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

[Jpec07]

Paladins have an identity. They're the royal knight that leads the party through their darkest hours.

And where, exactly, are you getting this identity? Because in my playing Paladin (and my tireless examination of it), that's not the identity I picked up.

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.

So you're saying that the established identity of Paladins is the one who leads the charge, but then you're saying their best position in a raid comp is as OT beside a DRK? That seems a bit inconsistent (which makes sense, because the Paladin toolkit itself is very schizophrenic; we are most performant when we are not "leading the charge", but our shield, its mechanics, and our cooldowns supposedly make us best suited to do exactly that).

Just in case this suggestion hasn't been tossed out already:

- If/when RNG mitigation is eventually reworked, allow for dodge, blocks, and parries to stack (no longer 100% dodges; you create a glancing blow, even while further mitigating the attack with a block and/or parry where all of these chances are increased as enemy accuracy decreases). Evasion or reduced enemy accuracy then increases counterattack opportunities, instead of reducing them.

I like this idea, because then no one would laugh at me for being a Parry-stacking PLD. Or okay, a lot fewer people would laugh at me for it.

- Bake unique counterattack mechanics into Gladiator that most shine in AoE situations.

YES. I like this as either an automatic thing or as an oGCD proc on damage taken (with a 1-sec internal CD). Make it so you can either counterattack one enemy for 100 potency, or slash all enemies in front of you for 60 potency apiece in response to a successful block/parry/dodge.

> Now Flash adds MT damage and you benefit from supporting Dark Arts - Dark Passenger casts, etc.

This would add some nice utility, but I'm genuinely curious as to how they'd be able to code for this (since MT isn't a hard-coded thing). Maybe tie it to the top of the enmity table?

Alternatively, if SE just made it so PLDs could dodge, parry, or especially block while casting, you stop losing extra health while casting Clemency, so you can better cover your healing needs while your AST spams Gravity or WHM spams Holy past the stun-lock.

I believe it's been suggested before, but Tempered Will could be modified to fit this role pretty well. If they reduced the cooldown to say 120s and made it so players could dodge, parry, and block incoming attacks as well as avoid interruption, it would be very useful. They could also add a component where blocking has a 10% chance to reset the cooldown.

I'd also like to see a GLD skill that turns Parry into Block Rate. If we have a shield, it doesn't make sense for us to stop an attack with our sword.

[Paikis]

And where, exactly, are you getting this identity? Because in my playing Paladin (and my tireless examination of it), that's not the identity I picked up.

Did you just click through all the class and job quests and not read anything? Because that is exactly what the Paladin is.

YES. I like this as either an automatic thing or as an oGCD proc on damage taken (with a 1-sec internal CD). Make it so you can either counterattack one enemy for 100 potency, or slash all enemies in front of you for 60 potency apiece in response to a successful block/parry/dodge.

I'd be OK with some sort of Trait for Bulwark that let you counter-attack for 50-75 potency whenever you block an attack while Bulwark is active. But permanent oGCD AoE attacks whenever you block or parry or dodge? How do you spell overpowered again?

If we have a shield, it doesn't make sense for us to stop an attack with our sword.

Actually it makes perfect sense. Your shield only covers one side of your body. On the other side of your body is... a sword!

[Jpec07]

Did you just click through all the class and job quests and not read anything? Because that is exactly what the Paladin is.

Take a look at the essay I wrote, linked in my signature, titled: "What Makes a Paladin." I am very intimately familiar with the travesty of the class' story and lack of in-game definition.

EDIT: In case you can't see my signature for some reason: What Makes a Paladin

[Reynhart]

YES. I like this as either an automatic thing or as an oGCD proc on damage taken (with a 1-sec internal CD). Make it so you can either counterattack one enemy for 100 potency, or slash all enemies in front of you for 60 potency apiece in response to a successful block/parry/dodge.

They could simply bring back Shield Swipe on GCD and make it a conal AoE like War Drum was in 1.x. (With the proper potency)

[MiniPrinny]

-snip-

"A free paladin has no master. Instead she travels all lands, and in every place takes up the cause of the unarmed and defenseless. You swear fealty not to a lord, but to yourself─you are nobility amongst adventurers." - Jenlyns, in the very first Paladin quest: "Paladin's Pledge"

Additionally, I only mentioned the situations where their brief reprise as an off-tank comes into play. Raid tanking isn't a set "OT does DPS, MT tanks most of the fight" situation, it never has been. The OT in this game spends their fair share of almost every fight tanking, soaking attacks with the MT, or dealing with mechanics that the MT can't due to lack of resources, the risk being too high, or the enemies being too strong. You lead the charge regardless of your role in that fight in particular, you just may not always be handling the boss directly depending on the situation, which is fine.

[Reynhart]

"A free paladin has no master. Instead she travels all lands, and in every place takes up the cause of the unarmed and defenseless. You swear fealty not to a lord, but to yourself─you are nobility amongst adventurers." - Jenlyns, in the very first Paladin quest: "Paladin's Pledge"

Considering the Paladins in this game are members of the Sultansworn, this description has nothing to do with the lore of the job.
Another funny thing, the PLD quest is the only one where your goal is your own pride...while Warriors learn to control their Inner Beast thanks to their desire of protecting people...

[Launched]

Considering the Paladins in this game are members of the Sultansworn, this description has nothing to do with the lore of the job.

No, our characters are free paladins, not sultansworn paladins. Rewatch the 30-50 cutscenes.

[Reynhart]

No, our characters are free paladins, not sultansworn paladins. Rewatch the 30-50 cutscenes.

Paladins are the elite of the sultansworn, and this is their captain that teaches us our skills. Even if we're rogue Paladin, the identity tied to our skills is that of a royal guard.
Even Solkzagyl's final skill is called "Sultan's Brand"

[Launched]

Paladins are the elite of the sultansworn, and this is their captain that teaches us our skills. Even if we're rogue Paladin, the identity tied to our skills is that of a royal guard.
Even Solkzagyl's final skill is called "Sultan's Brand"

http://ffxiv.gamerescape.com/wiki/Keeping_the_Oath
" In recognition of your deeds, he bestows upon you the gallant surcoat, sacred armor normally reserved for the most courageous of the Sultansworn. Although this is a violation of long-standing tradition, he believes there is no paladin more deserving of the honor. Wear your new armor with pride, free paladin, and continue to defend the people of Eorzea."

Straight from the journal of the level 50 quest.

[Reynhart]

Straight from the journal of the level 50 quest.

It confirms that the skill we learn and the armor we get is indeed from a Royal guard. That's the lore of the job, even if we're personally not restricted by it. Exactly like the lore of Warrior claims that the Inner Beast is what makes ancient warriors destroy themselves, yet we have absolutely no issue with it right from the start.

Solkzagyl also talks about how it took a free paladin to make Oathkeeper shine again/show them the way etc.

Yes, and do we manage to make it shine ? By measuring the size of our longsword against each other...