Hey Garryson, lemme see if I can help you out here. I have both PLD and WAR 50 from 1.0 and have played both classes almost exclusively in ARR beta to test out tanking. Here's what I found. But due note that this could all change as we move into P4 and Launch.
The two tanking classes are almost evenly matched. So let me start off by saying that there will not be a "PLD is the end-all be-all for endgame bosses" or anything like that. The two classes are almost evenly matched for enmity, abilities, stats, and defense(very different from 1.0). Their main difference is playstyle.
Paladins are the sword and board, classic defensive tank. They do little damage and specialize in defensive strategies. They have incredible abilities to mitigate damage and keep their moderate HP bar from falling. Shield Oath reduces all incoming damage by 25%. Rampart reduces all incoming damage by 20%. Sentinel by 40%. Bulwark raises their block rate by 60%. On top of their already impressive defense, they can easily make themselves an impervious wall to damage. They still gain a good majority of their enmity from their enmity combo Fast Blade > Savage Blade > Rage of Halone(which actually mitigates even more damage taken) but they have other means to gain enmity.
Warriors on the other hand are the offensive tank. This isn't to say that they actually have a higher damage rating than PLD, they don't, but that they gain enmity almost exclusively through damage. Despite Warriors having the exact same base defense rating as PLD, they take considerably more damage because they lack the damage reduction abilities that PLD has. They counter this by having a ridiculously high HP rating. (I got my WAR's HP up to 7k while testing during P3.) Warriors also have the ability to self heal through putting out more damage. This provides some level of mitigation while a boss smacks away your HP. Here's another difference. Warrior has more AoE power than Paladin. With Overpower and Steel Cyclone at their disposal, Warriors can make quick work of adds while still tanking a boss.
So knowing all that, how does this dynamic play out later in endgame?
Paladins, because of their high mitigation rate, use up very few party resources over time making them perfect for long drawn out fights against very hard hitting bosses. Because the White Mage doesn't have to spam-heal Paladins, they are able to mix in some very powerful damage in between cures and really assist a party with dps. Aero II is great DoT and Stone II just takes a chunk of damage off enemies. This is why many people fear PLD will outweigh WAR. Not because it's so much better, but it essentially facilitates more damage from other players because it requires so much less of its party.Â
Warriors on the other hand require a lot more help from their party. Being an HP tank really translates to being on a timer. So it is likely that Warriors will facilitate more zerg type boss strategies. They are invaluable due to their prowess at controlling AoE hate and assisting in AoE damage. With PLD as tank, THM and ARC's AoEs aren't super effective by themselves and usually expend more resources than they're worth. But with Warrior tank, who can assist in AoE damage, other classes AoE abilities become much more relevant. So this makes them great for Trash Mobs, Adds during bosses, lower defense bosses, etc.Â
I want to reiterate though that BOTH classes can tank whatever. PLDs have AoE capabilities and can hold AoE hate. Warriors can straight tank those single boss battles. I've tanked Cancer on 50 PLD and WAR successfully, while keeping aggro on all of the adds. It can be done, but those of us who are testing these classes out and pushing them to the limits understand that each is better suited for their specific niche. And I think that's a good thing. It creates a nice dynamic for tanking. It also allows for both tanks to be in the same party during endgame.
I can definitely see 24-man raids and even a lot of 8-man raids actually requiring you to have a PLD and WAR in your party. In 24-man raids probably even more. Theorizing here (because we don't have 8man raids yet) but running the dungeon, the PLD could absorb the adds damage, while the warrior assists in AoEing them down. Then during boss fights, the PLD and WAR would switch off depending on damage and resting phases. Warrior could tank the boss and the party could burn until it ran out of resources, then the Paladin would take over and tank while the party recovered lost tp/mp. The PLD could also Cover their WAR for hard hitting special attacks. Things like that maybe. Again this is all speculation.Â
But I hope that clears up some things for you. The TL;DR basically is that both tanks are equally capable at all aspects of tanking, but each has their niche. It will mostly likely end up being personal preference which one your party wants or which one you wish to tank content as. I encourage you to try out both. I am a PLD at heart, but I must say that WAR is a ton of fun to play as.
If you or anyone else here would like a little more in-depth info about the tanking classes, I have an ARR Tanking Guide that covers Beta Phase 3 and I'll be updating it to accommodate upcoming changes from Beta 4 and Launch.Â
Hope this helped!
The two tanking classes are almost evenly matched. So let me start off by saying that there will not be a "PLD is the end-all be-all for endgame bosses" or anything like that. The two classes are almost evenly matched for enmity, abilities, stats, and defense(very different from 1.0). Their main difference is playstyle.
Paladins are the sword and board, classic defensive tank. They do little damage and specialize in defensive strategies. They have incredible abilities to mitigate damage and keep their moderate HP bar from falling. Shield Oath reduces all incoming damage by 25%. Rampart reduces all incoming damage by 20%. Sentinel by 40%. Bulwark raises their block rate by 60%. On top of their already impressive defense, they can easily make themselves an impervious wall to damage. They still gain a good majority of their enmity from their enmity combo Fast Blade > Savage Blade > Rage of Halone(which actually mitigates even more damage taken) but they have other means to gain enmity.
Warriors on the other hand are the offensive tank. This isn't to say that they actually have a higher damage rating than PLD, they don't, but that they gain enmity almost exclusively through damage. Despite Warriors having the exact same base defense rating as PLD, they take considerably more damage because they lack the damage reduction abilities that PLD has. They counter this by having a ridiculously high HP rating. (I got my WAR's HP up to 7k while testing during P3.) Warriors also have the ability to self heal through putting out more damage. This provides some level of mitigation while a boss smacks away your HP. Here's another difference. Warrior has more AoE power than Paladin. With Overpower and Steel Cyclone at their disposal, Warriors can make quick work of adds while still tanking a boss.
So knowing all that, how does this dynamic play out later in endgame?
Paladins, because of their high mitigation rate, use up very few party resources over time making them perfect for long drawn out fights against very hard hitting bosses. Because the White Mage doesn't have to spam-heal Paladins, they are able to mix in some very powerful damage in between cures and really assist a party with dps. Aero II is great DoT and Stone II just takes a chunk of damage off enemies. This is why many people fear PLD will outweigh WAR. Not because it's so much better, but it essentially facilitates more damage from other players because it requires so much less of its party.Â
Warriors on the other hand require a lot more help from their party. Being an HP tank really translates to being on a timer. So it is likely that Warriors will facilitate more zerg type boss strategies. They are invaluable due to their prowess at controlling AoE hate and assisting in AoE damage. With PLD as tank, THM and ARC's AoEs aren't super effective by themselves and usually expend more resources than they're worth. But with Warrior tank, who can assist in AoE damage, other classes AoE abilities become much more relevant. So this makes them great for Trash Mobs, Adds during bosses, lower defense bosses, etc.Â
I want to reiterate though that BOTH classes can tank whatever. PLDs have AoE capabilities and can hold AoE hate. Warriors can straight tank those single boss battles. I've tanked Cancer on 50 PLD and WAR successfully, while keeping aggro on all of the adds. It can be done, but those of us who are testing these classes out and pushing them to the limits understand that each is better suited for their specific niche. And I think that's a good thing. It creates a nice dynamic for tanking. It also allows for both tanks to be in the same party during endgame.
I can definitely see 24-man raids and even a lot of 8-man raids actually requiring you to have a PLD and WAR in your party. In 24-man raids probably even more. Theorizing here (because we don't have 8man raids yet) but running the dungeon, the PLD could absorb the adds damage, while the warrior assists in AoEing them down. Then during boss fights, the PLD and WAR would switch off depending on damage and resting phases. Warrior could tank the boss and the party could burn until it ran out of resources, then the Paladin would take over and tank while the party recovered lost tp/mp. The PLD could also Cover their WAR for hard hitting special attacks. Things like that maybe. Again this is all speculation.Â
But I hope that clears up some things for you. The TL;DR basically is that both tanks are equally capable at all aspects of tanking, but each has their niche. It will mostly likely end up being personal preference which one your party wants or which one you wish to tank content as. I encourage you to try out both. I am a PLD at heart, but I must say that WAR is a ton of fun to play as.
If you or anyone else here would like a little more in-depth info about the tanking classes, I have an ARR Tanking Guide that covers Beta Phase 3 and I'll be updating it to accommodate upcoming changes from Beta 4 and Launch.Â
Hope this helped!