You just finished leading a group of new players through a Duty Finder dungeon you know like the back of your hand.
Before each boss, you paused to debrief your team on what to expect and when, and thanks to you, your party made it through with minimal hiccups.
No sweat, just another day in the life of a tank.
Whether you’re a career tank & play tank jobs exclusively, or you’re looking to quickly finish your roulettes for the day, stepping into the role of a FFXIV meat-shield comes with a whole heft of responsibility.
For some, this is a daunting assignment.
For a true tank-at-heart, it’s a thrilling undertaking.
Square Enix is well aware of the aversion players have for taking on the leadership and fight-savviness required for a smooth run.
So to sweeten the pot, and to incentivize those of us less inclined to be digital punching bags, Square offers a two-tiered collection of wild animal-themed mounts to awaken your inner meat-sponge.
There’s eight mounts total, with each animal corresponding to each tank:
The first tier is named ‘War,’ and the upgraded armor-clad tier is named ‘Battle.’
Since the Battle mounts are snazzier than their War counterparts (and harder to get), I’m keeping things fair by first comparing the War mounts, and then ranking the Battle mounts.
It’s a clash of bestial barbarity befitting bloodthirsty brutes. So join me as we rank all the tank mounts in FFXIV!
I really wanted to like War Tiger. Gunbreaker is, after all, the newest tank in FFXIV.
So you’d think it would look a little more… updated? than the others.
While War Tiger has a pleasing color palette, and one of those cat faces that manages to be simultaneously angry and adorable, and that signature sabertooth grill, it’s the tail that puts this feline at the back of the pack.
To put it bluntly (pun intended), the tail’s in an uncanny valley of lengthy proportion to the rest of its body – not quite as stubby as a real sabertooth’s, but not quite long enough either.
Brand-new sentence alert: I would’ve liked more commitment to stumpiness.
How to get: The War Tiger Horn is acquired by attaining the Tank You, Gunbreaker II Achievement (Complete any combination of 200 dungeons (lvl 61+), Extreme Trials (lvl 61+), Unreal trials, the 50/60/70 Duty Roulette Dungeons, or Duty Roulette Leveling duties. Tip: roulettes only count once per day as part of the daily reward).
From afar, it might as well look like just another bear.
The red eyes, red fur (especially on the neck), and the battle scar across its face befit the Warrior you’ll need to take into duties to tame it.
Of all the tank mounts, this is the one that looks like it’s seen a fight.
Bears in FFXIV have an odd proportion to them.
They tend to be bottom-heavy, and since War Bear is essentially a reskin of any bear you’d find in the overworld, it suffers from the same problem:
Too much junk in the trunk.
How to get: The War Bear Horn is acquired by attaining the But Somebody’s Gotta Do It (Warrior) Achievement (Complete 200 high-level, full-party duties as Warrior. Any combination of Extreme Trials, Normal/Savage raids will do).
It has a beautiful red and black color scheme to match Dark Knight, and its tail and huge whiskers (which I’ve always thought look like weapons themselves) stream behind it in waves.
What sets War Panther apart for me is that the inspired beast is unique to Final Fantasy – specifically the Coeurl.
Coeurls have been around since as far back as Final Fantasy II.
They resemble panthers or leopards, have overly-long whiskers, and use a move called Blaster which paralyzes opponents.
It wouldn’t be fair to the other mounts, but I would love to see an aesthetic mount action for Blaster.
How to get: The Panther Bell is acquired the same way as the War Bear/Lion Horn, having completed the achievement as Dark Knight.
You might be thinking, “But you ranked War Panther best among the War mounts, what happened?!”
The answer lies in how they’re upgraded.
Essentially, the Battle mounts are the War mounts, but with sleek armor.
Now all of them look like they’re ready for a skirmish.
While Battle Panther is undoubtedly superior to War Panther, compared to the other “Battle” mounts, the armor itself is underwhelming.
The color is similar enough to the hide that if you weren’t paying attention, you couldn’t tell if someone was passing by on War or Battle Panther.
It’s a fresh look for sure.
Just not different enough from the base model, and not distinct enough compared to the other Battle mounts.
How to get: The Battle Panther Bell is acquired the same way as the War Tiger Horn, except the achievement is called Tank You, Dark Knight III – and you now have to do a combination of 300 (!!!) trials/duties as Dark Knight.
All the distinguished, high-fantasy, lionesque features are elevated with the armor design and placement.
It’s also the only armor that incorporates a fabric element.
The thing that separates Battle Lion from the other mounts is (true to Paladin’s aesthetic) that the armor has more of a defensive function than an offensive one.
Battle Panther’s armor is minimal so it can move swiftly around.
And the other two, as we’ll see, have sharp menacing edges.
Battle Lion’s armor invites you to try and put a dent in it. Even the mane is armored!
How to get: The Battle Lion Horn is acquired the same way as the Battle Panther Bell, except the achievement (Tank You, Paladin III) must be completed as Paladin.
Battle Bear looks like it can cause an obscene amount of destruction.
Imagine it running through a battlefield, mowing down everything in its path.
Like Battle Lion, Battle Bear shines as a fitting mount to its corresponding tank, Warrior.
The metal is a lovely faded dark steel, and the red eyes are still there. You can even catch a glimpse of War Bear’s red fur underneath.
Plus it even has these cute, ahem, I mean, vicious claw gauntlets.
The best part is the shape of the armor – it works to even out the odd proportions of War Bear I mentioned earlier, especially the huge spike jutting out between its shoulder blades.
How to get: The Battle Bear Horn is acquired the same way as all the Battle mounts, except the achievement is called Tank You, Warrior III and must be completed as Warrior.
Nearly everything I didn’t enjoy about War Tiger has been addressed (and more) in Battle Tiger.
To start, Battle Tiger has the most detailed, updated armor out of all the Battle mounts (with Battle Lion coming in a close second). This speaks to the fact that Gunbreaker is the newest tank in FFXIV.
The teeth have their own armored rings!
And even the horn (a double-tiered sword that resembles a gunblade) evens out the proportion of the teeth.
And lastly, the tail. It’s no longer that odd length.
There seems to be a commitment at last – they went with making the tail longer with a spinal-looking armor, and that alone is the best part for me.
How to get: The Battle Tiger Horn is acquired the same way as all the Battle mounts, except the achievement is called Tank You, Gunbreaker III and must be completed as Gunbreaker.
Max has been playing MMORPGs since he was a preteen. He's quite keen on the Final Fantasy and World of Warcraft franchises, mostly playing DPS classes because, well, tanking and healing is a ton of responsibility. Max took his love of all things Japan to a year-long study abroad program, giving him a front row seat to his favorite things. You could say it was... quite the fandom spot for him (*^-^*);;
