Quote Originally Posted by Akujima View Post
PLD was one of the most loved/wanted/needed jobs Pre-Abyssea.
Only among low/mid-tier linkshells and players who generally did not know better. This has not been the case in the Endgame scene for the better part of half a decade now (2007-ish?). Half a dozen jobs all tanked better than Paladin before Abyssea, and still tank better than Paladin now.

Quote Originally Posted by Akujima View Post
The real thing SE needs to look at before implementing major upgrades to combat, jobs, etc, is how the playerbase is going to react. Unfortunately for FFXI, alot of the playerbase just wants to do things "quickly and efficiently" all the time, and there's nothing wrong with wanting to be efficient. But what SE failed to realize, is the characteristics of certain jobs, and how they work in relation to one another.

Without realizing these characteristics, they'll continue to create an imbalance between the jobs. Jobs will be left out by players if there is no "NEED" for them anymore. Melee can take hits easily now, very easily. There's no fear of being KO'd anymore if the Enemy/Boss takes a few swings at you.
Melee could always take hits. Like, seriously, this has never been a problem for melees. The only reason DD jobs got a bad rap for "Dying easily" is because most DDs sucked and didn't carry PDT/MDT sets. A Monk with 40 Def and -50% PDT in gear is going to take way less damage than a "Typical/Classic" Paladin in 600 Defense and 0 PDT.

Quote Originally Posted by Akujima View Post
PLD is a tank, and should always be a tank. As far as how to fix PLD, you have some great idea's. But I think the general issue on the concept of "Tanking" needs to be addressed.
Paladin is a sword wielding Melee job with access to White Magic, Shield bonuses, and some Defensive traits/JA. Whether or not that equates to being a tank is up to the players. As it stands, that particular combination is lackluster at best. Tanks do much better avoiding hits entirely than they would "Taking them for less damage". I had to put less damage in quotes because Paladin really doesn't take less damage than anyone else without an Ochain.