Tank Jobs - How many are there in FFXI?

[Solymir]

I was going to post this in the Dancer thread, but I didn't want to derail it.

A few people have already shared their opinion on which jobs they believe are tanks, but I wanted to see if we could get more input. I agree that War and Pld were intended to be tanks from their inception, and that Nin has become a tank through player interpretation/preference. What other jobs can actually be a tank from lvl 10-75?

An Ls mate once told me that SE intended for Sam to be a tank. What do you think/know?

[Mhurron]

10-75 is a very large window. Jobs that can tank at one part may not be able to at others.

10-20 almost every DD job can tank. SAM was never meant to be a tank.

[Skoal]

It really depends on what you are doing. War, Nin, Pld are usually only looked at as tanks. I have had mnks, thfs and blus tank things outside of exp parties.

[Sevv]

10-32 almost anyone can tank tbh.

Ninja, Paladin, Warrior can all easily tank. Blue Mage can also tank with alot of work, and getting the right gear. Sam can parry tank, or was said too.

[Aksannyi]

In some parties up to the mid-40's, I fully believe that MNKs can tank. They have tons of HP and pretty damn good defense.

I really only believe that PLD and NIN are tanks at higher levels though, you just can't put a WAR in a bloodtanking situation without a backup tank tagging along with him, no matter what he subs. Even the best WARs can't hold hate as well, and just don't have the VIT/DEF to hold up to an IT++ mob smacking them.

But yeah, in the Dunes, you can have almost anything tank, even RDM.

[Solymir]

Oh I completely agree that at lower levels there are many jobs that can tank as well as War, Pld, and Nin. When I think of labeling a job a Tank, I am considering all levels. Sure a Rdm/War can tank in the Dunes, but I will never think of a Rdm as a Tank.

[Armando]

RDM/WAR can blood tank past the Dunes with Phalanx, but that's neither here nor there.

If you define "tank job" as a job who is primarily invited to fill the tanking role in EXP parties and events, with all other possible roles being secondary, you'd have PLD and NIN.

The community has mostly pushed WAR towards a DD role. WARs can main tank at certain levels with the right support. However, they can always successfully be a secondary tank (i.e. hold the mob temporarily while taking little damage, and be able to do this regularly and frequently.) Two WAR/NINs can also duo tank very successfully.

[Kirsteena]

Rdm can tank at endgame pretty effectively, but not through normal xp.

[Ryoii/Nonomii]

People who enjoy tanking can make SAM/WAR, MNK/WAR, and WAR/MNK viable normal XP tanks long after PLD gets Flash and NIN gets Ni. However, they require lots of healing and a THF or /THF post Lv60, but they will be able to maintain hate while potentially doing more damage than anyone else in the party. Personally I've done a few THF burns while tanking as SAM/RNG, but I've given that up for SAM/WAR with polearm.

SAM/WAR
Damage Mitigation: Seigan+Third Eye (Easily >20%), Parry (~5%), Evasion (~5%)
Hate Generation: Provoke, Counters, Weaponskills, Warcry (Lv70+), Some +Enmity Gear

MNK/WAR
Damage Mitigation: Counter (10-19%), Guard, Evasion
Hate Generation: Provoke, Boost, Counters, Weaponskills, Warcry (Lv70+), Some +Enmity Gear

WAR/MNK (WAR/NIN post Lv74 and WAR/SAM post Lv70)
Damage Mitigation: Counter (10-12%), Parry, Evasion
Hate Generation: Provoke, Boost, Warcry, Counters, Weaponskills, Best +Enmity Gear

SAM/WAR will mitigate the most damage while MNK/WAR and WAR/MNK have more hate tools other than damage.

[Necropolis]

War I think was an intended tank from start, but like others have said it has been pushed to a DD role with the trends of TP burn and zerging mobs. War/whm was actually a popular tank job on kings until for plds were suited better for the job.

A lot of jobs of course can tank 74+. I've tanked as whm/nin in bone parties in KRT. Not the most effective parties, as there really arn't a lot of whms that have a melee setup and the macros to match. See a lot of variety in tanking rolls in various events, missions and KSNM/BCNMs as well.

Bard was an excellent tank till they nerf mazurka. They still can, but very difficult for them to hold hate.

Blu I find an excellent tank to around mid 40s. They can hold hate fairly well, and can reduce the damage they take as well. But again, not a lot of blus gear up for the role.

For jobs that were actually designed to tank, I'd say Pld and War. Nin I don't think was designed to tank, but once SE saw the trend they started giving them gears that would help them with that role. A lot of jobs like thf, sam, and mnk have traits and abilities that help them temporarily tank when they take hate. But I don't think they were designed to main tank.

[Olorin401]

10-75 is a very large window. Jobs that can tank at one part may not be able to at others.
10-20 almost every DD job can tank. SAM was never meant to be a tank.

Maybe, but with sub-NIN+Third Eye and the addition of Seigan it definitely can tank.

[Callisto]

I'm still waiting for a merit party that consists of me tanking as RDM/NIN, with a BRD and 4 /THF 2-handers. I'll show you who's a tank job!!

[Ziero]

Maybe, but with sub-NIN+Third Eye and the addition of Seigan it definitely can tank.

Seigan and /nin sub really do not work well together.

And people feel Sam was meant as a Tank due to it's AF which is high def with some enimity iirc, high Vit and HP, and Third Eye, while using WS to hold hate. I personally see it more as a sub tank though as main tanking with it only works to a certain lvl. And I say this as someone who has main tanked on Sam in his 30s against Goblins.

[Ryoii/Nonomii]

People aften also forget that SAM/MNK/WAR can all get a significant amount of +enmity. When I was tanking as SAM/RNG, I used my AF feet (+5), Dorado Sushi (+3), High Breath Mantle (+5), and 2 x Eris' Earring (+2) for a total of +17 enmity. Add that to a 600+ DMG WS at the start of fights and another 400 DMG TA+WS from thief, and and you can tank really well.

[Olorin401]

I'm still waiting for a merit party that consists of me tanking as RDM/NIN, with a BRD and 4 /THF 2-handers. I'll show you who's a tank job!!

Let's go damnit! Tonight! You don't need a friggin paladin in a TP burn party anyways!