Things your tank requests from you

[nasomi]

I've finally gotten around to doing a dungeon in 2.0 since I've started over. I ran the dungeon about 10 times, and keep running into the same issues. So I'm here to let you know what you can do to make the tank able to do their job better.

Back line jobs, STAY BACK! Do not pull monsters and attack recklessly. It might not end badly when you're fighting something easy, but when you get to higher levels, it can be dangerous. It's a good habit to have.

Front line jobs, STAY BACK until the tank establishes hate and gets a couple hits in, then go in. Don't attack at the same time and unleash a wave of fury, then wonder why the tank can't keep the monsters off you.

There is party structure in FFXIV, it's not a free for all. I understand this may be new to some people. I almost lost my mind at a THM yesterday who decided he would be the one to pull everything, after he was repetitively asked by me and other party members to stay back.

The monsters hit only the tank, the healer only has to heal the tank, which makes their job infinitely easier and helps them conserve mp for when things get hairy.

[Crashar]

I was one of those to pull some mobs though that was only on low level guildhests and the odd low level instance till i learnt how multi agro works, though if people actually use party chat to say what's going on then yeah that always helps, though if someone incapable of reading and listening then yeah...times like that when kicking and replacing should really be in the game.

[Edenholt]

Great post! And useful tips!

I've re-rolled on Odin to play with my friends (since SE won't release server transfer yet...) and I was doing Copperbell Mines and I finally found the first misbehaving players. It were 3 of us from my FC and this archer. He kept pulling mobs and attacking while I was still running. I even died because of him pulling too much and I had to make sure they wouldn't go for the healer. After that we all asked him politely to go easy and wait for me to pull, he just told us to shut up and heal/dps. In the last boss he decided he could slack and just watch. It was very frustrating and my first bad experience while tanking in this game. I don't like to lecture people on how to play their classes, but I would expect them to at least let me do my job. This is the last time I use DF, unless I can get a full FC group I'm skipping dungeons. Not worth it to have a terrible experience so someone else I don't even know can get ahead with their quest. Sorry, Community.

[SpiritedMare]

I run exclusively with my Gladiator boyfriend, thus the only requests I ever get from the tank are not suitable for a public forum...

*ba dum tsh*

Honestly though, as a former tank in a different game, my single biggest pet peeve was when a party member got aggro and then ran *away* from me. It's like "........ They're not going to leash unless you run all the way back to the entrance; is that what you were in fact planning to do?"

[Balaur]

Things we request from our tanks:

Mark targets. We can't hit what the tank refuses to establish, and the casters can't sleep or repose which you keep hitting to try to "build aggro." Flash works on slept targets, but so does healing aggro, so maintain Flash and don't break my sleeps!

Don't pretend you're the boss of the dungeon. 5:8 runs I've done with pugged tanks they didn't know their hand from their arse, and they needed their hand held through the content just as much as new DPS.

If the healer says "stop," STOP. Your survival depends on the healer's state to protect you. You rush in when they are trying to cast Protect/Proshell or put Stoneskin on you, you're gonna suffer. That causes more healing, and thus more healing aggro YOU have to deal with. You are one part of a team, you are not ALL of the team with some NPCs along to damage/heal for you.

[Haredin-Hunter]

My personal pet peeve is when anyone gets in front of me during a dungeon and I warn people constantly that if they get ahead of me and get aggro then I will leave them to die. Had one too many parties almost die because some bumbling chucklefuck decided to pull more monsters than wanted.

Honestly though, as a former tank in a different game, my single biggest pet peeve was when a party member got aggro and then ran *away* from me. It's like "........ They're not going to leash unless you run all the way back to the entrance; is that what you were in fact planning to do?"

I tend to stand back and laugh when the black mage, it's always the black mage, does this. Like "You want him off of you right?! Then come over here and let me... No? Okay you have fun running away now."

Things we request from our tanks:
Don't pretend you're the boss of the dungeon. 5:8 runs I've done with pugged tanks they didn't know their hand from their arse, and they needed their hand held through the content just as much as new DPS.

Woah there, not sure if you understand what you're saying there... I'M THE FUCKING TANK!
On a serious note, if you are new to a dungeon then ask for help. Once you have done an instance a couple times and got a good feel for it then you can be GodKing OverTank, just make sure you aren't telling people who know what is going on what to do cause that causes friction.

[nasomi]

I just had another run and it was my worst yet. The whm was constantly running ahead and getting agro even after I repeatively asked them to stay back. Then someone used the limit break and they typed out a long "how dare you we need that for the boss" speach, at which point I died because we were still mid battle, and I needed heals. I debated dropping the party right then and there, but didn't. Then no one touched the grates after I repeatively asked them, there were 15 adds, i was running around like crazy trying to get them. It was a less than great time.

There doesn't need to be a boss, if everyone knows how to do their job. However, as the tank, I am the leader. If you go in front of me time after time, I'm not going to keep saving your ass when you keep pulling agro. I don't care if you've done it a million times, you don't pass the tank.

[HumsterMKX]

Actually, the main problem I have with pug or DF tank is, they tank at locations during boss fights I am not comfortable with. I can tell them to switch but it seems impossible.

[StrangerousDangerous]

Also, the more the tank can keep the boss still the higher the DPS that melee can produced.

Ive seen tanks try to kite tank mobs that don't need it, im not sure if its just for fun or what. Don't think the tank realizes that the dragoons and monks need to hit from the side and back to do good dps.

Marking mobs is a must, unless its an obvious 3 mob pull with one big mob that does aoe and two small mobs. Big pulls its a must though.


From what Ive seen, what people need to know is that provoke doesn't work on some bosses. Let the tank run in alone, get a GCD off or two before DD rushes in and starts going to work. Healer might be wise to not heal during this time as well.

[Aicasia]

Ive seen tanks try to kite tank mobs that don't need it, im not sure if its just for fun or what. Don't think the tank realizes that the dragoons and monks need to hit from the side and back to do good dps.

Not to mention that when things are moving it is almost impossible to hit them unless you're right on top of them or in front of them.