[sp4rk]

Hey Im starting the game and have a group of friend who I will be playing. Our group will be comprised of 3 DD, 2 healers and me as the tank. I orginally wanted to be a DD but I read that as a War/Nin you can do both effectively due to the shadows and Dual Wield + Double Attack. Am I wrong in this thinking and if so do you guys know any classes that would allow me to tank well while also doing good damage?

Sry for the questions and thank you in advance!!

[sp4rk]

Any thoughts?

[Firewind]

Paladin and Ninja can both do decent levels of damage at later levels.

[Gyotsha]

war/nin can, although not very well, handle tanking until around the 30s or so. Ninja actually does the best damage for a tank, but you'll need a back-up tank until 37, you'll be weak until the later levels, and with 3 DDs it may be hard to hold the monsters attention

[sp4rk]

Yeah I thought War/Nin woudl be my best bet at doing some dmg and being able to tank as well. Any other thoughts?

[TheGrandMom]

Well if you want to do good dmg as a war then you need to use a Great Axe imo. I know my war kicks ass with a GA over dual wielding axes. Of course, my war is only 55 (and probably staying there too) so I can only vouch for those levels.

And FYI, you should check out the stickies...

TO ALL NEW WARs: How to be awesome

Guide: Melee stats for dummies.

[ShepardG]

War/Nin does pretty good dmg, but you may find you tax your Whm's MP to much.
War does get defender but compared to a pally, or a Nin, a Wars dmg mitigation can be somewhat lacking. It can definetly be done, but you'll definetly want to use a Gaxe, instead of duel wield, as TGM said.

The shadows you'll get from subbing /Nin will help a bit, but you'll be sheding alot of enmity because you'll be taking alot of damage. which means hate will bounce around quite a bit, even with a provoke every 30seconds.
Also the reason Nin/war works out as the games "2nd tank job" is because at 37 it gets another version of utsusemi, which it can cycle with :Ichi>:Ni>:Ichi. War dosen't get that until it hit's lvl 74.

[Malacite]

Read the WAR Stickies on the Job Q&A forums please. Everything you want to know is in there.

[Ameroth]

Originally Posted by sp4rk

Am I wrong in this thinking and if so do you guys know any classes that would allow me to tank well while also doing good damage?

WAR/NIN is a good DD class, but it will be severely lacking if you are the designated tank in your group. If you feel the need to go WAR/NIN, I would recommend maybe another one of you going WAR/NIN to bounce hate around. That would be effective. And while both PLD and NIN tank well, each has a few hurdles to overcome before becoming a proficient DD as well.

I'd recommend unlocking PLD and using that to be your party's tank. Also, you're making the same mistake most new players make: you've decided what class you will play and how you will play it before ever trying the game. Get the game, play it, and try out different classes. In FFXI, you may find a job is a little more tailored to what you want then the first job you had in mind.

[sp4rk]

Thanks for all the info and I will be sure to check out the stickies!!

[Armando]

WAR/NIN is not a solo tank. WAR/NIN can tank with another WAR/NIN, because when one WAR's shadows are down, the other takes over, minimizing the damage they take and also guaranteeing that recasting Utsusemi: Ichi is possible - it's almost impossible to recast Utsusemi: Ichi against a standard mob because the spell's casting time is as long as a mob's Delay between attacks, and even with Slow on the mob, latency will prevent you from timing it properly most of the time. The only way to do it reliably is by having both Slow AND Elegy on the mob, which requires a BRD.

In other words, unless at least one of the 3 DDs chooses to be a WAR/NIN as well, go either NIN or PLD to tank. That isn't to say that WAR isn't one of the sturdiest DDs in the game; it's better for a WAR to get hate than a DRK or a DRG, for example. Other DDs that can sub /NIN and have similar survivability as WAR, except for SAM, won't have Provoke, which makes them less apt for tanking for a short amount of time when setting up SATA with a THF, or when the main tank is in trouble. But in the long run, a WAR tanking alone won't be as efficient as a PLD or NIN, and that drags the party's EXP rate down.

[Ameroth]

It is worth mentioning that during early levels, 10-30ish, WAR is often called upon to be a tank in certain party setups. They are certainly not the most efficient, but WAR can withstand a decent beating at lower levels. You see WAR tanks in dune parties the most, though.

After 30, it's really never worth it to have a single WAR tank in a party for more than 1 or 2 mobs non-consecutively.

[Celeal]

The strength of WAR/NIN matures at level 74+. Ni + Ichi are just "enough" to cover gap when tanking against "weak" mobs.

Before level 37, bounce hate with other NIN or /NIN is great. It benefits the party when the WAR/NIN can nullify the mob's damage with shadows, which saves healer's + tank's resource. When shadows are not available, the mob should turn to others --- that is one of the usage of DD/NIN.

Nowadays the concept of main tanking in exp. seems vanish from level 55+ ... I am not joking~. A static party maybe different. For pick up parties, most melee bring their own tools to reduce damage taken. (once again, I am referring to level 55+ parties). The boundary between tank and melee DD is getting blur as level goes up.

Recently, the most successful tanks is exp. parties I have been are those who can inflict damage to mobs while taking minimal damage.

[sp4rk]

Originally Posted by Celeal

Recently, the most successful tanks is exp. parties I have been are those who can inflict damage to mobs while taking minimal damage.

With that being said, im guessing War/Nin would be my best bet?

[Armando]

No; that sort of thing only works in high levels and even then it won't work unless all the other DDs can sub NIN and bounce hate around frequently. PLD or NIN are your best bets. They can be offensive when needed but are still adequate tanks on their own. NIN would probably be more suited for you if you want something closer to a damage dealer; however, before 37, you're going to need a secondary tank if you go NIN.