The Best Tanks in FF14

Feeling a bit brave? Then it’s time to head to the front of the group and take on the chaotic host of bosses in Omega: Alphascape (Savage), although, you might want some armor. There are three different tank jobs in FFXIV and to be fair, all three are quite balanced and viable for most, if not all, end game content. However, the purpose of this article will be to briefly break down the pros and cons of each tank job based on damage and overall group utility.

3. Dark Knight

Yeah just don’t mind them. They kind of like to get lost in their own darkness and fire and stuff.

Although they may be at the bottom of this three-piece list, it really doesn’t mean anything. It’s just that the Dark Knight, which has been improved considerably in its tanking ability in 4.4, is just edged out ever so slightly in damage, utility and ease-of-use. Regardless, as mentioned earlier the tank classes are so evenly matched, it’ll just be a matter of which tank your group needs the most at the time. More often than not, Dark Knight is just the least preferred, but that doesn’t mean a smart group will just pass up on one.

Strengths:

• Insane Aggro Creation
• Possibly the best damage mitigation via constant uptime of “The Darkest Night”
• Looks pretty darn cool

Weaknesses:

• Stigma as a bad tank due to poor performance in previous patch
• Lack of group-wide mitigation tools
• Most difficult tank to play

2. Paladin

Aren’t paladins just grand? That armor… That shield… A weapon to rival Metal Gear… Not good at nuking however.

Coming in at number two is the very image of a fantasy MMORPG tank. With shining, holy armor and abilities to boot, the Paladin is the job you think of when you’re searching for a tank. Overall, the Paladin is indeed the best overall tank, but again I stress that this isn’t saying much in this current patch.

The Paladin does a similar amount of damage as the Dark Knight, (according to FFLOGS of Omega: Alphascape (Savage) Paladin does the least damage of the three by a hair) but its true strength lies in the job’s utility.

Strengths:

• Utility (Heals and Shields)
• Simple to grasp Tank mechanics
• Everyone wants/needs a Paladin in their group

Weaknesses:

• Lowest aggro creation out of all tanks
• Lowest damage tank
• Worst at pulling mobs, may require additional help

1. Warrior

You’re probably going to have a lot of fun pulling aggro and smashing the damage charts with this one.

At number one, the Warrior presents a great mix of utility and damage.

The Warrior does damage in burst intervals typically, which is fantastic for fighting bosses. Stance-changing which is off the Global Cooldowns makes the Warrior a quick adapter to any situation alongside its consistent aggro generation. Basically, you can let the warrior do its own things due to their shorter cooldowns on average in comparison to similar abilities shared by the other tanks and those amazing stance changes.

Strengths:

• Best damage dealing tank
• Possibly easiest tank to play
• Very adaptable,
• High Aggro Generation

Weaknesses:

• Less utility than Paladin
• Lackluster healing

You may also be interested in:

• [Top 3] FF14 Best DPS Class 2018-2019
• FF14 Most Fun Class (Top 3)
• Final Fantasy Female Characters And Their Hottest Pictures