Paladins need to actually be Paladins.

[Jubez187]

Blame the translators. They're putting way too much, I dunno what I would call it, maybe drama on everything. Like someone said before it's actually just Knight in the original. I dunno why they had to translate it to Paladin. They made some of the names of the skill sound holy-ish or something but they mostly do the same thing Knight Jobs in FFIII did.

None of this changes the fact that the class lacks any depth though. If you read my above post I only talked about the "holy knight" thing as 1 of 6 points.

[Viridiana]

To anyone saying that PLD is just a knight, then why the hell does the job require CNJ15 out of all things to access?

Why does BLM require ARC 15 to access? ARC being Archer, not ACN being Arcanist. By your logic, this is a clear indicator that BLM is going to have some degree of archery attached to it. >_>

[Altaeciana]

... paladin is actually just 'knight' and not having magic is fine because of that. Probably going to mention that past games uses knight too.

I agree w/this post. Paladin does not need to be a holy magic fighter. Paladin is by right a true Warrior of Light. Maybe the OP had meant to say that Paladin should be renamed in the game. Just because a mass majority of other games set the ideal of what a Paladin is simply cannot be enough to justify what defines a Paladin.

Let's go to our friend http://dictionary.com

paladin (pal·a·din)
[pal-uh-din]
noun
1. any one of the 12 legendary peers or knightly champions in attendance on Charlemagne.
2. any knightly or heroic champion.
3. any determined advocate or defender of a noble cause.

Origin:

1585–95; < French < Italian paladino < Late Latin palātīnus imperial functionary

[Luxx]

ppl are being so technical lol....
http://wiki.ffxiclopedia.org/wiki/Paladin
going from the final fantasy terms and XI...
the game is very watered down when it comes to skills.
the only one worth some talk is stoneskin and well...if like a sch it in
a 4 man run
doesnt have it from cross class then i guess that is cool and works out.
but as it stands they try to make white magic cool for pld and its retarded so they dropped the ball here.
hope for change coz yes pld are boring. oo

[Mcshiggs]

going from the final fantasy terms and XI...

I say if we are going to decide what a paladin should be straight from other Final Fantasy games, let's go to where it started, the original Final Fantasy where the fighter class that changed into a knight and was then able to use white magic. So I say if you want your holy paladin in XIV, you should first go fetch a rat's tail and then find a way to give it to Bahamut.

[Orca]

For me, i'm not especially bothered about the theme semantics, however I have played gladiator as my main since 1.0 alpha testing. It's been my main in every patch to date and right now, it is currently the most boring it has ever been for me. The challenges it presents are only from the tanking role and absolutely not the job itself, which offers zero technicality.

The first versions of FFXIV Paladin in 1.0 had; cure and stoneskin, but was capable of using them on AoE when used with a specific cooldown. The cure wasnt great but damn better than what we got now. A buff that applied a group HoT when hit by a cure from another member. A strong single target cure that returned HP to the paladin, and a block move that converted one physical attack from an enemy in to HP. Add this to current defensive buff rotations (most of which we had back then too) and your enmity combos, and honestly it was damn fun and worked great. I live with current pld sure, but in 2.0 i was amazed at how stripped down it had become. It works, its balanced, but god, its so bland. I used to feel very much like i was protecting and supporting my group as a defensive tank but now i dont feel like im interacting with my group on this job outside of cover. Especially since my LB doesn't get much use!

I keep up the hope that future patches will add more job abilities with supportive elements, not because Paladin needs a buff, but because it lost so much depth. The conjurer abilities provide no use for a 2.0 Paladin besides an occasional Stoneskin and we could easily do without it. Whilst the armory system was an integral part of 1.0, it is an afterthought in 2.0 and I feel like SE is a bit more...conservative in what they let jobs use in comparison to a lot of other MMOs now. I'm interested in Yoshida's hybrid role in the future as a tank/healer is really right up my alley, but i wish that could have been PLD, as i do love the sword and board.

[Duelle]

cure and stoneskin, but was capable of using them on AoE when used with a specific cooldown. The cure wasnt great but damn better than what we got now. A buff that applied a group HoT when hit by a cure from another member. A strong single target cure that returned HP to the paladin, and a block move that converted one physical attack from an enemy in to HP. Add this to current defensive buff rotations (most of which we had back then too) and your enmity combos, and honestly it was damn fun and worked great.

You forget that 1.0 was not designed according to the trinity.

With the amount of mitigation PLD has been given, "stronger" cures and the recovery skills it had access to in 1.0 would border if not be outright OP, as you'd have a job that has good mitiation and heals that would allow it to stand longer than intended. Not mentioning that mechanics that belong on healers (Divine Veil, Holy Succor) should not be part of a tank class.

[Rednight]

It would be pretty neat if Riot Blade would proc instacast half MP cost cure as an combo, ...

A bit off-topic, but...

I doubt i would use that... When do PLDs use Riot Blade combo? When they tank multiple mobs at once (speed runs) and have to spam Flash like no tomorrow. That 250 HP cure won't save you when 15 mobs hitting away at you, but it might kill your BLM if you use too many GCDs for cure instead of hate generation...

To me, the only thing PLD lacks a bit is AoE hate. I would rather want an enmity AoE attack as finisher for Riot Blade combo (something like Steel Cyclone or Overpower with maybe less potency), so PLDs could use that as a multi target hate combo (Riot Blade for MP for more Flash, but also an enmity AoE finisher that uses TP). With Flash, WAR has 3 enmity AoEs, while PLD only has 2...

[Lord_Zlatan]

I would prefer if riot blade combed with stoneskin and gave it the 18% that a who can get. ^^

[Lord_Zlatan]

snip

there are others that should be there though, which I will list in a moment.

Also, potency on cure ETC could be stronger if: it generated more enmity, but physical attacks dealt less damage. You know, so there is actually a difference between WAR and PLD. They are both just meat shields. Let WAR have a boost in DPS while letting the PLD be the king of mitigation.

some things they need to have:

Reprisal, Phalanx, Regen (weaker than whm obv), Curaga (combos with riot blade: heals for a % of HP = % of MP remaining, empties MP pool, adds refresh, enmity generated -1). Judgement Spikes 10% chance to reset the duration of blind (via flash) on hit (only usable under the effect of Shield Oath). En-Light (only useable while under the effect of Sword Oath) : 10% chance to reset the duration of blind (via flash) on hit, Attack Potency 20. Tempered Will - negates the effects of Terror, Curse, Bind and Heavy if used Pre-emptively.