Returning player, can't decide between WAR and PLD

[DefectiveMuse]

Hey everyone,

Recently returned player here. Last I played was pre-Stormblood, but I only barely made it to HW at the time.

Now that I'm back I want to level at least one of each major class type (tank, healer, ranged/caster DPS, melee DPS) so I can smoothly get through the story, but I'm having trouble deciding on a tank. I do prefer being in a healer role/support DPS role, but every once in a while I want to tank. I'm not looking to necessarily raid with my tank, but I'm not counting out the possibility of loving it unexpectedly and wanting to play it forever.

Is there a big player-skill level difference between PLD and WAR? Which do you prefer, and why? I like both of them on paper and pretty equally at low levels (admittedly, my WAR is still Marauder...) so I'm not sure which I want to focus on. I remember tanks being very micromanage-y (which I found exhausting and usually frustrating at the time) and I know they're very different now.

Thanks!

[shao32]

Tanks are the most easy role to play now, enmity is a joke, and gameplay in general to braindead, WAR is more easy compared to PLD at max level but consider the skill ceiling of all tanks it's pretty low right now, so pick one and then the other, if you have no intention to raid or do anything serious with them then just leveling one and then the other at your free time for fun since it won't take much time specially with dungeons being fast for the role, the adventage of being able to level up all jobs with 1 char is for that and stay with the one you enjoy the most at the end.

[TouchandFeel]

I wouldn't say either are really harder than the other to play and the performance between the two is close enough that it's not really going to matter much.
The main difference between WAR and PLD is game-play style.
PLD is more focused on adhering to strict cycles of set rotations that switch up at regular shorter intervals, for example having a physical rotation phase that then cycles into a magical burst phase and then back to physical and so on.
WAR is more about a prolonged period of base combo rotation, slightly broken up by some special ability usage, and then punctuated by a short but very strong burst period before going back to the base rotation again.
I would suggest looking up and watching some of the more recent WAR and PLD guides to try to get an idea of how they will play.

[Lyth]

I think that WAR is probably the most accessible tank right now, especially with the move to a one-combo rotation with relatively little weaving and a large amount of downtime. PLD is more structured and more technically complex, but is very versatile and is probably more rewarding overall if you're a good player.

[Unsung_Wanderer]

I would say you can't go wrong with both, the rotations for both are pretty easy, paladin may look complex at first, but its really simple imo since its super on rails. I think where paladin is harder than warrior is in its tool utilization. As a pally, you have a large tool belt for the party, and that to me is what will separate a good pally from a great one.

[ItMe]

Hands down go with PLD.
They're both nice, but PLD burst window is spells you can instant cast, so your burst window has range.
It's so fluid and flexible to have a ranged burst window on a tank.