Need some advice for group make ups

[Rosekitten]

Being a new Free Company we'll sooner or later be looking to make a static or core group to clear content. We already have two healers (luck has it a sch and wht) and then we have two tanks. Both tanks have both Pld and War to 50 so it's not a issue to switch out one or the other if need be.

The original plan was I would go Pld as our other tank loved War. Recent events he seemed to change his mind and our raid leader is saying we can just duel run Pld because they can clear anything. While this may be true ... as far as I know it would be more beneficial to have both types of tanks in the group. Correct me if I am wrong on this.

The other tank is fairly new to tanking, we are helping him along but it's to the point now where he just needs practice. The issue thus far is that whenever we get both of our tanks together we seem to struggle or have some issue on the tank end. Now I'mm not trying to say I'm a fantastic War tank who can rotate all CD's properly.. because I know I can improve. But if we are struggling would it just be easier to run duel Pld? Or maybe there is some form of advice someone can give out there.

[Traek]

You really haven't given much information. 'Struggling on the tank end' could mean many, many different things.

War + Pld is best combo for a variety of reasons. Stick with it. Your problem is with one of you tanks, not the combo. I doubt it'd magically disappear with Pld + Pld.

[Ryuko]

It's very good that you both have WAR+PLD because while all the fights are possible with any combination of the two, some fights might just feel easier depending on which combination you use. For example, my group does PLD+WAR for Turn 6, but the WAR switches to PLD (PLD/PLD) for T7, because he feels it's easier to mitigate the damage from the adds (as the OT) on PLD than on WAR. Well, don't quote me on that. I'm not a tank. But I know there's a reason he does it. XD On T8, we have one WAR MT and the OT plays as a DPS. Then we go back to PLD/WAR for T9. When we were progressing on T5 a while ago, we had a WAR MT and PLD OT. Versatility is super helpful... and as far as your issues being a tanking problem... do not forget that if healers are new to the fights, they will probably be dropping the ball simply because they're not sure when a big hit will be coming, they are learning to dodge AND heal you at the same time, etc. Everyone's learning so I wouldn't be too concerned during your first runs of new content.

[Ehayte]

Having 1 WAR and 1 PLD is going to cover you for most content, PLD/PLD is passable in almost all situations, but you will miss out on the things that WAR can excel in (constant dmg mitigation for predictable attacks, extra DMG as off-tank, etc).

If you want a group of 8 people to be ready for anything in current and future content, having a WAR/PLD is going to probably be your best bet.

WAR is harder than PLD on the dmg mitigation front, but having a crappy WAR switch to PLD is not going to make them NOT a crappy tank.

[Donjo]

WAR + PLD has excellent synergy that doubling up on either class just doesn't have.

For Example:

PLD MT + WAR OT can keep Halone, Storm's Eye, and Storm's Path on an enemy to maximize tank damage and minimize damage to the MT at all times. A WAR MT risks losing threat if they try to keep both Storms up at all times. This combo is also ideal for fights where several adds appear at once, because the WAR OT can just Overpower and Steel Cyclone and have threat while the PLD MT does what it does best: keep threat against a single target.

I think numbers were toyed with somewhere that found that a PLD OT actually does more damage than a WAR OT provided that a WAR MT can keep 100% uptime on Storms Eye.

A PLD's ease of stunning makes some fights more difficult if you double up on WAR. The same goes for situations which are helped by Silence.

A PLD OT has a potentially useful use for Cover: save the MT in an emergency. This can apply regardless of the MT class, however.

[Kitru]

It's very good that you both have WAR+PLD because while all the fights are possible with any combination of the two, some fights might just feel easier depending on which combination you use.

This is basically it. There are some fights where double WAR is quite nice (Mog EX being one: higher WAR tank damage lets you push your tank moogle solo), some where double PLD is probably appreciated (since they're simpler, they allow the tank to focus more on mechanics; also, both tanks having HG could be quite useful), and WAR + PLD is the best general case.

Keep in mind that, except for MH/OH, WAR and PLD share all of their gear, so you can basically bounce between the two as much as you want with no negative effects. If both tanks have both tank jobs available, it gives you the freedom to play whichever tank combo is best for that fight. The only thing that you might want to consider, really, is have one (or both) of you get up a DPS job that's reasonably well geared (if you play a MNK or DRG, you'll be getting STR accs for your tank job as well, so there's synergy on that level) so that you can allow for the 1/2/5 composition (which are becoming more and more popular/common; personally, I see this as a general failure on the part of the devs in designing content that doesn't explicitly require 2 tanks, even if it's something as simple as a forced tank swap mechanic; they made Titan EX require a tank swap because it sucked to have Titan HM be a single tank fight; I can understand 1/2/5 for CT2 since designing content for 6 tanks is pretty insane while 3 tanks is feasible, but everything 8 man should require 2/2/4, imo).