An apology to healers

[ArmaDragkun]

As someone who has played this game on and off I've never really got "good" at any of the classes. Sure I can do the basic content but it wasn't until recently that I've really started to put some real effort into my tanking and all I can say is...

Sorry to every single healer who has healed me in dungeons up to this point. About a week ago I really looked into trying to get better as tank as such, I've made a point of really making sure I'm using my defensives on every pack spacing them out, stacking stronger ones with weaker ones and even I've noticed the difference so I can only apologize to every healer who's somehow kept me alive before this point.

And a note to any tank out there who wants to improve, play a healer. You'll encounter good tanks and tanks like me who look at defensives and run away screaming in the opposite direction. You'll realise how much healers appreciate a tank who doesn't lose 50% of their health pool every 2-3 seconds on every pack of mobs in a dungeon.

[Renalt]

It's only a really big deal if you are both

1. Not using mitigation and

2. Undergeared

If you do one or the other the only inconvenience is we have to babysit your health a bit more than normal.

If you do both though...then yeah it is a pain.

[ArmaDragkun]

I was using mitigation but say only one per pack. For example the only thing I used regularly would be The Darkest Night. Whereas I might use Rampart on one pack and maybe Shadow Wall on another pack but I noticed I was never using Oblation, Reprisal or Arm's Length.

I just feel bad for every poor healer who joined my groups and wondered what I was doing xD And even worse I remember getting salty when a healer told me to use more mitigation and I argued with them. Now I look back and realise I was such a jackass and he was right

[Zanarkand-Ronso]

Undergeared

I hate myself because I figured it out LATE...like by the 87 Dungeon......Healing was HARD!
It was exciting, even as a White Mage!...but I learned, its because I was undergeared.
I was still using my lv80 Gear or even a few Lv82 Gear.....so I had the most challenging and fun experience as a Healer...because I gimped myself on accident.

Now I feel like I might do that again in Dawntrail. Because it was legit fun to have a hard time keeping people alive.
Made me Feel like a Healer again.

[Kes13a]

It's only a really big deal if you are both

1. Not using mitigation and

2. Undergeared

If you do one or the other the only inconvenience is we have to babysit your health a bit more than normal.

If you do both though...then yeah it is a pain.

you neglected to mention... never repair your gear

I have seen more than a few of those over the years of healing... but thats not just tanks.. its dps and fellow heals too

"dont rez me, my gear is broken" is a self confession of failure

[Kacho_Nacho]

*snippity snip*

And a note to any tank out there who wants to improve, play a healer. You'll encounter good tanks and tanks like me who look at defensives and run away screaming in the opposite direction. You'll realise how much healers appreciate a tank who doesn't lose 50% of their health pool every 2-3 seconds on every pack of mobs in a dungeon.

There is no need to apologize. The majority of players are, by definition, average, myself included.

You make a good suggestion. Every tank should play a healer. Also, every healer should play a tank too. It's by far the best way to learn to play your main job.

[Renalt]

My way of learning how classes worked by playing them all was less...altruistic. I just wanted to understand how to kill them better in PvP. Know your enemy and whatnot.

Then again I don't PvP in this game.

[Jeeqbit]

You can usually combine a long-cooldown mit (such as Rampart or Shadow Wall) with your short-cooldown mit (The Blackest Night).

But whether this is necessary does depend. How many enemies are there? How hard do they hit? How hard they hit usually depends on the item level sync. Look at the difference between "Average Item Level" and "Item Level Sync" for each dungeon. If there isn't an "Item Level Sync", it may be a leveling dungeon (non-50/60/70/80/90 dungeon), in which case the item level sync is extremely tight and things will hit harder than normal.

If they are really hitting hard, then it may even be useful to combine a third one (such as the Arm's Length or Reprisal that you suggested). But you shouldn't go overboard with it.

If you combine all of them at once and mitigate 90% of the damage, then sudddenly they all expire and you barely mitigate anything, it can catch the healer off guard as your health suddenly dips at lightning speed - and it is so shocking a difference that the healer didn't expect it and couldn't save you. So it is actually better for the healer to have a consistent 20-50% mit you rotate through (depending on level) than having 90% mit then suddenly none because you ran out of CDs.

The amount of enemies is a factor too. More might be useful at that start because there are more enemies. On the other hand, if there is a white mage they will probably stun them all with Holy for a bit.

By the way, you don't really need this mit for dungeon bosses. Dungeon bosses don't usually hurt. I mostly just use my short-cooldown (ie. The Blackest Night) so none of them are on CD for trash, then use all my CDs for the last boss. Big mistake new players often make is only using CDs on bosses when a healer doesn't need you to.

Watching your own health is key as well. If your health is diving like lightning then you should be trying to save yourself as much as the healer is with an extra CD. The Blackest Night is a life saver for DRK. Abyssal Drain or Living Dead can help for heals on packs. Arm's Length gives the healer more time to heal. You could stun an enemy as well.

[TaleraRistain]

And a note to any tank out there who wants to improve, play a healer.

Agreed. I always have my healer sitting on my shoulder when I tank telling me not to behave like a tank I would curse behind my screen when I'm healing. So you most likely had some that wanted to throw something though you did say you used at least one mit. I've had tanks who didn't use any and insisted on pulling big. I'm glad you realized that the healer you argued with was right. Healers aren't just asking for more mit to be lazy. I've healed for 9 years in this game and I also think after a certain point we're so used to it that we just grin and bear it because we'll most likely never have to meet that person again.

[Sebazy]

You'll realise how much healers appreciate a tank who doesn't lose 50% of their health pool every 2-3 seconds on every pack of mobs in a dungeon.

Probably barely lukewarm take:

I honestly don't mind squishy tanks as long as they at least hold solid agro, it can make an otherwise dreary dungeon run a bit more entertaining if I actually have to heal and babysit.

Ages ago (Arboretum) I had an expert with a tank in broken gear that had significantly less HP than me as the healer. He was super apologetic and was ready to drop the duty, we kept him in, did the usual long pulls and the run was frankly hilarious.