What if DNC is SHOMHOW a DPS?

[Seraphor]

Eh...no. They are knights with a little bit of supplementary magic. Lore-wise Dark Knight does not even use magic AT ALL. He uses the darkness that dwells within him.

As I said, Paladins are as much magic knights as this iteration of Red Mage is a melee job. A proper magic knight would use magic-enchanted sword to deal damage with possibly using spells straight out here or there (Rune Fencer/Spellblade etc.).

Yes, I want a straight out caster tank. But that does have little to do with how Paladins in this game are not magic knights.

You're talking semantics here.
There's a difference between a 'caster tank' which would be a mage who can take a hit, and a 'magic knight' aka the mystic knight or rune knight jobs.

In the latter sense, paladin and dark knight are 100% magic knights. The only difference here is element.
Mystic knight deals with the cardinal elements, paladin is 'holy element' and dark knight is 'dark element'. Obviously in FFXIV, elements only amount to aesthetic flavour.

[kikix12]

In the latter sense, paladin and dark knight are 100% magic knights. The only difference here is element.

With that logic, this game have nothing but caster classes. Every job can use Teleport and Return after all, so every job is a magic class, right?! Bards are also casters. Not only do they use some mystical energy to fuel their songs, but Foe's Requiem not only actually uses mana but also have a cast time. So they're not singing archers. They're spellcasters so they should be moved to "Caster DPS". Right?!

Semantics are important and difference between "magic knight" and a "knight with some supplementary magic" is large. Especially in high-fantasy setting where just about everyone can learn spells. Sure, you won't find anyone capable of becoming Thaumaturge (let alone Black Mage) or Conjurer (even less so for White Mage)...many people can't even cast Teleport and Return which is made clear by the story. But they can most likely learn lesser, non-combat spells that will help in everyday life. They just don't have the talent and mana reserves for the spells we, players, use. But huge amounts of them very much do (we're not the only members of the given guilds, after all, there are entire military units filled with them).

Magic knight is someone that uses magic at least equally to a weapon. Paladin does not do that...Dark Knight does not do that at all in the lore. The energy that Dark Knight uses is NOT MAGIC. It's not just a different element. It's an entirely different energy type. That it uses mana and that its skills fall under "spells" is just mechanical necessity. Otherwise you would need to call even monk a caster, despite it using Chakra and KI. Two energy sources that are the very antithesis to magic according to real life beliefs.