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First Time MMO Tank HelpFollow

#1 Apr 17 2016 at 11:11 PM Rating: Good
Hey all,

Im new to FFXIV and MMO's in general and my friends said being a tank would be fun. Well it certainly has been fun but im having a lot of difficulty in dungeons with parties of four (most recent dungeon was a level 28). I can definitely acquire and maintain aggro from multiple enemies and most of the time my parties health is unaffected because I'm taking it all BUT people are getting angry at me. It's not all the time but sometimes character (usually more experienced members) freak out at me and really go out of their way to let me know how bad of a job I did (to the point where I felt like I killed their child or something). I mean I get it, but they never offer me advice! I don't understand what I'm doing wrong. I've been looking at some beginner tanking guides and strategies and keep changing it up but could someone give me some advice as to what I'm doing wrong?

My Character: Maurader/Warrior
My Strategy:

I now have Defiance and since it gives good bonus to tank I turn it on, then turn on foresight, then proceed to...

1. Attack center of mob target with tomahawk which pulls mob
2. Overpower entire mob once or twice
3. Basically attack target using combo (1: Heavy Swing 2: Skull Sunder 3: Butcher's Block) or (1: Heavy Swing 2: Maim) and watch enemies to see if I lose aggro
4. To maintain aggro, I throw in Berserk and Overpower Once in a while, and while Berserk cools down and I cant attack, I use Flash.
5. If I do lose aggro on an enemy, I target it with Tomahawk until it regain aggro

Basically I do all this until the mob dies. And it works out pretty well for me, there are some cases where I'll lose a member of the mob and try to use Tomahawk to regain aggro and it simply wont come back until it dies or until I attack it from close quarters and by then the mob is too close to my party members and I begin to lose control. But even when this happens its only momentarily!

SO, I's like to understand what I'm doing wrong and also if anyone has any suggestions to my strategy.

I know I'm a beginner and I know for some of you, you're in physical pain reading this, but any help would be appreciated.


#2 Apr 18 2016 at 2:04 AM Rating: Good
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you got it, prettymuch it in the beginning, and even later not that much more. started out with the ax myself, no regrets. Enjoy instant que times and nobody complaining even if you do ***** up.
#3 Apr 18 2016 at 4:40 AM Rating: Decent
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You seem to have given your tanking actions more consideration than most newbie tanks probably do, so my guess is that you're doing fine and you've just gotten grouped with impatient buttmunches that are running roulettes and wanting you to go faster / pull more things.

Assuming that is the case, I personally don't tolerate backseaters when I tank things. If people can *politely* offer a suggestion for my pacing as a tank, I may oblige them. Otherwise, they get ignored / told to suck wind / happily left to die when they run ahead and aggro things. This sort of behavior will eventually come naturally to you as a tank, otherwise the vast scores of drooling idiots on the Duty Finder will gradually wear down your sanity.

Quote:
there are some cases where I'll lose a member of the mob and try to use Tomahawk to regain aggro and it simply wont come back until it dies


You'll want to consider using Provoke for cases like these where someone has ripped a good amount of aggro and you don't feel like you can easily get it back.

The way Provoke works in this game is different than its FFXI incarnation (I know you haven't played FFXI, but just saying for anyone else that has) -- it only gives you just enough threat to put you at the top of the list, and not a single point more than that. If the person that you're Provoking off of so much as breathes on the mob, it will immediately start attacking them again. So the proper intended use is to have another enmity action (Tomahawk, or a comboed Skull Sunder / Butcher's Block / whatever) ready to go right after you use Provoke.

Edited, Apr 18th 2016 6:48am by Fynlar
#4 Apr 18 2016 at 7:36 AM Rating: Good
It really does sound like you have a good start.

Just my 2 cents but if you haven’t already, get used to the aggro meter next to the other characters names. Especially in lower level dungeons you’ll run into DPS each hitting their own targets. You can either switch mobs to up your Hate, overpower some more, or learn to mark the mobs so they all know to hit one monster at a time.

In all honesty, I wish DPS would look at their own aggro meter more to know when they should back off a tad, or pay attention to what mob they are hitting, but too meany people do not do that…. some do though.
#5 Apr 18 2016 at 9:17 AM Rating: Decent
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Quote:
I now have Defiance and since it gives good bonus to tank I turn it on, then turn on foresight, then proceed to...

1. Attack center of mob target with tomahawk which pulls mob
2. Overpower entire mob once or twice
3. Basically attack target using combo (1: Heavy Swing 2: Skull Sunder 3: Butcher's Block) or (1: Heavy Swing 2: Maim) and watch enemies to see if I lose aggro
4. To maintain aggro, I throw in Berserk and Overpower Once in a while, and while Berserk cools down and I cant attack, I use Flash.
5. If I do lose aggro on an enemy, I target it with Tomahawk until it regain aggro


This is pretty much it for the basic game and most of the game's content that requires very little upkeep from your end, so you pretty much have the idea. There's very little you can do from a community aspect as some DPS just don't care or want to get things done quickly, just keep in mind in a dungeon situation, neither you nor the healer nor the dps set the pace for it, it's the entire party that sets the pace. So a good general idea, aside JUST overpower/flash spam, is to get a rotation ro two off on all mobs if there's say 2-5+ on you, that way even if the DPS decide to peel off or you have heavy BLM damage going out, hate will always be established.

So until you hit the end-game scene, if you even plan to do it, you definitely have the idea down on what you need to do. End-game tanking in high end content is quite a different ball game, especially for Warrior.
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