Gladiator is definitely the easier of the two classes to tank with. It's very "grab and go" so to speak because all the skill chains and routines are pretty basic.
In 1.0 I tanked mainly as as paladin, though I also took up warrior for the sake of speed and DPS (this is when speed runs mattered).
In ARR, I've been pretty exclusive to gladiator/paladin mainly because of my lack of want to make a new axe and also because of my love towards the changes made to the class/job. :p
Regardless of the being a gladiator or a marauder, as the tank, you definitely have to take charge of the party. Not only are you the front line of defense for your group, but you're also the one going to be marking targets and pulling them in. You have to be assertive in some cases, especially when DPS classes decide to start wailing on the mobs that aren't targeted or are are attacking out of order. Marauders are geared more towards aoe tanking while gladiators function better in single target tanking.Â
There's a special kind of synergy that develops from each party setup, and as a tank, you have to be able to adapt to them. If a thaumaturge is in the party for example, be prepared for single target fights as the thaum sleeps things. If you have a pugilist in the party, be prepared to hold your ground more often in order to let the pug do his positional combos. Lancers and archers are high burst dps and can instantly steal hate if you aren't keeping up your enmity and damage output. You have to be able to see this and let them know when to ease off on their dps (they should be keeping an eye out for this too). Having a secondary tank or a topaz carbuncle changes the flow of the party dynamic too. In these cases, you and the secondary can bounce hate between each other while putting out more dps while still keeping the front line secure (gladiator does more dps with fast blade > riot blade. You get more out of this with fight or flight on.)Â
A few things to keep in mind which should be the basic understanding in a party is that everyone needs to watch their enmity levels. True, the tank's job in a fight is to hold a mob, but he can't do that when DDs are pulling hate off of him by attacking out of order or letting their enmity levels go beyond what they should. Everyone should be held responsible for their own enmity now because there is a clear indicator for them to see it by. Second, healers shouldn't over heal! It is a waste of MP and the amount they overheal by is also added to their own enmity. A gladiator may have lower HP than a marauder, but they have far more defensive skills and damage mitigation to reduce the amount of healing they really need. Further, gladiators can cure themselves in a variety of ways > cure, physik, potions, hi-potions, second wind, blood bath, and mercy stroke all give back HP through various means. Paladin's are a bit more focused so they are barred from using the others healing skills other than cure and mercy stroke.Â
Anyways, keep to it! The game needs more competent tanks, and the only way to get better at it is to keep up the practice.
Edit: Also, in the quests/dungeons up to level 20, you can effectivly run parties without a full on healer (i.e. conjurer) so long as you carry a stock of hi-potions and can second wind/cure. Thaumaturges and arcanist at this level are also competent healers. Not having a healer is detrimental to a party, but at the lower levels, it completely feasible to do. This can't be said to be true at the higher levels tho, so keep that in mind!
In 1.0 I tanked mainly as as paladin, though I also took up warrior for the sake of speed and DPS (this is when speed runs mattered).
In ARR, I've been pretty exclusive to gladiator/paladin mainly because of my lack of want to make a new axe and also because of my love towards the changes made to the class/job. :p
Regardless of the being a gladiator or a marauder, as the tank, you definitely have to take charge of the party. Not only are you the front line of defense for your group, but you're also the one going to be marking targets and pulling them in. You have to be assertive in some cases, especially when DPS classes decide to start wailing on the mobs that aren't targeted or are are attacking out of order. Marauders are geared more towards aoe tanking while gladiators function better in single target tanking.Â
There's a special kind of synergy that develops from each party setup, and as a tank, you have to be able to adapt to them. If a thaumaturge is in the party for example, be prepared for single target fights as the thaum sleeps things. If you have a pugilist in the party, be prepared to hold your ground more often in order to let the pug do his positional combos. Lancers and archers are high burst dps and can instantly steal hate if you aren't keeping up your enmity and damage output. You have to be able to see this and let them know when to ease off on their dps (they should be keeping an eye out for this too). Having a secondary tank or a topaz carbuncle changes the flow of the party dynamic too. In these cases, you and the secondary can bounce hate between each other while putting out more dps while still keeping the front line secure (gladiator does more dps with fast blade > riot blade. You get more out of this with fight or flight on.)Â
A few things to keep in mind which should be the basic understanding in a party is that everyone needs to watch their enmity levels. True, the tank's job in a fight is to hold a mob, but he can't do that when DDs are pulling hate off of him by attacking out of order or letting their enmity levels go beyond what they should. Everyone should be held responsible for their own enmity now because there is a clear indicator for them to see it by. Second, healers shouldn't over heal! It is a waste of MP and the amount they overheal by is also added to their own enmity. A gladiator may have lower HP than a marauder, but they have far more defensive skills and damage mitigation to reduce the amount of healing they really need. Further, gladiators can cure themselves in a variety of ways > cure, physik, potions, hi-potions, second wind, blood bath, and mercy stroke all give back HP through various means. Paladin's are a bit more focused so they are barred from using the others healing skills other than cure and mercy stroke.Â
Anyways, keep to it! The game needs more competent tanks, and the only way to get better at it is to keep up the practice.
Edit: Also, in the quests/dungeons up to level 20, you can effectivly run parties without a full on healer (i.e. conjurer) so long as you carry a stock of hi-potions and can second wind/cure. Thaumaturges and arcanist at this level are also competent healers. Not having a healer is detrimental to a party, but at the lower levels, it completely feasible to do. This can't be said to be true at the higher levels tho, so keep that in mind!
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Take some bacon and I put it in a pancake.
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