Working from the roster philosophy, I will be briefly covering how I plan to adapt each Tank job from Final Fantasy XIV into a fighting game character. In-depth discussions for individual characters will have their own articles, as for now, I'm writing relatively brief overviews for the roles. For each job, I will include a brief overview paragraph discussing its identity in the MMO and how I plan to adapt it, and then an organized list including the character representative, identity keywords, archetype, special moves, unique mechanics, moves tied to the unique button, limit breaks, and concerns I have regarding the designs.
Tank Role Identity
In the MMO, Tanks have a fairly consistent role identity, with each tank having variations on the same types of defensive skills. There's the shared role actions such as Rampart, Provoke, and Shirk, but there are also similar actions shared across tanks. Each tank has access to a brief but powerful mitigation tool on a short cooldown that has a variation that can be placed on allies, each has a raid-wide mitigation tool, and each has a powerful 30% damage reduction tool on a long 120s cooldown. The defensive abilities with the most variation are the tanks' invulnerability skills, with each preventing death in a different way and using a different cooldown.
Where tanks differ the most is in their offense. Offensively, the tanks are somewhat organized on two axes: Rigid vs Flexible and High APM vs Low APM. Paladin is rigid and low APM, focusing on maintaining strict DoT timings between physical and magical phases and having to plan its rotations for each individual encounter. On the opposite end of both spectrums is Dark Knight, which has incredibly busy burst windows, but doesn't have many timing restrictions to its rotation beyond aligning with raid buffs.
Since this is a 1v1 fighter, many of the defensive abilities won't see use, but I am aiming to include at least one defensive ability per job in order to give them a bit of a shared identity. Outside of that, none of the tanks will be particularly fast, aiming towards average to slower movement speed and aiming for more impactful, heavier hits.
Paladin
In the MMO, Paladin is unique among the tanks because it is the only tank job that doesn't build a resource over time for a strong burst window. Instead, Paladin alternates between physical and magical phases gated by its Fight or Flight and Requiescat buff cooldowns. This allows the Paladin to fight both up close and at range, even if it prefers to be in melee range for auto-attack uptime. The ability to operate at all ranges makes Paladin an excellent choice for an all-rounder character, and the job's status as the face of Endwalker as well as being fairly protagonist-coded double down on this aspect. As such, Paladin will serve as the baseline "Ryu" character that all others will be compared to.
Character Representative:
Warrior of Light, aka Derplander, the default protagonist of FFXIV and all-around hero. Chosen because Warrior of Light is a generically approachable protagonist character and cements Paladin's status as the "protagonist all-rounder."
Identity Keywords:
Controlled
Straightforward
Utilitarian
Stalwart
Archetype:
Shoto-esque, with many of the traditional tools of a shoto turned on their head or split into separate tools.
Special Moves:
Atonement, two-step attack, with the first hit being a strong anti-air and the second hit being quite delayable.
Intervene, a charging shield bash that functions like a tatsu, guardpointing through projectiles. May have a second, slow version that also guard points through mids.
Holy Sheltron, a catch counter that defends against melee attacks, can be held to increase duration. Low reward but starts on frame 1 and covers highs, mids, and lows, but not projectiles, throws, and unblockables.
Expiacion, a slow, plus on block pressure reset that builds.
Prominence, an air-only or air-okay special that involves leaping into the air and attacking in a circle around the Paladin.
Unique Mechanic:
Oath Gauge, a resource segmented into five bars built by landing melee attacks, particularly special moves, and spent by using magical attacks.
Unique Button Attacks:
Holy Spirit (air ok), used by pressing Unique and a direction. Projectile that instantly appears at a location corresponding to the pressed direction akin to a Seismo.
Holy Circle (possibly air ok), a large, delayed projectile that spawns above the Paladin's head. Used for okizeme and as preemptive space control.
Confiteor, an enormous, tracking projectile that spawns beneath the opponent. Uses all remaining Oath Gauge and grows larger, more damaging, gains more launch power, and more advantageous per stack.
Clemency, refills a single segment of Oath Gauge (can be held for more segments) and is used to force the opponent to approach.
Limit Breaks:
Blade of Faith/Truth/Valor (costs 1-3 bars): Large combo ender super that costs 1 segment of limit break per segment.
Requiescat (2 bars): Resource generation super that functions as a combo extender and pressure reset. Builds full stacks of Oath Gauge but does little damage itself.
Passage of Arms (3 bars): An enormous counter super that catches both melee attacks and projectiles and follows up with a highly damaging unblockable strike like Yukikaze.
Design Concerns:
This version of Paladin, while alternating between melee and magical phases, does it via resources rather than strict phases. It's not that faithful to the original mechanics, so may receive some pushback. In addition, it may have too many unique tools for a protagonist-type character, particularly in the space control department. With the lower freedom of movement compared to other anime-style FGs, the high degree of flexibility from Holy Spirit and Confiteor may prove too powerful as zoning tools for an all-rounder.
Warrior
Within the original game, Warrior forms the baseline for the other three tanks, focusing on building and spending a unique resource to create a powerful burst window. However, it does have a unique job fantasy to build around. Its primary fantasy is that of a berserker who draws attention with savage attacks and shrugs off blows through sheer toughness and rage. To match this, it has a simple kit revolving around slow-but-weighty attacks. In addition, it has a secondary fantasy as a tank that mitigates damage indirectly through healing or max HP increases to increase its bulk rather than typical barrier/percentage mitigation. Big and slow attacks alongside the high defense point towards Warrior being a big body character. Add its two bare-handed attacks, Orogeny and Upheaval, and the Warrior is an excellent basis for a big body grappler.
Character Representative:
Moenbryda. While Ardbert is a significantly more apt choice from a story relevance standpoint, he is a poor choice for representation as he shares the same face and build as the Warrior of Light. In addition, Moenbryda is one of the few major female Roegadyn characters and better emphasizes the big-body nature of the Warrior. An alternative could be one of the job mentors (Curious Gorge/Broken Mountain), Magnai, or Eynzahr, as they all fulfill the big body requirement.
Identity Keywords:
Fierce
Powerful
Smothering
Gorilla
Archetype:
Big Body Grappler. Has large, powerful attacks, an oppressive mixup/pressure game, and unique defensive tools but a rather slow and linear approach. Still has access to universal mobility tools, but they are not as effective in neutral. Has a stepdash instead of a normal run, making it excellent for pressure but difficult in neutral.
Special Moves:
Orogeny (air ok), a fast and powerful command throw that inflicts a chunk of damage and knocks the opponent down
Upheaval, an anti-air command throw that can start or end combos. Slower but less committal than air Orogeny.
Overpower, a decently fast (20-ish frames) but blockable fullscreen low that knocks down on hit but is quite punishable on whiff
Tomahawk (air only), a projectile that fires at a downward angle and propels Warrior backwards, used to vary air approach.
Onslaught, an armored tackle that is very unsafe on block but knocks down on hit
Unique Mechanic:
Beast Gauge, built by using Defiance and Skull Sunder and spent on other special moves. The gauge drains over time if not actively spent.
Unique Button Attacks:
Defiance (defiance), used by pressing and holding the Unique button. An armored stance that can be cancelled into Upheaval and Orogeny. Passively builds Beast Gauge but builds additional Beast Gauge when armoring attacks.
Skull Sunder, an OTG that can be cancelled into from Upheaval and Orogeny. Does little damage but restands the opponent and builds Beast Gauge. Gives consistent oki, but less frame advantage than a typical knockdown.
Fell Cleave, a slow, plus on block, vacuuming, multihit attack that deals considerable chip damage on block. Balanced by being decently easy to IB and costing a resource. Gives enough frame advantage to frame trap a mash but no gapless blockstring.
Inner Beast, a high damage launcher, anti-air, and combo extender.
Primal Rend (air only), an aimable, multihit, plus on block divekick that stalls air momentum. Gives similar frame advantage to Fell Cleave but beaten cleanly by well-timed anti-airs.
Limit Breaks:
Inner Chaos (1 bar): A single, high damage strike that launches the opponents high into the air. Invincible on startup but very punishable on block.
Holmgang (2 bars): A fast, lunging punch that applies a chain to the opponent and extends combos. For the next several seconds, the chain keeps the opponent from getting too far away from the Warrior. Has projectile invuln.
Primal Scream (3 bars): An enormous projectile that guard breaks. When activated, instantly fills the Beast Gauge which then drains constantly. While draining, all Beast Gauge specials can neither spend nor fill the gauge and the Warrior has constant super armor. Getting hit drains the armor, and when the meter fully drains, the Warrior knocks back nearby opponents and enters a lengthy recovery animation.
Design Concerns:
While balance is going to be a concern with any design, my greatest concern for Warrior is that building/spending Beast Gauge isn't interesting. With only two grounded spenders, one that's a strong pressure tool and one that's a strong combo tool, I am unsure whether there will be interesting enough decisions to be made with the gauge outside of management for combos and the mindgame of "playing chicken" with resources and the opponent.
Dark Knight
The first tank job introduced to the game after release, Dark Knight has had a rather tumultuous identity throughout the game's lifespan. It's kit has always been rather sporadic and chaotic, and in more recent years, has been lacking in a central or unifying mechanic beyond MP management. However, its aesthetic, past mechanics, and mechanics of Dark Knights in previous Final Fantasy titles give me enough to adapt to create a satisfying character. Overall, I'm aiming for a slow character who can rapidly swap between a controlled, deliberate gameplan and a chaotic, risky offense.
Character Representative:
Sidurgu. There's very few Dark Knights within FFXIV, and Sidurgu provides both a relatively rare race (male Au'Ra) and emphasizes the weight of the job.
Identity Keywords:
Weighty
Chaotic
Risk-Reward
HP-as-Resource
Archetype:
Big Body Brawler w/ Install. Has an abysmal run speed/run startup but powerful buttons to compensate. Swaps between a normal mode and Dark Arts mode, with the latter enhancing many of its attacks and base statistics but at the cost of the Dark Knight's health.
Special Moves:
Unmend (air ok), a rather standard fireball that has two followups: Plunge and Abyssal Drain. Has faster travel time in Darkside.
Plunge, a followup to Unmend where the Dark Knight quickly leaps towards the opponent and attacks them. Unsafe on block, knocks down on hit, launches on counterhit, can frame trap someone attempting to jump out of Abyssal Drain. Allows followups on normal hit in Darkside.
Abyssal Drain, a second projectile that can only be performed as a followup to Unmend. Has long startup, but has strong frame advantage on block. Heals the Dark Knight on both block and hit. Heals more HP in Darkside.
Salted Earth, a close range attack that does little initial damage but vacuums in opponents. Leaves a lingering surface that constantly damages the opponent and heals the Dark Knight. If performed again while the field is already active, instead performs Salt and Darkness, launching the opponent into air. Heals and drains more HP in Darkside. Salt and Darkness launches higher in Darkside.
Bloodspiller (air ok), a leaping multihit attack that can be used as a serviceable anti air, but is primarily used as a launcher in combos or as an overhead mixup. Unsafe on block, but can be spaced so that only the projectile hits, making it very plus but more easily interrupted. Darkside increases the size of the projectile portion, allowing for easier spacing.
Quietus, a plus on block pressure ender/reset that consists of two hits: a strike followed by a projectile. Becomes much more powerful in the corner, where the pushback from the projectile is less of a factor. Darkside causes the projectile portion to linger, giving it use in Okizeme.
Unique Mechanic:
Darkside. An install state that powers up each of Dark Knights special moves and increases movement speed but constantly drains the Dark Knight's HP. Can be cancelled into from normals to serve as a pressure reset. In addition, special moves performed with the Unique Button consume additional HP when used.
Unique Button Attacks:
Dark Arts (air ok), which activates or deactivates the Darkside state. Briefly stalls vertical and horizontal momentum in the air. Can be used as a cheeky pressure reset.
Flood of Shadow (air ok), a large projectile that covers a large portion of the screen. When used in the air, launches the Dark Knight back considerably. Can be charged, increasing damage, size, and frame advantage at the cost of increased startup and HP consumption.
Edge of Shadow, a fast melee attack with a second projectile hit. Can be charged, but rather than increasing overall attack startup, it delays and powers up the second projectile hit at the cost of increased HP consumption.
The Blackest Night, a shield around the Dark Knight that blocks projectiles. Can be charged to increase shield duration at the cost of longer startup and increased HP consumption.
Limit Breaks:
Shadowbringer (1 bar): An enormous, screen-filling projectile that consumes some HP but does massive damage. Can be charged to increase power at the cost of additional startup and HP. When fully charged, becomes unblockable.
Living Shadow (2 bars): Essentially Morrigan's Astral Vision. Creates a clone of the Dark Knight on the opposite side of the opponent that mirrors the Dark Knight's attacks. Massively improves Dark Knight's space control and pressure game, but the clone does not do significantly more damage in combos.
Eventide (3 bars): An incredibly powerful install state that starts with a large, plus on block, and invincible attack. Locks the Dark Knight into the Darkside state for the rest of the round, but improves the Darkside buffs of each attack significantly. In addition, all attacks restore at least some HP on hit and block, offsetting the HP drain from Darkside to a degree.
Design Concerns:
There's a couple unique concerns I have about Dark Knight beyond the balance concerns. The first is that the kit isn't terribly cohesive, with the risk/reward identity like GG's ABA not particularly meshing well with the big-and-slow identity akin to BB's Susano'o or Kagura. In addition, the design has such a heavy emphasis on snowballing in a game where many characters already have snowball mechanics that I am concerned whether it will be fun to fight against. Finally, I'm concerned that the rewards for the Dark Knight's risks will either be too low or too high to the point that the decision-making aspect of risk-reward becomes moot. Eventide is a particularly concerning move, as it has not only a high risk (being locked into Darkside), but also has an opportunity cost of 3 bars of Limit Break that could be spent on Living Shadow instead. The invincibility on startup should help offset this.
Gunbreaker
The fourth and newest tank job in the game, Gunbreaker leans the furthest away from the traditional tank identity and instead looks and functions more like a melee DPS job with its rigid, fast-paced rotation and constant weaving of oGCDs. Operating on consistent 30s intervals, the Gunbreaker's flow involves building and spending Cartridges in controlled intervals, cashing out on its Cartridge Combo on cooldown and pooling its other cartridges for its 60s No Mercy buff. In addition, it has unique extensions from its various Cartridge attacks in the form of Continuation, with these Continuation attacks being the primary source of the job's busy nature. As for its defensive kit, it's rather generalist, with nothing terribly notable, but the offense mechanics alone form a solid basis for a fighting game character.
Character Representative:
Thancred. He is the most story-relevant Gunbreaker and he helps sell Gunbreaker as the least tank-coded character among the tank jobs. His past experience as a Rogue also lends credence to the Gunbreaker's unique Cartridge mechanic.
Identity Keywords:
Fast-paced
Professional, but Flashy
Maneuverable
Explosive
Archetype:
Rushdown Generalist. While operating best at close range, Gunbreaker has a solid suite of neutral tools to get in, and has a variety of tools to pressure the opponent once in. Unlike the other two resource-based tanks, however, Gunbreaker has to be more mindful of its resources, with many different spenders competing for cartridges.
Special Moves:
Camouflage, a parry that defends against melee attacks and leads to a combo. Not frame 1 and you have to press different buttons to parry highs, mids, and lows. Meant to be a riskier but more rewarding defensive option compared to Paladin's Holy Sheltron.
Bow Shock (air ok), an anti-air and launcher that hits on both sides of Gunbreaker. Slow but has a very active hitbox. When used in the air, instead performs the attack downwards.
Rough Divide (air ok), a fast gap closer that's safe on block and covers a lot of ground, but doesn't have any evasive properties.
Lightning Shot, a fast, ground-travelling projectile that only reaches halfscreen. Used to poke and can be cartridge cancelled.
Unique Mechanic:
Cartridges and Cartridge Shot. Cartridges are a limited resource replenished using Reload and up to six can be stored at a time. These can be spent on either Cartridge Shot or on various special moves.
Unique Button Attacks:
Cartridge Shot (air ok), used by pressing a direction and the Unique button. Fires a cartridge blast in that direction and moves the Gunbreaker in the opposite direction. The movement is slight on the ground, but larger in the air. Both the cartridge blast and the movement has a hitbox. Any normal can be cancelled into Cartridge Shot on hit or block, and Cartridge Shot can cancel into itself.
Burst Strike > Hypervelocity, a two hit combo that consumes a cartridge to use. Burst strike is minus, but Hypervelocity can be significantly delayed to frame trap. However, if Hypervelocity is blocked, it is punishable on block. Burst Strike launches higher for combos, but Hypervelocity gives better okizeme as a combo ender.
Cartridge Combo (Gnashing Fang (Continuation) > Savage Claw (Continuation) > Wicked Talon (Continuation)), a rekka series with each base attack costing a cartridge to use. The base attacks can all be followed up by one of three Continuation attacks.
Fated Circle > Double Down (air only), an attack that hits in a circle around the Gunbreaker. Stalls air momentum, hits overhead, and launches on hit, but is punishable on block. Can be followed up with Double Down by spending an additional cartridge to attempt to counter a punish attempt, but is extremely punishable on block.
Reload, generates cartridges. Can be held to increase cartridges generated. Reloading one cartridge is fast enough to use to ambiguously extend pressure.
Limit Breaks:
Relentless Rush (1 bar): Reversal super that hits on all sides of the Gunbreaker but has poor vertical reach. Allows the Gunbreaker to steer it while active and can have its duration extended by spending cartridges.
No Mercy (2 bars): Quickly reloads the Gunbreaker's cartridge gauge with stronger, enhanced cartridges. These increase the damage, size, and frame advantage of each cartridge attack. Is fast enough to be used as a pressure reset.
Lionheart (3 bars): A Deadly Rave style combo super. The finale involves spending all cartridges for an explosive finisher. Is designed as one of the highest damaging supers in the game and does noticeable chip, but has short range and little utility.
Design Concerns:
This is the job so far where I am most concerned about giving it too many tools. Both the toolkit as well as individual tools are incredibly open-ended and could make a character that is simply too strong in too many areas. Carefully examining how effectively it can gain and spend its cartridges is critical to balancing this job in particular. In addition, I am worried that the movement from Cartridge Shot may have too much overlap with other movement-oriented unique abilities. However, I do think the design is very effective at communicating a fast-paced, aggressive and I am quite satisfied with it in a vacuum.
Concluding Thoughts
These designs should serve as a solid basis for upper-middle and heavyweight characters. As I cannot really test them in an actual game environment, I cannot tell how they will perform against the characters who emphasize space control such as the various Magic DPS jobs. In addition, the job designs have given me more thought on system mechanics such as elemental properties, reworking movement, and meter gain. I will discuss these thoughts after I have done overviews on each job category.
Next time, I'll be covering the most populated role: Melee DPS. This category includes Dragoon, Monk, Samurai, Ninja, and Reaper.
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