MRD 101
@y0iku @iiwil (It’s not letting me tag either of you for some reason.)
For the adorable Saimi Nelhah of Gilgamesh, who’s just beginning her adventures and chose the godless discipline of marauder. It’s a tricky class to learn for sure, and the middle of a dungeon isn’t always the best place to explain a rotation. I’ll try to break down tanking in a dungeon step-by-step; hopefully this helps you out just a bit!
For groups of enemies in a dungeon:
1. Pull the group toward you with Tomahawk. (Try to start with the biggest and/or most powerful enemy of the group, if you can.)
2. Once you are within range, use Overpower at least two times on all the enemies in that group. If you miss one, reposition yourself and do it one more time.
Overpower is your best friend as a marauder/warrior. It also drains your TP like nothing else. This is essentially the catch-22 of marauder: the class is essentially a balancing act between keeping aggro and managing your TP. It’s tricky at first, but with practice, you’ll figure out ways to overcome this.
3. After all the enemies in the area have been sufficiently Overpowered, you’re going to want to move into aggro-generating combos. For now, you’re going to want to stick to Heavy Swing > Skull Sunder.
Again, try to start with the biggest and/or most powerful enemy of the group. If you’ve Overpowered the other enemies enough and the DPS in your party aren’t ridiculously strong - which they very well might be; you’re still starting out - you should be able to focus all of your Skull Sunder combos onto one enemy at a time. If you find that you’re losing aggro, however, try to alternate your Skull Sunder attacks between the various enemies. * Do this several times, until you’re comfortable that you’re not about to lose aggro on any of the enemies in that group!
4. Once you've got all the enemies’ attention, then you can start using combos that generate less aggro but give you some added buffs. Heavy Swing > Maim is one such combo.
So here’s what we’ve got so far:
Tomahawk > Overpower > Overpower > (Overpower) > Heavy Swing > Skull Sunder > Heavy Swing > Skull Sunder > (Heavy Swing > Skull Sunder) > Heavy Swing > Maim > Heavy Swing > Skull Sunder > ... until all the enemies are dead.
This is a very basic rotation, and you’re going to pick up lots more skills as you level that will add to your combos. By the time you’re around level fifty, that rotation is going to look much more like this:
Tomahawk > Overpower > Overpower > Overpower > Heavy Swing > Skull Sunder > Butcher’s Block > Heavy Swing > Skull Sunder > Butcher’s Block > Heavy Swing > Maim > Storm’s Eye > Heavy Swing > Skull Sunder > Butcher’s Block > Heavy Swing > Maim > Storm’s Path > ... and that’s not even counting the warrior-exclusive moves that are granted when you learn Defiance! It’s a lot to juggle, and there’s no one “right” way to do it... just as long as you’re keeping aggro.
5. Every so often, an enemy will cast an attack that you, the tank, will be socially and/or morally obligated to stun. Or try to. For marauders, that’s Brutal Swing.
This isn’t a part of your rotation, per se, but it’s crucial that you use it if (and only if!) the enemy you’re fighting is about to do something big and bad and scary.
* One more burning question you might have: how do I tell if I’m losing aggro? There’s two ways. Take this screen of a boss fight:
In the top-left corner, you’ve got a small enmity/aggro/hate gauge underneath each job icon.
I, Livvy Ahtynwyb, am the tank. The “A” by the full bar underneath the blue paladin icon means that I have aggro on the boss. The bars are less than halfway full for all the other party members, meaning that right now I’m doing a pretty good job of holding aggro. The lower everyone else’s bar is in comparison to yours, the better you're tanking.
Similarly, there’s always a small list on the middle-left side of the screen showing your enemies’ names and HPs. The red circle icon means that you have aggro on that particular enemy. If you lose aggro, that icon will change to an orange triangle, then a yellow triangle, then a green circle. (If you need any reassurance that you are not totally hopeless as a tank, I hope this will suffice: when I was first starting out in XIV, I was under the impression that green circles for tanks was a GOOD thing. “Green circle means go! You have aggro!” This is not the case.)
I know it’s a lot to take in! The only other advice I have now is to keep at it. Tanking requires a good bit of practice. Stick with it, keep learning new skills, and I guarantee you that one day you’ll be able to look back on where you are an be amazed at how far you’ve come.
Best of luck!