what happens if second half of Alex is all physical?

[Alahra]

Even if the next tier is all physical, I can't see that sidelining DRK the way PLD is sidelined now, as PLD doesn't really have a physical equivalent of Dark Mind. DRK and PLD have pretty similar cooldown kits outside of that one ability. PLD does have Shelltron but I don't think that would be enough to really make DRK unwanted because they also bring the INT down debuff and solid DPS.

[Marxam]

what happens if sceond half of Alex is all physical?

this /10char

[AnimaS]

you may see double warriors but that is what if , meaning 100% hypothetical and likely not to happen. What happens in follow up raids are changes made by devs to fix problems in the first... there will be a mix.... likely. they have to put dps checks in cause Yoshi's EGO hates when players win a raid within the first month

[Erim-Nelhah]

If A5S-A8S are primarily physical, with the same kind of DPS checks we have on A3S and A4S, I think we'll still see DRK/WAR setups unless DRK is just too squishy. In which case, unless there's also a LB requirement of some sort, or mechanics that cater to PLDs abilities to the point of nearly requiring them, it's likely we'll see WAR/WAR setups.

--Erim Nelhah

[Ashkendor]

I'm pretty sure PLD mt dps is pretty well below both DRK and WAR. The WAR as default ot and ensured a spot in every optimal raid is a pretty big balance concern on it's own however. Definitely one I'd like addressed since the preferred classes for my static tanks are PLD/DRK.

I agree. If the other two tanks could at least give slashing debuff (or some other damage debuff) it'd even things out a bit. I get that they want each class to be unique, but I don't think it should come at a cost of exclusion. It's really dumb that in the current meta Warrior is guaranteed a slot while PLD/DRK get to duke it out for the remaining one. Any combination should be viable.

[SpookyGhost]

In which case, unless there's also a LB requirement of some sort, or mechanics that cater to PLDs abilities to the point of nearly requiring them, it's likely we'll see WAR/WAR setups.

There was an LB requirement in T13 and people still brought 2 MNKs, tbf. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[Freyyy]

LB speed isn't that much nerfed with only 2 people having the same job in a party. WAR + WAR will most likely be a thing if they don't change anything to PLD and DRK.

[Sleigh]

There was an LB requirement in T13 and people still brought 2 MNKs, tbf. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

To be fair again to the other side of that argument, the LB requirement in T13 was extremely lax.

If group was crap/undergeared to heck: LB1 to push Gigaflare or LB2 ASAP, then tank LB3 later (which came due to longer pre-51% action), then eventual melee LB3
If group was "properly" geared: Tank LB3, melee LB3
If group had high DPS, or with echo: Tank LB2, sometimes melee LB2

Nothing tight there really. This tier, there's not much time sensitive LBing. Best you could argue is being able to SMN LB3 Hand 1 then SMN LB2 Hand 2 in A3S if you milk that crap, everything else is lenient as pie including A4S.

THAT said, I really despise the WAR/WAR setup unless the damage gain is simply that extreme or if you are forced to tank different things. A1 and A2 Savage fit the bill in that department, to be fair! WAR/WAR is the best for those, hands down. A3S, I'm just not a fan of losing RoH/Reprisal on the boss like that, pretty big hit to me, not even for pure survivability but for letting healers DPS a lot in final phase. A4S, yeah nothing beats DRK + WAR due to how stupid DRK is in it.

[Hulk_Smash]

What I imagine, is not purely physical. It would be best if tank swap mechanics where needed. One physical, one magical. In that event, PLD would be viable.
You could also have situations where you have split bosses, similar to A1S, but with one buss being physical tank buster, the other being magic based. There are several situation imaginable, it just take a little creativity, which our game designers have.

[Isius]

Designing two tanks to literally be strong versus one type of dmg, but to also be weaker versus another is just a terrible game design for an mmo, when players take months to gear thier character. Tanks are meant to mitigation dmg whatever the source/dmg type in mmos. Why can't we have tanks that can mitigate ALL dmg differently? As long as SE has this idea of Drk being a magical mitigation tank, and Pld being a physical mitigation tank these two classes will remain crippled throughout the lifetime of FFXIV, and will only come into play when the current meta dictates it. This shouldn't be some mess up game of pokemon where we can't easily replace our lineup after spending months of TOMES on only one class.