Quote Originally Posted by Xenosan View Post
I disagree with the notion ' only true PLDs will stick to the job.' Bogus. As a 'true PLD,' for your love of the Job, consider not using it, and then maybe SE will start addressing the forthcoming weaknesses that have always existed with it, but were tolerated because (only) raids pander to it. In that respect, having a third tank at the table may be the best thing for PLD in the long-run, but at present folks should stay vocal.
Unfortunately, this is exactly what has happened since around 3.2. Even here on the forums, I can pick out quite a few names of players who used to have Pld listed as their main but have since then switched to War or Drk. It's exceedingly rare to run into another Pld in DF these days as well. Even I have all but retired mine. I use my Pld more for PvP than I do for any of the active PvE content, only going back to it when it's something new and I want a nice set of comfy shoes to learn in.

That said, I don't think having a third (or even eventual fourth) tank is necessarily a good thing in this case (not to say that having Drk is bad in anyway. I do love that job), because it provides a crutch for the tank balance to lean on. I don't think SE really cares which tank people play as, so long as they are still playing as a tank. Honestly, their last set of "major adjustment" was pretty telling of just how invested SE is in actually taking a serious look at fixing Pld's long standing problems. I'm pretty sure that the only reason they even did that much was because Raid queues were suffering as a result of the current state of things, which kind of gives us a hint at their bottom line: Queue times.

The only thing that seems to ever spur SE into action in regards to job balancing is queue times, which is probably because it's their best judge of player activity and subscriber satisfaction. If queue times drop, then they take a look at the problem, because their bottom line is to keep people playing, no matter what. However, if queue times persist, then, as far as SE is concerned, everything is fine. Pld's might be as rare as a purple spotted unicorn, but so long as those previous Pld players are still playing as Drk or War, then all is green in the pasture. It's still just a business to them, after all.