PLD Stat Allotment Update?

So, how ought we allot our points now? Knowing they were revamping pld I held off using up my respec page once they came out.

Now, they've increased our damage on some weaponskills, and warrior has proven beyond doubt that high dps = high threat, so should we spec for that? STR/MND even split.

Of course, this would mean no points in vitality, and even with full GLD hp, that's still a bit of a loss. So... maybe STR/VIT even split? This puts no points in mnd, and endless testing has shown that auto attack damage is highly modified by our stats... so maybe that's too much enmity loss?

Bargain? Full Str, half vit half mnd? Full Vit half mnd half str? Thirds all around? Half measures strike me as unfortunate, but... maybe the thirds is the best route? Honestly I'm leaning to str/mnd because hey, whms can clear 550 potency and regen for 200+ so hang the hp total and have faith in them.

Thoughts?

I would like to know this as well, I messed up my stat spread decently bad when leveling the early levels and have been saving a Hymn for after the PLD fix.

Don't forget DEX for shield blocks, we just have too many choices.

i did Vit and Mnd cause dex was proven by a parse not having a big effect on blocking at the time not sure about now though. Mnd for better heals. But it doesnt really matter cause Pld is still terrible.

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Originally Posted by KoujiGeki

But it doesnt really matter cause Pld is still terrible.

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You should just post that in every post, regardless of what topic it is.

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Originally Posted by Denmo

You should just post that in every post, regardless of what topic it is.

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He pretty much already has.

I went the str/mnd/vit path, gonna respec and add more dex, so I'm not missing as much

Raymeo's post:
http://forum.square-enix.com/ffxiv/t...ips-plz./page4

I went str/mnd even split. I was able to generate enough threat to hold miser in a speed run. I am however weraing +153 emnity; top two monks in group did 29 and 28k, so if pld can hold that then yay. This how ever was not super consistent, across a few runs I would loose threat when she was in the pool (our strat I stand at range so it comes out asap) though this was solved with cover. Still, kinda sloppy. For threat, this seems a good build, as to dex for block rate... i mean we have divine veild and boon which means nearly 40% of the time you just are gonna block, and the rest of the time I still block a lot. (Phalanx is blue about 80% of the time, judged using a vid I did of myself to analyze my micromanagement).

Unfortunately, I am still simply too squishy and too weak in the AOE trash pulls to really be a safe choice for speed runs. It is viable in that it can be done, but pld will cause more wipes than war in same gear and is thus still just a liability to the group unfortunately. I really wish it wasn't so, I enjoy pld much more than war. Double the effect of war drum and make riot blade AOE and poof, we're fixed.

OH, and Chimchim is no problem for pld, though initial threat is a little slow. The ability to go completely immune to him is nice, and threat was again fine, but the trash pulls are riskier on pld than war, which is just a hindrance to the group.

Reading this worries me. I understand the game is going through changes and has many coming down the pipe with v2.0

I just recently started XIV and currently sit on a lv 25 Gladiator. Naturally I chose to go down the path of Paladin because it was my first job in FFXI. Some of the posts I have been reading have almost scared me into switching up my class/job but I really enjoy a challenge.

Given what I have read so far in this post, are there any suggestions regarding how I should spend my points early on? Or at least guaranteed stats I should be putting my points in? I have not use any so far because I don't know how these stats will play a factor with the higher level content.

You definitely want VIT, also I will defer to someone else to tell you which of the stats grants you a bonus to healing magic, but you want that one.

Also I suggest you only really think about starting to adventure as a Paladin after level 35 when you get Divine Veil given how at a low level Cover is pretty useless, as it is when soloing, however Divine Veil will be almost your bread and butter.

That said, do not be afraid of going the path of the sultansworn, the talk about PLD x WAR is extremely heated and while I only have minor experience with Paladin, the general trend on these forums is that a Paladin can tank effectively, but it requires a degree of skill, and also that people are 'used' to Warrior being superior but- Sincerely if a PUG is going to kick you for going with a Paladin instead of Warrior then I wouldn't go with them in first place.

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Originally Posted by Skies

You definitely want VIT, also I will defer to someone else to tell you which of the stats grants you a bonus to healing magic, but you want that one.

Also I suggest you only really think about starting to adventure as a Paladin after level 35 when you get Divine Veil given how at a low level Cover is pretty useless, as it is when soloing, however Divine Veil will be almost your bread and butter.

That said, do not be afraid of going the path of the sultansworn, the talk about PLD x WAR is extremely heated and while I only have minor experience with Paladin, the general trend on these forums is that a Paladin can tank effectively, but it requires a degree of skill, and also that people are 'used' to Warrior being superior but- Sincerely if a PUG is going to kick you for going with a Paladin instead of Warrior then I wouldn't go with them in first place.

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Thank you for your recommendations. I made notes and will definitely follow them. I agree with you on skill. Thats how things were with XI, I wouldn't expect anything less with XIV.

Kaeko recently posted some tests on Block, Block Rate, DEX, and VIT on Blue Gartr, the post can be found here. This right here is effectively the meat and potatoes of GLA/PLD's mitigation.

Here's the cliff's notes (which are in his post but I just did some upward conversion):

Every 10 DEX gives +1% block chance.
Every 5 "Block Rate" (found on the shields themselves, also materia) gives +1% block chance.
Block chance is capped at 75%.

Every 10 VIT gives -1% damage taken on block.
Every 5 "Block" (found on the shields themselves) gives -1% damage taken on block.
-Damage taken on block has a floor of 20% and a cap of 75%.

dLVL does influence both 'block chance' and 'damage taken on block' but the effect is far less pronounced at higher disparities than compared to Defense.

There's likely a Unified Theory of Shield Mitigation that can be made of this, regarding DEX and VIT.

recently Kaeko released info on block and block rate:

1VIT = .1% dmg reduction in blocks
1DEX = .1% block rate increase

Pretty strait forward, for example if you allocate 20 points in VIT then you get 2% dmg reduction on every block, on every target regardless of lvl of mob (capped at 75% blocked only happens on mobs 10+ lvl's below your lvl). I would value VIT > DEX since VIT raises your HP and increases DEF in the process and reduces dmg taken.

Just FYI, to get decent hate on PLD you must cure your ass off. Because of this, MND is more important than STR on PLD. Also, VIT is pretty broken at 50, don't waste your time with it. At 50 all that VIT does is increase your HP at a 1:1 ratio. You'd be better off going with DEF on your shield.

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Originally Posted by Molly_Millions

Just FYI, to get decent hate on PLD you must cure your ass off. Because of this, MND is more important than STR on PLD. Also, VIT is pretty broken at 50, don't waste your time with it. At 50 all that VIT does is increase your HP at a 1:1 ratio. You'd be better off going with DEF on your shield.

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What shield are you using that can be melded lol? Anyway, def is just as broken as vit. If you really have to meld a shield can't you do hp since that's pretty much pld's weakest tanking stat? Imo you need 4k (in full group) to be really safe against chim and miser. It can be done with less, but 4k seems to be the point where you pretty much never go down really quick. It's even enough to make derping on the occasional 100 tonez swing not fatal, though its still probably gonna kill you if you don't mitigate it with something (sent, block, etc). Once you get to 4000-4200 however, I wouldn't really advocate stacking any more hp, go for enmity.

Curing helps on threat, but in boss situations its unreliable imo. Only you should get hit, and there are 1-2 whms there making you not die. Sure you'll get some cures off, but with limited mp and a long cool down, much more of your threat is going to come from damage and abilities. Don't forget though, mnd is also one of our attack stats, so it pays both ways to cap mnd. Its worth mentioning that our stats suck. Even if you do a full allotment of str and wear two +1 str rings, you're still gonna be under 290 str.

To a certain extent, your stats depend on what you want to do. If you just wanna do spirit bond groups and exp at 50 with the occasional mog or ifrit, then a vit build is probably worthwhile. If you're really into doing speed runs of CC and AV, then you're gonna need enmity. I've found my str/mnd build is working pretty well, only issue of course being trash aoe pulls where we still suffer. If you can land meaningful cures its doable, but that's not always possible.

I'm gonna do some crunching on those block stats, but... with 1/3 of the time having 100% block rate AND a 100% chance to block on boon, you're already blocking a lot of attacks. I'm not sure mitigation is what pld needs, I still believe its more hate. We're really good at not being dead, but its no good to be the only one alive because the others all pulled hate off you.

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Originally Posted by PiedPiper

What shield are you using that can be melded lol?

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The best shield there is imo; Vintage Kite Shield +1, which has +5 MND. Currently, my PLD is sitting on about 105 enmity, and I was just given some hq gear with some really sick HP melds (127 hp on the pants), but off the top of my head I don't know what it all adds up to.

That seems terribly low, wow.

I've been building my GLA with VIT first and DEX second because I figured it would be similar to XI where your abilities will generate far more enmity than your damage output reasonably can. Not to ignore damage entirely, as it is helpful for generating hate, but I figured STR & MND will go up high enough naturally so why not boost my HP/DEF and Accuracy/Block Rate.

Anyhoo, given those numbers, that means that with the Relic Shield you'd have a base chance to block of 20% + your DEX modifier...

That just seems far, far too low especially if the cap is 75%

I block on my PLD often enough and I haven't put a single point in DEX. It's not worth it, IMO. Actually, niether VIT nor DEX are really worth it. Damage mitigation from VIT at 50 is TERRIBLE to say the least.

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Originally Posted by Molly_Millions

I block on my PLD often enough and I haven't put a single point in DEX. It's not worth it, IMO. Actually, niether VIT nor DEX are really worth it. Damage mitigation from VIT at 50 is TERRIBLE to say the least.

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I agree with Molly here about the wasted points in DEX. While your natural block rate might not be as high as you'd like, your shield abilities alone more than make up for that.

Divine Veil gives you 100% guaranteed blocks for 20 seconds on a 60 second cooldown, so realistically, you're not blocking for 40 seconds out of a minute. Now factor in natural blocks, Aegis Boon and Outmaneuver as well as other damage mitigation sources like Sentinel and Stoneskin, and you are rarely ever taking full damage from a physical hit.

I notice that everyone has different methods for placing their points. If you didnt like how you spent your points, is there a way to reset everything and try a different setup?

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Originally Posted by Drexel_Mactavish

I notice that everyone has different methods for placing their points. If you didnt like how you spent your points, is there a way to reset everything and try a different setup?

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There is but I don't know how to do it. You should have an item in your inventory called "The Keeper's Hymn". Somehow you can reset your points with it. Trying to figure out how right now.

Whenever you do the L30 Job Quest for a job you gain a "The Keeper's Hymn" item.
From there you need to go to the Guild Mark Exchange NPC of the guild relative to your class (The Gladiator's guild is in Ul'Dah, the arena) and he has an option to reset your stats using one.

Really glad they did give us the ability to do that. That would allow me to do some research and try a certain setup. If I dont like it I can at least try again. Skies and Deatheye, thanks for the information regarding this.

Do remember that you have a limited amount of these, since once you get them for each Job, there are no more to obtain. Likely not a huge deal since many of the class/job stats that raise auto-attack damage are typically also the ones you want maxed anyway (MRD/WAR, STR/VIT, so easy), and the system of reallocation may be changing in 2.0 altogether.

It's just something to remember for now, if you are going to be pursuing research.

You can go to any guild mark exchange npc to use the Keeper's Hymn. You don't have to travel all the way to the guild for the class.

I reset both archer and gladiator the other day at the blacksmith guild mark npc because I was too lazy to leave LL :)

Out of curiosity, looking at some of the material on block and block rate, I was thinking that the Storm Sergeants Hoplon looked like a pretty nice shield, if you're a Storm. If you're going for balance between block and block rate, anyways. Plus it has some def and healing magic potency, and a large amount of hp on it if sanctioned.

What's the prefered shield though? I've just been using a double melded kite shield with hp. I have a thormoan's purpose, but I've been trying to figure out which is better to use. I haven't really had a problem with hate on with primals and single target material, but i do agree on large trash pulls it's just not as effective hate wise. (I usually go warrior in those situations, anyways.)

As for stats, I went 23 vit, 22 mnd. But yeah, Paladin's stats in general are just super low. I wish their accuracy was a little higher innately, at the very least.

Imo, the best shield is a Vintage Kite Shield +1, because it's got pretty high block and block rate as well as +5 MND and is meldable. If you can't get one of those, go with Thormoen's Purpose.