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PLD is a great class. It's fun-- keeps you on your toes and there's lots of things you can do. o:

With tanking as pld, all you have to do is keep hate. It sounds simple enough, but when you got a powerful blm, rng, or drk it can be tougher than you think. You have to use abilities and spells often, and make sure you keep it voked. I use /recast "Provoke" in most of my macros so I know when its available, which helps me keep hate. Also, the more health you recover using cures, the more hate you'll generate. So, if you lose hate and you're at almost full health, cast cure on someone else to help regain hate (if voke isn't ready). Abilities are a great way to keep hate as well, but Provoke is the key.

PLD = tanking = protecting your party. Which means, you may have to die for the good of your party. I've done this before. Just remember that one death is better than two or more. With 2 hours: if your whm uses Benediction, consider using Invincible. Bene + Invincible = instant save.

My pld is 47, and so far I haven't found it to be too overly expensive (then again, I leveled ninja to 50... haha). Of course, this depends on your price range, what you personally view as expensive, and the prices of items on your server. Just focus on VIT and DEF and you're good. Since I have a mithra, I also have a few HP+ items (I likes my Pigeon earring). But technically speaking, galka and elvaan are best naturally built for the job. But as with all cases, equipment can make up for what your race lacks.

And that's my input. o:

DRK have access to some of the best armor in the game - they have decent DEF, much better than a SAM, DRG, and some other melee. DRK abilities only effect DEF (berserk (if war subbed), last resort, etc). DRK make fine trick partners.

both are awesome, I have friends who are both and have pted with both though I've no intent of being either (I'm going to BRD with RDM and WHM as my other jobs I'm working on -- because I like making the party work).
I love PLD, I simply do. When I'm lead in a pt and the choice is between PLD and DRK, I pick PLD. Yes, DRK rock but you get a lot of people who play it and aren't very good at it. PLDs also heal themselves sometimes (though as WHM I still have to help them since they take a lot of hits and their mana is not infinite) and cast divine spells on things so my WHM can focus on healing rather than "hit mob with tons of banishes".

I'm personally real life friends with two DRK and their characters can almost never find a party after level 30 to 40...my friend who is at 52 sometimes waits two weeks for a pt only to be kicked asside after a couple of hours with negative xp for the day.

He always winds up pulling and he's been stuck at level 52 for three months because every time he gets a pt he dies at least twice and usually loses more xp than he gains.

DRK is not a good idea, I don't know about PLD at high levels but from what I've heard it's at least not worse. Given your choice between the two, I'd go PLD, but that's just me...and I pressure my friend who wants to do high level WAR to be a PLD...so I'm not a good source.

For the bold part, I take it that around 50 that having IM armor would truely benifit the first voke for SATA or would that just be a waste of CP/gil for a DRK unless they plan on working on WAR or PLD later on or still have it from WAR or PLD and DRK just being another job to lvl up?

im only 47 drk right now but when i 1 voke i get whack until im in the yellow >.< ( i get hit 4-5 time)