Originally Posted by
Sounsyy
I'd prefer it if we PLDs didn't turn another thread into a DEF/VIT/STR/ENM/HP pissing match please.
Let's assume that DEF only affects physical damage(which makes sense because Chimera's magical attacks still hit like a truck), and let's assume that VIT does offer some form of M.DEF - regardless of whether you believe it does or not.
VIT starts getting diminishing returns on DEF pretty early at level 50. (I kept all the same gear equipped with no DEF+ materia and then reset my point allotment resulting in no change to my DEF after losing 23 points of VIT.) So, first point is: you're going to buff them separate if you want both. Don't buff VIT if you want to increase your DEF. Arguably the only reliable way to buff DEF is to equip HQ gear or do materia melds, which can be added to chest piece or shield only if I'm not mistaken. Which limits the potential amount of DEF you can stack, especially because IMO you should materia HP to chest piece instead because you have a lot of HP to make up on PLD.
Now, my second point. The reason I can't justify stacking VIT boils down to two reasons unrelated to what they boost: 1) PLD already has a naturally high VIT stat. 2) almost every single piece of gear requiring PLD WAR has some value of VIT on it already. I don't have a single VIT ring or VIT materia meld and I've accrued +30 VIT off of my gear. If I go Felt Trousers with double Ironman's Will, I've got 15+ more VIT. So that's... roughly 285ish VIT without trying to buff it at all. Anything beyond that number I consider only useful for situational purposes.
In conclusion, you'd want to stack DEF over VIT because you already have a ton of vit and your def is just sitting there if you don't pay it special attention.
Now getting back to the OP's topic about gear options; IF you want hp, block stat, and m.def GREAT, you've got 30-45 VIT-worth of it without even trying as soon as you get rid of that AF. Now you can focus on stacking more important things! Like ACC, STR, HP, ENM, and capping MND. You've got a lot of crap to buff and ideally you're going to have more than one set of gear. An HP/ENM set for tanking things that hit harder than you can mitigate and are hard to build enmity against. A STR/ACC set for DD tanking, because some fights you've just gotta burn and if you wanna tank, you gotta compete. Also, a VIT/DEF set for trash mobs, FNMs, Princess, etc. This set you can buff the hell out of your mitigation stats and stop arguing which stat does what and for how much.