Quote Originally Posted by LilimoLimomo View Post
Gunbreaker 100%. It's the tank that's also there, the one without an identity.

Nobody needs me to explain what a Paladin is, because it's an archetypes that is well-established even outside the FF series. It's a knight that uses the power of light to protect. Generally leaning towards "lawful good", which the job narrative recognizes and sliiightly subverts.
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So what does it mean to be a Gunbreaker? I feel like the game has never told me. It's given me the history of Gunbreaker origin, how they fought in a war for a specific purpose, and that's neat, but that's a history, not an identity. If I pick up a Gunblade and put on Dante's coat, I'm not fighting for Bozja. So what does it mean for me to be a Gunbreaker now? As far as I can tell, it just means being a person with a gun that can shoot bullets, and trying to do a protect, but without any substance. And that's disappointing. It's an aesthetic with no soul.
First Paladin's in FFXIV have no connection with 'light', that is things associated with Paladin from outside the game and even most of the FF franchise. All Paladin's are in FFXIV are the Royal Knights that protect the Sultana, nothing more, nothing less. This is why Paladins typically cannot leave Ul'dah and travel as freely as out WoL does. FFXIV just adds the light and magic attacks to make it more inline with what people expect of a Paladin from outside sources, not because of any lore reason from ingame.

However, to then continue onto Gunbreaker, Gunbreakers are the main force behind destroying the enemies frontline and ranged support, going in quickly with their aetheric shields primed from the cartridges in their Gunblade. This is why they have the defensive capabilities they do, to better break through and why they attack quickly, as it is easier to disrupt the front line and make it easier for other units to form a more co-ordinated assault. They are also typically the ones designated as the main protectors of the Queen, the same way Paladin's are the ones protecting the Sultana. So, there is your identity, someone who breaks through enemy lines and quickly destabilises it.