Paladin or Marauder?

[DeeBeeP]

I had a high level Dragoon in 1.0 and I leveled an Archer in P4 but I've been thinking of switching to a tank role for release. I'm not asking which is better and I know both classes have their own ways of tanking. I just want other people's opinions on which form of tanking is fun for them.

I do have a few questions though:

How is a Paladin's ability to heal?

Is Marauder DPS noticeable when tanking?

Which class plays "faster"?

[TirionCrey]

They got rid of self heals for Paladin in ARR. You can cross class Cure...but that won't do you that much good xD
Besides that you got Bloodbath from Marauder. It's a decent skill that you can keep on cooldown, but nothing to major healing wise.

When tanking as Warrior you can definetely see the difference in DPS compared to Paladin.

Me personally I prefer Paladin, cause I'm a "Sword+Shield" type of guy, but to be honest, Warrior tanking is more versatile and to me it's more fun, but you would have to try for yourself

[Azurus]

from what I gather paladin isnt really an innate healer at all anymore. In XI it has its crappy whm that it learned later then the mage classes but in this game they seem to be taking a more traditional approach to paladins (which i actually prefer). They are about damage mitigation and defensive buffs.

They are the walking walls. If you want self healing the class for that is actually warrior as it has self heals through doing damage. I cant say for sure which will be faster at endgame as I have not tried them out their obviously, however messing around with both of them on my legacy character i feel that warrior will probably be a bit faster paced while paladin will be a bit more strategic, however that is only at a glance mind you.

[Molly_Millions]

PLDs healing ability sucks, frankly. In the time it takes to cast cure, you'll take as much damage as you cure for. It's best to just keep hitting stuff or using your other abilities. IMO, WAR is more fun, but I'll play PLD when asked.

[Axel_Rhys]

This really should be your decision if you know both classes just take in to account pros and cons for each its better choosing your class than relying on input. At least that's how I feel

[Kryzen]

Cure amount is primarily based on your weapon. If you weapon sucks so will your heals. Get yourself an equal level green or higher quality weapon and just rotate between your utility CD.

But as others have stated, if you want to really have self heals roll Warrior. They do it better.

[Rinsui]

For self-heals and the literal thrills of battle, go WAR. PLD is all about standing there like a stone wall.
Think of WAR as a fat viking going through a cycle of yo-yo dieting. HP up, down, up again, down again
and so forth depending on the skills and combos you use. Very active. Whereas PLD is more like a brick
that relies on others to keep it in shape. Because for the time being, PLD cures are a sad thing to watch.

Part of the "problem" (which it is not, btw, because all-in-all both classes are pretty much exactly equal)
is that a WARs regenerative abilities are directly tied to doing damage, whereas self-healing as a PLD
basically forces you to step out of the ring for a few seconds and catch your breath while casting a cure.

Btw, personally I believe the distinction between WAR as a "add tank" and PLD as a "boss tank" is not
corroborated by the numbers, but results from a potent urge of many MMO players to attach a ranking
to every ability and job in order to reduce the perceived ambiguity of their personal choices. These are
then justified by unrealistic ideal case scenarios (e.g., a boss that only does straight physical damage
and has no adds, or whose adds are perfectly under the control of DDs) under which, presumably, one
of the jobs will come out on top. After many, many, many years of MMO gaming I am quite sure that
such ideal case scenarios that would justify a straight ranking ceased to exist somewhere around 1995.

[Molly_Millions]

Cure amount is primarily based on your weapon. If you weapon sucks so will your heals. Get yourself an equal level green or higher quality weapon and just rotate between your utility CD.

But as others have stated, if you want to really have self heals roll Warrior. They do it better.

I mean, I don't have a relic, that's fur sure. I only have a Skirmish sword, but I didn't see self cures being worth it in beta.

[LunarRei]

Cure amount is primarily based on your weapon. If you weapon sucks so will your heals. Get yourself an equal level green or higher quality weapon and just rotate between your utility CD.

But as others have stated, if you want to really have self heals roll Warrior. They do it better.

PLD Cure is pathetic, good weapon or not. It is in my leveling rotation, sure, but won't take a place on my hotbar when tanking.

[Deaden]

From my research, the answer is "it depends on what you like". Paladin is a more traditional mitigation tank, where most of their focus is around taking overall less damage. They seem geared towards tanking bosses, as it will be a smooter ride for the healers overall. The warrior has a large health pool and focuses on self regeneration through attacking. The amount of damage they take is higher, but they can contribute towards healing it back themselves when tanking. More of a spiky ride overall, but plenty effective. Both can tank fine in theory, just with different styles. My guess is warriors are slightly better at add control, and paladins are slightly better at big bosses.