Why is Pld a meme

[Minnel]

So I played FF14 for about a month or so back when HW was not a thing yet.
I quit then came back recently...
The first thing I hear from my friends are... ( I was a gladiator at that time)

1- Poor you
2- Pally meme
3- Wat
4- An hour long explanation / brag / rant about how Warrior is superior to Pld in everyway

Those reactions are not too uncommon it seems...
Why?

[ToasterMan]

WAR is the overpowered tank right now. Your friends won't be whistling that tune once it gets nerfed in 4.0

[Minnel]

Oh? How are they getting nerfed?

[ToasterMan]

Oh? How are they getting nerfed?

That I couldn't tell you, but to think SE won't at least try and get WAR in line with the other tanks in 4.0 is very naive. Having said that I almost guarantee there will be some WAR mains charging in this thread to swear up and down that it's fine the way it is.

Don't listen to what your friends tell you. You play the job you enjoy the most. I WILL say that if you haven't tried the other tanks I would give them a shot.

[Brian_]

You couldn't tell him because you're misinformed and making baseless assumptions. SE has said that they aren't nerfing WAR. They're going to try and bring the other jobs up to WAR's level. Not only that, but anything said now is purely speculation because jobs are changing in 4.0.

As for why PLDs are looked down on, I'll just give you a brief history since you missed it all.

In 3.0, they were terrible. By far the worst tank. The hardest raid at the time (Gordias Savage) took 4 more weeks of gear for the first PLD group to finally clear it. It got so bad that PLDs were getting excluded from static recruitment and rightfully so. They were terrible and any considerate player didn't waste the time of 7 other players with their selfish insistence on playing that job. They bottomed out in TP in a few minutes of up-time, had horrible enmity generation, impractical raid utility, and even failed in terms of their own mitigation due to most of the damage being magic based.

Since, due to more favorable raid design and substantial buffs, PLD has at least rebounded to the level where they're disadvantaged as a job but at least now you won't feel bad playing it (outside of A12S).

In the meanwhile, WAR has been a staple job for end-game raiding for all of HW due their strong raid DPS, raid utility, and monopoly over the OT role.

[Claire_Pendragon]

Pretty much what was said above.
(SE did say WAR has more support options, and thats the direction they want to go, in helping raise the other 2 tanks. And they also said they woudlnt nerf WAR, but raising the other 2 is comparable to nerfing a WAR< just not in peoples eyes.)

Also, PLDs CDs are on a longer CD than even DRK, except their amazing physical 30s CD (I think its sheltron?) but DRK gets a 1min CD for magic dmg. So for magic dmg, DRKs can take more hits than PLD before running out of CDs. (WAR of course can inner Beast everything every time)

As for A12S, and honestly the answer for a lot of the earlier content, is just more tank swapping. Let your other tank use their strong mitigation on tank busters when you're out of strong CDs, and then swap back again.
Requires much more skill, to minimize DPS loss, but its worth it in the end. (also how you maximize staying out of tank stance anyways)

[Shurrikhan]

While Paladin has been the superior cheesily mitigation-ready choice for select encounters (e.g. Thordan and Sophia Ex), it has been historically lackluster in MT dps and has usually fallen below one or both alternatives in OT dps, has had the poorest anti-magic mitigation, and in some ways the least usefully purposed combo bonuses. It no longer TP floors, but still has the least sustain of the three tanks. Its tank stance has been buffed, but as it should rarely be used anyways this hasn't been much of a help. Sword Oath wasn't buffed so much as simply its mechanical oversight was removed (higher contribution at low weapon speeds).

In many ways it's only reason for being at a certain position, MT or OT, was simply that:
1. There was no DRK to take the PLD's spot;
2. The Warrior would lose more output in that position vs. the other;
3. LB was too necessary to take 2 Warriors.

That said, at this point, the PLD isn't far behind by any means, and is actually the superior tank in certain contexts (when able to abuse Shelltron and HG, and when magic damage is minimal, essentially).

[ADVSS]

"Clemency"

[Clethoria]

Enmity

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L2wt7xb0HiI

[Minnel]

That said, at this point, the PLD isn't far behind by any means, and is actually the superior tank in certain contexts (when able to abuse Shelltron and HG, and when magic damage is minimal, essentially).

That "certain contexts" there are not too many of those I believe?