Unpopular opinion

[bweisnicht]

You need to ask yourself one question "Why should I bring this tank over this one ?"

As long as you can't give a factual answer to that question for each tank, they won't be balanced.

You're effectively saying balance is impossible, then.

[Reynhart]

You're effectively saying balance is impossible, then.

Not impossible, but some design should be changed. The first thing that could be done is creating a synergy between each tanks and different jobs. Imagine if the AoE healing spells of WHM only spread the amount of healing you did to your initial target. Suddenly, WAR would have a great synergy with WHM with the increased healing of Defiance. Imagine if DRK could put a Requiem effect through a third combo, then a caster heavy setup would take that tank as their first choice, etc...

[RaizeGraymalkin]

You're effectively saying balance is impossible, then.

It kind of is. This game will never have perfect balance (no pun intended). Every job will have it's highs and lows. I think people just forget that at times. It's why you hear so much of "just play what you like". Eventually the job you play will be in a good place. You just have to accept at some points it won't be.

[Reynhart]

It kind of is. This game will never have perfect balance (no pun intended).

Frankly, I don't think it's impossible. The problem is that they want to balance them "in the void" (no pun either).

Like I said earlier in that thread, what they should balance is different party composition, and for that you create synergies. If no DPS has a slashing debuff, then WAR is better if your party has a NIN or a SAM. If PLD is changed to do piercing damage, and is given a piercing debuff (That would be removed from DRG), then a PLD is better if you have a DRG, a MCH or a BRD. And a DRK could be given a magic vulnerability, to better synergize with BLM, SMN and RDM.

As for healers, they could also create synergies. A healer that mainly uses abilities to heal is better paired with PLD or DRK than WAR. A healer that would spread an AoE based on the amount healed on your initial target would spread higher numbers by targeting a WAR than a PLD or a DRK, etc...

[Maku]

Frankly, I don't think it's impossible. The problem is that they want to balance them "in the void" (no pun either).

Like I said earlier in that thread, what they should balance is different party composition, and for that you create synergies. If no DPS has a slashing debuff, then WAR is better if your party has a NIN or a SAM. If PLD is changed to do piercing damage, and is given a piercing debuff (That would be removed from DRG), then a PLD is better if you have a DRG, a MCH or a BRD. And a DRK could be given a magic vulnerability, to better synergize with BLM, SMN and RDM.

As for healers, they could also create synergies. A healer that mainly uses abilities to heal is better paired with PLD or DRK than WAR. A healer that would spread an AoE based on the amount healed on your initial target would spread higher numbers by targeting a WAR than a PLD or a DRK, etc...

The whole synergy aspect is a great idea, if we were playing FFXI again. FFXIV is based around duty finder pugs. The only thing SE cares about is if all jobs can preform closeish to the same level in puggy dungeons. Raid content isn't even done by a large population of players. Since raids, especially prog are set up prior to entry and thus can be selective what does it matter if certain job out perform others? You have the time to select out the best jobs before hand but duty pugs do not.

If they created the synergy you are talking about then the DPS would have to perfectly balanced as well since you would be selecting a tank based on which DPS you had and there are clear winners and losers in the DPS world right now.

True balance will only ever be achieved when personal preference of aesthetics is the only deciding factor. Even a 100 dps difference will make the Prog Raiders select that DPS over others because Min/Max is a thing for a lot of people, even though they plan content to not need to min/max for the most part.

[Reynhart]

The whole synergy aspect is a great idea, if we were playing FFXI again. FFXIV is based around duty finder pugs.

The meta is not. Unless people start to withdraw from the Raid Finder right away if they end with a less desirable tank, the balance between them is only important for Party Finder or static, where you can chose the jobs you want.

[Falar]

It kind of is. This game will never have perfect balance (no pun intended). Every job will have it's highs and lows. I think people just forget that at times. It's why you hear so much of "just play what you like". Eventually the job you play will be in a good place. You just have to accept at some points it won't be.

Agreed, but it is going to be a looong 4.xx for DRK then.