Hello I just started playing this lovely game and well I would like a few suggestions.
i picked Gladiator since it seems like not many people play a tank and well who can say no to a sword?! ^_^
However to be honest I'm not sure if it's because of the ilevel of high leveled players, but I can't seem to keep the aggro of monsters onto my character. i just leveled my character to 30 close to obtaining Paladin....
But I'm not sure what class to main; I picked the tank position since I get Duty roulette faster than any other classes. (i repeat the sword is awesome), yet I don't seem to be good at tanking.
I would love to see hear/view your opinions, thank you for your time!
I love the TANK position...however...
Printable View
-
05-21-2017, 03:02 PMFrixelI love the TANK position...however...
-
05-21-2017, 03:47 PMFerth
Low level stuff as paladin is an uphill battle. Some advice to tide you over til you get shield oath:
Make sure you have the highest damage weapon available to you. Grand companies offer weapons starting at level 30, but paladin specifically can use Vintage and Goblin weapons that have a higher than usual ilvl starting at level 35. They are crafted from stuff that drops in low level dungeons and you can probably find them on the market boards with relative ease.
Spam flash like it's going out of style. If you are fighting more than one enemy at once hit flash a few times then start weaving flash in between the fast blade > riot blade combo. Flash won't interrupt your combo and this will help make sure everything focuses on you. Once you have shield oath you don't have to rely quite so heavily on flash.
In regards to picking a class to main... try anything or everything that looks interesting and see how you feel about it. Play what you enjoy. -
05-21-2017, 04:02 PMRokkuEkkusu
You're doing good so far. As I have said in another new tank thread, the attack power nerf that occurred during 3.2 in Heavensward really made keeping hate with Flash and the aggro combos tougher in lower-leveled dungeons as a class, especially for new players who just started gearing as tanks.
Despite the level and stat syncs, the dps will generate a lot of aggro due to their higher item levels and job crystal stat increases. This is also the case even if you could get the best gear available at the earlier dungeons.
.
Don't get discouraged. Keep trying with the tools, abilities, and gear that you can find. Eventually, you'll get the timing of how to keep aggro and rotating the usage of your defensive abilities. -
05-21-2017, 04:27 PMGDFletcher
First and foremost Paladin is a decent tank option, however, SE have stacked the deck heavily against the Paladin in the pre-level 40 stages.
You are given "Provoke" and "Flash" as your primary "aggro" moves Provoke allowing you to gain +1 threat on the mob that may be looking away and Flash burning mana to try and keep multiple mobs looking at you.
[1/3] -
05-21-2017, 04:27 PMGDFletcher
Flash is a double edged sword in that it doesn't always work, coming from experience I think the Flash move should be scrapped and replaced with something more useful but alas we have to wait.
At Level 30 you get granted the most useless Stance in the game for a tank... Sword Oath, it will minimally rise you auto attack potency for a number not worth even blinking at but 10 level later you get Shield Oath and the ball game changes for you.
[2/3] -
05-21-2017, 04:28 PMGDFletcher
Shield Oath is the first time a Paladin can actually tank and well, fight or flight into a shield lob on mobs on the opening pull with Shield Oath then a couple of flashes when they are together you are cooking on gas.
Once you reach Level 60 you have all your rotations and you can with the right gear hold aggro off anyone deeps, even that suicidal Black Mage that thinks they are #1 on aggro meter.
Level 60 - Fight or Flight, Shield Lob, Spirits Within, Circle of Scorn and 2x Flashes and a full set of 3-4 mobs are yours.
Again don't get too disheartened about your tanking style you really can't do much til Level 40 onward. Paladin is supposed to the be "easiest" tank class to play which it is because of the damage mitigation, however, to master Paladin takes some time but once you put the effort in and some dungeons under your belt you will get there! -
05-21-2017, 04:40 PMaleph_nullSorry but this is misinformation, and before it spreads I'd like to point out that auto attack damage is the biggest damage contributor as a paladin, so boosting that by up to 75% is nowhere near useless. At lv 60, during your sword oath uptime your auto attack damage probably add up to 15-20%, similar to royal authority (assuming you use goring-royal-royal combo almost exclusively with very little halone usage), so your sword oath damage should add up to around 10-15%, not a small number.Quote:
Originally Posted by GDFletcher
If you check the top paladin parses (or even speedkills) on fflogs and check their damage tabs, you'll see that their biggest damage contributors are auto attack, followed by royal authority, sword oath, and fast blade. -
05-22-2017, 05:30 AMMakedaIf they switched the levels of Flash and Circle of Scorn Paladin would be an aggro queen, and feel amazing while leveling.Quote:
Originally Posted by GDFletcher
Flash has always felt like a gimmick because it doesn't do damage and is barely visible. It just feels weird using, even though you can almost spam it. I know it applies blind, but it FEELS like it is just 'yelling a yo momma joke' at them...
It took me a LONG time to commit to leveling paladin because the low level play of the job is horrible compared to the other tanks... but once I broke past 40, and then especially 50 - I find it a lot funner than the other choices. But they really need to smooth out the leveling experience of the class.
At 50+, I find the 'rotation' very smooth and I seem to never not have some form of mitigation, threat gain, or DPS gain ready to go on my action bar. I feel like I chain pull more easily than on the other classes (on warrior I have to manage my TP often, and on DRK I have yet to master managing my MP and end up having problems with snap aggro when somebody runs ahead to grab adds...).
But Paladin... I can just control the map at will, on demand, with no limits.
I don't like Shield Bash - it seems to never be 'ready' when I see a cast I want to interrupt going off. I don't have the same issue with Brutal Swing and Low Blow. I'm not sure why. It is probably in my head... but it always 'feels' like it is not available... That is my only complaint about the class that stays after level 40... -
05-22-2017, 07:08 AMRyphenShield bash is on the GCD, unlike the other two. In return, it doesn't have the 30 second cooldown. You'll learn to anticipate things you want to stun with a little practice so it's ready to go when you need it.Quote:
Originally Posted by Makeda
-
05-22-2017, 08:43 AMSlayerRaidu
I started maining tank because of the wait times in the duty finder and I have to say it was hard at first but my usual strategy that usually works when I have my equipment up to date at low levels was starting the battle with shield lode and then flash two times then the usual combo then some flashes in between. that usually keeps the hate on me, after I got paladin I just kept the same and once you get shield oath you will have nothing to worry about just try keeping your equipment up to date at all times. I mainly get my equipment from current level levequest which have been very nice to me lately giving me swords and shields more than other items in the treasure chest
-
05-22-2017, 08:43 AMJim_BerryFirst of all, don't play a tank just because no one want to, because you may not like it later on.Quote:
Originally Posted by Frixel
As a PLD main, GLD suffers from enmity control unless you do it right. Many tanks put focus on their dps and not their defenses. Don't be afraid to Flash two or three times. And remember that until you get Rage of Halone, Savage Blade and Flash are your friends. Sometimes, you can cheese it and do the Riot Blade combo followed by Flash over and over. -
05-23-2017, 05:41 AMVenjenz
Along with other advice in this thread, is to use TAB for switching targets. Say you do a standard dungeon 3-4 mob pull. OK, drop Flash x2, then Fast Blade->Savage Blade (Riot Blade if you are worried about MP), TAB to next mob, FB->SB/RB, TAB, maybe toss a Flash, FB->SB/RB, TAB, etc etc.
Cycling targets is something you will do OFTEN as a tank. The early levels are a good place to get used to doing it, using your enmity combo and cycling through pulls. -
05-28-2017, 02:28 AMFrixel
Thank you all for your replies!
-
05-28-2017, 03:43 AMXandos
There has been some pretty good advice in this thread and I'll add mine in too. Gld/Pld is a great tank, I hope you'll stick with it!
Mark Targets - I always mark at least the first kill target in a pack. If its a large 4+ pack I'll mark the second one too. It only takes a second to do and makes sure the dps at least hit the right first target. This makes your job so much easier.
Flash - I always do a minimum of two flashes plus one more for each additional mob beyond two. 3 Mobs = 3 Flashes, 5 Mobs = 5 Flashes. This makes sure that while your dps is focusing the proper targets your healer won't pull agro off of you by healing. This won't save you from DPS focusing the wrong targets but it should give you enough lead time to see the issue and adjust your target priority.
Combos - Always finish at least 1 Halone or 2 Savage combos on your first kill target. After that start spreading the love. With enough threat on the first kill target you should be able to start on the second target before the DPS switch. When the last mob is left switch to your Riot combo to regain some MP so you are topped off for the Flashes on the next pack.
Your UI - You may want to redo your UI to consolidate space and make information gathering easier. From the stock UI you need to look all over the screen to see the info you need. Your target and its buffs/debuffs are at the very top, your party list is the very left, your HP/MP/TP is at the very bottom. It's all over the place. There are many different ways you can rearrange stuff to make things easier on yourself.
Here is a video of me tanking Haukke Manor as a Paladin. You can see everything I have talked about in action. Please forgive the excessive use of Riot Blade, I failed at basic math when comparing my different combo potency. -
05-28-2017, 04:20 AMArkenne
Gear wise, whenever you are about to go to a new dungeon, make sure to revise your gear.
- Have it repaired if needed
- Have the latest gear you can get (specially the weapon)
- Get High Quality gear preferably:
+ Synched down people will have their gear reduced to the highest ilvl Normal Quality possible for the dungeon, which is lower than a HQ piece optimized for the dungeon.
- Be relentless with your Flash.
+ Usually flashing twice should suffice, but its just an agro cushion, after 2 flashes keep it up with a Fast Blade > Riot Blade > Flash combination.
- Once you get to lvl 26 things will ease up a bit thanks to Rage of Halone, but still keep up with the Flashing.
- At lvl 40 life will get easer, but expect difficulties at lvl 50 ilvl 135 dungeons if you aren't up to date with your gear.
Cheers!!