So far, Patch 5.3 has been a real joy—it’s been wonderful to come back to FFXIV after a semi-hiatus during the extended period of 5.2, reinvigorated and ready to experience new things. Since this patch’s Main Scenario was much longer than usual, I’ve not yet had time to get through all of the main things I’d like to hit before writing my normal first impressions post (though that should be up in a few days, with any luck). Even without the added length in the MSQ, though, this patch added something I’ve been longing after for quite some time, opening up a new glamour I just had to put into place, and that has to come first!

After 5.1 brought us The Copied Factory along with a suite of NieR: Automta themed gear, I set about creating glamours for most roles using combinations of the new gear and 2B’s outfit, which proved to be a lot of fun (and I still have glamour plates set to a few of them). A few of the body pieces weren’t exactly my style, though—most notably the Fending gear, which was the sort of dress Alahra wouldn’t likely be caught dead in. My attempts at a NieR tank glamour thus always felt incomplete, but I’m very happy to report that the gear from Puppets’ Bunker has answered my prayers!

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Glamour Components (Requirements: DRK/GNB/PLD/WAR 80, Female)
Weapon: Cronus Lux (Metallic Silver)
Head: Reading Glasses
Body: YoRHa Type-53 Coat of Fending
Hands: Gloves of Eternal Passion (Jet Black)
Legs: Valentione Skirt (Jet Black)
Feet: No.2 Type B Boots (Jet Black)

The new YoRHa tank coat is both absolutely gorgeous and utterly perfect for Alahra. Long time readers will know I have a strong dislike of much of the tank gear in FFXIV, which has lead to far more glamour frustrations than ever now that I’ve switched over to Dark Knight as my main job. I’ve struggled for much of the expansion to find looks that suit Alahra as a Dark Knight, since she is meant to wear mostly leathers and chain mail (befitting her FFXI origins as a tanking Ninja). Very few options for such exist for tanks (not without reason, of course, but it’s still a sticking point for me personally!).

So, the new coat is simply perfect: long, sleek, and elegant while not not as free as something like the Fireglass Vest I’ve used for Alahra in the past. Since I had so much experience working with the NieR-inspired gear from the previous raid, I already knew a lot of what I would be going for alongside it, of course: 2B’s boots were a given, and for the most part it takes a lot to get me to move away from Alahra’s now trademark Reading Glasses. The other two pieces were where I had to think.

The Gloves of Eternal Passion (making their first appearance, I believe!) had the right thickness next to the sleeves of the coat (especially compared to thinner pairs like the Strife or Leonheart Gloves). The Valentione Skirt was…a compromise. The No.2 Type B Bottoms didn’t really gel with the coat, and every other skirt I could find that had a good fabric fit wasn’t high-waisted enough (since the coat itself leaves just a tiny bit of stomach visible). The Valentione Skirt isn’t really a great fit but it’s the best one I could find (I’d really like a pair of Makai Quartertights for tanks, as a result, but c’est la vie…)

There is a very good chance that I won’t touch tank glamours again for a long time, as this coat fits both Alahra’s style and her IC mood post-5.3 (which is why I switched from Cronus to Cronus Lux, with its Ascian colors). I don’t know when we’ll next get tank gear in this style again (possibly in 5.5, with the next NieR raid?), but I’ve waited for something like this one for so long that I don’t mind at all. In some ways, it’ll be nice not to have to fuss about canon glamours for a good while (outside of the ones for that canon run of the MSQ after NG+ includes ARR, anyway).