Paladin. I dont feel I'm actually playing a Paladin.

[Reynhart]

RA, graphically, is definitely not a basic attack.

To be fair, most WS aren't either

[Aana]

Paladin is an exclusively western European idea. You could just as easily imagine some small bit American game developer in the 80s making a 2 handed armored sword knight style class in a game and poorly translating it in JP to Samurai. It's not ACTUALLY a samurai, just an armored warrior who uses two handed blades which is close enough in the not well researched 80s video game company.

The whole knight vs paladin thing is just a confusion of west and eastern sensibilities. The 'Holy Paladin' that uses actual magic is an extremely new idea. Paladins of old aren't known to have magic healing and smiting powers. The knight+Holy Cleric mage hybrid paladin is actually a D&D invention. D&D was a huge foundation for the American videogame industry and has been carried on ever since in western games and maintained into today in things like the warcraft series. Historical paladins weren't casting flash and holy on the undead. They were warriors fighting for 'good' causes and 'good' values in old western Europe means religious values, thus 'holy' causes, not actual wizards in armor. It wasn't until later when you add in wizards, magic, light vs dark tropes in D&D that you get warriors harnessing light to banish the darkness. Without those recent western additions, its just a guy in armor hacking at stuff.

Combat mages in armor calling down the divine to smite their enemies and protect their friends is an extremely modern, western idea from the depths of American nerdism.

[Valdegarde]

While I agree with most of what's been said in this thread so far, I do believe Paladin could benefit from some integrated throwbacks to the rest of the series in 5.0, but this applies to every class pretty much. For example, Shock/Stock Break type thing for AoE could be cool, maybe a fun little nod to Knights always allowing the use of Two-handed by having some ability that makes them use their sword with both hands but nullifies shield use for 10s or something. I don't particularly think they've been wildly off with their design of Paladin so far though.

Edit: Oh kickass, I can see why Requiescat might be a Thunder Slash type thing. I get Holy Spirit kinda fulfilling the role of Beatrix/Steiner's Shock, but it still looks pretty...tepid. Frankly Zenos uses the kinda Shock I'd imagine from the likes of General Leo.

[Aana]

While I agree with most of what's been said in this thread so far, I do believe Paladin could benefit from some integrated throwbacks to the rest of the series in 5.0, but this applies to every class pretty much. For example, Shock/Stock Break type thing for AoE could be cool, maybe a fun little nod to Knights always allowing the use of Two-handed by having some ability that makes them use their sword with both hands but nullifies shield use for 10s or something. I don't particularly think they've been wildly off with their design of Paladin so far though.

Edit: Oh kickass, I can see why Requiescat might be a Thunder Slash type thing. I get Holy Spirit kinda fulfilling the role of Beatrix/Steiner's Shock, but it still looks pretty...tepid. Frankly Zenos uses the kinda Shock I'd imagine from the likes of General Leo.

The problem with more 'throwbacks' is that paladin has been all over the map in the 20+ years in FF. Add to that the western audience wanting 'their' version of pld that is shown in western games/media like WoW etc. Are we doing Agrias FFT paladin who used flashy, elaborate 'sword art' type of magic to damage and enfeeble? Are we talking about FFXI pld who primarily used flash and cure spells to augment a Knight base (sword n board, cover)? Etc. None of which are really in line with the western WoW style paladin that is the modern form of Americanized paladins.

You could argue that the current paladin already is extremely paladin-ish. The most consistent paladin abilities in FF are Cover, Sword N Board, heavy armor knight. How the 'holy' aspect is shown has varied greatly. You could argue the traditional FF paladin is just the aforementioned Knight style character with rudimentary white magic. Specifically basic heals and the Holy line of spells (banish, holy, etc). FFXI, FFXIV, FF1, and a number of other entries really cover that very, very well. Theres something of a fissure where SE sometimes makes paladins through holy sword skills like Agrias that focus less on traditional white magic and instead 'channel' magic through their swords. This is the pld we don't have. But that doesn't mean pld isn't a pld. It is just the more traditional SE paladin design of knight+rudimentary cures and holy spells. But if you fell in love with 'sword art' paladin for lack of a better term, then this wont fit as well. But it's not really an incorrect paladin design.

[Valdegarde]

All of it, haha. All classes have been a mishmash of different themes from different Final Fantasies, Paladin is no exception. It's got a similar fighting stance as Tidus, abilities from Beatrix/Steiner, Cover from Cecil, Goring Blade from Warrior of Light, etc. I don't see it as a problem that they're all over the map.

[KaldeaSahaline]

To be fair, most WS aren't either

Subjectively speaking:

Fast Blade
Savage Blade
Riot Blade
Goring Blade
Total Eclipse
Shield Bash
Shield Lob

Are all pretty generic skills, unlike RA.

I'll concede that Rage of Halone is pretty "holyish" though since it unleashes an energy wave in its GFX.

[Wyndam]

I think the job is fine and has a good mix of abilities. The job quests kinda suck but they aren't without basis. If you want a good idea of where the job comes from you should read up on Arthurian legend and the Song of Roland. They're not so much miracle workers as they are devout knights who sometimes experience miracles because of their righteousness.

This thread is weird.

[Enkidoh]

One thing that has to be remembered here is that you are not even really a PLD anyway, at least, not a 'true' Eorzean PLD; you're still just a GLA wearing a fancy crystal that allows you to quickly learn some special sword and shield skills held by the Sultansworn Elite, the real PLDs (many of your skills are still just GLA skills, like Rage of Halone).

True PLDs in Eorzea are knights who serve as the personal guard of the Sultan/Sultana of Ul'dah and are thus bound to protecting the Ul'dahan monarchy. You're just an adventurer who has excelled in everything the Colosseum has taught you and thus having exhausted all the opportunities the GLA's Guild can teach you you're sent to learn more from the Sultansworn (who were opening up their skills and knowledge to outsiders for the first time), thus establishing yourself as a 'free PLD'. And there is nothing wrong with PLD being depicted in this way.

The FF series has always depicted it's own mythology and systems in different ways with each title, and this is no different. PLDs here simply are not the DnD style "holy knights/clerics" that you may have expected. In FFXIV you're basically just a swellsword who has learned some very fancy shield and sword attacks from actual knights, more a knight errant than an actual knight bound to service of a noble - as Jenlyns put it in the very first PLD quest in the game, "a free paladin has no master...", that "You swear fealty not to a lord, but to yourself- you are nobility amongst adventurers."

Really, you are a PLD in spirit, not physically/legally (at least, not in terms of servitude to the Sultana), you're an adventurer who serves the greater cause of Hydaelyn and protecting all on Her, a far greater calling than defending Ul'dah's decaying monarchy. Being a PLD in the FF series is more than just wielding a sword and shield and chucking fancy holy elemental spells around, it's about defending and protecting others, and that is the core of the Job here.

[Wyndam]

I don't think the whole "mage in plate" thing is D&D. Maybe a little from particular 4th edition builds or weird char-op variants. I think that's more WoW's Holy Paladin, which actually is/was a full time caster. And 4E was a direct response to WoW anyway, they saw raid night as competing with game night. Otherwise D&D paladins generally are front line fighters.

[Jonnycbad]

Paladins have flashy skills in offline games where there's no enmity/tanking system. Final Fantasy Dimensions, Paladin was a DPS class, Ivory Slash and Wide Slash were extremely powerful skills, FFIX Beatrix had some of the most powerful skills, and FFT Holy Knights were a powerhouse special class with instant skills with long range and no MP cost that could never be dodged or evaded, that inflicted debuffs too.