Clarification on PLD = Main tank WAR = Off tank

[Churchill]

It really isn't, lol.

HP and -dmg are completely separate stats and perform completely separate roles. From a spike standpoint, sure, they are similar in their operation.

From a realistic standpoint, HP is purely and simply burst prevention. To run X dungeon/raid/primal, the tank will need Y HP. Any HP beyond this point is wasted.

-dmg taken is a stat that effects the tank over time, and by its nature the healers MP pools, the bards DPS, etc. In addition to this Paladin has the other list of tools to soften the blow of any large, undodgeable attack and they're all fire and forget.

The discussion isn't that Defiance HP buff and Shield Oaths -dmg buff don't function as the same thing when hit by a big ability, but that they don't function as the same thing in a sustained engagement (which they do not). On top of that, the Paladin is more sustainable when left to themselves in the case of emergencies whereas a Warrior is most definitely left in the wind.

[Kitru]

HP and -dmg are completely separate stats and perform completely separate roles.

Except that we're not simply comparing +hp to -dmg. We're comparing +hp *and* +healing to -dmg. A WAR takes 25% more damage than a PAL takes while having a 25% larger pool of health (so that spike damage is equivalent) and receiving roughly 25% more from a given quantity of healing (based upon Defiance and self-healing). It's a complete break even. At worst, it means that a WAR requires a *little* more healing over time (15% of the +healing is effectively baseline so we're talking about WAR self-healing having to equate to 8% of total healing output to reach absolute parity) while having the same spike performance.

From a mathematical standpoint, there is *no* difference between increasing HP and healing received by 25% and decreasing damage taken by 20%. That's not opinion. That's mathematical fact such that the argument that WARs are somehow inferior at tanking hard hitting content makes no sense other than WARs requiring more player input to achieve optimal survivability (i.e. using and abusing CDs and combos to affect survivability rather than trusting passives and reserving CDs for emergencies).

As to the difference between block and the CD suite, I'd rather have the CD suite so that I can actually control access to my superior mitigation rather than trusting it to the RNG to work when I need/want it.