Guys, it's time to face reality. The last time this was addressed was 2016 and everyone seemed to live on the page of "Ochain and Aegis are already OP". This isn't even close to the case any longer and PLD as faded out favor because let's face it - it's gimp now. It's a hindrance on any alliance.
I've been running a wildly successful linkshell for the last year and a half. On lower level content, paladin was a great tank. It's why I picked it up, I liked it. It was a fun job. As higher level content comes out, I see how it just cannot keep up with Rune Fencer. RUN has too much utility and on top of it all takes very little damage when geared properly. It's time we spoke candidly about the most glaring problem with Paladin.
Here's the deal. We're not talking about tanking item level 119 ~ 130 content anymore. We have 145 and 150 content in the game and right now, paladin takes a ton of damage compared to its RUN counterpart. Shield Block Rate decays at a rapid pace as Content Level of mobs increase.
Let's look at the realities. Tanking in Dynamis [D] on Wave 3 mobs, this are you average block rates.
* - An approximation, but matches all data collected currently
- Srivasta: *~18% chance of blocking 55% of incoming damage
- Aegis: Just don't, you're not blocking shit.
- Ochain: *~60% chance of blocking 40% of incoming damage
Of these three shields, Aegis is the only one that's considered "Passable". Before everyone jumps in say "Well, just use Priwen, it's ilev and has shield skill!". It's a Size 3 shield guys. It's really bad, don't tell me this stuff.
Ok, so surely the "Shield Master" job will have a bunch of gear to increase their shield skill right? WRONG For whatever reason, you guys are intent on putting paladin gear in this game that makes no sense. Give us Shield Def Bonus, Give us Shield Skill, Give us anything to actually MITIGATE damage on high level content.
Now, can anyone in the class tell me what happens when you're taking a ton of damage as a tank and your Damage Dealers are putting out heat? DING DING DING Your enmity decays at a pace faster than which you can recover it, therefore losing hate on stuff because your DD will be far outpacing you. "Well Shoz, don't yall have those fancy Chevallier's Pants +1??????" - Yes, yes we do. We also have way better gear options for that slot, so taking a huge stat hit just for 11% less enmity decay when getting bopped is silly.
While we're doling out job updates. Paladin needs some love guys. If you provided literally just shield skill on Ochain, Aegis, Paladin would be super relevant again in high-end linkshells. 242 Shield Skill would turn Paladin from being a mediocre "only port in a storm" tank to being a true rival to Rune Fencer.
Before we all jump in with the "But Shoz, Paladin IS relevant, we use one in our linkshell!!!!!", just chill man. I'm not saying you can't tank with paladin, I do it personally. I play both Rune Fencer and Paladin at the top level of all content in the game. Master Trials, Dynamis [D], all the new HTBFs, I have the experience on both jobs man. I'm saying if you tank anything high level for just a few minutes you realize that Paladin gets smashed. Burtgang is a 100% requirement because your shields are so weak that you can't afford to tank with anything else.