PhrozenFFXI wrote:
As a tank, I've watched videos and read strats before every first-time dungeon run. Then again, I have MMO experience so it's the norm for me. Those new to MMOs don't know where to go. Also, I don't remember many exp groups in FFXI where the tank and healer were at each other's throats. I didn't experience that until I jumped into WoW. Don't get me wrong--I don't miss FFXI tedium one bit. I do miss the party composure though.
I usually read up on fights but the majority, as a tank, you don't really need to know too much other than :
- Face it away from the rest of the group.
- Tank it away from the group as far as possible so as to minimize AoE damage on the casters and give them room to spread out.
- Run away from the fire.
- Decide if it's better to run to the group for certain mechanics or stay there (Titan bombs for example).
Ifrit's boring for a tank and standard fare. Garuda I looked to see the basic layout and the whole clockwise mechanic. Titan's another boring one outside of riding timers for mitigating table throw.
And yeah, having come from FFXI endgame, WoW endgame, and Rift endgame the majority of the fights I just go "Oh, ok so this is like XXX, got it (i.e. Brayflox last boss = Grobbulus, etc.).
One thing I *do* have to mention though is despite the majority of the populace's inability to read Square-Enix has done an absolutely tremendous job with the tutorial system in this game. It's not only there to teach you aspects of the game, but the majority of it is also there to teach brand new people to MMOs
how to play an MMO. It's why I've gotten tired of answering the same questions in FC ("how i materua!?!?" "where u go airship!?!?" "wut do chocobo!?!?" "how i mine fish!?!?") when every question is answered either via doing the story mission or just reading the damn tutorials.
I've, thankfully, only had a few ******* to deal with so far in FFXIV and one was on Garuda HM. It was a WHM who refused to cast cure because "Stoneskin is more mana efficient" and just spammed that.... which would have worked if he actually helped heal the whole group during add burn phases AND didn't stand in front of adds and then died to Slipstream every single time. He then tried to state it's a tank fault that we "lost aggro and it came to kill me; my brother's a dragoon and can hold hate better than you and I never get hit standing in front of garuda when other tanks tank".