These are just some general tips that will help out any player who is considering learning to tank or has just started recently. They may seem obvious but since playing something that isn't a WAR/PLD I'm amazed at how very little of the community actually do this (obviously exclude raiders).
Original: www.eorzeaendgame.com/viewtopic.php?f=16&t=72
Paladin Guide: www.eorzeaendgame.com/viewtopic.php?f=16&t=49
• Before every pull make sure to quickly look at your party members. See if they're moving and ready to go, don't just assume that because nobody has said anything everyone's there/ready.
• Mark the initial mob that you're going to build enmity on. You don't need to mark all of the mobs, but marking 2 is sufficient. Make sure you bind your marking abilities to easy access keys. I personally use a Razer Naga, so have plenty of buttons on my mouse.
• When marking mid-fight, choose mobs that are near the melee to make target transitions quicker.
• Watch the healers MP! This doesn't mean you need to stare at their mana bar for the whole run but make sure to glance at it before pulling.
• Use your cooldowns appropriately to alleviate healer stress. If you know you're going to get hit with a large amount of damage or the healer is running low on MP don't hesitate to pop a cooldown.
• Dodge the red zones as much as you can! This may seem obvious but many tanks don't bother. (This is more specifically for non 50 tanks)
• When dodging a red zone, make sure to position yourself back to where you were originally (unless there's a void zone on the ground). That way the DPS won't have to realign.
• When tanking a boss or bunch of mobs, face them away from the party. This reduces the chance of cleaves, frontal attacks, etc from hitting the rest of your party.
• When you become more confident at tanking and taking lead of your group you can start to do bigger pulls. This is entirely group and gear dependant though.
• Check to see if you have Regen still ticking on you before a pull. Having it tick between using your first abilities can sometimes pull threat off of you.
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I'm a level 32 Paladin, and I've been playing the game for about two weeks now. I played FFXI as a RDM, PUP, and SCH; tanking is very new to me. Here are some things I've learned, which I'm sure more-seasoned tanks are all aware of this, but I certainly wasn't.
I'm playing the game with my son. This is his first MMO, and he opted to go the THM/BLM route. Being a former RDM, I prioritized sleeping adds very highly. As it turns out, this isn't actually such a big deal here, but for our first thirty levels or so, I would pull, and he would sleep everything that wasn't marked as "one" (I'd mark a second mob if we had three). I'd hold our main target with Fast Blade >> Savage Blade (>> Rage of Halone). Everything being slept, I'd hold with Flash. This play-style worked for us and was very controlled, but it didn't work when we played with uncooperative people/people who presumably didn't speak our language. If people all attacked different mobs or used AOEs all the time, I would lose hate. I had to figure something else out.
I started alternating through multiple mobs. I still pull with Shield Lob, and I use Flash once everything gets near me. I hit the first mob with Rage of Halone, and then I run through Fast Blade >> Savage Blade. I swap to the next mob and use Rage of Halone (which still gets an enmity bonus). After that, I typically switch to the third mob and go Fast Blade >> Savage Blade, Flash again, and shift my next Halone onto whatever needs it.
There's probably a more-efficient way to do it -- a better order, and I'm very interested in hearing it. But the main take-away here is that as a tank, you should be actively tanking all mobs in most trash-mob situations. I feel like that isn't stressed enough. I've only done the dungeons up through Haukke Manor (Titan is next), so I haven't had experience with an off-tank in the party, but learning to tank multiple mobs at once has made things run so much more smoothly. I often read people recommending Flash spam or Circle of Scorn spam at 50 (maybe that's viable; I don't know). I don't know that that's the right answer.
On the other hand, having your DDs/DPS attacking different mobs rather than concentrating on one mob at a time is inefficient, too.
I'm playing the game with my son. This is his first MMO, and he opted to go the THM/BLM route. Being a former RDM, I prioritized sleeping adds very highly. As it turns out, this isn't actually such a big deal here, but for our first thirty levels or so, I would pull, and he would sleep everything that wasn't marked as "one" (I'd mark a second mob if we had three). I'd hold our main target with Fast Blade >> Savage Blade (>> Rage of Halone). Everything being slept, I'd hold with Flash. This play-style worked for us and was very controlled, but it didn't work when we played with uncooperative people/people who presumably didn't speak our language. If people all attacked different mobs or used AOEs all the time, I would lose hate. I had to figure something else out.
I started alternating through multiple mobs. I still pull with Shield Lob, and I use Flash once everything gets near me. I hit the first mob with Rage of Halone, and then I run through Fast Blade >> Savage Blade. I swap to the next mob and use Rage of Halone (which still gets an enmity bonus). After that, I typically switch to the third mob and go Fast Blade >> Savage Blade, Flash again, and shift my next Halone onto whatever needs it.
There's probably a more-efficient way to do it -- a better order, and I'm very interested in hearing it. But the main take-away here is that as a tank, you should be actively tanking all mobs in most trash-mob situations. I feel like that isn't stressed enough. I've only done the dungeons up through Haukke Manor (Titan is next), so I haven't had experience with an off-tank in the party, but learning to tank multiple mobs at once has made things run so much more smoothly. I often read people recommending Flash spam or Circle of Scorn spam at 50 (maybe that's viable; I don't know). I don't know that that's the right answer.
On the other hand, having your DDs/DPS attacking different mobs rather than concentrating on one mob at a time is inefficient, too.
Its funny how much stuff changes as you level.
In high end dungeons pld is basically the following while trying to hold agro on multiple mobs (aka no asleep/more than 2.
shield lob
flash when all are close
circle of scorn
flash again
single target combo
flash
mp combo
flash
single target combo
flash
sprinkle in some GC defensive skills and instant cast skills for extra dmg
In high end dungeons pld is basically the following while trying to hold agro on multiple mobs (aka no asleep/more than 2.
shield lob
flash when all are close
circle of scorn
flash again
single target combo
flash
mp combo
flash
single target combo
flash
sprinkle in some GC defensive skills and instant cast skills for extra dmg
Shield Lob
Flash + Circle of Scorn
Fast Blade
Flash
Savage Blade
Flash
(Optional: Tab thru the targets checking the Emnity Bars on the Party list, and makes sure you are not going to lose hate on anything.)
Rage of Halone (the mob you have the least hate on)
Basically you alternate your moves with Flash, even during the single target combo.
What you really, really want is for that first Circle of Scorn to go off and share the animation time with Flash. To accomplish this you need to be cast Flash and immediately spam Circle of Scorn. After you get the hang of this you will see the time benefit compared to casting them separately. Even though Circle of Scorn is an Instant, the animation takes time.
This is my suggestion for Basic tanking pulls with PLD. There are some times when you have to modify for the party setup.
Sometimes due to a BLM casting Fire II AoE, or WHM Holy spam, you will want to just stand there and spam Flash until you are 1/2 MP or so (no single target combo at all). The real trick is when a DRG is doing high single target, and the BLM is also doing AoE. This is when you gotta alternate the Flash with your single target Emnity combo. If you get really good a tabbing thru targets, you will always land Rage of Halone before you lose hate, even if, say, the BRD starts attacking Mob #2 on the pull for some reason.
The other trick that keeps you looking liek a competent tank is having Provoke ready for when you do lose hate. The last thing you want to do is run over and start your hate combo on the loose mob, dragging the mobs the melee are trying to fight with you.
I'll post this here. The Macro I use for pulling/silence and Provoke:
/macroicon "Provoke"
/ac "Spirits Within" <t>
/ac "Shield Lob" <t>
/ac "Provoke" <t>
-First of all, this button always shows you if Provoke is up. It's primary purpose is Shield Lob for pulling. When you first press it, the mobs are too far away so Shield Lob goes off.
-During a battle, you press this and it will silence your target, because they are right next to you and, therefore in range of Spirits Within.
-Finally, if you lose hate you just spam this and it will always set off Provoke. Keep spamming for extra Shield Lob to solidify the hate if the mobs stays at range.
Best of luck to you.
Flash + Circle of Scorn
Fast Blade
Flash
Savage Blade
Flash
(Optional: Tab thru the targets checking the Emnity Bars on the Party list, and makes sure you are not going to lose hate on anything.)
Rage of Halone (the mob you have the least hate on)
Basically you alternate your moves with Flash, even during the single target combo.
What you really, really want is for that first Circle of Scorn to go off and share the animation time with Flash. To accomplish this you need to be cast Flash and immediately spam Circle of Scorn. After you get the hang of this you will see the time benefit compared to casting them separately. Even though Circle of Scorn is an Instant, the animation takes time.
This is my suggestion for Basic tanking pulls with PLD. There are some times when you have to modify for the party setup.
Sometimes due to a BLM casting Fire II AoE, or WHM Holy spam, you will want to just stand there and spam Flash until you are 1/2 MP or so (no single target combo at all). The real trick is when a DRG is doing high single target, and the BLM is also doing AoE. This is when you gotta alternate the Flash with your single target Emnity combo. If you get really good a tabbing thru targets, you will always land Rage of Halone before you lose hate, even if, say, the BRD starts attacking Mob #2 on the pull for some reason.
The other trick that keeps you looking liek a competent tank is having Provoke ready for when you do lose hate. The last thing you want to do is run over and start your hate combo on the loose mob, dragging the mobs the melee are trying to fight with you.
I'll post this here. The Macro I use for pulling/silence and Provoke:
/macroicon "Provoke"
/ac "Spirits Within" <t>
/ac "Shield Lob" <t>
/ac "Provoke" <t>
-First of all, this button always shows you if Provoke is up. It's primary purpose is Shield Lob for pulling. When you first press it, the mobs are too far away so Shield Lob goes off.
-During a battle, you press this and it will silence your target, because they are right next to you and, therefore in range of Spirits Within.
-Finally, if you lose hate you just spam this and it will always set off Provoke. Keep spamming for extra Shield Lob to solidify the hate if the mobs stays at range.
Best of luck to you.
I tend to shield lob my primary target and auto mark it, then flash+scorn the group. after that if there is no aoe damage i will full combo the marked target, otherwise i will FB it and then cycle through targets hitting each one with a combo move. Eventually i try to alternate combo moves to give all mobs the Halone debuff. It is a good idea to flash after each combo to assure that the healer doesn't get threat on an unattended mob. In speedrun circumstances you can weave flashes in between MP combo moves to keep both threat and mp high.
As for the above macro combining Provoke, Spirit's Within and Shield Lob i strongly advise against it. While it may be adequate in normal dungeons you really need to have complete control over Provoke and Spirits Within later on. My friend uses a macro like that and always complains about not having provoke up when he needs it (yet never changes it >.>).
I use a couple macros myself, but they are all very limited. I have several combinations of 2 alike buffs to save space, hitting the button once uses one, hitting it twice uses both, or waiting a while will set them on cooldown rotation. I also have Circle of Scorn macroed to flash, but i don't advise this if you have hotbar space. The last macro i use is Spirits within on my fast blade, so that i open fights with spirits within and use it every time it is up. I do however replace this with a normal fast blade during fights that require silences.
Provoke only matches your threat with the most hated person in your group and adds 1 so you must have a strong threat grabbing move prepared after using it or it will be ineffective. Spirits within or our threat generating combo moves work well, as do shield bash/lob in a pinch. always try to have one of them ready before attempting to provoke.
It's fun to see several tanking styles being successful. I've always felt that the tanking in this game is much better than WoW or FFXI, and this attests to that... It's too bad that there are so many terrible tanks that will never learn XD.
As for the above macro combining Provoke, Spirit's Within and Shield Lob i strongly advise against it. While it may be adequate in normal dungeons you really need to have complete control over Provoke and Spirits Within later on. My friend uses a macro like that and always complains about not having provoke up when he needs it (yet never changes it >.>).
I use a couple macros myself, but they are all very limited. I have several combinations of 2 alike buffs to save space, hitting the button once uses one, hitting it twice uses both, or waiting a while will set them on cooldown rotation. I also have Circle of Scorn macroed to flash, but i don't advise this if you have hotbar space. The last macro i use is Spirits within on my fast blade, so that i open fights with spirits within and use it every time it is up. I do however replace this with a normal fast blade during fights that require silences.
Provoke only matches your threat with the most hated person in your group and adds 1 so you must have a strong threat grabbing move prepared after using it or it will be ineffective. Spirits within or our threat generating combo moves work well, as do shield bash/lob in a pinch. always try to have one of them ready before attempting to provoke.
It's fun to see several tanking styles being successful. I've always felt that the tanking in this game is much better than WoW or FFXI, and this attests to that... It's too bad that there are so many terrible tanks that will never learn XD.
DamienSScott wrote:
As for the above macro combining Provoke, Spirit's Within and Shield Lob i strongly advise against it. While it may be adequate in normal dungeons you really need to have complete control over Provoke and Spirits Within later on. My friend uses a macro like that and always complains about not having provoke up when he needs it (yet never changes it >.>).
.
.
I'll bet he has Provoke before Shield Lob and that doesn't work. The way the macro above is written, a single press will activate Shield Lob, and never ever activate Provoke. Pressing the button twice during battle activates Provoke every time without fail. You do have to use the macro correctly.
it doesn't seem likely that you will take the time to write this macro and try it for yourself. Too bad though. I'd be curious to see what you thought of it.
Quote:
I also have Circle of Scorn macroed to flash, but i don't advise this if you have hotbar space. The last macro i use is Spirits within on my fast blade, so that i open fights with spirits within and use it every time it is up.
I tried that Macro as well, but abandoned it. I did't like how Circle of Scorn usually goes off first (no matter what order the abilities are written). I want to be sure Flash goes off first.
As for Spirits Within + Fast Blade, do you feel you are losing time getting your hate combo in place casting the silence first? I had to take Fight or Flight out of my Fast Blade Macro for that reason.
I have Silence in the other macro so I can cast it when I actually see a spell being cast. It only goes off in that Macro when the targeted enemy is right next to you.
Edited, Dec 25th 2013 4:36am by Gnu
Edited, Dec 25th 2013 4:41am by Gnu
Not sure how I made 3 posts but I'll just use the space.
Do you have a defense cooldown macro? Something you can press repeatedly that will activate the next DEF+ ability in whatever order you prioritize them?
Edited, Dec 25th 2013 4:39am by Gnu
Do you have a defense cooldown macro? Something you can press repeatedly that will activate the next DEF+ ability in whatever order you prioritize them?
Edited, Dec 25th 2013 4:39am by Gnu
Double post, anyway thanks for the Macro ideas.
Edited, Dec 25th 2013 4:31am by Gnu
Edited, Dec 25th 2013 4:31am by Gnu
I'm glad there is a thread about being a new Tank because I am brand new to tanking in any MMO (except for getting PLD and Ninja to 37 for subjobs in XI but that was basically spam provoke tanking.
I've got a few DPS to 50 but still don't know much about Tanks or Tank gear
so here are my questions for you guys...I'm going Warrior as my FC has a lot of PLD's but not a lot of Warriors levelled.
What is the stat priority
Def > Vit > Str > Parry > Determination > Crit > Skill Speed
Is that right?
For food what should I be boosting Vit and Parry?
In terms of Gear what are the must have pieces at 50 to be effective?
I noticed in my research (which is just beginning) that the Darklight Gear has head/Body combined for a total of 262 defense the Crystal tower gear has the pieces seperate but defense is only 226...why is this or am I missing something surely the i80 gear should be better then the i70 gear in most cases.
Do relic +1 make a big difference for a Warrior?
As a Warrior am I better suited to Offtank or Main?
I literally decided to level Warrior this morning so I have no idea
I've got a few DPS to 50 but still don't know much about Tanks or Tank gear
so here are my questions for you guys...I'm going Warrior as my FC has a lot of PLD's but not a lot of Warriors levelled.
What is the stat priority
Def > Vit > Str > Parry > Determination > Crit > Skill Speed
Is that right?
For food what should I be boosting Vit and Parry?
In terms of Gear what are the must have pieces at 50 to be effective?
I noticed in my research (which is just beginning) that the Darklight Gear has head/Body combined for a total of 262 defense the Crystal tower gear has the pieces seperate but defense is only 226...why is this or am I missing something surely the i80 gear should be better then the i70 gear in most cases.
Do relic +1 make a big difference for a Warrior?
As a Warrior am I better suited to Offtank or Main?
I literally decided to level Warrior this morning so I have no idea
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