[Top 3] FF14 Best Tanks in Final Fantasy XIV Shadowbringers

Best Tanks in Final Fantasy 14 2020
A Tank ready for battle


[Top 3] Tanks in Final Fantasy XIV Shadowbringers Expansion

If you want to make it through a dungeon alive, you’re going to need a tank. That’s not even a question, it’s an absolute and universal law.

Without someone to take the brunt of the attacks from enemies or to dish out heavy-handed attacks at the forefront of the group, the party just doesn’t stand a chance.

These are the top 3 tanks to be in the Shadowbringers expansion.

 

3. Warrior

If it's one thing a Warrior likes to do, it's bashing things in the head.

If you want to rush into battle feeling like a Viking of war, the Warrior class is the class to be! These guys are damage dealers made for tanking! Probably forged from iron and fire or something else as equally badass, they’re savage and beastly while lugging around weapons at least as heavy as a Miqo’te. 

  • ALL OF THE HEALTH. Warriors have the highest HP out of any other class or job in the game. So, you know, when everyone else takes damage, you’re not affected on the same level.
  • Cross class access is a thing with this guy. Specifically, from the Gladiator and Pugilist classes. Which is great because punching stuff with Haymaker makes you feel good.
  • You get to swing around a giant axe. Being a warrior is all about showing off your strength. What better way is there to do just that than by lugging around impossibly large battle axes or claymore-like swords?
  • Inner Release allows you to use Beast gauge actions with no cost and nullifies effects such as Stun, Sleep, Bind, Heavy as well as most knockback and draw-in effects. Warriors just REFUSE to go down!
  • You get to wear armor that looks beastly. Mostly because, you know, that’s the whole theme there. Still, it looks really flipping cool. 

 

2. Dark Knight

Dark Knights are formidable Tanks that just might call to your darker side.

The name really says it all. The Dark Knight comes clad in dark armor making you feel like the mysterious, stoic sibling to the other tanks that speaks with one word replies and is too cool to be bothered or something. Or maybe that’s just me. This class is all about bringing that inner turmoil to the table and letting your demons loose. It also just looks really cool. Cool armor is the best.

  • Dark Knight can literally manifest a doppelganger made of darkness to fight battles with you. It’s like being Noob, but in Final Fantasy.
  • The upgraded version is a lot more balanced than the Dark Knight of old. Gone are the days of cycling through the pattern of rushing into battle just to deplete your MP, constantly battle for life, and keep a grip on your dark side. Okay… Maybe not entirely, but MP costs are a lot lower now.
  • You can help protect your party members with The Blackest Night, not just yourself. This helps create a barrier worth 25% of the enemy’s maximum HP. 
  • The Darkside duration can stack up to 60 seconds of bonus damage.
  • The best part about the Dark Knight is it’s not all that complex despite the attack names, even players who aren’t quite tank-savvy can easily get the hang of them. (Case and point, even I can do it and I have a track record of getting the entire party killed every time I tank.)

 

1. Paladin

A valient knight that will hold the line no matter the cost.

If honor and dignity are your preferred look for a tank, the Paladin is going to be right up your alley. The Paladin is the top tank on the list, it offers damage, utility, and hella defense. As a proper tank should. This is your literal knight in shining armor and the whole class is built around the ability to protect comrades in battle.

  • The best name in defense is Paladin as they offer the most to a party. Easy to miss if you’re good at your job and actually keep enemies off your party. But the Paladin is literally the wall against the oncoming waves of slaughter. This guy takes the blows for you all day long.
  • This guy is a mitigation beast. With the new update in place, Sheltron has the ability to now block multiple attacks for over 6 seconds. And it only costs half your Oath gauge. 
  • This class is holier than any other tank! Literally. The Paladin role is basically like a holy knight. Complete with the ability to cast holy spells. 
  • It may not be a lot, but you can self-heal. Curing for just a couple hundred points may not SEEM like that big of a deal, but sometimes that’s all it takes to keep your healer’s head above water. It comes in handy when they need to focus on someone else for a moment, but you still need to keep your health from dropping too low before a heavily damaging attack.
  • Bashing things with your shield is fun. Sometimes an actual weapon just doesn’t make you feel as triumphant as smacking something in the face with a shield. 

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I'll fearlessly dive into any horror game, carry lanterns through desolate unlit basements or caverns, recount tales of exploration though zombie infested manors. But forever be a terrible shot.
Gamer Since: 1998
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