After 1 (arguably 2) expansions what is square trying to achieve with WAR (and PLD)?

[Aravell]

I would say that WAR is following the same design path as every other job, which is "ease of use at any cost", the only difference is that WAR is taken to the most extreme.

If you look at the current incarnation of WAR and compare it with the past, WAR has followed the same trajectory of the other jobs, all failure points (not having 5 stacks ready for Berserk, Maim buff falling off) removed or made increasingly lenient, inconveniences (Berserk pacification, having to be in tank stance to heal with Equilibrium, the self-bind from Holmgang) removed, etc.

The main difference is that WAR also had all of their weaknesses buffed out of existence, not allowed to be the lowest damage tank, not allowed to have weaker mitigation, not allowed to be reliant on healers, etc.

People who say the state of WAR doesn't present a balance problem are being intentionally blind.

[VentVanitas]

People who say the state of WAR doesn't present a balance problem are being intentionally blind.

it's why so many people saying that "WAR is the best it's ever been" or other such similar phrases has always bothered me to no end. what reasonable mind would ever consider current WAR to be healthy for the game's balance? I'd even go as far as to say that it is one of the biggest perpetrators for the game feeling less and less cooperative and more like you're just playing adjacent to other people.

WAR's design, even before ShB, has always been problematic when SE has constantly decided to allow it to do things unconditionally better than other tanks.