Choosing a tank class..

[Wyndam]

I've been away since 3.1. It sounds like nothing's really changed in the tank balance. Is that about right?

Personally I always preferred PLD because it was the most straightforward. It makes it better for guys like me who come and go a lot or play a bunch of different classes. Also I'm not doing any Savage content and little PvP so the DPS differences in the tanks is more about convenience.

[RopeDrink]

Paladin for me - soft spot for the good ole Sword'n'Board, likely because I played ProtWarrior in WoW for donkeys years. It's arguably the best go-to as a first timer, even if you don't wish to level it to max (Provoke), so I'd always recommend starting there and seeing if you gel with it. Rule of thumb for me has always been to at least try classes up to 30 -- I already have my main three (WHM/PLD/MNK - ironic as all three are at the brunt of certain criticisms, but that's the point - you should play what you enjoy, not what everyone else tells you to). Only you can decide whether you enjoy X or Y, and it's not like FFXIV doesn't allow you to test them ALL on your character.

[Venjenz]

I main a WAR, and am fine and dandy with doing so, but if I could take anything from the PALs it would be a stun I can use every GCD cycle. That would be nice in so many different dungeons and trash pull situations. I generally prefer my DPS, but sometimes, being a PAL just seems like it would be easier.

[RopeDrink]

Eg. of above would be stunning those exploding AoE gummies in Sohm Al (60) - you occasionally get DPS who just truck into random mobs, leaving the gummies enough time and space to cast, so hey, rotate some Shield Slams into them and voila, not a concern. Does it make up for completely lacking DPS? No, given a stun with no cooldown is situational at best in dungeons - but hey, nothing wrong with having some extra tools to use.

[Robbocroft]

I'm not an expert by no means. I have PLD to 50 but been playing DRK since Heavensward.
What i can say is a bit inconsequential but i would really like to stress how much i love living dead skill
There are some very few fights when you pop living dead just to gain those couple of seconds, with a dead healer, that the group requires to down boss.
Shortly after you die.. like some epic warrior having fulfilled his ultimate purpose.

Yeah i know.. it's not exactly a reason to choose a class over another

[TequilaSky]

After some consideration I finally decided to run as a PLD. I came to this conclusion because I felt that it has all of the necessary utilities.
I know it may not have an extremely high damage output compared to other tank classes but it still seems to be able to hold it's own.
After i've nailed the tanking mindset and rotations i'll definitely be moving on to test drive the rest. Though so far so good! It's been a nice transition from mainly DPS and tanking dungeons/raids etc has been a joy so far.
I appreciate the advice everyone has given, it's definitely made a huge impact on my decision!

[RopeDrink]

A solid choice. Levelling as a PLD isn't actually all that bad. Lacking DPS was only really noticeable in certain circumstances eg. inability to comfortably AoE grind in any capacity (which is not the same as 'AoE tanking until stuff eventually dies'), but mono-e-mono you have the CD's and off-GCDs to pummel everything pretty quickly. Given you'll be enjoying instant dungeon queues, there's not much to worry about. If all else fails, you'll unlock provoke and any other PLD skills you can make use of as other tanks later whether you decide to main it or not, so it's always a decent way to start as a tank-minded player and easy-to-play as well.

[Delorean]

I have always liked Warrior because of their damage capability but do not know where they stand now in that regard. Paladin is a bit boring and dark knight although very cool seems very convoluted. You really have to pay attention as a Warrior though. You can't just tank everything with your face.

I remember doing Turn 5 for the first time as a Warrior, I was MT. It was hard to stay alive if I did not use Inner Beast immediately following a Death Sentence.

[Jim_Berry]

If your raiding primals and going to be MT, I recommend a countdown timer. If you have a nin in group, set it for 20 seconds for their huton, if not go with 10.

Pop shelltron pre pull, shield lob, circle of scorn, spirits within, shield swipe, then goring blade combo. HOWEVER, use fight or flight just before you finish the combo because CoS will come off CD, before FoF ends. You can also squeeze another goring in if you clip it just after 9 seconds left.

Apply RoH as needed to hold aggro, but usually the royal authority combo is enough

Oh and pops CD's as needed, lol.

Best to have it at 23-25 seconds. Those few extra seconds gives the NIN breathing room to toss Shadewalker. Doing it at 20, the NIN's Mudras won't be ready on the pull by a second or two, since the Mudra timer resets on each Mudra activation.

[FallenWings]

I have always liked Warrior because of their damage capability but do not know where they stand now in that regard. Paladin is a bit boring and dark knight although very cool seems very convoluted. You really have to pay attention as a Warrior though. You can't just tank everything with your face.

I remember doing Turn 5 for the first time as a Warrior, I was MT. It was hard to stay alive if I did not use Inner Beast immediately following a Death Sentence.

I'd have to disagree. WAR is by far the easiest tank class, and even the easiest class to perform well with in the game. With it's short yet powerful cooldowns, you're hardly even punished as hard for blowing them early and if you needed a CD and all of your options were expended, you would just IB. The class is a 5 button wonder that gets the best results for the least amount of effort expended. (Hur dur Storm's Eye > BB > Fell Cleave on cooldown.)

PLD at the very least needs to put thought on when to use Goring and its OGCDs aswell as struggle against its own poor design(lul).