Don't Fear Tanking - And avoid THESE Mistakes !

[@MismiGalei]

Something that cures my tank anxiety is running a dungeon with a friend in voice call, just helps me know theres one less person judging me

[@MegaSuperAwesomeBros]

How'd you manage to get a friend!

[@blushingralseiuwu2222]

Oh, your friend will judge you lol.

[@UOTQAUIBO]

See I’d feel like my tank anxiety will be practically nonexistent if I had friends who played alongside me. But alas, my friends are addicted to games like Apex or CoD, so they don’t want to/have the time to play :[

[@MismiGalei]

@@UOTQAUIBO sorry to hear that, if you're on lamia I could be your friend

[@UOTQAUIBO]

@@MismiGalei ah, I'm actually on Cactuar But I appreciate your offer! :]

[@nuiharime3410]

Shout out to all the aspiring tanks out there, you experience anxiety because you care and you want to do well, please don't think that's a bad thing, it's actually very good! If anything with a little experience, confidence and time you'll mould that anxiety into pride when you've conquered your fears. Give it a try with friends, master the dungeon, raid, trial, then try tanking it, so long as you're utilising your mitigations when necessary you'll find it's actually easy!

[@404waenotfound]

I've been a tank player for years and never had more anxiety than in FF14. Truth be told, the fact that I am pretty new and inexperienced in FF14 as a whole probably doesn't help that.

[@lboneyardl]

Too stressed to try the first dungeon

[@autumnrain7342]

@@lboneyardl me to, I have had some very bad experiences in WOW.

[@D4rkc14ymor3]

@@autumnrain7342 wow has ruined many a good tank or healer because of their unwillingness to deal with toxic assholes, unfortunately I see some of that coming into the 14 community now because of parsing, which wasn't a thing in ARR. I give it 2 years if SE doesn't crack down on people using parsers, and 3rd party mods and spare noone. Find out how they work, and break them is the answer, and ban anyone who logs 30/90/perm sounds ok. You dont need logs to find the lazy asses, we did it just fine without them. Logs other than self logs bring nothing of value, only toxicity and negativity I'm ok with losing the ability to log myself if it means they go away. I can do math to tune my dps, SE actually does a good job telling you exactly how much damage abilities do, a calculator and functioning brain with a working video recorder will provide all the info needed to tweak individual performance.

[@caitsiph1]

I keep thinking give it a go but as soon as I go to the duty screen I end up coming out goi g back to my SAM and running dps. Then when I finally did try 1 I died twice, fortunately I had some good people with me who helped me out by explaining certain mechanics to me. I never played a tank before in mmos so it's all new to me and I like most new tanks struggle with when to use motivation skills I know if a boss has a tank buster on me I get a red aura around me and have to use 1 but do I use arms length, rampart l, the one that gives 10% I forget whay it's called or nebula as I've been trying the gunbreaker for a tank as it looks coolest and most fun to me.

[@charlesmoore3390]

The advent of Trust and Squadron NPCs are a huge help too. NPCs don't judge. It lets you learn without fear of making an idiot of yourself. And if you can survive a wall-to-wall pull with Alphinaud healing and the other two chuckleheads single target DPS'ing? You'll be ok with a player group.

[@Kakashi20xd6]

One thing I’d note about wall to wall pulls is that for lower level dungeons(44 and under), some jobs get their aoes late so your group might not have the damage to do output to deal with massive pulls comfortably.

[@Cheezdealer]

Yeah, tried Ninja for the first time and I thought I missed a job quest or something...

[@NulienTia]

Yeah, I think Dragoon is the most ridiculous one... they don't get their first aoe until level 40, if I recall correctly. Doing dungeons lower than that level with 2 DRGs? Yeesh...

[@0423ryanlee]

@@NulienTia I've recently experienced this leveling my floor tank. No aoe for 40ish levels was awful.

[@BorisTheGoose92]

Yeah I would suggest 2 packs max before 50.

[@ArchieGamez]

I agree, i dont understand why they dont give all DPS and healers AOEs earlier, it kinda threw me off

[@prophecy13]

Just want to say thank you for your words. I started this game as a tank. I know I don’t know a lot of the the game and that’s why my anxiety kicks in. I don’t like letting people down. But I’ve been watching videos and trying to understand mechanics even though I’m truly a single player kind of guy. These kind of videos really do help.

[@_rawrysaurus_]

This is me :)

[@emilyspector2728]

In the same boat. New to FFXIV and some guys get impatient when I don’t fully understand the mechs completely. No matter how many times I watch vids (for WoW) the elitist toxic styles…lord.

[@skywalker0999]

@@emilyspector2728 I can’t agree with you more, I watched the vids and did the training, but the only way to really learn is to get in there and do it. My second dungeon, told them I was new tank and was told repeatedly by one of the dps how horrible I was and I should at least have watched the videos first , can’t seem to get away from toxic, was hoping it would not be as prevalent here as it is in wow. Will continue to que and learn

[@TOX1Cparadise]

@@skywalker0999 The devs and admins are actually really strict about toxicity like that, it's the reason why 3rd-party DPS tracking tools are banned in FF14; they don't want people flaming new players for not being perfect in a dungeon they're just trying to learn. Reports are actually addressed for things like that. It's one of the things I love so much about this game.

[@Spyderskorpian]

I was the same way, Prophecy 13. My first class was a Paladin (Gladiator), and I mainly play single player games, but I LOVE Final Fantasy. I've now tried most of the classes and can fit pretty comfortably almost anywhere.

[@justg5018]

"There's no single dungeon where a good party cannot handle wall to wall pulls" The Aurum Vale: Allow me to introduce myself.

[@DesperiusFFXIV]

🤣

[@Twocoolman115]

Here’s some quick tips from someone with all 4 tank jobs at 80. Keep focus on your surroundings at all times. If an enemy goes rogue and attacks another player, don’t panic. Just get em back. Use cooldowns when you need them, not when everyone else tells you too. If you’re in an 8 player party, always be ready to grab adds or the boss if the other rank goes down. Don’t worry too much about dealing damage. Just keep your teammates safe.

[@OSAlula]

I have all tanks at 80 and personally would say it's important to use defensive cooldowns basically all the time, just don't stack them. Even in small pulls you want the healer to DPS more and if you can help by pressing one button, why not? And as tank it's still important to DPS. It's ok to mess up your rotation when you're learning, but avoid not doing damage at all if you can

[@BorisTheGoose92]

Using defensive cooldowns together with 1 that buffs you and 1 that debuffs enemies when going wall to wall is the general idea.

[@ampur2]

@@BorisTheGoose92 this true, for example rampart+reprisal, also ask your healer to do damage if they keep overhealing hahaha

[@jansteyaert1]

@@OSAlula While we're on the subject of cooldowns, it is very surprising to me how few people know that, in dungeon content, "Arm's Length" is a very decent tank cooldown on big groups. 20% slow is very good. So if you ever end up having no cooldowns... use it (only on normal mobs doesn't work on bosses). "Slow is a status effect which increases attack delay and weaponskill and spell recast timers for the duration. It does not affect movement speed."

[@Banana_Cognac]

@@jansteyaert1 reprisal + arm's length ftw

[@soulechelon2643]

I find tanking fun, however I also have massive anxiety about it and healing. I've been able to get all classes to level 80 recently, but I did so mainly with beast tribe dailies. I did dungeons as well of course, but every time I hit one of those roulette buttons, my anxiety begins to burn. I worry about everything, and even when I think I did good, I still agonize over small mistakes I may or may not have made. It sucks but I can't seem to get over it. It may tie into a dungeon run I did years ago as a Paladin: The Dusk Vigil. It seemed to be going well. We got to the end but someone began growing extremely toxic over my positioning of the boss. I wasn't really sure why, but the constant insults just ruined my enjoyment of the game for awhile afterward. Not to mention, I got no comms either. That told me I messed up hard because the whole team must've agreed with this toxic person. I was already anxious and wary playing a tank, but that one moment made it ten times worse and no matter how much I tell myself to get over it, I can't. I stopped playing paladin then. Stopped playing whm too by proxy. Focused purely on dps classes because obviously I couldn't cut it as tank or healer. That's what I told myself for literal years after that dungeon. It was only in Shadowbringers that I began trying to tank/heal again; and barely. So just use my little story as a warning. If you feel the need to attack and insult your tank or healer when they're just trying to do their best, don't. You could potentially destroy their desire to play that class completely. Not only does that make you a terrible person, but it lowers the amount of people willing to play those classes. There's a reason why tank/healer is almost always needed in roulettes.

[@ajp1282]

I feel that. Also I had to learn about the terminology tactics on the fly: aoe's, stack markers, spread markers, etc. Most veterans were patient and explained as we went if we "wiped" in the party chat when doing story so that helped. Tanking really is a challenge, fun, but challenging.

[@Degrowjayse]

Reading your story makes me rage hard. Some people have no idea what it feels like being flamed after making a small or even big mistake. I had some anxiety while playing WoW so I rarely tanked. But in FF 14 I took marauder without knowing it was a tank but I just rolled with it and since then my anxiety is completely gone. The more you expose yourself to your fears the braver you become my friend :) hope you play tank again and have fun since your comment

[@globalist1990]

I never felt insulting the tank or healer. Only dps when I’m tanking and they’re pulling stuff. But i restrain myself.

[@Xylarxcode]

@@globalist1990 This annoys me too, when playing tank. No one should be pulling anything except the tank. If he isn't pulling additional mobs, it is probably because he is not comfortable with tanking that many yet. He could still be learning his job, or his gear could be bad or he is rusty after not playing that job for a while. Regardless of what the reason is, it is not for a dps to decide what gets pulled. If they want to pull more, they should ask: 'Hey, is it possible to pull a bit more? The dps is pretty good and the healer can keep up. Can you pull more packs, please?' It is one my bigger pet peeves as a tank. I don't tank super often, so when I do, I tend to be rusty and want to start a bit slower until I get back into the habit of it. I usually inform the party ahead of time, though and most of the time, they understand and respect that. Sometimes they don't, but it's important not to let those few ruin the others that do listen to you when you ask for some patience.

[@autumnrain7342]

This happened to me last night, tank had a go at me, I was playing healer. He was going too quick and kept going out of los. Kindly asked him to slow down and stop running off, I can’t heal if I can’t see you. Still getting to grips with Astrologian. Ended up leaving the group and logged off.

[@FabbrizioPlays]

My main cure for tank anxiety is just being in voice with the healer. It's easier to not care what the DPS think if I can talk to my healer.

[@vinea4659]

for sure! my friend was going dps -> tank while i was going dps -> healer as we frequently level together, and it goes nicely since we can trust each other and communicate well

[@daviewaviee6079]

Communication is very helpful. More often than not, imho, the healer is really the sneaky "leader" of the party, and tanks often play around how safe their healer makes them *feel* (source: my best friend and I are tank/healer mains). The pull he will do with a random healer vs with me at the helm are FAR different. If any1 is newer to tanking or just looking to improve as a vet, I'd advise taking a skilled healer friend to help you feel more comfy with bigger pulls. You can practice rotations with less anxiety when a solid HP fountain is behind you! 💯💚

[@thulegezelschap5884]

Dps too me are just living DOTS

[@thulegezelschap5884]

@@daviewaviee6079 i aways ask the healer to say when I should pull more / go faster I do not care what DPS says at all

[@jansteyaert1]

Having anxiety about doing anything already means you are caring about how your performance will be. It is very unlikely that you will be the worst player ever. I can tell you there are a lot of MMO players that do not care one bit about how their performance is. Caring about your performance and doing everything you can to get better at what you do is the core of raiding for me. I'm not only progressing through fights but I'm also getting progressively better at playing the job. It's the same thing in savage. People tend to be afraid of extreme trials, savage and ultimate content. My question is why? Yes you will make mistakes, all the people that you see on fflogs, world-first raiders, ... we've all made mistakes. I am personally responsible for a lot of wipes... So what, as long as you learn from it and get better no one really cares. Are you gonna be overwhelmed the first time you tank? Very likely. But it becomes second nature the more you do it. Are you gonna be overwhelmed the first time you tank ex trials or savage? Absolutely. But you get used to it. Will you struggle to tank and do the required DPS? at first, probably. But it also becomes second nature. As I've said throughout this comment, as long as you have the right attitude there is no reason you shouldn't be able to do anything you want in this game.

[@Icedmindblow]

"your local monk player will love you" nods in leaden fist

[@Avackon]

Today I did my first dungeon as a tank, more specifically as Dark Knight, and yeah it didnt go so well I died pretty often and messed up some times. But because I told everyone it was my first time tanking, all were very nice and helpful and told me to not give up on the tanking journey and that it will only get better with more experience. So for me personally as a beginner tank I can say it isnt easy but the community is so nice and helpful that even I eventually will be able to do it. (At least I hope so^^)

[@FinalFirebrand]

Tanked my first dungeon today taking advice from your videos...other than accidentally dropping Iron Will once out of nervousness, my party said I nailed it! Thank you!

[@KineticLatency]

For anyone else just reading this - I keep Iron Will on an entirely separate hotbar, after I just did the same thing.

[@thewittyusername]

The best advice you can give to a tank is to tell them to communicate that they are new to their party. Everything goes a lot smoother when you do that.

[@PrismBee]

Thanks again for videos like this! I've really just reached a point where I'm mostly okay tanking. The worst that happens is I die and I learn something because of that death. So thanks for this encouragement and all the tips.

[@preciousshatterings177]

Me, a LONG time tank player watching this just to make sure. 🗿

[@alien_marksman]

So many new Tanking Tutorial videos.. While I appreciate them as a SCH main who recently picked up the 'Sword and Board' I can't help but feel they're directed at me personally after my first few attempts at Tanking Dungeons

[@sheracarter8661]

This has given me more courage to tank. I have WAR at 80,but literally used the trust system and only ran with friends as tank. I get so nervous and don't want people to be mean or force mobs on me. It is so nerve wrecking for me. 😭😖 Seeing this, I'm gonna give it a go! Good luck to everyone!!

[@DesperiusFFXIV]

Don't let others to be mean. If they cannot communicate properly, it is mostly their fault !

[@sheracarter8661]

@@DesperiusFFXIV 🥲 thank you! I'm so glad I came across this video!! 💜

[@thulegezelschap5884]

If people force mobs, you let them die

[@Vashy434]

If someone else pulls a mob pack against your wishes, let them die. It might seem toxic but no, they are the one doing toxic play so allowing them to receive consequences for it is fine.

[@sheracarter8661]

@@Vashy434 when I run as bard I see folks do that, I've never pulled trash to give the tank. My sister has done that, a SAM kept pulling trash she let them have it and they died. She hates when they do that.

[@AsaValana]

I love tanking, genuinely my favorite since day one. Im still newer to Final Fantasy, having just started this last month. Tanking has been fun but the majority of my anxiety is a mix of things. First being the hate to more survivable but less damage tanks like Paladin and Warrior which i enjoy the most. I prefer being the wall for a party, supporting and working to lift everyone up instead of focusing purely on damage (plus i outright do not enjoy DRK and GNB just feels like a dps class with tank abilities taped on). Second? Healers that play limbo at 25% health or less, some dungeon pulls can go south so quick with that limbo gameplay. Im aware people are used to hard pulls in later game but it's still a bit of an anxiety source. Third- damage dealers pulling extra. I gauge my pulls based on how the healer is keeping up. Damage comes in quick when dps classes force extra mobs on me/the healer without any communication and can cause extra wipes. Tl;dr - not a fan of the speedrun/damage preference of most veterans. I'll prefer safety/consistency more over focusing on speed since wipes just slow you down more.

[@Drademdar]

I've always wanted to play a tank in MMO's, but with having social anxiety, my 'Tanxiety' always went through the roof in other games. But when hearing about FFXIV's friendly community, I decided to give it a chance and begun as a Gladiator, back when it was known as the 1-2-3 tank. And after the first few dungeons, I began to relax and fell in love with the role. Tanking is still my preferred playstyle today, and I've recently begun learning how to heal. The only thing I do before a new dungeon/trial/raid is to watch a couple of runs on KZbin before I'm jumping in with both feet first. Of course, I still make mistakes from time to time, but it's okay since most people are friendly enough.

[@Xmar4]

Im new to ff14 and just started playing Gunbreaker about a week ago. Playing with a group who is friendly and helpful and then finally figuring out a difficult boss is one of the most fun things i have experienced so far. The challenge of learning a fight and then beating is it one of my favorite parts and generally, ive had nothing but good experiences with other players helping me learn mechanics. As long as you are trying to learn, people really dont mind wiping

[@Verpal]

Provoke when main tank start dying is ok, but I also recommend turning tank stance on as off tank after main tank got some enmity lead over you, since keeping yourself in 2nd spot in enmity list help prevent late provoke/accidental MT death result in DPS getting cleaved and further lower raid DPS.

[@hydrangeandarkknight6218]

Omg, this! There was one time when the other tank told me to turn on my stance after we wiped to an Alexander fight, even tho I wasn't MTing. Moments like that made me question whether I even knew how to tank to begin with, even though I already completed ShB by that time, and gave me tankxiety for raids. Imma try this and see how it goes :) Also, it should be mentioned that if both tanks have their stance on, stay together on the same side, so that if somehow the boss wobbles between you guys, the boss won't spin around, hit the other tank, and cleave the rest of the party.

[@Spritus3241]

There's even fights like diamond weapon now that requires both tanks to be on to take the tankbusters so DPS/healers don't get sniped!

[@terryhightower6974]

Tbph when to pop stance on is dictated by the fight. Most runs I'll do a full rotation before popping on stance to ensure MT has a healthy lead on me. Some I pop at start but do a drawn out rotation to let MT get ahead, then drop when necessary or shirk if I'm about to overtake. It's really a feeling out process since no 2 players are always geared the same nor do 2 players play identically. So on the fly adjustments will be needed.

[@codygregg9144]

But it's funny when a squishy DPS takes a tank buster 🤣

[@thewittyusername]

There's this handy ability y'all should look up called Shirk.... You should always have tank stance up.

[@Tubastaub]

I love that phrase "important mistakes". idk it really struck a chord for me

[@NulienTia]

I get anxiety about playing tank, not because of my skill, but because I'm anxious about being in a leadership position (both in real life and in games), and the tank is generally the player expected to lead the way. Despite that, even I have managed to get every tank in this game to level 80. My best advice for new tanks would have to be DON'T BE SCARED TO PULL! I often see new tanks creeping up timidly to the boss or to a trash pack the same way a small child would approach a friendly but large dog. Don't be timid about tanking... just GO FOR IT! If you wipe, you wipe, and your only punishment is a couple minutes running back and a small repair fee, and I rarely see anybody in FFXIV get mad about that in random roulette content. Unless your healer is a mile away, just charge in with no hesitation! Not only does that keep players from getting impatient waiting for you to pull, but it helps make it look more like you know what you're doing even if you're still a bit clueless!

[@Kindlesmith70]

Trust the healer! It can get boring not being needed in the party.

[@sebastianzavala4478]

I actually like letting first time tanks main tank on trials, I let them know that it is ok if they die, I'll step up. I don't want to take away cool first time moments and make them just feel like a dps. I'll even throw some covers as a PLD and shirk them right to the top of enminity when they are revived.

[@littlewormtony7218]

You're a G. Nobody gave a toss about my cool moments lol.

[@nzungupumu1350]

I found that spamming dungeons back to back got rid of my tanxiety. There reached a point where it was just another dungeon. If I never done it before I'd say, hey someone else lead and I'll pull a long the way

[@terrycrumly3181]

Leveled my bard to 60 then picked up gunbreaker. Now almost at the end of heavensward. It’s fun to play a different role. Love tanking so far. And to see the different aspect on bosses. Your tanking videos really has helped me a lot. Thank you

[@AmbassadorBreadloaf]

I still get a little anxious after tanking multiple duties in a row, but I'm glad I'm getting comfortable tanking, because it's made me enjoy the game again.

[@lunyanyan]

I literally started FFXIV yesterday. I’m very excited but also extremely anxious because I aim to be a paladin (I tend to favor characters that have swords and shields). I haven’t played an mmorpg in literal years so that really adds to the anxiety. I just hope that eventually this anxiety will go away as I try to absorb as much tanking knowledge as I can from these videos. Thank you for your content!

[@akemibarrera1961]

I've never did any big pulls as a tank main and always made sure to check on the other players, specially the healers. because when I did healer i always had to struggle to keep the tank health up (i got a lot of tanks that did crazy big pulls, never stayed close for me to heal them, and hid behind obstacles.). So, i don't do anything that will make healers stressful. So, tanks learn your role and that of other jobs so you know what play style will be the best for the team, it'll be so much fun too!

[@katewood9445]

I am so annoyed that some ppl are so unfriendly when you don't do big as$ pulls. like they run forth to pull more. I really wished some of these ppl wouldn't be that way in Games :')

[@hayasenagatoro2275]

Me: Refusing to play tank for years because i thought its too hard Me after playing tank for a week: Easiest job in the while game

[@preciousshatterings177]

SHHHHHHHH, don’t let the healers and DPS know I main tank because of that

[@ryanneilan3223]

I just went DRK. I'm hoping you're right.

[@DKarkarov]

Healers are easier, but yeah tanking is ff14 is not hard by any stretch.

[@hayasenagatoro2275]

@@DKarkarov Nah, the thing is when a healer dies its pretty much rip for the whole group. You can't afford making too many mechanical mistakes. Doesnt matter if you are a tank tho.

[@DKarkarov]

@@hayasenagatoro2275 Uh there are only two reasons the healer would be dead. 1: The tank is dead, otherwise nothing is attacking the healer. 2: The healer completely screwed up the fight mechanics. Both of those are on the healer, unless the tank is the one totally failing mechanics. Funny thing about FF14, pretty much everyone has to know the mechanics, they hit everyone mostly equally. Meanwhile all the red mages of Eorzea are rather insulted you think the healer dying = a party wipe. Hell I am a tank and have cleared plenty of fights where the healer died part way.

[@noize7816]

This is the first MMORPG I've been learning to tank. And I can honestly say it's nerve racking. People can be a bit harsh at times with words which may add additional stress factors while in combat. But coming from a tank newbie, don't give up. It's worth it in the end knowing you're leading your comrades to victory. 💜

[@kizz42man]

I had a bad experience yesterday doing a duty roulette dungeon as GNB. Had the healer telling me I was pulling wrong, so they rage quit. Made me want to give it up and go back to DPS. But this video and ur other tank guide shave now shown me what I was doing wrong. So hopefully next time I'll pull and position properly. Will also be watching ur healer guides so I can start that as well. Have all jobs except for BLU on my main.

[@-Cetus-]

I've worked to level 50 now both paladin and dark knight, and tanking has honestly been some fun in the game. I've only recently started working on the rate of pulling enemies though, since my roulette is hit or miss when it comes to healers able to keep up. It is a fun role though, and I've enjoyed how it plays a bit more than other roles.

[@ampur2]

well, pre50 is pretty tough for healer coz they still dont have the regen/barrier for lower dungeons. Also I think only WHM at level 50 is fit for wall to wall pull coz holy is best for it. Just put regen on tank and spam holy

[@-Cetus-]

@@ampur2 Yeah when I was grinding white mage there was a level zone from 25-34 where healing was a lot harder since regen was a level 35 skill, and daily raids on dungeons below 35 had me healing a lot more. Above that and it gets way easier to keep up with healing, and with holy it gets even easier. Still, tanking at those levels can be iffy, and communication is a bit hard on console.

[@thewittyusername]

@@ampur2 as a ast main I can with great confidence tell you that you are quite incorrect.

[@thewittyusername]

You can pull harder if you are appropriately geared and know how to use your cool downs. At worst the healer will just have to spam heals on you instead of dpsing.

[@ampur2]

@@thewittyusername as a PLD and WHM main and loves to speedrun, I am quite confident in my statement. Runs with WHM that could holy tends to be faster even if your 2 dps is shit. With other healer, good luck healing. I am saying this because DPS and stun can be your best mitigation in pulling large waves.

[@obamaorb7426]

Honestly for me when I was starting, tanxiety completely disappeared when I realised that 90% of the effort and responsibility is on the healer, all a tank needs to do in a dungeon to get by is keep aggro and keep up mit, both of which are incredibly easy to do after a little experience

[@emeraldflask8865]

The greatest advice I can give tanks is: please understand your party, because pulling wall-to-wall isn't always optimal. If you have an undergeared party, no way in hell will they be able to take more than two mobs at a time. So it's your job as a tank to understand that and set the pace accordingly. For example: I had the fastest run of Brayflox Longstop, but I had the squishest party, the moment I saw none of them could handle two mobs effciently; I only pulled the necessary mobs and didn't push for loot. And we ended up clearing in under 15 minutes. Only because I took the time to understand what they could handle.

[@vector3653]

3 years later: helpful video. Leveling WAR after RDM and BLM mains, and there is a lot more anxiety I’m doing everything “right.” I’ve been getting commendations at least and no wipes yet, so must at least be mediocre

[@rrosiya]

Thank you for mentioning if off-tanks put stance on or not! A lot of guides I've seen don't mention this!

[@MephistoGaming-zx3qh]

Idk if its been said yet but: you can, as the OT, have your stance on, as long as you let the MT get a good enough lead on in the enmity list and they don't just start slacking off you shouldn't surpass them. It makes it easier to grab the boss's aggro too if the MT dies without having to pop provoke, or if you're in a roulette with a tank you dont know and they need to shirk because they might have too many vuln stacks to continue handling the boss comfortably. Its saved a lot of runs I've done of content when unexpected things happen.

[@tenthirtyseven-v1]

Me and my friend got real freaking bored out the queue times as a RDM and BRD, so we decided to be a PLD, WHM respectively. We've never felt such bliss, yet so much stress at the same time. As a Tank I feel like I have to learn all the dungeons thoroughly and even then something always goes wrong, almost always the DPS does something absolutely stupid and when they die, I get blasted. Thank god for my WHM. I would have given up tanking if it wasn't for them. It is really nice finding a new player and taking them for a nice, comfortble stroll through a dungeon allowing them to experience all of it, it's something I never got to do playing DPS. But then it's a veteran, and they want me to rush and pull as much as possible. Learning to Tank is a rollercoaster. Doesn't help I have trouble playing with keyboard, I can do controller but I always feel like I'm missing something.

[@KineticLatency]

I had previously played for a bit a long while ago but started up again last week. People seem a LOT less chill in low level content, DPS pulling and running ahead. Even people with Mentor tags just going ahead and pulling the entire dungeon.

[@Thundawich]

I had a dps do that about a week ago. The weirdest thing happened though. For about 15s, my keyboard just stopped working completely! So did the healer's! It was very unfortunate that the poor dps had to hold aggro by themselves and ended up dying due to unforeseeable peripheral failure ;-;

[@TrueHunter999]

Another good note is to not hit sprint after pulling a pack of enemies to run to another one. Reason being it could cause you lose aggro and therefore your party getting targeted. Also pulling enemies and just walking towards the next pack while hitting the enemy with certain skills or just leaving the pack of monsters you're grabbing a DOT skill can speed up the process

[@Zehaha2]

If you really want to tank but are afraid, don't hesitate to tell the party "I don't know the way" or "I'm new to tanking" or something like that. People usually respond very well to honesty and transparency. You can always just run low level dungeons for practice at first. After you get over the initial anxiety, tanking is by far the easiest job in dungeons. Healers can't really zone out and DPS has to hold a good rotation or the dungeon will take forever. The tank can semi zone out as long as you just don't wall to wall, and even then you can even watch like Netflix on the side during trash pulls. You gotta avoid aoe, midigate a bit and do your basic ass AOE combo but on a normal dungeon run it's really not that difficult.

[@ItzJayTimeFFXIV]

I use to stress about tanking but definitely take it slow and give yourself some grace when doing it. People make mistakes, you may miss some aggro, stay cool and grab it when you can and it'll start clicking. That's why when I tank, I play PLD. I don't have to focus to much on rotations and just focus on being thick lol. Great video and tips!

[@smallfuzzypeach]

Thank you for this! ...this might have just given me to the courage to finally try.

[@lemeres2478]

1:22 A large portion of this game is about getting to the fight. Walking there, waiting to get into rooms, et al. Even for the parts that are solo in a field... a tank might spend less time just because they are less likely to die and force you to do the walk all over again.

[@filthyzall8311]

Just started ffxiv recently and my first class was a warrior. Always had to watch a video guide before jumping into dungeon and raid everytime. Just after I finished doing the heavensward questline, trying out old trials extreme was sweaty! Luckily enough I know the basic of tank switch and so on. And I knew it right away that I didn't make a wrong choice playing tank in the game. It's the best role out there!

[@royally98]

I needed this video. I have been playing FFXIV for about 6 months now and I've been a dps all the way and just recently I've been thinking of dabbling into tank jobs. Ngl the thought of tanking gave me anxiety becuase of the responsibility and I've never played an mmo where a tank was necessary. I have to say after watching this video I feel more comfortable with the thought of trying tank and more eager to try it.

[@thewittyusername]

Just make sure you watch a mechanics video for bosses. I think it's fun to go in blind but that's not cool to do to strangers (much fun with friends, though!) That being said, I did my entire MSQ as a pld and it was a lot of fun.

[@sola4393]

Just read up some dungeon guides and you are set to go, there aren't much to it as long you do your job rotation properly. If you are already a melee dps, it is even much easier. At some point you may find it boring standing in one spot all day smacking stuff. lol just kidding. ^ ^ Don't worry so much what other people think, just focus on what you are doing.

[@boxchevy1516]

I don't get enough attention IRL so I tank because I'm the center of attention everywhere. Also short queues. Great video Des

[@Ed-1749]

my strategy is this. When i start the dungeon, i make one smaller pull to determine what we can handle, then i start increasing the pull rates until i'm either pulling wall to wall or pushing the healer ir myself to the max. Also, the best way to play is with friends in a voice call, as this allows for much more coordination. and if you can't do that, make sure you use the chat to inform people of whatever needs to be known, whether it's your lack of dungeon knowledge or special dungeon strats.

[@codyattenberger4391]

I made the same catgirl as you starting. Hope that dont cause a issue. Im new to tanking. I failed horrible at the start in lvl 15 dungeon. But thanks to your videos im getting better. Just takes practice and trial and error. Keep up the good work.

[@danieljackson3446]

I've always had this in any mmo, yet I always play tank. The enjoyment comes when that anxiety is found to be an over reaction, you realize it just means you are a good considerate party member, and you perform your role better than the careless. Then you are on the path to ultimate bad ass!

[@truthserumbackup4151]

I'm a level 25 Marauder. I'm running one level 15 sastaha dungeon consistently til I have it mapped out. I was nervous about it but remember, you can't learn the dungeon if you don't play the dungeon.

[@kiney4473]

i started my tank today i was scared doing too much wrong thanks for the video!

[@liamgeeves1025]

I always heal for my friend as he is leveling a tank for Dark Knight and I am leveling a Healer for white mage, I feel like he is more confident knowing I can heal him and quick res him if he makes a mistake.

[@VaporDreamCenter]

So another big thing that was not mentioned is always know the dungeon/trail before going in. I recommend watching a quick youtube tutorial on the particular dungeon your runing so you know what to expect.

[@shadexdemarr]

There are players that do not like wall to wall pulls and it is unfortunately videos like this that make them feel like, as the video says, they are not 'good' players. It isn't more exciting for everyone. But the norm now is that everyone has to play the way others want them to. This is the direction that SE decided to go with the everyone is a DPS design and it is just not for everyone and that should be ok. If players have tried tanking in FF14 and did not care for the mechanics, direction, and pressure to pull more, pull faster then that should be fine as well. I have tanked in every MMO I have played since EQ and 14 is the first time I really didn't care for it. A lot of people enjoy this form of tank and that is great. I am just saying there are still a lot of other factors including the attitude of teammates that it seems has pushed a lot of people away from tanking in FF14.

[@fenwild1000]

I think my “tanxiety” comes from not wanting to be *that* tank. My starting character was GLD/PLD and RDM once I got to 50, but I picked up GNB while I was going through the SHB post-game and I’ve had so much fun tanking it’s made me work on getting my other tanks up. I still worry from time to time that I’m too squishy or not managing my cooldowns/burst well enough.

[@fenwild1000]

@Urazz I’ve considered it, but I think it’s mostly just button mismanagement. Sometimes I’ll see an ability come out and be like “oh that’s a tankbuster” with .2 seconds left on the cast 😂 I think it’s a familiarity thing, I’ve only been playing the class for 3 weeks or so

[@rebann]

The way to learn is to do. Don't be afraid to do! Almost all content (barring extreme raids and similar end-game content) is very easy to pick up on, and most players don't mind failing once or twice for the sake of learning. During mob pulls, REMEMBER TO USE YOUR STUNS, INTERRUPTS, AND MOST IMPORTANTLY ARM'S LENGTH. Arm's Length primary effect is negating drawn-in or push effects, but the secondary effect is a slow that has noticeable results. It's more effective when multiple enemies are hitting you, but don't be afraid to use them! Don't be afraid to ask about the boss mechanics! Please, ask for help if you need it. 90% of the community is happy to assist!

[@deddjay]

Interesting guide. Been playing for a while off and on, and only now starting to get interested in tanking (been playing since ARR lol)

[@philm.8622]

As a new player learning tank, there's one thing I've learned that a lot of people don't really bring up very much. This is going to sound really obvious but I'm being serious. Pay attention to what gear you are using. As a tank, you are the most noticably dependent on gear out of all the other roles. It sounds obvious saying it, "don't be undergeared or wearing DPS gear as a tank", but especially while leveling up (the time when you're also learning to carry out your role) this caused me more trouble and confusion than I care to admit. With poor gear as a Dps your damage might not be up to par, but that can to a small extent be overcome with a good rotational knowledge. As a healer you might be running low on mana more often than not, or barely keeping up enough heals to toss any damage out. While these are big problems, you can still learn the role well even at the gear disadvantage. As a tank you just melt. Sure you have mitigation but that is for when you would be taking heavier concentrations of damage; if you are popping CDs just to stay alive normally you won't have them to survive big hits, large groups of ads, or even just to take pressure off your healer. Again obvious, but It didn't really hit home the same way while learning dps or healer as it did for me when I was learning to tank. I went through quite a bit of frustration in my early tank leveling. Between using old lancer gear because it was 'recommended' or just plain using underleveled gear for the content I was in, It was tough to really get a feeling for how much I could take and what to expect early on. If I had to help a new and struggling tank, I would probably first ask if they are using the right gear for the job.

[@GlassOnion23]

The most important thing to me that helps with dealing with any form of tankxiety is simply watching KZbin or even written walkthroughs of dungeons/trials/raids. Spend the 5-15 minutes ideally before you even queue. That's all you need for the majority of the content. Don't know if this was mentioned in the video btw. Off to watch it.

[@lanceknightmare]

As an experienced tank in other games. When in doubt, pull a single enemy to test the waters. I do this whenever I step into an area I am unfamiliar with. With proper kiting tactics I sometimes found I was able to hunt monsters +9 my level if I only pulled one. Though, fighting monsters closer to my level was my bread and butter. While fighting a monster +9 my level was more a fun change of pace. In theory, you can hunt monsters +9 your level properly. It just requires a dedicated equipment set for every 10-15 levels. Generally, this means you will require a higher level character to farm for gear for your lower level character unless you are a pay to play player.

[@beerasaurus]

I"ve been tanking for years and I still get anxious....even on fights I've done hundreds of times. I can't escape it.

[@גן-עדן]

Same

[@lacdirk]

And that's not bad. A bit of anxiety is needed to perform well, and many people enjoy quite a lot of anxiety in their games, movies or other entertainment options.

[@thewittyusername]

Why continue to do it if it still gives you anxiety? That doesn't sound Fun.

[@lacdirk]

@@thewittyusername One word ... rollercoasters. Ok two words ... horror flics.

[@tenthirtyseven-v1]

@@lacdirk Not the same kind of anxiety for me. Films and rollercoasters, it's a safe zone. Performing for up to 23 people, not so safe.

[@ragnorak5095]

I main Tank since day 1 and I find it easy, I have more Dps anxiety because I feel tanks deal less with mechanics.

[@NeedCoffeefix]

Thanks for this. Gonna keep leveling my samurai and red mage through the msq. Thanks to the road to 70 buff. Just figure that leveling dps would be better while I have the huge exp from msq. And wil level tanks with dungeons. Leveling dps with dungeons would be horrible due to the queues.

[@MrJeigh25]

Very help take and great editing as well.

[@DesperiusFFXIV]

Ty !

[@euclid239]

finally i can cosplay my favourite Berserker without fucking up tanking

[@callmeobsequious]

This came up in my recs and it feels like it's a sign that I should maybe move past my tanxiety and try out a tank (if only Gridania had a tank, sigh, lol)

[@DesperiusFFXIV]

Go for it 👍

[@ajp1282]

I sprout-tanked (PLD/GBR) from ARR all the way to the Lv80 dungeons of SB then switched to dps (SAM/RDM) to observe rather than lead. New to the system my pulls very small and some veteran players would run ahead and I'd ended up following them so they wouldn't die. That's when I made the switch. The "Tanxiety" was real.

[@TCPolecat]

And, as a blunt note, you hit on exactly WHY I have Tanxiety: Multiple and wall-to-wall pulls. I DON'T LIKE DOING THAT. As a tank, I take it slow and steady, pack by pack. The whole point is to keep the pace steady. I genuinely dislike "large pull" scenarios, and it pisses me off that even you are pushing us to do larger draws!

[@DylanPWN]

I don't have anxiety when tanking to any great degree but I always feel like I am not doing enough to support the team.

[@Chef-Juice]

I honestly needed to hear this. My biggest problem is the expectations that come with tanking and knowing when to pop mitigation. Literally I am dark knight lv 74 and yes I did not skip and its just a issue I have with tanking tbh. Cuz I just got to post Stormblood too

[@seraphstray1552]

I pull individual packs a lot rn with new healers popping up. It's either that or you die when you get too many, and then have to run back. Hell, Ive had this lately with even geared healers. They get too preoccupied with dps and suddenly the tank is dead.

[@Armphid]

I admit that I still have anxiety over tanking, but I also enjoy it. Though I admit that I haven't tanked a Shadowbringers dungeon yet 'cause those come hard. It certainly levels faster due to the queue. Also thank you for saying it, tanks QUIT ROTATING THE BOSS' FACING! It matters for so many DPS jobs. Monk gets called out but I think all the melee DPS jobs have positional requirements. I main Dragoon and the thing I hate most in an instance is a tank that keeps moving the boss around. I can't imagine the frustration Monk players must feel.

[@fish13a]

I had a lot of anxiety to play tank, but I recently forced myself to do it anyway and picked up a warrior. Now I'm actually having a lot of fun with it. Every single party I had at the beginning was helpful and supportive.

[@prophecy13]

Honestly your videos have got me through doing the normal mql every time the game tells me I have to group up I almost just stop playing. Then I queue up do the stuff after watching some mechanic videos and everything is good.

[@OcihEvE]

In my experience it's best to start as a dps and level either a Tank or healer as soon as you hit level 10. Send all or most MSQ experience to the DPS as you progress. Run dungeons as the Tank or healer and do roulettes on the Tank or healer. You will have no issue leveling both classes along side one another this way and you won't feel the punishing queue times of DPS. If you are having a day where you don't mind waiting, run a Queue on DPS. Once you get to Shadow Bringers you are going to want a DPS to 70 if you want to play around with the Trust system as the system was designed for DPS. I don't think a Healer or a Tank will ever see a massive Queue time catching up in Shadow Bringers but as the DLC ages, DPS will see longer and longer queue times. Trust eliminates that.

[@zeening]

really love these videos man keep sending them to new players this and the don't fear raiding ones are great! very well done you are a gift to the community

[@bladerunner12]

I'm doing my first tank job in FFXIV now. Something that helping me is doing every dungeon at least once in Duty Support before doing it with players, that way I can mess up the first run without worrying about it impacting other players. For the dungeons and Trials that don't have Duty Support I just say that I'm new and usually that keeps the groups' expectations low. A lot of tank anxiety just comes from not knowing what to expect from the instance/fight. I did my first Trial Roulette which was my first content with 2 tanks and I was worried because I had no idea what the sharing of tank responsibilities looked like. Turns out the off-tanking basically just means being a DPS.

[@Some__Guy]

For some reason, I've never had a fast tank queue for anything. Healer queue is almost always instant or

[@Reinaerys]

Nice video! I was kinda scared of tanking too tbh but then I decided to level one of each jobs before leveling the rest and a tank is part of that too. So now I have a GNB that's almost lvl 80 and I'm having so much fun with it! Plus the glam is so good. Already planning which tank I wanna level next :3

[@xunqiew]

Started the game with healer jobs and now im exploring the others, picked gnb and loved everything about it but had to put it down because i'm so used to being the "behind the scenes" type of guy in everything so switching to the leader who goes in the frontlines is hard, thank for the video i will give gnb another shot!

[@Dalavine]

As a healer main I don't mind if the tank pulls a few groups as long as they don't get melted before I can cast a single heal. A few times the tank has just ran off leaving agro on dps and grabbed more and more... not intentionally but... ugh... just a bit rough. Wipes suck, sure, but you are right that it is exciting! And in a fun way at that!

[@Ch4pp13]

I've played tank for a majority of my time with FF14, and this is my first real MMORPG experience. I'm not quite "run through a dungeon, pull mobs" good, but I'm comfortable in the off-tank position, as that's mainly just "keep tank stance off, turn it on if mobs appear". Well, so far at least. Also makes my brain dispense dopamine whenever I see that I've received a commendation. That's a sign that whatever I was doing, it was beneficial.

[@williambryant2055]

The one reason you have anxiety is because you want to do well for the team. The one reason why you shouldn’t have anxiety is because it’s a video game

[@ReyOfLight]

I totally needed to watch this! Only just starting to consider trying my hands at tanking in FFXIV (as I want to become a versatile player and not just do DPS), most likely going to focus on Dark Knight because I like to deal a lot of damage- like why whack the enemy with a chopstick when you could bring a baseball bat?! And yes, I am aware that Dark Knight is a difficult one, but little by little I shall learn, and I have people around me to ask :) I have a lvl 90 Black Mage and Reaper and starting to get more familiar with some dungeons at least. Will take time before I dare to take charge and run as tank with other people, but I'll get there eventually with a bit of practice. Going to do the same with healer, as I said, I want to become a versatile player who can run as either role comfortably, depending on what my friends needs from me at the time. Just being a DPS player is rather limiting, although fun.

[@kuyt20]

I usually have to wait 15+ minutes for 8-man Duties in the MSQ as a DPS. The good news is that some overgeared max level vets often queue too (for whatever reason) and we breeze through the instances pretty quickly. On the down side, since we blast through instances too quickly, I don't know what mechanics are which for most bosses. Thus, now I am very nervous about leveling up a tank class for those instances as I am sure I'll cause all sorts of disaster for the party. lol

[@luminuslupexreximperator978]

I am playing tank since 1.0 and i can agree with 120% that what you said is correct. Tanks can and will do mistakes but learning from these mistakes will result in better tanking capability's and as a result in much more fun for the whole group. So: Get out your axe, sharpen your sword, polish your shield and get out there to be the first line of defence. Other players will thank you for the courage that results in taking on the responsibility. :D

[@alteregoxxi9673]

I usually play DPS but wanted to try tanking and I have leveled a paly to level 63 the issue I have is that I suffer from severe anxiety and because of this I try to set up skills that I feel might be the most important skills in one set I play on a PS4 and use controller so switching to another set makes me extremely anxious to the point where it takes me awhile just to switch back to my set 1 skills since I'm trying focus on the screen and I also tend to worry am I doing a bad job. Like I said I leveled a tank to 63 and I never got a complaint but it's something I still worry and get very anxious about and being on a controller makes it difficult to type and ask questions sometimes since it takes so long to type out what I'm thinking. Was just wondering being the fact I always have certain skills on set 1 due to this what skills should I have set on set 1 that would be the most important and would be ok that I use only those 16 skills so I would not have to worry as much I have what I consider my main combo and tank stance and some mitigation skills in my set but I worry I might be lacking maybe I am just over thinking it but I have anxiety no matter what class I play but I really do enjoy this game and even with my severe anxiety I want to try all jobs and learn all mechanics if possible but my anxiety gets me sometimes to where I kind of zone out at times and just focus on what's in front of me.

[@MrSHINEYMAN22]

Something I'll do is run a boss or dungeon solo first just to get a feel for it. Maybe watch a video or read a guide if it's difficult. Even if you fail it's no big but usually, it will let you realize that there is lots of leeway and won't be as hard as you thought.

[@filipevasconcelos4409]

The good thing about tanking and healing is that, for as important as they are, almost nobody cares if you wipe twice or thrice. I recently started Healing as well, and my WHM just went through 2 brutal wipes in Brayflox's dungeon because both me and the tank were undergeared for our levels (the DRK had 1000 HP, if i recall correctly. 2 swipes were enough to get him to half health), and even then, everybody was patient, and i've had my hardest clear of a dungeon in a little while. What i want to say with this is that failing is normal, and even expected. Just let yourself make a few mistakes, and you'll be playing like a pro in no time.

[@EmetSelch.]

I am suffering from tanxiety. With each new expansion, I'm terrified to lvl up my tanks. I'm doing something I'm not very proud of : lowering my ilvl to do only low lvl instances. And when Dps start pulling, I lose my nerve. If the heal gets attacked because I didn't manage to regain control over the monsters, I lose all my means. And challenges with two tanks are a nightmare for me... A heal who pulled once told me "we don't need you". I think it's since that day that I can't play tank anymore.

[@swagikuro]

As a grown ass man I always stayed away from tanking, fearing I don't have the mental capacity left to memorize dungeons and actually try in this game, but I gave it a go finally a few days ago and having a lot more fun. Thanks for the tips.

[@shaneomac8036]

Same with me. What I've been doing now is watching a video of the dungeon before so I can somewhat replicate what the tank is doing lol

[@rockinpenguin]

5:31 that only works if you don't use provoke to pull as you do a lot in this video ;) But very nice advices.

[@DesperiusFFXIV]

For dungeon content, you are right

[@achilleonv]

I'm always super nervous when I go back to tanking and it's a new dungeon. I level all ranged, then healers, then go through all the tanks. I've been through all the instances as DPS and healer, but it's always nerve racking when I tank an instance for the first time.

[@WRXnumberSeven]

My anxiety is not about the actual tanking but about the toxic nature of people... I am talking only from experience as a casual of dungeons lvl 50 and below: Why dont you know mechanics (even if i ask i get: you should have looked up videos of the dungeon on youtube), you are too fast or too slow or even wow you must be such a bad tank cause your health drops down quick which is normal even with defensive cooldowns when you get hit by 3+ ennemies constantly without a single heal... People make this anxiety go up not the actual fact of tanking... I got too many of these very bad experiences to continue tanking..A game is suppose to be challenging but fun not a constant criticising cause you aint S tier tank :-(

[@caitsiph1]

Problen for new tanks i think as well which isnt normally said is the ff14 and mmo community can be pretty toxic and give you a hard time when your learning and struggle a little as they want to speed rin the raid or dungeon you're doing. But 1 thing i found that again barely gets mentioned is set up a party finder and make a comment there thay your trying it or your new to it and then shout in chat to let players know as well this way hopefully you get people who are also learning a class or that are willing to help out. Hope this helps a few new tankers out there like myself and dont get anxious its a game just have fun and remember your always gonna go down at some point its part of the game and the learning curve

[@catStone92]

my anxiety from tanking is that I'm still leveling my main job and have only picked gunbreaker so far :D so I didn't have the dungeon leveling experience or got to learn the skill bit by bit, was an entire complex kit just unloaded on to me

[@crimsonwizahd2358]

As a max level Gunbreaker myself, best advice I can give for that is 1: Make sure you have your keybinds (if Mouse and Keyboard) or Controller layout (if controller) set up in such a way that is comfortable to you. 2: Go straight to any level 1 training dummy you can find and start experimenting with the skills. Ideally your gonna want to find a guide to each of those ( I'd recommend WeskerAlber's Gunbreaker guide here on KZbin, he goes over each skill as they're acquired throughout the leveling process and how each one ties into your combos and use cases), then arrange them as you feel comfortable with on your keybind setup. Finally: Start with stuff like Leveling Roulette and be sure to explain that your a new tank before the dungeon starts. 9/10 the party will take it easy on you.

[@akaMokassin]

I love tanking, but from what I have experienced as a wow refugee is, that tank queues are almost as long as dps ones. Fastes queues by far are healer ones.