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Final Fantasy 14: Getting to The Bottom Of, And Overcoming, Tank Anxiety | MMORPG.com
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Final Fantasy 14: Getting to The Bottom Of, And Overcoming, Tank Anxiety | MMORPG.com
Tank Anxiety is a real issue that affects many tanks in Final Fantasy 14. Cedric explored this feeling many players feel when running their first duties in the MMO.
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As someone who has played FFXIV since the ARR Beta, it's surprising to see how much the community has (d)evolved over the years. Coining terms like "tank anxiety" while the jobs have been simplified to the point of somnolence is a bit exasperating.
To anyone reading this that genuinely feel anxiety of any form while tanking, really, just hold W and do your two-button AoE rotation until you hit a wall while rotating your defensives. That's all there is to it.
The most complexity you can possibly have when tanking is some fights having tank swapping mechanics, but other than that, it's a very straightforward process.
I'm of the belief that "tank anxiety" is not any more real than "dps anxiety" or "healing anxiety" are. That is to say, there's nothing particularly daunting about the roles that warrants having stage fright over your performance.
FFXIV, for better or worse, is extremely formulaic and predictable. Bosses will always use the same moves at the same time, so once you run the content once or twice, there's no reason to be scared. The game won't throw you a curve ball, and the sooner you realize every mechanic is recycled, the sooner you can get over yourself. It's really not that deep.
>"Hey guys I'm new to tanking, I'm still figuring out my abilities."
> o7
It's really not that hard. I've been tanking in FF14 since I unlocked DRK years ago and it's one of the least stressful games to tank in. Your job is either to hold aggro or if you're the off tank support the main tank with whatever defensive abilities you can use on them. If you get one of the people who think that wearing a diaper while they play so they don't drop DPS makes them cool then just ignore them.
In FFXIV's case, the "routes" are literal hallways and it's impossible to deviate. And aggro is pretty binary, as long as you have tank stance on and have a pulse, you'll never lose it.
The things you mentioned do apply in other games, though.
FF14 is a difficult one because of the direction SE has taken it. By putting the standard role divisions in the background and making every job essentially a DPS that takes hits, heals hits, or buffs hits, this particular game has in a way caused a lot of players to shift mindsets from the the aforementioned protector, team centric types to a more rawr dps iz king approach.
This is by nature a more self focused playstyle which can be nice and relaxing from time to time but when you start to design an entire game around it there is a likely shift in attitude. We see a lot more talk in recent years about 'my time' and 'my sub'. With a prevalence of focus on an individual and not the team we have seen the current state of blame, rage-quiting, and general hostility grow. No, FF14 is not the first, nor the last. WoW was very heavy with this as well in later years and there are parallels between the two games that can be explored.
There is also almost an entire paper that could be written on the fact that through the oversimplification of modern MMOs to appeal to a larger market, many usual non-gamers have entered the system. These individuals who may have zero background in team sports or games but only really know competitive arenas like cards or boards games come in with a self-focused mind-set exacerbating the situation.
It is a good article and I do appreciate good discussion on topics like this, especially as an 25 year veteran of the tank and healer role. I just think there is also a good portion of players that aren't necessarily anxious about tanking, they may like myself, be simply done dealing with the BS.
Relating to topic tanking can be stressful. Keeping agro, positioning of boss, doing the mech correctly, and watching your party members so they are doing things right like doing enough damage. All this can add to stress if you don't know what you are doing, new to tanking or not geared properly to tank.
It may seem like a lot of points, but it boils down to: Just AoE and use defensive cooldowns without overlapping.
If you're on a Raiding progression team, then you're going to need to know your stuff inside and out. But if you've got Tank Anxiety from dungeons, then you're likely not a Raider lol