What other tank jobs could come to XIV?

[Arasiel]

The only other tanks I can see to be different from our current is an Evasion Tank and a Magical Tank. They could branch the Pugilist into an Evasion tank Job

[Kitru]

Tinkerer ~ Ranged (Gun) Tank.

Ranged tanks exist in a *really* fuzzy place in the annals of non-FPS game design. Unless it has to stand still a vast majority of the time (i.e. has to hardcast everything), you're not really going to create a balanced tank because they'd be able to kite the living crap out of everything while also being super durable. If the kiting is factoring into their survivability, on anything that has ranged attacks or can't be kited (like most bosses), their survivability suddenly plummets. Even if it did have to stand still, there wouldn't be much point to it being called a "ranged tank" since stuff is in melee with it all the time any way.

Basically, ranged tanks are either not really ranged tanks, situationally overpowered, or situationally underpowered. There's a reason that they don't really happen: they don't work in a balanced game construct. The only reason that they work in FPSs is because everything is ranged.

I'd be curious to see how LNC gets turned into a tank class, though, since it's got a lot of positional attacks. They'd have to effectively ignore most of that and find some other gimmick for it.

One of the biggest problems with creating second jobs is that you only have 5 abilities and no traits to completely change what a class is going to be doing. That's a lot that you have to do with 5 abilities, especially if you want it to be able to do its job from 30 rather than waiting til 40+. SCH barely manages it because it already starts off with a heal in its base class and the summon can be converted into a heal pet. A tank class isn't *too* hard because you can just slap on a tank stance that adds high enmity to a lot of the attacks, but it still has problems because, at least where DPS is concerned, it's completely changing the fundamental playstyle.

[Ehayte]

Agreed with Kit here, based on hearsay and reading forums, they are just going to want to add Jobs. That being the case, I can't see GLD or MRD being anything but tanks, as they receive the enmity generation abilities (not WAR+PLD). So we will probably see DRK be a tank branched from GLD, and SAM from MRD.

I would be ecstatic if they just left current classes/jobs as is and gave us new base classes with Job upgrades, because as stated above its going to be very hard to switch something like a PUG or LNC to a tank due to the flanking and rear attacks they get as a base class.

[Lyein]

Mostly I just want some variable tanks added in; ones that fill difference niches.

Samurai could be the evasion tank for sure. It was all about getting the hell out of the way, not bashing the other guy's head in with your club- I mean dented sword. Evasion tanks really are an interesting thing, and with the existing RNG it could make things even more interesting. I would think it would logically be a single-target oriented role but if they brought in the sword-spirit aspect of FF Tactics it would lend itself to multi-target (MP-heavy tank??)

GLD/PLD fills the defense tank (damage mitigation) and single-target role while MAR/WAR fills HP tank and multi-target role.

A Dark Knight tank, I would think, would be oriented toward heavier armor and health-drains. It could be interesting to have them use up their own HP for some defensive skills while offensive (TP) skills tended toward draining it back.

A magical tank sounds great but I'm not sure what you would use for it (I just don't feel like Red Mage should be a tank... but eh).

As Kitru points out- converting an existing DD class to Tank using just five skills and no traits is a recipe for disaster. Though a damage-heavy off-tank is certainly a valid class and it could probably be done in that way.

[Lethaltyrant]

I want a SAM. Give me a freakin' SAM.

i am with you on this one, I would really love to have SAM back.

[Kitru]

Agreed with Kit here, based on hearsay and reading forums, they are just going to want to add Jobs.

I recall that there was an interview where they explicitly said that they were planning on adding some new classes to the game, specifically Musketeer and Thief. Adding only jobs gets *really* limiting on what you can do, since it's not like there's much you can change about a MRD to make it tank like something other than a WAR: the WAR class abilities just don't do enough to fundamentally change how MRD works.

[Kuraikoto]

I'm all for the Samurai tank. I'd definitely main that if it came out and wasn't completely botched.

They could do evasion, although that would be odd for anyone in heavy armor, or parry. WAR had a lot of flaws but they still had a two had sword tank that used parry mechanics. They'd have to give the class an innate parry boost and some other mitigation/heal mechanics as well but it would be a different approach.

Another one that is completely odd but would add a very unique feel would be a mage tank. I'd have to go with blue mage on that one. They could have their class/job missions involve going out to learn enemy abilities (add a class to become blue/bst.) Some of the job abilities could improve def/enmity... or have a job ability/trait that changes the old abilities to do those goals. Just for the hell of it they could also have an ability (not weaponskill) that will perform an attack based on the enemy you use it against.

[Arasiel]

I'm all for the Samurai tank. I'd definitely main that if it came out and wasn't completely botched.

Another one that is completely odd but would add a very unique feel would be a mage tank. I'd have to go with blue mage on that one. They could have their class/job missions involve going out to learn enemy abilities (add a class to become blue/bst.) Some of the job abilities could improve def/enmity... or have a job ability/trait that changes the old abilities to do those goals. Just for the hell of it they could also have an ability (not weaponskill) that will perform an attack based on the enemy you use it against.

Blue Mage as a tank would be interesting.

[Kitru]

A Dark Knight tank, I would think, would be oriented toward heavier armor and health-drains. It could be interesting to have them use up their own HP for some defensive skills while offensive (TP) skills tended toward draining it back.

HP drain tanking is already something that WAR has effectively called "dibs" on with Storm's Path, Inner Beast, and Bloodbath. If anything, I expect Dark Knight, if it is implemented as a tank (it's what I *expect* and would prefer, but I wouldn't say it's a sure thing), to focus on playing around with its max hp. Consuming hp to fuel abilities as a tank means next to nothing, since its so simple for a healer to just top you off again. Playing around with max hp as a resource (likely by messing around with a buff that increases it), on the other hand, accomplishes the intended purpose while preventing healing from rendering the cost from simply being a token attribute.

A magical tank sounds great but I'm not sure what you would use for it (I just don't feel like Red Mage should be a tank... but eh).

Check out the Red Mage/Mystic Knight in my sig. You might be interested. Check the Dark Knight, as well, for an example of that "max hp as resource" set up I referenced.

As Kitru points out- converting an existing DD class to Tank using just five skills and no traits is a recipe for disaster. Though a damage-heavy off-tank is certainly a valid class and it could probably be done in that way.

It's less that converting an existing DD into a tank is problematic; it's that converting any base class designed for a single role into a separate role without that class being based around shifting into another role (ARC accomplishes this with the summon-transfer and coming pre-loaded with a heal and rez) with only 5 abilities becomes incredibly onerous: there is just so much that a base class does that a job can't replace. You'd have some *major* problems turning a WAR or GLD into a healer, just like you'd have problems turning BLM into a tank (THM into Time Mage as healer could be interesting, using the idea of "rewinding" damage and "accelerating" healing) not because of the 5 ability limitations but because it's 5 abilities to completely alter what 15+ abilities and 10+ traits accomplish.

[Ehayte]

I recall that there was an interview where they explicitly said that they were planning on adding some new classes to the game, specifically Musketeer and Thief.

Awesome - that is great news. And yeah, I wouldn't expect Jobs branching off MRD/PLD to be extremely different, it would just change stylistically.