whats the biggest difference between a paladin and warrior?

[velric42]

Title says it all.

[Fireseen]

One requires more effort than the other to be decent.

[Sacred-Oblivion]

Paladins have shields, warriors do not.

Their playstyles are pretty different. Typically warriors are better at threat generation while paladins are better at damage mitigation, but gear and player skill are bigger factors in determining how each class performs in these areas.

Also on the Tank forum I keep hearing that Warriors are funner to tank with while Paladins are easier. I cannot yet confirm this myself unfortunately.

[Alazier]

Warriors do more damage and hold AoE aggro better IMO. Paladins are safer vs taking big spike damage and mitigate damage taken better over time but deal far less damage.

Both are good tanks, generally the Paladin will be MT while War will be OT.

I find Warrior to be alot more fun as you have to focus on combos more. Paladin is simpler with only 1 combo rotation.

[velric42]

So if I want to tank,but I really don,t want to be considered the main tank, I would go with paladin?

[Bixby]

For most fights that even have a main tank and an off tank (as opposed to straight up tank swaps), the main tank is the one who's got better gear and/or more experience. There aren't very many fights where a Warrior is hands-down a better main tank than a Paladin or vice versa, and even those, it can be done the other way, it just takes different strategies.

[Hiroradius]

Biggest difference.

Warrior BIG GIANT AXE, Paladin sword and shield.

[Enkidoh]

Biggest difference.

Warrior BIG GIANT AXE, Paladin sword and shield.

^This basically. Although GLA/PLD is easier for newbies and MRD/WAR is more challenging to play, really at the end of the day they both play the same role and hence it just more comes down to appearances - do you want to play as a noble knight with a sword and shield, or a savage barbarian with a giant axe?

Because the weapon type and AF appearance is really the only really major difference between them, the basics of using correct rotations, buffs and positioning to hold hate on yourself and pull targets is not specific to neither.

[TheTen]

Generally, the PLD is more relaxed to play. You have one main combo + Flash, some optional skills you use maybe once or twice a fight, and your Defense Cooldowns (some of which you can safely macro together as well). It feels like a very defensive class, a literal meat shield while the rest of the party does the damage.

The WAR has to micromanage themselves more. More than one combo, proper use of Wrath stacks, self-healing cooldowns + defense cooldowns, and Overpower demands proper positioning to hit, since it's a cone. Playing WAR feels more aggressive and interactive.

Personal example: I prefer PLD because I get easily overwhelmed. An acquaintance of mine prefers WAR because they get easily bored.

Go with what works best for you as a player.

[HoneyBiscuit]

So if I want to tank,but I really don,t want to be considered the main tank, I would go with paladin?

It is largely based on skill and experience who main tanks. Often times if you're in a PUG the tanks will just ask each other what they want to do. Some fights like Ifrit HM, have tanks that perform better in a certain role. Ifrit hard mode I usually see a paladin off tank for it's no cooldown stun.

I personally have a lot more fun playing warrior than paladin. But I love giant axes so that might be why. You'll need to level both at some point anyway for cross class abilities. Try them out and see what you like more.