Which tank?

[Casti_EL]

Lali-Ho folks.

I've recently (well a few months ago) came back to the game following a long break (left shortly around the release of patch 3.4). I opted to start afresh with a new character and levelled up through MSQ on one of my previous favourites - White Mage.

Since hitting lvl 80 I've been looking at other jobs to level (I like variety) but unfortunately my other previous favourite (Summoner) has lost it's appeal and so far other DPS jobs haven't interested me (or just don't click).

So I'm thinking of levelling a tank. I've never tanked before and to be fair, a bit anxious about the thought of it (though I'm sure once I get to grips with it I'll be okay, plus FFXIV does have an awesome community so unless I'm really unlucky, I shouldn't get kicked for some mistakes).

The question is - which Tank? I dabbled a bit with Gunbreaker and Gladiator so far. I enjoy fun classes that don't have too much of a rotation (or at least not a complex one that needs pin-point accuracy), something easy(ish) to learn but awesome to master. Paladin looks awesome (I love the whole Knight aesthetic) but I've also been told it's a bit boring?

Any fellow tanks able to offer some opinions? Not sure if I'll go main with it, possibly just a back-up if the FC needs a tank/got too many healers or if I want to go solo a few bits/muck about.

Thanks in advance.

[aodhan_ofinnegain]

Lali-Ho folks.

I've recently (well a few months ago) came back to the game following a long break (left shortly around the release of patch 3.4). I opted to start afresh with a new character and levelled up through MSQ on one of my previous favourites - White Mage.

Since hitting lvl 80 I've been looking at other jobs to level (I like variety) but unfortunately my other previous favourite (Summoner) has lost it's appeal and so far other DPS jobs haven't interested me (or just don't click).

So I'm thinking of levelling a tank. I've never tanked before and to be fair, a bit anxious about the thought of it (though I'm sure once I get to grips with it I'll be okay, plus FFXIV does have an awesome community so unless I'm really unlucky, I shouldn't get kicked for some mistakes).

The question is - which Tank? I dabbled a bit with Gunbreaker and Gladiator so far. I enjoy fun classes that don't have too much of a rotation (or at least not a complex one that needs pin-point accuracy), something easy(ish) to learn but awesome to master. Paladin looks awesome (I love the whole Knight aesthetic) but I've also been told it's a bit boring?

Any fellow tanks able to offer some opinions? Not sure if I'll go main with it, possibly just a back-up if the FC needs a tank/got too many healers or if I want to go solo a few bits/muck about.

Thanks in advance.

If you want simple then WAR is probably the tank to go with, as it's rotation is the most simple to execute of all tanks. PLD isn't too bad to learn but a lot of little parts you can optimise but straightforward once you understand it. GNB much like PLD, has some optimisation, otherwise is straightforward once you understand what you're doing.

But only real advice I can offer is, instead of asking people to pick for you, like so many of these threads, actually try them out and go with what feels the most fun for you. Yes, it does take some time investment to get them levelled, but it's the only way you'll get any experience under your belt and should get rid of any tank anxiety.

Tanking isn't difficult as much as it is more something that improves over time by putting a bit of effort in to learn and understand things as you go.

[Coletergeist]

It's a good thing tanking is so braindead now.
I never played tank before and played DRK to 80, and I really liked DRK.
It's almost impossible to die with skills like Walking Dead (or whatever it's called for DRK) and if you have a healer even at least slightly paying attention they can bene you and voila, you no die for the most part.
Aggro is easy to grab with a single button these days anyways.

Honestly, any class. Best advice, play what you think you like really. I guess go with whatever aesthetic you like better?

They're all easy. But tanking is one of the easiest things you can do, imo.

[Casti_EL]

Cool, cheers for the feedback. I'll give each one a go and see which "fits" best.

[Absurdity]

It heavily depends on what kind of content you do. In general gameplay I would say PLD, WAR and DRK all have rather simple rotations, PLD only becomes complex once you get into otimization. The same goes for GNB, except that it starts off a bit more complex. DRK and WAR stay about the same, optimizing oGCDs on DRK isn't really more complex than Gauge, IC and Nascent Flash usage on WAR

[Curisu]

My advice is to level a tank from level 1.
Don't start with a GNB because you will get into level 60+ dungeons and they are a little bit harder.

You group is also expecting a little bit more of a level 60 tank then a level 20 one.

[Vyrerus]

One thing to consider is if you like Direct Crits. Tanks do not have Direct Hit innately, so they must meld it, except for WAR, which has Berserk/Inner Release to force them every 90 seconds. This also means though, that in synced content no tank can Direct Crit without food or without gear that is specifically the level of the synced content (again, except WAR).

As far as tank complexity goes, they are all simple. GNB has a new combo/oGCD combo gimmick, but it's easy to get the hang of, and GNB has 99% of its rotation by 70, meaning you get 10 levels where you've pretty much got it all. It is truly very simple.

PLD has the most complexity, but this also means it's harder to excel at it. IMO, it is very fun at high levels.

DRK and WAR are almost interchangeable, DRK has a bit more nuance than WAR, but as has been since the dawn of DRK, this is not a good thing.

If you're just looking to try out tanking for the first time, and you want to get into dungeons where you'll actually be doing the tank job, I'd start with DRK or GNB. They have the highest starting levels for tanks, and have a fairly consistent fun level throughout the leveling process. This means you can jump in and start tanking, learning the ins and outs of the role (mainly how simple it is nowadays) right away, and it'll probably start out more fun than the others.

[MitsuBun]

I started playing this past April and chose WAR as my main and lvled to 80 and endgame. While I don't have experience with most other classes outside of picking them up and briefly trying them out, WAR has continued to be a favorite for two reasons: 1) I was completely new to MMO style games and this class was very forgiving and has a good bit of "oh crap" options to use when in a bind and 2) mechanics are easy to pick up and learn without feeling like you're not pulling your weight (or aggro lol) while you're familiarizing yourself with the class.

Hope this helps a bit!

[Casti_EL]

Great feedback all, many thanks (gotta love the helpful attitude of this community). Have dabbled with GNB, DRK, and got Gladiator to 15 so far. I'm liking the idea of PLD a bit more at present though going to try Marauder later to see what that's like. Once again, appreciate the input

[Anienai]

Which tank?

The only correct answer is WARRIOR.