Quote Originally Posted by Shippuu View Post
I think we have a different opinion on what "A very distinct look" is because that is a generic knight of which we have a-plenty.
Not exactly. Armor over heavy robes tends to be a very different deal from your standard plate armor over chainmail, since it's usually for caster-oriented knights (you know, like those INT-based tanks some people have been asking for). You can still use it as a base and tweak it where needed.
You do realize the irony in saying a SAM would be an overlap and then suggest Mystic Knight and Templar, both of which are Knight archetypes of which we have 2 knight-themed tanks already.
My point is that people already got burned with DRK being turned into a tank when some expected it to be DPS. I wouldn't want to see the same done with SAM. Specially not for reasons like "every tank should deal slashing damage".

Not to mention Mystic Knight or Templar could be built around less passive defense and more effects that deal with mitigation. A write-up I did for Mystic Knight actually had them equipping THM/BLM gear for the 1-50 grind with a stance that modifies defense gained from that armor to give it equal EHP to PLD/DRK/WAR, and then going into "of Warding" gear for the post-50 game. Even if you were to not use THM/BLM gear, you could create a variant of medium armor to work off, and have the AF set be armor over a heavy robe while remaining the same stat-wise. If you want a point of reference for the aesthetic, look at warrior priests from the Warhammer mythos; they wear medium armor over a robe.
How is a 1 handed hammer any different in animations than the 1 handed sword Paladin's use?
Different swing angles and force applied. On maces, the fact you can use both "faces" of the weapon to strike. The fact that you can make some of the weapon skills magic related (remember that half of the club weapon skills in FFXI were non-physical effects).
How is a 2 Handed hammer any different in animations than the 2 Handed axe Warrior's have?
Read the above. With maces and two-headed hammers you don't have to worry about the striking side of a weapon the way you do with an axe. Use and purpose are also very different. And again, you could make the weapon skills act as spell effects.
Any argument supporting that hammers could be unique in terms of appearance/animations can also be made for Samurai and their weapons. They are distinctly different than both PLD swords and DRK swords, held differently, moved about differently etc.
Indeed. I'm not sure why you think I'd argue otherwise.
You're also acting like DPS have no slashing damage available to them, which is factually untrue i.e. Ninja.
Except knives don't do anything for me.
In fact, DPS have the most options in terms of types of damage and available styles they can play as, by a lot. (7 DPS options, as opposed to 3 tanks and 3 healers.)
Neither do lances or fists. Nevermind the design issues I have with MCH and BRD nor the fact I generally don't main casters.
Also, realistically, the type of damage is such a non-issue that it doesn't matter if everything in the game did slashing damage or whatever. People are getting uppity over the "type" of damage a job deals when it honestly doesn't matter in the slightest. There doesn't have to be any semblance of "balance" in terms of what types of damage every job does.
And yet people use the damage type and the debuffs attached as part of a class' utility. That's largely why I have a problem with it.