There are already two dps-tank jobs, please don't make Paladin the third.

[Syzygian]

Given that Paladins have bulwark/shelltron/passive shield/cover/hallowed ground over the dark knights higher damage/dark dance/living dead, for progression (where it was indeed a safety net), it is more useful. It provided more defensive utility and due to it's passive tankiness with the shield vs all the physical damage it was the preferred choice. It was not until A3S with it's massive cliff to climb that all safety was thrown out in favor of maximum possible damage.

Of course now, given we know the fights inside out and can crush it with ilvl, why wouldn't you take war/war/smn/smn/whm/sch/driver/w/e.

I don't mean to sound... well... how this is going to sound no matter how I word it, but PLD needs all that extra mitigation (which is not as much as people make it out to be given how retardedly long its recast times are (short recast-high uptime CDs are ideal in A2S, imo) and the fact that there is no true TB in A2S for Sheltron to be anything other than a guaranteed stray block from an AA) due to how slow everything dies with its lack of AoE. You could argue even that DRK is better due to the fact that the more targets there are, the more powerful its sustain is (MP and self-healing).

[Violette]

I don't mean to sound... well... how this is going to sound no matter how I word it, but PLD needs all that extra mitigation (which is not as much as people make it out to be given how retardedly long its recast times are (short recast-high uptime CDs are ideal in A2S, imo) and the fact that there is no true TB in A2S for Sheltron to be anything other than a guaranteed stray block from an AA) due to how slow everything dies with its lack of AoE. You could argue even that DRK is better due to the fact that the more targets there are, the more powerful its sustain is (MP and self-healing).

Wrong is the word you're looking for.

Most groups cleared A2S that first week using a paladin (and continued to do so for a while), because Paladin gave the mitigation Dark Knight did not have. Shelltron can block the spider boom boom in a pinch (hey man take what you can get), but even mitigating the Jagd's AA can be important in progression.

Which is once again, where I'm coming from. From a progression stand point, in ilvl180 gear with a few 190 pieces, paladins have the shield+bulwark+cover+HG made all the difference. Nowadays we can cheese it with dark dance + sustain + living dead, because we've the ilvl to cruise past real damage via sustain. But before then, Paladins were MUCH stronger than Dark Knights.
And the DRK aoe compared to Paladin AoE was not as much as you make it out to be, where in the end clever cover usage (on the warrior during gobwidow phases), HG>LD meaning Bene didn't need to be saved past a certain point, str down affecting everything and having a summoner (the key part of A2S progression) would basically equal it out.

Just remember, one of (if not THE first) the first A2S clear was done with a SCHOLAR driving, because the paladin provided so much mitigation the whm could solo heal.

Generally I agree with you. The thing is, there's very little incentive to be a tank when basic party mechanics go out the window, and GOOD tanks are hard to come by because you don't have to be a good tank anymore because the "casual" content is extremely forgiving. Too forgiving.

Also, healers should be healing primarily and DPSing rarely, if they have time to truly DPS, then the content is too soft on the tanks and/or party.

Mate if you want to complain about this, wrong thread. If you don't like playing a tank in FFXIV, don't play a tank (or play a war). There is plenty of incentive to be a tank (controlling the flow of the dungeon, able to prioritize the targets, doing mad deeps). If those incentives are not for you, I suggest trying something else out.

As for healers, once again you're playing too casual here. Healers maximize dps, like how tanks maximize dps. Because this is not wow. You're not just one dimensional, a meat shield or a cure bot. You want to clear, you gotta pull your weight and do your best in all things.
If healers have time to truly dps, it's because we've learnt the fight inside out and know when it's safe to do so. Because for 15 seconds, that regen+ fairy + my defensive cooldowns will be enough for us the squeeze out another 20-30 dps, which could make all the difference.