VanaFest.2010 said:
Up until now, most job adjustments have been implemented with ease of party-forming in mind. From this point onwards, we plan to shift the focus towards ease of participation in endgame content. The role of each job will also come under review.
[...]Our goal is to achieve-without sacrificing the uniqueness of each job-greater ease of participation in endgame content and provide the opportunity for all participants to contribute equally.
This seems to say, "SE doesn't want any particular job to be a must-have for a majority of contents." i.e. Don't need to use a PLD (or substitute any one job of your choice). So, in a sense, PLD becomes "less needed" by SE's choice.
Yet, it doesn't preclude using PLD.
VanaFest.2010 said:
With the level cap increase ushering in more powerful enemies than ever before, our highest priority will be to ensure that paladins maintain their current level of effectiveness in their established role.
This seems to say SE would like PLDs to continue function as it was at the time of the announcement (March 2010): tanks with some DD and curing capabilities.
But, FFXI players are jaded and don't trust SE, right? So, what are the actual experiences of using PLD these days?
AbysMisar run: Tuskertrap, Flame Skimmer, Asanbosam, Athamas, Avalerion, etc., plus random stuff we aggro'ed.
Code
Damage Summary
Player_______________Total_Dmg___Damage_%
COR->WHM__________________5971_____1.46_%
RDM_______________________2881_____0.71_%
BLM______________________21357_____5.23_%
Itazura_PLD/NIN__________56811____13.92_%
BLM/RDM__________________47150____11.55_%
THF/NIN__________________34950_____8.56_%
RNG/NIN__________________52504____12.86_%
RDM_(2-box)______________20536_____5.03_%
BLM_(2-box)______________42302____10.36_%
SAM/NIN__________________48147____11.80_%
RDM/WHM____________________230_____0.06_%
PLD/NIN__________________41586____10.19_%
BLM/RDM__________________32392_____7.94_%
Code
Curing (Whm spells or equivalent)
Player___________Cured_(Sp)
COR->WHM______________9325_
RDM/BLM_______________1154_
BLM___________________1482_
Itazura_PLD/NIN______41536_
WHM/RDM______________49959_
BLM/RDM________________161_
RDM_(2-box)___________3558_
RDM__________________18845_
PLD/NIN______________59980_
BLM/RDM________________787_
Well. What do you know? Looks like the PLDs in my LS did a bit of damage and a bit of curing. (And, a bit of tanking, of course.)
Whether you want to use PLD or not is up to you; it's not absolutely needed, but it pretty much can do what SE had indicated it's supposed to able to do.
Plus, it's fun. Perhaps that's the real point of playing as a Paladin.