Valkerie's Complete Guide to Paladin


 * WARNING** This guide is under construction, information my not be complete of correct. Also this guide currently contains copied information from the other guides on PLD. For that reason this guide is copyrighted to all pld guide writers until further notice.

THIS PAGE WAS UPDATED 10JUNE2011

- Prower



Foreword
To all ye receiving these gifts I bid you welcome. Greeting and salutations fellow player of Final Fantasy XI, greeting adventurers of all levels. I welcome you to the most in-depth guide guide to Paladin you'll find anywhere. Everything you'll need and want to know you can find here, everything. This is the definitive guide to Paladin.

This is the kind of guide you should read for an in-depth look into Paladin as it contains enough information to allow you to go from a snot-nosed green rookie into a battle hardened veteran. This is the kind of guide that will eventually save your hide from a really sticky situation in the future.

You may be asking how this guide book can be so important. Simple, the writer has tons of experience on the job. The writer has been playing Final Fantasy XI for almost 4 years and has spent almost the entire time as Paladin. The writer has learned from players that have been playing the game since the beginning. As a result of all the learning and on the job experience the writer has learned to read the tide of battle in most any situation. For those of you who are experienced you know what I speak of, but for the rest of you I've written this guide book for you.

This guide book is written in a manner that anyone should be able to understand. If for any reason you don't understand something I encourage you to seek me out and ask.

I may be reached on Asura under the character name “Valkerie” or through my POL mail at “nx_valkerie@pol.com”.

The Background Of Paladin
Paladins have been used for ages across every server. Being known as a "tank" or someone that recieves the damage for everyone else, Paladins have secured a spot in most any properly formed party.

More to come...

The History Of Paladin
Paladins (PLD) has been a part of Final Fantasy XI for a long time. Initially the game came with 6 jobs, but this was expanded with the Rise of the Zilart expansion and Paladin was born. Over time the job has been modified with enhancements and extra abilities and spells.

More to come...

What Is A Paladin
So just what is Paladin? You'll only need to ask this question once. Paladin is many things, and in the right hands of an experienced player can even be a jack of all trades. A Paladin can function as the damage receiver (tank) for the entire party, or can be a damage dealer or even a healer, whether you're doing power leveling or not. A Paladin is meant to hold his own in any situation. If you're in a party and the healer goes down you'll be able to support yourself for the duration of the fight. For those of you who question those last few sentences please continue to read. Really the main job of a Paladin is to tank (take damage for others), to take the damage for the party, but it can do more, this is where pure skill and experience comes into play. But we still haven't answered the big question, just what is a Paladin?

A Paladin is actually a combination of 2 jobs slammed into one very powerful package. The back story behind what a Paladin is states that it started out as San d'Orian Warriors who, through long hours of spiritual training, gained the ability to cast White Magic spells. Also through rigorous training these Warriors have mastered the art of defense and now specialize in it. So there we have it, a Paladin is basically a hybrid Warrior that can cast white magic and specialize in defensive capabilities, but is this all they can do? Not in the least. You see, a Paladin is more than just a tank, it's also a damage dealer and healer, as stated earlier, but we'll discuss later when we discuss the different roles a Paladin can play both in a party and solo. For know let's discuss why you should choose to be a Paladin.

Why Be a Paladin
As a Paladin of over 3 years I've got a lot to say bout the job, a lot of positive things. I've been in some of the heaviest and most difficult situations where the only thing that would ensure my survival was if I was at the top of my game and on top of everything in my domain. Paladin can be a great tool that, if properly mastered, can take you to the stars and beyond, but we want to know "why Paladin"?

The real question isn't "why paladin", anyone can sell their job to someone else. This is the type of job that takes to you and becomes part of you. Why Paladin? Why not, as Paladin you can solo some pretty tough mobs, including those pesky cactuar NMs. With Paladin you can go farther, outlast others, be the last person standing and in most cases, it gets the job done.

The How's Of Paladin
As said earlier I've got over 3 years under my buckle, 3 years of blood, sweat and tears. None of my skill came to me overnight, it took a lot of work. So just how do you do Pally? Well you'll have to know your weapons, know your equipment, know your accessories, know your job (the is the big one) and you'll have to know yourself (this is the biggest one). Why know yourself? You need to know you reaction times to certain events such as enemy TP moves. The difference in the time it takes you to do that Shield Bash or activate Sentinel could be the difference between life and death. Knowing your job means knowing what you have at your disposal. As a Paladin you have a great number of job traits, abilities and weapon skills. You just have to know what to use and when.

Now when I said know your weapons I was serious, and I'll give a short example. A long time ago a member of my linkshell turned me onto a sword that looked like an ordinary weapon, it was a Company Sword. What I didn't know about and was promptly informed of was the fact that the base damage increases by 2 for every 3rd member of a party for a max of 54 base damage for a party of 6. Know your gear. So what do we do with a sword like this. We use is, but not in any old situation. Personally I use it on hybrid setups where I need to tank and DD at the same time. Remember that a Paladin holds enmity from many things, one of them being the damage coming from your weapon. This makes your weapon twice a valued because it help hold hate and do some DD.

Equipment and accessories function the same way. But you can't just slip on any old piece of armor and expect great things. Remember, everything from actions to gear is conditional and situational. Choose your gear carefully, know what you're about to fight and gear up accordingly. Personally, I have probably 57 pieces of gear for my Paladin alone. 57 pieces of gear ranging from a DD setup to a tanking setup to an MP setup for PLing and everything in between. With a setup like that you can fill in lots of spots.

A Guide To Soloing
Soloing is one of the most vital components of playing FFXI. Soloing teaches you everything the basics of your job, when to use job abilities and timing, which is the base of everything else. But just how do you solo an enemy? You can't just grab your sword and start attacking (Unless it cons too weak), you need to prepare yourself first. Let's discuss preparing yourself for a fight.

Now there's several ways to prepare for a fight and we'll discuss all of them. First we start with Subjobs, picking the right subjob for a given task. Next we talk about equipment, the right tool for the right job. And Finally we talk magic, somethigng that can save you heartache.

A Guide To Partying
More to come...

A Guide To Tanking & Enmity
By know you probably know what the term "tanking" means, but in case you don't it means to take the damage for the party. As paladin that's exactly what you'll be doing almost anytime you fight anything. Whether fighting individually or in party you will be taking the damage, at least most of the time. But how do you tank? Why do you tank?

Why Is It Important?
Why is enmity important? Simple, a Paladin was designed by Square Enix to take damage, and it does that quite well. Tanking won't be your ONLY job, there are other roles which I will explain later on, but for now let's assume you're useless as anything except a tank (as you have yet to master other roles). And let's face it, who can operate a party without a tank? It's hard a crap.

As Just A Paladin
As just a Paladin you're limited on hate control, well... It's more like a system of delayed hate control. Let's discuss you as just a Paladin with no subjob. A no subjob Paladin still has a few methods of hate control in the form of job abilities, spells and some damage. Now how do we work these? Simple, heal the damage until you have control of hate then use your job abilities to maintain that control of enmity. Sentinel is a wondrous ability which with Valor Leggings can briefly reduce the damage you take to 0 and grab lots of enmity. Rampart is an AoE effect that grants X amount of magic damage resistance and grants a defense bonus for all effected party members. Cover also help to grab control of a mob by defending a party member from damage, however this only grab a small amount of enmity. Finally we move onto your 2 hour ability, Invincible.

Proper Enmity Execution
This part is as easy as 2 steps, grabbing hate and maintaining it. In order to grab hate you can use any combination of the below material. As far as keeping hate, heal yourself regularly and damage your opponent the best you can (the more damage the better your enmity is). All in all do everything in your power to keep control of the mob.

Using Invincible
Before we discuss Invincible we need to discuss enmity. I'm going to be using a sliding scale as an example for this ranging from 0 to 100, 0 means no hate, 100 means full hate control. Paladins are tanks no matter where they go, if they act on a mob it generates X amount more of hate than any other job. This hate can be defined by a sliding scale. Let's say you're tanking a mob for your party and you use Provoke and a weapon skill, you've just generated X amount of enmity on the scale, let's say you generated 25 on the scale. If your enmity is low on the scale and you're forced to use Invincible your hate on the scall will take a big jump, say to 70. If your hate on the scale is already 70, however, and you hit Invincible, your enmity will actually drop to a number specified by the ability. This is how Invincible works, it makes you imune to damage for a few minutes and sets your enmity at a specified number on the sliding scale. I'll say that again, if you have high enmity Invincible will actually shed enmity.

Provoking
Now back to enmity control. A paladin can use the subjob Warrior and take advantage of the gained job ability of "Provoke". Provoke goads an enemy into attacking you and raises your enmity. You can even stack enmity from provoke time and again. Provoke is earned at level 10 if you are subbing Warrior. When in party as /WAR be sure to use this ability every 30 seconds to maintain enmity.

Healing
Healing is a big part of hate control, the more you heal yourself the more the enemy will stick to you like velcro. Try not to overheal yourself and drain your MP, moderate it in conjunction with your healer.

Flashing
Available at level 37 this short term spell temporarily blinds an enemy greatly lowering their accuracy and generating some enmity (half the enmity of a Provoke)

Sentinel
Attained at level 30 this ability greatly reduces the amount of damage taken for a short period of time. Using this job ability also moderately increases your enmity allowing a certain amount of control over where the enemy attacks.

Shield Bash
Attained at level 15 this ability uses your shield to stun an opponent by ramming it into them. Usage of this ability does generate some enmity but not much. This is recommended to be used against mage type enemies, especially black mages.

Defender
This is a general use ability gained from the use of the Warrior subjob. Attained at level 50 this ability lowers your attack rating in exchange for raising your defense rating by X amount. Use this when tanking and you'll see a small difference in the amount of damage you take.

Your Damage Output
Along with all the above is your damage output. This is considered to be under the category of hate maintenance. As a Paladin you won't do much damage to exp mobs, however the damage you do do adds up over time. That damage helps to maintain control of an enemies attention.

Everything Else
More to come...

Tanking [Regular]
This'll be what you do most of the time in any party, this is the nitty gritty of the job. This task calls for your tanking setup and the usual line of abilities. Provoke every 30 seconds, use sentinel to mitigate damage and maintain hate. Rampart is user for a mall defense bonus and a good amount of magic damage resistance. Use cover to take the damage for others. Shield Bash to stop those pesky enemy TP abilities and stun the mob.

Tanking (In & Out)
This form of tanking is a wee bit controversial. Using In & Out tanking tactics you allow others to take damage if your damage taken is not easy to control. In other words the enemy hits too much or too hard and you offload a few hits onto other party members. This is not something you want to do often, continual use of these tactics may lead to your expulsion from parties. Only do this is you absolutely have to.

Backwards Tanking
Tanking while not facing the mob...

Damage Dealer
This is my personal favorite part. Many players have said that a Paladin can't do damage, but they haven't tried to _play_ the job. A Paladin is basically a defensive warrior with magic with the capability to do great things and because of that a Paladin can wear many sets of armor that a Warrior or Dark Knight can wear. In order to DD as a Paladin you need to first have your combat skills up to par with your level, combat skills affect everything on a weapon from damage dealt to accuracy to available weaponskills. Second you need to have a gear setup dedicated to DD.

Damage Dealing & Tanking
This task calls for a slightly different setup, it calls for a hybrid setup. You want mainly Damage Dealer gear (weapon, shield, armor and accessories) but your gfear needs to be able to handle moderate to heavy tanking. With this setup you're allowed the ability to participate with the other damage dealers. With this setup be sure to coordinate weapon skills as to generate skillchains, this'll assist in hate control.

Pure Tanking
This section applies to those of you who fight HNMs or very high level notorious monsters. In this setup you'll be damaged so much and hit so hard that your defensive rating matters not. In this tanking setup you need to have all the HP+ gear on that you can have. Other tanking stat+ gear is also helpful but mainly you want to concern yourself with HP+ stuff.

Power Leveler/MP
This setup could end up costing a good bit of money. This task calls for an MP & Refresh setup. Now if we're going just for an MP setup than we can wear a lot of mage gear and get awaw with it. If we're doing power leveling we need a more dynamic setup. We need heavier sets of armor with enmity and MP+ stats, however if we're PLing someone on higher mobs you can use your regular DD armor and mage/MP accessories.

Hume
The Hume is known across the game as a well rounded race that can do most anything, this holds quite true. Humes are strong and hardy with a good balance between INT and MND and have a decent MP pool. Their STR adds to their weapon skills in which more damage translates to more enmity. Their Vitality and Agility allows them to tank more smoothly with plenty of parrying. The balanced INT & STR affects their white magic and any stat-dependent gear they might be wearing, like the Dainslaif. Their MP pool allows for plenty of hate control and healing to keep them from getting into sticky situations in a party. Humer also have high Charisma whi affects you "Killer" effects such as Undead Killer.

Elvaan
Elvaan certainly can't go wrong if you wish to play as Paladin on it. You'll find that Elvaan are very hardy when it comes to tanking, this can be attributed to their increased defense and VIT stats, however, your MP and AGI stats are lower than the other races.

However, with the highest Strength in the game, that’s hardly a problem. You’ll also enjoy the highest Mind in the game to cap your Cures faster, and at Lv.35, Auto Refresh nullifies the low MP. Elvaan also have the second-highest of both Vitality and HP in the game, so taking damage isn’t difficult at all. But beware, because lower-end Intelligence means you are a little more vulnerable to black magic; however, you can very easily compensate for this with Shell spells and with a variety of high-level equipment. High Charisma means high intimidation rates on undead. On top of all that, there are few things as amazing looking as an Elvaan Paladin. May your armor shine!

Tarutaru
For now I refuse to even talk about /nin. This may be added later on.

PLD/RDM
A Paladin with a Red Mage subjob is said to be a brick wall, that the spells received from Red Mage enhance the job so greatly that you can do almost anything solo. Let's analyze the dynamics of this combination.

Hume
The Red Mage subjob fits humes well with their balanced stats and it compliments their MP pool. The subjob, however, does very little in the weay of melee skills and abilities. Subbing Red Mage also help to raise a Humes MND & INT stats, good for healing magic, enhancing magic and any weapons that have an additional affect that's dependant on thjose stats, such as a Dainslaif. All in all a Hume Paladin subbing Red Mage creates a very well rounded paladin with plenty of skills and abilities to survive many situations with relative ease.

Tarutaru
Tarutaru Paladins subbung Red Mage have the advantage of a higher MP pool, INT & MND increases which helps with weaponskills, weapons and spells. The Tarus naturally high MP pool gives them an edge in soloing in the form of longevity, they'll have more than enough mp to keep curing themselves with, at the exchange of less HP.

Mithra
- Mithra has the 2nd highest mp pool equal to Hume, highest agility and good dexterity in game. Decent melee, but main strength is to evade, parry and perhaps higher shield proc rate because of their high agility. Subbing /rdm increases mnd and int. Mithras high agility will give them an edge in soloing.

Elvaan
- Elvaan has the highest MND in game that really helps them with Stoneskin and stronger swift blade. They have very good melee stats, 2nd highest HP in game, 3rd lowest mp but with /rdm it just makes them more dangerous PLDs lol They get more MP, higher magic defense and can recover fast when resting. Subbing /RDM increase mnd and int. The Elvaan race is well balance on melee and mp is not too far from hume maybe 100-130(not sure) but with /RDM gives them about 60 mp extra. If they merit MP they can get up to 80 mp extra on there side, they already have high hp, vit, strength so all elvaan can use now is more mp.

Galkan
- Galka are known for to be the highest vitality, very good strength and HP in game but lack MP. Now combine /RDM to a Galka, they will have that extra Fat Stoneskin, Extra Skin Phalanx for them to not worry about healing themselves as much. Also Galka can kill the mob faster than most of the races because of there high strenth, with Joyeuse they can be really nasty PLD/RDM. /RDM will also give them higher mp and mnd. Galkas should merit MP to 8 upgrades(80mp) with /rdm sub and 8 upgrades of mp will give them about 140MP to there mp pool.

Barspells
Barspells, know how to use it Barspells are awesome and gives you an edge on soloing.

Some examples Barblizzard + Barparalyze = higher resist to Paralyze and shorten duration Baraero + Barsilence = higher resist to silence and shorten duration

Barwater + Barpoison = higher resist to poison and shorten duration

You get the idea! Know which to use!

Analyzing the Mob

Analyzing the mob strength and weakness takes a lot of observation, mastering it will give you an edge because you will be able to kill it faster. Some examples:

Mob reads “Tough with high defense and High evasion” One of the mobs strength is its high defense, to solve this problem. - Use Dia II Examine it again should read “Tough and High evasion” - Use gravity, it should solve your problem of hitting it.

Gravity is 50/50 for it to land, but I think Elvaan or Tarutaru may pull it higher than other race as PLD/RDM

Other ways to be effective on killing a mob is knowing which food to eat and which gear to use when fighting it.

My common fighting strategies

Set A (Melee mobs) Joyeuse Koenig shield Koenig Head Koenig Hands haubergeon Ice trousers Homam, Gallant feet, Crimson Greaves, Amir(all depends on what mob) Str4 x 2 ring or jelly ring depends on situation Loquacious Earring Ethereal Earring Bibiki sea shell Boxers Mantle Warwolf belt Swift Belt, Speed belt(If you have it) Haste belt is also good, with NPC should fix haste problem.

Future set up addition goal soloing gear! -Full Homam set

Set B (Mage mobs) Joyeuse Tatami Shield(for faster kill) or Koenig Shield if mage monbs hit hard (or AF for divine magic) Wahlahra Turban Haubergeon Ice trousers Crimson Feet(elemental resist for magic) Lamia Mantle+1 Heirach belt(at start)warwolf or Haste B Buckler earring Loquacious Earring Ethereal Earring Str+2 mnd+5 rings x 2(for swift blade) -use those rings for higher magic def, higher Stoneskin

Future change of gear: -Full Homam set -Askar Head

Food

Situation A: (High defense mob) My choices -Rice Dumplings, Ceourl Subs

Situation B: (High evasion mob) -Sole sushi so Joyeuse lands the hits

For mage monsters: Just Dumplings or Subs mainly to kill them fast, unless high evasion then Sole sushi

Note: Up to you depends on what fighting Dia II or Bio II.

Why: Melee set up Well in this set up, I try not to sacrifice PLD/RDM main strength which is taking less damage with defensive gear. I can solve the attack problems by simply eating food I need defensive gear

Why mage set up: Focus is magic defense gear, more mind, more mp, elemental resist gear since most mage mobs damaging moves are magic attack spells.

Why Chivalry should be upgraded to 10 min For me I will upgrade it because I don’t like down time at soloing, also good for many reasons like exp parties, battles, etc.

When to use Fealty effectively during Fights Using fealty the right time is really up to you, it is the same concept when to use “Invincible”. Use it when you this is best to use it.

Enhancing Calculator design by a RDM’s Its pretty accurate, good way to have an idea so you are in the dark. Like all calculators design by players it’s a good faith estimate, but nobody knows exact calculator that SE uses. How I wish they do release lol

Enhancing Calculator

Phalanx

Stoneskin

It really depends on your fighting style, nobody can teach that but yourself. Understand your fighting style and use the right gear, items to become stronger.

PLD/RDM best Solo gear list! The Uber solo gear! The Best IMO! You can combine each piece in anyway you want.

Homam Homam Corazza Set -Legs best

Ares Ares's Cuirass Set

Aurum Aurum Cuirass Set

Askar Askar Korazin Set

Aegis Aegis

What more can I say, -25% magic damage taken! Best shield bash enhancement! Highest shield proc rate, highest -% taken when full Block. Now combine this with /RDM? Uberness!

Locquacius earring Mp 30 and Enhance fast cast

Ethereal earring Hp+15, Attack +5, Evasion +5. Converts 3% damage taken to MP(hp, attk, eva and converts to mp? Omg uberness)

Swift belt With Full homam set, you will have 16% Haste

Shadow Mantle and Shadow ring Combine both get occasionally annuls magic and physical damage taken Ring gives “On Darksday magic def bonus” Mantle gives “On Darksday gives VIT+20" (wow it+20, basically took care of your vitality stats when you swap Adaman > to Homam)

Defending ring Phalanx + -10% damage taken, you do the math lol

Crimson gear pros and cons Well Legs and Feet give high mp, and HP plus +40 on all Elemental resist. The bad part about this is when you fight Demons, you will get intimidated a lot.

Haste, Fast cast how Important it is http://wiki.ffxiclopedia.org/wiki/Fast_Cast

I normally use Haste belt when fighting NM’s ONLY! However with reg mobs I don’t use haste belt. Haste and Fast cast gear, tremendously increase you ability to cast spells and not worry about it being interrupted as much. It’s a huge factor in soloing, this is one of the reasons RDM/NIN owns in Solo because they have the highest Fast casting in game.

Haste gear and spell = lowers recast time Fast cast = lowers recast time and casting time

The Following is great for swaps or regular on slots.

Fast Cast I Casting time -10%, recast -5% Obtained: Red Mage Level 15

Fast Cast II Casting time -5%, recast -2.5% Obtained: Red Mage Level 35

Homam Legs Spellcasting time -4% Spell recast time -2%

Loquacious Earring Spellcasting time -2% Spell recast time 2%

Warlocks mantle

Reduces spellcasting time by 2% Reduces spell recast time by 1%

Total Reduces spell recast time 12% Reduces spell Casting Time 23%

Example: Stoneskin: Casting 7 secs Recast 30 secs

With Fast cast set up: Casting 5 secs Recast 26 secs

With haste set up 18% + Haste spell 15% from npc Stoneskin recast 17.42 secs

Kraken Club vs Joyeuse with Enspells? As PLD sword is A+, Club is 1- so both weapons are awesome. Really depends on your fighting style, but main reason why jobs like RDM/NIN dual both of these is because of the Enspells. Sure Kraken club don’t hit hard, but attack 6-8 times of Enspells is a lot of dmg. For me though I prefer Joyeuse, really depends on your fighting style I guess. I can hit good dmg with sword + Enspell so I cant go wrong with that lol

Using right Enspells, Enspell mob weak too or same elemental day? Enspells are awesome, now you have to be knowledgeable what the mob you are fighting is weak and strong too. Having the same weather day and mob being weak to it will increase damage Enspells [1]

Use this link as resource [2]

Merit MP or HP? It really depends on you, with my LS I normally play ranger and use PLD/RDM to solo on my own a lot and help LS mates and friends. Also depends on race, for example galka and elvaan need more mp as soloers. Therefore, it is up to you!

Is Iron Will good to purchase? -% spell interruption gear is it worth it?-% Interruption gear is awesome imo, but as PLD/RDM those slots can be use for priority stats. However during a critical moment in a fight, Iron will trait(when you use rampart -% starts) is pretty good imo especially when you mess up on your rebuff routine.

Some gear I recommend Valor Legs Knights earring = 19% interruption rate plus Aquaveil, its pretty good what my friend tells me and from what I observe

Beneficial Traits and Spells of /RDM

Spells

Phalanx Red Mage: 33 Light Enhancing 21 N/A Single spell Gives you a certain amount of damage resistance.

Stoneskin Red Mage: 34 White Mage: 28 Earth Enhancing 29 N/A 10 Seconds 7 Self Decreases the amount of damage the target takes in battle.

Dispel Red Mage: 32 Darkness Enfeebling 25 N/A 10 3 Single Removes one buff from a mob

Barspells(for all elements) -Increase defense on specific element

Enspell -Adds damage element, this good especially what mob is weak too and weather day.

Blaze Spikes -Engulfs the target in an armor of fire(this is good, at 75 I do 8-10 dmg when mob hits me, this good especially for mnk type)

Aquaveil Red Mage: 12 White Mage: 10 Water Enhancing 12 N/A 10 Seconds 5 Single Avoids casting interruptions, increasing casting efficiency.

Dia II Red Mage: 31 White Mage: 36 Light Enfeebling 59 N/A 6 Seconds 1.5 Single Inflicts damage on the target and lowers its defense.

Bio II Red Mage: 36 Dark Knight: 40 Black Mage: 35 Darkness Darkness 66 N/A 5 Seconds 1.5 Single Does damage over time and decreases the target's attack

Blink Red Mage: 23 White Mage: 19 Wind Enhancing 20 N/A 10 Seconds 6 Self Makes the target harder to hit, increasing the chance of evading damage.

Gravity Red Mage: 21 Wind Enfeebling 24 N/A 1 Minute 1.5 Second Single Weighs an enemy down, lowering its movement speed and evasion.

Slow Red Mage: 13 White Mage: 13 Earth Enfeebling 15 N/A 20 Seconds 2 Single Target is slowed

Paralyze Red Mage: 6 White Mage: 4 Ice Enfeebling 6 N/A 10 Seconds 3 Single Paralyzes the target for a short duration

Sleep -good for hate at start of fight

-Sneak, Invisible, Deodorize good for soloing. -other more spells, I just listed what benefits us in majority

Traits

Resist Petrify Red Mage: 10 Self You gain an innate bonus to Resist Petrification

Fast Cast I Red Mage: 15 Single

Magic Attack Bonus I Red Mage: 20 Single Increases the damage of offensive spells.

Magic Defense Bonus I Red Mage: 25 Single Increases magical defense.

Resist Petrify II Red Mage: 30 Self You gain an innate bonus to Resist Petrification.

Clear mind I Red Mage: 31 Increases base mana regeneration to 15 MP while resting.

Fast Cast II Red Mage: 35 Single

Enhancing Skill, how important is it?

Paladin has the 3rd highest Enhancing Magic skill in game which most people don’t realize(RDM > WHM > PLD). Stoneskin and Phalanx are all base on Enhancing skill, however when you increase MND it makes Stoneskin more HP. Enhancing magic skill for PLD 75 caps at 210 with full merits (226 enhancing magic, with swapping gear can reach near 250))caps 230-275 HP depending on your mnd also, it could be more or Less. Phalanx at cap 210 is -20 Points, combine that with Jelly ring you do the math.

How to skill up Enhancing magic skill

Most of your skill ups will be during exp or solo, but I suggest spamming spells while LFP or chilling in one area w/e the cast spamm spells and cap it. Here are my macro suggestions:

Get 2 Lines just for your RDM skill ups, Swapping macros etc

Here is an example! Box1 Line 1: /ma "Barthunder"  Line 2: /wait 5 or 7 you choose Line 3: /ma "Barwater"  Line 4: /wait 5 or 7 you choose Line 5: /ma "Baraero" 

Box 2 Line 1: /ma "Enthunder"  Line 2: /wait 5 or 7 Line 3: /ma "Enfire"  Line 4: /wait 5 or 7 Line 5: /ma "Enblizzard" 

Box 3 Line 1: /ma "Blazespikes"  Line 2: /wait 5 or 7 Line 3: /ma "Phalanx"  Line 4: /wait 5 or 7 Line 5: /ma "Stoneskin" 

Anyways you get the idea! macro your spells, so its easier for skill ups instead of choosing them 1 by 1 in magic bar screen area. Capping Enhancing magic skill will make you strong!

Is Chivalry and Fealty worth getting? Yes! Chivalry and Fealty just made PLD/RDM set up more stronger. There will be time during a fight and Chivalry or Fealty will save your butt, trust me get it! I rather have them in my arsenal, than not have them at all.

[3] [4]

Should I merit Divine magic or Enhancing magic?

Meriting Enhancing magic has more benefits than capping merits vs Divine magic, we already have high divine magic skill anyway. Capping Enhancing magic means stronger Reprisal, more HP to Stoneskin, -points Phalanx, and Higher Enspell Damage vs a higher % rate Flash wont be resisted? you choose lol

Bio II or Dia II?

First thing you need to know is that Bio II and DiaII do no stack they cancel one another, so the biggest focus should be which is the right spell to use for certain mob.

For Hard hitting monsters - I recommend BioII because not only it 5-6 DOT it is also -10% on the monster attack which will make its attacks weaker, therefore your Stoneskin will last longer in a way. [5]

For Mage type Mobs and High defense mobs - I recommend using DiaII [6] Why? For mage type mobs they already weak to melee hits, so if you weaken there defense your hits and ws will kill them faster with Dia II on them.

Why for high defense mobs? Its obvious to use Dia II, imagine hitting another PLD/RDM or a Crab with huge defense, Dia II them so you can hit them and damage lol

When to use Dispel Dispel is such a great asset for PLD especially on soloing, this spell majority of the times always land. This is awesome when you have monsters buffing for higher defense, or mobs with Ice spikes or Blaze spikes on them. It is up to you how to set up your Dispel order, but for me I always debuff the mob because I know in the long run buffs mobs are harder to kill, but debuff mobs are easier to kill

General Idea how to get "0" Damage I will explain this in the best simplest and possible way I can which involves no math or calculator, if someone figured a mathematical equation to it that shows how it works in numbers please do lol I will re-edit.

But here how I see it:

Lets say mob hits you! - Shield Block - Paladin Defense - Phalanx - Stoneskin = "0" Damage

X = ([Enhancing Magic Skill] / 3) + MND F is the the amount of damage absorbed. F = X (if X < 80) F = X * 2 - 60 (if 80 <= X <= 130) F = X * 3 - 190 (if X > 130) or (Enhancing Magic Skill - 190 + Mind * 3)

I hope this is clear enough lol clear? Like I said its very simple, we have the highest defense and highest Shield skill in game so having Phalanx and Stoneskin just makes our dmg taken so much less.

Understanding spells which creates hates as PLD/RDM in ExP

Flash: Always use it

Blind: Blind with haste can be spam every 5 secs, with enmity 18+(I have 22) its equal to Flash on hate. Flash + Blind stack hate. It does not matter whether Blind Lands or not, casting it on mob creates hate, this why bard and rdm can get hate easily.

Sleep: I only recommend using this at start, its more of a spell that sets a hate stone on mob and if you ever loose hate cast it if have mp to spare. Imagine a RDM casting Sleep with 18+Enmity.

Enhancing spells or moves: Most people don’t realize that casting Enhancing moves or spells creates hate. One big example is Rampart which enhancing parties defense! There was time during a exp or skill up parties, when melee WS around 50% and I casted Stoneskin after the mob turns to me.

What food to eat?

Dorado sushi = I use this food when I know I will have challenge holding hate, this food gives Enmity some say 3-5 but IMO it multiplies your Enmity x 1% base on experience. Gives you accuracy as well. [7]

Tavnazian tacos = I use this food when I know I wont have hard time keeping hate. Common Gear set up in Exp:(Focus is Enmity) [8] -I use taco salad for Lufaise meadows, since most parties invite me or I create have SATA so hate is not a problem.

Read information from RDM forums

Read this guides, they help me a lot as I progress as PLD/RDM since we sub /RDM. Got this from RDM forum. Thanks RDMs for putting this together for everyone!

1. [9]

Where and How to solo?

As PLD/RDM I can solo pretty much EP > EM easily or even VT, especially in TOA areas where I get Sanction refresh I never have to rest. We are now stronger in soloing because of Chivalry, Shield mastery, Auto-refresh, Higher shield block rate which makes our solo vs certain NM even better potential fighting. The biggest mistakes of Paladins when soloing is not having the right set up for a specific mob.

Gear: Know and understand your gear, especially base on what your fighting. There is a huge difference of having good gear and having the right gear on soloing. Most people will go out DD gear, but our strongest trait as PLD/RDM is a defensive player basically out lasting the mob. Try to balance your gear with Def and Attk gear.

I have many types of macros which helps me in Enhancing, Pre-buff, MP start, and then finally my Battle Mode Gear. I only recommend pre-buff gear with Enhancing gear+ only when fighting NM and tough stuff. You only need MP Start and Battle Mode gear macros for common stuff when soloing for exp, farming etc. In the end you will figure out your own style of fighting and your own inventory of arsenals that you bring to battle. I have 60/60 on my inventory that tells you that I am always prepared for any situation lol

Monsters you can Solo easily: I will give you monsters that I solo for exp while LFP or just skilling up on my own with some notes:

Beginners These are for guys just started PLD/RDM and want to get use to the dynamics of this combo, these mobs don’t hit hard and very predictable.

(Bhafau Tickets) Lesser Collibri(Bhafau tickets) Decent challenge or Easy Prey to 75 -I recommend using BioII it will give 5-6 per tick on /37 RDM base dark skill and -10% on mobs attack. Doing this will keep your Stoneskin and damage taken far lesser -Don’t eat food, they have a move that absorbs one of your effects which are food -use Enspells base on weather, except Enaero -all your buffs

Aht Urhgan Attercop (Bhafau tickets)DC-EP to 75 -Have barpoison up(they have a mean poison) -BioII -all your buffs

These 2 what I recommend exping solo, they die fast and don’t hit too hard and you never have to rest with Sanction refresh + Chivalry(barely use in these areas) I usually get 2k exp avg with Sanction and exp Ring.

(Caederva Mire) Puk trap EP-DC to 75 -With these mobs so easy to exp on same exp as Collibri but faster to kill, eat some mithkabobs here so can exp faster

Orderly Imps EP-DC to 75 -Love killing these, they go down very fast and give more exp

Moderate PLD/RDM Remember when you get so piss on skill up parties and sometimes just wish you can solo? Well you can do it with /RDM These mobs hit harder, this will sharpen up your rebuffing and timing skills for Phalanx > Stoneskin > Blaze spikes > enspells > barpspells

The Boyahda Tree

Steelshells Ep-Tough to 75(For beginners fight the EP-DC only) -Remember when we cant solo these? Now we can easily with /RDM, I recommend wearing a “Bibiki sea shell” and “Tatami Shield” with these 2, it makes the crab sh*t on there pants -I come here to skill up, parry, staff etc -Always have Barwater up

Korrigan. EP-EM to 75 -I loved fighting these when capping Shield because they attack so much, also they die fast with my Blaze Spikes lol -Recommend Barsleep all the time

Hardcore PLD/RDM Here is the big leagues for PLD/RDM. These mobs are NM or VT mobs I fought on my own and took risk of death because I want to see how well I do without support of party, just on my own. These bad boys are unpredictable and here you will understand more of tactics how to weaken the mob and also how to use your arsenal.

Wyvernpoacher Drachlox 70-75NM Ranger He is the NM that drops Othinos Bow for Rangers. This goblin is my 1st NM to solo, I have a personal grudge against it when I use to camp Obow for 2 weeks lol His main strongest attack is rng attack of course since it’s a ranger. Great thing about Paladin is that we can also block rng attacks, his reg hits don’t hit too hard and does not attack fast as most people think. I recommend casting slow on him, yes he can be slowed as /rdm and BioII. Use sole Sushi on him so your hits always land, he tends to evade hits.

Antican Legatus 73-75 NM Paladin He is the 2nd NM I fought, I chose him because his a Paladin so I wanted to see how well I do vs another Paladin NM. This antican don’t hit too hard, I suggest using DiaII on him because he has high defense. Dispel when he buffs(this is very important), save Shield Bash when he cast CureIV spells. Key to beating this NM is to outlast him, and rebuffing all your buffs without being interrupted. Chivalry plays a big role in this when you run out of MP, when you know you will be out of mp in few minutes start saving your tp ro 300% so get 100% MP recovery.

Antican Praetor 73-75NM Black Mage I wanted to fight him because Paladins biggest fears are being hit by BLM spells. Well guess what, with /RDM sub we have Magic defense bonus and Barspells. I recommend using Lamia Mantle+1, Crimson Legs and Crimson Greaves against him so when he spam spells damage taken from elemental spells will be a lot less. Physically he doesnt hit hard, so I recommend using DiaII to kill him faster. When he 2hr(Manafront) and starts casting his 1st spell, Shield Bash him. After that kite around so he cant cast a spell on you then charge back when (manafront wears off)At 80% HP he will spam Sleep and Enfeebling Magic, this is when Fealty Shines because no matter what Enfeebling magic that NM did to me my “Fealty” move 100% resisted all of them.

Heraldic Imp 80ish(Mage type) Monster read Very tough to me at 75. I just did this recently and have won every battle vs this Imp. You obviously don’t have high enfeebling magic to cast silence on him, so best way to counter elemental spells is to keep interrupting it with Shield Bash or Dmg. Also wearing high resist elemental traits is awesome vs these(Crimson legs, Crimson greaves and Lamia Mantle+1)It does not hit hard, Sk only wear off when it cast TierIII spells rebuffing is not hard I just Flash > SK all the time. Use BioII on him.

Marauder Dvogzog 67 ORC MNK (Sandy Mission 6-1) He is easy, Keep Blaze spikes since it will dmg him a lot since he attack so fast. When he 2hrs use Invincible, keep blaze spikes up. Use BioII, keep buffs when you have 300 shield skill, you will block majority of this guys punches I only casted Stoneskin once during the fight.

Dhalmel: (Reads Tough in Bibiki bay as 75) Pretty easy to kill and give 195-240 exp per kill. I fight them now to cap parry I am at 216(225 cap). It attacks slow, just rebuff it usually takes 8-10 for them to remove SK. Berserk can be dispeled so dont worry. I did about 6-7 intimidation vs this with Koenig Shield(Beast killer trait)

note: This was done before new updates on Paladin. Ice trousers will make this fight easier.

Killing Zuug The Shoreleaper

by: The Brick Wall(PLD/RDM)

Hey guys just want to add more to the Kill List /bow

Zuug thee Shoreleaper http://ffxi.allakhazam.com/db/bestiar...l?fmob=1769

Wyvern popping zuu3.jpg

Wyvern Dead Zuu1.jpg

Enghorr vs Zuug! Zuu2.jpg

Dead Zuu, PLD/RDM FTW! zuu4.jpg

Your all probably wondering how I beat this sob lol well first of all it took me 1/4 until I beat him(Claiming it vs rmt was a bitch). Lost 3 times won the 4th time lol took more detailed planning, more tactics, precise buffing, precise numbers etc I dont like to give up, I max out full potential of my job as much as I can. I wont explain how I lost the other 3, but will explain how I won the 4th time.

Most soloers wont tell you how they beat a NM solo, since it take a lot of skill, but I will share it with you guys because my time in FFXI may have come to an end. Sharing my experiences to help other fellow PLD will be something I can take with me, and be happy. Sure I havent accomplished the ubber gear I wanted like, Ethereal earring, full koenig, Homam, cop gear etc but at least I had good times and did my best to have fun. Soloing stuff without the most godly gear and winning, is my accomplishment. Here it is, enjoy thanks!

First of my gear: Wahlahra Turban Joyeuse Koenig Shield Bibiki Sea Shell Shield Torque Buckler earring Drone earring Byrnie Adaman Hands Adaman Legs Amemit mantle+1 Haste Belt(very important, but if you have homam set dont need or Loquacious earring) Gallant feet Str+4 rings Str+4 rings

Important Items: 1 Pro-Ether 5-6 Melon Juice(I think I use 5 during the fight, took like 10-12 min)lol wasnt focus on time just wanted to stay alive and win! Chiefkabobs(He has crappy evasion so landing hits np, but doing damage to him is another)So get this food to dmg more

Important /ja: Chivalry(I recommend upgrade it to 15min recast)

Most tactics of fighting him is sleeping wyvern and killing NM first. Well as PLD/RDM sleep dont land as well lol because /37 RDM. Therefore plan is to eliminate wyvern and same time stay alive, fortunately we have a /Ja that is versatile and save many lives "Invicible"

Step1: -Build 300% TP while killing PH, (so save tp when you know he will pop) he has a 2-3hr repop but need to kill PH

Step2: -When he pops dont panic, pop your juice get a full MP bar, pre-buff, Use haste belt(Very important). -When your ready, have your game face and A game focus! Ever move you make on this fight counts, 1 mistake your dead.

Step3: -When you pull NM make sure your clear of Link and not raining so Water eles dont pop

Step4: Believe in yourself!

The Fight

Before we start I want to make a huge advice about Flash: Since Update Flash has been nerf, NM builts resistance to divine magic when use a lot, so Spamming Flash will build lot of resistance and Flash wont stick as much vs him

My advice, Only flash when your rebuffing.

-Make sure Blazespikes and Enthunder is up all the time -Always have Barwater up -Pull with Bio III(The reason why is that he hits pretty hard, so BioII will do DOT + -10% of attack) -At start use Spirit Within -After 5-6 hits Rebuff Stoneskin, continue to keep your buffs -As you fight him dont worry so much how much about the wyvern popping anytime soon(From all 4 fights he pops wyvern at 75-80% HP for some reason varies really) -KEEP YOUR BUFFS UP PHALANX + STONESKIN( DO NOT GIVE HIM TP, I REPEAT DO NOT GIVE HIM TP!) -When his near 80% Save your TP -Wyvern pops -Fight wyvern immediately -Use "Invincible" -Vorpal Blade wyvern -Vorpal Blade vyvern

Note: The Wyvern has approximately 1200hp, but it goes down fast as long as you use x 2 Vorpal Blade and reg hits with Joyeuse his dead in 30 secs.

IMPORTANT NOTE! I know what your thinking why not use Icarus wing? well I learn during my fights with him Icarus wing and Pro ether dont stack, you can only use 1 medicine stat and cant use for a while. Pro-ether is important during the final moments of fight, so dont use a icarus wing unless you have another way of beating him while not running out of mp in last 25-30% of fight.

-[Orangered]Wyvern is dead, if you dont kill wyvern during "Invincible' Your dead! lol so make sure Wyvern dies before 2hr[/Aqua] -Now 1 on 1 on the bastard! Continue rebuffing, Dispel his buffs(very important) -Cast BioII(Very important -Save tp to 300% now for "Chivalry" Later -Keep estimating time when buffs are going to wear off, always keep making sure Refresh Drinks is always up, Always make sure Haste is up from Haste belt -DO NOT GIVE HIM TP, VERY IMPORTANT SO KEEP SK AND PHALANX UP -at 50% HP it goes crazy, buffing himself etc so dispel them -At this point you will notice Flash do not stick too long, he starts building resistance so he will only miss 1hits(The 2-3 hits gone lol Boo! SE bastards) -Rebuff, rebuff most important is to out last him, not out DD him(He cant cure himself but we can) -at this point your mp is almost out. "Chivalry to the Rescue" whoot! -at 30% It goes even more crazy starts hitting harder, I think he has a /ja or something buff that increase his dmg forgot what but I notice he hits harder at this point -at 30% I didnt care too much of Stoneskin, but kept phalanx up -Again always have juices up, and use Pro-ether when you think you have to -Keep haste up, whenever 100tp is up use Vorpal Blade -Vorpal Blade, Vorpal blade = Dead Zuug The Shoreleaper

My Thoughts

Fight was very close, I ended up near 200-300ish HP and 150ish mp left. Basically it was too close of a fight, Flash did not stick too long anymore at 50% hp mark so I know in 30% the end moments of battle I had to Dmg him a lot. Fight Lasted I know more than 10 min at least. I admit that its hard to believe that I beat it, but it took time, dedication, careful planning and believe on my job to beat it.

Things you need to understand also is to understand the NM weakness, its a DRG so you know it depends a lot on Wyvern, that is why I killed the wyvern right away. Zuug does not have high def, but has good attk so use BioII. Enthunder did most add dmg on him vs other Enspells. You cannot beat this NM without Joyeuse, the constant attack twice of Joyeuse is needed to build TP and to Kill this monster fast enough before it kills you.

I need to merit mp more 4 upgrades 4, and merit Enhancing magic. Having 241+ Enhancing skill(with merits)+ gear during pre-buff wouldve made a huge difference in the long run since buffs lasted longer in the 1st start of the fight. If I had x 2 fast cast gear, Blink wouldve made a huge difference. Shield skill of 300 is a must to block his hits, I would use Koenig shield not tatami shield.

Overall I learn a lot from this battle, how important Haste and fast cast is for rebuffing. Timing, precisive estimates on dmg when to rebuff is so important. Killing wyvern is a key to beating him as PLD/RDM, use your 2hr wisely. Chivalry is a huge key in fight, or I wouldve ran out of mp. I did avg of 50-60 reg hits on him +10-15 add dmg, 80-111 criticals, I dont remember all but chiefkabobs on 3rd fight made huge difference. I use sole sushi on the 1st 3 battles lol I learn he doesnt have good evasion anyway so his not hard to hit.

PLD/RDM FTW!

Things that I should have brought: Persikos Aum Lait(couple of them) Yagudo drinks instead Maybe some Elixirs

/JA that I should get: Iron Will(Maybe the -% spell interruption during rampart at near of fight will help me greatly during when flash starts getting resisted)

Gear that wouldve made a huge difference:(With this gear, right skills and training you can beat him more efficiently) Homam Legs (Forgot other stats but it has Haste+, hp+, mp+ and enhances fast cast) Locqaucious earring (MP+30 and Enhances Fast cast) Ethereal earring (-3% damage converts to mp) Shadow mantle Aegis

Well anyways I found the time to post this, before I forget lol it took me 3 deaths, couple of lost claims but I did it on my 4th claim. Do I plan on fighting him again? Hell yeah if I dont quit game, want to fight him again but I am aiming to get my other gear first to be more well equipped. I know some will flame me or not believe me, but I did it ok! ^_~ I did this for personal reasons as a player, but also did it for other PLD soloers outhere to give them hope.

I have gotten message of pld/nin better at soloing vs pld/rdm they are both great subs just know how to use them. IMO pld/nin and pld/rdm really depends on a players fighting style or what mob you fighting, but if I ever would use pld/nin I would still use my shield. I have shadows, and if shadows loose I have Shield block but as of now I prefer Stoneskin and phalanx because I know its there.

I did not post this to brag or anything, I just wanted to share my experience that is all. Flame me if you want, idc lol I am just happy I did it. Thank you everyone who supported me in Ifrit and other servers, and those who underate me I hope this open your minds. /bow

PLD/RDM win vs Ose!

Ose http://ffxi.allakhazam.com/db/jobs.html?fjob=5;mid=1214509809186271143;num=11;page=1

Can be duo easily too with x 2 PLD/RDM

Me and Miraiken duo Ose Ose1.jpg

Me and Miraiken pic ose2.jpg

What refresh drink is best? My favorite drink is Melon juice because its cheap(Yagudo Drink is the best, but ingredients for me is too much to carry). Reason why I love this juice is that it only cost 3 ingredients(water crystal, Thunder melon, Watermelon) so its easy for me to carry stacks of the ingredients and craft them when Im soloing. Melon Juice is 2 mp per tick total mp=90 mp in 2min 15 secs duration. So with Auto refresh and this is 3 mp per tick, with Sanction refresh you have 4 mp per tick lol Up to you what juice to use, but here is a list of each juice do.

Apple Juice = Restores 45 MP(1mp per tick) over a 2 min 15 sec period Grape Juice = Restores 60 MP(2mp per tick) over a 1 min 30 sec period Melon Juice = Restores 90 MP(2 mp per tick) over a 2 min 15 sec period (2nd Best but cheaper, easier to make) Orange Juice = Restores 20 MP(1mp per tick) over a 1 min period Pineapple Juice =Restores 80MP(1mp per tick) over a 4 min period Tomato Juice = Restores 60MP(1mp per tick) over a 3 min period Yagudo Drink = Restore 120MP(2mp per tick) over a 3 min period (1st Best)

Good information threads

PLD/RDM vs VT Heraldic Imp thread http://ffxi.allakhazam.com/db/jobs.ht...m=10;page=1

Paladin history and Game weapons, armor, gear and Items History from RL history http://ffxi.allakhazam.com/db/jobs.ht...um=9;page=1

Ballista Role Advice by Tarais http://ffxi.allakhazam.com/db/jobs.ht...m=14;page=1

Tanking as PLD/RDM from 50+ by Doval http://www.ffxionline.com/forums/pal....works.html

PLD/RDM in Exp thread http://ffxi.allakhazam.com/db/jobs.ht...m=74;page=1

I want to thank everyone for taking there time to read this, I am not a master nor will take full credit of this combo. Everyone who use this combo should take credit, because we all took the initiatives to try something new which turn out great. Also want to thank this old school RDM I know in game that help me a lot from Ifrit understanding RDM spells, strength and weakness. Eldoras!

Ple

PLD/BLU
I have yet to do this one.

PLD/NIN
I wrote this guide, cause i wanted to put together all informations I have about the new wave of /nin tanking Paladins. This is only recommended for HNM and god fights. In exp parties you won't get hit that hard and need a fast hate producer like Provoke. So all things described in this guide refer to Lv.75 Paladins. I hope i get alot of feedback and suggestions to become better. I apologize for my bad english, it is not my native language. Please tell me of any mistakes. I hope you like it. Thycian Changes Edit Changes sectionEdit

May 30th 2008: First Version of this guide published September 9th 2008: Added Burtgang, Aegishjalmr, Valor Coronet and Valor Leggings October 16th 2008: Added Atonement to the section "How do I hold hate?" Saturday, July 11 2009: Added Nuevo Coselete to the section "How do I keep up my shadows?"

How to tank as PLD/NINEdit How to tank as PLD/NIN sectionEdit

Some people may call this guide "Paladins want to be Ninjas". In some ways this is true. There are a lot of things you have to do like a Ninja would. But on the other hand you do it completely different.

PLD/NIN when geared correctly is the most powerful tank in the game, there is nothing a good PLD/NIN cannot tank with the right support.

First of all forget VIT and DEF. Your main goal has to be keeping up the shadows and holding hate. So you have to focus on Haste for shorter recast timers on everything, Enmity for more hate and HP in case shadows are down and you're being hit. How do I keep up my shadows?Edit How do I keep up my shadows? sectionEdit

First off all, stack as much Haste as you can get to shorten the recast time of Utsusemi spells, but don't forget that Haste caps at 50%, with Dual March and the haste spell, PLD/NIN needs 15% haste (Or Fast cast) from their gear to reach this cap. So if you already reached the cap, focus on Enmity/HP/MP in the remaining slots.

Haste from RDM, WHM or SMN: 15% Advancing March caps at 9% Victory March caps at 11%

To shorten the casting time use Fast Cast items. There are two for Paladin: Loquacious Earring and Homam Cosciales. Fast Cast also shortens the recast timer.

Loquacious Earring Cast -2%, Recast -1% Homam Cosciales Cast -4%, Recast -2% Nuevo Coselete Cast -5%, Recast -2.5%

Use a shield. You have the Dual Wield ability, but it is more useful to use a shield. If you block an attack with your shield while casting a spell, you wont get interrupted. Make a macro to switch in Shield Skill+ items in case you are not able of getting shadows up. How do I hold hate?Edit How do I hold hate? sectionEdit

You don't have Provoke, meaning you'll miss your best hate producer. But on the other hand you won't lose as much HP as you would as /war. Losing HP always means losing hate also. Note that over a long fight you will hold hate better as you would as /war. Believe it or try it.

Stack Enmity+ items and macro them in for any spells and job abilities. I don't like to switch visible armor, because its harder for healers to target me, but that's up to you.

Use Flash as soon as it is ready. With capped Haste you can shorten your recast timer for Flash down to 22.5 seconds, this essentially doubles the hate in the same period of time.

Another good hate producers are your Cures. Cure yourself or your Alliance member if they get hit by AoE's or take other damage, a good tip is to watch your co-tank like a hawk, if his HP drops you can cure it for hate, this is not only beneficial to you but to your co-tank also, as if he is getting hit his shadows are down and he is in trouble. Cure IV does more hate than Cure III but needs more MP and time to cast, however since it cures double the HP, it is basically double the hate, and also less mp cost than 2 Cure IIIs. Use it situationally. Some PLD/NIN have a macro with -HP gear. Switching between this and their tanking gear results in loosing some HP which can be cured with a Cure III or Cure IV for additional hate.

Get Atonement. Like Spirits Within its magical based but not elemental. Damage is calculated based on the accumulated hate you gain. This means that the more hate you have the more damage you do. At 100% TP you can do up to 720 dmg resulting in additional hate. Use a Weaponskill like Spirits Within for initial hate at the start of a fight or save TP untill you get enough hate. Tank Party SetupEdit Tank Party Setup sectionEdit

PLD/NIN, PLD/NIN, BRD, RDM, WHM, X

The BRD will cast his two March songs, RDM for Refresh and Haste, WHM to keep you alive. The last spot could be any job you like. Maybe a WHM, COR or a second BRD for additional buffs like Ballad. Recommended EquipmentEdit Recommended Equipment sectionEdit

As you will see there is a lot of equipment that will take some effort and/or gil to acquire. I tried to show at least two items you can use for each slot beginning with the best. Some of these items are situational like Iron Ram Lance. Other items are only macro'd in for Enmity+ or Shield Skill+. I only listed the NQ versions (Macuahuitl NQ has no Enmity so i listed only the HQ version) - HQ's are always better. WeaponEdit Weapon sectionEdit

Name 	Stats 	Comment Burtgang RareExclusive 	DMG:46, Delay:264, Enmity +10, Physical Damage Taken -10%, Reduces Enmity decrease when taking physical damage., "Atonement", Aftermath: Increase Accuracy/Attack, Occasionally attacks twice 	A dream came true. High Enmity and damage reduction. It's a nightmare getting it though. It's the best you can get. Hauteclaire RareExclusive 	DMG:46, Delay:240, Accuracy +7, Divine Magic Skill +8, Physical Damage Taken -7%, Additional Effect: Light Damage 	If you can get it, use it. In my opinion the second best sword you can get as Paladin. The minus Physical Damage Taken is awesome and helps a lot if you can't get your shadows. The only thing you'll miss is the 4 Enmity from Macuahuitl +1. Macuahuitl +1 	DMG:37, Delay:227, Accuracy -4, Attack +11, Enmity +4 	Just one word: Enmity. Iron Ram Lance Rare 	DMG:70, Delay:365, HP +10, MP +10, Enhances "Resist Silence" effect, Damage taken -10% 	This is for your Magic Defense Build. You don't need it if you have Aegis and Hauteclaire or Burtgang. Joyeuse RareExclusive 	DMG:35, Delay:224, Resist Vs. Dark +14, Occasionally attacks twice 	The high proc rate of Occasionally attacks twice ( Near 45% ) now make it highly valuable for quick TP gain and 45% more frequent Atonement usage for keeping hate. Added bonus of more damage over time output compared to most other swords.

ShieldEdit Shield sectionEdit

Name 	Stats 	Comment Aegis RareExclusive 	DEF:40, Enhances "Shield Bash" Effect, Magic Damage Taken -25% 	Definitely the best shield in the game and is worth all the effort. Highest Proc-rate, highest damage reduction, ten times damage from Shield Bash and Magic Damage Taken Minus - you know the stuff, get it! Koenig Shield 	DEF:22, Vitality +5, Charisma +5, Enmity +3 Enhances effect of Beast Killer 	This or its HQ version are the second best shields due to the Enmity+ and VIT+. The only shield you'll ever need in end game if you can't grab Aegis. Terror Shield 	DEF:20, HP +20,Enmity +4, Campaign: Damage taken -10% 	This has the highest HP:Enmity ratio of any shield currently out, so based on what you're gearing for this may be situationally better than Koenig shield (Unless you have the HQ).

Range/AmmoEdit Range/Ammo sectionEdit

Name 	Stats 	Comment Lamian Kaman 	DMG:19, Delay:270, MP +10, Magic Defense Bonus +1 	Its HQ version gives MDB+2 - This is the best Tanking Bow. MP+ helps too for more Cures and Flashes. I use it all the time. Fenrir's Stone RareExclusive 	Daytime: HP +30, Nighttime: Evasion +10 	More HP Daytime - that's it. You wont evade any attack. Rosenbogen 	DMG:38, Delay:360, HP +10, Vitality +3 	Good ol' Rosenbogen. This or its HQ version offers HP+ and VIT+.

HeadEdit Head sectionEdit

Name 	Stats 	Comment Walahra Turban RareExclusive 	HP+30, MP+30, Haste +5% 	More HP, more MP, alot of Haste, easy to get. What do you want more? Bahamut's Mask RareExclusive 	DEF:32, Enhances Dragon Killer Effect, Enmity +8 	Macro this in for JA's and Cures. Aegishjalmr RareExclusive 	DEF:23, HP +25, MND-7, CHR -7, Enmity +7 	Another good Enmity item. Koenig Schaller RareExclusive 	DEF:40, HP +30, Strength -5, Dexterity -5, Vitality +10, Charisma +10, Shield Skill +5 	Macro this in if you have trouble getting your shadows up. Iron Ram Sallet RareExclusive 	DEF:29, HP +20, Enmity +5, Magic Defense Bonus +3, Set: Increases all elemental resistances 	This is for your Magic Defense Build. It has some nice Enmity too. Valor Coronet RareExclusive 	DEF:28, HP +18, Healing Magic Skill +10, Enmity +3, Enhances "Rampart" effect 	Macro this in for Rampart if you like.

NeckEdit Neck sectionEdit

Name 	Stats 	Comment Parade Gorget RareExclusive 	DEF:5, MP +10, Latent Effect: Adds Refresh Effect 	More MP and more Refresh for more Cures and Flashes. Latent activates when HP in white -- Idle in this. Ritter Gorget RareExclusive 	DEF:8, HP +25, Evasion +5, Enmity +3 	Macro this in for job abilities and magics for more hate due to Enmity. You can use Harmonia's Torque too, it has the same Enmity. Harmonia's Torque 	Strength +2, Vitality -5, Enmity +3 	Get this if you don't have Ritter Gorget. Shield Torque 	HP +7, Shield Skill +7 	Macro this in if you have trouble getting your shadows up. The additional Shield Skill will help you not getting interrupted.

EarringsEdit Earrings sectionEdit

Name 	Stats 	Comment Loquacious Earring RareExclusive 	MP +30, Enhances Fast Cast Effect 	More MP for cures and Flashes and Fast Cast makes this item very powerfull. Hades Earring 	MP +11, Resist Vs. Dark +11, Enmity +1 	Some MP and Enmity, it's HQ version has 2 Enmity. Ethereal Earring RareExclusive 	HP +15, Attack +5, Evasion +5, Converts 3% of Damage Taken to MP 	Some HP and most important, it converts your taken damage to MP. Buckler Earring Rare 	Shield Skill +3 	Macro this in for casting Utsusemi: Ichi.

BodyEdit Body sectionEdit

Name 	Stats 	Comment Ares's Cuirass RareExclusive 	DEF:55, HP +3%, MP +3%, Strength +12, Vitality +12, Attack +24, Adds Refresh Effect 	It has HP, MP, Refresh and some other nice stats. It's hot. Macro in others for Enmity. Hydra Haubert RareExclusive 	DEF:45, HP -20, MP +20, Accuracy +10, Enmity +9, Enchantment: Adds 'Refresh' Effect, <20/20 0:30/[30:00, 0:30]> 	It offers the most Enmity available for this slot. Nuevo Coselete RareExclusive 	DEF:49, HP +20, Strength +5, Dexterity +5, Vitality +5

Augments: Enmity +5, Enhances Fast Cast +5% Well rounded body piece: Enmity, HP, Fast Cast and added stats boost. Iron Ram Hauberk RareExclusive 	DEF:50, HP +32, Enmity +6, Magic Defense Bonus +5, Set: Increases all elemental resistances 	Second highest Enmity for this slot, Nice HP boost and good for Magic Defense build Valor Surcoat RareExclusive 	DEF:55, HP +23, Dexterity +3, Enmity +4, Enhances Cover Ability Effect 	Well rounded body piece: Enmity, HP and the enhanced Cover. Gallant Surcoat RareExclusive 	DEF:47, HP +20, Vitality +4, Divine Magic Skill +5, Enmity +2 	If you don't have one of the aboves you can still use your well known AF.

HandsEdit Hands sectionEdit

Name 	Stats 	Comment Homam Manopolas RareExclusive 	DEF:20, HP +20, MP +20, Accuracy +4, Enmity +3, Haste +3% 	I wear it full time. It has all you want: Haste, Enmity, HP and MP. If you don't have it, get it. Dusk Gloves 	DEF:24, HP +20, Attack +5, Haste +3%, Decreases Movement Speed 	As long as you dont have Homam Manopolas, you can use it for its Haste and macro in Enmity for JA's and Cures. Valor Gauntlets RareExclusive 	DEF:22, HP +16, Vitality +5, Enmity +3, Enhances Shield Bash Effect 	Macro this in for additional Enmity when using Dusk Gloves or maybe for Shield Bash. Iron Ram Dastanas RareExclusive 	DEF:22, HP +20, Enmity +4, Magic Defense Bonus +2, Set: Increases all elemental resistances 	Another piece for your Magic Defense Build. It has some nice Enmity too, so you can macro it in when using Dusk Gloves.

RingsEdit Rings sectionEdit

Name 	Stats 	Comment Sattva Ring RareExclusive 	HP +15~30, Vitality +2~5, Agility +2~5, Enmity +3 	Awesome ring for a Paladin, crap for any other job. So most people with more than one job at 75 might have choose another ring. But if you have it, use it for the Enmity, HP and Agility (for shield blocks) it gives. Bomb Queen Ring RareExclusive 	HP +75, Resist Vs. Fire -75 	Use for HP build. Hercules' Ring Rare 	Enmity +3, Latent Effect: Adds 'Regen' Effect, Latent Effect: Adds 'Refresh' Effect 	It gives Enmity and Regen + Refresh when your HP is under 50%. Mermaid's Ring Rare 	Resist Vs. Water +3, Enmity +2 	Another Enmity ring. Defending Ring RareExclusive 	Damage Taken -10% 	Its for casting Utsusemi: Ichi and your Magic Defense Build. Shadow Ring RareExclusive 	Occasionally Annulls Magic Damage Taken, Enhances Resistance Against Death, Darksday: Magic Defense Bonus 	Another ring for your Magic Defense Build.

BackEdit Back sectionEdit

Name 	Stats 	Comment Valor Cape RareExclusive 	DEF:16, HP +40, Vitality +6, Enmity +3 	It has Enmity, HP and Vitality. You have to love it. Cerberus Mantle 	DEF:12, Strength +3, Resist Vs. Fire +10, Attack +12, Enmity +3 	Same Enmity as Valor Cape, its HQ even has 4 Enmity. High Breath Mantle 	DEF:5, Resist Vs. Ice +5, Enchantment: HP +38 Enmity +5, <50/50 0:30/[30:00, 0:30]> 	It's very cheap (5k on Bismarck) and has the most Enmity and some HP, but you can't macro in Boxer's Mantle. Try to get one of the aboves. Boxer's Mantle RareExclusive 	DEF:8, Guard Skill +10, Evasion Skill +10, Shield Skill +10, Parrying Skill +10 	Macro this in and it will help you casting Utsusemi: Ichi. Resentment Cape Rare Exclusive 	Enmity +2, Magic Damage Taken -5% in areas outside own country's control. A good enmity piece to wear when Tu'Lia isn't under your home country's control. All endgame in Lumoria will activate the magic defense as well. Same goes for Aradjiah endgame. Full time it in these areas, otherwise, use a Cerberus Mantle.

WaistEdit Waist sectionEdit

Name 	Stats 	Comment Ninurta's Sash Rare 	Attack +6, Haste +6%, Subtle Blow +6, Spell Interruption Rate -6% 	It's a nice dream. Haste and Spell Interruption Rate down helps you with your shadows. Speed Belt Rare 	Haste +6% 	This or its rare/ex equivalent Velocious Belt offers the most Haste you can get. Swift Belt RareExclusive 	Accuracy +3, Attack -5, Haste +4% 	It's a lot easier to obtain then the aboves and offers 4 Haste. Trance Belt 	HP +14, Enmity +4 	Macro this in for job abilities and magics due to the Enmity.

LegsEdit Legs sectionEdit

Name 	Stats 	Comment Homam Cosciales RareExclusive 	DEF:35, HP +26, MP +26, Accuracy +3, Enhances Fast Cast Effect, Haste +3% 	It has Haste, Fast Cast, HP and MP. It's your best and only choice for this slot. Valor Breeches RareExclusive 	DEF:43, HP +20, Strength +5, Enmity +3, Spell Interruption Rate -10% 	You can macro it in for additional Enmity or for casting Utsusemi: Ichi due to the Spell Interruption Rate down.

FeetEdit Feet sectionEdit

Name 	Stats 	Comment Homam Gambieras RareExclusive 	DEF:16, HP +31, MP +31, Accuracy +6, Ranged Accuracy +6, Haste +3%, Wyvern: HP +50 	This is your Haste piece for this slot. Gallant Leggings RareExclusive 	DEF:14, HP +15, Charisma +5, Shield Skill +10, Enhances Holy Circle Effect 	It's your AF, but the most important feet you can get. Macro this (or better its HQ version) in for casting Utsusemi: Ichi. Askar Gambieras RareExclusive 	DEF:17, MP +30, Strength +3, Agility +3, Damage Taken -2%, Enmity +2 	Macro this in for additional Enmity on JA's and Cures and for your Magic Defense Build. Valor Leggings RareExclusive 	DEF:19, HP +18, Mind +3, Enmity +1, Enhances "Sentinel" effect 	Macro this in for Sentinel if you like.

FoodEdit Food sectionEdit

Name 	Stats 	Comment Carbonara

HP +14% (Cap: 175 @ 1249 Base HP) MP +10 Strength +4 Vitality +2 Intelligence -3 Attack +18% (Cap: 65 @ 361 Base Attack) Store TP +6

This offers the awesome amount of 175 HP (180 on the HQ food). It lasts for 30 minutes (HQ 60 minutes). Pescatora

HP +15% (Cap: 150@1000 Base HP) Vitality +3 Mind -1 Defense +22% (Cap: 65@295 Base Defense) Store TP +6

This is a good mix between the high HP from Carbonara and the high Defense from Tavnazian Tacos. (HQ caps at 160 HP and 70 def) Tavnazian Taco

HP +20 MP +20 Dexterity +4 Vitality +6 Agility +4 Charisma +4 HP Recovered While Healing +1 MP Recovered While Healing +1 Defense +25% (Cap: 150@600 Base Defense)

You can use this traditional /war food for /nin also. It adds some HP and MP and a lot of defense in case of dropped shadows.

Macro suggestionsEdit Macro suggestions sectionEdit

Have macros for each gear set, HP, Enmity, Full haste, Idle, Engaged, MP, MDB, and macro these in for spells/Job abilities.

For Flash, prioritize Haste over Enmity, as 50% haste yields the same effect as +100 enmity, and the cap is +100 enmity.

As stated earlier, having a HP+ macro is incredibly useful for when you need an extra hate boost and your MP is good. Merit suggestionsEdit Merit suggestions sectionEdit

I only mention PLD/NIN tanking related merits here. The ones in parantheses I did not merit cause i had no points left, but are good options too. HP/MPEdit HP/MP sectionEdit

I did 4 on both, but that's my personal preference. Be sure to max out this category. Combat skillsEdit Combat skills sectionEdit

Shield Skill If you did not merit it yet, do it. It's the most important skill you have.

OthersEdit Others sectionEdit

Enemy Critical Hit Rate is a good option, cause criticals from HNM's can hurt. (Enmity Caution! If you have other jobs like Black Mage this might be a bad idea. It's up to you. I did not merit it and am able to hold hate.) (Spell Interruption Rate This will help you get your shadows up.)

PaladinEdit Paladin sectionEdit

Shield Bash Recast This ability is a good hate producer. The more often you can use it, the more hate you get. Sentinel Recast Sentinel should be 5/5, +100 enmity for 30 seconds is godly. Fealty Great Ability to reduce or block the effect from special attacks, such like Mortal Ray or Meteor. Chivalry This is a good way to use your TP. Your WS won't do much damage. Guardian When merited 5/5 it reduces Volatile Enmity decay by 95%, this means that you only lose 90 VE over the 1800 you would normally loose, and that is a lot. (Rampart Recast Great to reduce magical damage.)

Shattering Stars (75 Cap)
I'll warn you on this one, it's not easy. Maat is truly a bastard. Unlike XP parties you'll be fighting one target (Maat) and do not need to worry about hate control, you need to worry about surviving. When you fight Maat he'll show up as a Paladin and will be level 70, you'll be hit for about 100 points of damage for every hit you don't block with a shield. There is a way I discovered to win this without using Invincibility, it's hard to do but can be done. We'll talk about this in a few, for now let's stick with the preliminaries.

If you've already read the article on this event then you'll know that the fight takes place in Qu'Bia Arena. If this isn't you first Maat fight then you'll have to make your way to the arena youself, Maat will not teleport you nor will he for all subsequent fights. Before you can fight Maat as a Paladin you need get a Paladin's testimony.

The following mobs are known to drop Paladin's Tesimonies:

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   (Level: 85)      (Monastic Cavern)

Once you have your tesimony it's time to get the necessities, so let's go over the checklist.

Icarus Wing Opo-opo Necklace Sleep Potions x4 Yagudo Drink x2 Hi-potions (Optional) Good, we now have the essentials to take on maat. Now let's look at what gear setup to use. Since Maat will be hitting you for around 100 damage when not blocked by a shield we can get away with a hybrid supportive-damage dealing setup. Now this is where you decide how to build that setup but I do recommend using yout AF1 feet, the +10 Shielding skill will come in handy. As for weapons and defense you can get away with using an Espadon as your sword and an Iron Ram Shield as your shield.

Great, we're all set now we need to get to the arena. If this is your first Maat fight then go to Ru'lude Gardens and trade your testimony to Maat, he will warp himself and you straight to the arena. If this isn't your first fight then you get the wondrous task to traveling to the arena by foot. Once you get to the arena you need to stop and go over your strategy and how you'll use your items.

When using items in a Maat fight you need to know the order you use them, otherwise you may screw yourself over. The Icarus Wing will be the last thing you use, I say this because once you use it you'll be prohibited from using any other medicine for awhile.With that being said, let's take a look at our tactic.

It's been long said that Maat's stats will reflect yours and that entering naked gives you an edge. I haven't seen a single shred of proof on this so enter with your clothes on. Now Maat operates like a Dynamis mob, he deals constant damage, casts 2 or 3 spells and has a 2 hour. He won't use any other job abilities other than Invincible, but if the fight goes on too long or if Maat thinks he has you he will use Asuran Fists and kill you in seconds. The only way to avoid Asuran Fists is to fight fight fight.

So how do we have the edge here, let's look at this from a chronological view. You arrive at the BC, whether teleported or not. Be ready, this is where one hell of a fight begins. You enter the BC wearing your Opo-opo necklace. Once you have control use all your sleep potions one after the next. The Opo-opo necklace will recharge your TP to 100 after 4 drinks, this will give the advantage of starting the fight with a weaponskill and will help avoid a timeout with Asran Fists, plus it hurts Maat some. Now before you actually engage Maat you need to use a Yagudo drink. Once you've done that you need to buff up and rest. Once you have a full hp and mp pool take the necklace off and put something on the supports DD/Tanking.

Ok we're ready to fight. Head forward to until you see Maat and bow to him. Engage him but be very conservitive with your mp. Flash Maat only if you really need to. Heal as normal and use Vorpal Blade when you have the TP. Try to counteract Maats moves, if he uses his 2 hour then you use Invincible. Once you're down to your last 500 hp use the Icarus Wing and slam Maat with another Vorpal Blade. By the time the fight ends you should have gotten 3-4 weaponskills off on him.

If you survived the fight the congratulations you can proceed to level 75, not to mention you're just won the 2nd hardest Maat fight. If you didn't win then you should have a good idea of how to beat him.

Either way that Shattering Stars for Paladin.

Final Thoughts
Well that was a lot to take in at once. I hope you return to this guide and reference it when making hard choices about equipment or the best way to approach a situation.