Translation of 3.2 Notes by BG

[Syzygian]

A practically Jurassic tirade dug up from the fossil record of 3.0's launch about PLD/DRK being clones of eachother

I didn't cast blame on anybody for anything, certainly not in what you quoted (which was simply me stating a pair of facts), and Shadowskin being a clone of Rampart doesn't make DRK a clone of PLD. If no amount of buffs will make a PLD/DRK party good then why were you QQing about Defiance?

I could write an essay about how they are meaningfully different in DPS, utility, playstyle, rotation, mechanics, and their own MT vs. OT playstyle. But I don't think anyone wants that.

e: I think you think there's a bigger disparity between WAR and PLD, and WAR and DRK especially, than there actually is. They could give PLD/DRK Eye and that would immediately solve a lot of issues and allow them to work together. It's not as complicated as it seems and they could super duper easily overshoot it. I hope they don't, but y'know, could happen. Regardless, though, they'll do what they do and there's nothing we can change about that until after the patch comes out and we're free to complain to our hearts content. Or praise. Hopefully praise.

I certainly am not complaining about the patch, I apologize if I sounded as though I was. But when I saw a WAR complaining? Come now. Like I said, this is what people wanted. I frankly don't think anyone should be complaining, at least not before the patch notes.

That being said, I don't think DRK and WAR are far off in terms of DPS but the gap is huge elsewhere IMO. I can't speak for PLD's discrepancies because while I have it at 60 I rarely play it because I just do not find it satisfying for reasons I share with a lot of folks and a few that are probably more personal.

If they gave DRK Eye it would not solve:

1. The fact that making a DRK OT instead of MT is like throwing a brick through a stained glass window.

2. The fact that DRK has no way of slowing TP consumption in its tank stance, or independently of stance.

3. The fact that its tank stance is a plague upon humanity and there is no mechanical incentive to use it outside of DASE heals which are taken into account by healers probably no more than Parry is.

4. Its slight lack of physical mitigation. If they even so much as tacked on a Shadeshift effect to DD this could be fixed.

5. Piggy-backing off #1 and #3, and a bit off what you said as well, DRK can deal WAR numbers, but has to make some pretty large demands on itself and the party to do so. You CAN'T hit the job's DPS ceiling while OTing which is just silly. You have to be tanking and you have to be doing it out of tank stance. Not saying that that is not intensely satisfying and fun to do, because it is, but it still puts some big demands on yourself and your healers. And its frustrating too. Think about it. While OTing, you're doing suboptimal DPS for your job, no matter what. Its silly.

6. Has zero unique, party-based raid utility as an OT to make up for the loss of Reprisal, which by design does not make sense in the OT role.

I'd like to point out that everything I just said in that list has literally nothing to do with WAR and everything to do with buffs to DRK/PLD. I'm simply pointing out that the gap is still pretty wide in some areas and quite a few changes could be made without throwing WAR off of the see-saw.

If SE gives it all these things, it would put it on par with WAR, IMO. And WAR would still edge it out because of its self-heals and the fact that it can gobble up huge amounts of incoming damage with those heals without even touching any of its 4 core defensive CDs (IB, ToB, Vengeance, RI).