Getting into RDM tankage!

[WishMaster3K]

Re: Getting into RDM tankage!

Simple solution: Kite past them, stop and cast Bind roughly 1 second after passing them. Problem will solve itself.

I shall try this.

[Callisto]

Re: Getting into RDM tankage!

Gawd. A friend was nice enough to hook me up with a ToD, and in the pursuit of tanking awesomeness here I am up at 5am before work waiting for the Resentment Cape NM to pop. Stupid RDM tanking and being all stupidly awesome. Edit: Huzzah, 1/1!

[Seijurohiko]

Re: Getting into RDM tankage!

I got really interested in RDM tanking about a year and a half ago. I started to build up a semi-decent tanking set and finally got a chance to tank my first HNM when the LS decided to go take on Jormungand.

I co-tanked with a PLD/NIN and the fight went very smoothly. At the time, we tried to share hate in a way that let me tank the majority of his air attacks while the PLD tanked him on the ground, which worked out ok, but I feel I could have easily solo tanked the large majority of that fight just as efficienly.

Just after that fight, I had to leave the game for an extended length of time (like 8 or 9 months or so).

Now that I'm playing again, I got my first chance to tank some sky gods earlier today. LS let me co-tank Byakko with a PLD/NIN and Suzaku with a NIN/DRK. The Byakko fight could have gone smoother, but he definitely doesn't cater well to RDM/NIN tanking style. at around 30% or so into the fight he caught me with Diaga III, followed by a round of triple attack (around 200 per hit), then an immediate Razor Fang for about 800 dmg, effectively one-shotting me from full hp and a fresh set of shadows.



The next fight, however, was so much better as Suzaku is much more friendly to RDM/NIN and allowed me to showcase to some LS doubters the potential of a RDM/NIN tank. In this fight, I was paired with the LS's token NIN/DRK who told me he was going to go "all out on hate." He opened the fight with Stun while I received an SATA WS. From that point on, I don't think Suzaku took action on anyone other than me. It was all the NIN could do to just turn him for a second or two before I had hate again. Suzaku's lack of TP regen and slow attack speed, combined with a solid stun rotation allowed me to tank Ni to Ni without a single melee attack getting through. I knew RDM/NIN could be a very good tank, but this fight really opened my eyes.

Afterwards, the NIN jokingly said he was going to retire his NIN in shame.

The gear I used for that fight was as follows:

Macuahuitl +1 x2 (Macroed in Neptune's Staff during CS)
Rosenbogen (Macroed in Lamia Kamen during CS)
AF1 Hat
Harmonia's Torque (macroed Enfeebling Torque during CS
Eris' Earring x2 (Macroed in Loquac. Earring for Utsusemi)
AF2 Body
Dusk Gloves
Mermaid's Ring
Snow Ring
Cheviot Cape (macroed in Lamia Mantle +1 during CS)
Warwolf Belt (Macroed in lolQuick Belt for Utsusemi)
Crimson Cuisses
Dusk Ledelsens

Still alot of gear I'm missing but this set did quite well.

I really need to credit Kaeko and everyone else involved in the ongoing testing of enmity mechanics. Having knowledge of the different types of hate associated with each spell as well as the mechanics of hate decay, I think, allowed me to maintain such a firm grip on hate. The main spells I used for hate were Bind (640 VE, 1 CE), Blind (640 VE, 1 CE), Dispel (320 VE, 320 CE), Sleep (240 VE, 320 CE), and Sleep II (480 VE, 480 CE).

My strategy was to focus on building CE close to the 10k cap first, and then focus on sustaining high VE. Dispel, Sleep, and Sleep II are pretty much the only choices for CE, so I cycled through these spells through the first several minutes. Each cycle yields about 1120 CE (without +enmity gear), so it takes something like 8 - 10 cycles to cap out on CE (depending how much +enmity you have, as well as how much dmg you take).

Once a high level of CE is achieved, I focus on VE spells, changing the spell rotation to Bind, Blind, Sleep II. (Barspells can also give some quick VE)

I'm pretty sure this is why I was able to beat out the NIN hate-wise. His rotation seemed to be Stun, Bind, Blind, which focuses much on VE. Since the majority of his enmity was VE, and constantly decaying, it was harder to keep up with my CE, which only decays when you take dmg or lose shadows.

Anyway, I'm kinda rambling a bit and this post is longer than I intended lol. After today, I'm even more interested in improving my gear and tactics and hope to post a video of my next tanking endeavor.

[ItazuraNhomango]

Re: Getting into RDM tankage!

The next fight, however, was so much better as Suzaku is much more friendly to RDM/NIN and allowed me to showcase to some LS doubters the potential of a RDM/NIN tank. In this fight, I was paired with the LS's token NIN/DRK who told me he was going to go "all out on hate."

[ ... ]

I'm pretty sure this is why I was able to beat out the NIN hate-wise. His rotation seemed to be Stun, Bind, Blind, which focuses much on VE.

NIN/DRK doesn't have Blind, unless you mean Kurayami.

[Sevv]

Re: Getting into RDM tankage!

The ninja should be Stun-> Sleep -> Bind if they want good hate. If you really wanna see a Rdm/Nin out hate the shit out of plds and ninjas, take your ls to Khim and watch Dispel -> Sleep -> Sleep II -> bind/blind rotation.

[WishMaster3K]

Re: Getting into RDM tankage!

I'm so going to start tanking as a RDM now. PLD was just a crutch to cap my skills >_>. And get awesome gear, because they WON'T give RDM first dibs on Crimson no matter where you go /sob

[Dranzia]

Re: Getting into RDM tankage!

I have a question, if you guys don't mind.

I'm assuming you're using the Dusk Gloves + Feet for the purpose of the added Haste %.
I also notice that you're using Crimson Cuisses for your leg piece.

Does this equate out to +/- 0% movement speed? (Do they offset perfectly?)

and if not (if you get -% or 0% movement speed):

Is it then actually worth it to trade the increased speed of CC for the Haste?

I'm just curious, as I'm very interested in trying this out, and I want to look into what I might use myself. I generally use the AFv2 gloves for the added Enhancing Magic Skill to assist in my stoneskin/phalanx setup (although I can probably go w/o it if needed).

Also, does anyone use the enchanted mantles (with +enmity)? I didn't see anyone state that they swap back pieces in/out, so I was curious about that. In my Limbus shell, our NIN's always use the enchanted pieces for Omega/Ultima, and it seems to help quite a bit. Edit: Sorry, Seijurohiko did mention swapping out back pieces. So this question can go to those who don't swap them >.>

Thanks for the info.

[Seijurohiko]

Re: Getting into RDM tankage!

Hmm, I guess it would be kinda hard for a NIN/DRK to use the spell: Blind.

As for Dusk gear combined with Crimson Cuisses, I would say it depends on the type of mob you're tanking. If you're straight tanking something, it makes no difference what your movement speed is, and the haste, HP, and defense on the dusk gear is pretty nice to have on full time rather than macro in and out (can help your healers out a bit too if you're not blinking in and out every couple seconds).

If you're kiting the mob, like Kirin, then I wouldn't bother using any dusk since movement speed would probably be more helpful. I plan on using AF2 hands along with Crimson Greaves when I get a chance to kite Kirin around.

For back pieces, there's lots of good ones out there. The High Breath Mantle is pretty good, but you will lose the effect if you macro it out for anything. Since you can macro out back pieces without annoying your healers, I like to carry a few and use them situationally. Prism Cape for Stoneskin casts, Cheviot for when I know I'll be taking a hit or two, and Lamia +1 for magic defense. I'd really like to pick up a Cerberus Mantle and Resentment Cape as well.

[Nataka]

Re: Getting into RDM tankage!

edit: nevermind

[Callisto]

Re: Getting into RDM tankage!

I have a question, if you guys don't mind.

I'm assuming you're using the Dusk Gloves + Feet for the purpose of the added Haste %.
I also notice that you're using Crimson Cuisses for your leg piece.

Does this equate out to +/- 0% movement speed? (Do they offset perfectly?)

and if not (if you get -% or 0% movement speed):

Is it then actually worth it to trade the increased speed of CC for the Haste?

I'm just curious, as I'm very interested in trying this out, and I want to look into what I might use myself. I generally use the AFv2 gloves for the added Enhancing Magic Skill to assist in my stoneskin/phalanx setup (although I can probably go w/o it if needed).

Also, does anyone use the enchanted mantles (with +enmity)? I didn't see anyone state that they swap back pieces in/out, so I was curious about that. In my Limbus shell, our NIN's always use the enchanted pieces for Omega/Ultima, and it seems to help quite a bit. Edit: Sorry, Seijurohiko did mention swapping out back pieces. So this question can go to those who don't swap them >.>

Thanks for the info.

The W.Legs are worn for pretty much every stat but the movement speed, actually(assuming you aren't tanking, then there's that bonus as well). There isn't much better for RDM tanking than the 43 Def, HP/MP +25, and the few resistance boosts. Coral Cuisses +1 are also a nice piece for putting together a magic damage- build for when you know you're about to get smacked for big magic damage. I also use AF+1 pants for my Stoneskin/Phalanx/Barspells, in regards to the AF2 hands, I'd wear them for every buff except Stoneskin if you have Dusk Gloves and a fairly strong Enhancing set otherwise, in which case I'd wear the Dusk hands/feet to keep the Stoneskin recast as low as possible. As far as the breath mantles, if you don't have a Merciful Cape for enhancing spells you could fulltime the breath mantle, but keep in mind that if you die and get back up there's still a long recast timer on the mantle, so you'll want to carry a backup Emnity+ backpiece just in case.