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Tanking Tutorial / Next Video (Update)

Hey guys,

Just wanted to share a quick update. I've been leveling a Warrior for my next phase of the video. I've really enjoyed the class and I have lots of good information to share that relates to leveling 1-50 as well as itemizing once you hit 50. I tested some methods I used to use back in the day to see if they still work and they still do and I will share them with you! In the meantime, I just wanted to give you an update where I'm at with the Warrior

Warrior (Alt) - iLVL 89 - Relic Weapon (ilvl 90 Obtained) - Ifrit EX (Cleared) - Titan EX (Cleared) - WoD (Unlocked) - Main Story (Forever in Progress)

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Episode 2: Basic Tanking 101 (Gray Spy's Secret Sauce)

YouTube Video URL https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AEaQpEnV9RU

Hey guys, welcome to my basic tanking guide. This is not going to cover any specific class but just tanking in general. Again, my video series is for the more common man wanting the day to day language and non-theory craft approach.

This is my methodology on tanking and also my secret sauce style of tanking.

Tank Overview (Requirements)

Tanking requires a lot of patience on both you as well as your team. Be sure to bring an open mind and your a game if you’re still new to tanking. Try out the training modes (Battlecraft Leves) and hone in your tanking skills there.

I. Tank Duties

Set the pace steadily

Consistency

Clean Pulls

II. Threat Generation

Single Target

Multi-target

Loss of Aggro

III. Mitigation

Gear

Cooldowns

Healer

IV. Pull Types

Normal Pull

Pull Back (Aggro Loss)

Chain Pulling (Semi Advanced)

Chaotic Pull (Balls to the walls, loss of control)

Random Adds added to a Pull

Bosses

I. Tank Duties

Tanking is a finesse and synergistic role. It requires you to be consistent and predictable as well as reliant on your healer. You are only as good as your healer, but that’s not to say they are the entire team. You must become familiar with your healer’s capabilities quickly so you can assess what they are able to do.

1. Set the pace steadily Judging by your healers and DPS, be sure to go at the pace your group can. Pulling too much will cause problems and can ultimately lead to a wipe. The benefit of being a tank is you can control how fast or slow your group goes. Of course you’ll have people who pull mobs, but at that point you can let them die without a tank ;)

2. Consistency You must be a consistent player. What does this mean? You must move the same, tank the same, and use your cooldowns the same so that your healer can predict when and how to heal you. A good healer and tank will have synergy enough to know how fast / slow heals need to be coming in and how often cooldowns should be used without needing to verbally communicating. Your healthbar will speak for you. Watch it.

3. Clean Pulls I cannot stress this enough. Making sure you get a single pull group and not additional mobs will be a determining factor of pass or fail. You can have rough tides and possibly handle it, but your job is to make sure your group can manage the mobs they are fighting. Check corners and surroundings to ensure you’re not about to pull additional mobs.

II. Threat Generation

You will encounter many different group types through your leveling and tanking process. I’ve outlined the common scenarios such as single target, multi-target, and aggro-loss scenarios.

1. Single Target During a single target situation, you’ll have the most breathing room, but will be different for endgame content. Endgame bosses have mechanics that you must adjust to and will test your abilities as a tank.

2. Multi-Target In a dungeon setting, usually you will want to mark or designate your target while generating threat on both primary and secondary targets. Be sure to set the standard in the group and communicate the kill orders. This will ensure a steady flow.

3. Loss of Aggro This can happen for many reasons, but during that moment do not worry why it happened, just correct the issue immediately with either a tanking cooldown or build aggro back up on the target that was lost until you regain threat. Failure to do so may cause a wipe or you might get lucky and the mob may die before this occurs.

III. Mitigation

Mitigation is not just gear. Gear is not determined by just iLvl. So on and so forth. There’s more than just gear to mitigation as the primary function of you being a take relies on you to be the first line of defense.

1. Gear Get the best gear you can possibly get for your class. Item Level is not always the end-all for having the best gear, so make sure you read up online on how to prepare yourself for the content you will face. While leveling, you should be fine with just quest gear.

2. Cooldowns Manage your cooldowns wisely. Save the “Oh shit” buttons for the really “Oh shit” situations. You shouldn’t have to use your big cooldowns in anything but a rare occasion unless you’re pushing content. Most dungeons can be done without using any sort of big cooldown. Also, they’re meant to buy you some breathing time til your healer can catch up.

3. Healer Again, your healer will help you mitigate damage and increase your survivability by continually healing you. Make sure your healer stays alive. If one or the other dies, the group will wipe.

IV. Pull Types

There are several varieties of pull types. I covered most of these in my video, so please reference the video for details.

That is all for now Spy

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Gil Sellers, Latency Issues, >10% Wipes, and more.

Gil Sellers

I really don't remember there being this many gil sellers spamming me back in 2013. I think I collectively had maybe 40-50 in a span of 3-4 months. I've only been back for a week and I've got a list of over 80 people. It's getting out of hand.

Latency

Lag issues with Final Fantasy XIV are out of control. I remember playing this game in 2013 and not having too many issues. People said they had lag on Titan, but I personally never had issues with it back then. I have kill videos of me completing it when it was one of the hardest things to do at the time.

I currently am using Comcast "Blast" internet package (not the highest, but one of the faster ones) and I'm able to stream and also play without issues for multiple games (Namely Counter-Strike: Global Offensive).

Things I've tried - Setting my IP to DMZ on my router - Disabling all other connections except for FFXIV - WTFast (multiple different servers)

I've tried using this program called "WTFast" to reduce my packet loss and latency, but to no avail, it hasn't really done much.

>10% Wipes

This is probably the biggest heartbreaker. In combination with the latency issues, I had an amazing group that probably could have killed Titan EX with the lag issues. I wish there was an option to "vote extend" a pug. We would've had a kill. Maybe next time.

I know I can't be the only one. Please don't overload this server crap and make it be the downfall of an amazing game. Let Yoshi-P do his thing. Thank you Square-Enix.

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Episode 1: UI & Hotkey Customization / Optimization (Part 1)

Hey guys, this is a quick tutorial overview on UI & hotkey customization. I could go really deep into it, but rather I'm giving a brief general overview of how you can effectively clean your UI up and also optimize your hotkeys. This is one of many in the series so starting with the basics.

If you have any additional questions, feel free to comment below and I will promptly answer as soon as I can! Also, if you want to share your UI with me and ask for pointers, I would gladly be obliged. Thanks!

User Interface Optimization Whlie design is subjective, there are some things we can do to be sure we have a nice clean layout without blocking the action. The default UI layout is supplemental enough to be a good base point. If you do anything, just stay with the default UI!

Viewport This is a word I translated over from the design world, but works here as well. By Wikipedia definition, a viewport is a polygon viewing region in computer graphics. We want to optimize this space so you can see as much as possible.

HUD Scaling To adjust the scale of your UI items, hold Ctrl while pressing HOME to cycle through the various sizes.

Hotkey Optimization I've gone over this briefly, but you want to make sure you're only using hotkeys for things you absolutely need in combat. Consider priority for abilities needed during those times. Additional menu options that are not combat-pertinent should be left in the default menu (for best use of screen space)

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I am a UX/UI designer (IRL) and it drives me crazy seeing people with bogged down UI's.

I'm in the process of making a guide for UI Layout optimization and Hotkeys for PC (which might translate to PS4 as well) and tips on how to make the best layout that fits your needs. If you have questions, feel free to drop them in my "Ask" box!

I will be covering on the importance of having the UI down to a minimum in favor of maximizing screen viewport for action and gameplay. If you're unsure, default UI is actually a really good start! Also, if you have questions you want me to cover regarding UI Layout, leave a comment here and I will address it in my video.

Look out for it this Friday!

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Hanging out with new friends from Jenova!

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Welcome!

Just as an introduction, my name is Gray Spy (Jenova Server). I've been playing Online RPG's and MMO's extensively for more than half of my life..over 14 years. From the Ultima Online, Diablo 1-3, Ragnarok Online, Final Fantasy XI, WoW, and Final Fantasy XIV. WoW is the only game to outlast any game I've ever play (besides Counter-Strike).

I'll try to go through everything I've got, and I may post some "retro" entries to backdate some of my past experiences from my first year of FFXIV: ARR.

Thanks for reading!