Let's Talk Tanks

[Shurrikhan]

Edit: Confusion on my part.

How would decoupling the defensive properties, give them their own categories, and then rebalancing the stat budget where gear comes with 1 Offense, 1 Defense, and then materia serves as your choice for where to further specialize, not serve your model better?

Because we play under developers who prefer to make damage almost always the objectively best solution? Because when players have the choice of the unfun but numerically far superior option (as damage has pretty much always been in this game), most take it regardless of its relative cost to their gameplay? Because when you give options each from category Superior and category Inferior, the latter may as well not exist? Because it only really offers choices in answer to "How much can I be less of a tank" as the best progression path for tanks?

You'd effectively just give us gear with a single secondary stat each, completely contrary to the player choice my model is aimed at.