[Beginner] Looking for some tips

[juniglee]

Hello,

1. VIT all the way.

2. As a Gladiator (Paladin in the future), the choices you have are relatively small. You'll want to eventually get skills from Conjurer (Protect, Stoneskin, Cure, Raise), and Marauder (Foresight, Bloodbath, Mercy Stroke). As a Gladiator you'll have more options to choose from. Virus from Arcanist for weakening bosses, Raging Strikes from Archer to further increase damage, but as a Paladin you are only allowed to cross 5 skills in total from both Conjurer and Marauder. In terms of importance, I rate them in this order: Stoneskin, Bloodbath, Foresight, Mercy Stroke, Protect.

3a. Definitely prioritize the defensive stats, and then focus on VIT. Any other stat is secondary to a tank. Left hand side tank gear naturally comes with STR, but your best secondary stat is Parry.

3b. Tally up the defense you get from legs + boots, and see if they compare against Flanchards, then go for the better option. One thing you'll have to consider is that if you are using Flanchards and plan to replace them later, you'll need both a new set of legs + boots.

3c. Materia is unnecessary while levelling. Unless you have lots of spare Tier I you feel like burning, it does not impact your performance in lower level dungeons at all.