[Tank Concept] Heavy Machinist [WIP and Art]

[Ametrine]

thanks for the art feedback. even though our journey will eventually lead us to the Garlean empire, i didnt want the origin of this tank to be that theme. rather, i wanted to focus on a Lucis industrial theme.

I get you completely. I just recall players expressing disappointment that the Machinist job didn't draw anything from the established Magitek lore.

Although, Nero using the same unique stance as Fordola in Omega with the shiny gunblade may mean we get a proper Garlean job, opening up the possibility that another society is hittimg an industrial revolution just like Ishgard is.

[Mysticdraggon]

I get you completely. I just recall players expressing disappointment that the Machinist job didn't draw anything from the established Magitek lore.

Although, Nero using the same unique stance as Fordola in Omega with the shiny gunblade may mean we get a proper Garlean job, opening up the possibility that another society is hittimg an industrial revolution just like Ishgard is.

that is what i thought. lucis was by far the most probable in my head, along with the idea of a western theme. lucis in FFXV has a lot of industrial background, including engine-based technology as opposed to the Garlean's Magitek.

overall, there would be a lot of opportunity for the theme, including "mounts" with engines and wheels. enough said.

[TankHunter678]

As a tank it should not be displacing enemies or trying to stay at a distance. Also as a tank it should not be restricted to being stationary to do a fair chunk of its abilities for any long length of time, as it will need to dodge aoes like everyone else.

As a ranged tank it should have the ability to easily grab aggro of enemies from most distances and keep up pressure in the face of needing to relocate for aoes. Unlike most tanks where they have low aggro ranged attacks to use while relocating to avoid aoes. Perhaps consider him doing less damage the farther off the target is while doing more the closer they are like Heavy from TF2. So the class wants to stay close to enemies which means less moving enemies and happier melee DPS.

[Mysticdraggon]

snip

i agree. the last thing i want is for this tank to do an insane amount of damage, nor do i want this particular damage to be consistent at any range. if possible, the class should either have accuracy drop or damage drop depending on the attack range.

however, i do want the tank to specialize in range aggro-wise.

as for the limitation of the job's abilities, ive already mentioned that a number of the job's abilities should not apply while the tank is moving.

[Inuk9]

In swtor there is a tank ability that pulls a mob towards him. Imagine How usefull this ability would be in FFXIV? Like pulling an add right away to your face?

[Kazrah]

So it's definitely an interesting approach for a tank, I'll give it that. Best thing I could offer for help is this older-than-dirt thread.

Also, maybe a new name. Machinist feels inferior enough without another job coming in and sharing its name while looking way cooler in the process. I'd personally go with Cannoneer, but maybe something like Balistician or Grenadier would work too.

[Mysticdraggon]

So it's definitely an interesting approach for a tank, I'll give it that. Best thing I could offer for help is this older-than-dirt thread.

Also, maybe a new name. Machinist feels inferior enough without another job coming in and sharing its name while looking way cooler in the process. I'd personally go with Cannoneer, but maybe something like Balistician or Grenadier would work too.

different names are definitely something to think about. i only called it the Heavy Machinist because the job usually involves heavy firearms combined with tech. so far, i dare say that it fits perfectly, but again that's only because of the job's playstyle.

[Laughlyn]

i don't like it.

[Duelle]

Cool art and cool idea, that's kinda remembers me of Vanguard tank class from Swtor. A heavy gunner tank is really cool concept

That's the first thing that came to mind when I saw the artwork. The idea has a lot of potential.

i agree. the last thing i want is for this tank to do an insane amount of damage, nor do i want this particular damage to be consistent at any range. if possible, the class should either have accuracy drop or damage drop depending on the attack range.

This makes sense. Other games with ranged tanks (SWTOR comes to mind) enjoy the benefit of most mobs using ranged weapons like blasters, so Vanguards and Powertechs had a notable advantage in the earlier builds of the game since they didn't need to get right in the mob's face like a melee tank could.

as for the limitation of the job's abilities, ive already mentioned that a number of the job's abilities should not apply while the tank is moving.

You might want to consider a type of ammo or stance that makes it easier to apply debuffs. A sort of ammo that acts as a stationary stance would work. Something else to consider is a mode/stance where you combine your main and secondary weapons into a BFG, incurring a movement penalty in exchange for the utility you want to give your suggested class (you'd have to hit Sprint in order to move at normal speed).

[Mysticdraggon]

You might want to consider a type of ammo or stance that makes it easier to apply debuffs.

i have actually. the secondary weapon has two modes that convert it into either a shoulder mounted launcher that is quickly drawn upon use, and a sentry mode that opens a larger variety of ammunition types.

so maybe it would be fair to remove "blunt" ammunition from a basic fire via primary, and simply add knock-back to a quickly drawn secondary attack. the tank would need to have his secondary tool on person for this attack, but cannot do so if the secondary weapon is in its sentry mode. knock back is not a debuff, but this is simply an example of how the use of these abilities could have certain conditions.

with this said, it would also be fair to add an ability that would instantly "teleport" the secondary tool to the tank's person when out of combat, so that the player does not have to pick it up and place it down again through every enemy encounter.