When Final Fantasy 14: A Realm Reborn was first released last year, Gladiator and Paladin were the ideal tanks. However, after the first big patch, things changed. While Paladin is still the preferred tank for single, hard-hitting enemies (mobs), or when a mob needs to be silenced, Warrior has become the best tank for group battles as they have far more tools to hold hate on a group of enemies compared to a Paladin.
You won’t really begin tanking until you start running dungeons at level 15, but along the way you learn Heavy Swing (level 1), Foresight (level 2), Skull Sunder (level 4), Fracture (level 6), Bloodbath (level 8), Brutal Swing (level 10), and Overpower (level 12). The defensive techniques, Foresight, Brutal Swing, and Bloodbath are your main tanking cool down abilities throughout the game. Foresight increases your defense by 20 percent for 20 seconds, Bloodbath converts 25 percent of damage dealt into HP for 15 seconds, and Brutal Swing stuns an enemy. Foresight should be used at the start of any fight when it’s up, Bloodbath works very well when followed with Overpower on multiple enemies, or Fracture on a single target. Brutal Swing is ideal to stop an area of effect (AoE) attack.
On the offensive side, Heavy Swing is the start of your combos. This should be followed by Skull Sunder to grab a great deal of enmity. Overpower is also a very good tool for generating enmity. It hits all enemies within a frontal cone of the Marauder. It does use quite a bit of TP so be careful not to over use it. Fracture is a damage over time (DoT) attack that is good for additional damage, but shouldn’t be a priority if you’re having issues holding hate. A good rotation on a group of enemies is Overpower > Fracture > Heavy Swing > Skull Sunder > Overpower > Heavy Swing > Skull Sunder > Repeat Heavy Swing and Skull Sunder.
Once you reach level 15, you gain the Tomahawk skill that gives the Marauder a ranged attack. This is your primary tool for pulling an enemy or initiating an attack with a group of enemies (pulling one will pull all of them). As you make your way to level 30 and transition into a Warrior, you learn Maim (level 18), Berserk (level 22), Mercy Strike (level 26), and Butcher’s Block (level 30).
Maim combos after Heavy Swing (instead of Skull Sunder), and increases damage dealt by 20 percent for 12 seconds. This is good to use after one Heavy Swing > Skull Sunder combo to ensure that you have hate control. Your new rotation should look something like this: Tomahawk (to pull) > Overpower > Heavy Swing > Skull Sunder > Overpower > Heavy Swing > Maim > Heavy Swing > Skull Sunder. Mix in Fracture right after Tomahawk if you’re fighting one mob, or after Maim if you’re fighting multiple mobs (switch to another mob if the one you’re currently targeting is almost dead).
Berserk increases attack power by 50 percent for 15 seconds, but it comes at a cost. At the 15 second period, you will be unable to perform any weaponskills for 5 seconds. This effect can be removed by a healer if they’re quick, but in most cases you’ll have to eat the 5 second penalty. The key is to make sure that the penalty comes when you have fully established hate control. You don’t want to lose hate right when Berserk ends and the penalty kicks in.
Mercy Stroke is a very damaging attack, but it can only be used when the target’s HP is below 20 percent. In addition, if it’s the killing blow, up to 20 percent of your maximum HP will be restored. This is effective when fighting the first enemy in a group of enemies, but you shouldn’t focus on it too much. If you can land it, great, but don’t slow your rotation in an attempt to time Mercy Stroke as a killing blow. It’s not worth the potential hate loss.
Speaking of hate control, Butcher’s Block serves as the third hit in the Heavy Swing > Skull Sunder combo, and generates a great deal of enmity in addition to solid damage output. Once you have this skill, your basic rotation should change to Heavy Swing > Skull Sunder > Butcher’s Block. If you connect these three attacks, and an Overpower, it will be difficult for you to lose hate to most damage dealing (DPS) classes.
Once you transition into a Warrior, the climb to level 50 includes Defiance (level 30), Thrill of Battle (level 34), Inner Beast (level 35), Storm’s Path (level 38), Unchained (level 40), Holmgang (level 42), Steel Cyclone (level 45), Vengeance (level 46), Storm’s Eye (level 50), and Infuriate (level 50). Many of these skills are defensive and make it easier for a Warrior to stay alive when the healer is preoccupied. Thrill of Battle increases your maximum HP by 10 percent for 20 seconds, and restores that same amount of HP.
Storm’s Path combos after Maim and is basically an advanced version of Bloodbath, absorbing 50 percent of damage dealt as HP, and lowering the target’s damage output by 10 percent, all for a total of 20 seconds. Storm’s Eye also combos after Maim (for more damage than Storm’s Path), and decreases slashing resistance by 10 percent and HP recovery via healing magic by 50 percent for 15 seconds. This basically increases Warrior damage, which should only be used if you have full hate control. Vengeance reduces damage taken by 30 percent and delivers and attack every time you suffer damage for 15 seconds.
Holmgang is your last resort ability. When used, it draws the target closer to the Warrior and binds the target for 6 seconds. More importantly, most attacks will not reduce your HP below 1 for 6 seconds. This should be used when you are about to die, or if the healer goes down and you need to survive. Keep in mind, because this should be used when your HP is low, more than likely you will have 1 HP when this ability expires. The idea is that the healer gets your HP back up to good standing before the 6 second period ends.
As a Warrior, Defiance is your bread and butter that impacts many other abilities. When activated, it increases your maximum HP by 25 percent, as well as increasing enmity, but it lowers your damage dealt by 25 percent. It also increases HP recovery via healing magic by 20 percent. While Defiance is active, using certain abilities will grant the effect of Wrath. You can have up to five stacks of Wrath, with wach stack increasing critical hit rate by 2 percent. When you reach five stacks of Wrath you gain the effect of Infuriated. Like Shield and Sword Oath for Paladin, you only need to activate Defiance once and it remains active until you die or turn it off.
Aside from Infuriate, the remaining Warrior abilities can only be executed when Infuriated and remove all stacks of Wrath when used. This includes Inner Beast, Unchained, and Steel Cyclone. Inner Beast is a damaging attack that ignores the damage reduction of Defiance, absorbs damage as HP, and reduces damage taken by 20 percent. Unchained essentially removes the Defiance damage penalty for 20 seconds, while Steel Cyclone is an AoE attack that generates significant enmity while dishing out solid damage that ignores the Defiance damage penalty. It should be your main AoE hate tool (taking over for Overpower) once you’re under the effect of Wrath.
Infuriated instantly grants the effect of Infuriated without the need to build up stacks of Wrath. However, it has a one minute cool down period. In the meantime, using Storm’s Path, Vengeance, and Storm’s Eye all grant a stack of Wrath when used. Combining all of these tools and using Infuriate are the key to tanking as a Warrior.
