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+--- Thread: Tried tanking tonight, not sure I like it! (/showthread.php?tid=4070)
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RE: Tried tanking tonight, not sure I like it! - Divisor - 08-28-2013
FFXIV is actually the first MMO I've played in a while where tanking was actually a challenge, even in the first few dungeons and guildhests. It takes a while to get used to, but once you start getting the hang of it, I've found that it's really fun!
As a sidenote, I haven't tanked as Marauder yet, just as a Gladiator, so I can really only give you tips with that. I'm also like.. 22 so far, I think?
Generally when I tank, I make sure to mark mobs before every encounter so that the DPS knows who to fight and in what order. If someone is attacking something that you aren't, they're going to pull enmity from you 9 times out of 10, and it's going to be a frantic rush to get enmity back while also keeping track of the mobs that are still on you (if they haven't turned around and attacked someone else already while you were busy with the guy you just lost).
When you select an enemy, if that enemy is part of a mob, you'll see a short, golden string pass between it and the other enemies it's connected with. Attacking any one of them will get them all on you. If you select something and you don't see that string, you can feel free to pull it separately and nothing else should bother you. Most recently, I've noticed a lot of roaming Gas Bombs in Halatali move around alone, so you can tag them from afar to get rid of them pre-emptively.Â
Once I've started attacking the first enemy in a mob, I'll immediately follow with a Flash to confirm that the rest of the mob is on me. By default, at the left of the screen is a small list of the creatures in the fight. Next to their names is a shape with a given color. This is a quick way of seeing how much enmity you have with each enemy. A red square means they're attacking you, and anything less means they're on someone else. I think it goes from red square -> orange down arrow -> yellow up arrow -> blue circle. The further down their enmity towards you is, the harder it's going to be to get its attention back. I think once Gladiators get to 22 they get an ability called Provoke which will generate a large amount of enmity with any one target, so if there's a boss or a single guy who ran off to hit the healer, using that's a really quick way to get him back to you.
As others have stated, there's a small bar just under a player's class icon in the party window that shows you how much enmity each person has towards (I think) your current target. Flashing or Provoking an enemy should lower everyone else's enmity at least temporarily, so it's not a bad idea to do this periodically in every fight just to be safe.
Also, whenever you just start an encounter, it's a good idea to run behind the mob so that you're facing the rest of the team and all the monsters are facing just you. This makes it easier for DPS to flank them, and it's much easier to keep track of what the rest of the party is doing. It'd be a hassle if something ran up behind the healer, who's behind you, and you didn't see it until it was too late.
That about covers everything I've noticed so far. Like I've said I'm only 22 so I'm sure there's a lot of stuff nearer endgame that I don't even know about yet.
EDIT: Oh, also. I play and tank with a PS3 controller on the PC, and something that has helped -immensely- with doing so was learning about targeting filters. I think to get to them it's under Character Config -> Targeting Settins -> Filters. At the bottom is Filter Customization, and what these do is filter the types of things you scroll through when you target stuff with the d-pad. For example, if you enable L1 + Triangle and then filter out everything but All Enemies and Aggroing Enemies, you will only target enemies when you've pressed L1 + Triangle. If you ever wanted to know what that word above your HP is (usually it'd say Others), now you know.
RE: Tried tanking tonight, not sure I like it! - Myxie Tryxle - 08-28-2013
Here's a link to the website I was talking about that lists your cross class powers.
If you scroll down to the third section, those are the cross class powers. It describes the level and class needed to unlock each power. I would suggest getting one of the DOT powers, one of the defense cooldowns, and Second Wind for tanking instances.
My personal suggestions for the most useful low level powers:
Feint - lancer 2 - reduces the enemy attack speed; poor for threat but good to reduce damage from melee bosses
Foresight - marauder 2 - increases defense for a short period; great for reducing physical damage
Featherfoot - pugilist 4 - increases dodge chance for a short period; another defensive cooldown
Venomous bite - archer 6 - puts a nice damage over time on the enemy; DOTs are great for threat if you put them on an enemy that is likely to live for more than ten seconds
Fracture - marauder 6 - another DOT; same idea as venomous bite, though venomous bite is more potent at the early levels
Second wind - pugilist 8 - an instant heal on a short cooldown; it's basically a free potion every two minutes; highly recommended
Powers I would avoid:
Skull sunder - marauder 4 - identical to savage blade but you can't combo it, making this power worthless for gladiator
Protect - conjurer 8 - while a 30 minute defense buff is great, your healer will bring an improved version that overwrites it; leave it for the conjurer
Impulse drive - lancer 8 - ideally you'll never be behind an enemy, making this less effective than your other attacks
RE: Tried tanking tonight, not sure I like it! - Salty Lake - 08-28-2013
I partied with Myxie today and had a great time! She gave me some helpful pointers and gear. I still have a lot to learn, but I had better luck holding aggro and had fun rather than feelings of frustration. I even made it to Ifrit this afternoon and managed to hold aggro, but the nail killed us because a DPS party member DC's and duty-finder would let us replace him with a random player.
I will go get a few levels on my other DoW classes so I can try out Myxie's recommendations!