I can't decide which tank to play! Help :)

I'm working on GNB right now just for the mount (I like big cats and I cannot lie) but I'd also like to have a tank to main in addition to samurai. The problem is... I can't really decide which one.

Paladin was the first class I ever chose in FFXIV, not knowing it was a tank (I didn't even know what a tank was back then). I really like the protective abilities that paladin has even though it seems like they don't have much in the way of damage abilities.

Warrior, I love the lore behind it and the raw damage they do. My character looks awesome as a warrior, not gonna lie. It seems like his HP is the only thing pretty much keeping him alive unless they've added in some protective measures in shB?

Gunblade: Not sure how to feel about this one at the moment since I'm still like mid 60s with it. It seems a mix between paladin and warrior?

Those of you who main a tank, what do you like about your class?

I intentionally left out Dark Knight because I can't make heads or tails of it at this point! :eek:

I have the most fun with GNB. But imo Pally is the true tank. good mitigation rotation. Also fun to play after 70. War is ok just very boring to me. Drk is basically War clone although TBN is pretty op mitigation you get at 70 and then DRK is petty awesome.

I like GNB mainly because of the combos and visuals. but to each there own.

Paladin does have a full dps rotation but it takes a while to get it. Your rotation doesn't really become complete until Shadowbringers.

Once you unlock requiscat/holy spirit/holy circle/conveitor and all of your combo buttons, it's a lot better. The rotation being based around cycles of magic burst via requiscat and physical burst with fight or flight.

But it takes a while feel complete.

GNB or PLD, those are the only correct choices.

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Originally Posted by DRKoftheAzure

GNB or PLD, those are the only correct choices.

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WAR performs better than either in dungeons and isn't far behind in aDPS to either.

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Originally Posted by Hierro

WAR performs better than either in dungeons and isn't far behind in aDPS to either.

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Except WAR is not the correct choice when DPS and faster clears/re-clears matter.

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Originally Posted by DRKoftheAzure

Except WAR is not the correct choice when DPS and faster clears/re-clears matter.

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The tanks are so similar in DPS, any difference is simply not significant. Yes, that includes the difference between WAR and GNB. If you honestly think playing a WAR holds a party back from making similar clear times, you've got bigger issues on your hands.

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Originally Posted by Stormfur

Warrior, I love the lore behind it and the raw damage they do. My character looks awesome as a warrior, not gonna lie. It seems like his HP is the only thing pretty much keeping him alive unless they've added in some protective measures in shB?

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They are no longer the meat shields they used to be.
I'm actually a little bit sad I don't have 20% HP more than the others anymore. But instead they are inline defensively with the other tanks.

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Originally Posted by Hierro

The tanks are so similar in DPS, any difference is simply not significant. Yes, that includes the difference between WAR and GNB. If you honestly think playing a WAR holds a party back from making similar clear times, you've got bigger issues on your hands.

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The only way you could get enjoyment out of WAR(and DRK since they have the exact same playstyle) is if you are HEAVILY intoxicated...


NOTE: I do not drink/abuse alcohol, nor do promote/condone it.

WAR has more HP recovery skills compared to others, which is pretty fun to use in dungeons. Not as good as before, but still pretty fun. DRK's TBN is also fun to use in dungeons, how your HP just stop decreasing for some seconds. And TBN is highly valued in end contents too, so if you're aiming for end contents, DRK is pretty recommendable for now. GNB has high DPS and most ppl I know say that it's fun to use. I don't really use GNB much simply because I don't like the battle pose(putting your gunblade on your shoulder and bending your back for no reason at all). the job itself is okay. PLD is...idk, personally my most not-recommended tank. Relatively high DPS, but least defense in dungeons. In EX and raids, good mitigation and support skill, but definitely more OT than MT. It's like, despite having shield and everything, PLD is the most un-tank-y tank in the game. Clemency is strong, but considering you're sacrificing some holies for the sake of one Clemency... idk, I'd just not use PLD at all in dungeons and use other tanks in Raids.

If you're just playing tank as sub-job, I'd recommend DRK or WAR, more towards DRK. Relatively easy, strong in dungeons, usable in raid/ex. Some ppl say DRK and WAR are boring and pretty much copy of each other but personally I find both jobs quite fine.

Hope you can find your fave tank :)

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Originally Posted by DRKoftheAzure

The only way you could get enjoyment out of WAR(and DRK since they have the exact same playstyle) is if you are HEAVILY intoxicated...

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Lmao /10 Chararcters

For what it's worth, I have paladin at 70 and warrior at 70. I have a DRK at 70 as well.

But I don't have the time I used to to level all the things so I have to choose :) I'm going to be fairly casual... I used to do Extreme Trials and some end game high end raids but this time around things are going to be pretty casual, just dungeons and trials really. I guess in that case it doesn't matter so much about squeezing every drop of DPS out.

I'm kind of leaning toward paladin but how is their rotation at 80?

WAR and DRK are mainly built on priority. Skills like Nascent/Shake and The Blackest Night allow you some of/if not the best shielding in the game. They have rotations, but their skills allow for more flexibility albeit at less damage when played on the same skill level as GNB/PLD.

PLD and GNB are more focused on their rotations and are very strict to them. But that in turn gives them the highest DPS output out of the four tanks, but also hurts them badly pending on your fight with uptime not being met. They offer mitigation, not as powerful as WAR/DRK, but it is consistent. You'll almost always have a CD for either of them through Heart of Stone/Sheltron and be able to help your co-tank through Aurora/Clemency. However the main focus for the two of them is rotation/damage.

If you want a non meta look and a more personal one, play what you want.

Gunbreaker is the easiest to get to 80 since it's at a higher level, and your rotation can be practiced in full when you hit 76. I'd say leveling WAR/PLD is a great way of practicing the jobs and following the job storyline (More so for War out of the two). DRK starts at 30 but it has the most engaging storyline and it really starts to peak when you get Bloodspiller(Not as much as 4.0 days however due to TBN changes).

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Originally Posted by DRKoftheAzure

GNB or PLD, those are the only correct choices.

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Literally ignori g top 1 dungeon job which is drk, waat XD

Warrior and Drk are two best tanks to do dungeons, pld and gnb lacks sustain and cant even compete with these two when it comes to reliability on max lvl.
When did you last time played dungs?

OP whoever you choose it will be good.
If you like warrior go for it, you could swap later on without any problem. I have 4 tanks at max lvl and all of them are playable in all content you want to do.

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Originally Posted by DRKoftheAzure

if you are HEAVILY intoxicated...

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That's easy to achieve after reading any of your posts, bruh.

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Originally Posted by Stormfur

I'm kind of leaning toward paladin but how is their rotation at 80?

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for solo:

Sword phase
Goring Blade combo -> Royal Authority combo -> Atonement x3 -> Goring Blade combo (plus buffs and abilities)

Spell phase
Requiescat -> Holy x4 -> Confiteor

Better people could adjust their rotation for higher DPS, but basically Sword phase -> Spell phase loop. As long as you can pull that well, you get decent DPS.

FoF has to be used during Sword phase, and you need to make sure you have enough MP for Spell phase (and Clemency).

Aside from that if you're doing EX you'll most definitely be OT, so Intervention whenever possible. (one point that decides whether someone's a decent PLD or not, imo)

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Originally Posted by DRKoftheAzure

The only way you could get enjoyment out of WAR(and DRK since they have the exact same playstyle) is if you are HEAVILY intoxicated...


NOTE: I do not drink/abuse alcohol, nor do promote/condone it.

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Or you know, people like different things? Not to mention, OP sure doesn't look like savage speed runner - pretty oposite. Warrior is easy to learn now, perfectly viable for all content and he likes how it looks... sounds like pretty great choice to me.


OP: I'd go for WAR. If it's secondary character for you, having easy rotation will help if you just jump on it every few days or even weeks. Not that other tanks are that much harder, mind you.

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Originally Posted by Terkhev

Or you know, people like different things? Not to mention, OP sure doesn't look like savage speed runner - pretty oposite. Warrior is easy to learn now, perfectly viable for all content and he likes how it looks... sounds like pretty great choice to me.


OP: I'd go for WAR. If it's secondary character for you, having easy rotation will help if you just jump on it every few days or even weeks. Not that other tanks are that much harder, mind you.

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You'd get the same result as playing DRK, which is basically a WAR re-skin this expansion...

Here's what it's like being a Warrior:

You open with 3 skills, then you spam the same REALLY STRONG skill 6-7 times. Maybe 8 times if you're feeling crazy?

Then you keep spamming those same 3 skills over and over again for about a minute and a half, after which you can then spam your really strong skill 6 more times or so.

Sometimes, you'll have decisions to make. "Hmm... do I Infuriate now? Sneak in a Fell Cleave first? Refresh Storm's Eye? There's still a few seconds left on the timer, but if I restart the combo... OMG WHAT SHOULD I DO?! Ahhh!!!"

10/10 class would not recommend unless you really like spamming Fell Cleave.

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Originally Posted by BluexBird

Here's what it's like being a Warrior:

You open with 3 skills, then you spam the same REALLY STRONG skill 6-7 times. Maybe 8 times if you're feeling crazy?

Then you keep spamming those same 3 skills over and over again for about a minute and a half, after which you can then spam your really strong skill 6 more times or so.

Sometimes, you'll have decisions to make. "Hmm... do I Infuriate now? Sneak in a Fell Cleave first? Refresh Storm's Eye? There's still a few seconds left on the timer, but if I restart the combo... OMG WHAT SHOULD I DO?! Ahhh!!!"

10/10 class would not recommend unless you really like spamming Fell Cleave.

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Hahahaha!! I do like spamming fell cleave. It looks like tanks don't really have a tank stance, non tank stance anymore, do they? It's just aggro on or off? And I guess they do more dps with it off?

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Originally Posted by Stormfur

And I guess they do more dps with it off?

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NO........

I'm with those who say Pld and Gnb are the only correct choices. It's not about the performance of any given tank, it's just those two feel like they have actual gameplay and aren't entirely designed for someone with a severe disability.

I have all the tank classes on Level 73+ (PLD is 80).

I'd have to say that PLD is probably the "best" as far as playing a class that actually feels like a tank. You have several buttons that directly mitigate damage to fellow group members:

Cover
Passage of Arms
Divine Veil
Clemency

With all of these tools, PLD just feels more like an actual tank, the guy that keeps the damage on himself rather than group members. No other tank has this many buttons to mitigate damage done to the rest of the group, and the other tanks just feel like DPS who take less damage than the actual DPS jobs.

I have saved way more lives as PLD than I have with any other tank class. Throwing a Cover on someone with 3 stacks of Vuln before an unavoidable AoE... throwing up Passage of Arms during Innocence after people completely screwed up the add phase (and we barely survived!), tossing that Clemency on a healer who's about to die. It just feels good when you save someone's life with these buttons, because that's what a tank is really meant to do.

As someone with all tanks lvl 80 and played them in end game here is the list:

1) PLD simply due to it has a straight forward rotation and gameplay loop and is generally the best tank in the game right now.
2) GNB simply due to the fast paced nature and fairly close to a DPS rotation that is somewhat engaging gameplay. Lacks some survivability.

The worst two are:
3) DRK there is a bit more work required to manage mana so you can have your personal cooldown ready with a good chunk of OGCDs but the reward for doing it all isn't worth the investment with the lowest damage of all the tanks for no reason. Plus, Living dead is the worst tank invuln in the game.
4) WAR- Dear god WAR sucks. With raid buffs WAR drops behind DRK but honestly you can understand why when you play it. It feels like you are playing a class with wheelchairs suck to its bum with training wheels as legs. Good lord is it bland. You are solely reliant on IR to have fun with playing WAR. Once IR is on cooldown it feels like you are pulling teeth at how boring it plays. There is one button you hit way too much right now and it kills the job.

I have the most fun with DRK due to the TBN cheese I can do in dungeons and PLD due to the Hallowed ground cheese and not having to worry about if I get a bad healer for normal dungeons and trials.

Really just pick the tank that best matches your playstyle.

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Originally Posted by Maeka

I have all the tank classes on Level 73+ (PLD is 80).

I'd have to say that PLD is probably the "best" as far as playing a class that actually feels like a tank. You have several buttons that directly mitigate damage to fellow group members:

Cover
Passage of Arms
Divine Veil
Clemency

With all of these tools, PLD just feels more like an actual tank, the guy that keeps the damage on himself rather than group members. No other tank has this many buttons to mitigate damage done to the rest of the group, and the other tanks just feel like DPS who take less damage than the actual DPS jobs.

I have saved way more lives as PLD than I have with any other tank class. Throwing a Cover on someone with 3 stacks of Vuln before an unavoidable AoE... throwing up Passage of Arms during Innocence after people completely screwed up the add phase (and we barely survived!), tossing that Clemency on a healer who's about to die. It just feels good when you save someone's life with these buttons, because that's what a tank is really meant to do.

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See, I love doing ALL of this stuff. When I can get it done in time >_< . You're right, it just FEELS tanky, Why do I have the feeling I'm gonna end up leveling pally and warrior >_> lol

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Originally Posted by Stormfur

Warrior, I love

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I agree. :)

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Originally Posted by Canadane

They are no longer the meat shields they used to be.
I'm actually a little bit sad I don't have 20% HP more than the others anymore. But instead they are inline defensively with the other tanks.

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Looking at them in context of most content, WAR is actually the most defensive of all the tanks. Keeping RI on cooldown will give you far greater mitigation than keeping sheltron or HOS on cooldown all the time. TBN is the exeption to this, but that kinda has to be used when you know it'll break and even one of the current savage bosses autos dont break it.

WAR is the most heavily defensible tank right now.

We see this kind of post on the forums all the time. Just play all of them to max level and pick the one you like the most, to be honest. Learn them all, look up guides for each and practice the best rotation for them and play them for a few days each before making your decision, nobody is rushing you in to a decision apart from yourself.

Hey OP do you want to be lame shortblade gunbreaker? A trash bin cover holder or a edgy nightlord of darknesss?
There is only one way and it is to join manly unga bunga squad, we have axes bigger than ourselves and we unga bunga enemies into the ground.
Unga bunga may friend.

War for higher damage, PLD while i only have @ 74 still is the tank that brings most mitigation? Someone can correct me if i am wrong.
Gunbreaker i have not fully levelled yet either as i just cannot seem to get/feel the flow of it.
Mainly i have mostly been Warrior for my tank of choice.

Tanking is not my main, so others opinions would probably be better, lol
I just really enjoy Warrior

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Originally Posted by Maero

I just really enjoy Warrior

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This is the correct answer.

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Originally Posted by Maero

War for higher damage, PLD while i only have @ 74 still is the tank that brings most mitigation? Someone can correct me if i am wrong.
Gunbreaker i have not fully levelled yet either as i just cannot seem to get/feel the flow of it.
Mainly i have mostly been Warrior for my tank of choice.

Tanking is not my main, so others opinions would probably be better, lol
I just really enjoy Warrior

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Not trying to be rude, but this is entirely wrong actually. WAR is tied with DRK for the lowest DPS among the tanks, and PLD is not best in mitigation, but rather DRK is. This is not to say that any of the tanks are not viable, because all of them are. However, WAR definitely needs a little bit of a buff in the DPS compartment while PLD, with the ridiculous amount of utility it offers the party, frankly needs a bit of a nerf in that same compartment. Barring that, however, the tanks are in more or less excellent places. So at the end of the day play whichever one you enjoy the most, as they're all capable of doing anything (unless you want to solo HW EXs which then more or less means you need to use PLD).

Not rude at all that's why i stated someone could correct me if i am wrong.
I do not have a Tank @ 80 yet as i have always been a dps and do occasionally heal. So it's all good, just a shame then if War is at the low end now

Having been a PLD main since Heavensward, I've got a serious soft spot for it, but I switched over to GNB as my new main tanking class and I've seriously not regretted it since. Only thing I need to do now is to try and take it through high-end content with a static to see how well I do, but honestly the mechanics of the class were fairly easy for me to learn and get used to - and I do so on two different control schemes, both KB+M and Controller.

Which tank is considered the jack of all trades? Like doesn't excel or suck in any one area, but it pretty balanced.

DISREGARD

Has a discussion on reddit that helped me with this.

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Originally Posted by select20

Which tank is considered the jack of all trades? Like doesn't excel or suck in any one area, but it pretty balanced.

DISREGARD

Has a discussion on reddit that helped me with this.

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All of them play exactly the same and bring same stuff with them, so doesnt matter really.
Play all 4 and then decide which one you like the most.

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Originally Posted by Nedkel

All of them play exactly the same and bring same stuff with them, so doesnt matter really.
Play all 4 and then decide which one you like the most.

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Mmmm, no. GNB does not play like PLD, WAR, or DRK at all. Its more like a DPS than any other tank.
PLD has moments like the other tanks but I guess is more 'evolved' than them from a gameplay perspective of having a DoT combo still.
DRK/WAR
oh yeah they are the same class with one needing to just OGCD with mana too keep the DPS buff up and WAR having to go through a whole combo to do that.

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Originally Posted by BarretOblivion

Mmmm, no. GNB does not play like PLD, WAR, or DRK at all. Its more like a DPS than any other tank.
PLD has moments like the other tanks but I guess is more 'evolved' than them from a gameplay perspective of having a DoT combo still.
DRK/WAR
oh yeah they are the same class with one needing to just OGCD with mana too keep the DPS buff up and WAR having to go through a whole combo to do that.

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Well it is not the same but at the same time it kinda is.
There is a lot of abilities that plays the same role or simply works the same.
All 4 tanks has highest dps windows, all of them share deffensive cooldowns both in functionality and even in share numbers, all tanks has 1 healing spell, all of them has 1-2 aoe combo, invulv cd, dash skill, range skill, aoe party mitigation and etc.
There is like 6-8 different parts of them that determine their playstyle, but everything else is kinda same.