Where the Meta/Paradigm Problem Applies

[Ralvenom]

The issue currently is, a lot of savage groups are really trying to push DPS checks. As such, PLD are left behind a bit, because their whole class paradigm/class expectation fantasy is built of the premise of being a shieldwall tank. WAR are, of course, the best at dps, because their whole thing is "crazy barbarian who gives & takes"*. DRK are in the middle of the road, because they play kind of like a PLD but can do more dmg and have the class expectation fantasy of being the "Dark defender who wields magic".

*That "gives" part suits the current meta very well.

To quote myself from another thread:

In the future (think 3.2)...I think a good balance of "dps check" (where tanks can go nuts and blast the numbers), "turtle tank" (where we hunker down and focus on def; think a fight where patience is more important than pushing phases), and "weird, interesting mechanics" (think something like: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3iUsfw6RzZ4).

Basically, SE should keep the str meta, but design fights in such a manner that the str meta isn't going to be suitable for every fight. In fact, the "turtle tank" fights would require one to have serious skill if they wanted to do a full STR build. This would also encourage tanks to gear for specific fights, which I don't see as a bad thing in the more demanding content. They also really need to redesign parry.