My three stages to Paladin tanking

[Messenger]

Wow, you spent so much time on that post... I wanna marry you O.O

[Revya]

Wow, you spent so much time on that post... I wanna marry you O.O

Thank you <3

Hope it helped you learn something new

[CianaIezuborn]

http://forum.square-enix.com/ffxiv/t...mpendium-2.0.1

^--For more info.

On leveling, make sure you upgrade your weapon when ever possible. 90% of your enmity potential is directly from your WD stat, which is counter to most MMOs out there from a tanking perspective.

Watch out for Brayflox, there's a huge jump in mob damage at that point and you're going to get smashed in there going in at the starting level if your equipment isn't above average. This will continue through Temple of Qarn and even out around Cutter's Cry once you pick up Shield Oath and get a higher amount of hp per Vit.

[Revya]

http://forum.square-enix.com/ffxiv/t...mpendium-2.0.1

^--For more info.

On leveling, make sure you upgrade your weapon when ever possible. 90% of your enmity potential is directly from your WD stat, which is counter to most MMOs out there from a tanking perspective.

Watch out for Brayflox, there's a huge jump in mob damage at that point and you're going to get smashed in there going in at the starting level if your equipment isn't above average. This will continue through Temple of Qarn and even out around Cutter's Cry once you pick up Shield Oath and get a higher amount of hp per Vit.

Sure brayflox is a little harder then most dungeons around that lvl, but its nothing different either. And this one is not about leveling though... or gear stuff just general tanking. and ofcourse Enmity will increase with weapon damage as they all but Flash takes there damage from your weapon.
That is also part of my reason for not using it as much as other do... and rather stick with savage blade for basic tanking at lower levels.

[CianaIezuborn]

Sure brayflox is a little harder then most dungeons around that lvl, but its nothing different either. And this one is not about leveling though... or gear stuff just general tanking. and ofcourse Enmity will increase with weapon damage as they all but Flash takes there damage from your weapon.
That is also part of my reason for not using it as much as other do... and rather stick with savage blade for basic tanking at lower levels.

These aren't obvious things, they are very specific to this game especially the Enmity potential being primarily based off weapon quality. In most other games, high enmity skills give an additional amount of enmity that scales off level and/or tanking stats, so weapon upgrades don't do much to enmity produced. In this game, they are simply a multiplier to your weapon damage making weapon upgrades for enmity exponentially more important in this game than in say WoW or Rift.

I've had multiple people leveling tanks ask me what they were doing wrong in Brayflox because they felt like they were getting melted by mobs. The answer is you're level 32 and there is a huge jump in damage from earlier dungeons to Brayflox. Only thing you can do is gear out in full HQ/dungeon gear and/or level to 34. I've heard similar complaints from healers saying there tank was melting, my response being "Brayflox?".

Note that flash is fairly weak before 40, but once you pick up Shield Oath it becomes ridiculously strong due to the way it interacts with the Shield Oath multiplier. 90% certain that flashes strength is directly related to WD also, thought I tested this months ago but now I'm not sure or if I just read someone else's work.

I'm assuming since you're breaking tanking strategies down for new folks based off level ranges that it would be nice to include this info, as it's not completely obvious your first play through.

[Revya]

These aren't obvious things, they are very specific to this game especially the Enmity potential being primarily based off weapon quality. In most other games, high enmity skills give an additional amount of enmity that scales off level and/or tanking stats, so weapon upgrades don't do much to enmity produced. In this game, they are simply a multiplier to your weapon damage making weapon upgrades for enmity exponentially more important in this game than in say WoW or Rift.
I've had multiple people leveling tanks ask me what they were doing wrong in Brayflox because they felt like they were getting melted by mobs. The answer is you're level 32 and there is a huge jump in damage from earlier dungeons to Brayflox. Only thing you can do is gear out in full HQ/dungeon gear and/or level to 34. I've heard similar complaints from healers saying there tank was melting, my response being "Brayflox?".

Note that flash is fairly weak before 40, but once you pick up Shield Oath it becomes ridiculously strong due to the way it interacts with the Shield Oath multiplier. 90% certain that flashes strength is directly related to WD also, thought I tested this months ago but now I'm not sure or if I just read someone else's work.

I'm assuming since you're breaking tanking strategies down for new folks based off level ranges that it would be nice to include this info, as it's not completely obvious your first play through.

Right.. iv never been much in to the number game in the details like the other guide you linked was about. And I've never had issues with brayflox either be it Tanking, Damage or healing. The number right now to decimals is not needed ever, as they are focused only on this specific class and not taking the rest of the classes into account.. as you raise in stats every level so does every other class so they are always equal to a degree.

Yea this is more focused on new people to get into tanking with a enough info about their skills and usage area. Flash does get a boost with Shield Oath yes, but at the same every class gets more damage and healing enmity so its back to square once again... so its still a little useless for other then initial enmity gain as at all levels.

as for the other mmo's they have little place here other then the general idea. how they are different are off little concern really. And as a General rule of thumb.. as a tank you should have the best gear available for the best result this goes for other mmo's as much as it does here.

Though that said with proper skill usage in Brayflox and you wont have a problem even with a little under geared items. This does also go for the damage dealer and healer as they also need to know their skills well enough.

[Lupus_Lux]

I've mained as PLD for awhile now and I have never used cover. You got me thinking about it's potential use when I'm the off tank. Still can't think of a fight to use it on that doesn't have a MT debuff stack mechanic (Ultima, Titan Ex) but I will keep it in mind for future experimentation. Thanks for taking the time to help make better tanks!

[Hitokirinomad]

This may come across as rude and/or caustic. Not my actual intent, I just don't want people trying to follow all of this advice just because your post is long. Ciana linked a very comprehensive guide that uses math and testing. Go use that.

Yea this is more focused on new people to get into tanking with a enough info about their skills and usage area. Flash does get a boost with Shield Oath yes, but at the same every class gets more damage and healing enmity so its back to square once again... so its still a little useless for other then initial enmity gain as at all levels.

This one bit of misinformation here made me go back and really read what you put down. Some of it is good, a lot of it is suboptimal. Flash with shield oath is more than just 'initial threat grab'. At low levels, PLD who continually lose aggro in my experience have flashed less than 3 times per multi mob pull. At higher levels...what exactly do you think those tanks in WP speed runs are using to hold aggro on 12 mobs? Or what if (while leveling), you run across a THM or CNJ who sleeps the other mobs?

For your main post, you only list 3 cross class skills, one of which you can't use in combat, and don't need outside of combat. You forgot Bloodbath and Protect, or even cure if you are unwilling/able to take your CNJ to 34 for SS (somewhat likely for a truly new to the game tank).

Now many might wonder and argue why i use only savage blade and not the full combo on the first target...
First its a slow process to use the whole combo.
Second its does NOT give more enmity. The additional effect is only 200 potency from 100. Now you do get more enmity with more damage. But as you use fast blade first its slower then just using Savage Blade alone. As your job is NOT to do the most damage but hold every mob with Enmity and not let them loose on your healers as they keep you alive

This is confusing, and also incorrect. You will generate more enmity in 2 swings with Fast > Savage than you would with Savage > Fast, and it's the *same amount of time spent due to the GCD*. Also, post-Halone, you generate an insane amount more emnity doing Fast > Savage > Halone than Savage > Fast > Savage, and you will most likely immediately lose threat if you have DPS expecting a quicker ramp up.

As for best in slot gear and the likes i can really tell because its up each and everyone to decide that. Item Level means much yes but individual skill and knowledge is not count in that so be sure not to judge to quickly.

The JOB story armor coupled with Dark-light rings and bracelets is more then enough for most content. Fancy armor does not make you better just better equipped.

Also, no. Not even the slightest. Unless by "most content" you mean nothing past AK, WP, and Ifrit HM. You suggest that tanks need to have the best gear available for the content, then let them know it's okay to stay in AF armor. It's really not. It won't make you utilize your skills better, but it does help with the whole 'staying alive and keeping threat' portion of the tanking. You're not a bad tank just because you are in AF, just go ahead and get better as quickly as possible.

[BonzaiFerroni]

This is excellent, probably the best I've seen! Cycling through targets while doing your combo is something I've fallen into the habit of doing as well. With 1-3 targets it generates more hate over time than spamming flash several times, as is the habit of many tanks.

Question, what do you do in situations where there are 6+ fairly challenging mobs and you need to maintain agro on all of them? I'm thinking specifically of the spiders in turn 4, last night was my first go, and pretty much like clockwork (no pun intended) the other tank and I lost hate on one target during the opening wave. Cycling through that many, you will lose hate on the spiders that are getting the most damage.

My initial belief is that it is a DPS issue, they should keep an eye out for taking over agro in that situation. Also, each time we were able to pull it back with a provoke + shield lob, but I wondered if there was a more elegant solution.

[BonzaiFerroni]

One minor disagreement with your rotation, I've found that it is inadvisable to start out with shield lob on multiple targets. While you may be gaining a bit of hate on your first target (and negligible damage), the others are virtually a free-for-all. If you have an antsy DPS in your party that starts in right away, or there is currently a regen buff on anyone, you will lose the attention of the other targets. Most of the time this is ok, you can pick them up with a flash on the way over. However, it makes timing the flash and hitting them all on the first flash quite a bit more challenging.

I've found it is pretty important to hit them all with the first flash if you can, that will make sure you have enough time to gather hate on all your targets. Aiming flash is one of the more interesting nuances of tanking.