Fix paladin. Only Class in the entire game that cannot...

[Khalithar]

I've posted this before on threads about pld aoe and I'll bring it up again here. I disagree with giving Flash a damage component, I'd rather see Pld given a new damage dealing attack with a decent potency that's on the GCD and utilizes one of the resources that Pld never really touches, that resource being it's MP. While I don't think that Pld should ever be given the same MP focus as Drk, as is a Pld never even needs to use their MP if the group knows what they're doing and as a result I believe giving Pld some new MP costs to work with is the way to go.

As far as WHAT to give Pld to improve it's damage, I say look no further than the Holy Sword magic from Final Fantasy Tactics, http://finalfantasy.wikia.com/wiki/H...cs)#Holy_Sword

These abilities were powerful spells that had both single target and aoe applications and did great damage even if their associated debuffs didn't stick to an enemy. I believe adapting 2-3 of those spells and making them AoE attacks on the GCD (with a high enough potency to warrant being on the GCD so they aren't used against single target) that cost MP would go a long way towards helping Pld do AoE damage. I do think pld single target damage is fine though, hence why I say keep them on the GCD.

[Kitfox]

See, that is actually not what Flash is meant to traditionally do anyway - it usually just debuffs the enemy with a blindness effect, which it does here, with the added function here of also being something of an AoE-spell-version of FFXI's Provoke by boosting hate. I think it's perfectly fine as it is - adding damage to it would just unbalance the ability completely. .

I know what Flash is supposed to do traditionally, but it's not fine as it is. Flash fills the same spot in the tank tool kit as Overpower and Unleash do, both of those inflict damage and make it so PLD AoE DPS is significantly behind the other tanks. That is an imbalance. Flash needs a damage component, or it needs to be replaced with another ability that has one. Enmity is not the problem, damage is (and nobody cares about the blind).

snip

ATB systems were used through FF4-9, then again in 10-2, 13 and 13-2. FF10 used a turn-based system with no ATB (think they called it 'CTB' Count Time Battle). None of these ATB system are strictly turn-based, in the sense that they do have a real time component when toggled to "active" instead of "wait."

The major difference between the 4-9 era and all the things that came after that, is that in the early days of ATB, enemy and player turns couldn't happen at the same time. However, after X-2, 13 and so on, this changed and it was in fact possible for different turns to happen simultaneously. All the actors in battle had their own ATB gauges. These systems are very similar to FF14 but they've added a movement component as well. If all those elements make FF14 a 'real time battle' to you, then that's fine, it's really a semantic question. I think it's more of a hybrid system, like all the other ATB systems, where they combine real-time elements with turn-based elements.

Now, when I said ATB is GCD, I meant more specifically the ATB gauge mechanic. Whether you wait until '100' or wait '2.50' is completely irrelevant, mechanically it's a timer that you wait for to use your turn. Maybe GCD has connotations that I'm not aware of, but in the context of FF14 you could use both interchangeably. I actually find it weird they used the term GCD from the start, instead of ATB, considering the history they have with ATB systems.

[Lyth]

PLD would benefit from a GCD AoE move in its kit. The problem is that MP is a throwaway resource on a PLD. As a result, skills which use MP cost you dps to use, either by not doing damage (i.e. Flash) or because they have cast times (i.e Clemency).

A way around this would be to give PLD an AoE spell with a cast time (i.e. Banish III) and let blocks have a chance to give you a swiftcast proc that you can spend on a spell of your choice. You'd then make decisions about whether to spend these procs on dps, or on your utility/healing moves (i.e. Clemency).

The other alternative would be something like Circle Blade, which could cost TP.

Now, when I said ATB is GCD

I don't want to get embroiled in this derailing discussion, but ATB (Active Time Battle) refers to a battle system. The individual "turns" in an ATB system are not referred to as Active Time Battles. It is incorrect to say "It is now time for me to perform an action, my Active Time Battle has come up!" Irrespective of whether you feel that FFXIV is using a spiritual variant of the ATB system, using the acronyms ATB and GCD interchangeably makes little sense.

[Caitlyn]

I would like to use Raise (conjurer cross skill) during battle, too.
In fact, PLD got too many cross skills, which arent very usefull.

[Kitfox]

A way around this would be to give PLD an AoE spell with a cast time (i.e. Banish III) and let blocks have a chance to give you a swiftcast proc that you can spend on a spell of your choice. You'd then make decisions about whether to spend these procs on dps, or on your utility/healing moves (i.e. Clemency).

This is actually one of the better ideas I've heard. They would really have to change how block works during spell casting for this, though. It's bizarre that you can not block while casting spells, especially since in the beginning mages had one-handed weapons and shields as an option.

It is incorrect to say "It is now time for me to perform an action, my Active Time Battle has come up!"

It's not wrong to say your ATB gauge has come up, which is what I implied, quite specifically. In normal speech the 'gauge' drops and people usually refer to the wait time as ATB, at least that's how I've always referred to it. Even the games itself refer to the gauge with the term ATB, as there is equipment and Crystarium levels with a stat ATB level, ATB+1, ATB capacity and so on. ATB can refer to the whole system, or to the ATB gauge, I thought I made that very clear in my comment. If you refer to the gauge, then ATB and GCD are very much the same thing. I do agree Global Cooldown is a more descriptive name, but this is all just semantics really.

[Xenosan]

After all the zodiac dungeon runs in 2.x for relic I think adding damage to Flash now or in the future would be half great, half infuriating, but thats the passive aggression showing.

If War Drum is given in the future, maybe do a copy>paste MNK's Elixir Field with a Shield Block % recast reset (ie Low Blow) and add a Paralyze debuff (why's no one Paralyze yet ;_; ). Or nearby allies get TP or HP per use in addition to being the PLD AOE damage Weaponskill. Seems fitting for the name.

[Brannigan]

My name is Joe Paladin and I DGAF about AOE attacks. Something that just does AOE damage, while convenient, would basically be boring and not add a whole lot of gameplay to the class.

[Jpec07]

Paladins have been lacking in the identity department since the beginning. SE doesn't know what to do with the job, and so they haven't been able to flesh it out. Right now, it is the most mechanically simple job in the game, and while that does make it "approachable," it also makes it kinda boring. The worst part about this, too, is that because there is no defined identity, everyone has a different idea of what a paladin should be, which means the user base has no concensus as to how to fix it.

[MiniPrinny]

Paladins have been lacking in the identity department since the beginning. SE doesn't know what to do with the job, and so they haven't been able to flesh it out. Right now, it is the most mechanically simple job in the game, and while that does make it "approachable," it also makes it kinda boring. The worst part about this, too, is that because there is no defined identity, everyone has a different idea of what a paladin should be, which means the user base has no concensus as to how to fix it.

Paladins have an identity. They're the royal knight that leads the party through their darkest hours. The problem is that most players don't get to see Paladin at its fullest. What Paladins do to ease A7S is disgusting. Their healing, support, and defensive abilities all have a use in that fight, and their single-target offensive power has plenty of time to shine. A Paladin could prevent a tank swap if you're using a Dark Knight main tank, a Paladin can ease the damage on a damage dealer after the double-stack Sizzlebeam, a Paladin can use Divine Veil regularly throughout the fight to soak Sizzlespark damage, a Paladin can take healer and tank jails with no issue and actually preforms better in the final tank jail than their peers, a Paladin can effortlessly transition to phase six through the use of Hallowed Ground, a Paladin OT can stun-lock the True Hearts in phases three and seven. And I'm sure I'm missing more of their maximum potential in that fight alone.

Paladins just don't get enough opportunity to heal their allies, soak damage in ways that the other tanks just can't, mitigate otherwise nigh-deadly AoEs to something manageable, give healers plenty of time to pitch in extremely helpful damage, ect. Regardless of their lack of opportunity, I think Paladins are the most well balanced tank. They have clear cut strengths and weaknesses, they sacrifice AoE damage and overall damage for unparalleled support and a toolkit rivaled only by Machinists. Meanwhile, Warrior is too strong (even Yoshida has admitted to this) and only has "requires high skill to maximize potential" as their drawback, and Dark Knight, even though I main and love it, is a hot mess.

[zuzu-bq]

I really can't understand why Flash haven't been given a potency on its trait to today. Like 30~50 wouldn't be bad and would help PLDs to actually do some AoE damage instead of rely on multiple Goring Blade and Scorn. But outside than that PLD is a great round class that provides many utility to the party.
And... Identity? Sorry, no job in this game lacks identity. Some are weaker? Yes. But Paladin is not one of them.