Page 1 of 7 1234567 LastLast
Results 1 to 15 of 93

Thread: Tanks

  1. #1
    Newbie Administrator Loony BoB's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2000
    Posts
    52,431
    Articles
    53
    Blog Entries
    19

    FFXIV Character

    Loony Bob (Twintania)

    Default Tanks

    What are the better tanks for the higher levels? I've got a L19 MNK and a L33 WAR so if neither of those will be any use then obviously I need to look to one of the new jobs available to me...
    Bow before the mighty Javoo!

  2. #2
    sly gypsy Recognized Member Levian's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2002
    Location
    Donut Plains
    Posts
    14,210
    Articles
    1
    Blog Entries
    4
    Contributions
    • Former Cid's Knight
    • Hosted the Ciddies

    Default

    While WAR is no longer the best tank, it's still a good DD! but if you want to be the tank then maybe PLD is the way for you to go.


  3. #3
    Newbie Administrator Loony BoB's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2000
    Posts
    52,431
    Articles
    53
    Blog Entries
    19

    FFXIV Character

    Loony Bob (Twintania)

    Default

    I suppose I could always be a backup tank. I just figured that since WAR has Provoke, it's a good thing to have as a sub so you can tank effectively. I don't mind being a DD either, really, but I like to have the ability to tank if required because with Danielle being a healer and me being a tank, it makes organising parties really easy. xD

    Having said that, I don't know how long Danielle will stay a healer as I understand they use RDM as healer in the later levels. o_x
    Bow before the mighty Javoo!

  4. #4
    Feel the Bern Administrator Del Murder's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2001
    Location
    Oakland, California
    Posts
    41,604
    Articles
    6
    Blog Entries
    2
    Contributions
    • Former Cid's Knight
    • Former Administrator
    • Hosted the Ciddies

    Default

    White mage is still the standard healer. People use RDM for healer in the later levels because they have virtually unlimited MP regeneration and the party takes steps to minimize damage taken by using ninja shadows.

    Paladin is the standard tank, and the best tank in most situations. People use NIN tank when leveling because ninjas don't take a lot of damage and therefore don't need to be healed.

    WAR and MNK can probably tank well enough but it requires some skill and knowledge of the job, and I don't know much about those jobs. A second voke is always good for emergencies and setting up SATA, I do know that.

    Eleni and I leveled WHM and PLD to 75 our first time around and it was easy to make our own parties. I definitely recommend it!

    Proud to be the Unofficial Secret Illegal Enforcer of Eyes on Final Fantasy!
    When I grow up, I want to go to Bovine Trump University! - Ralph Wiggum

  5. #5

    Default

    MNKs make horrible tanks, at least they did to me. the only two valuable tanks at that time Were PLD and NIN, IMO playing as a healer (RDM). They made my job a whole lot easier. it could have changed by now though.

    I don't see why WAR wouldn't work, seeing as it was the first tank, but it does require alot of skill from the whole party. a Good PLD could survive with a mediocre party but if your a WAR, and your healer sucks....good night.
    Last edited by Dante WolfWood; 08-31-2009 at 08:03 PM.

  6. #6
    permanently mitten
    Goddess of Snacks
    Miriel's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2002
    Location
    San Francisco
    Posts
    13,578
    Blog Entries
    3
    Contributions
    • Former Cid's Knight

    Default

    Yeah, maybe it was because we made our own parties a lot of the times, but I never had an issue with people wanting a RDM over a WHM. I mean, I always hear about people demanding RDMs but I've never felt unwanted as a WHM. The opposite actually.

  7. #7
    tech spirit
    Join Date
    Feb 2003
    Location
    Virgo supercluster
    Posts
    17,950
    Articles
    2
    Blog Entries
    2

    FFXIV Character

    Mirage Askai (Sargatanas)

    Default

    war/nin is probably about about as good as nin/war whenever the two have access to the same utsusemi spells. This means from war24 to war36, and at war 74/75. War doesn't have as good natural evasion as ninja, but they have more HP and a but more defence. They can also wear more defence gear than ninja and use defender. However, war/nin tanks in exp/merit parties usually just gear for damage dealing and rely solely on utsusemi.

    When a warrior doesn't have both utsusemi spells, another viable option is dualtanking, where one war/nin grabs hate whenever the other war/nin is out of shadows. This requires the two to have good knowledge about how much hate they're generating, so that they can easily bounce hate between them with a simple provoke.

    If you enjoy tanking, then PLD is probably a good job for you. They will take considerably less damage than war, and will be able to block with their shields far more often than warrior can. They also get cure spells that will increase their survivability at the same time as they increase hate on you. You also get other spells that increase hate, such as Flash.

    WAR subjob is probably the most used subjob for PLD in exp parties, so your WAR33 won't be wasted.

    PLD/DNC can also be fun for soloing certain monsters that most other melee jobs can't solo. It won't be fast, but you can get the job done :p.

    I've also seen some PLDs sub NIN at higher levels, geared for damage dealing. If you can still keep hate, it's probably not a too bad idea. It should let you increase your damage output more than you decrease your tanking capabilities.


    The reason monks aren't too good as tanks is that while they have lots of HP, they also have low defence. This means more damage taken, which means more healing required. They could sub nin like war does, but they won't get a provoke ability like war/nin gets, meaning they'll have a harder time keeping hate.
    Last edited by Mirage; 08-31-2009 at 07:47 PM.
    everything is wrapped in gray
    i'm focusing on your image
    can you hear me in the void?

  8. #8
    Feel the Bern Administrator Del Murder's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2001
    Location
    Oakland, California
    Posts
    41,604
    Articles
    6
    Blog Entries
    2
    Contributions
    • Former Cid's Knight
    • Former Administrator
    • Hosted the Ciddies

    Default

    Yeah dual war/nin works pretty well since each can act as tank and effective DD. As long as you work fluidly together it should make for a pretty solid setup.

    WHM will always be in demand because Cure V and Raise III are pretty awesome spells. It's new abilities make it a lot better too. WHM probably got the best update that any job has gotten in the last couple years (besides maybe SAM with the 2h update).

    Proud to be the Unofficial Secret Illegal Enforcer of Eyes on Final Fantasy!
    When I grow up, I want to go to Bovine Trump University! - Ralph Wiggum

  9. #9
    Zachie Chan Recognized Member Ouch!'s Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2002
    Location
    Miami
    Posts
    7,652
    Articles
    3

    FFXIV Character

    Swygwyrd Eryistyrmstn (Sargatanas)
    Contributions
    • Hosted Screenname Competitions

    Default

    Demand for RDM over WHM for healing roles, I find, is primarily only in merit parties because having a RDM allows for minimal (and frequently non-existent) downtime between mobs allowing for maximum exp. chains.

    Using scholar as a sub job goes a long way for MP conservation on WHM, and having Sublimation (stores a reserve of MP for future consumption by gradually draining HP) past level 70 also helps bridge the gap, but a WHM will never be able to regenerate MP at the rate a RDM can. As Del Money mentioned, though, Cure V and Raise III make WHM invaluable as main healers in missions, quests, endgame, etc. They're the superior healer in just about any situation which doesn't require them to go non-stop for two hours.

    Neither WAR nor MNK are really viable as a main tank at higher levels. MNK's viability dwindles much earlier than that of WAR, although with specific gear set-ups, MNK/NIN is pretty awesome in certain situations. WAR/NIN works in merit parties, but I wouldn't want one tanking any particularly strong mobs. WAR/NIN is similar. It works in certain situations better than other, but it won't ever measure up to NIN or PLD. While WAR has more over-all viability for tanking, it's more relegated (and very effectively I might add) to a damage dealing role.

    As for whether you go NIN or PLD, it's up to you. I'm not even going to pretend that I'm not biased against NIN tanks. I think the idea is an absolute joke. While having the advantage of shrugging off damage completely through the use of utsusemi, NIN has a much more difficult time actually maintaining enmity on the enemy. Even with the introduction of the new job abilities Innin and Yonin, I find that more often than not, it's an uphill struggle for a NIN to establish and maintain hate on the enemy. That's not to say it can't be done--I know of many examples of people who are very good at keeping hate. The problem is mostly that it's just comparatively very difficult.

    I much prefer PLD. As far as pure damage negation goes, the only job that comes close to PLD is a fully buffed RDM. Ever since Square Enix buffered shield proc rates and skilling, PLD has become a monster, and they've just made it more and more monstrous since then. Curing yourself not only adds to your survivability, but it's another source of large bursts of hate aside from Provoke (from your WAR sub) and Flash (PLD level 37). You've also got Rampart and Sentinel. /WAR will give you Defender on top of that, even. Reprisal makes PLD's shield even more awesome than before, too. PLD is, while perhaps not the end-all-be-all tank of FFXI, the preferred tank job in almost every circumstance.

    As a Galka PLD, you'd be a brick wall. Your main loss would be in the form of a small MP pool, but you'll be better at soaking up the big hits better than anyone else.

  10. #10
    tech spirit
    Join Date
    Feb 2003
    Location
    Virgo supercluster
    Posts
    17,950
    Articles
    2
    Blog Entries
    2

    FFXIV Character

    Mirage Askai (Sargatanas)

    Default

    I also think being a pld tank is going to be much nicer on your economy than being a nin tank.
    everything is wrapped in gray
    i'm focusing on your image
    can you hear me in the void?

  11. #11
    Newbie Administrator Loony BoB's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2000
    Posts
    52,431
    Articles
    53
    Blog Entries
    19

    FFXIV Character

    Loony Bob (Twintania)

    Default

    Thankyou for your help. Any advice that you can collectively give Danielle for her Mithra WHM (she's also interested in the Summoner job) would be neat. Also, I take it if I do go with WAR all the way to 75 then I can be used as an effective DD anyway... but yeah, I'll try to take both PLD and WAR to 75 over time and then see how I enjoy it. I think I'd rather enjoy messing around in non-endgame-stuff than have a job I don't enjoy doing at all >_> But I'm sure I'll have fun. I always do when partying with talkative and amusing people. We should get Weiner registered here
    Bow before the mighty Javoo!

  12. #12
    KentaRawr!'s Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2004
    Location
    Earth!
    Posts
    8,304
    Blog Entries
    3

    Default

    You should do whatever you feel like, BoB. But ah well.

    If Weiner came here that'd be awesome.

  13. #13
    tech spirit
    Join Date
    Feb 2003
    Location
    Virgo supercluster
    Posts
    17,950
    Articles
    2
    Blog Entries
    2

    FFXIV Character

    Mirage Askai (Sargatanas)

    Default

    Summoner is a viable subjob for white mage, so it won't be a bad idea to level it a bit. Summoners are sort often asked to main heal though, at least in the first half of the game, because healers are more needed :p.
    everything is wrapped in gray
    i'm focusing on your image
    can you hear me in the void?

  14. #14
    permanently mitten
    Goddess of Snacks
    Miriel's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2002
    Location
    San Francisco
    Posts
    13,578
    Blog Entries
    3
    Contributions
    • Former Cid's Knight

    Default

    I hate when people ask you to main heal as a SMN. =/

    Summoner is an amazingly fun job. One of the best things I have ever done in this game is to successfully beat the avatars in the level 20 avatar battles. That was a blast.

  15. #15

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Mirage View Post
    war/nin is probably about about as good as nin/war whenever the two have access to the same utsusemi spells.
    Highly disagree as far as tanking goes.


    "... and so I close, realizing that perhaps the ending has not yet been written."


Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •