It's not just the WAR that needs tweaking

[Kryzen]

On the topic of PLD DPSing:

Wouldn't running GLD be > then PLD if you were trying to maximize DPS? Sure you lose Sword Oath and Spirits Within, Circle of Scorn is GLD skill, but you can take CD skills like:

Invigorate (+500tp)
Blood for Blood (+30% dmg, +25% dmg received)
Raging Strikes (+20% dmg)
Internal Release (+20% Crit)

As PLD off tanking while DPSing:

Maybe it is my warrior in my FC who sucks at threat generation but I will end up tanking any mob that I am focusing down, regardless of what Oath I run. Which makes me, in regards to the above, think a GLD as DPS will still end up tanking.

(i know i pull more threat because we generally have to run war, pld, whm, smn in 4 man dungeons because our dps suck ass at leveling and we are the only ones at or near 50).

[Hachiko]

On the topic of PLD DPSing:

Wouldn't running GLD be > then PLD if you were trying to maximize DPS? Sure you lose Sword Oath and Spirits Within, Circle of Scorn is GLD skill, but you can take CD skills like:

Invigorate (+500tp)
Blood for Blood (+30% dmg, +25% dmg received)
Raging Strikes (+20% dmg)
Internal Release (+20% Crit)

As PLD off tanking while DPSing:
Maybe it is my warrior in my FC who sucks at threat generation but I will end up tanking any mob that I am focusing down, regardless of what Oath I run. Which makes me, in regards to the above, think a GLD as DPS will still end up tanking.

(i know i pull more threat because we generally have to run war, pld, whm, smn in 4 man dungeons because our dps suck ass at leveling and we are the only ones at or near 50).

A PAL will actually out DPS a GLD running those skills for a few reasons.
First off, the skills you listed are with their "enhanced" effects, so they are significantly less effective than what you've posted for off class. The big question then becomes: Is Sword Oath and Spirits Within worth all these cooldowns?

1: Invigorate is 400 TP, but TP isn't really an issue with PAL dps. In most fights there are enough breaks that you will never run out of TP (i.e. Ifrit Charges, Garuda Blasts, etc.)
2: Blood for Blood = 20% damage for 20 seconds on an 80 second CD. That's a 25% uptime of 20% damage increase, which works out to ~5% damage increase overall.
3: Raging Strikes = 20% damage for 20 seconds on a 180 sec CD. That's 11% uptime, which works out to an overall ~2.2% damage increase.
4: Internal Release = 15% crit for 15 seconds on a 60 sec cd. This is harder to measure its contribution, but at low crit rates you can approximate to 15% chance to deal 50% more damage, with a 25% uptime, which works out to ~2% damage increase overall.

Altogether, that's about 10% increase in damage output for those 3 cooldowns, perhaps slightly higher depending on whether they stack multiplicatively or additively (also keep in mind if they are multiplicative you still have the issue of losing buff time when trying to stack 4 DPS buffs, due to animation speed).

Now we have to approximate the value of Sword Oath, Circle of Scorn, and Spirits Within

To do this we look at the average DPS output for PAL's highest output combo: Rage of Halone. This works out to ~200 potency per 2.5 second global. Note that Riot Blade can be used as well for hate management, if you're worried about pulling, because it's only a slight potency loss at ~190 potency average per global. So if you're trying to NOT tank, you should avoid using Rage of Halone (other than to apply the debuff).

Turns out this is not accurate. PAL auto attacks hit more frequently than 2.5 seconds. This doesn't change the auto attack potency per GCD, but it does change the contribution from Sword Oath. This makes Sword Oath even better depending on the speed of your weapon. PAL auto attacks also hit every 2.5 seconds, which is conveniently the global cooldown as well. The potency is WepSpd/3 * 100, or ~83.
Then you also add in Sword Oath, which adds another 50 Potency per auto attack.

So if a Paladin is going through their normal rotation Without Sword Oath they will be ~280 potency per 2.5 seconds. With Sword Oath ~330 Potency per 2.5 seconds. So Sword Oath alone works out to ~a 18% increase in damage output. This is already more than the contribution those 3 DPS buffing skills would provide. But there's more.

Circle of Scorn, assuming you get full duration is an additional 250 potency every 25 seconds (works out to 10 potency per second), or 25 potency every 2.5 seconds. But this is usable by both PAL and GLD.

Spirits Within is 300 potency every 30 seconds(again, 10 potency per second) again, 25 potency every 2.5 seconds. However, this is PAL only.

So, a PAL using Scorn and Spirits Within, and Sword Oath will be at about 380 attack potency output every 2.5 seconds, when averaged out. And a GLD using Scorn will be at 305 potency every 2.5 seconds. This is ~24% damage increase.

So, in short, no. A GLD would have no chance of doing more DPS than a PAL. The bonus potency from Sword oath far outstrips the more meager contribution of other classes damage cooldowns. People are HUGELY underestimating how amazing Sword Oath is. When a PLD is outside of shield oath, they actually are fairly competitive with DPS when compared to a WAR outside of Defiance. This is because WAR gets absolutely nothing from the WAR job while not being in their Defiance, while PLD gets Sword Oath, and Spirits Within.

The best part about it, is that for a PAL all they have to do is turn on Shield Oath, cast a Provoke, and pick up tanking if need be. This is one of the reasons it always makes me laugh a little when people say WAR make such better offtanks because of their DPS contribution. PAL can have just as competitive contribution as offtanks.

[TommySmiles]

snip

I learned a lot from your post. Nicely written.