Appropriate times to use Clemency?

[LeonTrifang]

I’ve been getting my PLD to 70 so I have a main HLR, DPS, and TNK. Variety. Anyway, tanking is my weak point and by tomorrow my tank should reach level 70. So I ran a dungeon today. In this dungeon, our healer was doing amazing, and I let him know. He then told me “If you think I’m doing so great, why the hell are you healing yourself? Don’t insult me.” I didn’t mean to insult him. I just wanted to make it easier. I can cast Clemency, then Holy Spirit then return to my tank rotation. So my question is, are there bad times to use Clemency? Am I really insulting other’s by using it? If so, I’m sorry!

[ReiMakoto]

There should be no reason to use clemency outside of soloing things and "I will literally die if i don't clemency right now!" moments, the latter being a quite rare occurrence, if you're out of tp in aoe just use holy spirit, gives you more sheltrons and makes the pack die quicker.

[Shougun]

Personally I would like to see clemency baked into something so it is activly encouraged occasionally (even when doing well). Right now it is an utmost emergency tool (pretty fun when you get to lay the saving heals down though). Perhaps some mechanic that gives one free oGCD cast at quite infrequent intervals, just to pepper it in.

[KatsuraJun]

when you want to make the healers feel insecure
serious answer: never, or when soloing.

[Big-Isaac]

There's nothing wrong with using it after heavy AoE to help out the healers. Unless you're doing content where you actually need optimized tank DPS (which, you know, you're probably not, given that you're on the forums asking when to use one of your skills. Just saying), there's no reason not to try and find ways to utilize your kit.
Your job as the tank is to make the run as fast, smooth and comfortable as possible.

...oh, and if the healer complains at you for using Clemency? Screw 'em. As a PLD in level 70 dungeons, having a healer is a convenience, not a necessity.

[LeonTrifang]

Oh. Thank you everyone. I think I get what you all mean.

[DarkMasamune]

If I could mention an "appropriate" time to use Clemency, I'd say to insta-launch your Divine Veil. If you want to prepare for something but you're still high HP, so the heal dosen't heal you (which is normal) you can use Clemency to set your Divine Veil on the team.

That's the only reason I ever used it (or if the healers are all dead and we're trying to push the last 1% of a boss lmao)

[Kabooa]

You use it in dungeons because total eclipse is garbage.

But that won't be the case in Shadowbringers.

[Jeeqbit]

In order to understand when to use Clemency, you need to use your gut instincts.

1. Judge if the healer seems to be competent. Are they casting damage spells? This is a sign of confidence; that healing you is such a breeze that they can get away with not healing you. If healing you is that easy for them, trust them.
2. Have they, at any point, demonstrated keeping you alive under sustained pressure, like a huge pull with 20-30 mobs attacking you?
3. Have they not struggled to heal you? Haven't had to cast Cure 5 times just to get you to full health? If they have, that's a sign they may be undergeared or inexperienced, and may not be able to save you at some stage.

Only actually use Clemency if the healer has failed the above criteria, your health is imminently approaching 5% and a heal not being casted now will be your death.

This is all assuming you are thinking of using Clemency on yourself. If another party member is near 5% health and devastating mechanics are incoming, use it immediately or use Cover if mid-combo. What may aid this decision is again the demonstrated competence of the healer and whether any party members are already dead.

If you're doing it right, you won't use Clemency at all in most dungeon runs, but will encounter plenty of situations over time where it prevents a wipe and turns the tide back in everyone's favor.

I've personally used it a lot during wall-to-wall pulls of Drowned City of Skalla, Ala Mhigo because it's somewhat tightly synced and hard on some healers and The Burn because the last boss wipes a good amount of parties.

[Urthdigger]

As a healer main that dabbles in tanking, the problems with Clemency are three-fold. First, any healer worth their salt will already be on it if you desperately need a heal, meaning one of you will overheal. Secondly, you're likely able to do more damage than them and they may even have a few oGCD heals ready so they don't even need to pause to heal, so it's often better to let them do it than stop healing. Lastly, it demonstrates a lack of trust in the healer, which is why it can be seen as insulting.

Things that can make a healer's life easier are using oGCD abilities to heal or mitigate. Using Second Wind or Bloodbath on DPS, popping Sheltron before a tankbuster, using reprisal before an unavoidable AoE, these are all welcome. It's when you spend a GCD of your own to heal that it can feel like you're trying to do their job.

That all said, feel free to talk to your healer. There are some slight areas where it can be useful, like when a DPS is targeted for an AoE, and if you warn the healer ahead of time that you'll handle it they'll be a lot more receptive to it.