Common mistakes new tanks make

[zPanda]

"I before E except after C".

Truth is, in languages, that saying has no basis whatsoever. Some fights require movement; first boss in the Temple a definite case in point. (And yes, I've had melee DPS tell me to stand still in that fight...) Movement is a thing tanks have to learn to do at some point; minimising the risks and the issues with it is where the skill really lies. Slime in Copperbell is the first real lesson in movement.

Agreed - this tip is somewhat situational. I was doing Hydra with the standard dual-Tank setup to deal with Triumverate move. Other tank died so tanked the rest of the battle solo by continuously rotating around him to try and stay on his flank to avoid the possible insta-kill Triumverate frontal attack as well as stay out of the rear conal tail-attack. Won using this method but probably would have dropped dead to a random Triumverate if I attempted to tank it solo face-up for any extended period of time.

[Zfz]

Yes, indeed. ZenBear knows exactly what I'm talking about. Anyone who's never witness that act can consider themselves blessed.

I've been running Sastasha, Tam-Tara, and Copperbell on my Conjurer from level 15 all the way to level 26 (and still yet to see one single Acolyte Skirt drop), and since level 24, for two whole levels of level synced dungeons, I have seen only one Gladiator doing it properly. All the rest of them use Riot Blade combo all the time. I could be riding on the tank's enmity after just Lightning and Aero, with absolutely no overhealing.

The class quests are supposed to teach about enmity, yet it doesn't tell new tanks that enmity is more important than damage for most of their time. I'm thinking this is the source of this problem, and people who do this are actually those who pay attention to skill tooltips and chose the skills after some analysis. Sad that they end up making the wrong choice because they don't have that key piece of information.

If the tooltips told us that "Combo Effect: generates 200% enmity" instead of just "higher enmity", then they would have been able to make informed decisions.

[BloodOath_Loyalty]

If the tooltips told us that "Combo Effect: generates 200% enmity" instead of just "higher enmity", then they would have been able to make informed decisions.

I agree. If I didnt research online I would have never known about the emnity multipliers you get through various combos "increased emnity" isn't enough info imo.

[MAndrade]

Great tips !! I remember in my first dungeon I made the mistake of only using the Savage Blade Combo and ran out of MP moments later (because of the abusive use of flash lol), had to use some Ether and even manage to die by the end... Anyways, now I learned how to be a proper tank ( at least in the low level dungeons ).... Can't get enough of this game *0*

[SyndellJigokusakebigoe]

Even w/out knowing til later that Savage Blade generated more enmity I always used it over Riot Blade because its cheaper TP wise.

If you watch the Enemy List there are symbols next to each mob. A Square flashing red/yellow you have Agro. Upward arrow red/ylw means youre 2nd on its hate list. Downward ylw is 3rd after that it means youre 4th or lower. The symbol will change the INSTANT you lose agro even before it starts moving to new target. You can reclaim agro instantly by immediately Flashing, since all the enemies shouldve been near you anyways (creatures may still walk over to execute the attack it queued, but should immediately come to you or you shouldve moved to it & add either a combo or another Flash on it)

Run Qarn this will teach you where/how to move so that DPS always have the shortest time to get back on its backside (which should be the side facing the Healer as much as possible, exclusions apply) & not all bosses can be stunned find out b4 you stand ur ground.

[Kyp]

If you watch the Enemy List there are symbols next to each mob. A Square flashing red/yellow you have Agro. Upward arrow red/ylw means youre 2nd on its hate list. Downward ylw is 3rd after that it means youre 4th or lower. The symbol will change the INSTANT you lose agro even before it starts moving to new target.

There is an actual meter on the party window
A=agro
numbers tell you your order
THe bar shows your closeness to the monster

[Babylyn90]

There is an actual meter on the party window
A=agro
numbers tell you your order
THe bar shows your closeness to the monster

The meter only applies to the enemy your currently targeting, whereas the list of enemies (below the party's bars) tells you your hate status for each individual mob.

[Skinypupy]

If you watch the Enemy List there are symbols next to each mob. A Square flashing red/yellow you have Agro. Upward arrow red/ylw means youre 2nd on its hate list. Downward ylw is 3rd after that it means youre 4th or lower. The symbol will change the INSTANT you lose agro even before it starts moving to new target.

Just wanted to jump in and say thanks for this. I'm somewhat new to MMO's and am generally a fairly casual solo player (3 month old twins and a 4 year old will do that), but the required grouped story quests in FF XIV have forced me to learn how to tank in a hurry. I'm still learning the ropes, and this sort of info is extremely helpful...certainly far more helpful than getting constantly cursed at throughout a dungeon run because you happened to lose aggro and let the healer get hit once.

[GSpec]

Shield Bash during boss fights! It can make your healers life easy and stop wipes. Specificity that dragon in brayflox's. Figuring out the timing can take a while but after the first breath I can get one combo flash and 2 more skills of then wait to block the breath again. I'm willing to bet there are a few more bosses like this.

[Ekko]

The dragon in Brayflox's uses its breath every 20 or so, anyway I found out that drifting left or right was a good way to deal with it instead of running away.