Shattering Stars/Paladin

=Paladin= Paladin vs. Maat

Unlike experience points party, one does not need to keep Maat's attention to protect others. This is a one on one test of survival. It requires one to switch from offensive to defensive and back again. Be prepared, keep aware, and you should be victorious.

Obtain
A Paladin's Testimony from one of the following:
 * Antican Antesignanus (Level: 62 - 69) (Quicksand Caves)
 * Antican Legatus (Level: 72 - 74) (Quicksand Caves)
 * Darksteel Quadav (Level: 63 - 71) (Beadeaux, Qulun Dome)
 * Orcish Protector (Level: 69 - 72) (Monastic Cavern)
 * Orcish Overlord (Level: 75) (Monastic Cavern)
 * Overlord Bakgodek

=Guides=

A Maat Fight Strategy
Time to show Maat who's the real defender of truth and justice! Mwa ha ha!! (Yes, I'm a paladin. How'd you guess?) Like white mage, some changes in equipment is in order here. You'll want damage dealing equipment instead of tanking but keep the sword and shield, you'll need them. Bring along an Opo-opo necklace, sleep potions, hi-potions, vile elixir or two, yagudo drink and meat mithkabob. Now, when you enter the arena, do the usual routine. Sleep yourself to 100% TP, drink your drink, eat your eats, cast your buffs and move in. Use Sentinel as soon as you engage Maat and then use Rampart when that runs out. Like warrior and monk, use your best WS right off the bat, use the icarus wing and then immediately hit Maat again with another WS to get some good early damage. But watch out! If he flashes you right away, hold off the WS until the blindness wears off. Now, duel Maat, healing yourself along the way and shield bashing him if he tries to cast Banish III. Maat will eventually use invincible, flash him and kite him when he does this. (don't disengage, that takes too long. Just push L3 to break targeting and run around the room) Just try to stall until Maat's Invincible runs out. If you get a chance to nuke him, do so but watch your MP. When his invincible runs out, now it's your turn! Activate your own invincible and fearlessly charge back in! Attack Maat mercilessly and take this chance to heal yourself up with items. (wouldn't it just rock if Maat used Asuran fists right now? Heh heh!) By the time invincible runs out, you should have another WS ready. Use it and hopefully it will finish him off. If it doesn't, hopefully you brought enough medicine to hold your ground until another WS is ready.

One Tarudin's Experience
I fought Maat at level 69, with capped sword, evasion, divine and enhancing magic skills. My approach was to boost attack and accuracy, as I needed to do as much damage to Maat as I could in the ten minute time limit. I was less worried about damage taken than I am when fighting mobs for experience points.

Gear I used:
 * Espadon +1 (+attack)
 * Musketeer Commander's Shield (+agility)
 * Happy Egg (+hp and +vit)
 * Blink Band (blink! +evasion)
 * Opo-opo Necklace -> Royal Guard's Collar (+attack and +accuracy)
 * Spike Earring (+attack)
 * Drone Earring/Hospitaler Earring (+agility / macro'd for enhanced Cures)
 * Byrnie (+attack +str)
 * Creek F Mitts (+str +hp)
 * Venerer Ring (+accuracy)
 * Jaeger Ring (+accuracy)
 * Psilos Mantle (+attack +accuracy)
 * Life Belt (+accuracy)
 * Feral Trousers (+attack)
 * Creek F Clomps (+str +hp)

Items I used:
 * Carbonara
 * Sleeping Potions(need 4 to get 100% TP)
 * Hi-Potions x10 (used 6)
 * Pear au Lait x2 (used 1)
 * Melon Juice x6 (used 3)
 * Icarus Wing

I had looked at vile elixirs (190K) and vile elixirs +1 (300K) at the auction house, and decided that I really shouldn't have to use those to beat Maat. I set up a separate set of macros just for the fight, leaving out anything I wouldn't or couldn't use.

Hands sweating, pulse racing, I checked and re-checked my gear, and headed over to talk to Maat. He teleported me to the Qu'Bai Arena in Fei'Yin, and I traded my testimony to the Burning Circle, tearing it in the process.

Once inside, I ate the carbonara, drank a pear au lait (since the carbonara added 150 HP), cast Protect III, Shell III, drank a melon juice to recover MP, then took 4 sleeping potions to get over 100% TP from the Opo-opo Necklace. Ready to go, I drank another melon juice and started running down the long hallway to the arena, where Maat was waiting in the center.

Maat greeted me with "So, you decided to show up. Now it's time to see what you're really made of, heh heh heh."

We both opened with Flash, so I didn't use Vorpal Blade right off the bat. I wanted to wait until I was no longer blinded to reduce the chance of missing and wasting the TP I had spent precious time getting. I had heard Maat hits pretty hard, so I wasn't too surprised to be taking 100-125 damage from each of his punches and kicks. I was a little dismayed that I was only hitting him for 35-50 myself though (critical hits around 90). After Flash wore off, my first Vorpal Blade hit him for 179, which was encouraging.

Maat opted to use Banish II on me three times. It was just as well, as it has a fairly long cast time, and did only 73 damage. At some point, I realized I hadn't used the blink band, and I still had my Opo-opo Necklace on, so I decided to use the blink band mid-fight. It saved me a few hits, so I suppose it was worth it. Maat used Maat's Bash twice during the fight, but one missed me.

When I got over 100% TP, I used Vorpal Blade again (193 damage), then used my Icarus Wing, just as Maat used Invincible, so I held back on using my TP. I decided to cast Holy on him while his Invincible was up, and did 99 damage for the 100 MP. I don't think that's something a non-Tarutaru PLD would do in a Maat fight, but I thought it'd be funny. Plus every bit of damage would help. When Maat's Invincible wore, my third Vorpal Blade did another 108 damage.

After 4 Cure IVs, a couple Flashes, and the Holy, I was getting pretty low on MP and used Invincible and started chugging hi-potions, trying to time it so I could get a hit or two in between potions. Then suddenly Maat said, "Hm. That was a mighty fine display of skill there, Tsakiki. You've come a long way..."

He seemed to give up after I had managed to get over 1700 points of damage in on him. The final total for damage had Maat basically kicking my butt for 2663 damage (two and a half times my max HP), but since I had regained 2000 with cures and potions, I was still standing. I did 1768 damage total to Maat, and the fight took 7 minutes and 32 seconds.

Things I could have done better: I should have used Rampart, I should have used a second au lait when the first wore off, I think I could have used Flash more, and I should have remembered my blink band and necklace change before I ran in and started fighting. I have heard that he doesn't use Asuran Fists until after 8 minutes, and that wouldn't have been so good. If not, I got lucky on what he decided to throw at me (Banish II, Maat's Bash). However, my only misses on Maat were when I was blinded by Flash (plus 0 damage swings when he used Invincible), so I think my +accuracy gear (and capped sword skill) paid off.

Another Tarutaru Paladin
Went with the almost the same setup as most of the rest, cept for a bonus Joyeuse did about 4 Vorpal Blades and down he went. It's almost like a cheat.

Alternate Strategy - Hume Paladin
I did something like the above strategy the first time I fought Maat at 68, and ran out of time. I just couldn't generate enough damage using Swift Blade, and that was doing more damage than Vorpal Blade was. I had an idea though so I waited to try him again until 69. At 69, Paladin's get access to the Great Sword weaponskill Spinning Slash. I also play Dark Knight, and in my upper 60's it's by far my most damaging skill, so I gave it a shot. Used my Mythril Heart I have for my DRK, and went in with mostly Attack gear. (Haubergeon, Amemet Mantle, Royal Guards Collar, Asaault Earring.) I did wear my AF pants and feet.

I went in with a bunch of Hi-Potions +3, 2 Pamama au Lait, 3 Yagudo Drinks, a Vile Elixir, and a Vile Elixir +1. I'd suggest Remedys if you can find them on the AH to get rid of your blindness for his Flash too .. I only found one so I used it on his opening Flash. For food I used Carbonera +1.

I'd heard that if you strip down naked before entering, it makes him weaker .. since I was going to sleep with my Opo-opo necklace anyway, I figured it wouldn't hurt to try. I have no idea if it actually made a difference or not. I went in wearing just my necklace, and as soon as I entered, cast Protect III and Shell III on myself. Ate my food and drank a Yagudo Drink and used an au lait to fill up while I was sleeping, slapped on my great sword and started sleeping. I put on my armor, including a blink band I'd bought just for this fight. After I was done sleeping, I popped my blink band and switched over to my AF crown .. it probably would have been just as well to keep the Blink band on.

I ran to the edge of the circle, popped a second Yagudo drink, pulled out my weapon, and closed to use Flash. He kindly returned the favor and I popped my Remedy to get rid of it. When my blindness was gone, I used Spinning Slash, popped my Icarus Wing and did it again. My damage was in the 300's for both, so I felt pretty good about this so far. Followed my WS up by using Sentinel and just started hammering him. I'd intended to switch to sword and shield after using my 2 Spinning Slash's .. but it seemed like he was hitting me for the same numbers he'd done when I'd gone sword and shield the first time .. so I decided to stay with my Great Sword to put up bigger damage numbers. Sentinel wore, popped Rampart. As I'd get down to 50-60% life, I'd use Cure IV on myself to limit the time spend casting, but keep my HP's high. About 15 seconds after I used Rampart, he went Invincible. I've heard that you should kite him when this happens, but I just popped mine and we traded hits for 0 for a while. It gave me time to get a Cure IV off on myself and get back to full HP's. Invincible wore, another Spinning Slash and Maat was looking pretty rough. We hacked at each other for a little bit longer, and my MP was getting really low as were my HP's .. I was determined not to lose this, so I popped my Vile Elixir +1 thinking I still needed at least 2 more WS's to finish him. 2 hits after I popped it, my TP hit 100%, Spinning Slash, and Maat gave up. Apparently you don't have to do ALL his HP's in damage, just a lot of them. Had I know that, I might not have used the big potion, but a few lesser ones .. but eh, it was over .. and I was now a Maat Masher. ^^

One more thing, the first time I went into this fight, I expected to either win, or die. Winning I knew gave me a scroll of instant warp, death - I figured I'd Home Point .. I never expected to live long enough to run out of time. So since you're sub job doesn't matter, I strongly suggest subbing BLM if you can, or bring a warp with you in case you run out of time .. otherwise you're left standing in Fei'Yin .. alone .. no warp .. (thankfully at 68, nothing in there I ran past aggro'd me while I ran all the way back to the outpost in the Glacier). Just a note.

To add to this(Kakkarrott, Ramuh) I went in LVL 69 with most if not all skills un-capped, every thing was the same but I went in with full AF, Espadon, and Ryl Grd Shield.(my normal party gear) I flashed and hit him to finish off TP to 100%, used Swift Blade (all 4 times), Maat 2HRed, so  for about 15 secs then 2HRed then cont. to pound him popping Hi-Potions to stay alive, swiched back to Parade Gorget to get mp back but by that time the fight was over

Elvaan Paladin - Strategy.
I did this fight as a 70 PLD. My setup was as follows. Sword: Macauhuitl +1 Neck: Shield Torque Earring: Mercenary's Earring Earring: Hospitaler Earring Body: Gallant Surcoat Hands: Gallant Gauntlets Legs: AF legs Feet: AF Boots Head: AF Head Shield: General's Shield Back: Knightly Mantle Waist: Life Belt Ring: Chyrsobery Ring Ring: Hercules Ring The only meds I used were 3 hi-potions and a mithkabob. I casted Protect IV and Shell III on myself. I went in and immediately flashed Maat. Then began to duel with him. I used Sentinel and Rampart and Shield Bashed him when he tried to cast Banish spells. I waited for Flash to wear before using WS. I used my Invincible when he used his. Maat did not use Asuran Fists when I fought him. I finished the fight with 63hp. Though it was a close fight, this proves that it is not necessary to have atk gear like Sniper rings, Optical Hats and Amemet +1 just to beat Maat. I did it with a pure Vit setup.

Galka Paladin - Strategy
I did this fight as a 70 PLD (may as well wait till then). My setup was as follows: Sword: Espadon +1 Neck: Opo-opo Necklace & Chivalrous Chain Earring: Drone Earring Earring: Drone Earring Body: AF Hands: AF Legs: AF Feet: AF Head: Blink Band & AF Shield: General's Shield Back: Templar's Mantle Waist: Astral Rope Ring: Ether Ring Ring: Astral Ring Ammo: Bibiki Seashell The fight itslef: Speak to Maat naked and trade the testimony. Enter the BC itself naked. Equip armour/weapons (inc. Blink Band & Opo-opo Necklace). Cast Protect and Shell. Drink Yag Drink, eat sole sushi. Take 4xsleeping potions till 100% TP. Change neckpiece to normal. Use Blinkband. Change headpiece to normal. Run in and engage. Vorpal Blade. Flash. Build TP to 100%. Vorpal Blade. Use Icarus wing. Vorpal Blade. Build TP to 100%. Vorpal Blade. Use the following as and when needed: Yagudo Drink, Hi-Potion +3 and Vile Elixir +1. Don't worry about talking too many of potions in, you want to win first time, right? You can always sell them back on AH afterwards. I'd also suggest adding as many actions as possible as macros (potions, equipping armour from naked etc), you should have plenty of room on two banks of macros and it speeds things up so much and helps prevent you selecting the wrong things through nerves. Maat didn't use Asuran fists on me, nor did he use Invincible, I guess I was lucky, but if he does use Invincible, kite him, but not just in a circle, head for the way you came in...he'll chase you up there. When it wears off, use Invincible yourself and re-engage him.

Galka Paladin - A Different Strategy
Wait a minute! Don't we already have a Galka Paladin guide? In fact, isn't it right above this one? Well, yes, that's true. BUT! I had looked at the information givin withing the other Galka Paladin strategy and couldn't help but think to myself "Wow, that's alot of MP+ gear!" Now, some may say MP+ is a must for Galka in general, but I am here to bring the other, non-MP+ information for Galka PLD in their Maat fight. (Please note: This gear is the gear I tanked with at the level I entered with (70). I did not switch any gear out of my usual rig and it worked fine.)

Gear:
 * Espadon +1
 * Diamond Shield +1
 * Gallant Coronet
 * Gallant Surcoat
 * Gallant Gauntlets
 * Gallant Breeches
 * Gallant Leggings
 * Parade Gorget (Used Blink Band for shadows before engaging)
 * Knightly Mantle
 * Warrior's Belt +1
 * Jelly Ring
 * Chrysoberyl Ring
 * Drone Earring
 * Hospitaler Earring
 * Bibiki Seashell

Other Items:
 * Carbonara x1
 * Hi-Potion +3 x5
 * Hi-Ether x1
 * Icarus Wing x1
 * Yagudo Drink x2
 * Confidence +1 (If you don't KNOW you will win, don't go until you do! Rare/EX item btw :P)

Now, it's important to remember that you can access the Maat fight, if you have the Paladin Test that is, as soon as level 66. BUT, by far the best time for a Paladin to go is at level 70. Why is that you might ask? Well, prior to level 70 there is no actual advantage to fighting Maat over any other levels. However, at level 70 you get a little spell called protect 4, which is pretty much the best and only advantage level 70 has over 66, 67, 68, or 69. Which is more then can be said about the other mentioned levels.

Now, you've got your test, you've got your items, you've got you extra pair of underwear incase Maat uses Asuran Fists and you lose control of yourself. Now what? Well, there is this little rumour running around that if you don't wear any equipment when you head into the BCNM fight it might make Maat a little easier on you. Random lies someone made up made on no backed up evidence? Or, perfectly discovered wonder drug for Maat fights? Either way, it can't hurt to try! So go into the BCNM nekkid! If your going for a record, you might wanna make some equipment macro's to speed up the process. But if you're not, don't worry about it.

Well...what now? There are so many options who could possibly tell you what it is? Well, I can't, it's up to you. Use all the knowledge of Paladin that's in your skull from the past 70 levels and make yourself and other Paladins proud! But, I will give a brief overview of what I did in the battle and how it turned out!

I ran in after doing all my equipment stuff, shadows, icarus wing, the whole deal. I engaged and began the fight, he started to cast Banish III so I smacked him in the face with a Swift Blade and used Flash, Rampart, and Sentinel. Then it was just a bunch of back and forth smashing of the face for TP building and another Swift Blade. Of course, I cured where needed and tried to manage my MP and flash whenever he did. About halfway through the battle he used Invincible and I went to go activate mine but, d'oh! I had used it in be Besieged and it wasn't going to be up for another 15 minutes.

So there I was, looking like an idiot (thankfully no one was watching :P) and I decided to just stand there and take the beating (I was in my tank gear after all). This was also the time I used most of the Hi-Potions +3 I had gotten and the ether to get my MP back up for the rest of the fight. I got another Swift Blade up and he was almost down to 30% health (about when he gives up) and I was coming in for another attack when I really wished I had the extra underwear on me because I saw "Maat readies Asuran Fists"! My sword came down, connected, and he gave up. I was at this point crumpled in my chair thanking Altana that he hadn't gotten it off.

Overall, he was like an EM mob pretty much. Just be prepared, know how to be a good Paladin, and you should have no problem taking him down. No need for insane Atk+ gear or lots of MP+ or even anything other then what you tank with (unless what you are using is very bad in which case upgrade!) and you will soon be a Star Breaker!

Hume Paladin lvl 66 strategy
It might be stupid, but I fought and beated Maat at lvl 66. The first times I got owned. I used att gear instead of defense. But unless I got alot of attack gear (and I did not) the dmg I inflicted was still very low. And he was hitting me for 100 dmg+. At my first and second try everything was going fine. HP didnt get below 600. Then Maat said;'Apperently you were not ready for me yet, were you? Now go home, wash your face, and try again when you think you are ready for me.' After that he used a double Asuran Fists. The third time I used normal exp gear. Things were going better, but when he had like 30-35% HP left he used a double Asuran Fists /cry. At this time I was about to give PLD up, lvl WAR for an easy Maat fight and then lvl PLD again. Paladin.

So I tried one last time, saving Invincible for when he was going to use a double Asuran Fists again. Everything was going perfect. He missed a Maat Bash because of flash. Then he used Asuran Fists, I quickly hit my Invincible macro and the second Asuran Fists was 0 dmg. But he used another one, and another one, and onther one. I knew that, when Invincible wore off, I was dead. I put all my hope in one last vorpal blade, I used it when Invincible wore off, and it beated him. Still shaking I read what he said, and warped out.

A few things on fighting Maat on lvl 66.

Maat will rape you with Asuran Fists after a certain amount of hits, and when he starts his Asuran Fists rampage, you're dead. So you can either make sure you deal more damage, and keep youreself alive. Or make sure you survive long enough trough his asuran fists to beat him. Both are nearly impossible at lvl 66, and then there is the time. DO NOT sleep your TP to 100%. At lvl 66 you just dont deal enough damage to kill him in 10 min, if you first sleep to 100 TP. If you really want to beat him at 66, do it. But it is really hard, or you have to be really lucky. Good luck.

Hume Paladin Lv.66 Strategy No.2
Another Lv.66 Hume PLD strategy. Evagelo of Garuda (Formerly Shiva)

This is in no way a "only way to do it" guide, mix it up a lil and swap in gear you think might work better.

Equipment I used;

Sword: Espadon +1 Shield: Diamond Shield Ammo: Bibiki Seashell Head: Gallant Coronet Neck: Chivalrous Chain Earrings: Mercenary's Earring and Stoic Earring Body: Scorpion Harness Hands: Gallant Gauntlets Rings: 2x Vigor Ring and 2x Puissance Ring to swap in for Weapon Skills. Back: Knightly Mantle Waist: Ocean Belt Legs: Sipahi Zerehs Feet: Gallant Leggings

Items Used;

Be very generous with the items you take in, one extra Hi-Potion may save your life.

5x Hi-Potion+3 2x Yagudo Drink 1x Vile Elixir +1 1x Persikos au Lait 1x Icarus Wing 1x Carbonara

Method;

I did speak to Maat and enter the Burning Circle naked as is suggested elsewhere. I guess I believe little things like that do help but who knows until it's thoroughly tested. Like other people who wrote guides, I do not believe that the Opo Opo Neck + Sleeping Potion TP build is viable for the Lv.66 fight as this takes time and I ended up 1/2 because of this.... Asuran Fists sucks major.....

Another side note; having Sword skill capped does come in very handy.

When you enter the BC buff up with Protect III and Shell III, eat Carbonara, take a Yagudo Drink and /heal. At full HP/MP get up and make a run straight for the old guy, Flash as soon as you get there and when you lose a bit of HP use the Persikos au Lait. Remember to Flash when the spell is ready as this comes in very handy for saving a few hits connecting. Eye Drops Do Not work for Flash so each time he uses it on you, it's best to just wait it out to use Weapon Skill. When you get 100% TP use Vorpal Blade and making sure you Cure as and when needed, supplementing with Hi-Potion +3 if needed.

The second time you get 100% TP use Vorpal Blade and straight after use the Icarus Wing then Vorpal Blade again. Keep up with the Flash, TP 100% Vorpal Blade Until he sets off his 2hr Invincible. At this point you should "Kite" him by running away from him and as said before, not just in the circle, up towards the BC entrance too (A run full circle around the BC fight area and then up the tunnel should take enough time for his Invincible to wear off, for a guideline).

When his Invincible wears off, engage him again and if needed, Cure up with Hi-Potion +3 or spells and just keep pounding him until 100% TP again.

By now you should be looking pretty beat up on MP so pop the Vile Elixir +1 and cure as needed, again, keep Flashing too. If he decides to start using Asuran Fists then hit Invincible. This should buy you a little time to get him a little lower and one more Vorpal Blade may do it for you. For me, he didn't get to use Asuran Fists as he will use this after 8 minutes according to some accounts. My time was 7 minutes 2 seconds. Not a record but a victory nonetheless.

Things to Remember; Flash is your friend! Use it when it is ready.

My list of items is not a definite amount to take, take more!! I did. If I hadn't had as good luck as I did, I might have needed them and more. Sell back what you don't need as stated before in another guide on this page.

Stay Calm!!! Take a minute before you enter to calm yourself down ready for the fight. Panic = You getting beat up by an Old Age Pensioner.....

And most of all, if you do lose the fight, pick yourself up, get another test and try something else. Losing to Maat is something a lot of people do daily and even if you are unsucessful this time, you may win next time so chin up and get in there /salute....

A very "secure" strategy (ie, hard to lose)
(by Valkyrian)

I'm now a Galka 70 PLD on Asura, and even though my way of doing things would be different than, say, a Taru, the same basic premise should work alright for other aspiring Paladins out there.

My first two times I fought Maat I was level 66. The first time I didn't fully know what I was doing and ate dirt. The second time I had timing problems with my Cures, and I died when Maat only had like 10% health left. I RR2'd myself with the hairpin, but ran out of time before I could get back into the fight.

This time, I went into my fight as a 69 Paladin with less than 100xp to next level. I did this because I had an experience scroll on me from an Escort Mission some friends and I had done. Some people may turn their noses up, but ya know what? I had it as a backup plan in case things went wrong.

I entered the battlefield without armor on (since I have yet to see conclusive evidence that Maat *doesn't* match your stats when you enter), and used /equip macros to quickly arm myself. I buffed, ate food, and had a Yagudo Drink. With my Opo-opo necklace on, I started to use 4 sleeping potions to get 100% tp. I made a mistake at this point since I had forgotten my sword was on the 3rd /equip, so I lost some tp there.

Once I was all set, I ran up to the end of the tunnel and used my Blink Band, then put on the rest of my battle gear and leapt into the fray.

Even with Paladin natural Refresh, a Yagudo Drink, and a Parade Gorget, you won't get back enough mp to justify keeping mp+ gear on once you've used it at the start of the fight. I had a 4th /equip macro which got rid of my mp+ gear, replacing it with vitality and attack items.

I've seen a lot of videos of Paladins fighting in 3rd person, and a lot of interrupted spells and hi-potions. I fight in first person so I can time it better - I think the only times I had anything not go off was when Maat used Maat Bash on me. I switched off using Hi-Potions and Cure III/IVs, using Swift Blade (Espadon+1 is great for this since Swift Blade damage is partially based off your Mind rating) whenever possible. After my third Swift Blade, when I was starting to linger in yellow hp but Maat was worse than I was, I used Invincible (he used his when he was about 50% hp). I realized at that moment that I had left my Vile Elixir in my Mog House, so I used the xp scroll. It had more or less the same effect, boosting my hp and mp (to full in this case). Having saved my Icarus Wing for last (worried about being medicated), I used it and blasted him with a 4th Swift Blade, and won!

I even made a video of it, and posted it (in two parts) on YouTube:
 * Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DEXP_HxK0ms
 * Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cjYk84Clt0A

Gear I used
 * Espadon +1
 * General's Shield
 * Gallant Coronet
 * Gallant Surcoat
 * Gallant Gauntlets
 * Gallant Breeches
 * Gallant Leggings
 * Chivalrous Chain (I also used a Blink Band before I ran in)
 * Amemet Mantle
 * Life Belt
 * Jelly Ring (Started off with an Astral Ring)
 * Unyielding Ring (Started off with an Ether Ring)
 * Coral Earring (Started off with a Zedoma's Earring ...yes I know it's a hard earring to get...took us months of ENMs, but definately worth it for a Galka who likes mp)
 * Insomnia Earring
 * Bibiki Seashell

Food and Sundries
 * Carbonara (I thought about using Tacos, but I didn't really need any more tanking stats)
 * Hi-Potion (Bought a Hi-Potion Tank, prepared 10, but only needed about 7)
 * Icarus Wing (Saved for the end, so as to avoid being medicated)
 * Yagudo Drink (Brought 2, wanted to bring 3 but I forgot to buy my third)
 * Vile Elixir (Yes, I know I used an xp scroll instead, but I was *planning* on using this...)

A Mithra takes on Maat
(@~_~)==@ vs. <==|(^_^@)

Treasa of Midgardsormr, level 69 Paladin, faced off against Maat on Saturday, June 9th, 2007. I went in with capped Sword and Shield skill.

Prepared Items
 * 10 x Hi-Potion
 * 2 x Hi-Potion +2
 * 6 x Sleeping Potion
 * 2 x Yagudo Drink
 * 2 x Persikos au Lait
 * 1 x Icarus Wing
 * 1 x Carbonara

Gear Worn
 * Weapon: Espadon +1 (Thanks to Soteria)
 * Shield: Diamond Shield (Thanks to Soteria)
 * Ammo: Bibiki Seashell
 * Head: Blink Band > Gallant Coronet
 * Neck: Opo-opo Necklace > Iron Musketeer's Gorget
 * Ear1: Insomnia Earring
 * Ear2: Stoic Earring
 * Body: Gallant Surcoat
 * Hands: Gallant Gauntlets
 * Ring1: Verve Ring (Hercules Ring for emergencies)
 * Ring2: Verve Ring
 * Back: Knightly Mantle
 * Waist: Warrior's Belt +1
 * Legs: Gallant Breeches
 * Feet: Gallant Leggings

Battle Details

Before entering I made sure to be wearing my Blink Band and Opo-opo Necklace. Once inside I cast Protect III and Shell III. I ate the Carbonara, drank my two drinks, and started downing Sleeping potions. I opted to take a little more time and down a 5th potion. Once I was finally awake, I downed another Yagudo drink and hit my gear change macro to swap in my Gallant Coronet, Iron Musketeer's Gorget. I ran up and engaged Maat.

The old man flashed me right off the bat, thus my first Swift Blade did not connect, resulting in a total waste of those potions and time. I was quite nervous and had forgotten what people told me. I regularly downed my Hi-potions, and used Eye drops everytime I was flashed. I wanted to make sure I was blind for the least amount of time possible. I used Swift Blade everytime I had enough TP. I cast a few Cure IVs, but primarily stuck to potions. At one point I realized I forgot to use my Icarus Wing. Downed that, hit WS macro... nothing. I had missed Maat's invincible in the battle log and thus wasted a second WS and good item. Despite the missed WS I just kept whacking away at Maat. I was also quite lucky that he used Shoulder Tackle instead of those dreaded fists.

Eventually the battle ended and I was back outside, victorious. I realized at that moment I forgot to use the Blink Band and I went through the whole fight without using Sentinal, Rampart, Shield Bash or Holy. Looking back I realize I made a number of mistakes, but given my good preparation I made it through.

Battle Stats
 * Damage delt to Maat: 2008
 * Damage taken: 2800
 * Healing: 2094
 * WS used: 6
 * WS that hit: 4
 * Maat's WS: Shoulder Tackle (LUCKY me!!)
 * Time: 9 minutes 25 seconds

Used Items and Spells
 * 7 x Eye Drops
 * 8 x Hi-Potion
 * 2 x Hi-Potion +2
 * 3 x Cure IV
 * 5 x Sleeping Potion
 * 2 x Yagudo Drink
 * 1 x Persikos au Lait
 * 1 x Icarus Wing
 * 1 x Carbonara

Photos can be found in my Maat Battle Flickr gallery.

Simple and Easy
PLD70 Mithra

Equipment
 * Macuahuitl +1
 * Admiral's Shield
 * Gallant Coronet
 * Gallant Surcoat
 * Gallant Gauntlets
 * Gallant Breeches
 * Gallant Leggings
 * Knightly Mantle
 * Warrior's Belt +1
 * Shield Torque
 * Mercenary's Earring
 * Titanis Earring
 * Unyielding Ring
 * Hercules' Ring
 * Bibiki Seashell

''Entered battlefield with no equip. and only equipped above (which I use for exp party).''

Items used
 * Carbonara x1
 * Icarus Wing x1
 * Yagudo Drink x1

''Brought extra Yagudo Drinks and Hi-Potions. never needed.''

Damage Count
 * Damage delt to Maat: 1830
 * Damage taken: 1936

Battlefield cleartime
 * 5 Minutes 31 Seconds

''Engaged Maat at 1 Minute 22 Seconds. actual fight: 4 Minutes 9 Seconds.''

Personal Opinion

I think Paladins should not consider taking 'Opo-opo Necklace + Sleeping Potion' method. Because It takes 2+ Minutes (2.5% per tick) to just have 100%TP (~200dmg). You can do much more damage by just attacking. Even if we take out 1 WS from Icarus Wing at start, It is ~400dmg/min (normal hit + WS).

I think it's supposed to work better with DD jobs.

I didn't even have macros for equip/buff/item at start, and double-checking everything before engaging Maat. I'm sure you can reduce a lot of time by having macros.

Happy Maat mashing!!

Hume Paladin with a small budget
Tribalinius, Kujata, Level 70 Hume Paladin [October 25th, 2007] [Status Report] HP: 1115 (+156) MP: 337 (+10)

STR: 58 +4 (+2) DEX: 49 +8 VIT: 61 +20 (+2) AGI: 43 +5 MND: 55 +8 N.B.: Stats are adjusted for this fight since you are PLD70/???0 Prepared Items: 8 X Hi-Potion +3 [16 000] 3 X Hi-Ether [4 300] 2 X Yagudo Drink [3 000] 1 X Persikos au Lait [4 500] 1 X Carbonara [5 000] 1 X Vile Elixir [20 000] 1 X Vile Elixir +1 [50 000] 1 X Icarus Wing [7 000] 1 X Paladin's Testimony (Rare/EX) Gears: Weapon:	Dark Staff [18 000] > Espadon +1 [190 000] Shield: Diamond Shield [190 000] Ammo: 	Bibiki Seashell (Rare/EX) Head: 	Gallant Coronet (Rare/EX) Body: 	Gallant Surcoat (Rare/EX) Hands:	Gallant Gauntlets (Rare/EX) Legs:	Gallant Breeches (Rare/EX) Feet:	Gallant Leggings (Rare/EX) Neck:	Parade Gorget (Rare/EX) > Chivalrous Chain [120 000] Back:	Knightly Mantle [37 000] Waist:	Royal Knight's Belt [30 000] Ear 1:	Hospitaler Earring (Rare) [30 000] Ear 2:	Insomnia Earring (Rare) [40 000] Ring 1:	Unyielding Ring (Rare) [60 000] Ring 2:	Hercules' Ring (Rare) [18 000] Total Items:	109 800 Gil Total Gears:	733 000 Gil Total*: 	842 800 Gils '''N.B.: If you are thinking about using this setup for yourself. Be sure to do at least the quest: "The Gobbiebag Part II" easily done in Jeuno.''' [Background] I recently started to play Final Fantasy XI again. I left Vana'diel almost a year ago due to lack of real life. But since I got a surgery few months ago who needs a lot of time to heal, I decided it was the opportunity to take up the sword and save the world once again. Since I have way too much time on my hand right now and, sincerely, at this time all I really want is to help people to complete that quest without spending millions on gears that will be use only one time. [Strategy] I decided to go up against Maat in this setup because I know there is no way a normal person can have decent gears without farming day and night. I though that it could be a great challenge to go there with just our normal tanking gears. At this level, it should be the usual gears Paladins should wear, with few differences depending on how you play the game of course. Anyway, this setup gives you a good defense and a major boost in vitality but, in counterpart, doesn't grant you the accuracy and attack bonus of an Haubergeon for example. I did go there in mind that MP should not be a problem for healing, the reason why I brought along a Vile Elixir, a Vile Elixir +1 and few Hi-Ethers. I prefer to propose you to go for a 100k solution instead of a 1mil that would take you days to get, but in the end it's your call. You'll even be able to get back a few gils in the process, since you'll probably won't use all of those items. Last thing, I didn't bring an Opo-opo Necklace and Sleeping Potions since it would have taken too much time to awake and release damages. Also, since my gears are not focusing on accuracy and attack, the timer would be way too much close to the 8 minutes mark. And, god, you don't want a barrage of Asuran Fists in your face, I can assure you! [Battle Log] ~ Preparation ~ First thing, be sure you have all your items, your equipments and of course your Paladin's Testimony. Get rid of items that won't help you (i.e. Crystals, tanking food, etc.). Sort your inventory for easy browsing if something is going wrong during the fight. Be sure to bring at least a Warp Cudgel or an Instant Warp in case you're defeated. By the way [Maat] gives an Instant Warp if you defeat him. Take time to double-check your macros, they'll come in handy. A little hint if youre planning to set-up a new macro list for the fight, position your Job Abilities and Magic at the same place they are normally in your tanking macros list. You'll be stressed enough in there to forgot where you put Flash in your macro list if you change the position. After you've all double-check your stuff, take a deep-breath and relax, place yourself in anonymous mode, turn off your linkshell if you are too tense. Go to restroom if necessary, start your mp3 player, clear your head. At first it will feel like if you're about to do an oral presentation at school. Don't be afraid to lose, no one will laugh at you nor will be mad and you will have the chance to beat the crap out of him an another time. OK.. maybe not.. he's just an old man who needs a lesson. But anyway, even the most experienced player will be a little nervous doing this fight. N.B.: Preparation is about 90% of that fight, trust me, if your battle plan is clear in your head and that you have a plan B prepared, you can't possibly lose. So once all the preparations are completed, head over to Maat in Ru'Lude Gardens, talk to him. He will ask you to trade him a Paladin's Testimony. Trade the testimony to be teleported near the burning circle in Qu'Bia Arena. Equip your Dark Staff and your Parade Gorget. Calm down if you are too nervous, then head over to the burning circle and trade the Paladin's Testimony] to it. You'll then enter the arena for real this time. From that moment you'll have 10 minutes to defeat [[Maat, and it's mandatory for your life to target 8 minutes or less, since you don't want countless Asuran Fists in your face. First thing you want to do in there is eat your Carbonara then cast Protect IV followed by a Shell III. Drink a Yagudo Drink then /heal, At full HP/MP, equip your Espadon +1, Diamond Shield and Chivalrous Chain then head over to Maat. ~ Fight ~ So I went up the stairs, quite nervous of course, then ran up to him. We both opened with flash. I was lucky enough to land some hit even if I was blinded. We exchanged hits back and forth until I went down to 85% of my HP, I decided it was the good moment to pop my Persikos au Lait to save a cure or two. I needed to wait for the Stun effect to wear off since he had used his infamous Maat's Bash few second earlier. After exchanging a Flash with him, I waited for the blind effect to wear off to unload my first Vorpal Blade on Maat. I did a reasonable 243 points of damages, bringing Maat down to about 65%. At the same time he went Invincible. I then asked myself, "Do I really need to disengage from him to evade damage? I mean come on, I still have 90% of my HP and 80% of my MP", I decided to stand still and take a good beating instead. (It's just later I saw that I forgot to equip my Chivalrous Chain and I still had my Parade Gorget equipped before engaging Maat. In fact, half the fight I was getting a refresh +1. Even by accident, it came in handy at the end of the fight.) So I stand there Curing myself and hitting him for 0 points of damage. I should have taken the time to activate Sentinel at that moment, it would have cut the damage for the time Invincible was up. Anyway, what is done is done. We have exchanged again some hits and flashing each other and brought my TP close to 100% mark, I then equipped (finally) my Chivalrous Chain, but just a second before I was ready to deal him a critical blow he Maat's Bashed me, but fortunately, I was spared the stun effect. I, then, unloaded my second Vorpal Blade doing 254 points of damage. He was down to almost 40%. I told myself that it was really just a matter of time before I bagged him. So we started the last section, a deadly dash toward the 25% mark. After exchanging few hits I started to cure myself to regain some health points but soon I noticed my mp was about at 40%. So I decided to use my first real item, an Hi-Ether, to give myself an edge to continue if I had not beaten him with my third Vorpal Blade. Still, he started to hit pretty hard, I even needed a Cure IV, but still he was no match for me. By the time I reached 100% TP he was done to 30%. He flashed me again, I waited patiently for the blind effect to wear off, then unleashed a massive Vorpal Blade (a big thanks to the Chivalrous Chain) of 296 points of damage and bringing him down to 25%. Mission accomplished. ~ After Fight ~ I'm returned to Fei'Yin, and I'm there, standing, saying to myself "What the hell just happened?" I did beat Maat, I did beat the server record, but I was pissed when I should be happy. I was pissed because this fight was supposed to be hard as hell. I looked at many videos, and faq and everyone seemed to had one hell of a fight. They were bringing armors and weapons that costs some hundred thousand gil and they were still having a hard time completing that genkai. And I'm there with absolutely no special armors nor weapons besides my usual stuff and I just beaten the crap out of that old geezer. At the moment I'm writing these lines, I'm still selling the potions I DID NOT use for that fight. The fun fact is that in the end the fight only cost me 7.5k. But if you want my true opinion on that fight, it was cool, very dissapointing but cool. The hype surrounding that fight, is the real thing to deal with. Like I wrote in my preparation though, it may have been easy in my case since I was surely lucky, but still, prepare yourself a lot of items, a plan A and a plan B, and DO NOT let the stress overcome you. It's just a normal battle you need to fight like you did for the past 70 levels. You can check the fight video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3sbHfOs6cOE You can download the fight video here (better quality): http://rapidshare.com/files/65391778/Shaterring.Stars.PLD.Tribalinius.wmv.html If you have any questions or comment, you can send me an email, I'll be pleased to help you. [Battle Stats] Damage Taken:	2286 WS:		288 [Average: 72.00](22.66% of my actual HP) Physical:	1718 [Average: 63.63](135.17% of my actual HP) Magic:		280  [Average: 70.00](22.03% of my actual HP) Banish II:	4 Maat's Basch:	4 Asuran Fists:	0 Damage Delt:	1946 WS:		793  [Average: 264.33](40.75% of Damage delt to Maat) Physical:	1153 [Average: 48.04](59.25% of Damage delt to Maat) Clear Time:	06:22 Number of Try:	1 Weapon Skill:	Vorpal Blade WSkill Used:	3 WSkill Landed:	3 (100%) Flash Used:	5 Cure II Used:	1 Cure III Used:	7 Cure IV Used:	1 Healing*:	1948 HP (153.27% of my actual HP) Items*:		0 HP (0% of my actual HP) Magic:		1948 HP (153.27% of my actual HP) Total MP Used:	680 MP (195.97% of my actual MP)
 * [Based on Kujata's economy (25/10/07)]
 * Persikos au Lait wasn't included in these statistics

A cheap Maat fight for Elvaans
Amarok, Siren, Level 69 Elvaan Paladin [December 24th, 2007] Check the video here [Status Report] HP:	1365 MP:	337 STR: 62 +13 DEX: 46 +6 VIT: 63 +24 AGI: 35 +7 MND: 60 +6 CHR: 55 +5 [Prepared Items:] 2 X Hi-Potion +2 [1k] 1 X Yagudo Drink [1.3k] 1 X Carbonara [6k] 1 X Icarus Wing [6k] 1 X Paladin's Testimony (Rare/EX) [Gears:] Weapon:	Espadon +1 [90k] Shield:	Iron Ram Shield [30k] Ammo: 	Bibiki Seashell (Rare/EX) Head: 	Gallant Coronet (Rare/EX) Body: 	Gallant Surcoat (Rare/EX) Hands:	Gallant Gauntlets (Rare/EX) Legs:  Gallant Breeches (Rare/EX) Feet:	Gallant Leggings (Rare/EX) Neck:	Merman's Gorget [6k] Back:	Knightly Mantle [60k] Waist:	Potent Belt [105k] Ear 1:	Titanis Earring (Rare) [5k] Ear 2:	Insomnia Earring (Rare) [60k] Ring 1:	Unyielding Ring (Rare) [55k] Ring 2:	Garrulous Ring (Rare) [50k] N.B.: Except for the Titanis Earring, Merman's Gorget and Garrulous Ring, which I sold immediately after the end of the fight, those are my usual tanking gears for party. Total amount of gil lost during Maat Fight : 14 000 Gil.  [Preparation] It was late at night, I was struggling to reach lvl 70, had died twice already, then I decided to give up partying, and make Maat pay for the silly quests he had given me. I had no real plan, just bought a few gears I thought would be more useful than my tanking outfit, for indeed Hercule's Ring, Parade Gorget and Buckler Earring were useless in a solo fight. Since I am an Elvaan, I know I can't rely on MPs, but my strength is quite awesome. I made sure that my Acc was decent (+13) as well as my STR and my VIT who were the two main things in my mind. No merit, but capped sword and shield. I really had no intention at all to spend a lot of gil just for that, and so I went with almost nothing. The Carbonara was probably the most useful thing I had. I had made a few macros to save some time, but in the end I didn't really used them, and didn't waste any time. [The Fight] I came Kinda as a tourist there...It was past 1:00 AM, was talking to a friend, I was all excited to go fight Maat, and I entered the Arena fully equipped. Considering how easy it was, I doubt coming naked changes anything, but try it if you like. Used Flash as soon as I engaged him, he did the same (used Flash Each time I could use it). Instead of Vorpal Blade I used Swift Blade, much reliable in my opinion (each time I had 100% TP). Used Sentinel, then Rampart when sentinel wore off, then I could launch a second Swift Blade, after which he decided to use Invincible. At that time I ran away from him and did not cast a spell on him (you don't want to waste your MPs for ow DMG, keep it for flash and cure); and all he could do was hitting me twice and casting Banish II (Banish should not afraid you as a PLD, light can't really hurt you). Once his Invincible wore off, I stopped running and used mine. While hitting him I used a potion (completely useless), cast Cure IV twice and before I stopped being Invincible, I could land another Swift Blade. I then used my second potion (still completely useless) and started TPing so I could land a fourth Swift Blade. I was about to reach 100% TP (92%) and had just cast a last Flash with what was left of my MPs, when the old man put an end to the fight. You bet he didn't want another of my Swift Blade ^^. I was really happy when I saw I had done it alive, and I was far from being dead yet. If you ask me the fight was easy, after everything I had read about this fight I was expecting a much harder difficulty. This was my first try, and my last as well. Maat can rest in peace, he managed to made a proud Paladin out of me. [Battle Stats] Damage Taken from Maat:	1789  Damage Dealt to Maat: 	1666  WS (Swift Blade):	755 (191-283-281)  Physical:		911  Magic:			0  Used by Maat: Banish II:	4 (210 : 70-70-0-70) Maat's Bash:	2 (didn't stun, 51 : 6-45) Asuran Fists:	0 HPs recovered:	1347 (Cure IV : 369*3 / Hi-Potion+2 : 120*2) MPs used: 	389 (Flash*5 ; Cure IV*3) HPs left:	686 MPs left:	2 TPs left:	92% Clear Time:	05:35 Number of Try:	1 Thanks Tribalinius for having made a very good looking report I could use to make mine, thanks Frostqc who helped me with the Paladin's Testimony, good luck to all of you Paladins ^^ !

Another 70 Hume
(Ghostofonyx~ Hades)

Ok. Let me start off by saying that for me this fight was way too easy. I mean Lesser Colibri put up a better fight than this. After watching videos countless times and reviewing my plan for the fight i told myself this would be one of the hardest fights I have done to date. Anyways on to my guide.

Armor i used: Weapon: Espadon Shield: Iron Ram Shield Ammo: Bibiki Seashell Neck: Parade Gorget Body: Haubergeon Head: AF Hands: AF Legs: Sipahi Zerehs Feet: AF Earrings: Drone Earringx2 Ring1: Unyielding Ring Ring2: Hercules' Ring Back: Amemet Manlte Waist: Life Belt

Items I brought: Icarus Wingx1 (not used) HiPotion +3 x5 (3 used) Vile Elixer x1 (Not used) Yagudo Drink x3 (1 used) Persikos au Lait x1 (used) Carbonara x1 (used)

Pre-Fight: Before the fight I had Sword, Divine Magic and Evasion capped but Shiled uncapped. I took the time before the fight to calm myself down, got something to east, shower, etc. Thats probably one of the most important things to do before and during this fight is to keep yourself calm. I play on xbox so i was chatting with my friend before I fought him. Remember, stay clam, stick to your strategy and take deep breaths maybe stretch a little.

Fight: Before I talked to Maat I stripped off all armor and put all useless junk in my Mog House. I talked to Maat and he teleported me to the Burning Circle. A nice thing I saw in many videos was setting yourself to Away status, unless you would like to talk to a friend, by all means do it. Also ask your Linkshell to wish you luck and take it off, again only if you want to. I entered the Burning Cirlce and said "Too late to turn back now". For PLD I dont believe that sleeping TP would do you much good, the way I see it is you can do more damage with regular attacks over the 2 mins you spend sleeping TP, unless you can generate over 250+ with a Vorpal Blade. I ate my food, Protect 4, Shell 3, equipped armor, Cure 2 and healed to full. I walked up to the outer edge of the circle and and popped a Yagudo drink. I ran up to Maat and Flashed him as he returned the favor. I used my Persikos au Lait at this point, seeing as it has a time of 10 mins it would last the whole fight.I popped Sentinel after Maat's blind status wore off and when that came off used Rampart. I started out in my DD gear which is all of the armor listed above but after Maat hit me over 100+ I switched to AF body, AF legs and Warrior's Belt +1. Me and Maat traded hits and until I reached 100% TP and I used Vorpal blade for about 200 or so with DD gear. Maat used a Shoulder Tackle that did about 60 damage with DD gear on. After a few minutes of trading hits Maat used Invincible, I've seen three ways to deal with this, 1. Is to use your own 2hr and trade hits for 0 ( i didnt like this because if i needed it i wouldnt have it later on) 2. Is to kite him around until his 2hr wears off (didnt like this because he runs at enhanced speed and hits you anyways). 3. Is to stand there and take a beating like a PLD, curing as needed. What I did was Shield bashed him and when stunned effect wore off i would Flash him, I think he only hit me 3 times.(Do whichever you see fit) After his 2hr wore off we and another Vorpal blade for 313. I seen my HP was only in the yellow at around 800 or so, I used Cure 3 to bring me back up. At this time I wasnt sure if I should use my Icarus Wing or wait for TP to build as Maat was close to being beaten. I decided to wait for TP and when it got to full i used Vorpal Blade. I smiled big as Maat was no longer targeted and he said "That was a mighty fine display of skill..." Shakingly I typed out my victory to my Linkshell. My record time was 6 min 32 sec an average time compared to all the Vid's I watched.

Post-Fight: As I walked back to Maat, I thought to myself how incredibly easy the fight was, I only entered yellow HP once during the whole fight, never dropping lower than the mid 800's. I used a few HiPotion+3's during the fight that werent really needed. I talked to Maat and gave a /hurray as my level limit was set to 75. 3/4 of the way I switched back to DD gear and me and him where hitting for about the same around in the 40's.

Conclusion: The fight itself for me was easy, so easy that I was able to begin the almighty Savage Blade quest only an hour after completing the quest. Things to remember, stay clam, Use Flash, bring plenty of Potions, have confidence and switch it up some if you want to sleep TP then do it, if you want to 2hr go right ahead. But, One question remains.. Whould I do it again....yes... PLD G5 only comes by once every charecter :) GOOD LUCK TO ALL!!!! /salute

A Lady Elvaan's Strategy: Don't Panic
After reading the excellent descriptions here, I put together a battle plan that worked well, beating Maat on my first try. So I thought I would share it with everyone.

Preparation: I decided to wait until level 70 so I would have Protect IV. First, I spent some time working on my skills, and got Sword = 251 (capped), Shield = 244, Evasion = 212 (capped), Parrying = 129 and Divine = 233 (capped). I then bought an Espadon +1 and Haubergeon to replace my normal tanking gear, for more damage. The gear I used for battle was:


 * Main: Espadon +1
 * Sub: Iron Ram Shield
 * Ammo: Bibiki Seashell
 * Head: Gallant Coronet
 * Neck: Iron Musketeer's Gorget
 * Ear: Insomnia Earring
 * Ear: Hospitaler Earring
 * Body: Haubergeon
 * Hands: Gallant Gauntlets
 * Ring: Unyielding Ring
 * Ring: Jelly Ring
 * Back: Knightly Mantle
 * Waist: Life Belt
 * Legs: Gallant Breeches
 * Feet: Gallant Leggings

I decided to use the sleep-for-TP approach, so I also bought an Opo-opo Necklace. Other items purchased:


 * 1 - Carbonara (used)
 * 3 - Yagudo Drink (2 used)
 * 3 - Sleeping Potion (3 used)
 * 5 - Hi-Potion/Hi-Potion +2 (1 used)
 * 2 - Hi-Ether (1 used)
 * 1 - Icarus Wing (used)

I then set up macros (Ctrl set) that I would use in-order when I entered the battle field, to make sure I did not forget any of the steps. I kept the Alt set the same as I use for tanking, so as not to confuse myself ^^. I took off my Linkshell, set Friend status to away, took a deep breath, and called Maat out onto the mat!

Battle: I entered the battlefield with full gear on, instead of naked as some folks suggest. I then used my macros: Protect IV, Shell III, equipped the Opo-opo necklace, ate my Carbonara (mmm, I love Italian food), cast Cure III to get HP back to max, 1 Hi-Ether to get my MP recovery off to a fast start, and a Yag drink. I then quaffed 3 Sleeping Potions to get my TP to 75% while my MP was recovering. After the last sleeping potion wore, I had HP = 1377, MP = 266, and TP = 75%. I then hit my last macro to re-equip my I.M. gorget, and headed down the tunnel to see what the old coot was up to. Before he can get "So, you decided to show up..." out of his mouth, I was whacking him with my sword. We swapped Flashes, and by the time it had worn my TP was 100%. So it was time for Swift Blade, Icarus wing, Swift Blade. After each Swift Blade, Maat groans "Ungh... That'll hurt in the morning...". He is now down to about 66% HP, my heart rate is up to 180 BPM, but I am starting to enjoy this. I hit Sentinel, and when it wears hit Rampart. We keep exchanging hits and Flashes, with Maat using Banish II and Maat's Bash from time to time, and me Curing when needed. Maat then shouts "Now that I'm warmed up..." and uses Invincible. My Flash is not ready yet, so I unlock from Maat (not disengage), and start kiting him up the long tunnel. I play in first person, so I was able to watch him while I ran. He was generally keeping up with me, but only hit me twice along the way. After a billion "Maat is out of range" messages, I get to the end of the tunnel and re-lock on him about the same time his Invincible wears off. A few more hits and I get my third Swift Blade off. Another "Ungh..." from Maat, and he is down to about 40% HP. Time for another Yag drink and a Hi-Potion+2 since my MP is getting a little low. We exchange hits for what seems like forever, then finally my 4th Swift Blade is ready. Whack!! and I see the long-awaited-for message "Hm. That was a might fine display of skill there, Esuna. You've come a long way...". Time to breathe again!

Results: Here are some stats taken from the battle:


 * Battlefield clear time: 6 minutes, 39 seconds
 * Damage taken from Maat: 1570
 * Maat's Banish II: 4x for 69, 69, 61, 69
 * Maat's Bash: 3x for 104, 23, 101
 * Damage done to Maat: 1814
 * Normal hits: 864
 * Swift Blade: 4x for 273, 295, 202, 180

Maat never used Asuran Fists. Rumor is he does not pull this out until 8 minutes into the fight. I was saving Invincible and Shield Bash in case I got into trouble, but never had to use them. I was never below about 50% health. 3x Sleeping Potions worked well, taking less time than 4x and still getting me most of the TP for my first Swift Blade.

So my advice on Maat is: go in prepared, have a battle plan and keep your cool. Good Luck to all you Paladins out there on your Maat fight! The old Geezer can easily be beaten, so say "Hi from Esuna" to him as you are dealing the final blow!

68 Galka PLD Strategy
Yet another Galka strategy?? What's the world coming to? Well, this is for Paladins who just can't wait till 70 to pound the livin' bahjeebus outta the old man! I had just hit 68 and wanted to give it a go. Maat never saw this coming..

Equipment

Sword: Espadon (no +1??! I'm cheap.. sue me. bought/sold within a day just for this fight) Shield: Iron Ram Shield (again.. sue me. it's a good shield) Ammo: Bibiki Seashell Head: AF / Blink Band Neck: Parade Gorget Body: AF Hands: AF Legs: AF Feet: AF Waist: Life Belt Back: Knightly Mantle Rings: Ether Ring and Phalanx Ring Earrings: Insomnia Earring and Hospitaler Earring

Items

Carbonara Vile Elixir (also brought a +1 but didn't need it) Icarus Wing Yagudo Drinkx3 Persikos au Lait

Simple but lethal strategy

I traded my testimony to Maat and the BC in the buff. (No nude Galka jokes, please :o) Once inside, I ate my food, casted Protect3/Shell3, cure3, and rested to full. When I got to the old man, his and my first instinct was to flash each other. His flash took a U-turn thru my blink so be careful if you use opo-opo necklace technique and try to rush in that first WS. Maat seemed like a joke after his first hit landed for about 40 with a shield block. Most of his hits couldn't even break 100, not what I'm used to seeing in parties. Not once did he land a critical, sadly, I wanted to see his max damage. I used Vorpal Blade every time I hit 100%. Maat used Banish II a few times (first for 0 since I saved Rampart for it). Only WS he was using was Maat's Bash. I used Sentinel around the time he had 3/4 HP and cured myself up a bit. Trading hits, we got to the time I planned for. Maat used Invincible and I gave him a Shield Bash and ran for the entrance. As soon as he shook off stun, he returned the favor with his own Bash, from a good distance mind you, then flashed me. Things never work out as planned, I suppose, but at least it stalled some time. I wasn't happy with the old man, so I went back to swinging. Couple swings later, I was dealing damage again. Now.. the most superb 1337 uber pwn thing happened. I start to get R0ed! (disconnecting but still sending packets, so I felt I wasn't totally #$@%ed) Not too shabby on HP/MP but enough to kick in that vile elixir. Then, I used Invincible to be safe. So I'm sittin there blind to all the action waiting to see that ever decreasing % in the corner of my screen pop back to 100. Tho I didnt have TP before this fiasco, I typed in /ws "Vorpal Blade"  when I thought I had enough. And lo and behold, Im back at full connection and I see my chat log flood and two Paladins goin hundred fist on each other as the received packets flowed in. Thanks to Invincible I was still over 1000 HP. The old man got spunky and decided to use lolOne Inch Punch for only 170 damage. I used my Icarus Wing and finished him off with Vorpal Blade! Just when things got interesting too. P.S. anyone fighting Maat post-reprisal update, I wanna know how it goes!

Tips if you want to skip a short rant


 * Both of my brothers (whm and drg) and I havent seen Maat use Asuran Fists at 66-68. Seems he doesnt get it until you're level 69-70 (I'm 1/10 on RDM G5, playing from 69-70. Being on the receiving end of 500-800dmg Asuran Fists so many times will give you nightmares..)
 * Don't waste time/gil with sleeping potions pre-70
 * If you use sleeping potions, don't expect Blink to take that first flash. Wait it out and be patient before you blow your TP
 * Use flash as much as possible (if you've kept up on your divine skill) you might get lucky and have Maat miss a WS
 * You don't "need" mega attack gear, less damage taken in defense gear is just as helpful
 * Carbonara rocks in this fight, worth every penny
 * Keep up regen/refresh drinks, other meds when you're in a pinch
 * Do whatever you need to stay clam and have fun!

Mithra Paladin Lv.69
PLD69 Mithra Zanashii on Midgardsormr Server August 11, 2008 (username Oliveeyes29)

Equipment
 * Macuahuitl +1
 * Iron Ram Shield
 * Gallant Coronet
 * Scorpion Harness
 * Gallant Gauntlets
 * Gallant Breeches
 * Gallant Leggings
 * Lamia Mantle +1
 * Swordbelt +1
 * Parade Gorget
 * Tortoise Earring +1
 * Titanis Earring
 * Verve Ring
 * Chrysoberyl Ring
 * Bibiki Seashell

Items I used:
 * Tavnazian Taco
 * Hi-Potions x7 (used 3)
 * Persikos au Lait x2 (used 1)
 * Yagudo Drink x2 (used)

''Entered battlefield with no equip except Hi-potion Tank. Equipped gear listed above.''

After trading the Testimony to the Burning Circle, I entered the battlefield naked except for the Hi-potion Tank. I used it once more, and then proceeded to equip all of my gear (this probably would have been much faster if I had set /equip macros). I casted Protect III and Shell III, ate my Taco, drank an au lait and a yag drink and ran up to Maat. As soon as he started talking I cast Flash, he reciprocated almost immediately. I just started swinging away and WS'ing as often as possible. When Maat used Invincible, I did the same - I did not disengage and kite him. He loves Flash and Banish II!

In addition to casting Flash as often as possible, I also casted Reprisal as often as possible. In the time frame allotted, I casted Flash 5 times and Reprisal twice. Do not understimate Reprisal! This spell dealt an additional 113 points of damage to Maat.

This fight was stress-free. I came out with my health almost completely full and 75% mp. When my first yag drink wore I used the 2nd. I casted 2 Cure IIs, one Cure III and 2 Cure IVs. I didn't spend a lot of gil preparing (10k total for the au laits and yag drinks) and a fellow LS member lent me his Hi-Potion Tank, of which I plucked 7 out and used 3. All of the Equipment listed above is my normal tanking gear with the exception of the Sword Belt +1 - I usually use a Life Belt (hubby lent me his Swordbelt +1). Just keep swinging and using weaponskills when available, and Flash and Reprisal as often as possible ^^. Here are the battle stats:

Battle Stats
 * Damage dealt to Maat: 1827
 * Damage taken: 1642
 * Healing: 1244
 * WS used: 3 (Total damage dealt 484)
 * Maat's WS: Tackle x1, Maat's Bash x4, One-Inch Punch x1
 * Time: 6 minutes 44 seconds (Recordbreaker, the previous record was 7 minutes 1 second.)

Hume Paladin Lv.70
I'm going to guess the earlier guides on this page were mostly written before Paladin was revamped by SE. I'm doing fights back to back on every job right now to finish Maat's Cap, and I just did Paladin... I was kind of worried it would be difficult because of some of the things written above, but this was seriously the easiest fight I've done to date. I didn't use any potions, no icarus wing, no sleep potions/opo neck, no 2-hour... I casted cure3 twice, reprisal once at the beginning, and flash twice. The result? I finished the fight with over 300 mp left and 500 hp. Only really special item I had for this fight was Joyeuse, but I don't imagine I would have had to do much more than cure a few more times if I hadn't had one.

I used a jelly ring, jaeger ring, haubergeon, peacock charm (chiv chain would work fine here too, and they're not terribly expensive - Most paladins probably have one at this point), RK Breeches, amemet +1, AF hands and feet... Fight was really straight forward. Carbonara for attack/hp, and he was still only hitting me for 70-100dmg per swing not counting shield block, which kicked in a LOT while reprisal was up. I casted pro4/shell3 upon entering, popped yagudo drink and persikos au lait, cure2'd myself to cover some of the hp, switched to parade gorget for a little more mp recovery while using blink band, then swapped into DD set and charged in. Opened the fight with flash, then began swinging away. I only got TP for vorpal blade twice before he was down to 30% hp, and by that point in the battle I'd only casted cure3 twice. I saved sentinel and used it when he used invincible, and flashed him again to completely minimize damage taken during his minute of 2-hour. I saved shield bash to beat him over the head in case he tried to cure4, but he didn't attempt it until the very end (it went off right as he gave up at 20%, and was pretty amusing, since it put his hp at like half again). The fight took 4 minutes and 9 seconds, and over a minute of that was spent with the pre-fight preparation.

Anyway... I can't see it being much more difficult than that without a joyeuse. Maybe a few more cures, and some potions if he throws out an asuran. I think the problem a lot of people before me had was wasting time sleeping TP to 100% to open with a vorpal. It wastes precious time, and you'll only do up to like 250 damage with it at best anyway. Keep in mind that Maat supposedly starts spamming TP attacks when you're down to the last minute or two of the time limit on the fight, and that will cause problems for anyone. Maybe Paladin Maat was relatively difficult before the implementation of shield mastery, reprisal, and the newer uber sentinel, but now he's a complete joke.

This doesn't mean go unprepared - I still had 10 hi-potions, an x-potion, an icarus wing, a couple of yag drinks, and an emergency vile elixir in case things were to go awry. All in all, just play like you're tanking an exp mob or soloing somewhere, stay calm, and things will go fine. --Aethaeryn 23:53, 2 November 2008 (UTC)

General Strategy for any Paladin
I am a mithran PLD and i did this at lv 68, but even a level 66 can do this fight with ease and a little preparation. First off you need a few items:

4-5 Hi Potion+3 2 Yagudo Drinks 1 Icarus Wing 1 Tavnazian Taco 1 Persikos Au Lait

Your equipment should consist of accuracy enough to hit Maat don't sweat defense too much.

This strategy is very different from others in that the true way to beat maat is to do damage to him when he starts spamming Asuran Fists on you. Buff yourself when you enter the burning circle, eat your food and then rest to full hp/mp. Next walk up to maat with your sword drawn but far enough to where you don't attack. Drink your Au lait and your 1st yagudo drink and land your first hit on maat. He will cast flash first, wait until he raises his hand and cast your own flash. Everytime you drop about 200 hp from your max hp cast Cure III, you want to alternate between using MP and potions to heal and to give your mp time to recover. At 50% Maat will use invincible. Shield bash him and try to save flash for this time too. Don't bother running away during invincible as you have 0 chance to block and reduce damage taken. Continue as normal until he reachs around 30-35% HP. At roughly 35% use sentinel because Maat is going to get ready to unleash infinite Asuran Fists on you to finish you off and sentinel will lower the damage done by the first one. This is when you use your invincible. If you do not have 100% TP, pop the icarus wing and drop a Vorpal Blade on him. Maat will concede the fight when you vorpal him during his Asuran Fists fit.

This fight isn't about beating maat but simply surviving him.