I'm not sure whether to Tank or DPS

[Cythil]

I'm not sure whether to main a Tank job or DPS job.

On one hand maining a tank would give me (usually) shorter queue times and while every part of the party is necessary and useful, I always personally feel more useful as a Tank or Healer just because your job is to make sure the others survive. I also feel a bit of an obligation to play a tank because I do somewhat enjoy it (not a huge fan of having to lead the party though) and they seem to be more needed since less people play them. Also it is pretty cool to be the one the boss is focusing on.

On the other hand, I do find DPSing a bit more fun and a bit less stressful. Not cause it is any easier for me necessarily but just because I don't feel like the entire party is watching my every move. However, I do feel like I don't contribute/bring as much to the party as a DPS, mostly because there is always more DPS than Tanks or Healers in a party. It also feels a little less climactic trying to face bosses backs and sides rather than head on, even of mechanically focusing on killing them feels a bit better than focusing on not letting them kill you. Longer queue times are annoying as well, but not the end of the world.

I'm definitely gonna to level at least 1 class of all three roles to mqx eventually, I just don't know which of these two roles to main because the both have a lot of pros and cons.

[Nedkel]

Play DPS.
Gameplay could be super boring on low lvls and dps are pretty much the most fun on them.

[Heliantheae]

If you DPS to be more fun and less stressful, there's your answer. It's a video game and suppose to be fun. And don't worry about not contributing as much to a party. It's incredibly obvious when there's a good DPS in the party. As a healer, my comms go to them more often than the tank.

[Shougun]

Well at least it's a FF job game so you can try both .

For DD if you want to feel different / important you may consider trying Red Mage for that dual cast raise sweetness, or maybe Dancer which gets a dance partner. Seems like a pure DPS like Samurai wouldn't be as much your style in terms of being unique (they deal pure damage), but of course each job does play a bit differently so I'm not saying mechanically you wouldn't like them as much.

For tanks I would say Paladin since they have a lot of support skills and are in a pretty good spot, you'll be noticed when you clutch cover or clemency, when you Passage of Arms, and Paladin's Hallowed Ground wont give your healer a heart attack unlike when you Living Dead / Superboilde. Especially Living Dead and a non White Mage lol (Bene makes LD easy but other healers may need to use a few skills to make it safe). Though all the tanks are pretty balanced in their differences, so large part of it comes down to theme too.

Tank damage is actually not that bad either (certainly not DD tiers but your damage does mean something lol).

Personally I'd suggest giving tanking a whirl on a few dungeons and if you can take the heat then you'll probably like it quite a bit since you've already said you're interested. I recommend reviewing content when you can before running it though as you can help make the experience a lot smoother by knowing the fight, if you like being entirely blind before running and you're not running it when it's fresh then that'd be easier to do as DD (where unless there is a DPS check DD get to hit snooze and basically no one will notice lol).

Also just let people know you're new, that helps a lot (healers will tend to keep you higher) and with your pre-read knowledge you'll look even better, and if it's duo tank content you might have a chance to watch the fight as OT before going MT. Just make sure to communicate because parties love it when tanks just sit there shyly and silently trying to mentally nudge the other person to take the reigns.. definitely love it.. haha :P. That and communicate if your healer is okay with big pulls or if you're uncomfortable doing big pulls.

As an aside if you play tank keep in mind the importance of defense on items, you don't need to be the bleeding edge all the time but at expansion transition points be careful staying in old gear too long as it can make your hp yoyo. Like if you're rocking shire gear (good level 60 gear) as you enter late Stormblood content, there could be some serious hp yoyoing going on in Doma Castle (67 dungeon). MSQ gives a lot of free gear though so it shouldn't be too bad to keep an eye on.

As a healer, my comms go to them more often than the tank.

:O You've broken the sacred tank comms the healer and healer comms the tank oath pact! Our gentle alliance has been forever fractured! lol

[Agrios]

I had the same issue when I got ShB but decided that I would DPS this xpac due to always tanking. DPS can also feel rewarding if you learn the class and play to the best of your ability. DPS are a dime a dozen but good DPS stand out. It feels awesome getting comms as a DPS because that tells me that people noticed my positional and CDs

[Lunalepsy]

Did you try both?

[Nixxe]

If you don't do progression raiding with a static, there's no particular need for you to main anything.

[Anienai]

Questions

1. Use fantasia
2. Switch to Fem Roe
3. Level Marauder to 30
4. Level Warrior to 80
5. Return to the forums and thank me later.

[Blindheart]

Level up every class its the only way to know for sure... I played everything to 30 and then to 50... And so on... I still don't know what one I prefer lol

[Tsukino]

Don't worry about which is your "main" until you've worked on playing one of each to max level, since you plan on doing that anyway. If you want to make your first leveled job a tank for faster queues that makes perfect sense, but you might find that you enjoy one role more during the leveling process or at max level, and the only way you'll find out is by playing. Nothing ever locks you into one job until endgame gearing, and even that can be easily reversed every major patch.