Tank Character Build

[T.G. Cid]

I'm thinking about replaying FFT, and I'd like to try out some new character builds for my main character (Ramza? Am I remembering that right?). I'd like to make him into some sort of physical tank who can draw all the fire away from other team members. Does anyone have any recommendations on abilities/items/tactics? And most importantly, what are good job classes to level as to get high HP/PA stats without sacrificing speed? I don't want to take the time to level down and back up in order to get good stats.

[Free Spirit]

Don't worry about stats while levelling in a specific job. They don't matter. Regardless of how you level your character, the end result will be more or less the same. The differences in base stats only really become relevant when you level down and up many, many times. You could go through the entire game with one character a Monk and one a Wizard, and then switch them at level 99 and see very little difference.

The best "tank" type character I can think of would be a female Monk with Equip Armor. Assuming you have the best armor and helmet you can at the time, that Monk will have a ridiculous amount of HP, probably close to 999 if you give them stuff like the Maximillian and Grand Helmet. If you want to sacrifice the HP gained from the helmet, you can equip a Ribbon to make them immune to all status ailments.

Give them a Chantage as an accessory and they will have permanent Reraise on and Regen on. Couple this with Move-HP up, and they will never die, and if they do, will instantly revive on their next turn, every time. If you want a tank that can really move, Move+3 or Teleport might be better.

Blade Grasp as a counter ability with 97 Brave would make them almost untouchable to most attacks. If you're looking for a more offensive tank, the Monk's Counter is always a solid choice.

Personally, Dragoner Reis fits all this quite nicely, and Ramza I've always used as a uber-mage type character, not physical. Reis has insane base HP, and inherent Monkish abilities as a Dragoner. Give her everything I said above, and she'll be unstoppable as a 999 HP tank that is immune to all status ailments(she will have 999 HP with Equip Armor even without a good helmet), has inherent counter(which means you can have Blade Grasp and Counter) and bare fisted abilities(when she doesn't have a weapon or shield equipped as a Dragoner, she attacks twice with the same strength as a Monk), and can teleport and gain huge HP per turn, as well as auto-revive on her next turn whenever she does die.

Ramza will never be able to take advantage of the Ribbon or Chantage, or all the extra base HP the Dragoner class offers, so he will never be as good a tank as a female would, and definitely not as good as Reis. If you'r dead set on using him, though, just put the Thief Hat in for a Helmet and Bracer for the accessory, and he'll have a very nice boost in Speed and PA.

[Enkidoh]

Technically, if you're looking for a FFXI-style tank character (or decoy unit), then any character really will fit the bill, assuming they have low HP, as the enemy will normally attack the character with the lowest HP first which is closest to it.

Therefore, equip a character with low HP but high defense with powerful armour (a generic will do), and have them head as close to the enemy as possible, taking the brunt of the enemy's attacks. A Samurai would probably suit this role, as they have pretty low HP, but high defense owing to the fact they can equip armour. Wizard with Equip Armour would also probably be a good choice.

It would be wise if equipping a character as a decoy unit or Tank though to have someone with the Chemist's Item ability nearby ready to use a Phoenix Down if they happen to be KO'd by the enemy, as things can quickly escalate out of control before you'll even know what's happening.

[Free Spirit]

There is no Defense stat in Tactics, though. HP is basically the only real defensive stat you have. Giving armor to a mage will simply bump his HP up into the Knight range, it won't make him more resistant to physical attacks.

Also, I believe the AI in Tactics simply goes after whoever it can do the most damage to and is closest, not who has the lowest HP(unless their HP is low enough that they can be killed, then that takes precedence).

And Auto-Regen and Auto-revive, along with protection against all status ailments, would make using items on that person rather obsolete.

[Enkidoh]

Auto-Raise/Re-Raise was good, but I actually found Regnerator/Auto-Regen to be rather useless in keeping characters alive in FFT. Auto-Potion was far more versatile, as long as there were only X-Potions kept in stock in your inventory.

In my experience in FFT, HP generally is a deciding factor as far as enemy AI is concerned, as the enemy will normally go for the closest unit they can get to that they can wipe out in the shortest time possible. It is a major factor, but only one factor out of many.

But you're right about the Defense stat. It's been ages since I last played FFT so I just kind of forgot about it. Thanks for pointing that out FS.

[T.G. Cid]

I was unaware that Dragoner had innate Counter too. I knew about the innate Two Swords, but now the prospect of having Blade Grasp and Counter on the same character is tempting me.

The main reason I wanted Ramza as a tank was because I made him an uber-mage last time... (Wizard class and MA boosting items+Faith Rod+Math Skill+Blade Grasp) He came so close to ending the huge Goblin battle in the first level of the Deep Dungeon with a single Charge Time 3 Holy, but one Goblin survived with about 50 HP.

Actually, do you know any good builds using Ramza's Squire class? I only used those abilities in a few situations, and usually just got Ultima in order to say that I had. Are there any powerful builds based off of Ultima, Yell, etc.?

[Melchior]

How about something like~

Low HP/high MA geared Rafa with pumped brave, lowered faith, and blade grasp.

With high brave and blade grasp, few physical attacks should come through.
With lowered faith, spells will do next to nothing. (You'll still need to worry about magic that isn't faith-based, like Draw Out.)
With low HP, she'll always be a target.

She should still be able contribute decently since her magic damage isn't faith-based. You can make her 2nd ability items, or maybe samurai for the awesome group buffs and faithless MA-based damage.

Just a thought ^^

[Final Atonement]

The best "tank" character I have tried in the past was Ramza as a Monk who has mastered the Knight, Lancer and Priest and Chemist abilities. He had the "Equip Armor" ability, "HP Restore," "Jump," and the ability to restore MP while moving. The Equip Armor would boost his HP big time, and if he were ever in peril, if the HP Restore didn't come through for me, I'd have him use Jump to avoid anyone hitting him and to have him inflict major damage on the opponent next time. And if that still didn't work, I'd just have him use Cure 3, and if that still didn't work, I'd have him restore his MP while walking or just use an Elixir.

But I used the glitch with the abilities, of course. I ended up beating Velius with no problem by using Jump and his HP Restore.

[kjones]

I used Reis along the lines of how FS expalined but but I use her as a knight instead of Monk. By equiping Defender and E2 shield(and maybe switch out Chantage for a Feather Mantle) she can pretty much dodge any attack, and this includes most magic.

And in terms of the enemy AI seeking the lowest HP, by sending her out ahead during the first turn she'll almost always take the majority of the enemy's attention. The other fun thing with Reis is with a team of dragons I can use her as this Knight setup very nicely and support the dragons fairly easily . Especially with her natural hp boost.

[shadowphoenix]

isnt t.g. cid a tank by default, ive never had him die in any battle ever ....

but i agree with you free spirit, reis is fft best kept secret. you forgot to mention her hits randomly invite enemies to your team...

[Final Atonement]

T.G. Cid is a tank in his own defense, and, for me, as was Beowulf. I never used Reis too much, or Worker 8. And I found that Cloud was utterly useless since he started at Lvl. 1 and he had no MP to perform those high CT Limit Breaks.

I had Beowulf master the Oracle job, and has it act as a double-kill for his primary skills.

And I had no idea that Reis's hits could randomly invite enemies to your formation... Right on.

[Free Spirit]

She doesn't actually randomly invite monsters outright. What Reis has is an inherent "Train" ability for dragons. Basically, if she attacks a dragon-type enemy with her regular Fight command and brings them to critical HP, they automatically join your group. This is very handy for getting a Tiamat, which is the yin to Reis's yang. Both of them together are truly unstoppable.

[leroy2010]

how do Bratz get that outfit and swords.

[T.G. Cid]

Well, I just started a new playthrough of FFT. Thanks for all of the suggestions, everyone. I'll be trying them out as I go.