Quote Originally Posted by Spiroglyph View Post
... THAT is what you consider the most important reason to have protect in slot 1?
Quote Originally Posted by Miste View Post
Swaps current INT and MND attribute ratings, while increasing damage dealt by attack magic by 10%
I am well aware of these things. Remember that we are talking about dungeons under level 20. Talk of optimization and such is ludicrous. Just as Protect's protective boost is virtually meaningless, so too is Cleric's Stance's damage boost. Any possible optimization is sacrificed, if the tank spends more than five or so seconds waiting around for Protect. And let's not forget that generally this delay will be longer, because the tank will eventually begin a dialog. "You gonna cast Protect?" To which you have to answer "No," extending the delay even longer. And heaven help you if the tank starts to get ornery about it and declare you a "bad player" or whatever (not that this accusation is justifiable, but PUGs are not always populated by reasonable people).

No. Your sub-20 Cleric's Stance does not buy you more than ten seconds in a dungeon. Your run's speed is not going to be noticeably improved by DPSing in Cleric's Stance over DPSing raw, under level 20. Equip Protect, cast at the start, and get the run started promptly.