I'm going to cause myself a lot of embarrassment here and make myself really stupid for saying this but I suppose it's better that I find out what most people think and that I try to adapt to it.
When I started tanking seriously I used to mark mobs to make the DPS smoother and to make enmity management less of a hassle on my end. I did this all the way up to the later-game dungeons but at some point I simply just stopped doing it. I'm not sure what my exact reason was for stopping at the time was but sometimes I wonder if I should return to doing it or not. The thing is that I have a few things that bother me about marking, though it has nothing to do with it being a bit tedious and hence why I feel stupid for bringing it up.
But regardless, here they are...
First and foremost, for the parties that actually would heed your marks, I imagine that very few of them would actually pick a target to DPS on their own intentionally. Now I know it sometimes happens anyways, I find myself doing it when I am not paying full attention despite the fact that I sometimes ask myself what the other DPS is doing when they choose a random target and force me to switch to theirs when they don't give up. So with that said, it seems almost like a pointless exercise.
Secondly, when it comes to late game dungeons I often think that marking them would somehow feel condescending to the other players. I don't see it like this myself when I am the DPS normally(though I hate when people mark conjurers in Halatali!), but the marking system is almost like a guide and I feel like I am telling people what to do as if they couldn't work it out for themselves... which I'm sure just sounds really stupid but that's the main thing I worry about.
Finally, though this has become less of an issue as of late, I worry about marking the less annoying mobs first and this being noticed by perhaps a more knowledgeable player whom would then have to ignore their wishes to get that one out of the way or defy the marking system to be more optimal but then annoy me by making me feel like I am wasting my time by even trying.
Yes, yes... all so frivolous and ridiculous but this is the immense hardship that is my tanking life. I also have a bit of a double standard where I don't like when people mark things for me when I am the tank(and not marking). I feel like they are not happy with me not doing my job, if it can so be called, and just pressures me into marking things that don't need to be marked when the party is already focusing on the same targets together anyways.
I actually don't mark anything as a DPS anymore outside of trials, Amdapor and bound targets, though I used to when I was "younger" =w=
So... what does everyone here think? Do you prefer targets to be marked? Do you find it unnecessary? Patronizing to your experience? Please let me know!
When I started tanking seriously I used to mark mobs to make the DPS smoother and to make enmity management less of a hassle on my end. I did this all the way up to the later-game dungeons but at some point I simply just stopped doing it. I'm not sure what my exact reason was for stopping at the time was but sometimes I wonder if I should return to doing it or not. The thing is that I have a few things that bother me about marking, though it has nothing to do with it being a bit tedious and hence why I feel stupid for bringing it up.
But regardless, here they are...
First and foremost, for the parties that actually would heed your marks, I imagine that very few of them would actually pick a target to DPS on their own intentionally. Now I know it sometimes happens anyways, I find myself doing it when I am not paying full attention despite the fact that I sometimes ask myself what the other DPS is doing when they choose a random target and force me to switch to theirs when they don't give up. So with that said, it seems almost like a pointless exercise.
Secondly, when it comes to late game dungeons I often think that marking them would somehow feel condescending to the other players. I don't see it like this myself when I am the DPS normally(though I hate when people mark conjurers in Halatali!), but the marking system is almost like a guide and I feel like I am telling people what to do as if they couldn't work it out for themselves... which I'm sure just sounds really stupid but that's the main thing I worry about.
Finally, though this has become less of an issue as of late, I worry about marking the less annoying mobs first and this being noticed by perhaps a more knowledgeable player whom would then have to ignore their wishes to get that one out of the way or defy the marking system to be more optimal but then annoy me by making me feel like I am wasting my time by even trying.
Yes, yes... all so frivolous and ridiculous but this is the immense hardship that is my tanking life. I also have a bit of a double standard where I don't like when people mark things for me when I am the tank(and not marking). I feel like they are not happy with me not doing my job, if it can so be called, and just pressures me into marking things that don't need to be marked when the party is already focusing on the same targets together anyways.
I actually don't mark anything as a DPS anymore outside of trials, Amdapor and bound targets, though I used to when I was "younger" =w=
So... what does everyone here think? Do you prefer targets to be marked? Do you find it unnecessary? Patronizing to your experience? Please let me know!
![[Image: ecec20e41f.png]](https://puu.sh/xvMxb/ecec20e41f.png)
Characters: Andre Winter (Hy'ur) / K'nahli Yohko (Miqo'te)
![[Image: tumblr_ojgu7zoaag1robwlio1_540.png]](https://68.media.tumblr.com/80be4033cdf57fb6268473ef9ce37db6/tumblr_ojgu7zoaag1robwlio1_540.png)
![[Image: 1qVSsTp.png]](http://i.imgur.com/1qVSsTp.png)
) The other part is that, IMO, marking is part of good communication. It says two things: "Hey, whoever is top on the kill list is who I'll focus most of the threat generation on, so try to kill him first," and "Be aware that guys higher on the kill order are more dangerous and need to die first." 