PLD dps needs to be buffed, current dps a joke

[Ivellior]

This post is mostly about raid balance.
The current META in raids is that DPS is king. More dps means a faster clear which in turn means less healing needed and less mechanics to face. Thus higher dps is always preferable.
The current tank raid meta, reflecting the above, is that you need enough defences (HP, cooldowns) to survive the bursts of damage (tank busters) and everything else should be dps. This also includes tanking in your dps stance for all attacks that you can get away with (ie, you only use tank stance when there is a tank buster and maybe on some hard hitting attacks).
That's why if you can solo tank something it's vastly preferable to solo tank. Heck, if people could get a DRG or MNK to tank and survive they would use a DRK or MNK. If it wasn't for the synergies (buffs) that one class provides to another and loot restrictions people would just raid with 1 type of tank, 1 type of healer and 1 type of dps.

That is the very reason the current tank itemisation consists of getting accuracy to CAP, getting enough HP to survive and then focusing on stats that increase your damage. Stats like parry are considered sub-par because what they offer (which plainly speaking is extra defences and thus more safety) is not as good as dps. What makes parry considered particularly worthless are the following facts:
1. It's random.
2. It mostly works on auto attacks (you can't parry tank busters)
3. The amount of defence it provides isn't really enough to be noticed in raids terms. That means while you may require less healing because you parry more, it doesn't really make a noticeable difference as it mostly works on auto attacks (which most tanks don't even use their tank stance on) and the damage reduced isn't that great (it's not like you evade the attack).
Hence parry is pretty much reviled as stat for tanks, despite being a designed as defensive stat.

The main argument I see here that paladins don't need more dps is the fact they are "safer" than other tanks. This argument really baffles me because it is actually going against the current META that is otherwise preached by the same people here.
The fact is that you don't really need extra safety. You just need enough safety to survive and all the rest should be going into dps. That is why tanks in raids don't run around with stacked parry and vit. This also applies to taking a paladin in the raid.
Why would you take a paladin, who provides less dps for the benefit of extra, practically unneeded defences, and not just take another tanks that does more dps? The other tanks survive just as well, or even better on tank busters (which is what will probably kill your tank) and do considerably more damage.
People claiming "the safety" of Paladin mostly focus on 2 things: The shield and "Hallowed Ground" (because Hallowed Ground is the cure to all maladies apparently).

Let's take a look at the shield. Now matter what you say or how you try to spin it the shield is a glorified parry mechanic. That means that, surprise surprise, has the same problems that make parry subpar.
1. It's random.
2. It mostly works on auto attacks.
3. You get the point.
And for all the people saying that you have shieldtron I will answer: "Yes, I can 100% block an auto attack every 30 seconds. Yay! OP! Now to block that huge hitting tank buster... oh wait".

Now lets cover "Hallowed Ground". Yes hallowed ground is good, heck you can even call it the best defensive ability of the game. However Hallowed Ground in not a the "I win" button people tend to describe it in this thread.
First of all it has a very long cooldown and chances are you will only get to use it once in the encounter. That means that you can't use it whenever you want. You have to plan when to use it and in most fights you need to use it for a very specific tank buster or huge hit. If you use it before, then you wont have it when you need it and you will wipe.
That is also the answer to description as the ultimate emergency "save me" button. There is no point of using it for an emergency just to wipe in the next 3 minutes because it was on cooldown. An emergency ability is something you keep in reserve and you can clear the boss without having to use it. The WHM Benediction probably falls into this category.
Second all the other tanks have a comparable ability. It might not be as good but it basically provides the same function. You can take a huge hit (hello tank buster!) and survive. These people mostly fail to mention that the comparable ability is on a much shorter cooldown. What does a shorter cooldown mean? You can plan to use it more than once. There is a small chance that you can actually use it as an emergency "save me" button and have it ready for the time you need it.

Other mentions include that paladin brings extra utility to the raid (and more specific divine veil and Clemency).
Divine veil is nice, but it has a long cooldown and it needs a heal to activate. It can help the healers when you are expecting to take a lot of aoe damage but so does mantra (which is probably better than Divine Veil) and let's face it you wont take a monk because of mantra.
Clemency is outright bad when it comes to raids. The casting time means that the healer will probably heal your target before you finish. It breaks combos, can be interrupted and you aren't doing damage while casting it. It might be useful once every 100 raids. Heck, I'll be generous and say it's useful once every 10 raids, that still makes it BAD.

TL;DR: Taking a paladin is the equivalent of stacking VIT and parry. It works, looks great on paper (safety!), but it's really not optimal no matter how you spin it.