Quote Originally Posted by Reynhart View Post
Cecil was absolutely not a damage absorber. He was one of the sturdiest character in the beginning, but only because other party members are White Mage, Black Mage or Sage. (And his stats were absolutely pathetic)
You can clearly see the difference when he changes to Paladin, with a lot more Defense, a skill that let him protect party member, and White Magic too. And more HP at level 1 that what he had before the class change
While I agree with you, his introduction for what he was intended early game was very much a tank, bad stats or not. He was hardly a damage dealer either. He was, much as gladiator is now. The base for which his paladin class was built, which then, undeniably made him an epic tank. In the beginning he was a tank, just not a very good one.