Thread: PLD 4.0

4.0 in general:

• Vitality made a bit more tanky, rather than just an eHP (vs. tankbuster) capper, but in a different way than Strength, such as by increasing healing taken over time (allowing for larger windows between heals, as is generally the only other benefit of Vitality currently). Attack Power (AP) again benefits blocks, and parries.
• (Abilities that grant additional enmity or are modified by enmity modifiers (including by stance) now give additional slight enmity across all engaged enemies, similar to the use of any action.)
• Vitality <> Strength gap reduced a bit. Tanks now take 67% Attack Power from Strength, 33% from Vitality.
• Vitality further grants bonus enmity to make up the difference in Attack Power, and therefore enmity. Fun fact: this also applies to per-action enmity, whereas Strength does not.

• Anything that looks like a cleave, is. Just not necessarily a huge one.
• Pure "AoEs" are less niched; more situational usability. TP costs often reduced.
• Skill and Spell Speed merged; each now slightly increases oGCD dmg.
• TP refresh now occurs at the player's GCD rate, but ticks for only 50. Bonus TP effects (Paean, Spire, ProRook, Goad) reduced by 20%, now tick at receiving player's GCD rate.
  
  
• Accuracy and evasion/parry/block revised. Percentile hits/misses now possible. So called "soft cap" on accuracy significantly reduced. Parry and block now reduce both flat damage and reduce enemy accuracy to further reduce damage by percentile. Dodge reduces only accuracy. Excess accuracy now contributes to critical strike chance, albeit at a lesser rate than pure Crit stat.
• Parry stat removed, replaced by Guard, Deflection, and Evasion. Guard increases base/flat mitigation from blocks and parries, decreases knockback, and increases the damage necessary to interrupt your casts, while Deflection improves the efficiency of accuracy reduction by block and parries on enemy attacks and improves the accuracy of your counter-attacks (if any). Evasion increases the accuracy necessary to be hit. Guard is generally the best trash-tanking or utility stat, while Deflection is the favored stat against accurate, hard-hitting bosses and for MT dps. Evasion is usually balanced against these two, but because it also affects magic to some extent, may be favored in anti-mage combat.
• Blocks and parries have increased chance based on accuracy, deal increased flat mitigation based on attack power, and increased deflection (reduction of enemy accuracy) based on attack power and accuracy relative to the enemy blow and attacker respectively.
  
  
• General rates of blocks, dodges, and parries have been increased across the board and feel much less RNG-dependant, but they are now limited by Staggered and Winded effects. Dynamics reduced.
• Blocks and parries strength are gradually reduced by usage. Recovers quickly. Bar can be customized; by default it shows up once effects are reduced below 80%, and shows both the extent, and the recovery time. Costs reduced by Determination, chance cost reduction by Crit, recovery time increased by Speed.
• All chance mitigation has a heightened chance of use when it would prevent death or critical health (<20%), but in turn chances are gradually reduced based on the chance that was increased. Recovers more slowly. Costs reduced by Determination, chance cost reduction by Crit, recovery time increased by Speed.

::Overall point of these last two sections: to make Evasion tanking a resource management game, or at the very least like counting cards or knowing the ball-and-cups host's tricks, rather than just yanking on slot machines. Ultimately, to make evasion tanking more viable, so that a tank class can eventually be made around it, and the other tanks made more interesting for it.

GLD:

• Unique means of dealing AoEs, especially while tanking. Even if triggered by a weaponskill, it shouldn't be a spam attack like the others. Likely using enemy attacks against themselves (offensive evasion).
• More Sword-and-Board synergy.
• More evasion usage.
• Access to Goring Blade
• Some potency increases, directly, or through core trait effects trigger-able in combat.
• Possibly some active blocking skill that lets them mess with their block chance/use/rating consumption.
• (Would ultimately like classes to be viable for roughly a third of all significant content, and about half of 'fun' content. Should be more slippery and personally tactical than the full PLD, with possibly better opportunistic/burst damage.)

PLD:

• Sword Oath tanking improved somewhat, likely by swapping out increased AA damage for increased potency on all attacks, thereby improving burst, enmity, and AoE.
• Further AoE improvements - likely improved cleave in Sword Oath and applying or improving a cleave component to/in Shield Oath.
• Improved utility (Improved Cover, Clemency, Divine Veil)
• True Shield-style ownage in Shield Oath
• Reasons to use Shield Oath as OT, if only situationally.

Extra:

• Would honestly like to see Crit Strikes not share a category with hit/block/parry/dodge, such that forced crits cannot be blocked or parried. However, that does mean RIP Awareness. I have no regrets about trading this for something not shit, though, or increasing mob critical strike chance in general to see it actually have some significant use outside of DD/Bulwark/RI synergy.
• Would like to see Bulwark CD decreased to 2 minutes, not so much for Awareness synergy as just because that should be the most outright iconic ability in a Sword-and-Shield tank's skillset, and instead its' felt basic/lackluster since early ARR Swipe spam. I'd like to see it more frequently, paired with the above Sword-and-Board ness.