Agreed. In all aspects, there is no real logic behind a ninja tank. In XI i couldn't stop scratching my head over that one.
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Ninja is one of the most unique class, they are unlike warrior, unlike thief, unlike assassin but they're ninja!. why you need this unique stuff get waste by making it become just another tanker? because you're a hardcore tanker? (judge from your signature) so you need another class to play as a tanker?
NIN was my 1st 75 in XI and I was honestly pretty upset when I found out that it was "supposed" to tank.
But, NIN was never "just a tanker" in XI. It was one of the most versatile jobs along with BLU and RDM. It could debuff, magic DD, ranged DD, melee DD, and tank. It had tons of equipment options to support any of these. Being a tank was just what the community found it to most useful as.
Defensive gear? Mid level? I'm talking about tanking here, not an exp party in crawler's nest.
Regardless of how its implimented if Ninja CAN tank, it will BECOME a tank. Theres no way around if. SE need to make it unique enough to make people realise it is better at something else, but if it can tank people will use it as a tank.
Ninjas were made famous by Japanese media, from ancient to modern pop culture. Ninjas have been in all kinds of games using all kinds of weapons and most of the time being one-man armies that fight everything head on.
So tell me, why is a Ninja using shadow images to entrap his foes in a deadly cage of illusions to protect his comrades "un-ninjalike"?
I think we need to get out of a western Dungeons & Dragons mindset and realize that Final Fantasy is a Japanese game, their image of the ninja is a lot more flexible.
Look at the FFXI ninja's two hour ability, exploding. That's a way weirder ability to have than shadow images, but still draws on Japanese ninja imagery.
What FFXI Ninja emphasized though was 'duty' and 'sacrifice'. The storyline of the Ninja quest such a tale. The Ninja's 2 hour is one where he sacrifices his own life for the good of the party. Protecting information, protecting one's loyalty, protecting one's comrades, the FFXI ninja is a protector who gives his life for duty. If you want a backstabbing coward, play a thief.
I'd rather have FFXIV stray away from strict party roles though. Final Fantasy games have never been about that. Playing through FF1 to X, characters had relative strengths and weaknesses, yes, but it wasn't so cripplingly specialized as XI was, it's a western RPG mechanic that is uneeded in Final Fantasy.
That's XI's problem, I hope they can get rid of it as XIV is further developed.
The ideal for me is something Monster Hunter or Phantasy Star like, you can form a party of any combination and everyone can function fine.
Edge can be built up to tank in the latest FF4, but that game doesn't really use party roles as strongly as western MMOs have popularized themQuote:
I do not want them to tank, they should be like their classical FF interpretations.
Shadow from FF6 can shadow tank VERY WELL, he is pretty much untouchable. This is doable in the SNES game
in FF13, though not a ninja, Lightning turns into an evasion tank in her strongest builds.
Again, I see the problem isn't "omg ninja is tanking" but FFXI's PUNISHING you for doing anything other than strictly fulfilling one role in a set party.
Dude lol reread what I said, I will put it out for you since im nice "SE need to make it unique enough to make people realise [SIZE="5"]it is better at something else[/SIZE]"
Did ya get it now? :P
So: if its rubbish at everything but Tanking and just as good at tanking as other classes, IT WILL BE A TANK. The PLAYERS define the class, not SE, SE Hope you use it a specific way but ultimately it comes down to the PLAYERS. If the players see ninja as a good Tank, it will be a tank. Thats how it evolved in XI. It wasnt a good DD and tools sucked ass. But if they make it good at other things non tank related then people will use it as the best it can be.