Most Likely Tank: Gunblade
Okay we’re back to the Gunblade. Now, I made the case earlier that it’s more likely that the Gunblade will be a DPS job, and I stand by that.
However, if the dev team is planning on adding a new tank job with Shadowbringers, and I do believe they are, there isn’t a ton of unused tank jobs to draw from that will fit in this expansion.
Gunblades have often been depicted as users of heavy Garlean-style armor, so it’s certainly possible that they would just add some enmity generating abilities into the mix of attacks I theorized earlier and call it a day.
Most people assumed that Dark Knight would be a DPS job until it wasn’t, so it’s very possible that we’re looking at a similar scenario with Gunblade as well.
Plausible Tank: Runefencer/Mystic Knight/Rune Knight
Whatever they want to call it, a job that infuses spells and elements, with sword attacks, and also possibly to create runes to deflect and defend, is certainly plausible.
Now if we’re sticking the Garlean theme, these effects could be created artificially, rather than through magic, but either way it’s one of the few major jobs, not yet seen in FFXIV, that could work as a tank.
If it seems outlandish, keep in mind that a version of the Mystic Knight, known as a Runefencer, appeared in Final Fantasy XI as a tank that focused on magic defense. It doesn’t need to be exactly like that for FFXIV, but it could be somewhat like that for sure.
Longshot Tank: Geomancer
Now when I talk about the Geomancer in this last spot, I don’t mean the bell-toting ones with a poofball hat from Final Fantasy XI and Final Fantasy V. I know that they can’t hold up in a fight all that well.
I’m talking about axe-wielding ones from Final Fantasy Tactics that are just as likely to chop you up as they are to cast a spell.
Geomancers, in a way, have been seen in Final Fantasy XIV through the Stormblood-era quests, which gives them a little bit of a better chance of being added.
However, it’s harder now that we’re moving beyond Stormblood. Like the Oracle/Mystic, the best chance to have included it in FFXIV is now passing.
However, Yoshida and the development do like to surprise fans. If everyone is thinking that they will zig, they’ll zag instead. Conventional wisdom would imply that if Geomancers ever see the light of day, they would be some kind of healer or DPS class.
So if Geomancers were added as a tank instead, they could use axes, medium armor, and “earth” based spells to defend from attacks and provide DPS support as well.
Usually though, the most obvious answer is the correct answer. It will probably be Gunblade, or something completely new.
Those are our picks, what are yours? Let us know in the comments below.
