PLD is a very boring class compared to WAR.

[SpookyGhost]

PLD being boring is subjective. This is true.

However, I would like to hear what people find engaging about PLD, as a counterbalance.

As a starting point:

I do find PLD boring generally speaking, but I also enjoy leading a group on PLD as I don't have to focus on my rotation and can more easily focus on the mechanics affecting everyone else.

I'm not sure if this is really "enjoying" or being engaged by the PLD job, though. This is more of a consequence of the PLD job being so unengaging that I can focus on other things. That's not necessarily a bad thing for a tank class, but it definitely makes PLD as a standalone seem very dull.

Other than that, I personally don't find anything interesting about PLD. I am curious what other opinions there are in favor of 2.0 PLD being a fun/engaging job, though, so if anyone could fill me in on their thoughts as a PLD main (or PLD sub or w/e) I'd appreciate that.

e: It seems like there's a bit of discussion in favor of PLD going on already - mainly that it's simplicity is a positive thing. I guess this sort of ties in with my thoughts on it, contributing to making it an ideal raid leader job. I think that the simplicity of the job is to a bit of an extreme though - as much as people like to theorycraft WAR, it isn't actually that "complex". It's more like an active form of PLD that happens to have 3 extra buttons to press in your rotation.

Something I've noticed is that PLD is one of 2-3 jobs in the game that don't have "mechanics". Let me explain: BLM has Umbral -> Astral, BRD has songs, MNK has GL, SMN has Aetherflow/pet management, NIN has Ninjutsus, WAR has Wrath, and SCH has Aetherflow/pet management. SMN and SCH overlap a bit but these mechanics react in different ways for both jobs.

DRG, WHM, and PLD don't really have "mechanics". DRG is straight DPS, it follows a rotation and pops CDs when they're available. The unique thing about DRG is it's Jumps, but they're not really anything you have to manage. WHM is a... healer, it generally just... has the ability to heal. It is a bit reliant on HoTs, and I guess if there was a bit more focus on that than there is now you could consider that the "mechanic", but for now I'd say it's similar to DRG. PLD has a basic threat combo combined with a debuff and defensive CDs - it has nothing beyond this.

The main problem with these 3 jobs is that they have no "flavor" in terms of actually playing them. Sure, DRGs are cool and the animations are cool. WHM is iconic and everybody loves that robe. PLD you've got like a million RPG fans who love sword and board. But when you play them they just feel like... babies first trip into tank/healer/dps town? Maybe that was the intention, that these 3 classes were meant to be stepping stones for people to branch out into other jobs. I dunno, it's just really strange to me that people enjoy the simple vanilla jobs when you've got jobs that can actually be engaging, complex, interesting, etc etc.

Contradictory to all that, I actually do enjoy DRG and I find merit in WHM as healing in this game is the only thing that can really change from attempt to attempt. But PLD... something about it is just... I dunno. I guess it really is just the 123 thing, it really gets you into this drumming mindset where your brain just shuts off until it realizes "oh yeah, I should pop a CD here", and then you drone off some more. The more I reflect on it, the more I feel like people enjoy the simplicity of PLD because they don't want to put in the effort to do the same thing on a more "complex" job. Honestly, XIV jobs as a whole are pretty simple, I just think that PLD showcases it to an extreme and really makes you go "wow, this really is as bare bones as it can get".

I've sort of lost the point of this edit the more I type, maybe that has something to do with it being 1AM, but I can summarize with: I find PLD's simplicity really, really extreme and maybe it's just that this job is better suited to people who either:

1. Want to raid lead and need a job that you literally can barely pay attention to and perform near perfectly or
2. Want to be A Tank but don't want to put in any extra work beyond that, so gravitate to the job who can get that done with as little effort as possible.

I personally have no problem with this. Obviously everyone plays the game for different reasons, and I think PLD would definitely appeal to casual players the most, which was needed for a sword and board class. I do like the direction they're going, and I feel like the complexity they're adding is more of a stepping stool to introduce more ideas to PLD players.

This edit was longer than the original post, I really gotta stop typing now.