Hello everyone, Ponyo here!  This article is part of the “101” series, which gives an overview of each role or class in the game.  Please be aware that this is not an extensive how-to guide nor does it provide optimal skill rotations.  Instead, this is an introductory orientation to the role with some general hints and tips to get you started.

Tank Role

Gladiator and marauder are the two tanking classes in Final Fantasy XIV.  There is a tanking job, Dark Knight, which is available in the Heavensward section of the game.  As a tank, your job is to make all the enemies pay attention to you so that your damage-dealing friends can bring them down quickly and easily.  Additionally, since the enemies are focused on you, you’re in charge of positioning them in an appropriate way; for instance, don’t have the boss facing the group so that everyone gets hit with an AOE!  The most important statistic for gladiator is vitality, so put all your ability points into that stat and try to buy/pick weapons and armor that have a high vitality buff.  Tank limit breaks reduce damage taken by all party members and are really only used in very specific instances.

Cross-Role Skills

As of Stormblood, cross-class skills have been replaced with cross-role skills. This section will be updated soon!

And that’s it, an introduction to the tanking role!  Happy tanking! For class-specific information, here’s our gladiator guide and here’s our marauder guide.