Quote Originally Posted by Launched View Post
WAR is the standard every other job should live up to. Being well designed is what makes it strong. WAR doesn't have any useless skills, so of course it's going to be better than the ones that have skillslots wasted on trash like Cover and Tempered Will, or duplicate skills like Abyssal Drain, or procs that pidgeonhole them into the MT role instead of letting them work anywhere. DRK and PLD are pretty far from being well designed, and the patch/expansion where they nerf WAR instead of fixing PLD's/DRK's flaws (and you can fix those flaws while still leaving weaknesses, WAR has some) is the patch/expansion where I quit tanking.
The devs disagree with you, if the Famitsu interviews are to be believed. There are a lot of "get out of jail free" cards in WAR's kit like IB and Equilibrium that allow even mediocre WARs to slip through situations reactively, instead of needing to use their knowledge of the fight to play proactively. When you optimise the job gains more depth and you lose the crutches, but you still have a pretty big safety net. WAR isn't popular because it's super demanding and brutally unforgiving. That's rarely what draws people to jobs - it's generally the exact opposite. WAR is popular because it makes you feel good about yourself and feel like you're doing a lot of damage, even if you aren't the best player (and aren't actually doing all that much damage for the job).

I know some people may not be fond of Cover or TW, but playing PLD optimally often requires you to make find uses for these "niche" skills when the advantage presents itself. If you're unsure of the benefit of having a knockback negation move, best to stay away from the job. It's not for everyone.

PLD and DRK aren't "pidgeonholed" into the MT role. If you're stuck playing with a more closed-minded co-tank for whatever reason you may not get many opportunities to actively tank, but if you're playing with a good group the MT/OT delineation isn't really important and you'll each be playing to your strengths anyways. Don't hate the job, hate the player. We're not all big meanies who don't let our WARs tank. But you will be missed. Perhaps.