetting on bosses:
Tomahawk -> (If I have them)Infuriate -> Berserk -> Vengeance -> Inner Beast -> Unchained

If I need aggro:
Heavy Swing -> Skull Sunder -> Butchers Block
Heavy Swing -> Maim -> Storm's Eye
Heavy Swing -> Maim -> Storm's Path
Heavy Swing - Maim -> Storm's Path

If I don't need aggro:
Heavy Swing -> Maim -> Storm's Eye
Heavy Swing -> Maim -> Storm's Path
Heavy Swing -> Maim -> Storm's Path
Heavy Swing -> Maim -> Storm's Eye

Those get me to 100 Beast Guage, and them I dump it. Obviously, I would do less if I have Infuriate ready off cooldown.

Just a quick question did the PLD go in with Shield Oath on?

I ask because in lvl 50 content generally the PLD is the one who is main tank due to them only having aggro combo. War generally takes off Defiance and uses buff/dps combo. My only guess was they were fighting you for aggro in shield but because your il was much higher that they couldn't match it.

Either way based on what you did you sound totally fine. Tanking is a lot of fun, it's just at the LVL 50 and below mark the only tank that actually makes sense is DRK as it can either go into tank stance or dps stance while retaining it's toolkit at that level. PLD and WAR were made pre 51 with the ARR mindset so a job like WAR doesn't get a dps stance till 52 and PLD doesn't get a different melee combo until the Goring Blade at 54.

It is possible they went into Shield Oath, I didn't see it at all, however.
I suspect that them wanting to main tank might have been the case.

Also, you probably did the right thing in leveling PLD to 50 in PotD, as PLD is incredibly boring below 50.
WAR is much more fun, and now you've got to 50 and in the swing of tanking, you can pick PLD up again.

I understand jobs are boring, but I don't feel like PotD lets you really learn how to tank. For me, it wasn't learning to use my cooldowns, or learning to use my skills. It was the fact that I have the mindset of a healer, so I would never lead the party, or anything like that.



Thanks all for clarification.

[Aurelius2625]

For single target on WAR, never use berserk without eye up first.

For pulling: Tomahawk > Infuriate > Heavy Swing >Maim >Thrill of Battle weaved > Storm's Eye, then you'd do one combo of Storm's Path to get 100 gauge and use berserk for two inner beasts, put eye back up.

That's for at 50.

At 70 it's a bit more complex, the major thing you need to learn is perfect timing of your inner release and upheaval to keep them synched.

[Hash_Browns]

For single target on WAR, never use berserk without eye up first.

For pulling: Tomahawk > Infuriate > Heavy Swing >Maim >Thrill of Battle weaved > Storm's Eye, then you'd do one combo of Storm's Path to get 100 gauge and use berserk for two inner beasts, put eye back up.

That's for at 50.

At 70 it's a bit more complex, the major thing you need to learn is perfect timing of your inner release and upheaval to keep them synched.

Makes sense, thanks.
Didn't really think about Berserk, as I was using it on cooldown but it makes tons of sense to save it.