Why does Clemency get interrupted? And why does Sword/Shield Oath reset combo?

[Februs]

Honestly I've found Sentinel + Halone to be more than enough to handle it as long as no one gives them Battle Fever. Even with that just tossing in a Foresight or something works.

Agreed. Unless they have battle fever or my healers are asleep and my Hp is already dangerously low, I find using HG on a Holy Bladedance is a wasted buff that I could spend in a later phase when it's more convenient. Sentinel does the job just fine, especially if the healer or I threw on an extra Stoneskin for good measure. Problem solved. The only time I've had to waste a HG here is if the Dps are getting themselves killed and the healer's attention is divided.

[alimdia]

Agreed. Unless they have battle fever or my healers are asleep and my Hp is already dangerously low, I find using HG on a Holy Bladedance is a wasted buff that I could spend in a later phase when it's more convenient. Sentinel does the job just fine, especially if the healer or I threw on an extra Stoneskin for good measure. Problem solved. The only time I've had to waste a HG here is if the Dps are getting themselves killed and the healer's attention is divided.

I meant using HG in sword oath vs the sword knight.
Killing that knight before it swaps, and you won't need any more CDs

[Freyyy]

I meant using HG in sword oath vs the sword knight.
Killing that knight before it swaps, and you won't need any more CDs

That's exactly what I did with PLD there. Sword Oath vs Sword Oath knight, HG Holy Bladedance, go full DPS before it swaps back to shield and he dies. I do it with DRK too, no Grit, Living Dead. I only go tank stance if my knight is in Shield Oath because there is little to no point in doing more damage in that case. Honestly, if the Sword Oath knight doesn't die before swapping, your group's DPS is shit. After one knight dies, there is no Oath anymore, so the second knight hits like a wet noodle and you can eat Holy Bladedance totally naked without even your tanking stance.

[Februs]

I meant using HG in sword oath vs the sword knight.
Killing that knight before it swaps, and you won't need any more CDs

I know what you meant. I'm not disagreeing with you outright. I just don't find it necessary in most cases, and there are a couple other alternatives that work just as well.

I've done Sword Oath or No Oath against Sword Oath Knight using Sentinel/Shelltron. If your healer is on the ball, it's no problem. If your Hp is a little uncertain you can pop Fracture on top of that, but it's kind of overkill if the healer is paying attention. Another method is to use Shield Oath like a CD instead of stance. Pop Sentinel, Shelltron and Shield Oath, to take the hit, then drop Oath without switching to avoid interrupting your combo and keeping full potency on GB or RA (whichever happens to be next in your rotation). This is fine as well, because the tiny boost in Dps from Sword Oath Auto Attacks is hardly noticeable, and your Dps team should not need it to meet the check (if they do, then you need to find new Dps).

HG definitely makes things easier (one and done buttons always do), but the only time I find HG to be flat out necessary, or even a better option, is if my heals aren't up to snuff or my Hp is not capped. Otherwise I find it's better to save it for a CD refresh on one of the Heavenly Heels in a later phase.