FF14 Best Tanks Ranked (Dawntrail Update)

Updated:

13 Sep 2024

With the drop of another expansion, and the subsequent patches, the jobs in FFXIV have all gone through a myriad of changes. The level cap increase means new abilities and upgrades.

Some moves have been shuffled together, or had their stats adjusted to meet new standards and try to cut down button bloat on hotbars. Tanks having the important role to protect and attack means that they’ve a fair few standards to meet themselves.

I’ve gone through the changes of each class to evaluate their current quality. Analysing the pros and cons of each one, I've ranked the tanks by what I'd currently consider the best in game.

4. Paladin

Forget pokemon, this is the OG sword and shield

Paladins are a classic representative of what a tank should be. The only combat class to use the secondary arms slot, they wield both a sword and shield to keep the damage going out, not in. They are knights who serve the realm and protect the people.

Balancing the healing, melee, magic and protective abilities can be a difficult endeavour at later levels, but if it's the kind of gameplay style that clicks with you, it can also be a fun challenge. Also, having the shield means you’ve got some more unique glam options at your disposal.

Strengths:

Ability to heal both self and allies.
Mitigations that focus on blocking incoming damage, making life easier on your healers when overwhelmed.
Both melee and magic rotations.

Weaknesses:

Difficult to balance all of its features efficiently.
Focus on protecting others over oneself can be counterintuitive if your party is struggling.
Acquires their gap-closer ability very late compared to other tank jobs.

Suggested Best Build:

https://etro.gg/gearset/b700e2dc-1a26-4523-9edd-d2d186bf0db0

3. Dark Knight

I am the night, I am Bunnyman!

Dark Knight was a quick fan favourite when it was introduced in the Heavensward expansion, and it’s clear how much love was given to it. Gameplay changes to homogenise the tank jobs lost some of its original identity, but everything else surrounding it is what keeps players close.

It boasts one of the best written storylines in the entire game that tackles the pressures of being a hero. Plus, if you like a little edge then you’ll enjoy draping yourself in black and drawing upon the darkness of undeath.

Strengths:

Summon your ally Esteem to fight alongside you.
Invulnerability ability ‘Living Dead’ extends your chance to fight after death without need for healer intervention, freeing them up to help others.
Has the best mitigations against magic damage, with both personal and party-wide abilities.

Weaknesses:

Your best mitigation option, ‘The Blackest Night’, requires frequent use to match other tanks' sustainability, but it also costs a fair bit of mana.
Party-wide mitigation isn’t acquired until quite late, and is only useful for magic damage.
Recommended burst window can be hard to weave, especially when ping is not on your side.

Best in Slot Build:

https://etro.gg/gearset/b8cbf432-0728-4676-ac19-c5a4b0b25cd9

2. Gunbreaker

Got told off for breaking all the guns again

Gunbreakers wield one of the most iconic weapon types of the franchise; the gunblade. Its use of a well known and notable character like Squall Leonhart even led to his specific version being available as a Shadowbringers purchase reward.

So, it's no wonder this job ended up making its way into the game. In this universe, these bullet bearing swordsmen utilise an art passed down by royal guards of Ilsabard, then later adopted and adapted by Garleans. They’re swift and dangerous, never-ending in the onslaught of their sturdy resolve.

Strengths:

The powder gauge is filled via attacking, and the cartridges are then spent on unlocking rapid fire, high potency attack rotations for the best DPS potential in a tank.
Has two different attacks that give the enemy damage over time, one of which is partnered with a damage increase ability.
Has the most variety of mitigation options, and some are very frequently usable like ‘Aurora’ and ‘Heart of Corundum’.

Weaknesses:

Invulnerability dropping your health to one point can be stressful for healers in the wrong situation, or when activated by accident.
Long attack combos make manoeuvring bosses difficult in a fast paced scenario.
Focus on DPS means you’ll be more frequently needing to upkeep mitigation.

Suggested Best Build:

https://etro.gg/gearset/7d3e76b0-c2e2-42e1-8c85-5466a521633f

1. Warrior

Beauty is skin deep, and so is my axe

Warriors weren’t always considered the best tank job. Now, with just one change, they’ve become famous for being the stubborn, raging walls of steeled flesh they’ve always been under our noses.

Apparently, all it took was changing their AOE attacks from being cone based, to circular centred on the player like other tanks for people to give it more of a chance.

These beasts are presented with the personalities of rough and tough sailors. Fitting, as they’ll weather any storm, any foe, and they’ll either curse or howl with laughter at their demise.

Strengths:

Health is not only regained with instant abilities, but also passively while going about your usual attack rotations.
Invulnerability is acquired earlier than other tanks, and also has the added features of low cooldown, and holding the targeted enemy in place.
They have high burst windows thanks to regular rotation increasing damage output.

Weaknesses: