Strength Tanks

[UltraPikey]

But if I don't stack strength as a DRK those healers are gonna have a rough time when I pop Living Dead and need all my HP healed. And more STR means stronger Souleater heals. And less general health means I can heal those sissy attacks and the healer can do other stuffs.

Stack VIT if you want to die later.

I wholeheartedly agree with you. I have stacked my Dark Knight's Attribute Points into Strength and usually my armor comes with VIT and Strength. I also like when it comes with Determination because it means Soul Eater performs better. I think the OP is a bit of a pleb when it comes to Tanking in all honesty. Your Dark Knight is not your average Tank sunshine !

[Februs]

You having less or the same hp as a dps is not an effective tank build because a dead tank does zero dps.

Is this even possible?

Given that literally ever single piece of Tank armour has Vit attached to it, I'm honestly curious how a Tank could even go into battle with the same or less Hp as a Dps...Maybe if you forgot to bring your pants with you?

[fm_fenrir]

All DPS gear has VIT on it too. I have 14.8k at 203 with DRG, and only 13.5k with my 196 PLD/DRK...

[Kalaskhern]

I have over 16k hp at ilvl189 as a DRK with all stats allocated to str. Maybe ur gear is trash?

[Februs]

All DPS gear has VIT on it too. I have 14.8k at 203 with DRG, and only 13.5k with my 196 PLD/DRK...

You don't suppose that might have something to do with the fact that your Drg is ilvl 203, but your tanks are only ilvl 196? I'm no math whiz or anything, but I'm kind of working under the assumption that a 7 lvl difference in gear makes a small difference of some kind...

I guess you did prove that it is possible though. I mean, a lvl 1 tank could hardly be expected to have more Hp than a lvl 50-60 Dps. So, there's that.

[fm_fenrir]

I guess you did prove that it is possible though. I mean, a lvl 1 tank could hardly be expected to have more Hp than a lvl 50-60 Dps. So, there's that.

I was hoping someone with 200 left side gear might give numbers instead of being snide.

[BeeWise]

As far as numbers go, to put it simply, left side gear pieces all give the same amount of VIT per item level and if DoW/M. Item level 200 DoW left side set gives 419 VIT (376 for DoM), sans weapon. As a DRG, like in most other FF games, you have a higher natural VIT stat than other DoWs DPS. Obviously not tank high, due to the "Enhanced Vitality" trait, and tank job crystals giving about 10 more VIT.

All that being said, a 7 ilvl difference is pretty significant, especially if most of your 200/210 pieces are on your left side. It's really not as far-fetched as some may think it is. In this game, the biggest difference in tanks vs DPS is (at this stage in the game, at the same ilvl) a near double defensive stats difference from other roles, and a much higher abundance of defensive cooldowns, along with a "tanking stance". Whereas in a lot of other MMOs, tanks tend to have nearly 2-3x the HP of their DPS, plus defensive CDs. Maybe we'll get there someday.

[Februs]

I was hoping someone with 200 left side gear might give numbers instead of being snide.

Fair enough lol.

Sadly, I could no longer give you the exact numbers for that bracket. Most of my Tank gear has graduated to 210, and a lot of it is upgraded so there is no going back (short of buying a whole new set). The best I could probably do to fill this request would be to scale back down to 190 with a full Str set and Hive weapons (pretty sure I still have all that stuff kicking around somewhere) to make things completely even... but honestly, I don't think there would be a point. I'm not logged in now, so I can't give you the exact numbers, but the enhanced vitality traits and status buffs from our soul crystals pretty much preclude the possibility of Tanks having an equal to lower Hp pool to Dps (even a Drg). Given that all gear scales roughly the same way with item lvl, it's a pretty safe bet that the result would be the same regardless of the item lvl bracket (190-200-210).

[Kotemon]

From what I can tell as a casual thus far, good Str tanks try to penta meld (the best available) HQ Strength accessories with +Vit. While Vit tanks penta meld HQ Vitality accessories with +Str. Assuming a person has enough gill to spend IV-materia and not enough on Tier V-materia. That is +7 str or +7 vit and that iLev150+ craft pieces can hold four Teir IV-materia with out clipping its values. That is +24 to str or vit on one piece while the base stat allocation at lv 60 is +35. With 5 quad melds its +140 to str or +140 vit on the opposing piece (fending/maiming), compared to +35 in base stats. If you're despirate to squeeze in the remaining primary stat value for the 5th slot you could get anywhere from +1 to +4 or just below the primary stat on the piece. While loosing a full Iv-materia value to anything from acc, det, crit, parry.


Although from what I've learned so far, useful tanks have full sets of both fending and maiming and adjust for the content they are in. While those who are just dedicated full Str or Full Vit wind up becoming a dedicated niche OT, or niche sponge tank (you soak up damage). Those play styles shine more in pre-constructed parties as random PUG's only tend to annoy or hold each other back. With that said, the Str vs Vit issue is all just a play style. Some healers don't like being pressured to keep tanks alive 24-7 on top of the squishy dps while others can, and make it look easy. That's just their play style, and the argument comes about when opposing styles conflict with each other. I'd prefer a tank that can strike a balance between the two and go either way with the current situation or party setup.