Quote Originally Posted by aleph_null View Post
Personally I don't really mind having subclassification into different kinds of tanks, just like how there are different kinds of dps (melees with resistance down debuffs, ranged with magic/physical dps boost and mp/tp regen, casters with high personal dps and some defensive utilities).
Except, only one (and perhaps a small part of two other's) DPS job's additional output is ever really conditionally nullified—Bard, in the event that there are no casters, nor need for Paeon/Ballad (whereas Monk and Summoner even without Int down or instant backup rezes still have near-full and full outputs, respectively). An "MT" or "OT", on the other hand, require a condition to even meet their niche criteria. Without presently tanking, an "MT"'s better adjusted mitigation, enmity generation, per-RNG-mitigation procs, and so forth, are all wasted. Similarly, a specialized "OT" can only really be considered a hybrid, merely costing less dps to carry parts of a tank's toolkit, but with a lesser capacity to make use of them. The difference for them, especially outside of resource regeneration-requiring fights, is far more pivotal than that of, say, a raid-buffing vs. self-centric dps, for which there is no forced waste or overlap (more alike, again, to the difference between a Bard, who's toolkit is niche, and any other DPS's).