Guide to Off-Job Tanking by Aiyana

Aiyana's Guide to off Job Tanking

I have said for years that almost any job can tank wih proper gear and a knowledgeable player. So with the precived lack of tank crisis I decided to put my money where my mouth is and write a guide for off job tanking. So if your open minded or just plain desperate let granny Aiyana tell you how to solve your tanking woes.

Warning

If your a power gamer this guide will offend you

Table of Contents

1.0 General Intro

2.0 Tankable Jobs Overview

2.1 Warrior

2.2 Red Mage

2.3 Monk

2.4 Dragoon

2.5 Samurai

2.6 Bard

2.7 Thief

2.8 Dark Knight

2.9 Blue Mage

2.10 Puppet Master

2.11 Corsair

2.12 White Mage

3.0 General Tank Tatics

3.1 Food

3.2 Gear

3.3 Mindset

3.4 Basics

4.0 How To Tank Specific Jobs

4.1 Warrior

4.2 Red Mage

4.3 Monk

4.4 Dragoon

4.5 Samurai

4.6 Bard

4.7 Thief

4.8 Dark Knight

4.9 Blue Mage

4.10 Puppet Master

4.11 Corsair

4.12 White Mage

5.0 Party Support Guide

5.1 Teamwork

5.2 Mindset

5.3 Tatics

1.0 General Info

First general bit of info that should be mentioned is that with the possible exceptions of War/Rdm/Mnk your not gonna be getting 10k+ exp a hr and chaining into the double digits with these jobs. And I am not saying these jobs are TANKS, but they are capable of doing the job. All these jobs should be able to net 3-5k exp a hr with a good party backing them up, BUT thats the key only the first 3 can tank without party support all the other have to have help or theres gonna be a lot of death.

This guide is not gonna include Pal or Nin as there are plenty of tanking guides out there, and since I have little to no experience tanking with Cor/Blu/Pup I will only touch on them , as for the other jobs I have personable tanked them so this is not a theory guide but one of experience.

Also please note that this guide is for the more traditional single tank parties and not for parties playing hate ping-pong.

2.0 Tankable Jobs Overview

This part of the guide will use the following format

Tank Name - Name of the job and any basic info needed

Job Abilities useful for tanking - Any abilities that can be used for tanking and how to use them

Other useful traits for tanking - Will cover everything from equipment to spells that are native to the job that can help tanking

Sub-Jobs - Will cover subs that are useful for tanking and explain why using the same format as the main job

2.1 Warrior

I will not get into the debate as to if this job is a tank job or not but a well equiped War can out tank any other job hands down, yes they require alot of healing but then thats the point of having healers. Fact is that a good War can get and keep hate even better then Pals making is so the healers not only have to heal only a single person but that the DD's can unleash more then if they had a Pal or Nin.

Abilities -

Provoke - Pretty much a no brainer on the usefullness scale but it bares mentioning that many new to tanking do not relise that you should be spamming this ability unless your playing hate ping-pong. Spam Spam and more Spam, the only time you should not spam this when your the sole tank is if the mobs about to die and your puller is fast enuff that its not gonna cycle by the time the next mob arrives.

Berserk - Probally the must under looked tank power since most healers scream bloody murder at the extra damage the tank takes but the hate generated far out weights this disadvantage unless your taking on IT's or have poor healing in the party.

Defender - Should only be used in conditions that you would not use berserk as the loss of damage will but a big dent in your hate.

Aggressor - Normally a spam ability unless the evasion loss will strain the healing of the party but still great for keeping the hate.

Other useful -

Gear plain and simple is the main reason this job can tank so easy, one does need to remember that there is a big difference between tank gear and DD gear.

Subjobs -

Monk -Despite the powergamer menality and the trend for lazy healers this is by far the best sub for tanking War, with boost being a mini provoke that goes off in half the time that alone makes it so but add focus, chakra ,counter and subtle blow and this combo truely shines. A War/Mnk is the best job for getting hate and keeping hate while surving in the game so far. Some jobs can generate more hate faster but those will die quickly unlike this job combo.

White Mage - Not the best sub but does bear mentioning as the mini-palidin concept does work "IF" you treat it as a Pal IE Refresh and breaks to restore mp really only useful if your party lacks healing or the player tanking does not have anything else lvled to sub.

Ninja - In my opion by far the worse sub for a warrior tank. For one its a one trick pony with blink being the only useful ability it brings to tanking. The extra time taken to cast the elemental wheel or blink itself all but counters the benifit of dual wield. Still a good player can make it work but really only useful if you have a partner to voke the mobs off you when you need to recast. Main issue is that without a voke partner blink will be down often and you are limited in the mobs you can fight since many mobs can blow through blink fast.

2.2 Red Mage

Of all the tank cabable jobs this one is my baby. Just after NA release I tanked Rdm until 32 when the, at the time , lack of armor wall hit. I am not gonna beat the very dead horse of melee Rdms, This guide is about TANKING not melee which are two very different horses

Abilites -

only on native ability of Rdm that lends to tanking and thats Fast cast. With decent timing a Rdm can get spells off between the mob strikes which makes the job of casting during combat easier.

Other useful -

long list here, depending on level a Rdm has tons of spells to tank with , Phalanx being the best. With stoneskin it greatly increases what a Rdm can take. Best combo if your at the right level is to use Phalanx + Stoneskin + Blink. Otherwise spell wise treat like a palidin. Antoher strong point is armor, Rdms get good to decent armor depending on the level , since SE has long fixed the armor gap that first existed you can easily tank Rdm all the way to 75 assuming you could find a willing party. Still the powergamers do have one very valid point there are far better things for a Rdm to do then tank. But if no tanks are avilable they make great tanks. Ideally there should be a 2nd Rdm doing the normal Rdm thing. But as long as the Rdm in question sticks to tanking and not trying to play normal Rdm styles its a great tank. This applies to the party as well don't expect a Rdm who is tanking to refresh you.

Subjobs -

Really only one for tanking and thats War.you have to have provoke to tank Rdm. You could argue at higher lvls that Nin would work best but for Rdm thats a solo sub not a tank sub as you can not spike hate fast enuff otherwise

2.3 Monk

Ironicly one of the most under estimated tank cabable jobs, Ironic in the fact that in the begining it was considered a great tank. Probally one of the biggest casualites of the powergamers since nothing has changed to make Mnk less of a tank.

Abilites -

Boost - By far the best tank ability outside of provoke half the hate of voke in half the time. and the added damage is just icing on the cake. A number one spam ability after voke itself.

Focus - Added Acc means more hits which means more hate Spam away

Chakra - Sekf healing is less hate for the healers, still should be kept in reserve for emergencies.

Subtle Blow - Less TP for the bad guys is always nice

Counter - More hits more hate

Other useful -

Not really much for here

Subjobs -

Like Rdm only one useful sub for tanking and thats war. While not quite as nasty as war/mnk, mnk/war is a job that can get and keep hate it just requires a healer thats awake and knows how to manage healing hate.

2.4 Dragoon

Again another job often asked to tank in the old days with good gear can be a decent tank if backed up properly

Abilites -

Call Wyvern - Yes this is useful to tanking without a Wyvern a dragoons ability to tank drops alot.

Jump - good for tanking as if done as the mob is coming in you can spike hate.

Other useful -

Gear mainly a well equiped Drg can actually take punishment, tanking as a Drg basicly means doing what a Drg does best but without concern about stealing aggro from the tank.

Subjobs -

Warrior - Not the only sub for a tanking Drg but still the best spam voke and jumps and you can keep hate nicely

White Mage - Mentioned because the healing breath can be useful but the lack of hate spiking makes this sub a distant second to War

2.5 Samurai

Another ancient tank long forgotten. This job relies on damage and TP to get and maintain hate but with decent gear and subs tank quite well.

Abilites -

Zanshin - Nice for tanking as it is for DDing

Hasso - Should keep this active at all times as again more damage, more hate

Meditate - Spamming weaponskills is a good way to build and keep hate.

Other useful -

Armor and weapons here, Sams get pretty good armor and can take damage well if equiped right. In this casr gear makes the tank

Subjobs -

Warrior - Not much you can do here you need provoke, now you know how palis feel having only one really useful subjob.

2.6 Bard

This is one of those "What are you thinking" tank jobs. Bards can tank Evens well and Tough's with trouble but they shine in chaining with healing songs running they can chain linger than many of the others in this guide.

Abilites -

None

Other useful -

Only the healing songs

Subjobs -

Warrior - the only one again with healing songs and spam voke you can chain E's and T's fast enuff to make this a decent if desperate tank.

2.7 Thief

This also bears mentioning as a well equiped Thf can Eva tank semi well. Really should stick to chaining E's

Abilites -

None

Other useful -

Gear, a Thf can equip for evasion tanking and chain decently with back up

Subjobs -

Again Warrior all the way need voke pretty bad if you gonna tank as Thf

2.8 Dark Knight

A royal pain to tank with since all you powers are aimed at killing but I;ve done it and it can be done but should be way on the bottom of the list

Abilites -

None per say but with the damage output a good Drk can do you can get and keep hate nicely

Other useful -

again none per say but drain is handy as well as your standard killing tools

Subjobs -

Warrior - again the only one but in this case using the defensive abilities of the sub are required. This job really requires a good team but can be done on E's and T's

2.9 Blue Mage

Next to no experience as a Blu tank but I have seen it done often and well. All I can truly say is yes they make good tanks and that the tatics used as a Rdm tank seem to apply nicely.

2.10 Puppet Master

Never seen it done or even attempted it but generally people say it can be done.

2.11 Corsair

In theory this can be done with good gear .... all 3 of the Al Zahbi jobs I plan on updating as I learn more about them.

2.12 White Mage

More a mention to say no I did not forget you can (poorly) tank a Whm simalar to a Rdm but the lack of decent armor and Phalanx will hurt badly. Pretty much if you so desperate to have a Whm tank then you are better off soling.

3.0 General Tank Tatics

3.1 Food

Food is the great equalizier here with Dorado Sushi you can gain +3 enmity which means every thing you do to make the mob mad will be that much better at generating hate. Barring the sushi any ACC food will help you hit more often which again means more hate.

3.2 Gear

Any hate generating gear will help hold hate, after that get the best Def you can with Acc coming in a close 3rd on the desirable list. Extra Hp is always nice as well but Hate and Def should be a priority when off job tanking

3.3 Mindset

Probally the most important aspect is mindset. You have to think tank to play tank, using normal tatics for job in question generally will hurt your ability to tank. And a important aspect of that is Tanks Die plain and simple. Its the tanks job to play rear guard if the party has to bail, its also your job to keep hate at all times even if you going into the red. The healers job is to keep you from going from red to black.

3.4 Basics

Basics are truely that, Spam voke and do everything you can to generate hate without dieing. As a sole tank in a party you have to keep the hate and trust that your healers will do thier jobs. By keeping the hate to yourself you give the DD's time to kill the mob and make the life of the healers easier.

The mindset that if a healer has to heal your doing something wrong is a recent and very false mindset generated by the power gamers. The first thing you got to do is ignore that mindset, think of it this way if healers are not ment to heal why can they heal in the first place.

4.0 How to tank specific jobs

these are gonna be shorter entries then you would expect as many of the job use the basic tatics

4.1 Warrior

Actual tatics are really the basics spam hate generation abilites and use hate generating items. This job should be able to tank anything IT+ and below

4.2 Red Mage

Casting spells between mob swings is the key. With good use of spells and self buffs. Can not tank most IT's but VT's and below are easy. Really gotta remember to play tank not mage. Cast spells like a pali and you will be good. Remember to refresh and or sit to regain MP.

4.3 Monk

Again about as basic as it gets, should be able to tank IT's well and maybe even IT+'s with a good party

4.4 Dragoon

VT's should be about as high as you go with a Drg tank, spam voke and do what a dragoon does best and you will be good

4.5 Samurai

I've tanked IT's as a Sam but not happily, really should stick to VT's and lower. Key to happy Sam tanking is fast chains and spamming WS's

4.6 Bard

E's and maybe VT's are the life blood of a Brd tank. Brds truely shine tanking when chaining E's as thier healing songs can keep the damage mostly at bay

4.7 Thief

Situational Eva tank. Avoid hard hitting mobs and stick to E's and you should be happy. Truely a "Until a better tank pops" job. but workable with Eva gear

4.8 Dark Knight

Be yourself and stick to VT's or lower and you will survie your tanking until a better tank pops

4.9 Blue Mage

Play like a Rdm tank and you should be good

4.10 Puppet Master

No Clue yet

4.11 Corsair

See Pup

4.12 White Mage

If your insane enuff to tank Whm play like a Rdm and prey.

5.0 Party Support Guide

5.1 Teamwork

Off job tanking can not happen with a good party. Everyone in the party needs to understand whats going on and relise that they are actually gonna have to play the game in order for this to work. Everyone needs to communicate and those that are not need to be replaced

5.2 Mindset

Biggest issue with off job tanking is mindset. For years the power gamers have beaten (falsely) into everyones heads that there is only one way to play and that its their way. First thing you gotta change about your thinking is that just because your not getting 10k+ per hr exp does not mean its not worth being in the party. Second is that fighting nothing but IT+++++'s is the best exp. A good party can chain T and VT's and kill them so fast that they will make far more exp then taking only IT+'s

The other thing to remember is that blink tanking is not the best or only way to tank. If you got a great Blink tank the cool go for it, but many if not most blink tanks are not great , and a not great blink tank is a dead blink tank that normally takes the party with them.

Third thing to note is that healers are supposed to heal and its not supposed to be easy. One reason many people hate healing is that its boring. Well its not boring if you are in a unperfect party with a tank that needs to be healed all the time.

Perfect partys are rare unless your in a static thats perfect. And perfect parties tend to be boring unless your into watching you exp bar move.

Basicly the reason only Nin and Pal are considered the only tanks is that the powergamer mindset says that only perfect parties are worth the time. So break out of that mindset and try something old, who knows you might , just might have fun again.

5.3 Tatics

1. Think before you pull

2. Communicate

3. Chain - Chaining VT's and even T's can net more exp then killing IT's

4. Plan - Go to a zone that your party can handle while still bringing in exp

5. Work together - biggest thing for this is to be a team.

6. Be open minded in a game with so many job combinations why are parties limited to about 10 job combos

7 Relise that for the most part some exp better then no exp.

8. Experiment if a perfect party can not be made try something new. In a old LS of mine we tried a PT of 6 War/Whms and had a blast not much exp but we gained more then we lost.

All in all FF11 is about variety not perfect parties try something old or even new and have fun.