New 50 looking for help (Trash/AoE tanking + gearing)

[Alerith]

Full party with food.

Unlisted stats:

Block +122
Enmity +127

EDIT:
In this instance, I sacrificed accuracy for one of my HP rings. It was on Ifrit, so I didn't need a base of 400 like you would need on something such as Garuda.

[Curcio]

The best advice I can give you (After trying multiple builds for PLD) is to eventually get enough sets of gear to fit all situations:

- I have an HP set, putting me anywhere between 4k-4.2k. . . mostly a double melded cobalt body, melded sentinel gear, rings, etc. This can be replaced with militia.

- And my true tanking set (Anything I don't need 4k+ HP for. . . pretty much just Coincounter. . . haven't tried Chimera yet outside of Skirmish) which includes stacked STR and MND.

I love my STR/MND set. Along with my double meld +41Emnity belt, I use a Lieutenant Cutlass (Storm) with the 5 piece set of Body, Legs, Bracelette, Shield, and Cutlass. Sanction is usually on, but I have tanked in it without sanction. It's most definitely not a capped set of STR/MND, but it puts my STR close(ish) to 350 with +33 STR gloves, and my mind is around 280 with a double meld (trying for triple) Celata. My HP is around 3500~3600 depending on food.

It's the set I use for most of my tanking and it hasn't failed me. The Accuracy bonus of Cutlass, Acc from Explorer's Choker, and Accuracy from food/party buffs puts me well over 400. My weaponskills, which are probably used twice as often as Provoke/Flash, do a LOT of damage for what they are, and keep my hate high. Don't neglect Goring blade or Rage of Halone combo'd - They're both truly damage dealing skills when used in the right situation.

As you have probably noticed, people mention a LOT of different builds. . . this is just my preference. Paladin can be played a ton of ways, but know that damage is important, accuracy is important, and Emnity+ is important to an extent.

[Efreet]

Sorry for not replying these last few days, been a bit busy and rarely played!

Mitigation comes with familiarizing yourself with your own cooldowns. Most say don't use both Divine Veil and Sentinel together, you want to stagger these for maximum mitigation potential. Rampart is kinda meh since Def suffers so severely. Don't use Aegis Boon while Stoneskin is up and don't cast it on yourself if you plan on using Aegis Boon. Which Stoneskin works wonders with sentinel and veil. Another thing that makes you a rather sturdy tank is being able to cure yourself, there are tons of tanks out there that will finish a fight with full mp, a sign of a bad (or lazy) tank in my book. A PLD will always have a need or a want to cure themselves, even if just for threat. Another decent self healing tool is to combine Bloodbath with Spirits Within. All in all its just familiarizing yourself with your own tools.

Hate resets are a whole different ball game, and quite honestly I think SE loves them too much, all you can really do is do as much threat as possible and hope your DD's play it smart and know when to back off. Saving both Provoke and Flash for those resets is definitely desired, as well as perhaps Rampart if those 2 are on cd and a reset happens again. 1 trick I try to time is managing to combo phalanx as a reset comes, but this is EXTREMELY hard to do, if not impossible. I've only ever really consistently managed it on CC, because he does an animation for Animal Instincts (the hate reset for him).

I try to not use my abilities at the same time (and I usually don't). I also learned about Aegis Boon not working with Stoneskin from soloing but I didn't realize I could use Sentinel or Devine Veil to keep Stoneskin up! Thanks for that info . I try to heal as much as possible but I always seem to cure a bit late due to being with great WHMs XD but I try to seize every opputunity I can to heal even others. I'm getting the hang of it bit by bit I guess . I try to keep Rampart available whenever I seem to lose hate and want to get it back.

Hate reset is what I usually wipe at since it seems a bit random and out of nowhere and can happen when my hate tools are down. I think I just need more practice managing my tools :x. Thanks for the great tips Tman .

Hamlet drops for tanks:

Ale port: Head, Body

Golden Bazaar: Feet, Neck

Hystmil: Hands, Legs

Any of these pieces can drop at 40k or more, with better chance at 50k and best chance at 60k. The boots are trash though, sent sabatons even single melded win. Hands are good pre hdl hands, and hat and body are great (IMO better than hdl if your build can support it) and the pants are excellent. Note I am an enmity stacker as opposed to damage stacker like Molly.

4k is a nice number, but 3.8 is enough to make you two-shot proof on any boss. I roll 3880 and have no issues tanking raids with solo whm.

If you're gonna do an enmity double, do it on your belt not sword. You can get tones of sword upgrades but a nice 40+ enmity belt will last forever. Personally, I suggest plds aim for 150+ enmity, 300+ mind and 3.8k+ HP. Str is ignorable if your enmity is up. (Mine is 229 lol). Vitality and defense will give you next to no returns on bosses. You will find that enmity stacking, as opposed to str, will help you hold trash pulls past the first flare drop. After that, if necessary, cover is your friend.

I have yet to do Hamlet due to the LS being still new to end game so I'm trying to just wait a bit on them but I will keep that in mind . I don't have sentinel boots but I do have the hands. I'm not aiming at HDL any time soon XD haven't started much of end game yet though soon hopefully!

My hp when in a party is usually around 3.4k. I'm currently trying to save money to meld HP to my gears but the process is taking longer than I thought XD.

I already have a single melded belt with +enmity and currently trying to obtain a double meld since it seems to be the best belt I can get now. I'm also trying to get the Moogle Sword for the +30 acc to open space for rings where I can put MND rings instead of ACC .

Something important to remember Efreet, Paladin is one of those jobs where you can gear many different ways and still be effective.

Molly favors stacking Enmity and Strength whereas I favor Enmity and HP. Others till favor HP and DEF or Enmity and DEF. The important thing to note is that these each work for us and our playstyles, and you should experiment to find which one you favor.

I realized that there wasn't a build for PLD that set in stone. Every thread suggested something different. I think I might actually go with HP and Enmity build. I tried going with VIT and Enmity but my HP wouldn't go past 3.5k which doesn't put me in the safe spot. My first priority now is to double meld my belt and then start replacing my AF pieces with HP melded set. Also probably a Mogblade for +30 ACC on it!

Thanks a lot for your help Alerith !

I personally like to go for VIT-DEX-MND.

VIT for obvious reasons.

DEX for added block rate, accuracy and the occasional evasive maneuver.

MND for dmg output and better heals. Curing teammates often makes up for missing a WS like Flat Blade or Spirits Within. I also tend to think, that a PLD with a full MP bar is no PLD. But that's just me.

Pic is taken in a full group, with food (Trapper's Quiche / +230HP and +10VIT) and a Muscle Restorative (+250HP), which i usually pop for bosses, though a Giant's Drink (+300HP) would work too.

I'm in a middle of parsing this build, but so far i've been going for a rough 40% block rate in the new skirmishes. I should try joining a SB party to get some readings for trash mobs too. Holy Succors go for 800-1100 a pop and WS damage is decent enough to be called useful.

//:
Oh, forgot to mention, that the stats that aren't visible there are:
+137 Block Rate
+56 Enmity

Your VIT seems waay higher than mine XD but doesn't your DEF seems a bit low? Especially with that high of VIT! I thought every few VIT points transfer to defense or do the VIT factors differently? I personally thinking of going HP + Enmity build since it seems to suit the style I'm using . Thanks for the food info xP might steal some and use it myself!

Also 347 ACC, isn't that a bit low? I'm using 2 ACC ring and trying to keep it above 375 and still missing more than I should!

You will find that abilities alone get you to a 30% block rate, slightly better with boon. So specing into it with dex will be marginal compared gains from other stats. The same is true of bosses that it will again return marginally against bosses.

Now, on trash and rank 50 mobs, owing to dlvl, you will find that def bit and block rate can combine to make you take nearly no damage. Unfortunately what works in a spirit bond party will not work on Chimera. Also, the skirmish bosses are weaker than raid counterparts.

I was told that Skirmish is just fighting a dumpdown version of the boss itself and so far I only did it few times and wiped at the tree (damn hate reset!). Currently, I'm thinking of keeping my AF for Spiritbond while the melded set (which I still don't have xP) for end game purposes.

Thanks for the input PiedPiper .

Full party with food.

Unlisted stats:

Block +122
Enmity +127

EDIT:
In this instance, I sacrificed accuracy for one of my HP rings. It was on Ifrit, so I didn't need a base of 400 like you would need on something such as Garuda.

How much HP do you usually run with? And what food XD? HP?

Also for Garuda, the ACC should be +400?

The best advice I can give you (After trying multiple builds for PLD) is to eventually get enough sets of gear to fit all situations:

- I have an HP set, putting me anywhere between 4k-4.2k. . . mostly a double melded cobalt body, melded sentinel gear, rings, etc. This can be replaced with militia.

- And my true tanking set (Anything I don't need 4k+ HP for. . . pretty much just Coincounter. . . haven't tried Chimera yet outside of Skirmish) which includes stacked STR and MND.

I love my STR/MND set. Along with my double meld +41Emnity belt, I use a Lieutenant Cutlass (Storm) with the 5 piece set of Body, Legs, Bracelette, Shield, and Cutlass. Sanction is usually on, but I have tanked in it without sanction. It's most definitely not a capped set of STR/MND, but it puts my STR close(ish) to 350 with +33 STR gloves, and my mind is around 280 with a double meld (trying for triple) Celata. My HP is around 3500~3600 depending on food.

It's the set I use for most of my tanking and it hasn't failed me. The Accuracy bonus of Cutlass, Acc from Explorer's Choker, and Accuracy from food/party buffs puts me well over 400. My weaponskills, which are probably used twice as often as Provoke/Flash, do a LOT of damage for what they are, and keep my hate high. Don't neglect Goring blade or Rage of Halone combo'd - They're both truly damage dealing skills when used in the right situation.

As you have probably noticed, people mention a LOT of different builds. . . this is just my preference. Paladin can be played a ton of ways, but know that damage is important, accuracy is important, and Emnity+ is important to an extent.

I'm currently trying to afford for a set which focus on HP and Enmity but I never saw a STR/MND set before. Unfortunatly, I joined the Immortal Flames so the Storm gear is out of my reach. I might try a STR+MND melded gear down the road but for now I am aiming at HP and enmity.

I'm still not getting the hang of RoH combo but only because the need of positioning (behind the mob). I only managed to pull it off few times but practice makes perfect I guess!

And I started this thread because of the many different builds I found on this forum XD I was a bit lost (and still am but I just need more time to familiarize myself with the job I guess).

[Digirotta]

Also 347 ACC, isn't that a bit low? I'm using 2 ACC ring and trying to keep it above 375 and still missing more than I should!

The raw numbers don't always tell everything, and the main stats (STR, VIT, DEX, etc, etc.) are used as a variable in damage/hit calculations, hence lower base accuracy with high DEX rating might yield close to same results as to someone with a higher base acc, but with lower DEX.

But you were right. I thought i could handle my ws'es and steady dmg output with the high DEX i had, but i got my hands on the Explorer's Choker (Acc +15 & Crit rate +20), and it made a world of difference to my old Att PWR +30 neckie. I didn't miss a single WS in the event (Skirmishes) after that. I'll consider re-gearing my PLD, after i get some more results from, let's say AV and CC. I'm also in dire need of a new wep, as i've blown up 4 GG swords so far, trying to get them dualmelded.

[Molly_Millions]

You will find that abilities alone get you to a 30% block rate, slightly better with boon. So specing into it with dex will be marginal compared gains from other stats. The same is true of bosses that it will again return marginally against bosses.

I completely agree, you'll get more evasion from evasion materia or stacking gear with evasion on it than you would from DEX. DEX just isn't worth it on PLD. Block rate has been adjusted to a point where it's pretty high without any added DEX, add aegis boon to that, and we block quite often. You also have to consider that gloves are the only place a PLD can add DEX, which would be MUCH better with STR, or even HP. More STR results in more enmity, after all.

[Molly_Millions]

Your VIT seems waay higher than mine XD but doesn't your DEF seems a bit low? Especially with that high of VIT! I thought every few VIT points transfer to defense or do the VIT factors differently? I personally thinking of going HP + Enmity build since it seems to suit the style I'm using . Thanks for the food info xP might steal some and use it myself!

This is because DEF from VIT has a cap. I'm not sure what it is exactly, but I know that at one point the DEF benefit of VIT was completely broken at level 50, meaning there was no DEF increase from VIT at all at level cap. That's why I've stressed the following hierachy

Enmity > STR > MND > HP > DEF > VIT