Incentives to tank and heal need to be buffed significantly

[Shougun]

I'm a Tank main and Gil isn't the answer... The answer is sharing EXP. IE, once I am 80. Let me link a job and when I do level, 50/60/70, MSQ, or other roulette let me share 25% of what would have been gained EXP to another job.

I'm thinking this would help quite a bit early to midlife of an expansion (when the majority of people are still leveling whatever they're interested in leveling); although, you'll get a hilarious consequence I think from it too. In that you'll get more people who use tank/healer to level other jobs with fast queue times but because they didn't really care for those two roles in the first place they're going to make dungeons generally more rocky for everyone lol. If you've a bad tank and healer a lot of dungeons are going to be quite hard to finish properly, but if you've just bad DD then usually you'll be fine (just slow). Speaking the non-enrage content of course, the more casual / not PF-based content, obviously not fine in stuff that has a damage floor that needs to be met.

Not that I'm saying it can't be tried lol, just think it would be funny that it increased the pool of those jobs but made the content more annoying to run XD. I'd still like to see what happens if it's used, maybe from an event SE releases soul scrolls that you can activate to hold exp (instead of it going to your job / into the toilet if at cap), then you can transfer that exp to another job by using it while that job. Give the scroll a timed life, so that it vanishes by the end of the event- just see what it does to the DF. I like that I can share exp in pvp that way already, so it might be just as cool in DF.

Since we're suggesting stuff though I think a cosmetic merit system might be interesting, and then on top of that tank/healers could gain a bit of bonus merit exp. I'd love for it to be stylized if possible, like a sphere/crystarium/license board. Such a system that has general merit unlocks and then job specific, the exp could by split into types (dragoon experience for dragoon specific merit unlocks) but it doesn't have to be. Either way the tanks and healers would be able to unlock general cosmetics easier, and of course their own merits- if you didn't want to increase the length the system lasts they could also use that exp onto other jobs. Just for random examples you might have cosmetic animation changes, like your dark side dark knight spell getting the shadow effect from trailers, the Manderville Limit Break (hammer attack), Manderville run, dragoon hyper jump (mount), special holy breastplate for white mage (heavy armor cosmetic), etc. If you want you can even put some basic features into that, but nothing that will make players not take in a player who doesn't have X unlock. Like you might unlock shortcuts from one area to another, reduce costs for transportation, unlocking npcs in town, donating / investing to traveling merchant that gains larger stack and greater coverage as you go, you could even go as wild as allowing players to invest their experience into developing a hamlet or something (doma reconstruction, but based on experience points than gil).

Besides making exp more valuable for everyone, it would obviously make gaining experience easily and reliably a big pro to being healer / tank, even more so if they get a bonus in the roulette when in need. Like +20% merit exp on completion of duty (will apply to DD too, if they're in need).

What is a tanks responsibility anyways most you gotta do is get a teather along with holding lol... dps has way more responsibility than a tank does .... Healer however has a lot

Tanks also have to do a number of mechanics and are expected (well, ideally) to do proper damage too, with a higher expectation they know the fight than other jobs (how far to wall to wall pull, where to stand the boss cross phases, what attacks don't show aoe markers but can still be dodged, what you have to interject, etc). In my experience DD is the most relaxing role, with the exception of maybe certain bosses that have very strict tasks that DD have to do (but usually those contents have things for off tank / healer too then- like if it's an enrage timer everyone is expected to deal decent damage so that's not just a DD thing).

Such that I think Tank has the most consistent stress and healers have the highest peak stress (situational stress) but potentially less than tank when things are going well (if everyone is bad, good luck and it might blamed on you for not keeping them all alive even though they're all sleeping in orange without any mitigating cooldowns ever). DD have to do things, their kits being usually more complex, but in terms of stress of the expectation, social stress at least- I dunno I don't think they're that stressful. You can regularly clear normal content without a DD, or DD asleep on the job, not so much if your healer or tank are (unless it's really early content).

[LolitaBansheeMeru]

Such that I think Tank has the most consistent stress and healers have the highest peak stress (situational stress) but potentially less than tank when things are going well (if everyone is bad, good luck and it might blamed on you for not keeping them all alive even though they're all sleeping in orange without any mitigating cooldowns ever). DD have to do things, their kits being usually more complex, but in terms of stress of the expectation, social stress at least- I dunno I don't think they're that stressful. You can regularly clear normal content without a DD, or DD asleep on the job, not so much if your healer or tank are (unless it's really early content).

Personally most of that (just a opinion) is just basic common sense when fighting The only thing with tanking thats a little scary is spots you need to tank-swap but outside that Personally I find tanking and healing very relaxing

while dps have to control there max output dodge like crazy-picking things up either static are run (which creates zoning out symptom (at least for me) then I end up getting hit by something I know how to dodge because its just rinse and repeat non stop..

with a tank or a healer I'm normally in a safe postion where i dont have to dodge much which allows me to output at alot better and relax for most of the fights

[Shougun]

Personally most of that (just a opinion) is just basic common sense when fighting The only thing with tanking thats a little scary is spots you need to tank-swap but outside that Personally I find tanking and healing very relaxing

while dps have to control there max output dodge like crazy-picking things up either static are run (which creates zoning out symptom (at least for me) then I end up getting hit by something I know how to dodge because its just rinse and repeat non stop..

with a tank or a healer I'm normally in a safe postion where i dont have to dodge much which allows me to output at alot better and relax for most of the fights

I suppose also because you use Machinist which is one of the more disco button jobs lol, compare Machinist to any content that is going 'ideally to normally' and I'd say machinist is more involved than White Mage for sure haha. When things are going insanely bad though of course I'd still say White Mage is way more stressful, mana dying, raises going out like free food at a carnival, that scary clutch heal sound as your tank still hasn't used a single mitigation tool yet. Which is also why I said they've crazy peak stress, where the weight of the world is on them and there is a timed bomb on top of that, but potentially pretty calm / easy going (also why I think a number of healers are looking to get their damage rotations back, because under normal circumstances they're super chill now).

Interestingly Warrior I think used to be more involved but if you're looking for a more lively feeling these days I'd say try Paladin at higher levels, just having some of those extra buttons and situational tools makes you keep an eye on more things (like when you get to look like a boss by using cover or saving your healer from dying while they hard casted a raise).

Also correct me if I'm wrong but I think I'm focusing on the social pressure, and you're looking at playing the job as optimally as possible and in particular you're also playing one of the more button frenzy jobs. In which case I'd agree certain tanks and healers are easier than certain damage dealing jobs when discussing mechanics, I was just thinking on the social side that if a tank or healer does poorly everyone knows it's THAT tank / healer, vs if a DD does poorly almost no one is going to notice unless it causes a bunch of wipes due to enrage.

[Goji1639]

What is a tanks responsibility anyways most you gotta do is get a teather along with holding lol... dps has way more responsibility than a tank does .... Healer however has a lot

lol, no. DPS is the least important role by a wide margin. I've been playing this game for a while and I can't recall a single dungeon run where it actually mattered that a DPS died. Tank not positioning things correctly or not noticing/picking up adds, or a healer fumbling can legitimately result in wipes. Either tank or Healer getting themselves killed in a mechanic can legitimately result in a wipe.

Also, the tank is the one who navigates the dungeon for the group. That alone is what stopped me from being a tank for most of my early days in this game. When I didn't know where to go or what to do to progress in dungeons I defaulted to healing to avoid queues, even though I enjoyed it less. Much easier to just follow everyone else.

[LolitaBansheeMeru]

lol, no. DPS is the least important role by a wide margin. I've been playing this game for a while and I can't recall a single dungeon run where it actually mattered that a DPS died. Tank not positioning things correctly or not noticing/picking up adds, or a healer fumbling can legitimately result in wipes.

Also, the tank is the one who navigates the dungeon for the group. That alone is what stopped me from being a tank for most of my early days in this game. When I didn't know where to go or what to do to progress in dungeons I defaulted to healing to avoid queues, even though I enjoyed it less.

eh dungeons ya everyone's job is easy but that's not even 40% of the game lol on alliance raids (infact even in shisui ive had dps screw up on the run away from target follow abilities

look at alliance raids dps screw up or fail to meet a check gg all you have to do on a tank is hold correctly /position and use your cds with maybe 1-2 times with a special tank mecha of swapping or getting theaters.. most of the the other stuff like adds is just basic 101 ... compare that to the rest and ya tanks got it easy lol one reason i mostly do raids/alliance raids on tank is tanks got it easy on those lol

[Goji1639]

eh dungeons ya everyone's job is easy but that's not even 40% of the game lol on alliance raids (infact even in shisui ive had dps screw up on the run away from target follow abilities

look at alliance raids dps screw up or fail to meet a check gg all you have to do on a tank is hold correctly /position and use your cds with maybe 1-2 times with a special tank mecha of swapping or getting theaters.. most of the the other stuff like adds is just basic 101 ... compare that to the rest and ya tanks got it easy lol one reason i mostly do raids/alliance raids on tank is tanks got it easy on those lol

Dungeons are the vast majority of the game for the vast majority of players. There's no DPS checks in any of the roulettes or story content, which is what most people are playing when they're deciding what role they want to take on. I didn't even touch Alliance raids as I was going through the story.

All the way up to 80 I don't think I've ever encountered an instance where a DPS screwing up actually wiped the party. As long as the tank and healer did their jobs and survived everything else didn't matter; the fight just took an extra couple minutes if a DPS died. That's why most people go straight to DPS when they're new or uncertain; it's the least responsibility by a very wide margin. By the time you're actually facing a DPS check you're well past the point where you're deciding what you want to main.

[RyuSaarva]

eh dungeons ya everyone's job is easy but that's not even 40% of the game lol on alliance raids (infact even in shisui ive had dps screw up on the run away from target follow abilities

look at alliance raids dps screw up or fail to meet a check gg all you have to do on a tank is hold correctly /position and use your cds with maybe 1-2 times with a special tank mecha of swapping or getting theaters.. most of the the other stuff like adds is just basic 101 ... compare that to the rest and ya tanks got it easy lol one reason i mostly do raids/alliance raids on tank is tanks got it easy on those lol

The only reason why dps checks fail in alliance dungeon is because tanks did not move adds or tank them at all, dps can just press random buttons and you will be fine.

[Awha]

It's not that these classes aren't fun or engaging; it's that players don't want the added responsibility. Bribes are probably the best way to encourage people to try it out, but gil is a bad one to go with. This games economy is already bloated with gil to the point where crafting and the market boards are being trivialized. I think a greater variety of cosmetic rewards would be the best approach.

Dungeon tanking is far from engaging.

[Peace-Division]

I think a more appropriate "in need[ROLE]" reward would be something like

ARR dungeons: 5 Allied Seals

HW-SB Dungeons 5 Centurio Seals

ShB Dungeons 5 Sack Of Nuts

Trials & Raids 30 of your chosen Beast Tribe reputation (which you select from a list when choosing in the DF)


Small amounts of useful currency that isnt too much so your swimming in them and an amount so that if you want to be swimming in more of these rewards you keep doing DF runs as the in need role which is mostly tanks or healers.

[TwistedTea]

Healers could use mounts though.

While healing is easy when the rest of the party has basic competence, try consistently healing PUGs.