I think I understand where your coming from. You used to play the job where the pet would tank, kind of list a bst would and play support for it. I'm a fan of the playstyle, maybe not as much as you, but still appreciate it.

Unfortunately, the fact is valoredge will probably never get on par with a jug pet as a tank. Jug pets have twice the hp, twice the attack power on regular hits, and can heal alot of hp with just a reward. Not to mention being able to dual wield -pdt for pets, which is a whole other discussion in itself. But after that, it's all they can do. You can't really expect Valoredge to be a jug pet in tanking when it gets the ability to be so much more.

When it comes to really tanking the hard stuff, I think the better approach has always been master out front from the beginning. You say there's been alot of changes to the job since you've been away, but SE really hasn't strayed much from PUP's original design. We've always had High EVA, and anyone who's played this game since the times where you actually had to use tanks PLD and NIN, could tell you that if the mob hits to hard, its better to not take the hits at all.

The only thing SE has really touched on the master itself is the H2H skill, besides that it's the same old job.

About Valoredge, I'm sorry you were disappointed. I don't know exactly when, but SE decided recently that passed 80, a decent challenge+ can hit you. Hard. Don't believe me head over to Dyna-Sandy and take a few swings from a DC Orc MNK. If you don't proc him he WILL drop you.

They have given us a few ways to counter it though. Did you use Galvanizer and Barrier Module? 2 thunder maneuvers with Galvanizer gives the puppet a pretty decent counter rate, and BM makes that shield on its hand actually account for something. You can also take advantage of some -pdt gear for pet to soften those blows. Lastly, turbo charger+coiler+pet haste gear. Take the time to make sure these are in place if this is your play style. Guaranteed VE will be pumping out twice as many cannibals easily.

Final thing and I'm done. Towards the end you complained that the job got too easy, but in the beginning you were complaining that pet tanking is now too hard. Which is it man? You're making it pretty hard to see the light if you're taking such a double sided stance.