Dancer Tank!!!

[Februs]

Wouldn't it be really hard to dance when things are constantly beating the hell out of you...? I suppose they could have a super high evasion rate... but I don't think that would work in practice. Dancing just doesn't make for a very good tank in my mind. Seems much better as a healer or support class.

[Leogun]

Wouldn't it be really hard to dance when things are constantly beating the hell out of you...? I suppose they could have a super high evasion rate... but I don't think that would work in practice. Dancing just doesn't make for a very good tank in my mind. Seems much better as a healer or support class.

I never understood the concept of healing with dance...it's like treating cancer by putting Dancing with the Stars on TV. You really have to reach to make the concept work and at least for bard song, there's history backing it up as well as music being a universal language, so to speak.

On the other hand, fighting is often described as dance, figuratively and in slang terms. In my eyes, it's easier to dodge attacks if you're a capable and nimble as a dancer ( not really dancing TO evade just speaking of aptitude ). Just my opinion though.

[randysquirrel]

Wouldn't it be really hard to dance when things are constantly beating the hell out of you...?

Bahamut firing 5 akh morns at someone just standing there doing an elegant bomb dance

I can't support DNC tank.
Those t4 8 tanks runs would be like an underground rave

[Rhaja]

Bahamut firing 5 akh morns at someone just standing there doing an elegant bomb dance

I can't support DNC tank.
Those t4 8 tanks runs would be like an underground rave

And that just made me support it 100 percent now. I'll gladly give up my dream of BLU tank for a DNC tank now.

[Februs]

On the other hand, fighting is often described as dance, figuratively and in slang terms. In my eyes, it's easier to dodge attacks if you're a capable and nimble as a dancer ( not really dancing TO evade just speaking of aptitude ). Just my opinion though.

Only it's really not. Only cartoons and comic books refer to combat as similar to dancing, and their comparisons are usually flawed. Real fighting is much different. You have an opponent, not a partner. You're not working in synchronicity and harmony with one another, you're actively trying to disrupt one another to gain positional advantage using maneuver. Even the flashier styles of combat that look more elegant to the eye have very few similarities to dancing.

Even if they decided to use it as a Tank class and base it on a high parry/evasion rate... how would that work? A tank that could never get hit? Not likely. A single impact would be enough to interrupt the momentum of a Dance, so even auto attacks would make this class look ridiculously out of place as a Tank... and what about their clothes? Dancers wear light outfits to move fluidly, not heavy armour. So... a Tank that is just as squishy as a Mage? Paper tank FTW? No... I think not.

As for Dancers making for good healers, that's at least an easier pill for me to swallow than Tanks (forgive the medical pun). As much as I agree that putting Dancing with the Stars on in a recovery room would likely be more painful than Chemotherapy, proper dancing (along with music) has long been considered therapeutic and invigorating. There are a lot of cultures which traditionally incorporated dancing into their ceremonies for this very reason (proper dancing, not some hack tv competition). The idea is to let the elegance of the dance sooth your soul (similar to the feeling people get when they watch an emotional Balet. Even if it's a tragedy, it's often described as being emotionally liberating). It still doesn't really fit in a combat situation, but it sounds a lot more related to healing than tanking to me. I suppose you could make the argument that the Dancer would be enchanting the mobs in a similar way ... but unless the goal has changed to wanting to sooth their anger and send them all home happy and content, I don't think Dancing really fits.

[Kuwagami]

Dancer is supposed to be a debuffer anyway (charm the mobs and make them have all kind of bad stuff).

Now look at waht they did to bard, which is supposed to be a full support + a weak heal song.

So really, dancer can be anything they want. Unless they redo the game system to incorporate true support, it won't be the real deal.

[Calypsx]

snip

Your stance dancing Dancer tank idea sounds super fun by the way! I totally support the ideas you discussed.

[Leogun]

Only it's really not. Only cartoons and comic books refer to combat as similar to dancing, and their comparisons are usually flawed. Real fighting is much different. You have an opponent, not a partner. You're not working in synchronicity and harmony with one another, you're actively trying to disrupt one another to gain positional advantage using maneuver. Even the flashier styles of combat that look more elegant to the eye have very few similarities to dancing.

I said figuratively, which can be finding similarities between the two. Take a simple Bruce Lee quote:

"Absorb what is useful, discard what is not. Add what is uniquely your own."

Since dancing and fighting tend to take the direction of styles, it's not farfetched to bridge the concept of developing your own style to suit yourself or the situation.

That being said, please don't try to separate flashy movies and cartoons from another entertainment media (video games). I shouldn't have to remind you we're talking about video games so if you've seen or heard it described as dancing in an anime or movie, guess what? A video game is within poking distance of the same concept

There are a lot of cultures which traditionally incorporated dancing into their ceremonies for this very reason (proper dancing, not some hack tv competition). The idea is to let the elegance of the dance sooth your soul (similar to the feeling people get when they watch an emotional Balet. Even if it's a tragedy, it's often described as being emotionally liberating). It still doesn't really fit in a combat situation, but it sounds a lot more related to healing than tanking to me. I suppose you could make the argument that the Dancer would be enchanting the mobs in a similar way ... but unless the goal has changed to wanting to sooth their anger and send them all home happy and content, I don't think Dancing really fits.

PS: I think this concept is covered by Bard, evoking emotions through music. Dancing, as you mention, really doesn't fit a combat situation so how would it heal? You have to SEE the dance for it to effect you, right? So taking your eyes off the enemy? Bad idea. Unless we're talking about some other effect (i.e. the dancing creating an effect which then influence those around them similar to a rain dance summoning a rain storm)...

I could see Dancer working in various concepts with specific conceptual directions, be it healer, DPS or tank. I just think tank would work best for the pure dance theme since it could be about dancing out of harms way or distracting foes with your movements. Every other concept likely has some pseudo-magic effect for it to rely on.

[Calypsx]

I just think tank would work best for the pure dance theme since it could be about dancing out of harms way or distracting foes with your movements.

You hit the nail on the head. Look how dancer is shown in FFXI in cutscenes.

https://youtu.be/3eg_Xz-OFyI?t=1m50s

Distracting foes with movement and dancing out of harms way is exactly what she does. Also Dancer in FFXI lore wise was specifically developed as a way to turn dancing into a weapon. Dancers were used as frontline fighters during the great war and it is not used primarily to bring comfort to allies like bard is.

The evasive combat dancer isn't that far fetched if that's what Dancers have been portrayed as in the series. They even have a tank stance in XI.

[Brightshadow]

You hit the nail on the head. Look how dancer is shown in FFXI in cutscenes.

https://youtu.be/3eg_Xz-OFyI?t=1m50s

Distracting foes with movement and dancing out of harms way is exactly what she does. Also Dancer in FFXI lore wise was specifically developed as a way to turn dancing into a weapon. Dancers were used as frontline fighters during the great war and it is not used primarily to bring comfort to allies like bard is.

The evasive combat dancer isn't that far fetched if that's what Dancers have been portrayed as in the series. They even have a tank stance in XI.

They were created as healers in FFXI and fan dance wasn't made for tanking but rather for protection against AOE's