The Tank and You! Part 1: Damage Dealers

[defraz]

Hello All,

I'm glad you're interested in playing FFXIV ARR and I hope you have many fun times!

I'm here to give a bit of advice for group play from the Tank's perspective.

1) Before engaging the Enemy inside a dungeon, it’s important to WAIT for the tank to rush in (hit the enemy) and grab aggro (gain enmity/threat). This usually takes 1-3 seconds for the Tank. If your Tank uses some kind of ranged ability, give him a chance to MELEE the target(s) before you go full attack mode.

2) While taking out multiple mobs, if your Tank is not dealing AoE* (Area of Effect) Damage, ONLY attack the same target that your Tank is hitting.
*Exception includes periodic AoE to keep aggro off healer

3) If you are Melee, stand behind or besides the enemy. DO NOT stand next to the Tank or on them.
If you are Ranged, try to avoid standing within a direct line behind the Tank or worse, in melee range.

4) overhealing generates more threat than most new tanks can, dont do it.

5) arcanists are not melee, keep yourself and your pet well away from the tank and the enemy, knocking the enemy away from the tank is not helpful at all

5a) Knocking Enemies away from your Tank only causes him to have to chase it or potentially getting adds(Additional Enemies).

6) Focus Fire, everyone should target the same target as the Tank, blms should sleep all other foe and they will stay cc'd until they're attacked*
*Exception includes a ADD or Enemy starts attacking the Healer. If the Tank does not respond quickly enough, DPS should move to intercept the Enemy just enough to pull aggro off the Healer.

6a) If you are fighting multiple groups of Enemies AND do not have enough DPS (Damage Per Second / Damage Dealers) to AoE all the Enemies down, it is best to put them to Sleep (Class Spell) if you have to.

6b) If you do not have the abilities to put the Enemies to Sleep AND do not have enough DPS to AoE all the Enemies down, it is VERY IMPORTANT to Target the Enemy the Tank is actively targeting or has marked with a symbol above the Enemies' head.

7) On the left side of the screen is a list of Engaged Enemies. This list shows general threat you have on each enemy currently engaged in combat with you. The icon will turn from a green circle - orange triangle - red triangle - red circle. green means the tank has full aggro and you can dps as hard as you can, the closer it gets to the red triangle the more you should slow down or even stop and let the tank build more threat on it.

7a) If you pay close attention to the Party Window, under each party members Icon, you will notice a small bar. This is the Threat Bar/Meter showing EXACTLY how much Enmity you have with specific Enemy you are targeting. This is Bar/Meter is very useful for all roles. This bar will fill and unfill throughout combat (especially on bosses) because it shows each Party Member's Percentage Enmity on a Single Enemy over the coarse of combat. If your Tank is doing really high damage and pulling a large amount of Enmity, your bar will be near empty or it will have only a small portion of it filled.

7b) NEVER GO FULL RED CIRCLE!

7c) It's ok to stop dealing damage for a moment if you are catching up to the Tank in Enmity, nobody is going to be upset with you. REMEMBER, taking aggro from the tank is not going to help the party.

8) If you do take aggro run to the tank and stand still, stop attacking, don't over-heal, just wait, do not run the other way back to the entrance indefinitely, it just wastes time*
*Exception I've seen in many cases where a wipe has occurred but was stopped by a clever healer. While the Tank is being Raised and healed, a DPS will Kite (Lead the Enemy(s)) away from the group or in circles till the Tank and Healer are ready to resume fighting. This is a desperate maneuver and should not actually be something you're willing to do. Typically skilled DPSers will resort to this should situations fall very dire.

9) Communication, co operation and understanding are the three most powerful tools in the game! If you are New to a dungeon or boss, feel free to ask for help "I'm new here" or "I've never done this boss before". This will give everyone a better mindset and majority of the time they will be more than willing to explain the fight so you all don't fail and have to try again!


Future Updates:
I'll try and supply images and clips of examples given above. Please give any tips for Damage Dealing Roles in this Thread. I'll be starting a Tanking Role Thread soon enough. STAY TUNED!

Contributors
NZ_Player

[NZ_Player]

4/ overhealing generates more threat than most new tanks can, dont do it.

5/ arcanists are not melee, keep yourself and your pet well away from the tank and the enemy, knocking the enemy away from the tank is not helpful at all

6/ focus fire, everyone should target the same target as the tank, blms should sleep all other foe and they will stay cc'd until theyre attacked. whatever reason you may have for thinking its a good idea to attack another target other than what the tank is focused, is wrong, stop it.

7/ on the left side of the screen is a list of engaged enemy. this is a threat meter. the icon will turn from a green circle - orange triangle - red triangle - red circle. green means the tank has full aggro and you can dps as hard as you can, the closer it gets to the red triangle the more you should slow down or even stop and let the tank build more threat on it.
NEVER GO FULL RED CIRCLE!
its ok to stop for a moment, nobodys going to kick you, its not going to help the party at all if you take aggro from the tank.

8/ if you do take aggro run to the tank and stand still, stop attacking, dont overheal, just wait, do not run the other way back to the entrance indefinitely, it just wastes time

9/ communication, co operation and understanding are the three most powerful tools in the game, use them.

[defraz]

Thanks for the pickup on those, the 1000 word limit got me on my list

NZ_Player is correct, especially for Damage Dealers. #5 & 6 are very important to remember!

5a) Knocking Enemies away from your Tank only causes him to have to chase it or potentially getting adds(Additional Enemies).

6a) If you are fighting multiple groups of Enemies AND do not have enough DPS (Damage Per Second / Damage Dealers) to AoE all the Enemies down, it is best to put them to Sleep (Class Spell) if you have to.

6b) If you do not have the abilities to put the Enemies to Sleep AND do not have enough DPS to AoE all the Enemies down, it is VERY IMPORTANT to Target the Enemy the Tank is actively targeting or has marked with a symbol above the Enemies' head.

[HEC]

Some really good tips here for everyone - thanks!

Thanks for the pickup on those, the 1000 word limit got me on my list

There is one more good tip:

To overcome the 1000 char post limit simply first post the first part, then hit Edit button and add as much as you need / want. Enjoy!

[defraz]

Some really good tips here for everyone - thanks!



There is one more good tip:

To overcome the 1000 char post limit simply first post the first part, then hit Edit button and add as much as you need / want. Enjoy!

Forum skills +1

Thanks for the tip, I don't usually post on the forums, just read. However I felt like perhaps it's time to throw in some help for all those who are new to the game! Cheers!

[Highlanderx]

6/ focus fire, everyone should target the same target as the tank, blms should sleep all other foe and they will stay cc'd until theyre attacked. whatever reason you may have for thinking its a good idea to attack another target other than what the tank is focused, is wrong, stop it.

The only amendment to this is, I don't think there is any reason Not to use your DOT abilities on the other targets before going back to the tanks targets. provided the tank has already aggro-ed them. They don't do enough damage to pull the aggro to pull the target off the tank and the damage they take will make them quicker to kill, when there turn comes up. Though don't bother them if they have been put to sleep.

[Rivaru]

8/ if you do take aggro run to the tank and stand still, stop attacking, dont overheal, just wait, do not run the other way back to the entrance indefinitely, it just wastes time

9/ communication, co operation and understanding are the three most powerful tools in the game, use them.

This is what DPS players need to realize if they make the mistake on getting aggro (#8). As a tank, I find it very stressful to run after them as they run away from the mob they stole aggro. I haven't done the big dungeons yet so I can still somehow save them but I'll doubt the same will be applicable to the later dungeons/raids. It's also very helpful to follow the signs. Personally, I mark the ranged mob as "1" (first to kill) as much as possible (I don't get to party with players who use sleep that much so this is what I do) this allows me to focus on the melee mobs that have the tendency to run at the backline when aggro is stolen. It may not be the best tactic but it helps in keeping me from running around.

Next, Communication (#9). It's nice to plan on what to do on an encounter. Sure it takes a bit of time from the dungeon but definitely takes less than charging in without one (especially when you get wiped and you have to run back again >.>)

[Wolfgar]

As a new tank I wish all DPS would read this thread. It is so true. When my team is patient and gives me time (still looking at the dmn buttons lol) the dungeons fly by so smooth. Yet when the Dps rush in before me or engage multiple targets it takes forever. Seems I spend all my time protecting the healer until the DPS die and I can finally get agro. I would offer 1 more suggestion to ranged DPS. Don't stand behind the healer so that healer is between you and the mob.

[Bloodwillow]

A good post someone from the RPC posted I'd like to share here for groups in general: http://ffxiv-roleplayers.com/showthr...56517#pid56517
~~~~~
The main issue is that the average player is bad at teamwork. People tend to take on a "well it's his/her problem" mentality when it comes to taking responsibility in a group.

Let's use a patrol linking to a fight with a 4 man group of a WAR, WHM, BLM and MNK as an example. The patrol charges at the party, aggros the WHM due to healing aggro and kills him/her, resulting in a messy wipe. Whose fault is this?

The WAR, for picking a bad place to fight and not picking up the adds?
The WHM, for not Reposing the patrol as they got close and not running to the tank with the adds they aggro'd?
The BLM, for not using Sleep or Freeze to stop the patrol and controlling the adds in the first place?
The MNK, for fighting too close and not off tanking the patrol?

If you answered 5: All of the above, then you would be correct. Everyone needs to take responsibility. Rinh is completely right. People need to earn how to work together as a team and take responsibility and not only that, take initiative. I've prevented many messy wipes by being proactive with my Sleep on nearby patrols on BLM for example.

Giving each other tips and advice is another great thing. Like I didn't know that Bane from SMN or the Knockback from WHM don't break my sleep. So with that and some coordination from the WHM, we can sleep a mob that we aggro'd and punt it back to the tank to Flash/Provoke. Most tanks don't realise that Flash doesn't break sleep so there is no need to AoE with a BLM or WHM in the party. But they won't know that unless you tell them.

It is also very much work making friends ingame. Dungeon queues are short for everyone if you ask around and put together a group of 4 before queueing. It's even better if it is part of a regular group of people because a team that works together.

I always keep the following in mind in dungeons:

*Yelling gets you nowhere. There is a person behind every character
*Never assume malice when stupidity is why someone did something dumb.
*Never assume stupidity when inexperience is why someone did something dumb.
*Never assume inexperience when an honest mistake, lag or good old fashioned software/hardware failure is why someone did something dumb.
*Always assume that there is someone completely new to every group.
*Especially if they told you they have done the dungeon before.
*Speed Runs are only to be done in a premade group with people you are confident in and play well with.
*Wipes happen. Deal with it.
*Seriously, wipes happen even to the best groups. maybe someone made a mistake or lag happened. Sometimes in a boss fight bad luck happens when it comes to mechanics or the circumstances making it impossible to avoid damage. There have been plenty of times when a wipe happened, it was nobody's fault but someone still ragequits anyway.
*Take a break from the game regularly. no really, stepping away from the keyboard for about 15 mins is great for calming down after a stressful dungeon run.
*Practise makes permanent. Practise with guidance makes perfect. Don't be afraid to ask other players as to how they do things, or anything at all. it's always best to look silly for a moment then to live in ignorance.

[ThisIsACake]

As a tank and healer in this game, everyone just needs to listen to each other. If someone is more experienced than you and is giving you kind advice, take it and try it. I've run a few dungeons as a healer with first time tanks/dps and saying "wait a second, you should try this -" has really made things a lot easier. That and explaining what the white bars next to our names mean.