Paladin Updates

[Alerith]

I'm thrilled about these updates. Only good things and it makes tanking a lot more feasible.

However, my question is if this will see people inviting PLDs more instead of holding out for WARs.

Spirit's Within was already a good attack when we had it. Now that we don't have to combo it to do it's full damage and it's cooldown has been cut in half, does this help bring us up to WAR tanking standards on single enemies? It can be combo'd for enmity now of course.

Divine Veil has more utility now that it can be stacked with WHM Regen and provides blocking for frontal attacks.

Cover is just as useful as it's always been and can now be used more often.

When the jobs were first being introduced, I viewed it as:

WAR tanks multiple trash mobs and can cut them down quickly.
PLD tanks single, hard hitting mobs while the DD break them down.

I'm hoping that these updates will see this happen now that PLD has a better damage option and damage mitigation options.

[KiraAmane]

I want to check the defense/hp stats before I jump back on the PLD bandwagon. I was under the impression people preferred WAR over PLD because of survivability and the crazy dmg output.

[Treach]

No stat changes were announced and the dev/mod post said just abilities.

Can't really see any obvious benefits, that isn't fanboy biased opinions, to changing to pld for either of the dungeons.

[KiraAmane]

No stat changes were announced and the dev/mod post said just abilities.

Can't really see any obvious benefits, that isn't fanboy biased opinions, to changing to pld for either of the dungeons.

Warrior it is. Unless Spirits Within is imba dmg lol Though double regen stacking is kind of sexy.

[Ambuter]

No stat changes were announced and the dev/mod post said just abilities.

Can't really see any obvious benefits, that isn't fanboy biased opinions, to changing to pld for either of the dungeons.

This. I still don't see people using PLD over WAR still. Sure at least its more viable now, but still nah. In CC you're still getting hit with TP attacks since they're not physical for Chimera. And in my opinion WAR is still going to have an upper hand with hate management.

[Alerith]

Warrior it is. Unless Spirits Within is imba dmg lol Though double regen stacking is kind of sexy.

Spirit's Within was already good damage. It just had to be combo'd to do it. Now that the original combo effect is it's new regular effect, we should be able to deal that damage regularly without needing the Phalanx combo.

And yes, no mention of stat increases so I'm not as hopeful as I was. We'll see. :\

[Lux_Rayna]

No stat changes were announced and the dev/mod post said just abilities.

Can't really see any obvious benefits, that isn't fanboy biased opinions, to changing to pld for either of the dungeons.

Healing probably. A PLD can take less dmg and self-heal as long as they bring ethers. A WAR cannot. The trade-off between WAR and PLD is down to dmg and hate-control. A PLD is easier to keep alive, but does less dmg. A WAR is harder to keep alive, but does a lot more dmg. WAR for speed run, PLD for long and drawn-out battles. It doesn't require fanboy opinions to come to this conclusion. Ppl are just too close-minded and insist on class/job elitism when there's little reason for it.

Yeah overall, with the current content, WAR > PLD for tanking...cuz there really is no long drawn out battle that would require a PLD's skillset. But if a speed run isn't the goal, i'd take PLD over WAR every time. Requires less WHMs (unless PLD fails to bring ethers), and frees up a slot for another DD. So now that I think about it, PLD could work in a speed run too.

Community lacks the ability to think outside the box and change party-setups to fit certain jobs. A WAR tank and a PLD tank should have different party setups...all range DD's and all melee DD's should also require different tank/healer setups. But as always ppl are sheep, and only blindly follow what the guy in front of them is doing without ever bothering to think for themselves.

[Alerith]

The bright side from this update is that it should make PLD better than GLA for more situations now, whereas GLA used to be superior to PLD in almost all situations.

A WAR can still be cut down without proper healing attention, and a PLD can maintain themselves better than a WAR can. I respect the WAR ability to heal themselves with Crits, but PLD has much more with Holy Succor and Aegis Boon. A properly timed Aegis Boon can intercept a physical TP attack, heal you nearly to full, and allow you to Phalanx > Bloodbath > Spirit's Within to recover the rest. Plus the PLD healing spell is very potent, able to crit on for over 1,100.

Ultimately, I have to agree with what Lux has said. They are two different types of tanks that excel at different types of tanking. PLD makes it easier on single target NMs by sustaining itself and requiring only one healer in some situations, while a WAR will tank and tear through lesser enemies without much need for any support either.

If you reverse those roles, WAR ends up needing more healing on a single target and PLD ends up needing a little help killing off lesser enemies.

[Jinko]

My suggestion.
http://forum.square-enix.com/ffxiv/t...Block-Paladins.

[Alerith]

My suggestion.
http://forum.square-enix.com/ffxiv/t...Block-Paladins.

Block rate and damage mitigation from shields aren't enough. This problem stems even from FFXI where PLD has AMAZING survivability, even a shield with 99% block rate, but still isn't needed because most other melee jobs can take the damage and deal out more damage.

This is the current case with WAR vs PLD. Warrior can take a manageable amount of damage and still deal out great damage in turn. PLD has better survivability than WAR, but it doesn't deal enough damage, or any AoE damage, to justify it's use over WAR for most things.

DRG, MNK were done right. They can deal great damage, but can't tank worth crap. WAR either needs to be an excellent damage dealer or an excellent tank, but not at the same time like they currently are.

Which means you either:

Nerf WAR, which I would not like to see.
Boost PLD, which I would LOVE to see.

Or introduce stances to WAR. One that boosts attack and lowers defense ala Berserk and one that boosts defense and weakens attacks, such as Defender.

Then have one enabled by default and WAR must always have one on.

I wouldn't call this a nerf. You still have your damage potential and you still have your tanking potential. You just don't have both at the same time.