BLU/PLD (the Crusader) Guide by Vlera

Blu/Pld A.K.A the Crusader class
Guide by Vlera of Ramuh

_TOC_ introduction Pros Cons Strategies Solo&Party Ending

Introduction
Okay First things first hey everyone im Vlera a mithra of bastok from Ramuh. This guide is still in the making due to the fact im only a 44/blue and 22/pld im planning on continuing to level soon but work has been getting in the way >_< sucks so ill do what i can for now and try to update daily(if i can). This guide will be similiar to that of smudge's vampie mage infact this whole guide was inspired all by his work and hopefully some of you might take this to mind well hopefully ^_^. Now why did i call it the Crusader? it reminded me of a tes4 oblivion class called crusader and becuase well no one really tried this combo out so yeah. So lets begin shall we?

Pros
Okay well first off let me explain why i first did this. Like other blue mages out there we all know about 90% of them will always have ninja as there sub for Utsusemi and dual wield but lets stop and think for a second okay all ure getting is just a spell to create shadows that takes hits for you well okay i get that however blue mages get a identical cousin spell in our later levels called zypher mantle at lvl 65 as for dual wield well let me just say its nice in lower levels like 1-20 however you'll soon get party invs to kazham and over there dual wield isnt as afficient as it was due to the mandragoras who attack twice and have a fast atk time. I have taken monk to 31 so i know what its like waiting there just saying "oh come on just hit the damn thing already" lol. Now thats pretty much the benefits ull be getting with that as ur sub now lets compare them to paladin. Okay as pld for a sub ure first couple of bonuses arent so great as holy circle and undead killer are okay but again u probably wont be using this as often(unless u plan on going to places like gusgen mines. The bonuses however do kick in at level 20 as ull get a good defense bonus which is always nice and at 30 u get shield bash now i know as a blue mage we arent profficient in the use of shields and we are seriously limited on which ones we can even get!. Personally i say when you have the money try buying a nymph shield as it will come in handy especially with all the elemental resistances it gives. Now you might be saying okay so far all this is well decent but not really convincing okay let me go a little further. Okay next bonuse is resist sleep which hey not really a trait that good but believe me when partying in kazham having a resist sleep will definately help with the mandragoras and hey every little bit adds up. Next will be shield mastery which adds more tp when blocking and adds spell interruption let me explain this a litle better. With this the shield bash effect is enhanced further and we get bonus tp which as any fellow blue mage would know alot of are spells are tp damaged based so this makes us even more deadlier. Now for the best and most rewarding part of this at lv60 u not only get another defense bonus but the almighty sentinel okay let me explain with a further enhanced defense and with the extra help of sentinel ure defense practically triples!!! now add that with spells like cocoon or metallic body and congrats u just made ureself one tough bugger to kill ull literally laugh at a dragoons pentathrust saying "oh come on is that all u got?" lol. Finally at lv70 ull get cover and auto refresh u probably wont use cover all too much however auto refresh is a must for any mage so this will benefit greatly.

Cons
So with the majority of the pro's done let me ask are you still not convinced yet? well okay maybe this will help u decide. One other benefit that paladin gives is the use of white magic. This will not only give you another type of magic to use but will eliminate the use of you using the blue mage's healing spells and with "cure 3" and "Protect 2" this will cover stuff like Healing Breeze or Wild Carrot. Flash is also another usefull spell that all paladins should have. Now stop and think for a second WOW thats alot of bonuses you'll be getting it far surpasses that of nin and overall is more usefull but hey lets make it even better combine what you've read so far with stuff you have as a blue mage. What im saying is lets not forget that our magic also boosts up our stats i could probably calculate the huge bonus ull be getting but lets just say when all is said and done ull truly feel like an immortal especially with the huge vitality boost!!! ure hp will skrocket by the time you hit dynamis!!!. The boost will also help when u get ure AF gear and ure Relic. With all this being said i havent really said much about weakness wise but thats because there really arent any known at this time.

Strategies Solo&Party
Coming soon