Final Fantasy XIV has a good variety of jobs to play for each role and when it comes to tank options, Warrior stands out as a simple but useful job.
Keeping the enemy’s attention and surviving their deadly attacks is the tank’s duty and in FFXIV is no different. However, each of the tank jobs has specific tools to deal with these situations and help the party, from Paladin’s Clemency to Warrior’s Shake it Off.
Warrior differentiates itself from the other tank jobs by having a simple and straightforward kit. At the same time, it has so much potential in terms of helping the party that you can end up saving everyone from a disastrous situation.
How to unlock the Warrior job in Final Fantasy XIV
Since Warrior is one of the beginning jobs new players can choose from, you must first unlock it after meeting its requirements. First, you must have the Marauder class at level 30. Then, you need to go to Limsa Lominsa Upper Decks at X: 11.2 Y: 6.1 and talk to Wyrnzoen, an NPC who gives you the Pride and Duty (Will Take You from the Mountain) quest. Once it’s completed, you receive the Soul of the Warrior crystal to equip.
An introduction to Warrior in Final Fantasy XIV
If you’re interested in starting to play as a tank but you’re not experienced with the role, Warrior is the best job for you. At the same time, seasoned players who are used to dealing with fierce bosses throwing deadly attacks at them can also enjoy playing this job. But to begin your journey as a Warrior, you need to have a good comprehension of the job’s basic concepts and skills.
The bread and butter of a tank are to always keep your tank stance on. For the Warrior, this means using Deliverance. This stance helps you keep the aggro of enemies when tanking a dungeon or raid. On the other hand, in the situation of a full party, you must only turn Deliverance on if you’re the main tank.
Although it’s fairly easy to keep the aggro when using the tank stance, you want to be always hitting enemies either with your single-target combo or area-of-effect combo. In case you lose aggro, you can always use Provoke to quickly recuperate it.
How to use the Beast Gauge
Once you’ve reached level 35, you have access to the Beast Gauge. This is a core mechanic that allows you to use specific skills by spending Beast Gauge points. Because these abilities are quite powerful, part of your job as a Warrior is to fill the gauge up as the fight goes on.
By using Maim, Storm’s Path, Storm’s Eye, and Mythril Tempest, the Beast Gauge increases. Each skill gives you a different amount of gauge points, but you can only hold 100. If you have 90 points and use Storm’s Path which gives you 20, you will only increase by 10 points. So, a good habit is to refrain from completing your combo and use one of the skills that require gauge points instead.
Level 90 Warrior skill rotation and opener
In general, Warrior is a simple job to work with when it comes to skill rotation and openers. While there are variations of the latter aimed at certain situations, there is a basic opener that you can go with when playing at level 90. Keep in mind that you might need to change it in case you’re running older content.
Image via Fanbyte
The following list presents the opener for the level 90 Warrior.
- Tomahawk
- Infuriate
- Heavy Swing
- Maim
- Pot
- Storm’s Eye
- Inner Release
- Inner Chaos
- Upheaval
- Onslaught
- Primal Rend
- Infuriate
- Inner Chaos
- Onslaught
- Fell Cleave
- Onslaught
- Fell Cleave
- Fell Cleave
- Heavy Swing
- Maim
- Storm’s Path
- Fell Cleave
- Infuriate
- Inner Chaos
Once you have finished this opener, you need to go back to the general rotation. Warrior has two basic combos that must always be used, one for single-target scenarios and the other for group damage.
- Single Target: Heavy Swing + Maim + Storm’s Eye/Storm’s Path.
- AoE: Overpower + Mythril Tempest.
However, besides these combos, Warrior’s rotation works based on prioritizing certain skills depending on the scenario.
Your top priority is to keep using the Heavy Swing > Maim > Storm’s Eye/Storm’s Path combo. Since using other skills between the combo won’t break it, there is little to worry about. It’s, however, fundamental that you keep in mind the explanation given in the previous section about the Beast Gauge and refrain from wasting points.
Another decision you must make as a fight goes on is when to use Storm’s Eye versus Storm’s Path. The first skill is extremely important because it gives you a buff called Surging Tempest which increases the damage you deal by 10 percent. This buff lasts for 30 seconds but it can be extended up to 60 seconds. Moreover, Storm’s Eye increases Beast Gauge by 10. On the other hand, the second skill recovers your HP with a healing potency of 250 and increases Beast Gauge by 20. So, when deciding which of them you must use, you should check if you need to refresh Surging Tempest. To sustain the uptime of this buff’s effect, it should be refreshed when it’s lower than 10 seconds. Otherwise, you should always use Storm’s Path since it’s more efficient when it comes to increasing the Beast Gauge.
Your third priority is to keep using oGCDs to not waste opportunities to deal damage. You must avoid keeping all the stacks of Onslaught and Infuriate all the time. Also, try to keep Inner Release and Upheaval on cooldown. By using these skills at the right moment, you will have them back to be used inside the burst windows.
For the level 90 Warriors looking for their specific rotation, check out the Warrior rotation guide.
Warrior Defensive Cooldowns and when to use them
Defensive cooldowns are a big part of this job kit and properly using them is fundamental if you want to play your role as a tank well. Besides having solid defensive skills that can mitigate a lot of damage, Warrior also stands out compared to the other tank jobs because of its healing capacity. By knowing when to use them, you increase the chances of you and all party members staying alive during a fight.
First, if you’re a beginner, it’s important to internalize that you don’t need to pop all of your defensive cooldowns at the same time. As a Warrior, you have access to Vengeance, Rampart, Reprisal, and Shake it Off to mitigate damage. And like all the other tank jobs, you also have a skill that prevents you from dying, which is Holmgang.
On the other hand, Warrior is a job that follows the philosophy that healing is as defensive as a shield. In the job’s kit, you can find Thrill of Battle, Equilibrium, Nascent Flash, Bloodwhetting, and Shake it Off which can heal to some extent. Nascent Flash and Shake it Off will also heal other party members, allowing you to help healers in daunting situations or when massive damage is about to hit the whole party.
Although figuring out what is the best moment to use one of these skills is situational since it depends on the fight, there are a few basic rules you should follow as you play Warrior. Many of these abilities take a lot of time to get back, for example, Vengeance has 120 seconds of cooldown, so plan when you’re using each of your defensive skills. Otherwise, you might find yourself without one to use when the boss casts a tank buster.
When tanking a dungeon, you can take the most out of your healing cooldowns and one of the basic defensive ones. If you are doing wall-to-wall pulls with bigger groups of enemies, you don’t need to worry. Use Bloodwhetting and Rampart, for example, and you will never die.
Now, sometimes, because people know they become “immortal” when using Holmgang, they use it as an emergency button. It’s okay to do so, but it’s important to communicate with your healers whenever you’re using it. Even though this skill prevents you from dying, it does not mitigate damage, which might lead to a situation where you have one HP when the ability’s effect wears off. Sure, as a Warrior, you have healing skills, but you can’t top yourself off as quickly as healers do. At the same time, you don’t have to save Holmgang for emergencies only. This skill can be quite effective in end-game content.
Warrior food, pots, and gear – current for Patch 6.5
When preparing to face more difficult fights in FFXIV, using skills correctly might not be enough. Currently, as a Warrior, the most important stats in order of importance are Critical Hit, Direct Hit, and then Determination.
The Best-in-Slot for Warrior, as described in Etro.gg, is composed of pieces of the Ascension set. The only method to get them is by earning the books and loot rewarded when you complete Pandaemonium: Anabaseios Savage. But the Diadochos set, which can be crafted or bought at the Market Board, is more than enough to run end-game content. And, when it comes to consumables, you should go for the Grade 8 Tincture of Strength for your pot and the Baked Eggplant food, which increases Critical Hit, Determination, and Vitality.
