Can’t decide between the two

I started back into 14 a week ago and been doing the quests as a SAM but been missing tanking and since 2017 a lot has changed and can’t decide between on doing DRK or GNB. Any input would be amazing

I mean... 6.0 is coming out soon so who knows what they'll play like in a few months. Not only do you have time to level them both and see which you like best, but then you're ready to use whichever you ultimately decide to use in 6.0.

But to more directly answer your question: I'd recommend DRK over GNB.
DRK is flexible, where as GNB is busy to the point where you can have a hard time finding opportunities to push your tank buttons when they're needed.
(Also DRK's glam game is stronger : P )

GNB tanking is fun because of its rotation. Sure, it's no stormblood DRK, but it'll just have to do. If you like busy work, GNB's your guy. If I had to give a negative criticism about it, it's that it's probably the worst tank in dungeons, but even the worst can still get the job done just fine.

DRK's a solid tank. You'll never feel like you're lacking anything mechanically but is a bit on the boring side in my opinion because it plays slow like WAR without the payoff of seeing huge pretty numbers, and optimization can feel like a stressful endeavor because getting five hits under BW feels like a crapshoot even with the shorter GCD builds.

It's a bit hard to recomend you a tank without knowing your gameplay preferences so i will made a small resume, but first you have to know tanking is in his most braindead state, agro management is non-existent, boss placement is automatic in most cases so you only face them out the party and everyting hit like a wet noodle if you have decent gear so mitigation is pretty much like a joke right now, almost no CDs management either.

With that being said you only have personal gameplay left, GNB and DRK are technically the faster tanks but at the say time both handle that feeling of speed or better say bussines way diferent, GNB is pretty much a rigid rotation with some decision making in order to keep the uptime on the boss, his speed is properly spread across the rotation having a constant feeling of bussines during all the rotation with some peaks on no mercy window, have nice versatile utility to other party members from mitigation to healing and is very rewarding to play despite the nerf on his sound effects.

DRK on the other hand right now focus all his bussines on a very small burst window of 10s where the job throw all his oGCD and MP on raid buffs and the next 50s is just pure GCD gameplay with almost nothing betwen them, considering the job only have 1 combo and his secondary mechanic is based on spam Bloodspiller x5 you can imagine how it is, the job is really easy, basically the most easy job of the game with WAR, there is nothing to take care about and no personal mechanics you should keep an eye outside of keep everything on coldown and don't overflow your MP, something is to easy to manage due the slow MP generation, DRK utility to others is basically TBN,is his only unique and distintive mechanic right now and fail it could lead to a loss of an 500p oGCD worth on MP, not hard to deal with it when you identify TB and such but the stronger is your gear the lower are you chances to use this skill and make the shiled break outside of TB so pay attention and you will be fine.

Maybe a bit biased resume im sorry and i din't even mention DRK is a WAR with a few more oGCD, dammit i did now.. oh well ^^, the best advice i can give you is find guides of them lvl both and stay the one you enjoy the most since is pretty fast lvls jobs right now, don't hestiate on try PLD and WAR too when you have time maybe they surprise you and fit your preferences better and have fun.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Hierro

GNB tanking is fun because of its rotation. Sure, it's no stormblood DRK, but it'll just have to do. If you like busy work, GNB's your guy. If I had to give a negative criticism about it, it's that it's probably the worst tank in dungeons, but even the worst can still get the job done just fine.

DRK's a solid tank. You'll never feel like you're lacking anything mechanically but is a bit on the boring side in my opinion because it plays slow like WAR without the payoff of seeing huge pretty numbers, and optimization can feel like a stressful endeavor because getting five hits under BW feels like a crapshoot even with the shorter GCD builds.

---

So GNB is more active in what your doing and DRK is slow and controlled. You said it’s more boring my question is how boring are we talking like ARR PLD?

My original character got deleted so I tanked from ARR and HW as all 3. Back then to I did DRG as a dps because everyone said you couldn’t do better then a monk.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Aresdreadheart

how boring are we talking like ARR PLD?

---

Not them but while I'll say current DRK is definitely not as boring as ARR PLD was, it definitely seems like the ARR PLD of the tanks relative to ShB, if that makes any sense? lol. Basically resource management is as simple as could possibly be for both MP and gauge which ends up making it a bit more boring than it should be—DRK has also certainly lost speed since HW/SB and still has slightly bugged abilities like Blood Weapon. The new additions don't particularly help it in the gameplay department (especially due to one added burst ability being a pretty blatant copy of something that already exists within another tank, while the other has all the interactivity of expending 50 gauge), which in my personal opinion makes us feel almost like we're an expansion behind in terms of gameplay. To differentiate it, our special move of the expansion is one press that just goes on while you continue doing what you do, whereas GNB makes you do six presses for a neat combo.

I would say overall if you want a fast and snappy tank that's still damn effective, go GNB. If you want a slower tank that isn't really methodical but has more ease prepping for a massive hit, go DRK. I still main DRK because I am an idiot.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Aresdreadheart

I started back into 14 a week ago and been doing the quests as a SAM but been missing tanking and since 2017 a lot has changed and can’t decide between on doing DRK or GNB. Any input would be amazing

---

Warrior is the correct choice.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Aresdreadheart

So GNB is more active in what your doing and DRK is slow and controlled. You said it’s more boring my question is how boring are we talking like ARR PLD?

---

I'm sorry for the late reply, I've been away on vacation. Anyways, DRK is just a bit on the boring side. It's nowhere near as bad as ARR PLD. I like how WAR plays because it's slow, that's my personal preference, so DRK mostly satisfied the same preference. I just think it's not as emotionally rewarding to play because it doesn't get flashy effects or numbers even when it performs as well as any other tank both mechanically and in terms of DPS. Still, compared to ARR PLD, you have other GCDs like blood spiller, oGCDs like salted earth and flood of shadows, and of course a gap closer so it's still way more fun by comparison.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Anienai

Warrior is the correct choice.

---

It's not a choice at all. The question was "Dark Knight or Gunbreaker?"

Drk is badass , the armor the swords , too bad i dont like how it plays :(

GNB is the opposite , is fun and busy , i would love to see an odin gunblade :o

what's stopping you from playing both? ^^

I really wanted to like GNB but the rotation gets out of sync too easy on bosses for me. Yes I know I could get better but DNK just feels more natural to me with its focus on managing resources while handling mechanics.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Aresdreadheart

I started back into 14 a week ago and been doing the quests as a SAM but been missing tanking and since 2017 a lot has changed and can’t decide between on doing DRK or GNB. Any input would be amazing

---

I recommend GunBreaker over Dark Knight only because 5.x Dark Knight is awful and the worst that Dark Knight has ever been...
GunBreaker is just more fun, as 5.x Dark Knight is boring, dull, half-broken, and frustrating, unless 6.0 fixes Dark Knight.

with details, GunBreaker's No Mercy(action) burst is far more interactive and interesting, and Gunbreaker's downtime is just.. more, than Dark Knight's just 1-2-3 Combo and spend gauge. Dark Knight also has some very serious gameplay design issues and long since lost its own identity, in its gameplay. Dark Knight's Blood Weapon action is also broken and dysfunctional, plain frustrating, and it was never fixed.

I think the risk with GNB is that because it plays like a dps job that we ran the risk of missing to press defensive cooldowns or evade mechanics properly. There is a risk of getting tunnel vision by your dps rotation unlike other tanks which has a slower methodical rotation that allows you to focus your attention more on the boss.

I am also currently on the same dilemma as you. Trying to choose whether I go GNB or PLD for my lvl 80 tank. I want to realy consider GNB because as a Squall Fan I like to glam into Squall's gear set and gunblade while playing GNB but paladin really feel more natural as a tank though.

GNB makes sense when you think about the current game design. Boss mechanics are generally linear and predictable, they always happen at the same second in a fight and in the same order, so you can plan your mitigation in advance. With your mitigation already planned and no aggro management that could throw a wrench in your planning you can focus on your dps rotation, which allows for GNB's busier playstyle.

While gunbreaker is certainly busier than other tanks due to it's higher apm it's also pretty static, you essential do the same thing every 30 and every 60 seconds with 1-2-3 fillers in-between, it doesn't take too long for it to become muscle memory. It is however probably the worst tank to progress fights on since you don't know when mechanics happen yet.

Yeh... All Tanks are boring. GunBreaker is just more interactive, and better designed, than Dark Knight...
I would rather push people away from Dark Knight, than recommend it, so that other people do not have to suffer over Dark Knight, in the way that people like me, and many old players from the 3.x and 4.x eras, suffer over what has become of, and what barely remains, of Dark Knight... All three other Tanks are better than 5.x Dark Knight.

5.x Dark Knight is a disgrace, a failure, a mockery of what it used to be, and the worst that Dark Knight has ever been.
game-gods willing, May 6.0 be redemption.